Next steps

As you prepare your next contract, consider these following next steps. Find a good contract attorney. Get someone with experience with consulting contracts. They’ll help you navigate challenging contract provisions, and mitigate your risk of bad contract outcomes. Think through the scoping and pricing of your work, and refine the contract language until it’s as clear as possible. Leave as little as possible open for debate or interpretation after the fact. Carefully review all terms and conditions, so you know and understand the implications of each clause in that contract. Know the risks you’re taking. Actively mitigate them during the contract negotiation process. Look, when a client approaches you to do a project for them, it can be an exciting time. You might be tempted to rush the contracting process, and get to work quickly, so you can start making money. It’s easy to enter a contract optimistically, and diminish the possible impact of negative clauses, until it’s too late. So slow down, be thoughtful, and negotiate a contract that protects you and your interests going forward.