The true value of having your own contract
“Always be closing” has got to be one of the few phrases in the sales and entrepreneur space that has never failed to make my skin crawl.
Like other solopreneurs, I love sealing a new deal, but do I want to be doing that all the time? No! I’m a creative. I’d rather spend my days doing The Work.
But in the last few months, I’ve noticed that having one key document handy can really help you lock in clients: your own editorial contract.
To me, an assignment isn’t in my books —and I’m certainly not turning down other work— until there’s a contract. Clients are busy, often juggling multiple projects and managing their full-time staff. Getting a contractor onboarded is probably at the bottom of their priority list.
So what if you can take the work and friction out of this?
For three major projects I’ve closed on in this last three weeks, I got a client committed because I had a contract ready for them. And I’ve been surprised to find that they’re more than happy to sign that, rather than have me wade through their contract and perhaps even more negotiations.
If you want to snag a lawyer-vetted, tried and true contract that clients accept, you can find a TWC template here. It’s one of our most popular resources for a reason!
PS:
In case you haven’t noticed, all of TWC’s resources have now migrated over to my personal business website, because who wants to pay for two Squarespace profiles? You can find the resource library here.
If you’ve been in the freelance writing game for a hot second and want to level up, sign up for the Growth Without Burnout Summit. Getting access to all the sessions is free upon registering, but you can snag $3500+ worth of resources for just $79 (for now—early bird pricing!). I’m a part of this summit and will be speaking to why and how I started a hyper-specialized agency, Factual. If you’ve missed hearing me talk about how I run my business and make business decisions on TWC, you’ll want to tune in for this! I’m in good company— folks like Ed Gandia and Melanie Padgett Powers are also a part of the schedule. Get more details and register here! (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link)