5 Things to Include in Your Freelance Contracts to Protect Yourself
Your contract can prevent some sticky situations.
Freelancers have mixed opinions about contracts. Enforcing a contract is challenging, as it often requires an attorney and money.
On the other hand, that’s the worst-case scenario (like not getting paid). Contracts are great for outlining the scope of a project. If a client asks you to do something additional, you point back to the contract as a reference point.
There are a lot of standard contracts on the internet and they work just fine. But I used to work as an executive at a software company, and I wrote contracts for custom projects. As a result, I know how to protect myself — and how to write contract terms that are favorable to me.
Here are some things you should always include in your contracts
1) The right to include the work in your portfolio
Your portfolio is one of your greatest assets as a freelancer. More than likely, a client will scope out your portfolio before ever reaching out. Your portfolio speaks to your skills, past experiences, and the type of work you can do. You want clients to look at your portfolio and envision what you could create for them.
