The Legal Checklist Every Creative Entrepreneur Needs with Taylor Tieman
Legal doesn’t have to feel scary and today’s episode proves it.
In this episode of Creative Minds Smart Money, I’m joined by attorney Taylor Tieman, founder of Legal Miga Law, for a real talk on the legal foundations every creative business owner needs. Taylor breaks down what you actually need to know about business entities, contracts, trademarks, and more minus the legalese.
Whether you’re a brand new entrepreneur or scaling fast, this episode will help you protect your business (and your peace of mind) without the overwhelm.
In this episode, we cover:
✅LLC vs. S-Corp vs. Corporation—what’s the real difference?
✅ When to form an LLC (and when it’s not worth it—yet)
✅ The top legal mistakes small business owners make
✅ Contract must-haves and what not to copy-paste
✅ How to protect your intellectual property (yes, even your logo!)
✅ When it’s okay to DIY legal—and when to hire a pro
✅ How to build legal confidence, even if the whole thing freaks you out
From paper trails to privacy policies, this is your permission slip to get legally legit without the panic. Whether you're solo or scaling, this episode will help you move smarter and feel supported.
🎧 Press play and get empowered your business is worth protecting.
Connect with Samantha:
Website: https://www.firestormfinance.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestormfinance/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@firestormfinance?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-e-8796b6176/
Newsletter: https://firestormfinance.myflodesk.com/ajmiv1kyt1
Connect with Taylor:
Website: https://www.legalmigalaw.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legalmiga/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@legalmiga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-tieman-84763325/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@legalmiga
📢 Love this episode? Share it with a friend and leave a review to help more business owners get smart about their finances.
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Transcript
samantha-eck_2_02-20-2025_120206: Welcome to the Creative Minds Smart
Speaker:Money Podcast, where we turn financial confusion into creative confidence.
Speaker:I'm Samantha Eck, bookkeeper and fractional CFO for creative entrepreneurs.
Speaker:Each week I'm sharing my financial expertise and actionable
Speaker:strategies to help you build a thriving creative business.
Speaker:Plus, you'll hear from industry experts who bring fresh perspectives on growing
Speaker:your business beyond the numbers.
Speaker:Because building a successful creative business starts with
Speaker:strong financial foundations.
Speaker:Your next chapter starts now.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: You are listening to the Creative
Speaker:Minds Smart Money Podcast and today I have special guest Taylor with me.
Speaker:Taylor is the founder of Legal MIGA Law, offering accessible legal
Speaker:support for small business owners through the legal MIGA membership
Speaker:specializing in trademark contracts, copyrights and business formation.
Speaker:She helps entrepreneurs protect their brands and content with
Speaker:strategic legal measures.
Speaker:With a background in civil litigation and consumer protection, Taylor
Speaker:is passionate about empowering bipoc and female owned businesses.
Speaker:She has founded the Legal MIGA Library, a resource hub, providing essential
Speaker:legal tools for entrepreneurs, a California Super Lawyers Rising Star and
Speaker:CLE Reisman Awards runner up Taylor's license to practice in California and
Speaker:all US district courts in the state.
Speaker:How are you today, Taylor?
Speaker:It's so good to have you here.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Thank you for having me.
Speaker:I'm a little tired.
Speaker:I have a brand new baby, well, she's not brand new, but she's, she's new.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Ah, that's totally understandable.
Speaker:But before we really dive into the nitty gritty of everything, I would love for
Speaker:you to tell the audience a little bit about yourself, what you do and how you
Speaker:really got into the legal side of business and why you're so passionate about it.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:So I've been a lawyer for a little over, I think 10 years now, and I was
Speaker:working in law firms for other people, for four and a half of those years, and
Speaker:did a bunch of different types of law.
Speaker:I. Wasn't really a hundred percent attached to like
Speaker:loving, loving what I was doing.
Speaker:There were parts of what I would do that I did but I just
Speaker:wasn't like super passionate.
Speaker:And I always was like, who are those people that are really
Speaker:passionate about their jobs?
Speaker:Like what is that like?
Speaker:And just kind of through wanting to have my own thing, like wanting to have
Speaker:a very flexible schedule, planning out to potentially have kids and a family.
Speaker:Started my own law firm and we've been doing this for five and a half
Speaker:years now, and, I'm able to like pick my clients, talk to my clients like.
Speaker:I still select who I wanna work with, like hone in on exactly
Speaker:who I want to be helping.
Speaker:And it's not only, I mean, fulfilling for me, but it's also really
Speaker:amazing to be able to educate communities specifically on legal.
Speaker:I think I came into this thinking like, we're just, I'm gonna, I'm
Speaker:gonna be a lawyer and help people and do the legal stuff, but there's
Speaker:so much education that's required.
