Why every business owner must have a standard legal agreement in place!
I have noticed recently more people coming to me because of my background as a solicitor asking me for help with a legal problem. I refer them on to trusted legal suppliers to help them.
However, I there is a common theme in each of these situations which I think is worth sharing with you; there is no legal agreement/ contact in place to support the nature of the agreement that is coming under challenge/threat.
Look, I don’t mind telling you that as a former solicitor (one who I do not think was ever naturally cut out to be one), I find looking at or reading contracts or agreements a complete pain in the backside. They are so dull. I had to do it for 14 years as a solicitor so I avoid it at all costs now.
However, I also know from bitter experience that if there is no contract or agreement in place between a client and a supplier, the only way anyone can reach an outcome if they really want to test the relationship is to go to court. That costs a lot of money, a lot of time and the outcome is never guaranteed.
So my advice today is to ensure that you have in place an agreement with all of your clients. Set out the basic terms of what you are doing for them and what they must do to obtain your service. Put in any notice periods required or fixed terms if relevant and make it as clean and simple as you can.
There are loads of websites offering standard form agreements now, such as this one: Law Depot so there really is no excuse not to have any agreement in place and it could save you a lot of stress later on.
I will be back next week with a more exciting email, but I know that if I can save you the hassle of a contractual dispute at a later date by ensuring you have agreements in place, you will be in a much better space to grow your business.