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Hello everyone.

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Welcome to
LinkedIn Live.

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I have these every
last Wednesday of

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the month, at noon.

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Eastern.

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So, again, Erin
Austin, very happy

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to be here with
you, founder of

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Think Beyond ip,
we talk about.

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Issues that help
you scale and

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hopefully someday
sell your business.

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this is being
recorded live on

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LinkedIn live, but
it's also going to

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be, distributed as
part of my podcast.

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Hourly to exit.

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So just to let you
know if you are

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listening to this
on the podcast,

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that there are
some slides that

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go with this
conversation that

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will be helpful.

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So you can find
them either over,

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my YouTube channel
for Think Beyond

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ip, YouTube channel,
or, I will have

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that there's a
link to the slides

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actually in the
show notes as well.

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either way,
you should be

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able to get.

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The full benefit
of our conversation

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today, Feel
free to put,

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questions in the
chat at any time.

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Today we're going
to talk about

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non-competes,
which I call niche

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killers, and,
that will become

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very, obvious.

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Why, as we go
through our

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conversation.

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first, what is
a non-compete?

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So, non-compete
is a restrictive

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covenant, and
you'll find it as

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a provision in your
client agreements

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where they restrict
your ability or

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maybe even prohibit
you from working

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with any of their
competitors.

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what is a group
of competitors?

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If you specialize
in working with

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law firms or you
specialize working

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with doctors, or you
specialize working

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with teachers, a
group of competitors

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is a niche.

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And so that
specialized

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segment for your
goods or services.

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Now, if you are
here, you've

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probably heard a
million times that,

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riches are in the
niches there are

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tons of resources,
if you haven't heard

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that before, that
I can point you to.

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I love the,
business of

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Authority podcast.

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Talks about
that a lot.

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Jonathan Stark and
Rochelle Moton.

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also, biz
Chicks talks

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about it a lot.

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the two bobs,
there's so many

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resources to tell
you about the value

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of having a niche.

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Now, just to go
over them very

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quickly here, one,
know, to be fishing

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in a, Small pool
instead of fishing

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in an ocean.

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Your resources are
the same whether

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you're fishing in
an ocean or you're

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fishing in a pond,
and so you're

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gonna be a lot more
effective fishing

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in a pond with
your resources than

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you are fishing
in an ocean.

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Also, when you
have a niche, you

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get very strong
positioning.

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You become known
as the go-to person

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or the authority in
your area, and that

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is only possible
within a niche.

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You have less
spending on

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your marketing.

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When you are known
as the authority or

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the go-to person,
then you are

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highly referable.

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People will
know, oh, I know

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exactly You are
an accountant

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and you need help
with your S E O.

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I know exactly who
you need to talk to.

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So you become very
referable and,

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therefore spend
less on marketing

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when you are known
as the authority

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in an area you can.

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command higher
premium pricing.

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You cannot get those
premium pricing when

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you are just another
SEO expert or just

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another copywriter.

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and then it,
of course, it

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accelerates the
development of

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your expertise.

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When you are working
in a specific

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area, you get to
know intimately

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the issues that
your clients have,

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their businesses
really well, you

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know the language
that they, speak

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and that helps you
really accelerate

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your expertise.

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It's all kind
of builds on

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each other.

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And so if riches
are in the niches,

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then what is in
non-competes?

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And so it's really
kind of the opposite

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of what's, the
riches In the

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niches, you have
weak positioning.

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if you are working,
if you're doing

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SEO o for every
different kind of

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client, it is very
hard to have a

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strong positioning,
as they say.

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If you work with
everyone, then you

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work with no one.

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Your messaging
is very squishy.

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Are you talking
to, clients who

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serve customers,
or are you talking

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to clients who
serve patients, or

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are you talking to
clients that serve,

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collaborators like.

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Who are you
talking to?

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What is the language
that they're using?

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And that's hard
to do if you don't

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have a niche.

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You get a grab
bag of clients.

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in the legal world
they're called, the,

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front door clients.

