Simple Or Detailed Contract?

Business By dandelion56602 Updated 2 Oct 2010 , 2:04pm by johnson6ofus

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dandelion56602 Posted 20 Sep 2010 , 9:06pm
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I'm in the process of putting together a contract for brides. I know you guys know there are a lot of areas to cover. So, I'm wondering if I should just have a short, compact & to the point contract or a broken down, spelled out, lengthy contract. The only reason I'm not wanting to do a lengthy contract is b/c I'm afraid they'll be scared/turned off. But I want to cover my backend. I looked at one Doug (think it was Doug) put together & it's GREAT in what it covers but it's around 17 pgs I think. But it's broken down into sentences, which are in categories, so they can check or initial where needed along the way. I'm just stumped.

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costumeczar Posted 21 Sep 2010 , 1:20pm
post #2 of 6

I have a 4-pg contract for wedding cakes, and I think that it's pretty detailed. I don't have some of the other things that other people have in theirs, but I get into a lot of specifics about things like payments, what I require for the cake setup, etc.

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indydebi Posted 21 Sep 2010 , 3:54pm
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http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/contract
The above link is to my blog article on why we have huge contracts for cakes.

we're not just selling a product. We are selling a part of an event that is an orchestrated pageantry filled with emotion and tradition. It's an event that has been in the works since a little girl was 4 years old and started the first time she put one of her mama's bath towels over her head and pretended to walk down the aisle.

Unlike a cut-n-dry new freezer delivery contract, we have to battle the expectations and emotions.

Which is why we have long contracts.

read the blog. Feel free to have your brides read the blog.

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Enchantedcakes Posted 22 Sep 2010 , 11:50am
post #4 of 6

I re-formatted Dougs a while a go took out a few things that do not pertain to my buisness model such as sole source and got the contract down to 4 pages, I do not have all of the paragraphas spaced out and I have it listed as just Terms, I personally read the tearms with my brides beofre they sign so not having any extra spaces or indents worked for me, but I still have all of the content.

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dandelion56602 Posted 1 Oct 2010 , 12:21am
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I forgot to check for replies icon_sad.gif thanks so much ladies, now I don't feel bad for a longer than a 2 sentence contract

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johnson6ofus Posted 2 Oct 2010 , 2:04pm
post #6 of 6

Most people barely read anything before they sign.... good and bad, I know. I signed residential leases for 15+ years. I came up with a shirt sentence over each area, and my 6 page contract was usually signed in 5 minutes.

"This clause says you're renting for one year, this clause says your mail the check on the first, ..." Verbally, just play up the positives, or what's in it for them...

Like the part that says "no oral agreements", I would say, "Everything is in writing, and I have an extra space here if I promised you something that is not written down. This covers everything, right?" Ever if that paragraph is 20 lines long...

Don't stress about it. I like Indydebi's part too. A long contract helps THE BRIDE to help insure a great cake for HER important day. Just make it all about the customer. thumbs_up.gif

PS. My residential contracts have a clause that a dead person has "vacated" the building. In reality, it is really hard to evict a dead person, and you can be stuck A YEAR with no rent while the estate settle and relatives fight over junk. <sigh> There is always a horror story that goes with each line of a contract. Just think- what's the WORST that can happen if I delete this line?

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