QLD Paying a lawyer vs using a template contract for equipment rental side hustle

Not to be flippant, but it's kind of a weird question to ask in a law forum as to whether you should use the services of a lawyer or not. To give it an analogy that may resonate with you:

"Should I hire a professional film maker, or should I just go out and get a video camera and shoot it myself?"

@Rob Legat - SBPL - I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but that one made me spill my coffee!

For the OP, in my opinion, no harm in doing it yourself if you know someone who can give it a once over when you're done. After all - whether or not you engage a lawyer isn't going have any bearing on whether or not someone steals or breaks something. If you've built up good relationships with your clients over the years, then you might already know someone who's willing to look it over for mates rates, a few beers, or maybe even for free. Depends on who's backs you've been scratching.

But you should keep some other things in mind too. Your cameras, microphones, etc are your work tools - same as a hammer and saw are a carpenter's work tools. Like a tradie, you're relying on these tools to make a living, so if anything happens to them, you could find yourself unable to take on new work or even start a job that you already have booked. Even if the problem is short term, it could still cause some financial stress, but more importantly, it could hurt your reputation big time.

I recommend that you wait until you can purchase some equipment specifically for hiring out rather than hiring out your own work tools. I know from years of P.A. work with live bands that there's two golden rules when it comes to equipment hire:
1. Don't ever expect people to treat your gear with the same respect that you do. Things will get broken and go missing.
2. Don't ever expect people to return gear on time. While most do, you will always come across those who don't - and that's not a possiblility, it's a certainty.

That $10,000 camera, along with anything else you regularly use, are your own work tools. Hiring them out is a risk whether you have insurance or not and I strongly advise to never do it.

One question though - should we be concerned that you're referring to this side project as a "hustle"?