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Like anyone who
walks through the

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front door is your
client is, and that

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generalist, law
practice that's,

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Actually, pretty
hard to maintain.

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the more niched
a lawyer is, the

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higher and more
premium prices

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they can command.

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And that applies to
many other areas of

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expertise as well.

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And then if you are
getting referrals

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at all, cuz
sometimes you aren't

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because people.

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Find it hard to
refer to you.

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They aren't
the right kind

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of referrals.

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They don't
quite understand

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what you do.

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so if they just
hear some random

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buzzword, then
they'll go, oh yeah,

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I think you need to
talk to this person.

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And then you spend
time on the phone

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with them and find
out that they're

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not the right
referral for you.

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It's much harder
to build valuable

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IP because again,
you're kind of all

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over the place and
often you'll find

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yourself reduced to
selling your time

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instead of selling
your expertise.

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these are the
reasons we don't

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like non-competes,
which interfere

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in our ability to
create niches and

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all the wonderful
riches that

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come with them.

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So let's talk
about some

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specific examples
of non-compete

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provisions that you
will see in your

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services agreements.

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again, look for the
slides if you are

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listening to this
on the podcast.

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So my first example,
which, involves

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when you are the
subcontractor and

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there is an end
client it is not.

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That unusual for
your immediate

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client to want to
prevent you as a

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subcontractor from
doing an end run

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and serving that
end client directly?

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not that I'm a huge.

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Antifa of
non-competes, but

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the only time I'm
not offended by

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non-competes is in
this circumstance,

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it is fair for
your client not

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to expect you to
like, do the end

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run and go directly
to the end client.

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for those services
that you've been

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engaged to do.

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in this example,
if the contractor

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provides services
to a client of

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company under
this agreement,

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subcontractor agrees
not to independently

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contract to provide
services to such

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client during the
same period and for

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a period of one year
after completion,

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expiration, or
termination of

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such services.

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If subcontractor
has an existing

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agreement in place
with a company

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client  prior to the
effective date of

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this agreement, any
services provided

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by subcontractor
pursuant to that

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agreement are
excluded from

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the proceeding
restriction.

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And just to
clarify, in this

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example, you are
the subcontractor

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and your client is
company and then

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company client would
be the end client.

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And so this is an
example where, your

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client does not want
you to do an end

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run to go directly
to the end client.

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That said, it is
still too broad.

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There are a number
of issues that

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I have with that
provision and, In

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this next slide,
I am, addressing

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the way that I
would remedy this

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to make it more
reasonable so it

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doesn't interfere
with your ability to

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create your niche.

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I e work with
competitors of your

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client, In this one,
one, you need to

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make sure that you
actually know who

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that end client is.

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Depending on the
nature of your

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services, sometimes
you don't know who

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the end client is.

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Maybe you're
brought in just

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to do something
specifically.

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Maybe, in the market
research field,

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you may be brought
in to provide.

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respondents and
you don't know who

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the end client is,
so you certainly

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don't want to agree
to, not provide,

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services with an end
client that you're

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not even aware of.

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So you, would,
accidentally breach

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your agreement.

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Also, you may
provide services

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that don't
actually compete

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with your client.

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You may be in
completely different

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industries, but your
client is providing

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kind of a 360
degree, solution.

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And so they
need to bring in

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subcontractors
in order.

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To fill in the
blanks where they

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don't have that
expertise in house.

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So if you are not
competing with your

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client, there's no
reason for you to

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not be able to work
with that end client

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providing services
that don't even

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compete with your
immediate client.

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So you wanna make
sure it's clear

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that any non-compete
would apply only

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to services that
compete with your

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immediate client.

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Also for that one
year tale, that one

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year non-compete
period after your

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services have
been completed.

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the point is for
you to not poach

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this client, the
point is not for.

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There to be some
exclusive market

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that only your
client can play in.

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You have your own
expertise, they have

264
00:09:33,352 --> 00:09:34,402
their expertise.

