The first people you pay are often your friends or family. You trust them – and so you should.

As time goes on it can be difficult to turn round and say – now it is time we had a contract. You know you need to – but somehow something else comes along and you don’t get around to it.

It gets embarrassing and you let things go on – hoping everything is all right and nothing will go wrong. Growing a business on hope alone is not a robust strategy.

Then you find out your friend or relative resents you.   This is often because their idea of who was entitled to what is not the same as yours.   Before you know it the relationship is getting difficult.   And then your friendship is on the rocks – along with your business.

It is so easy to put off sorting out your contracts

You don’t want to seem pushy or formal or make it seem that you don’t trust the people you pay.   

Here are the most common reasons we hear:

1.  I don’t want them to think I don’t trust them
2.  It’s been so long – it would be difficult now
3.  No-one reads contracts anyway
4.  No-one understands what is in a contract
5.  They just go in a drawer for when something goes wrong
6.  I am too busy

But if you could issue contracts and agreements in a way that handled all these problems would you be ready to do so?

If you don’t then how are you going to sort things out if you stop being really good friends (because that is what happens when things go wrong)?

Create a REAL agreement

We know all about issuing contracts to the people you know and trust.

We believe in REAL agreement.

• Realistic
• Ending well – protects your business
• Appropriate for how you operate
• Legals dealt with in plain English (not forgetting GDPR!)

It really is time to get REAL.