As the founder of Coaches & Company, I’ve seen firsthand how easily new coaches can overlook one of the most critical parts of their business: legal protection. You’re focused on refining your offer, growing on social media, and landing those first few clients — but without the right legal safeguards, you’re leaving your business and income wide open to risk.
In this episode, I sat down with Olivia Chapman of Inner Glow Circle to break down exactly what every coach needs in their contract. We covered:
→ The biggest legal mistake new coaches make
→ The must-have terms for every coaching contract
→ How to set up your coaching business the right way
→ What to do when legal issues arise with clients
From clear payment policies to strong boundaries, we dive into the legal essentials that will keep your business secure.
Pro tip: Don’t wait until you’re dealing with a refund dispute or a ghosting client — get your legal foundation in place now!
→ Listen to the full episode here.
→ Apple podcast conversation here.
Transcript:
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Be really clear about what it is exactly that they receive, and then be clear around limitations on communications. I always say that boundaries is my favorite B word. You, one, want to make sure you’re getting paid sooner rather than later, and two, don’t want to be having to spend money on lawyers and having a whole drawn out legal fight with a client.
Don’t hide stuff in the fine print. If there’s a policy you want somebody to know, Expect and abide by put it in bold.
Olivia Chapman: Yasmine, welcome to the show. Thank you for being here.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Thanks for having me, Liv.
Olivia Chapman: You are what every new coach and maybe current coach needs right now. I have to tell you, we get so many questions about legalities when it start.
When it comes to starting and running a coaching business and. I can’t give them advice. So I’m so glad you’re here to answer some of our questions and also tell us the most important thing, which I think is really what needs to go in a strong life coaching or coaching business contract.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I love that you say that because that is what I’ve been telling people for years that work with other professionals when it comes to being asked and even life coaches. Sometimes might find themselves facing situations where their clients are seeking legal information or legal advice, you know, and so I love that your, you know, instinct is, okay, I can’t give you that legal advice. Let me help. You find someone who, you know, is qualified, is licensed and can actually provide that support. So I’m very happy to be here and I’m happy to, to talk about protecting ourselves legally, having a business, a coaching business, um, where you work with clients and. Can reduce the likelihood of liability on your end and also do right by your client in protecting them from suffering any sort of harm or, you know, there are a couple of other things that will, I’m sure we’ll get into as far as steps that you can take as a life coach and as coaching professional to just reduce the overall risk in your business.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. You know, what’s interesting is we get a lot of people going through coaching or interested in coaching that just kind of want to, they’re like, I just want to dabble in it. Like I want to test it out a little bit and often do so without any type of contract. And I would personally say that’s probably the number one legal mistake a new coach can make, but I would love to hear from you. What do you think is the biggest mistakes that you see? I mean, you run a company called coaches and company, so I know you, you see a lot, but what is one big of the biggest mistakes?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, I would say you nailed it in terms of one of the biggest mistakes is going into a coaching relationship and working with a client and engaging in what is essentially a business transaction at the end of the day without having the terms of that transaction in writing. So if you are offering somebody coaching services, whether they are an individual or maybe they are a company having the terms of what services you’re agreeing to provide to them and what they are agreeing to pay you in exchange or provide you in exchange for those services.
And then different policies that relate to the coaching relationship, as well as, you know, disclaimers being clear around what the limitation around your coaching is because you’re working with people as a coach, right? And people are very complex. We are beautiful creatures, but we are very, very complex.
And we have a whole, you know, spiritual side to us, mental side to us, physical side to us. And all of those are parts of our lives. And when you are supporting people in their life as a life coach, It you’re going to inevitably come across issues related to their health, whether it’s their mental health or their physical health.
And it’s important for you to be clear with them and for them to be clear as to what the limitations are around your services and, um, not to, you know, rely on, for example, legal advice or financial advice or medical advice, and that this is not a replacement for mental health therapy or, you know, uh, the support of a, uh, a medical professional, for example. So, yeah, it’s It’s not having the terms of all of that in writing and being really clear as to what the scope of the services are and what the scope of your liability is and what exactly you are agreeing to provide them. So general quote life coaching services versus, you know, how many specific sessions over a course of how long is the contract, et cetera, you’re in a much better position. You know, as a business and, and individually as somebody who’s involved in the day to day of working with your clients, you’re in a much better position when everything is specific and in writing and everybody can, you know, reference it as needed.
