Pizza Today - August 2021 - 71

agreement, and in doing
so, unwillingly initiated
a new five-year deal. I've
been burned enough times
to know now that it's completely
worth having a lawyer
look over every contract.
That doesn't mean stupid
money, find a lawyer willing
to review a lot of small
contracts for you at a fair
cost, and it will be the best
investment of your business
dollars you'll make. Try and
do it on pizza trade if you're
really on your entrepreneur
game. Let the lawyer check
the contract for anomalies
to ask the right questions
and ensure you aren't
taken advantage of. It's way
cheaper to have a solid relationship
with a lawyer who
does this for a few hundred
dollars than it is to go into
an agreement where you
have no recourse and then
be on the hook for years on
end. If you have the legal
wherewithal to understand
the contract. Great. If not,
outsource it, even if you
only outsource it once, so
you can make sure any future
agreement mimics the
previous contract; it will be
worth the minimal investment.
Paper
Trail
More likely than not, the
contract will go through online
portals like DocuSign.
This online portal seems
like a great concept to make
these forms easier until you
realize that the contract has
a 24-hour expiration. This
practice isn't created with
your benefit in mind. This
practice is made to create a
false time constraint (FTC).
The company makes it
seem like you need to sign
so they can get to work or
so that the " deal " doesn't
expire. Never accept a false
time constraint and always
review your contracts. Any
deal available last Tuesday
will be available next
Tuesday if a sales loss is on
the line.
Ensure all your signed
contracts are scanned
and saved digitally with a
backup and in a file cabinet
on-premise. If you're ever
curious if you're still under
contract, ask to see the
contract from the vendor. If
they can't provide the contract
to you, you're de facto
released of that obligation.
If you're currently under
a contract and want to get
out of it, a lawyer is your
best option. The threat of
legal action alone might be
enough for the vendor to
relent. Just like you, anybody
you're doing service
with, really does not want to
deal with litigation over an
unhappy client.
If you are of the school,
" my word is my bond, and
I do business with people
who are the same as me, "
I get it; I want to be like
that as well. The problem is
that person whose hand you
shake might not be with
the company in six months,
and at that point, all you
got is the contract to make
heads or tails of what the
agreement was. Always get
everything in writing and
protect you, your assets, and
your business.
MIKE BAUSCH is the
owner of Andolini's Pizzeria in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram:
@mikeybausch
AUGUST 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 71
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