Legal Road Map®: copyright, trademark and business law info for online entrepreneurs Autumn Witt Boyd | Go-To Lawyer for Online Entrepreneurs

If you listen to just one episode of the Legal Road Map® podcast, let this be it.
In the final episode - at least for the foreseeable future - Autumn shares takeaways from the past 5 years of running her own law firm, what all online business owners need to know about legal protection to build a sustainable, profitable business, and more.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
How entrepreneurship can help you live your values Why putting legal protections in place early can help you build the business of your dreams faster and with less stress (One last time for the cheap seats in the back!...) Why contracts are THE most important legal protection for your online business Why you DON’T need to spend money on ALL the legal things when you’re just getting started Why -- and when -- you should add an attorney to your bench of professionals to build a sustainable, profitable business BONUS: If you’re starting something new, or this episode has spotlighted areas of your business that have you worried, now is a great time to make sure your business is in good shape legally. Download our free legal checklist to make sure your business has a strong legal foundation at https://www.awbfirm.com/podcast171!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Season 1 of the Legal Road Map® podcast: https://awbfirm.com/blogs/news/tagged/start-here
Season 5 of the Legal Road Map® podcast - legal for each business phase episodes:
https://awbfirm.com/podcast120
https://awbfirm.com/podcast121
https://awbfirm.com/podcast122
https://awbfirm.com/podcast123
Prep to Scale™ FastTrack:  https://awbfirm.com/fast-track
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.

We love helping our clients get their legal house in order, but sometimes when we introduce a new service, contract template, or marketing initiative at the AWB Firm, we have to be our own lawyers, too!
We recently hosted our very first 5 day list building challenge that brought up some questions around our terms and conditions, protecting a potential new trademark, rules for giveaways and contests, and more.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
What you need to make sure you have on your website, so your Facebook ads won’t get rejected Why you should use website terms and conditions for your course or challenge, even if it’s not required by law The easy (and free!) ways you can begin to protect your intellectual property without having to spend lots of dollars on an official trademark or copyright registration How to make sure your giveaways or contests don’t break any laws BONUS: If you’re starting something new, or this episode has spotlighted areas of your business that have you worried, now is a great time to make sure your business is in good shape legally. Download our free legal checklist to make sure your business has a strong legal foundation at https://www.awbfirm.com/podcast170!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Prep to Scale™ FastTrack:  https://awbfirm.com/fast-track
Legal Road Map® podcast episodes about Facebook ads:
Episode 102:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast102 Episode 124:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast124 Episode 125   https://awbfirm.com/podcast125 USPTO website:  https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/search-trademark-database
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.

If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard about (or seen firsthand) the value in building your email list.
No matter how large a following you may build on a social media platform, that following isn’t owned by you - it’s owned by the platform, and they can change who sees your content on a dime. 
But an email list? That’s all yours! And it can be a great way to get to know your audience and them, you.
But with all the talk about Privacy Policies, GDPR, cookies, and more, how are you supposed to build your list and stay out of legal trouble?
In this episode, we’ll cover:
Why email lists have become increasingly valuable in online business Who has to comply with the EU’s GDPR privacy regulations What you need to know about cookies on your website Why you shouldn’t make promises, especially about earnings or weight loss, in your list building freebies or opt-ins Whether or not you need to include an affiliate disclaimer if you’re promoting someone else’s list building challenge BONUS: If you’re starting something new, or this episode has spotlighted areas of your business that have you worried, now is a great time to make sure your business is in good shape legally. Download our free legal checklist to make sure your business has a strong legal foundation at https://www.awbfirm.com/podcast169!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
AWB Firm 5 day Prep to Scale™ challenge:  https://awbfirm.com/challenge
Prep to Scale™ FastTrack:  https://awbfirm.com/fast-track
Jasmine Star’s free Instagram challenge:  https://jasminestar.com/join-my-free-instagram-challenge/
Ask by Ryan Levesque:  https://askmethod.com
AWB Coaching quiz:  https://awbfirm.com/coaching-quiz
Amy Porterfield’s list building challenge:  https://www.amyporterfield.com/growmylist
Corinne Crabtree’s free weightloss course: https://pnp411.com
Privacy Policy contract template:  https://awbfirm.com/collections/all/products/website-privacy-policy-for-u-s-businesses-gdpr-compliant
GDPR guide: https://awbfirm.com/gdpr
Legal Road Map®  podcast episodes about GDPR:
Episode 38:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast38 Episode 39:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast39 Episode 40:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast40 Episode 38:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast83 Legal Road Map® podcast episode 164:  https://awbfirm.com/podcast164
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.

