Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Washington writes:

What is the best way to handle contract disputes with clients?  My company has a business agreement for clients to sign.  Is there ever a time when a company should sign a clients' independent contractor agreement?

Washington:

Whenever possible, get clients to sign your contract.  If the attorney who drafted your contract did their job well, your contract should more favorable to your company.  It would specify that arbitration or disputes being handled in your state, not the client's (if they are out of state), plus include other stipulations that are fair to your client but also advantageous to you.

There are exceptions.  If you are using software or an online service, you typically review terms online and agree to them by clicking a checkbox before you proceed to use the tool.  But for consulting engagements or high ticket items that require a written signed contract, try to use your own contract.

That said, some clients will absolutely insist that you sign their agreement.  Make sure that there is nothing in their contract that is detrimental to you.

I once had a big brand name client agree to signing our agreement.  However, their lawyers wanted to modify parts of it, which wasn't surprising since that's what lawyers at big firms do.  The document they returned looked like it went through an episode of Extreme Makeovers - Lawyers Edition.  It contained so many negative and heavy handed attributes that I was very uncomfortable signing it. The client was frustrated because she really wanted to use our company and did not feel our initial terms were out of line, but she was only authorized to sign what her lawyers agreed to.  In the end, the deal broke down.

Be prepared to walk away from a deal if the contract terms could put you in a bind.

Ed writes:
Given the economy, is this a good time to start a professional photography business focused on photojournalism, not personal photography events such as weddings, etc.? Professional photo sales would be via stock photography distributors, business services, insurance services, etc.

Ed, the answer depends on the kinds of professional photographs you will be taking, your connections into your proposed distribution channels, and what your earning requirements are. Sites like istockphoto.com, which provide licenses for millions of stock images at extremely low prices, have put a big dent in traditional stock photography license fees. This prompted Getty Images, the largest of the lot, to buy istockphoto a few years ago as a bet against declining sales for their expensive stock images. The quality of images in these less expensive sites is fairly good so if your hope is to make money through stock images, you might find a tough market that generates very nominal income for you.

However, if your photographs will be from assigned projects, you stand a much better chance at earning decent income. Such projects are usually assigned by organizations based on your relationship with them. Contact magazines, ad agencies, and others who routinely outsource projects to local photographers to take pictures of people or events nearby. Create a web site and post your portfolio (you can use software to watermark your images if you are concerned about unauthorized use). You might consider starting it off as a side business so you can gauge the marketplace and your growth rate, then make it a full-time effort once you have established connections and can project your cash flow more accurately.

My team has a blast running our web sites.  Each site has its own unique personality and enables us to unleash our creativity and utilize our skills.  Our small business site, morebusiness.com, is a favorite among start-ups and currently gets over 10,000 unique visitors per day.  Most seek out sample marketing plans, business plans and other guides to help start a company.  Others seek advice that is more specific to their situation.

To help, we are putting together an "Ask the Expert" section where small business owners and budding entrepreneurs can submit specific questions and get usable answers without the expert pitching his or her consulting services.

Each week, or every few days depending upon how many questions we get, we will pick one or two to showcase on this blog.  Suggestion: the more specific the question, the better the chance of it being profiled (i.e., it is unlikely we will respond to "How do I start a business?" - answer: read our Start-Up section).

Do you have a business issue that is keeping you up at night?  Fill out our morebusiness.com contact form and we'll try to help with expert business advice!