Remember to Include a Cancellation Clause

Remember to Include a Cancellation Clause What happens when you don’t remember to include a cancellation clause in your contract that stipulates financial remuneration? Yup, Murphy says it’ll happen. The 7000 person assembly I was working on as the Director of Operations for the past 1.5 years was suddenly postponed in mid-February. Instead of flying to Seoul to continue working with our local vendors and hiring my international operations team, I immediately shifted gears to call off the hiring process, shut everything down and negotiate ourselves out of our many contracts with minimal damage. Due to this fact, I have since added a clause in my contract that stipulates a percentage of the amount owing from when the contract was prematurely cut short to the originally agreed upon project termination date. Yesterday, I unexpectedly heard from a wonderful global leader who calls himself the President & CEO of the Ann Chow Fan Club! As I roam around the world, collecting incredible experiences and stories to tell, I am well aware of the cheerleaders and encouragers that have come alongside me. My gratitude to those who take the time to pause and acknowledge those who strive to make things happen, usually in the background and away from the microphones and lights. Other than the financial disruption to the contract, this same global leader summed up the emotional transition that I’ve been experiencing since the end of February, “you deserve a good rest and a nice place to relax. I have also been a part of projects that never came to the finish line – which is where you get your emotional compensation for a big project. When you do so much work and don’t see the fulfillment, it can leave you feeling drained and empty.” He’s absolutely right, of course. It’s happened before and will likely happen again. Another incredibly wise and long-time consultant & friend gave me advice when I was starting out, to have two to three, if not more contracts going at the same time. His answer to my question of why, was “well, what are the chances that all three will fire you at the same time?!” *zing!* Unfortunately for me, the assembly was such a large project that I didn’t feel I could do justice to additional projects, so I was left with no projects when this one fell through. It’s been a tough and exhausting month, but I have a feeling this is par for the course for small businesses as I learn from these valuable experiences. Any similar experiences out there or advice for the road? Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event… Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against…

Fatigue or Gut Instinct?

Fatigue or Gut Instinct? A week after my contract ended to be the Director of Operations for a 7000 person assembly in Korea, I was recommended for a 5000 person congress in Bangkok. Well, no rest for the weary After speaking to the organization a week later, I was asked to fly down for an interview. For whatever reason, I was uneasy about moving forward. Was it my fatigue speaking so soon after my previous contract had been prematurely cut short or was it my gut instinct and I really needed to pay attention to this? Regardless, they agreed to call off the interview process but offered instead to fly me in as a consultant. It was great to meet the staff and facilitate the team planning process. They seemed to appreciate the ideas and planning that we generated. One staff member commented that the planning had gone from theory to something much more tangible and that she had a more realistic idea of the sheer amount of work ahead of them for the next two years. Success! The organization has since invited me to accompany them to Bangkok at the end of April to assist with the contract negotiations with the convention centre and local Thai organization Memo of Understanding. Is there anything we need to be aware of as we negotiate such an important contract? Any cultural aspects that would be helpful to keep in mind? Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event… Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against…

Entrepreneurs in Salvador, Brazil

Entrepreneurs in Salvador, Brazil Hello everyone, I received an email from a long-time friend, Yuniya, who is launching a new project in September in Salvador, Brazil, called Emerge Salvador. It would be sweet for us to give these under-resourced business owners a boost as they get things rolling! I’ll let her introduce the project to you. “This is a project that I designed and am implementing in collaboration with my colleague Nyia H. and Instituto Mídia Étnica, a local Brazilian non-profit organization in Salvador. Our ultimate goal is to build up and strengthen the capacity of Afro-Brazilian entrepreneurs in the city, helping them to turn their ideas and vision into successful businesses and movements. On behalf of our team, I would like to ask you to support our efforts towards this cause. We need to raise a minimum of $8000 to do this project well. Please consider helping us in the following ways: By donating as little as $15 USD – this will go a long way! By sharing this project, and talking about it with your network of friends and colleagues. Our fundraising campaign is open until August 21, 2015. If we do not raise $8000 USD by then, we will not receive any funds, regardless of what has been pledged to date, so your help is greatly appreciated! Please visit our fundraising page to donate, and for more details about our project, including how the funds will be used. http://startsomegood.com/emergesalvador Thank you for your support. Let me know if you have any questions or comments in the comment box below. Sincerely, Yuniya and the Emerge Salvador Team Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event… Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against…