Goal Diggers, this episode has the potential to completely change your business… Seriously. Our guest today,Christina Scalera, is the legal attorney and founder behind The Contract Shop, a contract template store for creative entrepreneurs, wedding professionals, and coaches… Christina is a creative as well and soon realized that she could blend her two interests (creativity and law) into a business that brought the benefit of her legal training to help her fellow creatives.

It became clear that my fellow creatives needed legal help– there wasn’t anything or anyone out there to help them. On the one hand, other legal sites provided contract templates that were too generic and disconnected from the pulse of the creative industry. On the other, hiring an attorney is a difficult process– you don’t know who is good and who isn’t, and even if you found the cheapest attorney out there, hiring someone to draft your business contracts is an expensive endeavor.

And today we are lucky enough to hear everything you need to know about using contracts in your business …. In this episode, Christina will flip the script on what you think you know about contracts and show you how they’re a relationship-building and money-making tool.

HOW SHE FOUND THIS NICHE:

Christina is a multi-passionate (multi-talented!) woman whose interests and hobbies span from law to yoga and from graphic design to art. Simply put, she was in a period of transition trying to find what her next step was. Eventually, her passions blended in a perfect form and The Contract Shop was born. The Contract Shop is law-made-simple made for small business owners. We mentioned that it always involves,“Finding that balance of where passion meets income”

THE FIRST LEGAL STEP:

Guess what, the first step is to start making money! Once you have been making money from a project, then do a service agreement, independent contractor services, and start creating contracts.

Christina highlighted, that “a contract can help your clients trust you and create that clean line of communication. A contract allows you to respect your clients and their purchase because it makes it really clear what you will be providing and what they can expect.” I loved how she explained that  a contract is almost a list of how the relationship will work in terms of obligations and responsibilities of each party. Think of contracts as a “conversation piece” — it allows you both to express concerns and get what you want out of your partnership!

LAW DOESNT HAVE TO BE SCARY:

It’s made out to be intimidating, scary, negative, but Christina is setting out to change that. As a provider, everything that you think is “standard” your clients don’t even know— so getting the contract is clarifying for both parties because that line of communication is so clear. It allows you to set the stage for your best work.

An example: I entered in that I want a meal at every wedding I photograph… It may seem small, but it is such a small factor that makes a big difference in my day. And I can put that in my contract! Also, let’s talk about how FREEING having a contract is because once both parties signed, there is a clear agreement that almost becomes a “checklist” of do’s and don’ts!

The scariest part about law is dipping your toes in the water, but once you get a taste of being “legally covered”, you won’t want to go back!

FREEBIE: 5 Ways To Happy Clients!

///

Find Out More About StoryWorth Here!

///

Ready to dive into The Contract Shop?! Thought So!