Yasmine Salem Hamdan Interview: 3 Key Legal Insights for Business Owners

You know, I say this so often is if you don't have it in writing with the client, every interaction becomes a negotiation. So then when the issue comes up, it's okay, we're going to negotiate. Now, what's my policy on pausing? Do I have one? Is it in writing? Is it not so you can really save yourself a lot and really preserve and support the professional relationship so that it can be productive, so it can be positive for everybody involved.

If you want to hear yes faster from a client and avoid some major legal hangups, then stick around. Yasmin Salon Hampden of Coaches and Company is here to help. This is the launch your business podcast because we know starting a business is challenging, but it doesn't have to be confusing. Each week we'll give you the tactical advice and the necessary tools to scale your business without feeling burnt out. Terry I'm Terry Rice, business development consultant and staff writer here at Entrepreneur Magazine. Let's dive in. Here's a quick story about how I almost botched a deal with a big client. I was about three months into my business when I finally scored a retainer client and we settled on $2,000 per month. All I had to do was send over a contract and we were off to the races. So, like many new consultants, I googled contract for consultants. I then changed a few things around and then sent that to the prospect. Unfortunately, I didn't change enough things, specifically the name of my business in more than one area. And I should have learned this lesson already. I got caught for the same thing when I plagiarized a term paper my junior year of high school. Fortunately, this prospect was much more understanding than my teacher. They just asked me to make the changes and then they signed it. But I couldn't help but think how close I was to messing up and and I don't want you to ever be in that situation. That's why today we're talking to Yasmin Salem Handon of Coaches & Company. They offer a host of services, which includes providing legal contracts that are way better and legitimate than you would find through a Google search. And that's what we're going to talk about today. But we're going to start with Yasmin's journey from lawyer to entrepreneur. And I think a lot of you will either relate to that or be motivated by it. Then we'll hop into the three legal items every entrepreneur should have in order to and afterwards you'll discover how a good contract accelerates the process of you hearing yes and actually preserves Your relationships with your clients. Let's hop into it right now.

I'm glad to be chatting with you for a few reasons. One is we're going to talk about the legal aspects of being an entrepreneur and how to protect yourself. But if we only told that story, we wouldn't hear your story. Right, which I think is also extremely impressive. So let's just start with that. Who are you? What do you do?

Yeah. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to share and again, thanks for having me on the show. I appreciate you. My name is Yasmin Salem Hampden. I am a business and intellectual property attorney. I'm also the founder of a business and legal startup called Coaches and Company. We are a digital hub designed for entrepreneurs. Many first time entrepreneurs who are new to the game of business and are professionals selling services and or digital products online. So in a sentence, we help you do business better. Our approach is making the process of getting more, becoming more business savvy and legally leveling up in your business, you know, getting started a whole lot easier and dare I say, fun. You know, we try to take a more friendly approach and make these concepts easier to digest, easier to app, available and accessible to entrepreneurs at every stage of the journey. So our main way right now and out the gate since our founding of supporting members of our community and customers is through our instantly downloadable, ready to use legal contract templates. They are designed with this type of business model in mind and the digital landscape of entrepreneurship that we're currently navigating in mind. So they're all lawyer created, reviewed and approved. They're legalese free, so it's easy to understand what is you're asking clients to sign. And you know, like I said, our goal is to help entrepreneurs do business better and, and make the whole process a lot more enjoyable. And our mission is to help folks create protected and profitable businesses. So that's a little bit about us.

You talked about this alternate path, right? And a lot of our listeners are on that path right now. A lot of them are making a lot of money, right? They're making, you know, high six figures or, you know, mid six figures, whatever. They're making money, right? You can do the math. And they're hesitant to take this alternate path because just like you said, everything's been late in front of them. Like you go to this school, you get this job, you advance at this moment in your career, so on, so forth. So on your end, I'm wondering what was going through your head as you left the corporate world. The Corporate law world. And who was supporting you when you took that leap as well?

