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Market YOU First!
Market YOU First!
Contract Basics for Freelancers
Have you ever been stiffed on a freelance project? In this episode, Wes Wyatt breaks down the three essential contract elements every freelancer needs to protect their business and profits! Learn how to create clear agreements that set proper expectations without sounding like a suspicious lawyer. These practical tips will help avoid scope creep, late payments, and revision nightmares.
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This is Market YOU First. Market YOU First. It's time to learn to sell what you bring to the table, not what you're selling. This is Market YOU First. This is your host, Wes Wyatt. Hey everybody, this is Wes Wyatt and this is the Market YOU First podcast. Did you know that there are a huge number of freelancers that report having trouble getting paid at least once in their career? I know it's happened to me more than once, it's probably happened to you, and it's probably going to happen to people that you know. One freelance designer I know actually lost a huge amount of money on a project because their verbal agreement fell apart. That's the reality when you skip proper contracts. And today, I'm sharing three essential contract elements that can protect your business without making you sound like a suspicious lawyer. So you might be saying, Wes, why does this matter? Well, if you're freelancing or running a side hustle, you might think that contracts are overkill. I'm just doing small projects. Or, these are friends of friends. It's fine, okay? Maybe you're a handshake person. I know I've done it in the past, and it has actually gotten me burned a couple times. But here's the truth. Contracts aren't about trust issues, they're about clarity. They protect both sides by setting expectations up front. And the worst time to figure out what a client meant by a few revisions or just a couple changes is after you've already done five rounds of changes, and they're asking for more, okay? Without clear terms, you risk the scope, eating your profit, okay? You're getting late payments, straining your bank account, and your misleading situation is damaging your reputation. So a simple, friendly contract is going to transform vague promises into clear agreements that help you deliver great work while staying profitable and making everything clear for both parties. So here are going to be three key takeaways that could help with this. Number one, you want to master the scope statement. So don't just list deliverables. Define them in detail. Instead of saying something like, I'm going to design you a website, specify that you're going to be providing a five-page WordPress website that's going to include home, about, services, blog, and contract pages with two rounds of revisions. The more specific, the better. Include what's not included as well. So you might say something like, additional pages beyond the five specified will require a separate quote. The second thing is payment terms that protect you. So never start without a deposit. 50% upfront is a standard for new clients. Create milestone payments for larger projects and always include a late fee, which is typically 1.5% per month after a grace period. Spell out exactly when final deliverables will be released, such as final files will be provided after receipt of final payment. And last but not least, number three, create a revision policy. This is where a lot of people get burned. Define what constitutes a revision. Okay, so how many are included and what happens when the client exceeds that number? Example, the package includes two rounds of revisions and additional revisions are billed at say $75 an hour with a minimum one hour charge. So how do you go through and Market YOU First and make this personal? Your contract isn't just a legal document. It's a personal marketing tool. The language and the tone should reflect your brand personality. So if you're a casual and friendly person, your contract can be conversational while still being professional. A designer might include visual examples of what one revision means, while a copywriter might format their contract like a compelling sales letter. Consider creating tiered packages with different revision limits that match how you'd like to work. So if you hate endless revisions, price your unlimited revisions package high enough to where it's worth your time and you don't care how many there are. This turns a potential friction point into a chance to highlight your value and working style. So your contract is a chance to showcase your professionalism. When you present it confidently saying, here's how I make sure that both parties have a great experience working together, clients are going to see you as a seasoned pro who respects their business and your own. Okay, here is a call to action that's going to help you kind of wrap all this together. Take 30 minutes a day to create a simple contract template for your business. Start with just three elements that we spoke about. Scope, payment terms, and revision policy. Okay, you don't need fancy legal language. Plain English is going to work perfect. Save it as a template that you can customize for each client and use it for your very next project. If you have found any of this helpful, don't forget to like, share, comment, and subscribe. When you're done listening to the podcast, go to weswyatt.com, scroll down to where you can put your name and your email address in, and get on those insider emails. We want to send you all the tips, tricks, and nuggets that we find. If you have questions, go to the Thought Bubble at the bottom right of weswyatt.com. That's our chat feature. I don't monitor that live, but I'll get back to you very promptly. And then, last but not least, if you go to weswyatt.com forward slash disclaimer, you'll have all the important context regarding this and all podcasts, posts, and info I provide. And thank you for being part of another episode of the Market YOU First podcast. Until we talk next time, have a dynamite day. You've been listening to the Market YOU First podcast. You are the most important thing you can sell. We hope you've gotten some useful and practical information from the show. Make sure to like, rate, and review the show. And we'll be back soon. But to find the show notes and everything about the Market YOU First podcast, visit marketyoufirst.com. On behalf of your host, Wes Wyatt, and the whole Market YOU First team, have a dynamite day.
