The Importance of Business Legals with Tracey Mylecharane

Interview with Aesthete Studio

I recently enlisted the help of Tracey to update and create all the necessary legal documents for my business.

I knew the importance of having up to date and correct legal documents but it wasn’t a priority as I had legal documents that were created when I first started my business. With the first anniversary of my rebrand quickly approaching, I knew it was time to get serious about putting correct agreements in place for myself and my clients.

This is where Tracey came in! I contacted her and within a few weeks, I was armed with everything I could possibly need for the next few years of business! I now have someone to call on for help and advice, to recommend to my clients and the best part, I can feel proud and confident about the legal side of my business if anything where to ever arise. I do have to say, I’ve been extremely lucky as nothing has happened yet but as my business grows and expands, I want to have processes in place because as Tracey says, ‘prevention is better than cure’!

During the process, I asked Tracey if I could interview her and share the importance of having up to date and legally binding business documents. She gladly said yes and now it’s time to share our Q&A!

Have a read below and get in touch with Tracey if you want peace of mind in your business!

Who are you?

I am a business owner and lawyer. I ‘bucked the trend’ of the traditional law firm just over 1 year ago and set up my law practice which is all about flexibility, doing things differently, and seeking out ‘balance’ in life.

What do you do?

All things business law, and when it goes wrong, I dive in and deal with disputes and litigation. I am a strong believer that in business, Prevention is better than Cure. There is no reason why anyone should end up in court or in a drawn out and expensive dispute – this is a waste of time, money and energy.

What are business legals?
They are the cornerstone of any business. They are a suite of legal documents that govern how a business interacts and serves its clients – setting out what a business does, what it a client can expect from the business, and what a business expects from its clients (particularly in relation to goods and services, and payment!).

The most common business legals are Business Terms & Conditions (or a Service Agreement or Terms of Trade); Website Terms & Conditions (most businesses these days have a website); and a Privacy Policy.

Who needs them?
Every business needs a suite of business legals. Whether the business is service or products based, new or established, good legals are vital.

There are 3 key reasons behind why every business needs a suite of legals:

To govern the relationship between the business and the client/customer/consumer.
To ensure the business is legally compliant (most commonly ensuring compliance with the Australian Consumer Law).
To demonstrate professionalism to clients/customers/consumers.

Can businesses create their own?

No, not if the business wanted to achieve the 3 primary objectives I have set out above.

We don’t know what we don’t know, and that’s ok. That’s why we surround ourselves with experts, and people who know what they are doing.

No self-respecting business owner should try to cobble together business legals, unless they are a lawyer who specialises in business law. Templates are also something that I generally don’t support. Your business legals needed to be tailored to your business and cover exactly what you do and how you do it. This is not the time to take a cookie-cutter approach.

What’s the process for getting your business legals prepared?

I have a 4 step process that I work through when tailoring business legals for a client:

We talk. I need to understand your business – what you do, what you don’t do, how you do what you do and why.
I draft your set of legals. I then email these to you with comments and questions.
We talk again. We go through the draft, you answer my questions and I answer all of yours. I then explain to you how to use your documents and what they do.
I finalise your set of legals and provide you with a beautiful set of amazing legals, ready to use straight away!

What should businesses/individuals expect to pay to create or update their documents?

Business Terms & Conditions (or a Service Agreement/Terms of Trade) generally start at around $2,450 + GST. To have a suite of legals prepared: Business Terms & Conditions (or a Service Agreement or Terms of Trade); Website Terms & Conditions; and a Privacy Policy – many lawyers (including me!) will be able to prepare these at the same time which will reduce the cost of having them done separately – meaning you are likely to be able to have a 3 prepared at a reduced rate.

Why should you get stuck in to getting your business legals done right now?

Your business legals should be sophisticated - they are an extension of your business and they should be tailored to suit exactly what you do. They can be prepared in ‘your voice’, and demonstrate confidence that you can do what you say you can do, that you will do it, and that you will be paid well for doing it – and who wouldn’t want this reflected in their documents?!

If you get your legals done properly, they will:

Set crystal clear expectations for your clients, so they know what to expect from you, and what you expect of them.
Prioritise value and getting paid (a big one!).
Create long-term positive relationships with your clients.
Reflect the highest level of professionalism for your business.
Avoid unnecessary, time consuming, expensive – and often soul destroying – disputes and legal proceedings.

To wrap up

I have had so many clients tell me that they felt the process of getting their legals prepared properly is something they had been putting off for far too long. The process was daunting and to some extent, overwhelming. But once they worked with me to get things going, the relief they felt, and ‘weight off their shoulders’ felt so good they wished they had have done it sooner!

The key takeaway: Business legals are the key foundations to any business. The risk of not having proper legals is considerable, and business owners who don’t have tailored legals in place need to prioritise getting these sorted now, before they need to rely on them and they don’t have the protection they need.

Originally published on Aesthete Studio.

If you found this article helpful, you might like to read more in our resource Building Your Small Business | The Beginners Handbook.