This time of year teachers, coaches and parents are all busy laying down a new set of “ground rules” for the year.

According to Wikipedia, the original of the term “ground rules” comes from baseball. Different ballparks have different rules in addition to the more standard ones. At Wrigley Field in Chicago, for instance, if the ball is hit to the outfield and gets stuck in the ivy on the outfield fence, it is a ground rule double.

For your business, a contract is a great way to set ground rules with your clients. This works particularly well at the beginning of the relationship or at the beginning of a new piece of work. Below are some topics that are frequent areas of concern:

1. Payment Terms – When will the invoice be issued? How long does the client have to pay? Will there by interest and penalties for late payment.   What forms of payment will be accepted?
2. Returns and Refunds – Will these be allowed and under what circumstances?
3. ...

I always consider myself lucky to find myself in PEI in the summertime.

One of my favorite things to do in PEI (besides eating seafood and going to the lovely beaches) is to watch the long running musical, Anne of Green Gables: The Musical™ at The Charlottetown Festival. If you are fuzzy on the details of the storyline, here is a recap here – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables.

As I watched this production with my daughter this summer, there were two things that struck me:

#1 – Anne Shirley (aka Anne of Green Gables) is a badass.

#2 – The whole story is based on a contract gone wrong.

#1 – Ann(with an E) is a badass

The word “badass” is thrown around these days in entrepreneurial circles as a call to action. Anne Shirley was certainly a badass way ahead of her time.

Anne clearly knew WHO she was, WHAT she wanted and was NOT AFRAID to go after it.

Anne(with an E) did not get discouraged by meddling neighbours, her early...

Contracts 101

When you operate a business, contracts are as common as the air that you breathe.

You enter contracts by clicking “I Agree” buttons on websites, and by selling products and services to your customers.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons for a particular purpose.

Contracts can be done verbally or in writing.  The problem for a business owner with a verbal contract is that if is more difficult to enforce because you may not remember or be able to prove all of the terms that were agreed to.

What if a supplier presents you with a “standard” contract that they routinely use with companies they deal with. Does this mean that you should just sign it?

At the very least, you should understand what you is agreeing to in the contract. At best, you can find a few important items in the contract and improve your business’ position through proper drafting and negotiation.

What to look for:

• Parties...