4 Legal Agreements You Need to Operate Your Wellness Business Online
Guest Post by: Yoga Business Lawyer, Cory Sterling
With the current global pandemic, many wellness professionals have moved their businesses online. If you have a website, mailing list or if you’re offering online classes, then it's important to outline how you collect personal information and everything else involved with a person’s use of the website, in order to comply with privacy laws and clearly outline what people can expect from your services.
Since websites collect user information, you’ll want to be open and honest about what you’re going to do with it and where you’re keeping it. This gives web visitors a choice about the personal information they share and helps them avoid ‘spam’. If your site uses third parties, you’ll want to communicate their privacy policy too.
Here are 4 legal agreements you should think about acquiring when teaching your classes online:
1— A privacy policy outlines how a business, website, or person collects, uses and discloses personal information that they receive about people.
2— Terms and Conditions are the rules your visitors must agree to in using your website and buying your products and services.
Since your website does all the talking for you, you have to make sure it is saying all of the right things to protect you and ensure that you are participating in relationships how you would like to. Some of the common items you’ll find in terms and conditions or terms of service include: Copyright, purpose, links to third-party websites, license to use materials, limitation of liability, disclaimers, and no guarantees.
3— A disclaimer is any statement that is used to specify or limit the scope of obligations and rights that are enforceable in a legally recognized relationship.
A social media disclaimer is important to keep your business protected from the activity that takes place on your social pages. Disclaimers are important to protect your customers. Since you are advising people in using your heart-leading business services, you’ll want to be open and honest about your qualifications, what services you are providing or what is in the product that you are selling. Make sure to be realistic about the outcomes your customers can expect by including a ‘no guarantees’ clause, otherwise dissatisfied customers could file a claim against you and your business.
Without these legal agreements, you run the risk of being sued and held liable for data breaches, improper use of personal information, and losing the trust of your clients. Just downloading generic privacy policy, terms and conditions, or disclaimer templates does not adequately protect your business.
Privacy policies are required by several regulations (such as California Online Privacy Protection Act, Privacy Shield, EU General Data Protection Regulation, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule) any time you collect personal information (like email address, billing info, phone number, etc.) from website visitors.
4— Waiver of Liability is a must have for anyone who facilitates yoga or other physical activity. It explains the risks and possible outcomes of participating in activities with you, and allows clients to absolve you of liability.
Without a customized and professionally drafted waiver of liability, there is a high likelihood that your waiver will be unenforceable, which defeats the purpose of having a waiver in the first place. When someone signs a waiver of liability, they forfeit their legal right to hold you liable for what might happen when they are in your care. Waivers protect your company, or instructor, from being sued if someone gets injured. Give yourself peace of mind with this clear, unambiguous, jurisdiction specific and customized waiver of liability.
I know this is a lot of information and it may seem daunting at first. Once you have the proper legal documents in place, you can rest easy knowing that you and your clients are protected. I want you to know that we’re here to help.
With Love,
Cory Sterling
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Cory Sterling is the founder of the heart-leading law firm Conscious Counsel, a lawyer, yoga teacher, and group fitness instructor. He wrote ‘The Yoga Law Book’ and has served hundreds of yoga, fitness & wellness professionals and studio owners around the world. He won the award for "Highest Rated Session" at MindBody Bold and stays committed every day to teach about the law in a FUN and practical way.