Well, I would say, and I think we've talked about this a bit before, Terry is. I was definitely one of the early users of social media. I think we probably both were. As a consumer, not as a business. I wasn't marketing anything, I wasn't selling anything. I was using it as a consumer. And I was observing too, through the lens of, you know, I'm this lawyer in training. I'm learning about all these new concepts of intellectual property, building a brand, entrepreneurship, establishing business relationships, ethics in business as well. And. And I'm seeing all of it at play, but I'm realizing that not everybody that's doing it realizes that's what they're doing. So people were building brands, and I was witnessing it in real time. And I remember talking to my supervising attorney at the law firm that I was at here in Dallas, and I remember telling them, you know, stuff is happening on social media. Let me tell you, like, people are doing business, people are building brands, people are carving out intellectual property assets. And it's. It's very interesting and exciting to watch. And I think that there's an untapped market here. And the firm that I was at, it was a great experience. I love the people there. They were just very set in their ways as a traditional law firm, as a larger law firm, they had, you know, their set book of business, the local construction companies, the restaurants, the salons, the, you know, the brick and mortar traditional services or traditional retail. This is not what that was. I was not seeing those people on social media. Right. People I was seeing on social media were selling professional services, they were selling physical products. I saw some digital products. I thought I saw a lot of brand building taking place and platforms being established. And I knew that they needed our services. I knew that they needed support as entrepreneurs, even if they didn't realize that they were entrepreneurs at the time. So I decided shortly after that I wanted to start my own practice and start my own law firm. And that was even. I was pretty early in my career, so that was even against the traditional path that most of my classmates were taking within the industry. You know, within my. My professional network, should I say? I had some support for sure, but a lot of skepticism, which is understandable. I don't blame them. You know, it's different. It was unique. And the way that I was practicing law and the way that I provided legal services to entrepreneurs was unique because I recognized that the client was unique and their needs were unique. And they were seriously underserved. So we needed to, you know, bring our A game in terms of how we were going to serve them and how we were going to gain insight on their business and the nature of the brand that they were building and the transactions they were engaging in. And, and really, I mean it goes back to the brand and the assets that you create when you're building a business.

So let's dive into that. So let's. Because you know, obviously you're trained in law and you're really good at social media as a consumer, but how did that transition into you having this business? So what did you have to learn to set up your business? And I'm also curious what it felt like and how you got your first sale. So a few questions. One is what new skills did you have to use? I'm gonna ask a four part question. Maybe what new skills did you have to use? What transferable skills did you have? And also how did you get your first customer and what did that feel like? So just maybe answer three of those four because that was a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah. Okay, thank you. So in terms of how I got my first client, it was through social media. So I was, when I launched my law firm, my husband and I moved away to a city that was about two hours away from our. The DFW area. We had a business opportunity out there, we took the opportunity and moved out there and that was timed around the same time that I was launching my law firm. And so we had my whole new professional network that I needed to build. And so I started networking, networking in person a lot. You engaging with a lot of prospective clients and then identifying communities that were local, focused on entrepreneurship, focused on business building, brand building, teaching, marketing, etc, and then I was on social media now as a business owner. So it's very different than as a consumer. And I will say that since day one, it's been two things that I will stand by in terms of getting clients. When you're brand new to business, that is low barrier to entry is education, a marketing strategy rooted in education. So when you educate others there's. But then also engaging with folks on social media. So engagement is free. Literally you can engage with any. You could send a DM to probably anyone, which I'm not saying I recommend sending DMs or cold DMs or anything but. But sharing what you know and educating online and then engaging with folks that are rel. Maybe they are ideal clients, maybe they're not. Maybe they work with ideal clients of yours. Maybe you guys have a shared audience. Those are great people to connect with as well and develop relationships with, provide value to in the relationship, you know, share your network and, and be open to sharing resources. I mean, there are some, there are countless ways to, to establish great relationships from, you know, a professional standpoint. So that's how I got my first client was engaging on social media. I did not cold pitch, I didn't even mention my services. I engaged with their content and then they saw me and were like, oh my gosh, I need your help. And they reached out and that was my first paying client and man, did that feel good.

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So what I'm hearing is you're, you know, you're curious, you're gritty, you're driven and it seems like you're kind of accelerating your timeline to success, to just your own, your own, your own hard work. So I'm wondering, what is next for your company? What, what, what current services do you have? There's like, you know, three buckets what you have. And then what are you considering offering after?