265
00:09:34,725 --> 00:09:35,932
You should be able
to go out in the

266
00:09:35,932 --> 00:09:37,792
market and compete
in the market

267
00:09:37,797 --> 00:09:40,192
based on your
expertise without

268
00:09:40,312 --> 00:09:41,572
any restrictions.

269
00:09:41,847 --> 00:09:43,762
And so that
non-compete period

270
00:09:44,093 --> 00:09:46,112
just apply to
providing services

271
00:09:46,112 --> 00:09:48,122
to that client in
connection with

272
00:09:48,182 --> 00:09:49,232
this engagement.

273
00:09:49,551 --> 00:09:54,381
And then, never,
agree to anything

274
00:09:54,381 --> 00:09:57,352
that will interfere
with your current

275
00:09:57,352 --> 00:09:58,252
relationships.

276
00:09:58,626 --> 00:10:01,266
As an expert, one of
your most valuable

277
00:10:01,266 --> 00:10:04,116
assets are your
relationships.

278
00:10:04,356 --> 00:10:05,856
So if you have
relationships

279
00:10:05,856 --> 00:10:07,596
either that you're
cultivating or.

280
00:10:08,357 --> 00:10:11,514
That are with actual
clients, you want to

281
00:10:11,514 --> 00:10:13,192
be able to continue
to cultivate those

282
00:10:13,192 --> 00:10:14,062
relationships.

283
00:10:14,092 --> 00:10:15,262
You don't want
anything to come

284
00:10:15,262 --> 00:10:17,183
between you and
that, obviously

285
00:10:17,183 --> 00:10:19,649
if you have a
client that has,

286
00:10:19,649 --> 00:10:20,875
worked with you in
the past and they

287
00:10:20,875 --> 00:10:22,465
come back to you,
can you imagine

288
00:10:22,656 --> 00:10:24,145
having to say no?

289
00:10:24,425 --> 00:10:26,029
because of one of
these non-compete

290
00:10:26,029 --> 00:10:26,719
provisions.

291
00:10:26,966 --> 00:10:30,350
So make sure that it
doesn't apply that

292
00:10:30,350 --> 00:10:31,280
any non-compete.

293
00:10:31,432 --> 00:10:35,644
Not only carves out
existing agreements

294
00:10:35,644 --> 00:10:37,954
but it also carves
out existing

295
00:10:37,984 --> 00:10:39,064
relationships.

296
00:10:39,566 --> 00:10:40,807
Another example.

297
00:10:40,807 --> 00:10:42,546
So this is, a
more general

298
00:10:42,546 --> 00:10:45,512
non-compete, not
the subcontractor

299
00:10:45,609 --> 00:10:48,759
scenario, but it is
just you and your

300
00:10:48,764 --> 00:10:51,765
client may, have
engage with the

301
00:10:51,765 --> 00:10:54,374
same market from
time to time, and

302
00:10:54,374 --> 00:10:56,654
your client just
wants you completely

303
00:10:56,654 --> 00:10:57,614
out of the market.

304
00:10:57,883 --> 00:10:59,030
and just because
you've worked

305
00:10:59,030 --> 00:11:00,710
together on this
one specific

306
00:11:00,710 --> 00:11:03,230
project, and that
is unreasonable.

307
00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:06,019
So this language
during the term

308
00:11:06,019 --> 00:11:07,729
of this agreement,
and for a period

309
00:11:07,729 --> 00:11:09,619
of one year after
the termination

310
00:11:09,619 --> 00:11:10,519
of this agreement.

311
00:11:10,820 --> 00:11:12,800
Contractor shall
not engage in

312
00:11:12,860 --> 00:11:15,320
any employment,
consulting, or

313
00:11:15,380 --> 00:11:17,480
other activity
that competes

314
00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:18,590
with the business.

315
00:11:18,770 --> 00:11:21,873
Proposed business
or business interest

316
00:11:21,873 --> 00:11:24,245
of company and
contractor will not

317
00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:26,735
assist any other
person or entity

318
00:11:27,012 --> 00:11:29,165
in doing so without
company's prior

319
00:11:29,165 --> 00:11:30,005
written consent.

