SSP 042: The Most Fun Legal Advice You'll Ever Get w/ Colleen Bezich

What’s the first thing you think of when I mention the word “lawyer”? It’s ok, you can come out from under the bed. I know most of us creatives are easily scared off by the thought of lawyers, contracts, accounting and the like. We’ve all heard about hourly rates that are waaaay out of our price range, and we work with such great people that we’ll never actually need a contract to enforce to protect ourselves. Right? Colleen Bezich is not only a practicing attorney specializing in helping creatives with legal issues pertaining to their business, but a filmmaker herself. She knows how we think as creatives and is joins us on the podcast to bust some of the myths most of us have around the legal aspects of our business. I can’t even believe how many notes I took during the recording of this episode, covering everything from what type of business structure we should be set up as, what to include in our contracts to not only protect ourselves, but actually earn more money, to how to find cheap or even free legal services. Colleen also shares some eye-opening stories about creatives she’s worked with who were bailed out by having their legal ducks in a row, and some who faced some severe consequences as a result of relying off of supposedly cheaper online or crowdsourced legal advice. This might be one of the most important episodes we’ve put out to date, so strap yourself in. What’s your experience with contracts or legal services? Do you have any crazy stories of times when you were either glad you were protected or wished you were? Let us know in the comments! *** We just want to mention again, that all of the information Colleen provides is general knowledge and is NOT specifically tailored to your personal business. Alway get a lawyer familiar with your situation to help with any specific questions you might have! *** In this episode: Sole Proprietorship vs S Corp vs LLC: Which one is best for your business? How to view freelancers/interns/employees, and where many of us get it wrong Some specific clauses you might want to consider adding into your standard contracts, some of which can even help you earn more money! What to ask a prospective lawyer when looking for legal advice How to find cheap or free legal services Soooooo much more amazing information that doesn’t get talked about enough. Just listen to the episode! Quotes: “Sole proprietorship is the route that most people go to because it involves literally no real filings with the IRS or otherwise, it’s easiest, it’s the least costly way to operate. That is until you get sued. I don’t advise anyone who’s looking to turn their side gig or hustle into a legitimate business enterprise to sit as a sole proprietorship for long at all” [14:54] “How the IRS make their classifications [on freelancers/employees/interns] is very different than what most small business owners look at when they’re classifying people.” [19:42]