One Wise (and Simple) Piece of Entrepreneurial Advice

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Follow this advice no matter how much you might want to avoid it.

None of us likes to do tasks that we find draining.

You must do it, grasshopper.

Here it is:

Read the contracts that your attorney writes for you.

That’s it!

I know you might be thinking, “That’s all? I do that anyway.”

Good for you and then you can skip right down to the "likes".

For those of you who don’t, I will tell you why this is vital and the most painless way to do it.

Why is this vital?You cannot trust your attorney. You just can’t.

Attorneys are not business people. Not to offend anyone, but most attorneys don’t understand business that well, or your business, or just what you want for your business.

They know the law. Good! Because you probably don’t.

But you must go through your contracts to make sure they get all your business points down correctly.

Are you supposed to get 35% of the company or 40%? Are you to be paid 5% or 5.5% on that loan or for that licensing fee?

Those are examples of business points.

How is it done in the most painless way?I have found that it’s best to do this at the end of the day.

Finish all your other day’s work beforehand.

No distractions.
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Print out a copy of the contract or agreement or whatever it is that you’ve hired a lawyer to write for you.

Personally, I find that a nice glass of red wine helps, but if you don’t drink wine, try a cup of your favorite herbal tea.

Go through your printed copy with a red pen and a highlighter. Read it, highlight mistakes, fill in any blanks, and make notes.

Call your attorney the next day and communicate any mistakes.
Voila. You’re done.

Depending on the length of the contract, it should take a couple hours at the most.

It could make the difference between a worthless piece of paper, and something that might save your business.
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As President Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust but verify.”