The SOLOPreneur: Designing Contracts and Terms of Agreement

Contracts and Terms of Agreement for the SOLOpreneur

Contracts

There was a time when a man’s word was sufficient and you could hold others accountable and the courts would uphold the agreement.  We live in a different world today, but the primary question you should ask yourself in creating any type of agreement or contract is whether you want it to provide you with a) strong legal standing or if your intention is really to b) simply, but clearly define the terms of agreement and standards of expectation to avoid misunderstanding and breached relationships. 

Creating Contractual Agreements

Essentially, you are creating a contractual agreement, which you should seriously respect as an essential part of any corporate/business-related exchange.  Your reason is to bring clarity to an agreement that achieves fair and reasonable objectives for both parties.  Many small business owners tend not to develop these agreements, not quite knowing how to structure them, and having some fear that they may inadvertently over commit themselves in some way. 

Since your primary objective is have a mutually rewarding, long-term business endeavor, these terms and agreements protect everyone.  They do not have to be pages and pages of legalese – just a simple statement of the facts will suffice and in all likelihood, will make the messages easy to read and understand!  An interesting little tidbit to assure you short and simple works… I learned in my Contract Law classes that the contract for the construction of the Queen Elizabeth, one of the largest liners in its days, was contained in a letter from the builder containing words to the effect “We agree to build the Queen Elizabeth for 5 million pounds”.

Five Basic Elements of a Legal Contract/Agreement

Terms and Conditions

Keep in mind that there are different types of contracts and they should not all be considered “equal.”  Many can be very effective, with all the terms spelled out on one simple page, while others are akin to the depth of a War and Peace novel.  However, please bear in mind that if your intent is for providing specific legal protection, there are five basic essential elements which your document MUST contain in order to be considered legal.

1. Legal Competency:  Both parties must meet the age requirement of 18 years or older to legally enter into a binding contract.  It also requires that both parties are psychologically and intellectually able to meet the terms and conditions they set forth in their agreement. 
2. Mutual Agreement:  By mutually consenting to the provisions outlined in the agreement which are clearly defined and understandable to both parties.  The language should never be vague or misleading, and there must be both an offer and acceptance by the parties, to which both parties are completely willing and agreeable to come to a mutual and satisfactory conclusion.
3. Legal Objective:  This means that the underlying actions being contracted for or agreed upon must be legal in nature.  No contract is considered valid if any action spelled out is unlawful.
4. Consideration:  In order for any contract to be valid and/or enforceable, there must be a specifically stated value that is being given in exchange for the goods and services, which are being used to induce the other party into the agreement.  That consideration can be currency or any physical item that has monetary value.
5. Written Contract:  Contracts, which are intended to clear up any conflict, misconception, or disagreement, that may later occur between two parties, are best written in plain English.  Oral contracts are still considered “contracts” but are not enforceable under the law. 

Terms of Agreement and Standards of Excellence or Expectation

If your primary consideration is to outline terms of agreement and standards of excellence or expectations, you will still want to consider the five basic essentials, but your language will be more specifically directed at – and this is the tough part when you consider you want to have a “positive” approach to engaging in a new relationship – focusing on every possible thing that could conceivably become an issue at some later date!  Most of my clients tend to keep adding to the terms of their agreements following some nasty little issue that raised its head because it wasn’t considered at the time of the agreement!  That is not a bad thing. – after all life is about experiences and how we deal with them; therefore, the most positive thing you can do is accept your part in how the transaction became less than your expectations, and modify your terms of agreement so that it does not become a repeat event!

Put on the shoes of an objective bystander who would look at all the facts relevant to the potential, legally binding relationship and posture the terms and expectations from the standpoint that you want things to be so clearly defined that:

1. there will never be a question about what was meant or expected,
2. the relationship will be protected from inadvertent misunderstandings,
3. unsavory discussions will not become necessary because you have clearly defined the “parameters” in writing before the relationship was established,
4. the waste of valuable time will be eliminated in an attempt to resolve an issue that was already discussed, in writing, at the beginning of the relationship, and
5. a person who deep down is not your “ideal client” will be able to step away from a relationship rather than agree to terms they cannot or are not willing to commit to.