320
00:11:30,871 --> 00:11:32,858
There are many,
many things wrong

321
00:11:32,858 --> 00:11:33,968
with this provision.

322
00:11:34,178 --> 00:11:37,329
So many that my
recommendation is

323
00:11:37,329 --> 00:11:39,039
to simply strike it.

324
00:11:39,229 --> 00:11:40,620
you're not in
the business of

325
00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,600
carving up the
market for using

326
00:11:43,605 --> 00:11:44,770
your expertise.

327
00:11:45,090 --> 00:11:48,034
you have yours, they
have theirs, and

328
00:11:48,034 --> 00:11:49,954
you should be able
to go out into the

329
00:11:49,954 --> 00:11:51,094
market and compete.

330
00:11:51,369 --> 00:11:53,597
As the market,
demands.

331
00:11:53,854 --> 00:11:56,374
step one is try
to eliminate it

332
00:11:56,374 --> 00:11:57,154
all together.

333
00:11:57,501 --> 00:12:00,391
Now, any contract
negotiation depends

334
00:12:00,391 --> 00:12:03,873
on the relative,
negotiating power

335
00:12:03,878 --> 00:12:07,449
of each And so there
may be a reason

336
00:12:07,449 --> 00:12:10,650
that you need to
agree to some level

337
00:12:10,650 --> 00:12:13,053
of non-compete,
and so you need

338
00:12:13,053 --> 00:12:15,333
to negotiate
this provision.

339
00:12:15,860 --> 00:12:17,686
So here my
recommendation, the

340
00:12:17,686 --> 00:12:20,958
fallback position
would be first limit

341
00:12:20,958 --> 00:12:23,448
the term or the
non-compete to the

342
00:12:23,448 --> 00:12:25,758
term that you're
working together.

343
00:12:26,151 --> 00:12:29,054
Two, the restriction
on Doing competing

344
00:12:29,054 --> 00:12:32,084
employment or
other activity

345
00:12:32,220 --> 00:12:34,355
is far too broad.

346
00:12:34,527 --> 00:12:36,991
maybe you are solo
and one of your

347
00:12:36,991 --> 00:12:38,191
other clients,
wants you to go in

348
00:12:38,191 --> 00:12:41,255
house and that is
a competing client.

349
00:12:41,595 --> 00:12:43,065
There should be
no restriction

350
00:12:43,065 --> 00:12:45,405
on your ability
to go in-house

351
00:12:45,621 --> 00:12:47,625
with a client and
provide services.

352
00:12:47,959 --> 00:12:50,399
you will always
be subject to the

353
00:12:50,399 --> 00:12:51,869
non-disclosure
obligations.

354
00:12:52,213 --> 00:12:54,733
You, of course, are
not permitted to use

355
00:12:54,793 --> 00:12:56,556
any other party's,
intellectual

356
00:12:56,556 --> 00:12:58,896
property or their
secrets without

357
00:12:58,896 --> 00:13:01,206
their permission,
but for you to use

358
00:13:01,206 --> 00:13:02,916
your expertise,
you can use it

359
00:13:02,916 --> 00:13:03,716
with anyone.

360
00:13:04,141 --> 00:13:05,581
and so we're
limiting that

361
00:13:05,581 --> 00:13:07,475
language, that
competes with

362
00:13:07,475 --> 00:13:09,846
the services,
they have here.

363
00:13:09,876 --> 00:13:11,736
You can't compete
with proposed

364
00:13:11,736 --> 00:13:14,376
business or
business interest.

365
00:13:14,376 --> 00:13:15,786
I mean, how
broad is that?

366
00:13:16,116 --> 00:13:18,576
How would you
possibly know what

367
00:13:18,666 --> 00:13:21,155
other proposed
business, prospects

368
00:13:21,155 --> 00:13:23,015
they're looking at,
what other business

369
00:13:23,015 --> 00:13:25,085
interests they have
other than what

370
00:13:25,085 --> 00:13:27,705
you're directly
engaged to perform.

