Contracts—Those all important contracts. If you have read my books on beginning a business you know I always say, "Get those contracts signed by the clients before the beginning of work." I firmly believe this & stand by it. In fact, I do it 98% of the time, it is that 2% that got me this year. It was that client who said, "You must produce the work first. They need to approve & accept it." Has this ever happened to you? It did me.
This year has been my most eye-opening year when it comes to the legalities of walking a business. In 2005, I celebrated 20 years in cash gifting business. I believe up until then I sailed though when it came to the legal aspects. Oh yes, I did everything the best I could to make money on the internet. Don't get me wrong & I did most things right. But this year it seemed to all hit. This year I learned the importance of "protecting my business" & this year I learned the true meaning of a "contract." I learned the importance of realizing that it is a business & I need to run it as such in all I do.
Even as an experienced veteran I fell for it. Attorney fees I could ill afford, tons of work & long, long hours spent, a gigantic, "You should know better." from everyone later. The lesson learned is three time they get your product, they hold the Ace card. Keep that in mind. You lose the upper hand, the edge you had, three time you deliver the work to the client. Trust me on this \. before you start a project get it signed, sealed & delivered—the contract that is. The lovely news is I finally did get my contract. But, the aggravation could have been avoided had I done it right the first time.
What about this scenario? You sign a contract only to discover that the project is not what it appeared to be. Something goes drastically wrong & you realize that you need to make chances to the way things are being done. Have you covered yourself adequately for most occurrences or for the unexpected? Your contract seems like a formality that needs to be done when signing on a new client. However, when something goes wrong that contract turns in to your "BEST FRIEND!"