Look for Industry Standards

Don’t hesitate looking to your industry peers to secure samples of Agreements or Contracts which have been developed and review a few of them, taking what you like and removing what does not appear to address the terms and conditions you would like to see and would like your potential customer or professional partner to agree to.  Keep in mind that you want something basic enough to cover all possible issues, with the understanding that as new considerations made themselves visible, you are ready and willing to add that to your own document.

If you aren’t comfortable with asking your peers for examples or if you feel your industry does not have them sufficiently developed… create your own.  You don’t have to start from scratch – there are many free downloadable legal documents that will at least give you a foundation for making sure those five basic essentials are there for you, and then use your worst and best experiences to fill in the exact items you want to make sure are covered.  You are intelligent and know your business and industry and you probably remember what may have caused problems for you in the past, so in all likelihood, you are the best person to draft this document!

Focus First on the Value of Your Time, Product and Service

When you are drafting your terms and conditions, make sure you consider the value of what you are providing… many times you will find yourself in the grasp of someone asking for ‘more” of you for the same pricing, and if you haven’t clearly defined the boundaries or limitations of what you are providing, you may inadvertently wind up giving away a lot of your time and talent, for fear of breaching a stable relationship. 

As a SOLOpreneur, you are probably inclined to give away a little too much of the “farm” when you first start working with clients and it can be the undoing of your profitability structure!  Value yourself and all that you bring to the world, give what is fair in return for reasonable compensation and if your clients find and receive that value, their willingness to pay for more of the same quality should be a reasonable expectation as you fill another level or different type of service.  Most SOLOpreneurs come as a package of multiple talents and skills; assess them and place a value on each one and don’t let the waters get muddied over exactly what it is you are providing and what you will expect additional compensation for.  A well structured Terms of Agreement can actually serve as a great marketing tool: 

For Example:

Additional Services Provided: (Header Paragraph)

I agree to do x in exchange for $x as outlined in the previous paragraphs of this Agreement/Contract; however, additional services, including

1. 1.XXX
2. 2.XXXX
3. XXXXX
4. 4.XXXXXX
5. 5.XXXXXXX

are also available for additional fees.   Please feel free to contact me to discuss which of these services I might also provide you in support of accelerating your own success.

I trust that you have found merit and direction in this post.  If you would like an exploratory discussion around this topic so that you might better focus on the “formal documents” required to best manage your business, please send me an email to AnnaWeber@4-DSuccess.com with the words Agreements in the subject line and we can open the discussion about how to make that happen.

Anna Weber

The SOLOpreneur’s Success Strategy Coach

Wisdom Circles: The Concept of Shared Knowledge

The Wisdom Circle’s concept of people with common interests coming together for mutual support is not new… the pages of history are filled, portraying philosophies and stories of drawing on the wisdom of many to support the efforts of few. These history pages reflect industries, businesses, governments and the military using the power that comes from sharing the wisdom of collective minds.

When used by success-driven Entrepreneurs, the groups become a collective of carefully selected, six to eight non-competing, vested business owners who hold in common the total responsibility for creating and maintaining a thriving business. The consistent supportive contact of this group is capable of producing an unusually strong mutual respect and sense of confidentiality.

The Science of Synectics

There is a little known science, Synectics, which proves to be an interesting problem solving formula used to stimulate thought processes of which people are not normally aware. Although there is little recognition for the method developed during the 1950’s, the work of its developers, Prince and Gordon, has gained some momentum over the past sixty years, even if under more “sexy” marketing names.

It was the Master Minds and the Networking Groups and the Wisdom Circles that caught onto the idea that success is better defined by getting creative solutions through a group committed to action. It is the wide-spread action of such groups that uses the power of brainstorming and using analogies and metaphors to create ideas which are “outside of the box”… ideas that at first glance may appear to not even be feasible, but are turned into a new course of action by people seriously committed to implementing them.

The Structure of Shared Knowledge

Each Entrepreneur is hard-wired to intake information and support in a particular manner; each is also deeply intuitive that to accelerate the road to success, some type of support and guidance is necessary. It is this reality that drives the formation of various groups, and the very need that stimulates the creativity of design and formation that experiences few limitations.