We are, like I said, our primary offering is our contract templates. They're instantly downloadable, designed with the nature of doing business online in mind. So if you're marketing, selling or delivering a digital product or a professional service to your clients, we've got contracts for coaching, consulting, Online course terms and conditions, your website terms and conditions, privacy policy. That's our jam and that is what we're most known for. We are currently working to develop some more forms of free content that is providing a high value to our listeners, which that means we're launching a podcast. I haven't shared that anywhere yet. We haven't announced that we've been working on the development of it. I think you and I might have chatted about it last time we spoke. But yeah, we're going to be launching a podcast so that we can share. I have this really exciting vision for the podcast that I think it can be a great medium for us to deliver short, punchy episodes that break down these concepts of intellectual property law and LLCs and contracts and different clauses to include and policies with your clients and, you know, content that might not be the most exciting or interesting or, you know, sexy or anything. But it's really important that people have a solid grasp of this information and I'm really excited to continue educating. Like I said, it's since day one, my marketing strategy, no matter what I've sold, has always been rooted in education. So I'm really excited to keep in the spirit of that.

Awesome. So I am going to ask you to bullet point, just very briefly, what are the two or three legal things every entrepreneur listening should have in place for their business?

Okay, quick bullet pointed list. I would say that in terms of entrepreneurship and having a business in general, no matter what you sell, it really comes down to three primary things. It's having that business entity formed, whether it's an LLC or a corporation. There are various tax elections, so you definitely want to consult with your cpa. And speaking of having a CPA or an accountant and an attorney that's local to you, those are two people that you want to have on your initial quote, unquote, board of directors. Right? People that are board of advisors who's advising you. You've got to have those people in your corner. You don't necessarily have to have them on retainer, you know, or paying them on, on an ongoing basis, but having those people identified and allowing them to support you in making the decisions that you need to make in terms of if there are tax elections or forming the entity. Okay, back to our list. Business entity, having an LLC or a corporation that protects your personal assets, whether you have any or not. It also protects you from personal lia. Intellectual property. Protecting the content that you're creating, protecting the resources you're developing. You're probably building a brand you Probably, I would bet money. If you're already doing business and selling services and marketing online, you have intellectual property assets. And I think it's over 90% of a business's value is derived from and is based on their intellectual property assets. So it's not about, you know, the physical inventory or equipment or brick and mortar or having, you know, a storefront or anything or a physical office. It's not about that. You know, it's about the brand that you're building. It's about the assets that you're creating in terms of copyright assets, patent assets, trademark assets and. Yeah, so having a solid understanding of that and then having protections in place, which many times comes down to your contracts, which is that third pillar that I mentioned. So having written agreements in place with all of your professional relationships, your clients, your team members, if you're working with contractors, if you're working with employees, having written agreements in place, there are certain contracts and legal language you need to have on your website. If you're collecting information like email addresses, of course, payment information, having all those agreements in place, I would say one place you may want to start. Of course. This is all. Maybe I should have led the disclaimer. This is not legal advice.

I'm already jotting down those. This is all good legal advice. Thank you.

With the disclaimer. Of course. I know, I know. But yeah, this isn't legal advice. This is. Is for educational purposes, which you probably know that if you're listening to this. But you know, it bears saying that there's no cookie cutter approach for sure. You know, every business is unique. Every. The services you provide are unique, the nature of the relationship. But when it comes to like many people are wondering, where should I start? Intellectual property. That seems like a lot. Trademark copyrights. What are you talking about? You definitely want to learn about all of that. So find a resource and hopefully coaches and company can be a great resource for you to learn more about those things. We've got a great blog already. Like I said, we're coming out with the podcast. Want to break these concepts down and in an easy to understand, digestible way. But having contracts with those clients and with anybody providing a service to you. So anybody providing a service to you or you providing a service to anybody have the agreement in writing and have policies in that contract that support the relationship. So an example I was sharing with somebody just this morning was related to, you know, we all know the standard policies around the term of the contract, what the deliverables are, maybe jurisdiction, a lot of People leave the jurisdiction out. But, you know, that's. That's a pretty common 1. Termination, etc. Refund policies. Okay, not everybody has that, but everybody should. But, for example, you know, if you've got a contract, let's say you are working with a client and the contract is for three months, and they're paying you $3,000 a month for the three months or whatever the amount is, right. And you start on the project and you make yourself available for the next three months. Perhaps you turn down other opportunities to make space and time for this client to serve them for the three months. They pay that first payment. You start the project after that first month. But before the second payment, they reach out and they're like, hey, we need to pause the project. We're going to pause payment, too. Okay, well, if you've already addressed pausing of the project in your contract, it's not a negotiation at that point. It's. We've already agreed. Maybe the policy is no pausing of the contract. Or maybe we can pause the project for a period of four weeks at a time or, you know, just four weeks, but payment is not paused. You're still obligated to pay. So. Right. There are different ways you can present that policy as opposed to, you know, I say this so often, is if you don't have it in writing with the client, every interaction becomes a negotiation. So then when the issue comes up, it's, okay, we're going to negotiate. Now, what's my policy on pausing? Do I have one? Is it in writing? Is it not? So you can really save yourself a lot and really preserve and support the professional relationship so that it can be productive, so it can be positive for everybody involved. And of course, protecting your intellectual property within the context of those contracts. Yeah, definitely. A lot we could talk about. But I would say, you know, having that business entity in place, having an understanding of intellectual property and how it relates to the business that you're building and the brand that you're establishing, and then having written agreements in place with everybody you're doing business with, anybody touching your business needs to be signing something.

