Who needs this?

Anyone running a business (or getting ready to run a business) – from e-commerce to retail and everything in between. As a business owner/freelancer/blogger/kick-asser you’re opening yourself up to a world full of liability (literally)–most of which you might not even be aware of. SBB will give you the exact tools, templates and language you need to get on the right side of the law, and even help you get your accounting and taxes in order, too (because we know you’ve been procrastinating). Plus, things like client agreements and contractor agreements never go out of style. (And, in fact, will save your ass.)

Does this apply to my state?

You bet your bum it does. Most laws in the US are quite similar from state to state, and are often based on model statutes that are adopted by almost every state. (Thank goodness, or things would get pretty complex!) We are very specific in Small Business Bodyguard about which statutes apply to which states, so in the event that there’s something state specific we’re discussing, we’ll let you know about it. We do discuss state specific laws from California to Connecticut that affect online business–and you should know about them. We even have cheat sheets related to business formation and employment law that lists the rules for all 50 states and our directory of modern lawyers at the end include lawyers from practically every state. Swanky, eh? Regardless of your state, Small Business Bodyguard will position you to succeed.

Does this apply to any of us here in Canada, the UK, Australia–or somewhere else?

We created this guide to help you determine exactly what steps you should be taking to protect yourself and your business no matter where you’re located. That said, much of business law originally derived from English common law and was spread to the U.S., Canada, India, Australia, Nigeria and various other countries that were once colonized by England. So, though the law evolves, there are still significant similarities in the business law of common law countries. That said, we don’t make any guarantees about the applicability of this resource to countries outside the U.S. but we have many customers from various countries like Canada and Australia, who have told us how helpful this resource was for them. Here’s one example:

“I’m actually based in the UK where, although a lot of the statute and case references don’t directly apply, the legal principles are very similar … So I’m really grateful for this guide for pinpointing what I need to do. I felt quite naked until I read SBB.” – Catherine Haymes

Additionally, if you’re doing business with people in the U.S., or want your intellectual property (like your blog or website name) protected in the U.S., then SBB is certainly applicable to you. If you’re selling to U.S. audiences, you’re required to comply with certain laws, like having a privacy policy included on your site–and SBB will help you with that. SBB also covers certain international laws, particularly as it pertains to conducting business over the internet.

How much does it cost?

You can own the entire resource including all of the downloadable contracts, agreements and documents for one payment of $1,095. (Resource valued at over $10,000 if you were to have a lawyer do everything in here for you privately. Crazy, huh?)

Which contract and agreement templates come with Small Business Bodyguard?

LOTS–and by lots, we mean over $5,000 worth. (If you hired a lawyer to draft them privately, that is.)

Small Business Bodyguard will, for example, include a fully downloadable and customizable client contract, as well as a fully downloadable and customizable contractor agreement (for your assistants, VA’s, web designers, copywriters and anyone else helping you with your business or blog), privacy policy (the thing you legally *must* have on your website), terms & conditions (another essential for your site), as well as step-by-step information on things like forming your business ($1,300 to have a lawyer do IT for you), and registering your copyright (a $600 value.) This is the point where you laugh maniacally about your newfound legal power.

What is the SBB Community?

As a community member, you’ll receive even more legal support so you can save bucks and grow your business without losing sleep. You will have access to a dynamic, thriving Facebook community of fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners whom you can depend on for insight, advice, support, and virtual high-fives (for all of your winning moments). This Facebook Community is managed by our legal team and you will have the opportunity to have your legal questions answered by our attorneys whenever they come up.

What’s the format? Is this a course?

No, this is decidedly not a course. Consider this your modern-day legal reference library–we’ve got twelve different modules that you can download one at a time, or all at once, and refer to time and time again–now and forevermore. There’s also a section if you just want to download the clean, customizable versions of the contracts and agreements for you to use in your business & website…stat. Then, of course, there’s a section with audio which we’ve named Small Business Bodyguard Radio where we have a few light ‘n loose conversations about things like intellectual property and how getting your legal stuff ready can help you make more money. (True story.) They’re MP3’s, so you can download ‘em to your computer or your iPod and listen away–no law books required. Plus, there are other surprises in the SBB Membership Site to make it easy for you to get what you need, when you need it, to keep your ass fully covered.

Will I get access to everything at once?

You bet – she’s all yours. Now and forever. Just log in to the membership site to access any and all parts of SBB whenever you want. It’s practically magic.

What happens once I purchase?

You’ll be taken to our very special, behind-the-scenes website, where you’ll be able to download everything at once, or just one section at a time. Maybe you just want to download the editable contracts, stat because you needed those yesterday, and you want to dig into the rest later. No problem: there’s a section for that. Maybe you wanted to just download the audios and work your way into it while jogging in a park somewhere. No problem: there’s a section for that. Or maybe you just wanted to learn about protecting your intellectual property, and you’ll worry about the rest later–no problem, there’s a section for that, and you can hop to it directly. We’ve got your back, and we want this to be as user-friendly (and easy) as possible.

Reading about law & taxes & accounting makes me want to vomit.

This is not your average legal resource. In fact, one of the neatest features of Small Business Bodyguard is that it’s specifically created to be user-friendly, readable, and even enjoyable; designed for the average business owner who doesn’t want a law degree–but just needs to know the facts so they can get their legal needs in order (without going to Google and getting one million varying—and inaccurate—responses). This was developed by a lawyer, peer-reviewed by more lawyers, and then edited by you guessed it, lawyers, plus one sweet-ass copywriter to make things FUN, readable and something you’ll refer to time and time again for years to come (and quite possibly even laugh out loud while reading).

Will I still need a lawyer–or will this cover all of my needs?

This is everything you need to give yourself a strong foundation, and get the majority of your legal affairs in order. (Read: You won’t get sued, you’ll get your accounting in order, you’ll learn how to pay less taxes, the FBI won’t come banging down your door, and your clients will pay you on time because…CONTRACTS.) However, there are a few places we recommend hiring a lawyer to review your work: If you’re forming a company with multiple owners, for example.

If you’re not sure about your specific situation, send us an email over to help@smallbusinessbodyguard.com. We’ll be happy to help you make the right call!

I’m BUSY. I barely have time to read the newspaper, let alone something like this.

Let’s make the time. Really. You can’t mess around with this stuff. Being legal while doing business isn’t optional, it’s mandatory. And this must be a priority–because lawsuits will take up a lot more of your time, later on. So will the night you spend crying into your soup when you get your $20,000 tax bill because you didn’t have things in order. That said, there is no time limit on this – you can download it now, and reference it whenever you need to. That simple. We made this to protect the people of our community and we’ve all got to make the time.

I’m still a small fry (great phrase) and probably don’t need this yet…right?

I know. You’ve just gotten started and you feel like no one’s even noticing you so you probably don’t need all of these contracts and terms & conditions and copyrights and trademarks…right?

In fact, you do.

Those just getting started have the most to lose. If something happens and you have to give up half of your earnings, it’ll hit you a lot harder than someone making 6 figures+. Let’s get you some protection, so you can stop playing amateur and go PRO. As we say: plan for the business you want to have, not the one you have.