John Hancock

If you didn't document it, it never happened, right? Right! I have heard horror stories about poor little ol' business partners that get burned, simply because they didn't have documentation in place to protect themselves. Whether you are the owner, a co-owner, a partner - whatever your role may be - you must protect yourself!

How can I do this, you ask? Well, you document and sign everything! Non-Disclosure Agreements do wonders for those of you in business with other interested parties. Likewise, Non-Compete Agreements can save you from an interested party with way too much information. You simply have to protect yourself these days, as everyone is looking to make a buck. Are you really too lazy to draw up a document and risk losing your livelihood? I'm not!

If you do a simple Google search for examples of NDAs or Non-Competes, you will see that they're rather simple documents that can be edited and applied in a very short amount of time. Before I divulge intimate information regarding my business, I require people to sign an NDA. The only time I do not require an NDA is when I am pitching investors. VCs and AIs simply will not sign them. Frankly, they have better things to do than to try and copy your "great idea."

A great example: When I put up a job posting for our Chief Marketing Officer position for Site2Street, I had about 30 applicants. Every single one of them was required to sign the NDA prior to the interview! The easiest way I accomplished this was with the use of an online signatory agent. I use EchoSign (www.echosign.com) and I love them! They offer 5 free signatures before you need to make your account a 'paid account', and their service is just amazingly simple and intuitive. You upload your document, place the signature blocks on the document, sign it, and then it automatically sends an e-mail to the other person to sign the document electronically. It's easy, efficient, and cheap!

Be very careful with whom you discuss important private business information with. Sharks lurk where you least expect them, and you don't want to get bit simply because you didn't have a document in place.