Yeah. So I think one lesson here is prepare in advance as opposed to making it up as you go along. But in regard to making it up as you go along, one of my favorite questions is this. And we can end on this one. What is one lesson about entrepreneurship that you wish you learned sooner?

Ooh, this is a good one. Okay, I would. And it's not related to legal or anything, but. So if you were expecting that surprise. I wish I would have learned the value of having a community around you as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is. That's one of the biggest things that I miss from being in a corporate setting is having coworkers and people that you can, you know, brainstorm with and talk with, and there's moral support involved and camaraderie. Like, all that's great. All of that is really good. It can be. Not, of course not in all corporate settings. It's like that. But, you know, the ideal work environment. Environment is that way. Would you agree? I think most people.

Yeah, I've been in some really great cultures where that was. That was actually. It motivated me to go to work. I'm like, oh, yeah, you know, Sabrina or whatever. So, yeah, no, I've been there before.

That's the goal. Yeah, that's definitely the goal as. As somebody that's in a working environment. So I missed that. And I remember in the first year, two years of my business, I was super heads down. And I remember at one point it was like I came up for air and I was like, where is everybody? You know, I hadn't really. I wouldn't say that I neglected my relationships, but my relationships were not my primary focus during that season, you know, and that's okay. That's not to say there's anything wrong with that. But not everybody that I had a personal relationship with even really got it. They didn't get it. They didn't understand what it was that I was doing. So I wish I would have had. And in the time since then, I found I've cultivated that community. I've joined different, you know, paid communities, too, over the years. But having that community around you to support you from a camaraderie perspective, from like, let's brainstorm or share ideas and like, exchange energy in that way, in a way that feels good for everybody and in a way that's mutually beneficial. So, yeah, I'm really grateful for my community and. And the people that are around me today, but I would have advised myself back then. Yeah, maybe spend some of your energy and focus cultivating that and creating that support for yourself.

Yeah. And sometimes money, to be honest. I mean, you have to pay sometimes to get in really good communities, but it's like, it's an investment in your business. Not at a cost. Right. But. But I want to let you go. Just please do remind us, how can we learn more about you as well as coaches and company?

Yeah. Yeah, you can learn more about me and coaches andcompany@coachesandcompany.com we're on pretty much all the platforms. We are on Instagram and LinkedIn and I like to spend time on Twitter and LinkedIn. I'm on Instagram too though. But yeah, you can find me pretty much anywhere. Like I said, I've been online for a while so you can find us online and would love to hear from you. Send us a DM or send me a DM if you are come from the podcast. Love to connect and thank you again Terry for having me on. I appreciate you.

Yeah, thanks for this. I appreciate it.

And that's our show for today. Again, you can learn more about Yasmin and her company by visiting coachesandcompany.com thanks for listening and I'll catch up with you next time. Apply what you've learned on today's show. You'll find the show notes and more resources at TerryRice co. Podcast. Again, that's Terryrice Co Podcast and the best way to support this podcast is by subscribing, telling a friend and leaving a review. Also, you can get more tips by following me on Instagram @TerryRice or follow me on LinkedIn. This episode was produced by Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcast Studio and edited by Dan Lardy. Special thanks to my wife, Dominique for keeping our kids relatively quiet as I recorded. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.