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Non Compete Agreement
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Retain an employment attorney, not your neighbor's cousin who practices family law, to help you draft any agreements related to hiring and firing, both for full-time and part-time employees. Laws vary by state, so it's extremely important that your documents reflect current local law. Although the letter below contains good wording, do not use any part of it until and unless it has been reviewed by a competent employment lawyer.

I did not need a non-compete until I fired a long-term employee and she walked off with a major account worth $100,000+. After that, I recognized that I needed to put something in writing. A friend who owned an association management company had a stiff non-compete, complete with $100,000 in liquidated damages for taking her clients. [That means the penalty is agreed to in advance of signing the contract.] I included liquidated damages in early employment contracts, but removed it later. As an agreement gets more punitive, it's harded to sign.

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AGREEMENT CONCERNING TRADE SECRETS
AND COVENANT-NOT-TO-SOLICIT CAREERLAB CLIENTS

This Agreement acknowledges and reduces to writing the oral employment Agreement by and between William S. Frank (hereinafter, Consultant) and CareerLab, Inc., a Colorado Corporation, and the subsidiary and affiliated companies of CareerLab, Inc., (collectively referred to herein as CareerLab), pertaining to the confidentiality of information and establishing the ownership of information, work products, works made for hire, and other property which has been and will be acquired, used or produced by Consultant during the performance of his work duties. The Consultant is considered a member of CareerLab's executive or professional staff reporting directly to the senior management of CareerLab.  In consideration of the specific recognition and understanding by Consultant of the highly competitive and confidentially sensitive nature of the business of CareerLab, and further, in consideration of the agreed-upon compensation paid to Consultant by CareerLab, Consultant and CareerLab agree as follows:

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William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.