Freelance Radio, Episode 40: Non-Compete Agreements
The latest episode of Freelance Radio, the official FreelanceSwitch podcast, is now available! This episode, the panel (John Brougher, Dickie Adams, Kristen Fischer and Von Glitschka) talks about non-compete agreements. Subscriptions to the podcast are available via iTunes and an archive of all podcasts will appear in the podcast section. We hope you enjoy it!
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The Shownotes:
- Theme of the Episode: This episode’s theme is non-compete agreements.
- Mailbag: Ryan has a question on getting a company to be more welcoming to freelancing.
- Freelance Radio Recommends:
- Dickie: Powerful text editor Notepad++.
- John: iPhone/iPod Touch game Civilization Revolution. There’s also a Lite version available for those that want to try it out first.
- Kristen: Tea supplier OregonChai.com.
- Von: Screen capture web app Screenr.
And that’s the episode! If you like it, please feel free to rate it in iTunes or your favorite podcast aggregator, and don’t forget to email your questions/comments via the Freelance Radio form. If you’d like to record a question/comment or submit an original outro song, you can upload them via this form.
Find out more about the panelists at the following sites:
- John Brougher, podcast host and new media/communications specialist: johnbrougher.com; John’s Twitter is at twitter.com/johnbrougher
- Dickie Adams, designer, photographer, technologist, jack-of-all-trades (and master of all): twitter.com/dickieadams
- Kristen Fischer, writer and author: kristenfischer.com; Kristen’s Twitter is at twitter.com/kristenfischer
- Von Glitschka, illustrator, designer and so much more: glitschka.com; Von’s Twitter is at twitter.com/vonster
FreelanceRadio won the People’s Choice for Best Blog Podcast of 2007. This placed FreelanceRadio ahead of such heavyweights as Jason Calacanis and OnThePod. As Performancing puts it:
"The guys at Freelance Switch put together a quality operation, topped off with a popular audio podcast."
Really good episode- Everytime you release the episode it always makes my day! Thank you so much
Thanks for the great podcast!
Been talking about non-competes all week, so I’m looking forward to what you guys think about them
Great episode… I have been waiting so long for this one!!!
The latest episode isn’t up on iTunes yet though! The story came over my RSS feed I went to I tunes to become a subscriber and yet it’s still on episode 39.
Thanks for listening everyone!
I started a new F/T job in August which asked me to sign a non-compete agreement. I spoke to my new boss about my concerns and this actually impressed her since even the executives who’ve worked for the company simply signed it without thinking twice (everyone in the company is asked to sign regardless of the position they’re hired for). I was then told that it wasn’t actually enforceable in our state and so there was little point in my signing.
The last 9 years of my resume is nothing but furniture advertising. The company I now work for is primarily in rugs but has it’s hands in furniture as well as well as having many furniture retail partners across the country. If the contract were enforceable I would’ve found it difficult to find work anywhere without stepping outside of furniture and non-furniture companies don’t seem all that interested in me. Of course, with all of the cheesy family owned furniture ads out there I guess it’s not entirely difficult to understand why.
The one question that this made me think of though (for those who are in states where this is enforceable) is what the penalties would be to break the agreement? Do they have to specify this in the contract? It would be strange to me that, in a “free” country, one could be forced to not work for a particular employer because of a prior relationship without at least some kind of reasonable way of buying your way out of your previous obligations. Of course I guess this is why it’s generally not enforceable?
I love Dickie’s recommendation of Notepad++. It’s a simple to use application for developers to use.
To top it off, it’s available on Portable Apps so it’s one of the key applications I keep in my thumbdrive for adhoc work on the go.
I love your podcasts! It helps me get through work which I realized I have a hard time adapting to. I like working from home and always try to work from home as much as possible but this job, I feel, won’t allow that as I am just a contractor at this corporation.
I want to leave, but will only do so if I have clients and while I’m reading a lot of the resources on your site (and have been a reader for a few years now), I don’t see any tips as to how to write a proposal to companies that you may want to advertise your services for. I want to make sure that I’m professional in the proposal without sharing too much information that they may run off with but enough where they will want to hire me for what I can do. What’s the best way to handle this situation?
Also, have any of you on the panel been faced with a project with a big company that you felt you couldn’t handle but ended up getting the job done at the end? I sometimes get afraid that even though I may have the skill and knowledge of what needs to be done, that I won’t have the resources or confidence to approach a project of that multitude?
Hopefully there aren’t too many questions here! Thanks guys!!
The non-compete issue is interesting, and difficult, because different states have different laws about them.
In Minnesota, there are several requirements that say they can’t be so broad that they keep someone from earning a living in their field if they lose or quit their job. There also has to be some financial incentive to sign them. Keeping your current job isn’t considered financial incentive if a current employer presents you with one. It would be an unenforceable agreement if that’s the case.
The screenr link was cool, but I realized I can’t really do much of anything in the 5-minute limit.
I noticed at the end of your program that audio comments were requested, but your instruction was to use a mic and create an mp3. How about giving out a phone number? You could use a Google Voice number that goes straight to voicemail, which would give you an audio clip that is easy to play back on your show. If you don’t have Voice, or need an invite, let me know. I have a couple to give.
Obed
Greensboro, NC