Episode 21: Legal Insights for Sustainable Success: Building a Business with Long-Term Stability with Aleece McKnight

Jun 28

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Alyssa Lang interviews Aleece McKnight, the founder and owner of The Law Office of Aleece McKnight and also a wicked smart attorney. Alyssa has been working with Aleece McKnight for almost three years now and leans on her to provide her legal advice and everything in between. Aleece has a lot of golden nuggets to share on this interview.

In this episode you’ll hear:

Whether it's cool to swipe a contract from someone else for your own business
What disclaimers you should include in your contracts
When you need to send my existing clients new contracts
When an addendum is important for your contracts
When you should reach out to a lawyer for support

Resources mentioned in this episode:

📝 Trademark Pocket Pack (Quick guide into creating a strong trademark, the trademark process, and FAQs)

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Aleece McKnight is here on the podcast today!! She is the brains behind trademarks for Workflow Queen and provides comprehensive legal information for creative entrepreneurs.

Looking to grow your business and expand your brand? Aleece is the ultimate legal genius for anyone looking to secure their intellectual property with confidence!

I’m SO grateful for her and the work she’s done for my company. She goes hard to protect our business and brand, so if you need someone in your corner to do the same — keep listening.

Because all of this legal stuff can be SUPER overwhelming. So let’s break it down a bit and start with some simple questions like:

Can I go into a Facebook Group and ask for someone to share a template, a letter, or a contract?
Should I provide contracts or give legal advice as a small business owner?
When and where should I use a disclaimer?
When to sign a new contract, and when it is okay to add an addendum to a contract?

Building Your Business Community

One thing I’ve noticed as I build Workflow Queen is that it’s leaving me more exposed. Thank goodness I invested in legal help because now I’m able to lean on Aleece whenever I have questions!

We all need people to lean on in business, and for many of us starting out, we lean on other business owners. Sometimes we find that support through members of Facebook groups. And that support might look like sharing resources.

If I had a nickel for how many times I saw someone ask to look at a contract or document of someone else’s from a group— I could afford to invest in MANY more lawyers. But is it even okay to share legal documents like that?

According to Aleece, it’s okay to share SOME disclaimers and contracts (but not necessarily recommended). So, can you ask someone to share a contract with you? Yes. Should you have it looked over by a professional to make sure it protects and aligns with your specific business? Absolutely.

(And by a professional, we don’t mean taking legal advice from people in a Facebook group! Look for someone like Aleece who can specifically speak to you and your needs.)

Aleece reminded me that we have to be so mindful of the words used in these documents. It can be as simple as “shall” vs. “may,” which can change the contract's complete meaning.

Disclaimers and When To Copy and Paste

Being a business owner does leave us fairly vulnerable. And we want our business to grow and expand, but that also means more people see us and read our content and opinions.

As content creators, individuals are reading and depending on your content and the information you provide. So you’re putting yourself in a position where they rely on you.

That being said— if you have a space where you’re sharing opinions or discussing ways you run YOUR business, it would be beneficial to craft a disclaimer that your suggestions are not meant for everyone.

Aleece even suggests putting a disclaimer at the end of every blog. Be as clear as you can be, so there are NO misunderstandings on what a potential client sees.

If you’re unsure how to write a disclaimer, look around to see the competitors' disclaimers — but no copy and paste allowed!!

Copy and paste or loosely using the same wording leads to copyright infringement. Copyright seems like a big broad policy. But your terms, conditions, disclaimers— everything you see on a website is created for the owner. When someone copies and pastes content from a website or contract, they are treading on infringement on intellectual property.

(Psst… If you’ve made this mistake before, you’re not alone! This happens, and it may be an innocent act. But education is important, and that’s why Aleece makes sure to emphasize that it is not okay to copy ANY part of someone’s site or contract without their proper permission.)

And, of course— making a small investment to use an attorney to make sure that your legal disclaimers fit to your specific language and situation.

How To Address Changes in Your Contracts

Business changes, people change, and that means contracts change. There are a lot of times when your scope of work expands or you want to add on payroll, and it’s hard to know if you need a new contract or if you can just add an addendum to an existing contract.

Well, again, wording matters. Go back and look at the language in your original contract. It’s so simple but so overlooked. If a contract says something along the line of “this is the end all be all contract,” then yes. You need to redraft and write a new contract to be signed.

If there is no language like that involved, clients can sign an additional addendum where they will get new or changed services, and that is totally acceptable.

Changes that are really tricky, and get asked about often include pricing. As business owners, we sometimes have to go in and determine a new price for services . A lot of us send courtesy emails that sound like, “We will be changing the pricing to ____ starting on _____.”

And while Aleece says that it’s appropriate to send an email explaining price changes, we do want to allow clients a chance to opt out of services because of the increase in pricing. BUT whether clients need to sign something new when the prices change may depend on the specific language of your contract.

(If some language in your contract allows you to do ACH (automatic withdrawal) from a client’s account, you want to have that looked at by a professional just to make sure your language approves of that withdrawal with a price change.)

The running theme of this podcast? It is worth investing in legal help to go over documents. It’s worth it to have someone in your corner, protecting your brand and your intellectual property. Build your business from the ground up in a sustainable way, reaching out to people who can help you work in areas outside of our zone of genius!

*This blog is intended for educational purposes only and not to be taken as individual legal advice. Feel free to reach out to Aleece McKnight to discuss your specific legal matters.

About our guest:

Aleece McKnight, Esq. is the CEO at the Law Office of Aleece McKnight, a law firm specializing in trademarks, copyrights, business formation, and contracts. She provides comprehensive legal services and education for creative entrepreneurs, helping them secure their intellectual property and business.

With years of experience, Aleece is a trusted advisor to her clients as they grow their businesses and expand their brand. A recognized expert in copyright and trademark protection, she's been featured on podcasts, articles, and as a speaker at conferences. Aleece is the ultimate legal plug for anyone looking to secure their intellectual property with confidence.

Connect with Aleece Mcknight:

Visit her website: aleecemcknightlaw.com

Connect on Instagram: instagram.com/aleece_mcknight_law

Send her an email: contactus@aleecemcknightlaw.com

Connect on Facebook: facebook.com/aleecemcknightlaw

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