Finances and legal are like four-letter words for most entrepreneurs. You know you need to have a grasp on them to run a successful business, but the amount of things you don’t know about finances and legal makes you want to bury your head in the sand.
In this episode, I brought on CFO consultant and founder of 100 Degrees Consulting, Stephanie Skryzowski, to share some of her best practices and advice for entrepreneurs when it comes to getting a handle on the financial side of business. 
In this episode, we’ll cover:
Why you shouldn’t run your business based solely on the money you have in your bank account (i.e., what cashflow is and why you need to pay attention to it!) How widely profit margin can vary among different industries and service providers and how often you should review yours Some helpful advice for hiring new team members How a cobbled together contract ended up costing Stephanie five months of pay Stephanie’s best practices for coming up with your business’s financial plan for 2021 The difference between a forecast and a budget (and why a budget can actually be freeing!) BONUS: If you’re starting something new, or this episode has spotlighted areas of your business that have you worried, now is a great time to make sure your business is in good shape legally. Download our free legal checklist to make sure your business has a strong legal foundation at https://www.awbfirm.com/podcast168!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
100 Degrees Consulting:  https://www.100degreesconsulting.com
Free financial worksheet: https://www.100degreesconsulting.com/profit
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.

Planning for next year is in full swing. You may be planning new products or services, epic launches, new training series, and more. And you’re probably also working on your budget with line items all geared toward helping you facilitate those rollouts.
While most people forget to add legal into the budgeting equation at all, the good news is that you may need way less than you think, depending on your unique stage of business.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
What you might want to skip legally when you’re just getting started Why you should definitely update your contract every time you uplevel or change the way you work with clients  How you can start protecting your trademarks and copyrights even before you register them What you should plan to protect with your first custom contract Which lower risk activities you can likely still use a contract template for, even if you’re in a more advanced stage of business The revenue threshold that marks when you should absolutely when you should absolutely sit down for a legal audit of your business with a lawyer  BONUS: If you’re starting something new, or this episode has spotlighted areas of your business that have you worried, now is a great time to make sure your business is in good shape legally. Download our free legal checklist to make sure your business has a strong legal foundation at https://www.awbfirm.com/podcast166!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Contract template store: https://awbfirm.com/contract-templates
Episode 120 of the Legal Road Map® podcast (Launch Phase): https://awbfirm.com/podcast120
Episode 121 of the Legal Road Map® podcast (Solopreneur Phase): https://awbfirm.com/podcast121
Episode 122 of the Legal Road Map® podcast (Success Phase): https://awbfirm.com/podcast122
Episode 123 of the Legal Road Map® podcast (Scale to CEO Phase): https://awbfirm.com/podcast123
Legal Road Map® Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/legalroadmap
Episode 91 of the Legal Road Map® podcast: https://awbfirm.com/podcast91
Episode 49 of the Legal Road Map® podcast: https://awbfirm.com/podcast49
Episode 37 of the Legal Road Map® podcast: https://awbfirm.com/podcast37
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.

We’re here… finally. Down to the final weeks of 2020 and there’s no better time to start creating your business’s legal plan for next year. 
If you’ve got your sights set on building a successful business, creating a legacy, launching a new product or service, or simply maintaining your current side hustle, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
The best way to stop losing sleep over the legal black holes in your business in 2021 How you can avoid learning legal lessons the hard (and expensive!) way The cost advantage of thinking proactively when it comes to legal for your business The right time to register your copyrights or trademarks and when it makes sense to wait How to create legacy with legal planning Why creating a legal plan doesn’t mean doing it all or spending all the money right now JOIN THE PREP TO SCALE™ CHALLENGE! Our very first 5 day challenge kicks off December 7-11. Doors close on December 6, so claim your spot today! https://awbfirm.com/challenge
Don’t need 5 days and want to have lifetime, instant access to all the challenge content, plus attend an exclusive Q+A with Autumn? Take the FastTrack today for just $27. https://awbfirm.com/fast-track
Resources mentioned in this episode:
FastTrack Prep to Scale™:  https://awbfirm.com/fast-track
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.