Did you know that “[p]rior to the [COVID-19] crisis, 22 per cent of young people were not in employment, education or training (NEET), one in seven young men and one in three young women. The decline in employment caused by the COVID-19 crisis has not been compensated by returns to education and training. Hence, the NEET rate has risen in many countries and remains higher than before the crisis.” (United Nations website)
As a result of this protracted issue of youth unemployment, more youth are exploring small business ventures as a means of gainful employment.
In this blog I wish to share three steps that you can take to assist you with demonstrating that a contract exist.
The three steps are as follows:
- Make sure you are clear who are you contracting with. For example, are you contracting with a person or a company?
- What are the terms of this contract? What is/are the service(s) that you will deliver and what are the obligations of the person/company that you are providing the services to? (Note that these terms should be put in writing using a basic email, invoice or text message and sent to your client for confirmation. Use the client’s name in this correspondence).
- Require a deposit from your client and give them a receipt once the deposit is received.
The benefit of using these three steps is that you will be using and documenting basic elements of a contract. Many small businesses experience breaches of contract and do not have any recourse because it is difficult for them to demonstrate that a contract exist.
Following these three basic steps will assist you with demonstrating that a contract exist if the contract is breached.
Feel free to direct any questions to Kean Smith at kean@smithkas.com or comment below.
