Legalities & Contracts -- The Not So Fun Stuff!

By:Diana Ennen

This year has been my most eye-opening year when it comes to the legalities of running a business. In 2005, I celebrated 20 years in business. I believe up until then I just sailed though when it came to the legal aspects. Oh yes, I did everything the best I could. Don’t get me wrong and I did most things right. But this year it seemed to all hit. This year I learned the importance of “protecting my business” and this year I learned the true meaning of a “contract.” I learned the importance of realizing that it’s a business and I need to run it as such in all I do.

Contracts—Those all important contracts. If you’ve read my books on starting a business you know I always say, “Get those contracts signed by the clients before the inception of work.” I firmly believe this and stand by it. In fact, I do it 98% of the time, it’s that 2% that got me this year. It was that client who said, “You have to produce the work first. We need to approve and accept it.” Has this ever happened to you? It did me.

Even as an experienced veteran I fell for it. Attorney fees I could ill afford, tons of work and long, long hours spent, a big, “You should know better.” from everyone later. The lesson learned is once they get your product, they hold the Ace card. Keep that in mind. You lose the upper hand, the edge you had, once you deliver the work to the client. Trust me on this ... before you start a project get it signed, sealed and delivered—the contract that is. The good 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 and 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 just seems like a formality that needs to be completed when signing on a new client. However, when something goes wrong that contract turns into your “BEST FRIEND!”

Designing a Contract — When I first design a contract, I do the research myself initially. You can find the tools you need on nolo.com, Google and the topic, and books and message boards. I do a very thorough search ad extensive research first. Then I write the contract to include everything I need. Think three years from now. Think the worse case scenario. I really don’t want to sound pessimistic here, but if you do, you will be protected for all cases. If you have covered yourself for the worse, then you have yourself covered for the best as well.

However, with that said, don’t go overboard. You don’t need to add everything or your points will get lost. Your clients won’t want to read through it either. For example, I just reviewed someone’s 15-page contract that was so outrageous boring I could hardly make it though. It had so much legalese and repetitive language, that everything she wanted to state was totally non-existent. You want your points to stand out. You want them to understand what you are saying.

If at all possible, get your contracts and legal documents reviewed by an attorney and let a professional be the one to look over it and see what you are missing. Yes, it’s an expense, but a worthwhile one.

With solids contracts in hand you and your business will be secure and you will be free to do what you do best, make money.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: contracts, Virtual Assistant, VA, operating a business, home-based business, legal issues, contract requirements, self-employment, business basics, small business

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Diana Ennen, Author; Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, and Words From Home, Start, Run and Operate a Successful Word Processing Business available at www.virtualwordpublishing.com. She also does publicity and book marketing and has published the science fiction thriller, Sledgehammer by Paulo J. Reyes, M.D.

Top Legal Articles
1). how to defer jury duty By : Phil Wiley Let’s face it. Jury duty can be a drag, but most of all it’s not always convenient when we’re called up to service. So how can you defer jury duty?
2). A Power of Attorney is Your Legal Representative By : James Hunt What is a power of attorney? Most people have heard this phrase used before...
3). The New Bankruptcy “Means Test” Explained in Plain English By : Charles J. Phelan With the new bankruptcy law in effect as of October 17, 2005, there is a lot of confusion regarding the new "means test" requirement. The means test will be used by the courts to determine eligibility for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The purpose of this article is to explain in plain language how the means test works, so that consumers can get a better idea of how they will be affected under the new rules.
4). Estate Planning - No Contest Clause in your Will By : Ronald Hudkins Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins There is value in the story of an older client who had seen a very interesting clause employed in a will. There was a great deal of money at stake and the many family members had little reason to love each other, because they had never met and never knew of each other’s existence. It was expected that the will would be heavily contested on several different fronts in every conceivable way.
5). Top 5 To Dos Before Saying “I do” By : by Jennifer Coleman, M.S./ Ed.S., N.C.C., Ros Today, nearly half of all marriages don't last. Everyday I work with couples going through a divorce, many times over preventable conflicts. I’ve lear
6). How to File a claim for Celebrex injury By : Jefferson Highway, General Counsel There is mounting evidence to suggest that Celebrex (aka celecoxib) is linked to an increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. Celebrex
7). Rentacomputer.com (LSS) Legal Support Services By : John Beagle Renting technology for the Legal ProfessionRentacomputer.com will set-up workspaces in courtrooms, offices and "war rooms" for attorneys and
8). Media Stunts For An Injury Claim By : Mohammad Latif The claims culture arrived in the UK and it was chaos. Door canvassers and telesales, knocking and ringing constantly for an injury claim.
9). golf mental tip - get out of your own way! By : rob moore Get out of your own way Developing a strong mental golf game involves identifying the chief problems that usually stump us, and then lea
10). DUI Law Punishments By : Information Association, LLC It’s no surprise that current DUI Law mandates that DUI punishments cause problems in your personal life in the short term. With punishments such as t

