FSBO Guide - Authorify

You can decide which of these options works best for you, but I usually prefer that my overseas assistants take American holidays. That way, they’re on the job when most of my prospects are available, and off duty on the same days we Americans are. ● It is a good idea to create a “work made for hire” agreement. Let’s assume, for example, you’ve hired a web developer or an article writer. While they work for you, they are developing work items, and a “work made for hire” agreement ensures that what they produce belongs to you, not to them. If you neglect to get this document signed, in the event that the assistant was fired or quit, they would have the right to claim all of the work they had developed, preventing you from using it in the future. Suppose you hired someone to develop some software over the course of a year, and it cost you a few thousand dollars — perhaps as much as $20,000 — to complete this project. If you didn’t sign a work made for hire agreement in that situation, your assistant would have the right to clone this software, resell it, and even compete against you. Your competitor could contact your assistant and offer to pay more for the content. This is not that uncommon, so it is important to have the protection of a work made for hire agreement. This is more important for some hired positions than for others, but it is always a good safeguard. I send the applicant the work made for hire document and ask them to sign it. If they do not own a scanner but do have a smartphone, I ask them to take a photo of the document and then send it back. That’s all they need to do. However, sometimes the assistant will tell you that they do not have a scanner or a smartphone. In this situation, you should ask them to send you an email in which they state that they “agree to all the terms and conditions in the work made for hire agreement that is attached to this email.” Once they do this, you have their word. In the future, if necessary, you can show them that email and remind them that they do not have the right to sell their material to anyone else. Usually, I like to make sure that people understand these terms and conditions before I invite them to work for me. Making sure that the assistant and I have a clear understanding is far more important than the actual document because — if we are being honest — I am not going to sue them over