A legal adviser is working with new fitness coaches to help them build stronger, more transparent client arrangements.
Raihan Islam, founder of High-Velocity X, supports early-stage coaching businesses by developing structured terms and conditions that define what both parties can expect.
After training with international law firm Fieldfisher – which has acted for major brands including Amazon – he now focuses on practical legal frameworks for small and growing ventures.
His work centres on producing customised agreements that reflect each business model rather than relying on generic templates.
Putting these measures in place early can prevent small disagreements from becoming costly distractions during a critical period of growth.
“When you are running your business, you want to get a lot of sales – but what happens when you get those lots of sales and you are expected to deliver the results and then just one person says ‘Did I sign up for that?’
“You might have dozens of clients to worry about but if you are dealing with just three or four simultaneous disputes and you don’t have a good way of resolving them, that can really bog down your whole business.
“Do you want to be spending your time on that or would you rather be spending your time on more sales, better customer service , better delivery, renewals and having a smooth sailing business?”
Islam believes that clear documentation reduces uncertainty and helps maintain trust between coach and client.
The rapid growth of online coaching networks has also increased the importance of protecting intellectual property, particularly where programme materials are shared digitally.
While some businesses use automated tools to produce contracts, he argues that individual risk assessment remains essential.
“The reason businesses work with me is because of how I look at risk, how I look at ‘what are those biggest concerns that the business owner has?’ The exercise I use with all of my clients is ‘Tell me your top five to ten worst fears that could happen in terms of this relationship – what are you worried about the most?’
“When they tell me their concerns, I can tailor the advice and the contractual language to not just their business sector but their specific concerns and I make sure I have cross-checked what I am advising with what is happening out there in the market.”
Further information is available at [email protected]