New Legal Articles
1). Personal Injury Compensation Claims By : Julian Hall Not all accidents lead to legal proceedings, however if there are no serious injuries, you may be entitled to recover damages for property and other expenses from the third party. The likelihood of legal proceedings will usually rest on the quantum, or the amount of financial damage which has ensued from the accident.
2). Are You the Lucky Owner of a Lemon? By : Karen Kirby Do you want to put the lemon laws of your state to work for you, but you are a little hesitant that you will succeed? Well, then read on ...
3). California Contractor License Bond By : Seth Miller Before a contractor can receive a contractor’s license in California, the contractor must register with the California Contractors State License Board and pay a Contractor's License Bond or a cash credit. In the event of a contractor's license getting suspended or annulled due to a breach of the Contractors License Law, the contractor must file a disciplinary bond with the CSLB.
4). Montana Child Support the Treasure State By : Holcy Montana Child Support How do you know if you qualify for child support? Child support is available to all single parents in need of financial assistance from the non-custodial parent. In order to receive child support services, you must first fill out an application with the state of Montana. When apply for child support, there will be a non-refundable application fee.
5). Criminal background check By : Stanley Alpin Background checks are a useful screening and selection tool for companies. Of the many types of background checks, criminal background checks are routinely carried out by employers to ensure that they are not courting a risk of physical and mental trauma. In fact, in several states in the U.S, criminal background checks are compulsory for prospects who apply for positions in places such as nursing homes, educational institutions, and adult care centers.
6). Employment background check By : Stanley Alpin Employment background checks are becoming increasingly common these days. The reasons for this include the fact that negligent hiring lawsuits that result from the actions of an errant employee can damage a company’s credibility and lead to hefty fines; companies have become more selective in their choice of employees following the threat of terrorist activities; accepting a resume at face value has resulted in many companies wasting time and money due to frequent hire-and-fire situations.
7). How an employee background check works By : Stanley Alpin Over the past few years pre-employment background checks have gained significance for employers big and small. Companies can either execute the required activities in-house or can outsource them to human resource companies that specialize in carrying out background checks. There is a lot of paper-work, co-coordination, and follow-up that goes into conducting a background check and for this reasons companies prefer to get the job done by an outside agency.
8). Is an instant background check even possible? By : Stanley Alpin Given that there are more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and that information on U.S citizens is scattered across various databases all over 3,142 counties, it is safe to conclude that an instant background check is not possible at present. Yet, there are innumerable companies that purportedly offer instant background checks.
9). What shows up on a criminal record background check? By : Stanley Alpin A criminal record background check can throw up a lot of information on an individual including previous arrests as well as conviction and non-conviction information. The information is obtained from Federal Fugitive files, files from the Department of Corrections prison, state criminal records, databases on sex offenders, and prison parole records.
10). Offshore Trust - Effective Estate Planning, You Decide By : Ronald Hudkins Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The creation of offshore trusts and other financial plans is a way of shielding your assets from the laws of the nation in which you reside. It can sometimes be used to remove one of the two certainties of life; taxes. Americans are far less likely than the citizens of other countries to put assets abroad because, although when you receive the benefits of being free of your country’s laws regarding assets (namely taxation) you also lose the aspect of those laws that are designed to protect your assets.