How long should my contract be?
Contracts 101
Okay, ladies. I’m going to finally put a question that you’ve been thinking about for ages… to bed.
And the question is, does size really matter?
Now I know what you’re thinking and so please get your mind out of the gutter, because I’m not talking about what you think I’m talking about. I’m actually talking about contracts.
So often I get asked, “Is there a number where I should keep my contract pages at?” And I know why you’re concerned about this: you’re worried that if you make your contracts too long, you’re going to scare away potential clients. Right? You’re worried, “Oh, if I present them with this 10 page contract, they’re going get intimidated by all that legal mumbo-jumbo and they are not going to work with me.”
Or, maybe you find yourself in the situation where YOU don’t even understand all that legal mumbo-jumbo. So you figure, “It can’t be that important. I’m just going to take all that stuff out and I’m just going to keep a really simple contract.”
Or maybe you think, “Look, I just need a contract. This is just another item on my to-do list that I need to get done. It’s part of my business. And so, something is better than nothing.” Right? Well, not so much.
What you should be focusing on instead
Instead of focusing on the length of the contract, you should be asking yourself: Are the right terms in there that are going to protect you, your business, and your client?
And if that means your contract is going to be a little bit longer than you would like, so be it. Don’t sacrifice substance over length.
Now, that kind of sounds like pretty good dating advice too, but I’m not talking about dating. I’m talking about your contracts. So, if you’re not super sure about what terms need to be included in your contract then grab one of our contract templates.