Okay, creative entrepreneur friends!! You’ve been introduced to her on the blog before, but now it’s time I sing some praises about Paige Hulse from Shop Creative Law.
Paige and I had the pleasure of getting on a coffee chat virtually about 4 months ago and I am so glad her beautiful soul was brought into my life! Paige is an attorney for creatives. As an adviser and counselor to creatives, she helps businesses navigate the legalities of entrepreneurship, so you have more time for what matters: sustainability and profitability, white space and creativity.
Seriously! This girl is speaking my love language with that sentence. But LAW – that is definitely not my love language! After my talk with Paige, I learned so many things I didn’t know about the legalities of running a business. One of them is that the most important document you can have as a business owner is an Operating Agreement for your LLC.
Since learning this little nugget of info, I’ve dove into her shop and wanted to let you in on the 7 most important documents I think you’d benefit from in her shop. These are all the things I scoured the internet for in my first year of business. Now, I’m so glad Paige’s shop exists for all us non-lawyers to benefit from!
No matter WHAT creative business you’re in, Paige has a template for YOU.
Below are a few of the templates most photographers need, but if you’re not a photographer, browse her shop and grab the template that’s right for you!
Print Release for Photographers
The Print Release for Photographers template is a simple document that will maintain your copyright ownership over all your photos while still allowing your clients to print the photos from their events.
The Lifestyle/Portrait Photography Agreement
The Lifestyle/Portrait Photography Agreement is a legal essential for all portrait and lifestyle photographers. The agreement outlines protect both you and your client as well as managing expectation appropriately so you can deliver the best possible experience to your clients.
The Privacy Policy Website Template
For any business owner collecting information from users on your site, you are legally required to have a privacy policy on your website. This is a foundation for all business owners, protecting you and your clients.
The Second Shooter Contract
Listen up, wedding photographers! The Second Shooter Contract covers all of the important legal info that needs to be shared between you and your second shooter. Setting the expectations right away, avoiding any awkward conversations later on.
The Single Person LLC Operating Agreement
According to Paige, the Single Person LLC Operating Agreement is the most important document a solo person LLC can have. This agreement governs your LLC and proves that your business is, in fact, a business. This one is SO important for all you solo entrepreneurs out there!
The Terms and Conditions Website Template
The Terms and Conditions Website Template outlines and explains one of the foundational elements of any website, your terms and conditions. It is a contract between you and the users of your site. Although it is not required by law, it is an essential piece to include on your website.
The Wedding Photography Template
The Wedding Photography Template handles all the what if’s and legal questions that may arise when you sign a contract with a new couple. Don’t put yourself in a sticky situation if the couple calls off the wedding or if you get sick and cannot shoot, protect yourself and your business with this contract.
Law is scary for us non-lawyers, but it doesn’t have to be. As long as you comply with the rules, laws, and regulations that are put in place for our protection, you’ll be much better off in the long run.
So if you don’t want to:
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Have your clients illegally print your photos
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Have a second shooter run off with all of your images
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Have your website shut down because you don’t comply with the privacy policy and terms and conditions that the GDPR requires
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Get screwed or sued from a not-so-legal-wedding-contract
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Or more scary things that can happen if you don’t have the right contracts and documents in place
Then what are you waiting for…Head to Paige’s shop and browse around for the template that’s right for your business. It’s amazing how much we actually need that they don’t tell us about. There’s no easy handbook for everything you need to do to legally run and own a business, but these documents are a great start.
Get your legal ducks in a row, my friends, it will only pay off in the long run!!!
And last but certainly not least! I just want to say a BIG thank you to Paige and Shop Creative Law, one of our 2018 Fireside Retreat sponsors. As part of the retreat, we will be diving into growing your team and making smart, legal decisions for your creative business. We are so grateful to have Paige as one of our sponsors, supporting our attendees and helping them make the right legal decisions for their business.
Other posts on the Laura Lee Creative blog you might also like:
Are You Doing the Right Things for Your Business?
How to Hire a Virtual Assistant (Legally)
*Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links and I would love if you decided to use them. Affiliate links + referrals programs help educators like me to fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.
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