Speaker:Far before anybody ever like pays us anything.
Speaker:So the education piece, I think was something I had no idea was coming,
Speaker:but, it's probably my favorite part.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, I love that.
Speaker:'cause I feel like.
Speaker:Business owners in general just have a lack of educational resources
Speaker:when it comes to like legal financial matters, things like that.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: there's a lot of people being like, what?
Speaker:What do I do?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: So, let's start with the basics.
Speaker:What's really the biggest differences between an LLC, an S corp, and a
Speaker:corporation, and how does a business owner know which one is right for them?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Good question.
Speaker:And I love that you're asking the difference s-corp too, because that
Speaker:is a huge misconception a lot of people have that that's a, an entity.
Speaker:But it's, so I get it because people are always like, I have an S-corp.
Speaker:I have an S-corp.
Speaker:The differences are an LLC and a corporation are different
Speaker:types of legal entities.
Speaker:There's different types of corporations that you can have, but when you form
Speaker:an entity, what most business owners are doing, they're either forming an
Speaker:LLC like 90% of the time, and then some other people are forming corporations.
Speaker:They might have a special type of corporation.
Speaker:However, when it comes to tax time, your tax person's gonna counsel you and advise
Speaker:you on what's best for your business.
Speaker:And what's tricky is an LLC or a corporation can technically be taxed
Speaker:as an S corp. So, that is advantageous to a lot of business owners.
Speaker:So who are you talking to more, you're talking to your tax
Speaker:people more than your attorney.
Speaker:So you're usually like, oh, my S-corp.
Speaker:My S-corp.
Speaker:So a lot of people think they have S-corp, but what they really have is
Speaker:either an LLC that's taxed as an S-corp.
Speaker:Or a corporation that's taxed as an S corp. But what we're working with most
Speaker:often is LLCs for business owners, unless you're a certain type of business that
Speaker:just can't form an LLC or you don't, you can't operate under those laws.
Speaker:Depends on your state, depends on what you're doing.
Speaker:But most businesses can form LLCs and they're great and they're super flexible.
Speaker:Pretty easy to get formed to maintain.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And I think, I love that you specified that it's a classification
Speaker:because I hear the same thing.
Speaker:All the time people are like, oh, I'm an S-corp.
Speaker:I'm an S-corp.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: I'm like, you are an S-corp, but like
Speaker:what's your, like are you an LLC?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: And most of the time they are that, that LLC.
Speaker:So
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And that's good to know and I'm glad you pointed that out.
Speaker:'cause most business owners are like, no, I'm an S corp. And I'm like, I
Speaker:know from a tax perspective you're an S corp, but what's your like legal paper?
Speaker:And usually they haven't seen the legal paperwork in like years.
Speaker:So they're like, actually I don't know what I am.
Speaker:And then they have to go check.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:And then you have people who don't even know that they are
Speaker:an S-corp because they've just been kind of like pushed into it.
Speaker:So I think that that's something you definitely need, like from my
Speaker:perspective, I'm like, you don't just talk to like one or the other,
Speaker:like a CPA or a legal person.
Speaker:You need to talk with
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Mm-hmm.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: out what's best for your business.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:I mean, ideally you wanna probably check in with a lawyer like once a year and
Speaker:you don't wanna have other problems.
Speaker:I'm good with talking to clients once a year or more if they
Speaker:have more stuff coming up.
Speaker:But, your tax person, usually people are just talking to them more, so
Speaker:they're like, I have an S corp.
Speaker:And I'm like, no.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:So what are some of the common mistakes new business owners make
Speaker:when setting up their business entity?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Most common, you can certainly
Speaker:file your entity on your own.
Speaker:So you can file your LLC on your own.
Speaker:You can file your corporation on your own.
Speaker:I would say if you are looking into a corporation and you wanna file
Speaker:it on your own, definitely I would at least talk to a lawyer because
Speaker:they might talk you into an LLC.
Speaker:It might be cheaper for you.
Speaker:Some people think they need a corporation and they don't.
Speaker:Some people actually try to form an LLC and they form it and they find out
Speaker:they can't actually operate as an LLC.
Speaker:So for example, certain professional licensed individuals like therapists,
Speaker:any sort of like doctors, lawyers, you commonly can't have a regular LLC.
Speaker:But that's number one mistake, I think is picking the wrong entity.
Speaker:Sometimes it's not catastrophic, but sometimes it means like
Speaker:your entity's not valid.
Speaker:Sometimes it just means you might be in a more complex entity
Speaker:that you're paying more for.
Speaker:You're doing more stuff for that.
Speaker:We could have you in an LLC, and it's essentially gonna do what you need.