Olivia Chapman: I have told some of our students this before, and hopefully it’s not in bad form, but I’ve often said, You wanna keep the contract really, really tight. And they’re like, but what if, but what if? And I’m like, I keep my contracts super tight. Now. I’ve had the same one-on-one coaching contract for about 10 years now. So maybe I ought to have you give a new…
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: it might be time for an upgrade.
Olivia Chapman: It might be time for an upgrade. But one of the things I have is a very strict cancellation policy or late policy or no show. Now I’m a human and we work with a lot of women and a lot of moms. So I also have a heart. So if someone cancels, you know, four hours early or late because their kid is homesick, I can still offer to reschedule that, but I keep those, you know, certain terms of my contract really, really strict and clear to have me covered should it become a recurring issue. But now, is that considered me breaking my own contract by allowing that, or is that?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: That is very interesting. I love it because this is actually exactly what I recommend other people to do is give yourself the option of exercising these policies. And then you have the discretion to, you know, maybe not apply the rescheduling fee, for example, or not apply. You know, the, a policy around whether or not they’re able to reschedule at all, or whether there’s a late fee for any late payments. If they’re making regular payments to you, you get to decide and you’ll have the discretion to, you know, apply that late fee if you want to, or if you don’t. Um, but it’s not, I wouldn’t say it’s breaking your own contract.
Um, it is, you know, just exercising your own discretion as the business owner, and you gave yourself that option when you don’t have the policy in your contract at all. You are not providing yourself that option at all. You’re taking it off the table, but if it’s In the contract, you could consider that as an option to exercise, or you might decide, as you said, you know, okay, let me, um, fully recognize that who I’m working with here is a person and I know them, or maybe I don’t know them, but this isn’t something that is recurring or that I’m finding, you know, has become a problem. Instead, maybe this is the 1st type, the 1st time something like this has happened. So let me go ahead and. You know, extend them some grace, which I think is, is the right thing to do in many instances personally and professionally.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So I want to get into some of these like non negotiables, things that much must go into every coaches despite their niche. What must go into their contracts? And I know if you’re watching on YouTube, check the, uh, notes below. We are going to give you some freebies from Yasmine. And then if you’re on one of the podcasting, just find the show notes. We have linked everything there so you can follow along with this and she has a beautiful legal launch, legally launched checklist. Right?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan:Yeah.
Olivia Chapman: For new coaches. Okay. So you can follow along there, but just tell us, what are the must haves for a coaching contract?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, I would say, so the list I’ll share, you know, I’ll, I’ll name a few things to make sure you have in your contract, but of course it’s not, you know, an exhaustive list or anything. Um, but for sure you want to be, like I said, you want specific about what the scope of the services are. So what are you actually providing coaching services for eight weeks? Okay. So does that mean they meet with you? They have access to you and can get on your calendar once a week, twice a week, anytime throughout the week. Some people offer, I wonder, I’d be curious. Oh my gosh. There are so many things I want to talk to you about actually because I feel like we…
Olivia Chapman: Might need a part two.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, we might need a part two, but you know, there are different types of services that you can provide and that I see being provided within coaching, whether it is a live in person or virtual session where you’re meeting with the client in real time. And then there are some asynchronous options through, for example, software like Voxer. Have you seen that?
Olivia Chapman: Yeah.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah. And so, and you know, Voxer is not the only, it’s a, if you aren’t familiar, if you listen to this and you’re not familiar, it’s a walkie talkie type app where you can send voice notes back and forth. Um, a lot of people love it. Yeah. And so. It could be through that or something like slack or some other type of messaging tool, but being really clear as to what are the limitations around your communication as it relates to that scope of services. So if they get access to, you know, if it is an asynchronous tool like this, or maybe it is weekly sessions or bi weekly or whatever the package looks like, be really clear about what is exactly that they receive and then be clear around limitations on communications.
I always say that. Boundaries is my favorite B word. Like you have to have those boundaries in place with your client. It supports everybody.
Olivia Chapman: Yes. Just in our community, very recently, a couple of days ago, someone was asking about a client who just texts them all the time. And I said, in my contract, I have, Uh, a clause around texting saying like texting will be, you know, replied to a reasonable amount between Monday and Thursday, 9AM and four, like it’s very, very specific. Now I can always respond outside of those hours if I want to, but I don’t guarantee any of that. And my coaching for sure.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yes. Oh my gosh. And guarantees are, I think, such an important and overlooked part of the relationship, whether it comes to the results that they can receive or the, the service and access that they can receive as somebody who’s working with you. And so you give yourself again, the discretion to decide, okay, like. I’m only legally bound under this contract to where they can expect to hear from me within these hours, or you can say like, you know, within 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, whatever makes sense in the context. Everybody, there’s no one right answer here.
