| Finding the Tangible in an E-Mail Contract |
| 02.08.04 (5:06 am) |
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:arrow: I came across this article this morning and found it interesting. I've been really lazy about creating and faxing/mailing contracts to clients. This came as a relief to me - hope it's useful! Lori ------------------------- ------------------ Source: Newsday.com Article Title: Finding the Tangible in an E-Mail Contract Author: Carrie Mason Draffen Article Link: [url=http://www.newsday.com/busine...,0,3541412.column?coll=ny-business-c olumnists]newsday.com/business/columnists/n y-bzcol3660434feb08,0,354 1412.column?coll=ny-business-c olumnists[/url] DEAR CARRIE: I work as a consultant from home and perform tasks outlined in a contract I agreed to via e-mail. The contract, though detailed, obviously couldn't be signed. That worries me. Even though a lawyer told me the electronic document is legal and binding and can't be altered, I still felt uneasy because a colleague in a similar situation ran into a a problem. Was the lawyer correct? Or should I insist on signing a paper document? -Definitive Agreement? DEAR DEFINITIVE: I turned to one of the best sources I know for this issue, and he insists you're covered. "Rest assured, you can depend on your e-mail contract just about as much as you can on any contract," said Alan L. Sklover, an employment law specialist in Manhattan and the author of "Fired, Downsized, or Laid Off: What Your Employer Doesn't Want You to Know About How to Fight Back" (Henry Holt & Co., $15). Questions such as yours continue to pop up, he said, because people increasingly rely on the Internet to work at home. Despite the electronic venue, the basic understanding of contract law applies, he said. "Once two people have a mutual understanding ... and one or both begin to perform their side of the bargain," he said, "they have a legally enforceable agreement." Even an oral agreement can be enforced, he said, provided you have solid evidence to support it. Likewise, an e-mail contract is also enforceable, as long as you can establish whose computer sent it. In fact, he said, "A written, signed contract is only one type of good evidence of an enforceable agreement." Other, "equally good evidence" of an enforceable agreement would be a videotape or an oral statement under oath in court, he said. To be sure, e-mail contracts, as any other agreements, are subject to fraud. "All contracts have potential problems, such as forgery ... or coercion," he said. If you still need more comfort, then simply print out two copies of the e-mail contract. Sign both and mail one to the company and keep one for your files. You should have a backup printout anyway. In any case, you can rest easy that you have the protection of a contract. Carrie Mason-Draffen welcomes workplace questions. Call with your questions at 631-843-2791 after 7 p.m. or e-mail her at carrie.draffen@newsday.com. Write to Dear Help Wanted, Business Desk, Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747-4250. Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. |
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| WebMomz follow up and latest google page rank tip |
| 02.07.04 (7:36 am) |
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I looked into the site mentioned in yesterday's article. Sure enough: webmomz is a pretty decent work at home Mom site that surprisingly I haven't run into yet. What interests me more then the site itself is the book written by the founder of the site. Print version: Digital version: It seems the book has had at least a mention on both CNN and Dr.Laura. From the WAHM webmaster perspective, this looks like a good advertising spot. I'll try it out and let you know how the campaign goes. They offer a text ad option -- and as most of you may know it has become crucial to your google page rank to have keyword rich text links coming into your site. :!: Listen up -- this can really help your site. Instead of giving someone your link that has your domain name like this: [url=http://www.freelancemom.com]freelancemom.com[/url] , you want to say something like this: [url=http://www.freelancemom.com]WAHM home business resource[/url]. Google is starting to weigh keyword rich links heavily. You should employ this with incoming links to your website AND outgoing links from your website. Maybe you haven't heard but the keyword meta tag is pretty much dead. Too many webmasters were spamming that meta solely to get traffic to the site. They would simply put the most common search terms into the keyword meta in hopes of coming up in those searches. Even though the words had nothing to do with the website content itself. Hopefully the search engine results over at google will become more and more relevant since the dropping of emphasis on the keyword meta. I've looked into it further and it seems the professional concensus is that we don't need to drop the tag completely from our meta tags. It doesn't hurt the site to have them. In fact, at least Tehoma still crawls for them. Other engines may read them and count them a small amount in the over all relevance ranking if the words are actually repeated on the home page and throughout the site. So there's some food for thought and a plug for some other work at home Mom's. Check out their site over at [url=http://www.webmomz.com]webmomz.com[/url] . |
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| Work at Home Newsflash |
| 02.06.04 (3:45 am) |
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[b]Source: Ohio.com - Akron Beacon Journal Subject: Going to work in a bathrobe[/b] "Those who work at home and telecommute must earn respect Monday is "Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day." But, no matter how good it might feel to sit through a staff meeting wrapped in chenille, you must resist the urge. This holiday is for people who sip a second cup of coffee and boot up the home computer while their commuting counterparts are fuming in rush-hour traffic. The second annual celebration of working from home gives telecommuters and entrepreneurs the chance to remind corporate America that commerce isn't conducted only in downtown high-rises and suburban industrial parks. It's happening in spare bedrooms, basement cubbyholes, and, sometimes, at the dining room table. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19.8 million Americans worked from home in 2001, the most recent year for which data was available." [url=http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/...]Read full work at home article[/url] [b][u]Note from Lori: [/u][/b] Wow! 19.8 million American's working from home. Who woulda thought? This article is good read... Some excellent points are explored. Dispelling the 'wahm's are sitting around in their jammies all day' myth... OR - is that cause for celebration? And it's been a long time since I've thought about the fact that if my oldest son is sick -- he's sick. No juggling to be done with my husband to find a way for one of us to stay home with him. No sending him to school when I KNOW he should be at home resting because I'm afraid to take another day off... And this is the first I've heard of WebMomz... I'll dig up their info for the next blog. Happy Friday! It's a snow day here in CT... and guess what??? No problem! I'm home anyway :D |
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| Welcome to the FreelanceMom Weblog |
| 02.05.04 (9:28 am) |
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Welcome Work at Home Mom's! January flew by so quickly that I am left struck again with the recognition that everything is impermanent. Another January gone, at best I will likely only experience 52 more of them. When you acknowledge life as so fleeting it really puts our priorities into perspective. We need to treasure our children, these years go far too quickly. We also need to be brave and follow our dreams. When you really stop to consider how very MANY small businesses there are in existence, doesn't it inspire you to start your own? Why NOT you? There truly is limitless opportunity for you. I hope that exploring our home business articles and resources inspires you onto the pathway of YOUR success. I love being a part of this growing community of work at home Mom's (wahm's). Our goal is to provide you with as much information and as many tools as possible to help you initiate and live your own dream. Including a support network of other women with common ambitions and a diverse array of expertise's. Over the past month we have added some excellent [url=http://www.freelancemom.com/a...]work at home articles [/url] to FreelanceMom and have some terrific plans for expansion on the site. I'm excited to hear your responses! Warm Regards, Lori P.S. Please share your professional business advice and join us in the [url=http://www.freelancemom.com/f...]WAHM Forums![/url] |
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