Speaker:Other common mistake we see when people file on their own is they just don't.
Speaker:Draft up the internal documents.
Speaker:So when you form your LLC or your corporation, your state's gonna let you
Speaker:know like, Hey, you missed this document.
Speaker:But the internal things that never get filed, like the operating agreement for
Speaker:an LLC, if you're forming your own LLC and you've never done it before, you
Speaker:don't know what's involved, you're not gonna know that you need that probably.
Speaker:So if you don't have that internal document, I mean,
Speaker:it's not the end of the world.
Speaker:We can always draft it for you, but that's usually number one thing we see missing.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I love that.
Speaker:'cause I think a lot of people get the certain, like.
Speaker:Even without using a lawyer, there's, everyone always looks at those
Speaker:like legal zoom, things like that.
Speaker:And a lot of those people don't give you proper information.
Speaker:They just throw documents at you and they're like, here you go.
Speaker:It's filed, but you don't actually understand what went on.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: That's why I mean I have nothing against like
Speaker:the legal zooms, like legal shield.
Speaker:I think you do have to be a little bit informed and do a little research
Speaker:on your own, just to check like, what would I get if I did this on my own?
Speaker:What would that be?
Speaker:What would I be paying?
Speaker:What would be involved if I work with Legal Zoom, what would I be paying?
Speaker:What's involved with an attorney?
Speaker:And I think if you get scheduled with a consult with an attorney,
Speaker:we're gonna give you like.
Speaker:Tell you at least everything you need.
Speaker:So then you can at least compare pricing what needs to get filed, what
Speaker:you're comfortable doing on your own.
Speaker:Maybe some people are like, I don't wanna touch it.
Speaker:I'd rather you do it as the lawyer.
Speaker:Some people really wanna file it on your own and we can kind
Speaker:of guide you and say, here's the things we don't want you to miss.
Speaker:But I think just a little bit of research at the beginning can
Speaker:help you make sure that you're not missing all this stuff later on.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, like having that little bit
Speaker:of education to start off with.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: matter who you go with because of course
Speaker:there's always cheaper companies out there and everything like that, but
Speaker:you wanna just make sure you have that knowledge before you're walking into
Speaker:something and then all of a sudden years down the road you're like, wait,
Speaker:I don't have an operating agreement.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker:I mean, some business owners, I'm kind of like that too with taxes, like I am not.
Speaker:My brain just doesn't like taxes at all.
Speaker:But so I end up paying a higher premium to work with people that
Speaker:handle absolutely everything.
Speaker:So if you're that type of business owner that you know, like I don't wanna
Speaker:touch legal stuff, that usually means you're going to have to pay somebody
Speaker:more to be fully on top of it for you.
Speaker:The middle ground, like filing companies, legal zooms, they do operate in a way
Speaker:where you have to be a little bit more involved and aware of what's included.
Speaker:So you can't always come back and be like.
Speaker:They never told me about this.
Speaker:It's like they're, they're a middle ground for a reason.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:They're like, they're a little bit more affordable.
Speaker:And I un and I understand where people get confused, where they're
Speaker:like thinking they're getting like this whole complete package.
Speaker:I think those companies should be doing a little bit better of a job,
Speaker:fully explaining, like, we are, I'm, I'm sure that they do, but like, I
Speaker:think they could do a better job of explaining like, if you want the full
Speaker:thing, you need to go to an attorney.
Speaker:Here's what we're providing.
Speaker:You know, here's where we kind of land on the scale.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:So for someone who starts their business as a sole proprietor,
Speaker:how do they know when it's time to switch to an LLC or another entity?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Good question.
Speaker:Different for every industry, but what we look at is a couple things.
Speaker:What industry you're in and how risky it is.
Speaker:Just how, what you're operating in terms of business.
Speaker:So anybody that comes to me that's like, I wanna launch a skincare line or
Speaker:like, we're in California and I wanna have some sort of like hemp, CB, D,
Speaker:anything, anything like topical food, high risk stuff, like I'm usually telling
Speaker:that person immediately form an entity because there's just things involved
Speaker:that like could get tricky really fast.
Speaker:It doesn't mean if you're in another industry that it's not good to have it.
Speaker:Early, but if you're, you know, starting slow as a side hustle and you
Speaker:wanna test the waters and see if this business can work for you and maybe
Speaker:you're consulting or coaching and you have one or two clients throughout
Speaker:the year and you're just testing it.
Speaker:That's a situation where if you maybe wanna hold off on an LLC or an entity
Speaker:because you don't wanna spend what it costs because you're maybe making just
Speaker:as much as it would cost to form the LLC.
Speaker:Like, we don't wanna put you under immediately.
Speaker:So we're balancing how much do things cost.