Unfortunately, too many Entrepreneurs look first to their networking groups to fill their intuitive need for this shared knowledge. They start the process looking for prospective clients, but there is frequently a subconscious need to not make their “journey” alone. There has to exist a deeper level of knowing and understanding the operation of another person’s business in order to be a valuable advisor, and that cannot happen in a traditional networking environment. Although, as a part of the shared knowledge process, new business leads can be, and frequently are, provided – that is never the underlying function of a knowledge-based group.

If you don’t like high-paid leads groups – you create something different that actually supports your values and beliefs. If you don’t like a traditional Master Mind format, you simply restructure it to something that best serves your needs. Perhaps your vision is a Board of Directors which serves in an unofficial capacity, specifically organized and brought together to offer input and guidance for the management/operations of your growing company. Or, you may prefer a Board of Advisors, which serves at an even more informal level – sharing business challenges and suggested resolutions.

Womens Wisdom Circles

My favorite, of course is the Womens Wisdom Circle where two things happen:

1. A collective of committed, success-driven Entrepreneurs meet to share their wisdom and support; and
2. Those same women excel not only in the strategically designed growth of their personal lives and business profitability, but they grow as leaders who move on to duplicate the Wisdom Circle platform to a myriad of others who are waiting for the perfect foundation for living a life without limits.

Group Size IS Important

Six to eight members in a Wisdom Circle allows for a number of significant benefits:

1. Optimum communication in a limited meeting time. Each member will arrive at the meetings with different levels of success, complications, resource needs, etc. and because the time element is structured, the level of creating solutions through communication does have certain limitations – a smaller number serves to mitigate that limitation.
2. A sufficient variance of business experiences, resources, connections and talent can be experienced with six to eight members.
3. A platform that allows for a certain amount of flexibility, while ensuring that each member has equal time for gaining benefit through the underlying support process.

What is more important than size is the full commitment of members being in attendance at each meeting. The information and actions are cumulative in nature, causing more to be lost than gained if  someone cannot fully commit.

I trust you have found at least one little nugget of value here, designed to shake up your thinking and encouraging you to make new and different choices about how you want to design your business and your future.

This is but one of a series of articles relative to creating, participating in and being empowered by a Women’s Wisdom Circle… subscribe to the feed so you don’t miss one!

Anna Weber

4-Dimensional Success

Always… encouraging you to engage in positive, life-altering actions that will provide you with long-term, sustainable benefit!

Why Women’s Wisdom Circles?

In marketing, it is essential that you are able to clearly and succinctly explain the dynamics of your product or service – that you are acutely aware of what you are bringing to the world and why.  It is also important that the name you choose for your product or program embodies everything that will ultimately create a “brand” or image for you in the eyes of the public.

Many business owners struggle with this.  I am no exception!  I have the great fortune of being a Certified Life and Business Coach, along with which comes a firm belief in the benefit of having a “kick-butt” person who challenges and tests you in order to get you out of your own way, and out there playing a bigger game.  My journey has been a bit more than, shall we say, interesting!

Enter Therese Skelly of HappyInBusiness.com!  She is a long-time client, professional peer and friend; it is natural that I would turn to her for my own Coaching needs.  Therese has seen where I can “dazzle em” and has read the testimonials I receive to support that.  She also saw where I was standing about six feet tall next to a wall of self-sabotage that wasn’t easy to break down.  Therese had the fortitude, wisdom and motivation to stay “in the game” with me, helping me to get really clear on what I do best, within the framework of my greatest passion, and begin to take some definitive action to put me, once again, at the “top of my game”.

Out of all this personal exploration was borne the concept of Women’s Wisdom Circles.

Circles are symbolic of many things, most of which are deliberate in representing best business and marketing practices.  They are also symbolic of the many things I want my program to stand for, the first of which is that… circles are a well-known symbol of connection – the kind of connection I want to have with my Clients and the kind of connection I desire they have with others who will be instrumental in accelerating their success.

As the Women’s Wisdom Circles take on their own life, they will also represent a great number of other things:

• Center - or a core of power or focus.

• Perfection – this perfect geometric shape symbolizes the center and perfection of the self in its wholeness.