Um, or, you know, maybe it is the week of, of receiving the communication. But being really clear so that you could decide, okay, I do want to reply. You know, I find myself with sometimes Saturday morning and I didn’t get to respond to my clients who, you know, sent messages yesterday afternoon, let me reply. And that may or may not be, and I think some people might say, okay, maybe that’s not the best practice, but they’re not expecting you to answer on a Saturday. And they’re not thinking that you are in breach of the contract because you haven’t replied to their messages from. For example, Thursday or Friday. So just as an example.
Olivia Chapman: What I don’t give legal advice, I promise, but I have told some of our students before that they need to, instead of dabbling or not having a contract or having a really loose contract, you want to set your business up like you already have a full coaching practice. 12 clients that you want, which is typically like someone’s, you know, goal within the first year of their business, you need to, create your contracts, your schedule and your boundaries around that because if you do, and I learned this from experience, have a client who really needs a lot of extra, you don’t ever set boundaries with them. They’re texting you, calling you all times outside of your contract. That’s going to honestly drain your energy so fast. And I’ve been through that before.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Oh my gosh. You’re going to wish that you weren’t working with that client anymore. And that’s the worst case scenario when you’re working with a client.
Olivia Chapman: Right. I also feel like when you set those boundaries straight away, it develops a much more professional relationship straight away, which I do believe. In coaching is the most powerful container, if you will, to actually get results. And like we, I think, you know, this, we align ourselves very closely to the international coach federation or ICF and all of our programs are accredited by them. And we also. encourage our students to put the ICF code of ethics into their contracts as a one page saying, sign that you’ve read this. And that really outlined the part you were talking about, about what coaching is and what coaching isn’t. Like, I cannot talk to you about, you know, your diagnoses or whatever, and under the mental health umbrella, but here’s what we can talk about in coaching.And I think that kind of information can be really helpful in that scope of services. Section, if you will.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I really love that. I hadn’t considered the ICF code of ethics being included in the contract, but I’m going to take a closer look at them and see, um, yeah, how we could work that in because I really like that. I think that, you know, you also said something, um, totally spot on around, you know, Whenever you start the relationship from a professional place, and you present the contract, and it lays out these policies, um, for the client to really understand what they can expect. I found in working with my clients and different customers within my company is that their clients feel more confident…
Olivia Chapmah: Yes.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: When they see almost a roadmap laid out that clearly specifies what the limitations of their, the relationship is and what services they can expect and the level of service and the policies that they should bear in mind as they navigate the relationship during the term of the contract, as opposed to not having that in writing the contract is sort of your work together is open ended. It doesn’t really have any parameters. You don’t really know when it’s going to end. It’s not totally clear to what extent they have access to you and the services you provide. It’s just a messy situation you don’t want to be involved in when it’s not in writing. So yeah, I think that having the relationship in writing is definitely the way to go.It’s in everybody’s best interest.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah, I agree. And I’m just like inner laughing right now because I’m like, gosh, this should apply really well to like any relationship. , like, can you sign this that you’re not gonna blow up my phone? No, I’m just kidding. , should I this on my dating profile? Like I have a con terms of engagement literally, but Okay. So have to have,…
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Do not proceed unless you agree with these terms.
Olivia Chapman: Exactly. I guess we would call it like a prenup in some situations. Okay. So we need to have a scope of services. What else?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: So we mentioned the communications policy, um, and being really clear as to when they can expect to hear from you through what channels. So are you accessible via text? Is it via email? Is it through a specific software like slack or voxer? Be really clear about that. And then you, of course, want to address. What it is that they are going to be paying you. What is the compensation? What is actually being exchanged? So we are, you are providing the service in exchange for, of course, payment.
Um, and so there are different policies around payment that you want to outline specifically how much is the total package. Is there a payment plan that’s being offered or are they paying it on a monthly basis throughout the term of the contract? If the contract is longer than a month long, be really clear as to what that schedule looks like. What constitutes a late payment? When is payment due? If it is over an extended period of time. Um, I am not a big fan of really drawn out payment plans just because I have seen, you know, with clients that the longer the payment plan, the higher the likelihood that it can, you know, result in a default where they’re not paying, you know, I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of that.