Speaker:Risk of the business and it like just inherent risks that are involved.
Speaker:And also like it usually comes down to what the business is is gonna make.
Speaker:So people are typically making that call based on that.
Speaker:So if your business is immediately like taking off and making a
Speaker:ton of money, a lawyer saying, Hey, you should form an LLC.
Speaker:It's not gonna sting as much as if you're just starting.
Speaker:It's like a side hustle thing.
Speaker:You're testing things out, you haven't made anything, and I'm over here telling
Speaker:you like, we gotta drop 1200 on an LLC.
Speaker:You're like, whoa, I don't wanna do that.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:A lot of things evolve, but I think at the riskier, the business is, I usually
Speaker:start that conversation like way earlier.
Speaker:We always start the conversation just so people know that the option is open,
Speaker:but people also don't jump into it.
Speaker:I think a lot of times for financial reasons, which I totally understand, like
Speaker:if you're starting a business, you don't wanna immediately be negative a lot.
Speaker:Like I know there's a lot we have to spend to get things going, but
Speaker:there's, there's decisions people make.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And I think that's, that's a really good point because I know a lot of people
Speaker:say that, you know, the LSC is that extra protection against your, with
Speaker:your personal assets, which a lot of people, I think, tend to forget about.
Speaker:They're like, oh, I can just be a DBA and if I get sued, like
Speaker:only my business is liable.
Speaker:But that's, you know, there's more to it than that.
Speaker:Which is why I think even just talking to a lawyer to understand that would be.
Speaker:beneficial to anyone who's looking to start a business.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:I think, I mean, as a business owner, there's so much you have to research and
Speaker:be aware of and like, I know legal is not a fun one for lots of people, but I think
Speaker:just doing a little bit of that research, like, like you said, is, is helpful
Speaker:because you can also budget things out.
Speaker:Like talking to a lawyer, you're probably gonna have to pay them an upfront
Speaker:fee to schedule a consultation, but.
Speaker:During those calls, like we're explaining to clients like, yes,
Speaker:you have to spend on this, or No, you don't have to spend on this.
Speaker:So like we could end up saving you a couple grand on something to we told you
Speaker:to wait on for a couple months, versus just like doing everything immediately and
Speaker:then you're in the whole like five 10 K.
Speaker:And we also also.
Speaker:I'll have conversations about lots of stuff where we're like, Hey,
Speaker:hold off on that because we need to get this stuff cleared first.
Speaker:And it, I think it's good just to also strategize from a budget perspective too.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:So making a pivot from like entities to contracts.
Speaker:Contracts can often feel like overwhelming in businesses, but what
Speaker:are the absolute must have every business owner should have in place?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Good question.
Speaker:I was just going through this list, yesterday.
Speaker:The number one thing business owners need to have a lot of us, most of us
Speaker:have websites, so your website has to have a privacy policy that's just
Speaker:legally required across the board.
Speaker:Several states have actually penalties that they can impose.
Speaker:Doesn't happen all the time, but technically they can impose penalties
Speaker:if you don't have a privacy policy.
Speaker:There's also weird stuff, like if you wanna run ads on Facebook specifically
Speaker:and you don't have a privacy policy, like they could come back and say like, no ads.
Speaker:So privacy policy is mandatory.
Speaker:That's essentially telling your website visitor, like, Hey, here's
Speaker:what we're collecting about you.
Speaker:And so that one's a must.
Speaker:Not necessarily like a contract, but it's a policy that you
Speaker:have to have on your website.
Speaker:All businesses, paired with that as terms and conditions.
Speaker:It's not mandatory, but on your website, I, we always recommend them 'cause
Speaker:you wanna be able to dictate how your visitors, how your customers are using
Speaker:your site If you're a service provider.
Speaker:Like coaching, consulting, and you do one-on-ones or even one
Speaker:to many in like a group setting.
Speaker:We definitely want like a client services contractor, whatever type of
Speaker:service it is that you're providing.
Speaker:Photographers, videographers, you want a contract definitely for that relationship,
Speaker:how that looks for a product.
Speaker:Seller or like retail business is your terms of purchase.
Speaker:So wherever those land, whether it's on your website or if you're like in
Speaker:person selling things, you want there to be, some sort of written relationship
Speaker:between you and the buyer of whoever's purchasing something from you.
Speaker:That for people who sell online, like if you're doing courses or digital
Speaker:products, that can also just look like the terms of purchasing that thing.
Speaker:So those are like our must.
Speaker:Must haves across the board again, depending on the business, we
Speaker:can extrapolate a lot from there.
Speaker:But also when you're hiring people, definitely having
Speaker:those agreements in writing.