• Wholeness – as seen in the sacred circles of life such as in crop circles, medicine wheels and Mandalas.

• Universe – the framework we use to describe our world in the sun, moon, and planets in the infinite nature of shared energy.

• Unity and infinity – without beginning or end, as is my hope for connecting empowered women who will long nurture and support one  another.
  

• Boundaries – encompassing and protecting that which is inside, all the while offering an invitation to step across the line and enter in.

In my experience, we instinctively gather in circles, whether we are learning, teaching, or socializing.  It is a natural process that allows us to feel equal to those whose presence we share, and as that comfort increases so does the likelihood that others will participate at a higher level.  Inside the constructs of these gathered circles we feel more deeply a sense of connection with others, often validating our lives in some way that might not otherwise be experienced.

My desire to empower SOLOpreneurs has taken me through many professional changes:

• From pure one-to-one Coaching to interactive workshops;
• from group Coaching to teleclasses and webinars;
• from speaking and putting my own Voice in Print to assisting with whatever the “biggest beast” was by being a Virtual Assistant.

My intention is never to burn myself out doing everything; it is to  engage in life, listen to the need, and finally – to sort out how I might best create a vehicle in which others can take their own journey through new possibilities and empower them to do their own purposeful work in life!

I know in the deepest part of all that I am that my purpose is to be a Change Agent – to inspire, motivate, guide, direct and sometimes, yes… even assist when the need is great.  I also know that change will never be handed to us on a silver platter; we have to work to affect it.  We must also be responsible that we do not create change for the sake of change, but to make positive changes in the areas where we have influence in life.

Next step… Womens Wisdom Circles where I provide the Bridge for SOLOpreneurs to get the results they have only previously dreamed of…

Anna Weber

4-Dimensional Success

Time Mastery: Uncovering the Mystery

Flash back… 1983

I am struggling with overload and being overwhelmed with managing my clothing design company; my favorite brother-in-law instructs me to try to do less each day in an effort to better manage my time…

Flash back… 1993

Low productivity is identified as stemming from work overload and poor time mastery; an employer-required seminar about time management promoted doing less in each day in an effort to better manage our time…

Flash back… 2003

Seeking to teach clients the elements of time management, I finally realized all the synergistic messages and locked into the mystery behind trying to do less in each day in an effort to better master time…

The messages all seemed the same, but in retrospect, the real lesson to be learned is about taking the time to first focus on what most needs to be accomplished in each day and establish priorities for getting them done!  Granted, the end result is that you will attempt to do a smaller number of things, but they will be those things which will make the greatest difference in your day; hence, you will have better mastered your time!

Time mastery is one of the biggest challenges in life, and along with that is developing the ability to stay focused on the most important tasks in your day until “the job is done.”  See if you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios:

• You consider yourself the most busy person you know, managing first this task and then that: spending hours checking your emails and phone messages so you can remain a good communicator, taking up valuable time organizing your drawers for the tenth time, and starting a new project while the idea was hot so that you didn’t lose the inspiration and motivation.  However, you get to the end of the day and realize, “Wow!  I didn’t really accomplish a single, productive thing!”

• You get to the end of the day exhausted and still feeling overwhelmed, knowing that time manages you.  No task, no matter how great or small, was fully accomplished.  You continue being unproductive in the things that matter, and you are disillusioned that you are not getting what you most desire.  You feel that you are basically a robot, going through the day, without purpose, trying the “latest thing” and consuming huge amounts of time, energy and resources, having little to show for it.

• You haven’t quite figured out how to overcome a non-supportive habit by blocking time in each day to focus on your highest income generating task or project. Your marketing is non-existent because you can’t seem to find an hour or two each week to decide what you are going to do and you haven’t sent out a new newsletter for three months because you don’t seem to find the time to gather your thoughts and put your Voice in Print.

At the end of the day – no matter how much I recognize the pain you experience and no matter how much you want to be in control of your future, there is one lesson you must learn about managing your time… only you have the power to modify your behavior and only you can learn that virtually everything you want in life is going to be contingent upon how well you learn this one lesson.

