Businessese

Translating the legalese and handling the fine print

By

Episode 008 – When Do You Need a Contract?

Listen to this episode of Simplifying Legal for Small Business Owners using the player above or check it out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Contracts are incredibly important for small business owners. Because of their importance, I’ll be talking all about contracts for the next few episodes of the show.

In keeping with my mission to simplify legal, I’m not going to get into the highly legal side of contract formation. My goal for this particular series is to tell you about the different types of contract terms, so you’ll not only know what you want in your client agreements but also have a better understanding of what to look for in other contracts you enter on behalf of your business.

Today, however, I’m starting with a bigger question: when do you need a contract? The answer: it’s probably more often than you think. In addition, I define a contract, tell you the reasons why business contracts matter, and go over any terms or sections you should include in each type of agreement I cover.

Please subscribe if you haven’t already. And if you like the show, I’d love it if you’d give it a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode:

[02:12] – Before revealing when you need a contract, Danielle discusses what exactly a contract is.

[02:57] – Contracts can take other forms even if typical ones are signed by the parties involved.

[03:33] – A good contract should set out so much more than just the payment terms.

[03:52] – Danielle quickly reviews six reasons why business contracts matter.

[06:02] – Client agreements are among the most important foundational documents for a service-based business and should include these provisions.

[08:07] – As a blogger or influencer, you’ll want a lot of the same terms in your sponsorship agreements.

[08:36] – If you have team members, you need a team agreement. Different terms apply for independent contractors and employees.

[10:49] – Vendor agreements often overlap with a lot of the clauses Danielle previously discussed.

[11:38] – With speaker agreements, look carefully at compensation since it varies greatly across different events.

[12:59] – Keep these two big, recent trends in mind for any speaking agreements you create or sign.

[13:49] – Danielle addresses the last contract category which isn’t that common for all businesses but still worth mentioning.

[14:39] – Danielle lays out the action steps for today.

Links & Resources:

Share this post:

Share on PinterestShare on LinkedIn