Protect Yourself
When it comes to getting materials in writing with contracts and agreements, it’s imperative for an entrepreneur to know “what” to actually get in writing.
Now we all know how important it is to use lawyers and just how beneficial they are to a young business professional. However on the flip side anybody that’s ever actually used a lawyer or C.P.A.’s services also knows that they can sometimes get rather expensive.
So if you don’t have the proper funds to acquire the services of these professional advisors and consultants, should you avoid entrepreneurship?
Some rather conservative individuals would probably answer yes to that question, however I say that you can’t always sit around waiting for the perfect opportunity to make things happen, I think you should go in and attack full force and let misfortunes straighten themselves out in the process.
So if you don’t have the money for a lawyer, how are you going to properly get contracts drafted? Simple, you’re going to do them yourself! I know this may seem overwhelming, especially at first, but truly drafting contracts isn’t that big of a deal, especially if you’re working small, minor projects as a start-up business owner.
Sometimes contracts can be overrated, I say this because some people make them much more than they actually are or more than what they have to be. A contract doesn’t have to include tons of legal jargon and fancy articles, by-laws, addendums, sections and codes. That stuff is for the professionals; the attorney’s that actually have the proper educational and industry training.
The main thing for you to remember when you’re drafting a contract is simply to protect yourself. Be sure to include everything in your contract that will ensure that you receive proper payment, be sure to spell out all the terms of the agreement and make sure you offer yourself some type of opportunity to exit or a backup plan if things get ugly during the business deal.
If you can just always be sure that you protect yourself and put everything in the contract that you feel is important, then it’s a good contract. It doesn’t matter what size the contract is! If it takes you 50 pages to explain all the important highlights of the deal from your perspective and to remain confident that you’re protected, then make it 50 pages.
If it only takes one simple sentence to wrap everything up and ensure your safety, then make it one sentence. Remember it doesn’t matter the length and it doesn’t have to sound like it was written by an expert from Harvard Law School, just make sure to cover your rear-end and you should be alright.
Once you start acquiring more business and your deals start to get more complicated, then you can hire the assistance of professional advisors and consultants to draft documents. However until that time comes, be sure to try and get it in writing and to protect yourself as much as possible.
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