How to Avoid Liability in your Business

Welcome back to my weekly legal Q&A series — Sam’s Sidebar — where I answer one of your legal questions!

You provide the Qs. I provide the As.

I jam packed this week’s question with loads of free legal resources for you.

After being in business for over 6+ years, I’m able to dish out podcast episodes, blog posts, YouTube videos…. you name it, I’ve recorded it. 😂

Scroll down for Chris’ awesome question on how to avoid liability in your online business. And check out all of the resources I’ve rounded up for you.

After reading, if you’re still looking for a resource I didn’t mention, just hit “reply” and I’ll find it for you!

The Question // Chris asks,

I’m going into a coaching/advisory business. What are my liabilities and how can I lessen the chances of facing said liabilities or insuring for them?

The Answer //

Whether you start a bakery or a coaching business, you’ll always have to consider what liability you have.

(What’s liability? It’s what you’re legally responsible for.)

One of the biggest mistakes I see coaches and consultants make is thinking that because they have an “online” or virtual business, that they’re immune from liability.

But instead of being responsible for slip & falls or mouth burns on a just-outta-the-oven croissant like a bakery owner would —

You have to ‘worry’ about other stuff like people having adverse reactions, experiencing bad results, or copyright infringement. (I say ‘worry’ because I’m here to help you not worry. It’s more like ‘be aware of’.)

Whether it’s your free content on your website or Instagram, or your work with actual clients, you can get blamed for someone having a bad experience from anything you say or tell them to do.

So how do you ‘lessen’ your liability?

1️⃣ Know Your Scope

You have to get to know your scope of practice (what you can legally do based on how you’re qualified, what your state’s laws are, etc) and stay within it.

Knowing your scope and staying in your own lane is one of the best ways to lessen your chances of getting sued or blamed for something.

Free resources to learn your scope:  start here , then listen to  this follow-up episode .

2️⃣ Contracts + Policies

Use legit lawyer-drafted contracts with your clients/customers and have all 3 website policies (privacy policy, website disclaimer, terms & conditions) on your site to cover your free content.

Doing so will help lessen your liability — well at least if you use my contract templates  😉 — because I’ve included the necessary disclaimers and limitation of liability language you need.

Free resources to learn about contracts:  which legal contract do you need? ,  how to make your contracts enforceable .

3️⃣ Insurance

When all else fails, it’s so smart (and comforting) to have business insurance in place so that you’re not financially on the hook for any lawsuits against your business.

Free resources to learn about insurance: I talked about  whether business insurance was worth it here  and the  biggest business insurance mistakes I see entrepreneurs make here.

🥤 Want to make sure your business is as insulated as a Stanley tumbler left in the car for 3 days in the blazing hot sun?

Well, I can’t guarantee THAT level of insulation…. but I’ve got the next best thing for you.

➡️ My free legal workshop: 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business.

Drop your information there ^ to sign up now and learn how to get paid, form your business, protect your content, and know your scope.

It’s the fastest way to cut the noise about all the things you’ve got to do on the legal / financial side of your online business.

Hit “comment” and let me know if you enjoyed this post! Hope it was helpful.

Epi. 116: What’s a Non-Compete and Can I Use One? Want to make sure your contractors & employees can’t leave you to work for the competition (or go out and BECOME yours!)? Listen to this quick On Your Terms episode to see if you can + how.