Legalities of Becoming an Online Entrepreneur

Have you ever feared of losing your professional license by venturing out into the online business world and accidentally doing something "illegal"?

Lots of health professionals that I've talked to share this hesitation.

But I've come to learn that this fear stems from a lack of knowledge on how to run an online business legally and safely. 

Let me explain:

When you're teaching someone something through an online course, you're not providing formal occupational therapy services.

❌No evals

❌No goal setting

❌No formal treatments

All you're providing is general education and online resources for clients, caregivers, or other professionals that they can take and apply on their own.

So first and foremost, you should add a disclaimer to your course that:

• You are NOT providing formal therapy services.
• Your online resources are for educational purposes only.
• Your services are NOT a substitute for any necessary medical, legal, or professional advice, and;
• You are not responsible for any illness or injury caused by minor risks involved.

Then, to keep yourself protected, all you need to do is add an education rider to your professional liability insurance.

This adjusts your existing liability insurance so that you're protected as an online educator.

These riders can be bought for as little as $25/year. I personally use Proliability by Mercer.

And if you don't already have professional liability insurance, you definitely want to get that, too. 

Keep in mind that all this doesn't apply if you want to provide telehealth services which has a different set of legalities to deal with.

To sum it up, all you need to protect your online course business is:

✅A course disclaimer

✅Professional liability insurance (if you don't have it already)

✅An education rider added to your liability insurance

Once you have these systems and policies in place, you can start serving people outside your professional boundaries without worry.

Imagine how many more people you can serve by taking your OT skills online!!

No more being tied to an employer.

No more being restricted by workplace politics.

The world's your oyster in the online business world. 🌍

*DISCLAIMER: This blog post is not professional legal advice. Please make sure to do your own research on state and country laws/regulations on protecting yourself as both an online entrepreneur and professional.

P.S. If you're ready to push past your professional boundaries and serve more people, book a call today to see if this could work for you!