Olivia Chapman: I’ve seen my fair share and you know, my sales team, our training director, they’re always like, Olivia, stop approving. I am the softest. I shouldn’t be saying that. I’m the softest. I agree. I mean, they tend to default the longer the plan and you know, we are a big stand for accessibility as much as possible. So we do love a good payment plan. I, I will say it has been revised over the years though, adding in a more, um, I don’t want to say strict, but like more clear, um, communication around late payments and more clear around late payment fees, which we never used to have before, but unfortunately we have had to implement now.
And, you know, I mean, I guess it’s par for the course, but I would say that that’s definitely something you would probably consider if you are extending a payment plan, especially if the payment plan extends beyond the service.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Oh, absolutely. You never want the payment plan to extend beyond the service. Ideally. Um, I would say, I know, I know it’s, it’s hard. And I hear you like, I love a good payment plan too. I love offering a payment plan. Um, and I think that it goes so far in terms of accessibility. It really makes services more accessible to more people. Um, however, I, my rule of thumb is less than three months.
Like it should be three payments. I don’t think it should go beyond three payments. I think that’s, you know, personally, that’s a best practice I would recommend. But, you know, I know that every circumstance, every service, every business, every industry, every type of client is different. So there’s really no, you know, hard line rule of thumb, but I would say three payments is a lower likelihood of you having to, you know, um, it’s not a fun situation either having to chase a payment or, you know.
Olivia Chapman: That’s not, yeah, we’re not collections agencies were coaches. So I think that’s, again, it’s one of those things I feel like is up to discretion to a degree because it also goes into the conversation around equity. So if I’m to say like, Oh, but I feel bad for this person, so I’m going to just let them do whatever for a few months. And then I hold the other person to the contract. So that’s something we’ve really, and I’m telling you, they have had to dial me in because I’m a sap. Don’t email me about your payment cause I’m probably going to say, it’s okay. I can’t even touch the billing email anymore, but like, we have to, from an equitable standpoint, hold everyone to the same terms in a company like ours where, you know, we can’t just let one person get away with a late payment and not the other.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: For sure. Yeah, I agree. Um, And, you know, I think that there’s something to be said about, uh, communicating that to your clients upfront and letting them know. I think, you know, I hear you on being a SAP when it comes to it. I also like, I don’t know, maybe we shouldn’t, I, I feel like I, I’ve said this actually publicly before, that I will give a refund. Like, honestly, and my line of work is in digital products. So it’s different than services. So I think it’s a very different situation in services. It’s not, you know, there is expense in delivering significant expense in delivering service, right? So it’s a different situation. Um, but I am also like, if there’s a late payment situation, um, I want to be flexible. I want to extend grace, but we’re also, you said, we’re not collections agencies, we’re coaches, but also we’re not banks, we’re coaches. And whenever you extend your extent, you’re essentially extending credit to the client that I think is a good option to provide, and it can work from, you know, a financial standpoint, from an accessibility standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, like there are many potential benefits to offering that.
But, you want to communicate to your client up front and be really explicit around the commitment that you are asking them to make. And there are other options to consider too, which might be a little off track, but it’s definitely related to this. I’m curious if y’all provide this, if IGC provides this to any of their students and clients, um, but third party financing.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So we do.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Okay, nice. Yeah. So we offer that too. And so from a business standpoint, and if you’re listening to this and you provide any coaching services, you are also a business, you have a business. And so these are options available to you where you can sign up for companies. Like, uh, we use a company called sezzle but the other companies are klarna, afterpay and these are companies that you can provide that as an option to your clients to, um, essentially take out a line of credit from them or a loan from them and you receive payment and the agreement for payment is between the client and the financing company. You just want to be, um, really transparent with the client around what it is that they’re agreeing to and also, that the company you work with really well, because some of these companies can also be predatory where they have like outrageous interest rates after a first initial period of time, but their responsibility as a company is to communicate that to your clients. So,
Olivia Chapman: Yeah.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Just be up front and communicate all of these things, put them in writing, if that is the case.
