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What is The Contract Shop?

A photo of Christina leaning on a railing

Contract Templates
For your Creative Biz starting at $79

If you’re in love with your work but can’t stand the thought of duct-taping together a contract, user agreement or course terms + conditions on your own, but attorneys are way too expensive, then I got ‘chu babe.

The Contract Shop sells legal templates and courses for creative entrepreneurs, online course creators, consultants, coaches and more.

While there are other similar resources out there, they lack the dedication, experience and heart behind The Contract Shop.

Like many of you, I have too many creative passions and in 2014, I was really lost. I wasn’t sure what path I would pursue-- would it be teaching yoga? Selling calligraphy suites? Becoming a freelance graphic designer? Finding a new in-house legal job? Fashion blogging? Training horses? Wedding photography? Painting? I actually tried to make a go at each of these at one point.

While I was good at all these things, none ever emerged as the clear winner. As luck would have it, I accidentally outed myself to a group that’s near and dear to my heart during their Tuesdays Together monthly meetup. I can’t say ‘the rest is history...’ that wouldn’t be fair to you. If you want to read about what that journey looked like, click here, otherwise, on to why this is so kick ass for you!

10 Reasons Why The Contract Shop is the Chuck Norris of Legal Products

  1. Accessibility. Like most modern attorneys, I don’t believe in legalese, or the lawyer who told me to use it “so that people would be co-dependent on me.” Bleh. You should be able to understand what you’re giving to clients or customers.
  2. Experience. These templates are now in use by over 670 creatives. That’s a lot of feedback we’ve been able to process and use to improve our templates!
  3. Affordability. You already know how much a custom contract + attorney costs (hint: a lot). For the price of an attorney’s hourly rate, you could have a contract template drafted by an attorney from a top 20 law school. How cool is that? Plus, we’re always trying to make things even more affordable by offering select sales throughout the year.
  4. Satisfaction. I’m not shy that your satisfaction is my number one priority, and it’s why I’m the only retailer in the industry that offers fair refunds. Though in 670+ sales and counting, we’ve only had to issue three refunds.
  5. Innovation. While other template sellers are busy catching up to our innovative templates, content and presentation, we’re always much further ahead. For example, at the time of this publication, we are the only seller who offers a clear (and fair) refund policy, an online course to accompany each contract to empower you to answer client questions and a transparent peek into each of our templates.
  6. Excellence. Most attorneys who sell templates did not learn directly from the lady who literally wrote the book on Contract Drafting (she taught at my law school). In the past year, I’ve been offered two in-house legal positions at Fortune 500 companies. I declined. I do this because I want to, not because I have to.
  7. Fun. What good would this be if we were just another generic, stuffy company attempting to appeal to the masses? I like to shop at Anthropologie, buy flowers for the heck of it and have way too much fun than I should on Instagram stories. I’m infusing this energy into my products in the hope that like attracts like.
  8. Trustworthiness. Our templates have been featured, endorsed or used by the Modern Calligraphy Summit, Once Wed, HoneyBook, the Rising Tide Society, Fizzle and more. Plus, each template has been peer reviewed by other attorneys for consistency and strength.
  9. Real human-ness. I wasn’t sure what a one-word descriptor for this would be, but it’s actually kind of perfect because it’s really my team and I-- all real people taking care of you. No long waits or impersonal chats when you have questions. I’ve even been known to call proactively call people (I know, “whaaaaattt!”)
  10. Client Approved. Baby lawyers or lawyers who don’t know what they’re doing tend to draft really unfair agreements. Not me. If you read my mission statement below, you’ll see why. It’s important this is an ongoing relationship, not a one-off purchase!
Another photo of Christina Scalera, the founder of The Contract Shop

About Christina Scalera, Founder of The Contract Shop

This section is so tool-y I can’t even… if you want to learn about me, you should listen to the Creative Empire podcast which I co-host with Reina Pomeroy.

Here’s the basics though:

  • Graduated from law school at Emory
  • Graduated from undergrad at Texas A&M, College Station
  • Loves: horses, Arrested Development and racing to put on warm clothes from the dryer
  • Hates: carbonation, feeling sticky after working out and working out

The Contract Shop Mission

Our mission is to preserve and improve the special relationships you work so hard to cultivate as an entrepreneur. We know how hard you work to earn every penny, follower and friendship. We believe a solid definition of these relationships through contracts sets a trustworthy foundation, no matter how much or little experience you have.

The History of The Contract Shop

Maybe you can relate to the struggle to find your purpose.

In 2014, I was unsure about what I would do with my life. Working in-house as an attorney, I couldn’t help but daydream about a more creative career path. Professionally trained in floral design, I approached floral shops in Atlanta about interning for them as a side gig. Out of the 54 I approached, none got back to me. I learned calligraphy and graphic design for my new blog, and thought about designing stationery (my greatest obsession). Alas, the $15 in sales I was able to scrounge up on Etsy weren’t looking promising as a career choice.

Frustrated, overwhelmed and fearful, I went to a Tuesdays Together meeting to vent with other creatives just trying to ‘make it.’ Coincidentally, the topic of the meeting was contracts, an area I am well-versed in as an intellectual property attorney. I tried to sit back and blend in, but the misinformation and mudslinging got to be too much for me. I finally outed myself as an attorney and the floodgates of questions opened.

It became clear that my fellow creatives needed legal help-- there wasn’t anything or anyone out there to help them. On the one hand, sites like LegalZoom provided contract templates that were too generic and disconnected from the pulse of the creative industry. On the other, hiring an attorney is a difficult process-- you don’t know who is good and who isn’t, and even if you found the cheapest attorney out there, hiring someone to draft your business contracts is an expensive endeavor.

At the end of that meeting as I slipped into my car, I remember texting my partner and telling him I had found my calling as a legal liason for creatives. He texted me back and his exact words were (after many failed business ventures-- he’s incredibly patient): “Well, that’s something you’re uniquely situated to do.”

Originally, I produced and sold contract templates under my own name but as my influence grew, I felt this was bigger than me. I personally moved into more of a consulting role for those toeing the line between revenue and profitability, and re-hauled my contract template store to be even more accessible to you.

What you have today is a one-stop shop for creative entrepreneurs, coaches and wedding professionals looking to shore up their business without cutting corners. I’m proud to offer what I consider to be the best contract templates out there. If you know me, you know one of my flaws is that I can’t help but keep improving + innovating (usually in the shower, where all good ideas come to me).

I hope my little shop is uniquely situated to help you in whatever way it can. If you have any questions, either myself or a team member is always standing by.

Shop the Contracts →