What Do I Need To Legally Protect My Coaching Business?

  A coaching agreement is a legal document defining a certain set of rules and regulations to be followed by the coach and the client during the training process. It generally contains rules of conduct, minimum hours of training to be done, monetary compensation of the coach, length of the coaching contract, and what happens in case either the coach or the client breaches the contract. Also, while the coaching agreement is more favored towards the client as it specifies certain criteria to be fulfilled by the coach during the training period on other hand it also protects the coach from any liabilities such as an injury to the client, etc. However, if you’re wondering how to end a coaching contract this is for you. Go through your contract thoroughly It is highly recommended to go through your coaching contract to look out for the liabilities that come your way after the termination of the coaching contract. It is advisable to make sure that you do not fail to comply with the term...

  People assume that because we are attorneys, we will put a lot of difficult-to-understand legalese riddled with Latin terms that sound scary in their contracts. This is not a wrong assumption to make about attorneys (a lot of them are like that), but your coaching agreement should both protect you and not scare away your client at the same time. Coaching Contract Whether you are a life coach, business coach, health coach, or any other type of coach, these are some things to consider about your coaching contract: Consider calling your Contract a “  Coaching  Client Services Agreement ” Make sure you balance the right “tone” with the right amount of protection. You do not want your  coaching contract  to read like you are going to war with your client; you want it to sound like you will love your client, but if you client does not pay or is mean to you, it’s game over. Concise and to the point is always better than paragraphs and paragraphs of explaining things ...

Full disclosure   — as a lawyer, I am ALL ABOUT making sure your legal ducks are in a row. UGH — legal. I know, I know. Every coach I have met is intuitive, empathic, creative. They have these attributes that serve them well as coaches. They are driven to serve. Otherwise, they are in the wrong profession! But as business owners, it’s important to occasionally take off the creative, service-provider hat and focus on the business side of your business. What’s the saying? There is time to  w ork  IN  the business and time to work  ON  the business. The first and foremost item on your “Work ON the Business To-do List” should be getting your legal foundation in place to protect the business you are building. So what does protecting your business include? Here are the basics for a solid foundation to protect your business: Create a legal entity . A legal entity creates a separation between the debts, obligations, and risks of your business and your personal asse...

Whether you are a life coach, business coach, health & wellness coach, or any kind of amazing coach – you need a   client services agreement .  But you already know that!  And, since you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you want to get an agreement in place or get your current agreement up to snuff.  Maybe you “borrowed” it from a friend or colleague, or -gasp- downloaded a free sample from some shady website.  You can’t be sure that its adequate, or even appropriate for your   coaching business .  But no fear, we are here to help!   DIY LEGAL CAN WORK FOR COACHES DIY legal is totally okay in many cases; so long as you have the right guidance and foundation.  Online  legal  templates from can be a great resource.  Templates that are vetted and provided by coaching certification programs can also be valuable.  But the best practice for DIY legal, regardless of the source is this: Get your templates from a trust...

  At In The Know Legal, we LOVE coaches!  Why?  Because coaches are amazing.  But it’s really so much more than that. The Shared Mission Our mission is to empower women entrepreneurs to achieve success in their business.  But we know that time, money, and understanding what they need for a solid legal foundation in business and personally, can be stumbling blocks.  So we created ITKL to help minimize or eliminate those obstacles. Coaches do the exact same thing for their clients – helping their clients achieve their goals while helping them eliminate obstacles that can hold them back.  Whether they have its business coaching , life coaching, or any other areas, coaches guide their clients to turn obstacles into opportunities or lessons, help them navigate a clear path, and give them clarity and perspective.  All of these things help empower their clients to achieve their success.   You can’t pour from an empty cup A common lesson coaches...

What do I need to legally protect my coaching business?  All right coaches, now is the time. You have set up a business surrounding education, empowerment and encouragement for your clients, and you offer a valuable service. You are taking care of your clients, but who is taking care of you and your business? As a coach, you need agreements that detail the professional relationship with your client through mutually agreed upon goals and expectations. You also want your agreements to play an important role in educating your client about what coaching is (and is not) and what your client can expect from the coaching process.  Most importantly, you want to have a positive organized way to delineate your services. Since professional coaching has a wide range of objectives, tools and means of achieving goals, your agreements should be in line with your objectives, tools and means of achieving those goals.  So here is a list of documents that will help legally protect you and y...