Olivia Chapman: Exactly. I think that’s such a good point. Like, even with our coach training agreements, which we now have individual agreements sent to every single student who enrolls, it does have different sections based on how they made their payment and the, you know, rules or stipulations or what they agreed to, um, as well, like based on outside financing or Klarna, which we use, or an in house payment plan and so forth, so I think everything you’re saying is like just what I wish someone had told me when I started is be way more specific than you thought you needed to be.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: 100%. So we talked about payment specifying, you know, payment schedule, um, a late payment policy. When is a payment considered late? And what happens if it’s considered late? Um, And then, uh, I would say you also want to make sure that you are including the necessary disclaimers around what are the limitations around your coaching services? Are you providing mental health services? Are you providing? You know, dietitian or nutrition related services. Are you providing legal or financial services, especially if some at many, I would say many coaches have some sort of other license. Maybe they are a licensed, um, you know, therapist or a dietitian or financial planner or whatever that might look like for you. Uh, make sure that you’re really clear around, okay, is Is that world of yours also going to be provided to the client in the form of services, or is this exclusively coaching services?
So that can help shield you from liability too. Um, and yeah, that’s one of the things that I think can. Easily be overlooked when you don’t have something in writing.
Olivia Chapman: Agree. Agree. And the other thing I wanted to ask you about is confidentiality. Like, that’s something, again, this is kind of an ICF thing too, that they require coaches to have in their contracts around confidentiality. And I’m, I’m asking you some questions, which are also based on some FAQs we’ve gotten from our students on this topic. And one of the things, and I just want to get your take on this, especially in coaching is like coaching is not therapy. Even if you’re a therapist, you can provide coaching without going into the therapy world, which I believe is how you have to do it anyway.
Um, But one of the things that comes up is, um, around like a situation where perhaps the client is in distress or you can’t get ahold of them for a while, or you fear that they may be in putting themselves in danger or someone else. and situations when you would break the confidentiality. So, you know what I’m talking about?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah. Is that you’re saying the ICF has?
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So the ICF requires confidentiality, but then you can put in there like an emergency contact or, you know, a manager, if that’s the case, like if it’s internal coaching or something of that nature, but what is your stand on a confidentiality agreement? And you know, invoking the ability to contact an emergency contact, because the reality is in coaching, like you are dealing with people’s lives and sometimes they’re not always going as you hope they would.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, that’s an interesting point you bring up. So I would say that from a legal standpoint, you can really include any terms in your contract that you wish that are suitable for the nature of the coaching as it relates to, um, exceptions to confidentiality. So all of our contracts, for example, with under the coaches and company brand, all of our contract templates include a confidentiality clause that states that anything that is discussed within the scope of the relationship and within the term of this contract, um, will not be shared publicly and will be maintained as far as confidentiality goes. You could include in your contract an exception around if there is, you know, if I’m not able to get in contact with you, I can contact, you know, this emergency contact or if I, for some reason, believe that. You know, you could be at risk of harming yourself— I suppose you could include something like that. I don’t know that somebody would sign that I’m in practice. I don’t know how that would work. Um, but from a, uh, from a legal standpoint, if you believe that this individual were harming themselves, I don’t know that you have a legal obligation to do that to report it. Excuse me. I don’t know that you do.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah, I don’t know that you do either unless you are already a mandated reporter, I believe from another profession that you’re in, which of course we have a lot of crossover with. There’s a lot of therapists. There’s a lot of social workers. There’s a lot of nurses that come through coach training. And I would, I don’t want to say it’s one of those gray areas, but those are definitely questions that we’ve got in terms of. You know, what is our legal obligation to something like this? And I think the best workaround in partnership with a conversation with the ICF that we’ve had is requesting that someone give us an emergency contact. And actually we’ve had no one not add one since we’ve implemented that.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Nice. So, okay. Great.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So,
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Okay. That’s wonderful.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So far, so good.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: That’s good to hear.
Olivia Chapman: Okay. So you covered a lot. So we need the payment terms. We need the scope of services. We need any liability disclaimers, confidentiality. Am I missing anything?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: We talked about communication policy.
Olivia Chapman: Communication. Yes.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah. I would say also, um, something to make sure you include in your contract that a lot of people leave out is a jurisdiction. So what law applies to the contract? Who, what jurisdictions laws are we going to apply this under if there is a dispute? Yeah. So I remember years ago I had a client that I worked with in my law practice and we were going over their contract. It was actually a coaching contract that she was using with coaching clients and I remember I got to the, I was reviewing the contract as a part of our consultation and I got to the end and I had known her for a little while. So I was surprised when I saw that she had Singapore listed as her jurisdiction in the contract. And, she was surprised, too, because she hadn’t realized that until I pointed it out, so she had just used a contract off the Internet. She just found it online.