371
00:13:27,923 --> 00:13:29,625
So you need to
eliminate anything

372
00:13:29,625 --> 00:13:32,745
that is so broad and
so vague as proposed

373
00:13:32,745 --> 00:13:33,585
business interests.

374
00:13:34,182 --> 00:13:36,781
and then you
can't, assist.

375
00:13:36,966 --> 00:13:40,711
Well again, you may
not know that one

376
00:13:40,711 --> 00:13:43,341
of your clients,
is a competitor

377
00:13:43,341 --> 00:13:44,511
of the old client.

378
00:13:44,671 --> 00:13:46,978
you can't, be
in a position of

379
00:13:47,098 --> 00:13:50,322
accidentally an
agreement because

380
00:13:50,322 --> 00:13:52,092
you're not aware
of who the end

381
00:13:52,092 --> 00:13:52,932
clients are.

382
00:13:53,379 --> 00:13:56,657
And again, always,
always, make sure

383
00:13:56,779 --> 00:13:59,618
that any restriction
does not apply to

384
00:13:59,618 --> 00:14:01,418
your preexisting
relationships.

385
00:14:01,849 --> 00:14:04,658
Now, there is a
provision here

386
00:14:04,658 --> 00:14:05,918
called interference.

387
00:14:05,923 --> 00:14:08,438
This is a real
provision that came

388
00:14:08,443 --> 00:14:11,205
from a services
agreement that.

389
00:14:11,353 --> 00:14:14,143
Absolutely blew my
mind when I saw it.

390
00:14:14,356 --> 00:14:16,713
And I think, you
don't need to be

391
00:14:16,713 --> 00:14:18,853
a lawyer to know
why this, provision

392
00:14:18,853 --> 00:14:20,053
is so outrageous.

393
00:14:20,353 --> 00:14:22,036
during the term
of this agreement,

394
00:14:22,294 --> 00:14:24,586
and for a period of
one year following

395
00:14:24,586 --> 00:14:26,716
termination or
expiration of

396
00:14:26,716 --> 00:14:29,006
this agreement,
supplier agrees

397
00:14:29,036 --> 00:14:30,246
not to induce.

398
00:14:30,817 --> 00:14:35,170
Or attempt to induce
influence or attempt

399
00:14:35,170 --> 00:14:38,447
to influence any
client, supplier

400
00:14:38,657 --> 00:14:41,747
or other business
relation of company

401
00:14:41,927 --> 00:14:44,583
or any affiliate
of company deceased

402
00:14:44,583 --> 00:14:45,543
doing business.

403
00:14:45,543 --> 00:14:48,373
Terminate or modify
any written or

404
00:14:48,373 --> 00:14:50,725
oral agreement,
arrangement or

405
00:14:50,725 --> 00:14:53,175
course of dealing
or to otherwise

406
00:14:53,205 --> 00:14:55,035
interfere with
the business

407
00:14:55,065 --> 00:14:55,935
relationship.

408
00:14:56,449 --> 00:15:00,169
This is so broad
that you literally

409
00:15:00,362 --> 00:15:02,222
couldn't, like
what can you do

410
00:15:02,503 --> 00:15:05,182
that doesn't breach
this provision?

411
00:15:05,452 --> 00:15:08,340
anytime you talk
to another client,

412
00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:09,790
another supplier
or other business

413
00:15:09,790 --> 00:15:11,899
relation, I mean
all sorts of people

414
00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:13,219
we have business
relationships

415
00:15:13,219 --> 00:15:14,789
with, that might.

416
00:15:14,896 --> 00:15:17,224
Caused them to work
with you instead

417
00:15:17,224 --> 00:15:19,388
of with them and
all those things.

418
00:15:19,388 --> 00:15:22,238
Even attempting to,
not even succeeding

419
00:15:22,238 --> 00:15:24,606
to, but just having
a conversation

420
00:15:24,854 --> 00:15:26,766
about possibly
working together

421
00:15:27,066 --> 00:15:28,836
would breach
this provision.

