You've just won a fantastic new client, you've worked incredibly hard to get them and you just want to get started but you haven't agreed any terms and conditions. You worry that asking them to sign will put them off. What do you do?   I wanted to understand how you can stop yourself from getting into legal disputes in your business. They can cause so much stress for business owners and entrepreneurs.   I sat down with Alvin Ittoo, Commercial Law Solicitor from Acumen Business Law to talk about the key things any business owner needs to understand about contracts and disputes.   We covered:   What mistakes do businesses make when it comes to contracts.Why protecting intellectual property (IP) is critical and how you can protect yours.One key thing you want to make sure you do protect any IP your suppliers create.What to do when someone isn't paying because they aren't happy with the work you have done.What to do when things goes wrong and how to stop a dispute going to court.  I asked some key questions:   Are verbal contracts legally binding and what are the dangers?Do you HAVE to get your terms and conditions signed?Can you use boilerplate contracts or take other people's contracts and rehashing them for your own use?  Like this show? Please leave us a review here.   *** Jeremy Jacobs is an experienced entrepreneur, business consultant, and mentor. He started his career in digital marketing, managing multi-million-pound campaigns for well-known global brands. He left that career to start 2 businesses including a food manufacturing company with his Mum which ran successfully for 13 years. He now works as a mentor and consultant for a wide range of businesses including start-ups and solo entrepreneurs through his marketing and management consultancy, Cookie Jar Consultancy. He has an MBA with Distinction from the University of Sussex.   He is proudly neurodivergent and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. He lives in Sussex with his partner and their two dogs.   Personal website: https://jeremyjacobs.co.uk Cookie Jar:  http://cookiejar.info/   Social media accounts: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyjacobsuk/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jeremyjacobsuk Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jeremyjacobsuk Hosted on Acast. See  https://www.acast.com/privacy-policy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.