Olivia Chapman: Ohhhhhhhhh. Ohh nooo.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. And so what happens in that instance is that you’re essentially agreeing the jurisdiction that is listed the laws of that place are going to apply and that is where you would have to travel to resolve any legal dispute in relationship to this contract.
Olivia Chapman: Wow
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: And so, yes, it’s quite interesting. Yeah. So what you want to do as the coaching professional is state in your contract, what jurisdiction that you wish to have a client for most people that’s going to be where they operate their business, where they live, and I look at it as something of a home court advantage, right? You it’s here where you are, you’re likely working with clients that don’t live in your city, or maybe not even in your state. They might be across the country or around the world. And so having your local jurisdiction means that if anybody were to try to pursue legal action against you, they would have to pursue that in your jurisdiction where you live and hire an attorney that’s in your jurisdiction to pursue that legal action, which can sometimes act as something of a deterrent, which, you know, that’s.
It’s something that you want to do to reduce that risk and likelihood of somebody pursuing legal action against you.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. So good. I never have heard of that. I’m like, need to go back and look at my contracts. I’m sure that’s in there. I think, um, we did have ours created by lawyers almost a decade ago, but nevertheless, so they should be there. But, um, that’s super helpful. And if you’re watching this, please leave a comment and let us know that that was so helpful because we’re probably all going to look back and be like, Oh my God, I copied this off the internet and I need to go to a random country. So, so good. So what? Like I mentioned to go to the link below or in the show notes and get the legally launch checklist from Yasmine so you can look over your stuff. I know she hasn’t a lot of more resources to which we’re going to link below if you need someone to look at your contract. But before we wrap up, I have a question from, uh, an FAQ from our students.
What do you do if the contract gets broken? Like how can you actually enforce it? So say a client doesn’t pay or they want a refund outside of the policy or they just kind of ghost on the whole thing. What is the best legal way to handle that?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: So if you find yourself in a situation where a client is in breach of the contract, Your number one objective should be to resolve it as soon as possible through communication. That is the least expensive route. It’s the least expensive in terms of money and time. So it’s not going you don’t want for this to become a big problem where you are dealing with this six months from now, right? That’s. In my opinion, one of the worst case scenarios for sure.
Olivia Chapman: Right. So don’t just let it go. Don’t like be weird and ignore the conversation is what you’re saying. Like
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: That, that’s one part of it.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: That’s one part of it.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: And also
Olivia Chapman: I am also afraid to like enforce the contract and no offense, I’m a woman, but sometimes it’s us who are a little bit worse with that, where we’re like afraid we’re going to upset someone or we’re being too annoying or whatever the case may be and then it’s like 30, 60 days have passed and you’re out all this money or time or energy.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah. Yeah. So I would agree with that for sure. Don’t ignore it and just avoid the hard conversation. Got to have the hard conversation sometimes. And the good thing is sometimes it can be via email in these instances. So you don’t necessarily have to get on a call with them or meet them face to face to have this conversation. You can communicate with them via email. Um, but I would also say, you know, 1 option to avoid is ignoring it and letting it drag out, but also running to, you know, the courthouse to file a lawsuit is also not the best option available or the first option that you should, you know, consider hiring a lawyer and then have them send demands and file a lawsuit. Like that’s also not in your best interest always. Right? So
Olivia Chapman: Right.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Your number one objective should be how can I from a professional place approach this situation and communicate clearly with them and cite the contract as needed? What were the terms that we agreed to? And You know, essentially try to compel and negotiate your way to a resolution because you find yourself facing a problem. You’re in disagreement. Somebody’s in breach. Yeah, you could hire a lawyer and have them just take care of it. And some businesses choose to go that path and it’s not right or wrong, right? It just depends on the circumstances of your situation. But if you’re somebody who works with, you know, uh, you know, a roster of five to ten clients on any, at any given point, um, you one, want to make sure you’re getting paid sooner rather than later and two, don’t want to be having to spend money on lawyers and having, you know, a whole drawn out legal fight with a client that’s very draining from money, time, and energy.
Olivia Chapman: God, I don’t like the anxiety thinking about having to pay.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I know. It’s, yeah, like I said, I think that might be a worst case scenario. And you’re not getting paid. So that’s a problem, too.
Olivia Chapman: Right. And especially if you’ve already done some of the services. Or,
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah. Exactly.
