CONTRACTS AS A LIFE SKILL

You know how to read a balance sheet, even though you aren’t an accountant.

You post on LinkedIn, even though you aren’t a social media manager.

You’ve perfected the 4 minute egg (which apparently cooks for only 3 minutes), even though you’re no chef.

Doctor Mom to the rescue, without a medical degree.

It’s time to put on your big girl panties regarding your contracts too.

No one is trying to turn you into a lawyer. But you need to know enough to be competent and professional.

If you have corporate clients, you are encountering contracts on the regular. A base level understanding of and confidence to discuss basic contract issues is a prerequisite to being a services professional.

How much knowledge is required? Well, that depends on what type of business you desire.

All the ways that contracts impact your business: clients, suppliers, employees, secret sauce.

If you sell your time as an extra pair of hands, and if that is fine with you, you need to know just a little. Make sure you understand the milestones, acceptance requirements, and compensation provision--and DO NOT use anything that isn’t original or provided by the client unless you have written permission to use it.

Now, if you want to build a business that can scale where your income is decoupled from your time, you must understand how contracts affect intellectual property. Not understanding what you are signing is the number one way that you will lose control of your IP.

Before you panic, I assure you that it isn’t rocket science. If you can understand a spreadsheet, you can understand your contracts.

Contracts are part of doing business in the 21st century, and ignorance is not an option. You need to have a base-level understanding of the various contracts that cross your desk.

That’s why I’m here, week after week: to educate you about the contracts you enter with your corporate clients and your subcontractors so you (i) become confident about using contracts in your business and (ii) understand the vital role that contracts play in building a scalable and saleable business.

If you have questions about your contracts or could use a dose of confidence, connect with me on LinkedIn and join me for monthly LinkedIn Lives on the last Wednesday of each month at Noon ET to get your questions answered.