Speaker:And I just like, good rule of thumb is like anybody that you're in a business
Speaker:relationship with probably needs to have a contract between you and them.
Speaker:So like a customer, a client, a partner, a vendor, anybody you're dealing
Speaker:with, sh there should be a contract.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I think that's, that's so important, but what are some of the
Speaker:biggest contract mistakes that you see small business owners making?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:I think the, like the copy pasting of other terms or policies or contracts that.
Speaker:I mean, if, if it's, it's such a spectrum, right?
Speaker:So like people that have been in a service industry for a long time, they've worked
Speaker:with a contract for a really long time and they like work with an attorney,
Speaker:sometimes are adding bits and pieces.
Speaker:They're probably a little bit more seasoned in being able to recognize
Speaker:what the contract needs versus like brand new business owner never seen
Speaker:the contract that they need before and they're copying it from somebody
Speaker:else, or they're like copying something from somebody else's website.
Speaker:It.
Speaker:I don't ever say it's like okay to copy some something and like
Speaker:add bits and pieces, but it's.
Speaker:That seasoned business owner probably knows a little bit more of what to
Speaker:look for versus that brand new business owner who's maybe never talked to
Speaker:a lawyer, maybe never had anything re revised or drafted for them.
Speaker:So the copying without like blindly just adding stuff is a biggie because
Speaker:that can actually, if we put things in our contract that aren't good for the
Speaker:business, then it's like, whoa, whoa.
Speaker:Why did we even put that in there?
Speaker:We see that a lot where people are like.
Speaker:I saw this other company adding this because it's a cool benefit and I'm
Speaker:like, that sets off a whole list of implications for your business.
Speaker:If you wanna add that in.
Speaker:That and then.
Speaker:Probably number one, like missing provision all the time is just
Speaker:like a termination provision.
Speaker:So how do you cancel that contract?
Speaker:And I've, I'm not a hundred percent sure, sure, but I've kind of deduced
Speaker:from like looking at these frequently.
Speaker:It's just because business owners are so optimistic and they don't wanna think
Speaker:about like, what if this goes terribly?
Speaker:So they're not also thinking about, how do I get out of this contract?
Speaker:But we wanna be able to get ourselves out of a contract
Speaker:for a reason other than just.
Speaker:Other side breached because typically that's gonna require like a major thing
Speaker:happening where you have to go talk to a lawyer and see if you can get out of
Speaker:the contract, versus do we have something in the contract that says we can just
Speaker:leave, or like we can walk away with like seven days notice, which in most cases
Speaker:is ideal and we wanna be able to do, as long as it's fair for for both parties.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, and I think that's totally true.
Speaker:When I first started, I took like a client based course where I had, 'cause
Speaker:I knew the bookkeeping side of things, but I had no idea how to handle clients.
Speaker:So they gave you like a base.
Speaker:Contract, and I took that contract and I started like adding things to it.
Speaker:But then what I did was I was like, I don't know if
Speaker:this is legally sound enough.
Speaker:So I was like, I don't wanna, I don't wanna give this to a client,
Speaker:and then all of a sudden the words I'm using or how I'm saying it.
Speaker:Isn't
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: I met with a lawyer and had them go through
Speaker:it and he's like, yeah, he's like, this might like signal bad things to a client.
Speaker:He's like, you might wanna word this differently or just remove it entirely.
Speaker:And we went through and just like crossed everything out and got everything done.
Speaker:But I think that's so important because you only know what you know.
Speaker:Whereas like, you know, a lawyer's in their zone of genius, so they're
Speaker:gonna know more about what a, a contract should actually have.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And also what we like to do, and what most lawyers will do is when we're reviewing
Speaker:your contract for you, we're gonna make sure that you know what's in it.
Speaker:Because if you send it out to a client and they ask you a question, I feel like
Speaker:there's nothing more embarrassing of like, oh, I don't actually know what that
Speaker:means, and I just ask you to sign this.
Speaker:And clients can tell if you're just like Googling stuff and like spitting
Speaker:back random stuff from the internet.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: like to make sure I'm like,
Speaker:look, here's what we changed.
Speaker:Here's why this is good for you, and if you don't understand anything in
Speaker:this, like let's talk about it so you can regurgitate it back to your client.
Speaker:Because if you're asking them to sign something, you should be able to
Speaker:explain it, not in like legal terms, obviously, but you should be able to
Speaker:explain for the most part what it means.
Speaker:Because if you don't wanna be in that spot where they're like, I don't
Speaker:like what this says, and you're like, I don't even know what that means,
Speaker:because then it's also just kind.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:speaking of that, like what should business owners look out for
Speaker:before signing a contract from a client, vendor, or partner?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:I like to hone in on, intellectual property specifically.