That may sound harsh, but when it comes to caring about the personal development of people, sometimes the hardest messages carry the greatest benefit.  Patting your hands and soothing your bruised ego only works until you are about five – past that point, the person who cares most about you will gently but firmly deliver the kind of messages that will provide the greatest benefit to your future.  However, rather than just touting directives, giving you a little guidance should better assist you in making that transformation.  The following tips may help you be firm and gentle with yourself so that you, too, can become the master of how you spend your most valuable commodity… your time.

Know WHAT You Must Accomplish

The first step, of course is to take the time to list the tasks you have before you.  This is not to overwhelm you, but to document them so they don’t fall through the cracks.  This works especially well if you have a popcorn mind that is constantly bursting with ideas.  Ideas must not steal your day, but be planned for a later time when they can have the proper focus and become completed projects, not something that gets half done and set aside because something else beckoned you or you ran short of time.

Establish Priorities

The next step is to make an assessment of that list and establish your priorities.  My brother-in-law was right!  If you learn to determine which five or six things will most greatly improve your bottom line, rather than just going down a rather large laundry list of tasks, you will be working on the “best” things you can be, rather than perhaps the ones you consider you can accomplish more easily or quickly.

Prevent Distractions

The third step is to create an environment that is free of distractions so that you can focus!  Another professional coach I know talks to her clients about all the “bright shiny objects” that draw them away from their best work.  Recognizing them is your personal task, but you might seriously want to consider turning off your email, your web browser, and your cell phone!  If you work from home and have children and spouses who don’t quite understand the dynamics of your needing to focus – you might want to close your door and put a “do not disturb” sign there for the time you need to be fully uninterrupted.

One thing that has always been successful for me is to work in 45-minute blocks.  I then have 15 minutes in every hour to check my emails and voice messages and reclaim a new burst of energy.  When you are working on things for clients for whom you must pay attention to billable hours – this area of time blocking becomes one of professional integrity, making sure they get your fullest attention and are appropriately charged for the time expended on their projects.

You will also find that you are less distracted by emails that hold no merit to your day when you have to whip through them in that 15 minute time frame.  You will learn to “pocket” them in files of (a) delete, (b) act on later today, (c) act on later this week, and (c) archive for reviewing if and when I have time.  Removing them from your view at this level keeps you from being lured to wasting valuable time that should be being spent on one of your five or six priorities for the day.

Making any modifications to your daily habits will take time.  Don’t be brutal with yourself, but seek for consistency and follow-through.  The more you exercise these three simple steps, the more you will feel accomplished and be empowered by your own actions. It is like an athlete building muscles – the value is cumulative.  The more you seek to master the use of your time, the more inclined you will be to block specific times of the day for particular activities and the more you will rely on scheduling things on your calendar.  Your experiences will shift from a feeling of everything being overly difficult to working seamlessly through your day, working on your highest income producing activities, and having time left over to have a “life” outside of work.

If you want to know more about Time Blocking tools… email me at AnnaWeber@4-DSuccess.com

Until the muses come again… I encourage you to engage in thought-provoking positive, life-altering activities that will provide you with long-term, sustainable benefits.

Anna Weber

4-Dimensional Success

Setting Priorities: The Mayonnaise Jar

We only have so much time in any given day – we cannot buy more hours, we cannot manufacture another vital fifteen minutes.  The daily activity of first setting priorities is an integral skill set utilized by successful people.  It is one of the first steps in behavior management and/or modification which I encourage my coaching clients to engage in.

There are any number of tips, tools and techniques to teach you how to decide what is the next best thing to do, but my intention is to create an ever-lasting image in your mind that will serve as a reminder, on a daily basis – to take care of the big rocks first! The best way I can think of is to share with you a story – the story of the Mayonnaise Jar.

Whether you have or have not heard the story of the Mayonnaise Jar, let it serve to remind you to live your life to the fullest, to always remember what’s most important to you, and to make time for the little pleasures of life that mean so much.

Want to hear the story? Then read more

Take care of your BIG rocks first...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things in life. Your family, your children, your health, your beliefs, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else, the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the garbage disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee (or time well spent) with a friend.”

Anna Weber

Always, encouraging you to engage in thought-provoking, positive, life-altering actions that provide you with long-term, sustainable benefit…

http://www.4-DSuccess.com