Olivia Chapman: You know, I know when we sign up clients, we give them a lot of resources. But you know what? I do believe having a really strong contract that is signed from the first session really does prevent a lot of this like, you know, bad behavior, if you will, like the stronger our contracts and agreements have gotten over the years, the less problems we have had.
So last question before we go.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I want to say one more thing on that.
Olivia Chapman: Yes, yes.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Don’t hide stuff in the fine print. If there’s a policy you want somebody to know and respect and abide by, put it in bold. Don’t, don’t hide it in the fine print. Oh my God. I’m with you. We’re on the same page.
Olivia Chapman: Why would you not? Like, you know,
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yeah, exactly.
Olivia Chapman: Like we pull out the main terms of our terms and conditions and email them now to students so that they have not all the fine print legal jargon, but like, Student payment policy, attendance policy, you know, like just the key points. And again, that’s something we’ve had to improve over the years.
But the last question I have for you before we go, there’s probably people listening to this who are feeling screwed right now. They’re like, Oh my God, I don’t have any of this. What are a couple things that they can do today slash this week that get them in a better place legally?
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Don’t sign another client without sitting down and taking a look at your contract. If you had a lawyer create that contract, that’s great. Make sure the policies are all applicable. Make sure it is in alignment with how it is that you want to. Have your relationship set up with clients. It is a contract that you sort of like, I like to say, like you duct tape it together and it’s like giving Frankenstein, you know, yes,
Olivia Chapman: Copy paste.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: It’s not. Yeah a little copy paste.
Olivia Chapman: May just ask Chat GPT and maybe it needs a little bit. You know, that’s my new business partner, but nevertheless,..
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I think of it as like my intern that’s read the whole internet.
Olivia Chapman: Yes. Yeah.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: But I still need to check everything they do and, and right. So, and you know, I love that you brought that up too because that is what, I mean, that is a very current thing that we have a very powerful tool available to us through chat GPT or other AI tools. And yes, we can use them to draft contract clauses. But should we? That’s the real question. And if you do, if you have one of those contracts that are, you know, you’ve pieced it together with different clauses, maybe over the years, you’ve found, you know, clauses in different coaches you’ve worked with or that you found on Google or in a Facebook group or whatever. Take that to a lawyer that specializes in working with coaches and service based professionals and ask them to review as someone in your jurisdiction, or you can have a, uh, an industry specific contract template that is designed for coaching services.
Olivia Chapman: And that’s what you have.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: I find that. And that’s what we have.
Olivia Chapman; Yeah. I was like, can’t we just come to you? Okay.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Yes. Because what you find is it’s hard to find a lawyer that understands the nature of coaching and working with clients and selling services online and being able to actually create a contract that supports the nature of this relationship. Like I’ve had clients and friends who have worked with lawyers in their jurisdictions. And of course, we have just in the US alone. We have 50 jurisdictions. And so, you know, it’s it’s a little hard to find a qualified lawyer that is licensed and that has experience and understanding of the nature of coaching relationships. Um, and so our contract templates are designed for coaching relationships, selling one to one coaching group coaching.
If you have an online course or some sort of digital product, or if you host online workshops or in person workshops, there are a lot of difference. As you and I both know a lot of different ways that coaches can work with their clients and can deliver value to people that they can help. Um, so yeah, we’ve got all the terms and conditions and contracts available for people to be able to instantly download and customize in minutes and their lawyer created and approved. Um, and I didn’t mean to like end this with a plug on my product, but I’m very proud.
Olivia Chapman: I did. Don’t come to me and ask, go to Yasmine. There’s links everywhere. There’s free stuff so you can check her out. Her Instagram is on there, coaches and company, go to all of it. I think you’re the perfect person who is legal, ethical, and obviously really wonderful to talk to.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Thank you.
Olivia Chapman: So this has been super helpful. And now we have something to refer our students to, so I’m especially grateful for that.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: It’s my pleasure.
Olivia Chapman: Yeah. And you, so like I said, if you were listening to this and you don’t have this in place, like don’t panic, just go start with Yasmine’s free tools. And then she also has things that you can purchase, um, or get your contract reviewed. Even if you’ve been using this, speaking to me, even if you’ve been using the same contract for 10 years, I learned something new today and I’m going to go look at our contracts for that too. So, with that being said, I’m glad you plugged yourself. You saved me a little bit, but thank you for being here.
Yasmine Salem Hamdan: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Olivia Chapman: Of course. We’ll talk to you soon.