Speaker:So it's depends on like what side you're on, but if you are.
Speaker:Signing something where you're maybe hiring like a, a web
Speaker:designer, graphic designer, somebody to do social media for you.
Speaker:Anybody that's creating something for you or your business, technically
Speaker:they own that material until they're handing it over in the contract.
Speaker:So the contract with them, if they're having you sign something,
Speaker:industry standard is like.
Speaker:You will own this as the business once you've paid, like
Speaker:once that exchange is made.
Speaker:What I don't like is, or what we shouldn't be agreeing to, is like if they're keeping
Speaker:all of the rights they shouldn't be.
Speaker:If you're paying them to create, like a logo or something for
Speaker:you, whatever you're paying them.
Speaker:You're exchanging it and they no longer own that logo.
Speaker:It's, it's on them how much they wanna charge for that, however
Speaker:much you're paying for them.
Speaker:They, they can, like, it's super common for them to be like, Hey, I wanna be
Speaker:able to feature this on my site because I did your work like in my, you know,
Speaker:book of work or whatever to feature it.
Speaker:But there needs to be a, a fair exchange.
Speaker:It's not up to you to decide like what they're charging you.
Speaker:So if they're, if it's a logo person charging you like 50 bucks, like.
Speaker:That's on them if they wanna handle that stuff over.
Speaker:So ideally we want the intellectual property be.
Speaker:, Detailed and you're not signing anything that puts you in a weird
Speaker:spot of like, oh, I paid for this, but I don't actually own it.
Speaker:That can go both ways for ip, but IP is usually the section
Speaker:where people are co copy pasting.
Speaker:They're taking stuff from different contracts that can get tricky.
Speaker:Once you start to see people don't actually understand that part, and
Speaker:then everybody's just signing and then it's like, whoa, this doesn't
Speaker:make sense for like either side.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:I think that's so true because, you know, I even paid for like my
Speaker:logo, like a commercial, I think it was like a commercial license or
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Mm-hmm.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: that they technically release it
Speaker:to me and now it's like it's mine.
Speaker:But I feel like that's a lot of things that people tend to forget
Speaker:is that if you don't have something like that in place, technically you
Speaker:could be potentially not owning your logo or whatever properties you have.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: And that's a question we have when we're doing,
Speaker:trademark applications for logos.
Speaker:We don't need that document necessarily to file the application, but I always
Speaker:ask like, do you own this logo?
Speaker:And they're like, yeah.
Speaker:And I'm like, okay, who made it for you?
Speaker:And they'll tell me and I'm like, do you have the contract?
Speaker:And we see, and they're like, oh, we don't have the contract.
Speaker:So I understand where people are coming from.
Speaker:They think they paid for something, so they own it, but that's.
Speaker:Not actually true unless we have it in writing.
Speaker:So that's something that down the line that you're like, oh,
Speaker:I don't actually own my logo.
Speaker:Interesting.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:I think one of the most important things I've learned, like just not
Speaker:in business, but also corporately, is always have a paper trail
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah,
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: like totally applies to everything
Speaker:legal and like financial.
Speaker:Just your whole world of business.
Speaker:Leave a paper, paper trail somewhere.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker:We love a, we love a paper trail.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:So what's one legal issue that blindsides a lot of new entrepreneurs
Speaker:and how can they avoid it?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: I think a lot of people like have a good grasp
Speaker:of LLC or entity and they just, they know it's something that they need.
Speaker:But maybe I. They just haven't made the, the move to do it yet.
Speaker:I think a lot of people are aware of contracts, but they
Speaker:just kind of shy away from them.
Speaker:But I think trademarks and, protecting your intellectual property, so like
Speaker:copyright and trademark, I think people either believe that's something
Speaker:they do like way far down the line or like when something turns out to
Speaker:be really valuable, when actually you can start that process way earlier.
Speaker:You actually own trademarks and copyrights.
Speaker:By default at a limited scale.
Speaker:You own that stuff way earlier.
Speaker:So your business owners are working with things that they don't,
Speaker:aren't aware of, are valuable, our assets, and we need to be at least
Speaker:planning to protect those things.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:absolutely.
Speaker:Now, when do you think they should DIY, their legal work, and when should
Speaker:they Absolutely hire a professional?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: I think, I mean technically trademark
Speaker:applications, copyright applications, any, anything you want to file
Speaker:technically you can file on your own.
Speaker:But things that I typically recommend.
Speaker:Filing through an attorney are trademark applications just because there is
Speaker:like a search process that we do that if you don't do that, we could
Speaker:file an application and like it can get refused for a number of reasons.
Speaker:And then we've wasted probably eight to nine months of waiting,
Speaker:filing fees and then we have to go pay more on top to fix that.
