YES! Whatever industry you’re in, chances are you’re going to need to hire someone, whether it’s a short-term contract, that design job you just don’t feel like doing yourself or signing a new client or non-disclosure agreement. You need to cover your butt, minimize risk and avoid costly legal hassles down the line. If you want to set boundaries, be professional and outline your terms, a (legally-binding) contract is the only way to go.

While an experienced contract lawyer can help you navigate the legal waters to minimize risk and draft a custom-fit agreement that works for your unique circumstances, lawyers aren’t known for our affordability. With The Secure Startup, you have the templates, guides and advice you need to protect your growing business. BUT, if you have a particularly unique situation and need something customized or if you’re going into business with someone else and need an agreement for that, you probably shouldn’t DIY it and we’d be happy to help over at  Henry Business Law

Don’t panic ☺ We’re going to be releasing new bundles on an ongoing basis. If you’d like to know when new bundles are dropping or if you’d like to request one, drop us a line at hello@thesecurestartup.ca.

Intellectual property is the original concepts and ideas you have created that support your business, conceived of and developed by yourself, your employees or advisors – which becomes a company asset. This includes:

• Work processes
• inventions
• articles, blog posts, case studies, and other content
• books
• illustrations, designs, photos, logos or other
• music
• product and business names
• taglines and slogans
• movies, games or apps

There are a number of ways to protect your intellectual property, namely copyright, registering a trademark, patent or a specific trade secret. While this doesn’t fall under our bundles, I’m happy to help with specific requests (at a price).  

There are a number of things you can do to protect your business in the online world, which include making sure nobody is using your brand without your permission – and taking action if they do. You need to monitor social media platforms to make sure nobody is using your intellectual property. Set up an alert or do regular searches, monitor your domain names and online marketplaces and check out app stores to see if anyone is copying your hard work.

TheSecureStartup provides legally-binding cease and desist letters as part of your bundle, which you can send to anyone using your intellectual property without authorization.

No. While I am a Cambridge educated lawyer, my goal with TheSecureStartup is to provide legal templates and advice you can use to protect your business. These bundles are designed to meet challenges you might not have thought of yet, but ones you need to be protected against. While I can give you legal advice, this is outside of my bundle packages and will be quoted on separately. 

No, this is not necessary. Electronic signing (e-signing) is convenient and legally-binding. When you use a reputed e-signing platform, the e-signature can be traced to your client’s IP address, which can offer proof of who signed a contract should it be required (signatures can be forged). However, if you prefer a printed and signed copy, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have one!

Unless you have some specific requirements, there’s no real reason why you would need a custom contract. My downloadable templates are designed to provide comprehensive coverage to entrepreneurs like you, in your specific industry. Rather save your hard-earned cash for other aspects of your business.

These templates were created by Andrea Henry, a Cambridge-educated lawyer with over a decade of experience working in corporate law. You can learn more about Andrea here.

Each template is carefully reviewed, and best of all, you’re getting Andrea’s expertise and that of multiple lawyers at a fraction of what lawyers normally charge.

The Secure Startup was created in response to client after client sharing their frustration at the multitude of resources available for American entrepreneurs while little was made specifically for Canadians. So, the short answer is, while you’re free to use these templates, they were created by a Canadian lawyer for Canadian entrepreneurs.

We’ve provided tons of resources to help you create a contract that fits your unique business. There are customization tips for every template as well as guides for each industry we cover to help you think about what your business needs and we’ll tell you exactly how to customize it for your business. These are not one-size-fits-all templates and we give you guidance, in plain English, on how to make them yours.

Yes, as long as you get both parties to sign and initial all pages.

We really hope you don’t get that far! Each of our templates includes a dispute resolution clause which requires the parties to try to first resolve the dispute without resorting to the court.

That said, if you were to get to litigation, the most important thing to have at your disposal is a clear, unambiguous list of what your rights and responsibilities and those of the other party are or were.

Our templates provide that, plus the necessary language around dispute resolution and the things that make a contract legally sound.

These are things like:

• Where a dispute will be negotiated, or litigated, if it comes to that including what law governs the contract; 
• What your termination policy is, and how that will be enforced (the template allows you to choose, with suggested language); and
• The fact that this contract is your full and final agreement — you’re not left to hunt around your text messages and emails to figure out what you agreed to

This happens on occasion so I’ve created guides that walk you through your template so you can explain your contract. Should you need more… customization.

 [MA1]Customization options?

Each template can be downloaded immediately in PDF? Or Word formats for you to just fill in and go! You’ll also receive a video guide that will walk you through how to get the most of your template.

The short answer is NO. The long answer is: just like I’m helping you to protect your intellectual property, I’d appreciate it if you’d protect mine too. These bundles offer incredible value at a steal, so if you think the templates are great for your entrepreneurial friends, become an affiliate, refer them to TheSecureStartup and make some money while spreading legal joy!

You’ll get a guide with your bundle package that shows you how to use your templates and make them work for you! All you need to do is fill in the blanks, use the customization tips to make it truly yours and send them to your client for their signature.

YES! You can make your contract your own by adding your own branding (and I encourage you to do this).

The Secure Startup exists to protect your business and to give you the foundation you need to grow with confidence. If you’ve read the guides, followed the customization tips and are still not happy with your bundle (or any part of it),  we’ll work with you until you are, even if it means a full refund subject to the following conditions:

Deadline to apply for a refund. To be eligible for a refund you must submit your request within 2 weeks of your purchase of the template.

Completed Contracts. We’ll ask for the completed contract(s) (to make sure you gave it the old college try) and for an explanation of why you’re not happy with the product.

Company Discretion. After you submit your materials, all refunds are within our sole discretion as to whether to grant or deny the refund request.

Please do not purchase our templates if you just want to “check them out.” We put an extraordinary amount of time and effort into our guides and templates, and we expect you to do the same. This is for serious bosses only.

If you have a question that’s not mentioned here, you can contact me via email. If you have a support request, please contact me so I can help you as quickly as possible.

Tel: 416-639-6235
E-mail: andrea@henrybusinesslaw.com