Strictly Business: Careful Contracts Win Good Customers

by Denise David Baer The experience of a job gone sour, like the one I described in last month’s column, was a hard way to learn a lesson, one that I wouldn’t wish on my toughest competitor. But for my husband and me, it was also a much needed wake-up call. Until our company was hit with a lawsuit, we thought this contracting business was a piece of cake. We’ve always been the trusting sort, and we didn’t have a clue how to protect ourselves from the occasional bad-seed client. Obviously, the first line of defense is simply to avoid deadbeat clients altogether, but that’s easier said than done. Any client and any job can turn sour