Speaker:So that's more of like a. Financial reason to at least
Speaker:just start with a lawyer early.
Speaker:As long as we've talked to a lawyer about like an LLC or something
Speaker:similar, I think there are filing companies that can form those for you.
Speaker:If you're a single owner of a business.
Speaker:It does get a lot trickier when you have multiple owners, so at
Speaker:that point I definitely recommend like having a lawyer involved.
Speaker:But you can go through like a, a filing partner if, if your budget
Speaker:is limited to file an LLC to file a corporation if you need.
Speaker:But again, we, they're not gonna give legal advice.
Speaker:So you wanna really go into that knowing like, okay, here's what I
Speaker:need, here's what I want, this is what I'm paying for, contracts.
Speaker:Probably should be attorney drafted.
Speaker:At some point.
Speaker:There's templates that a lot of attorneys have, we have templates, a
Speaker:bunch of other attorneys have templates.
Speaker:I think creating your own contract is just, it's nearly impossible to do unless
Speaker:you have a lot of experience in it.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:No, I agree.
Speaker:I think 'cause we don't know how to talk, like lawyers talk and there's like, it's
Speaker:a diff, it's a different language almost.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: It is, it's a, it's a.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:A lot of creatives and small business owners just tend to avoid anything
Speaker:legal because it feels really intimidating, but how can they kinda
Speaker:shift that mindset to make it easier to approach lawyers or legal stuff?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah, I think.
Speaker:Ultimately finding lawyers or professionals that you
Speaker:feel comfortable with?
Speaker:Because I think the intimidating part, and I could be totally wrong about
Speaker:this, but having talked to clients, I think the intimidating part is not
Speaker:knowing what you need, but then also knowing lawyers do charge a lot.
Speaker:So I think people don't wanna approach those conversations
Speaker:just immediately getting like.
Speaker:All their, whatever budget they had wiped out.
Speaker:And so I think they're a little fearful of that.
Speaker:But there are a lot of lawyers, we do this too.
Speaker:We charge flat fee for pretty much everything.
Speaker:So, you know, going into it, what you're being charged, we're not
Speaker:doing like an hourly, like random bill at the end of the month.
Speaker:And we'll also like hop on a consultation and assess out like what
Speaker:a quote would be for a project so you can see that you can budget it out.
Speaker:And also finding lawyers that you feel comfortable with, that you're
Speaker:not feeling like they're just gonna charge me for any little thing.
Speaker:I like to think that we do a good job of like, I'll tell clients like.
Speaker:Don't pay me to do this.
Speaker:I think you can do this on your own.
Speaker:Or like, I'll really do it if you want me to, but this is my fee.
Speaker:Versus if you wanna file this on your own.
Speaker:So I think finding people that you're comfortable with and, and know do
Speaker:really have your best interest in mind.
Speaker:Like, yes, there are things we need, we do need to charge for.
Speaker:There's a filing fees involved with everything.
Speaker:There's long processes.
Speaker:But I think feeling comfortable that, you know, this person isn't trying to like.
Speaker:Pull the wool over your eyes with how much is being charged, I
Speaker:think is really important factor.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, and I think that kind of stands true
Speaker:to like a lot of service providers.
Speaker:'cause I think a lot of us are just very like cautious about who
Speaker:we put our money into nowadays.
Speaker:So understanding and finding someone that you like connect
Speaker:with a little bit more will make that probably a little less scary
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: yeah,
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: For sure.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: yeah, definitely.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's across the board.
Speaker:I. Like when we recommend other service providers.
Speaker:I either make sure that I'm working, I have worked with them before,
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yep.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: or that I know that they're at least super
Speaker:honest and transparent, and they'll tell people like, yes, you need this,
Speaker:or, no, you don't need this, or, you know, here's how we can work together.
Speaker:I think that's, that's really important, is really under, and not
Speaker:being afraid to ask questions either.
Speaker:Like I am never.
Speaker:Upset when somebody wants to know exactly, like if they're telling
Speaker:me, I want my LLC, but I wanna know exactly what you're doing.
Speaker:I, I tell them, here's a list of what we do.
Speaker:Please go compare this to, if you wanna look at LegalZoom, if you wanna
Speaker:go look at filing on your own, because I want them to see what's involved.
Speaker:I want them to see the budget and the pricing for what's involved so that
Speaker:they can appreciate like, this is what we're providing to you versus.
Speaker:Here's what the middle ground is.
Speaker:Here's what the do it yourself option is, and once they're informed, I'm
Speaker:like, yeah, make whatever decision you need to, like, I'm not gonna get
Speaker:mad if you wanna do it on your own.
Speaker:I, if you feel comfortable, like I'd rather you save the money on that.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah, no, I feel the same way.
Speaker:'cause I've had clients come to me and be like, Hey, like my CPA advised me to
Speaker:become an S Corp or something like that.
Speaker:And the one lady she made, I think it was only like $10,000 profit that year.
Speaker:And I was like.
Speaker:There's, I was like, there's no way you're ready.
Speaker:I was like, think of all the extra costs that you have to add on like
Speaker:your payroll, things like that.
Speaker:I was like, so I think that is true.
Speaker:Like you really need to be just upfront and honest, and that's such a huge
Speaker:factor in making it a little less, a little less scary and a little more
Speaker:like, okay, I can work with this person.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah, I think that's just a generally better way
Speaker:to go and I prefer to be like that too.
Speaker:'cause I don't wanna deal, I don't wanna deal with a client in like two years
Speaker:that's like mad at me for charging them something that they weren't aware of.
Speaker:Like any little thing that we have to do, like we get permission from the client.
Speaker:I'm like, Hey, we have to do this now.
Speaker:It's gonna be this much,
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yeah.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: if it's costing me more time.
Speaker:That.
Speaker:I could be charging like hundreds of bucks.
Speaker:I'm like, Hey, client, I'm gonna charge you $50 to do this.
Speaker:Is that okay?
Speaker:Like I would rather have them be comfortable and know everything all the
Speaker:way leading up because like nightmare clients are not fun for anybody.
Speaker:And I don't think anybody wants to deal with that situation.
Speaker:I just prefer to be like upfront and transparent.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:So important.
Speaker:Now, if someone today listening wants to legally protect their business
Speaker:but doesn't know where to start, what do you suggest is the first
Speaker:step that they should take today?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: I think the three foundational
Speaker:things that we typically address are what we talked about.
Speaker:So you did a really good job of covering those entities.
Speaker:Trademarks and then also contracts.
Speaker:I think if it's in a budget, schedule a chat with an attorney
Speaker:so they can lay out what.
Speaker:You're gonna need down the line so you can at least start planning for that.
Speaker:If it's in the budget to hire an attorney to like, do all this stuff.
Speaker:Just get one on board immediately.
Speaker:If you know that you can afford it and you don't wanna touch any
Speaker:of this stuff, but if you're more of like, I need to do it myself.
Speaker:I think starting with those three foundational things and working out
Speaker:from there is a really good idea.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: and like myself and other attorneys,
Speaker:I know we have a lot of free information on social media platforms.
Speaker:We have like freebies on our sites with a bunch of info.
Speaker:So if you do wanna do it yourself, that is gonna mean you have to put
Speaker:a little bit more work into it.
Speaker:So like, download this stuff, like educate yourself a little bit and if
Speaker:you're like, I don't wanna touch this, and maybe you do need to, to hire
Speaker:somebody to do more of it for you.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:Well, thank you so much for coming on today, Taylor, and sharing your knowledge.
Speaker:I just love that you're empowering other business owners to take
Speaker:actionable steps with legal matters.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: you.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: can my audience connect with you, learn
Speaker:more about you, or work with you?
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Yeah.
Speaker:We are on most platforms as legal Miga, L-E-G-A-L-M-I-G-A.
Speaker:And then our site is just legal miga law.com.
Speaker:And we, I, I mean, I'm remote virtual, so those are typically the best ways
Speaker:to either contact or learn about.
Speaker:Whatever it is we do.
Speaker:And we have a ton of information and like freebies, if people just
Speaker:wanna download and take a peek and see maybe what they need.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: Awesome.
Speaker:Yeah, and we'll include whatever we can in the show notes for you.
Speaker:But thank you so much for coming today and talking.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:taylor-_1_03-25-2025_100449: Thank you.
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:Thanks for having me.
Speaker:samantha-eck_1_03-25-2025_120449: The truth is your business deserves protection
Speaker:and you deserve to feel confident in how you're running things behind the scenes.
Speaker:Whether you're just getting started or already growing fast, getting
Speaker:your legal foundations in place can be the exact thing that helps
Speaker:you scale safely and sustainably.
Speaker:If this episode helped you see the legal side of business in a new light, I'd
Speaker:be so grateful if you'd leave a review, share it with a friend, or just DM me
Speaker:and let me know what stood out to you.
Speaker:And if you have more ideas for topics or guests like this, make sure to fill out
Speaker:the form in the description box below.
Speaker:And hey, if you're ready to take the next step with your finances too, you
Speaker:know I'm always here from Cashflow Strategy to full on CFO support.
Speaker:Let's build your business with intention.
Speaker:Until next time, as always, have a wonderful rest of your week
Speaker:and we'll see you next week.
Speaker:Farewell fellow Travelers.