422
00:15:29,188 --> 00:15:32,325
This is a hundred
percent unreasonable

423
00:15:32,345 --> 00:15:35,422
and, absolutely,
would be something

424
00:15:35,422 --> 00:15:36,172
that could.

425
00:15:36,525 --> 00:15:39,169
Kill your business
and as a general

426
00:15:39,169 --> 00:15:41,103
rule, you know,
even with provisions

427
00:15:41,103 --> 00:15:43,833
that seem a little
more reasonable,

428
00:15:44,061 --> 00:15:46,971
such as the very
first one regarding

429
00:15:46,971 --> 00:15:49,195
the subcontractor
arrangements, you

430
00:15:49,195 --> 00:15:49,935
need to think about.

431
00:15:50,499 --> 00:15:53,439
The overall effect
of agreeing to

432
00:15:53,439 --> 00:15:56,296
provisions like
this, any version

433
00:15:56,326 --> 00:15:58,516
of non-compete or
non-solicitation.

434
00:15:58,696 --> 00:16:00,486
You if you agreed
to the language

435
00:16:00,486 --> 00:16:02,346
that this particular
client is asking

436
00:16:02,346 --> 00:16:04,369
you to agree to,
and you did that

437
00:16:04,369 --> 00:16:07,258
with every client,
be out of business?

438
00:16:07,258 --> 00:16:09,249
Like what would
be left if with

439
00:16:09,249 --> 00:16:10,929
every client you
said, okay, I won't

440
00:16:10,929 --> 00:16:12,459
work with any of
your competitors.

441
00:16:12,858 --> 00:16:14,511
And so that
eliminates 20%

442
00:16:14,511 --> 00:16:15,981
of the market and
then you do it

443
00:16:15,981 --> 00:16:17,361
with another one,
eliminates another

444
00:16:17,361 --> 00:16:19,748
20% and another one
pretty soon you're

445
00:16:19,748 --> 00:16:20,588
out of business.

446
00:16:20,828 --> 00:16:23,088
So you really need
to think about the

447
00:16:23,148 --> 00:16:25,548
overall effect of
agreeing going,

448
00:16:25,608 --> 00:16:27,678
just slippery slope
of non-competes,

449
00:16:27,940 --> 00:16:28,686
when you think
about that.

450
00:16:29,701 --> 00:16:31,025
make sure that.

451
00:16:31,125 --> 00:16:33,765
You don't lose
that when you're,

452
00:16:33,865 --> 00:16:35,305
negotiating with
your clients.

453
00:16:35,755 --> 00:16:38,815
So the key takeaways
here, You need to

454
00:16:38,815 --> 00:16:41,140
restrict any type
of non-compete.

455
00:16:41,140 --> 00:16:42,505
You know, first try
to get rid of 'em,

456
00:16:42,749 --> 00:16:44,972
but if you can't,
make sure that any

457
00:16:44,972 --> 00:16:47,582
restriction is as
narrow as possible

458
00:16:47,732 --> 00:16:49,952
in terms of the time
that it applies,

459
00:16:50,235 --> 00:16:52,575
who it applies to
and what services

460
00:16:52,605 --> 00:16:53,475
it applies to.

461
00:16:53,828 --> 00:16:55,563
Make sure that
standard carve

462
00:16:55,563 --> 00:16:57,573
out is there
any preexisting

463
00:16:57,573 --> 00:16:59,733
relationships must
be carved out.

464
00:17:00,236 --> 00:17:01,916
most importantly,
don't be afraid

465
00:17:01,916 --> 00:17:03,566
to stand up for
your business.

466
00:17:03,926 --> 00:17:06,866
It is a B two
B relationship.

467
00:17:07,303 --> 00:17:11,236
You are partners
in making sure that

468
00:17:11,266 --> 00:17:14,174
both parties have,
a happy resolution.

469
00:17:14,938 --> 00:17:16,768
Any business
relationship where

470
00:17:16,768 --> 00:17:19,938
both parties don't
feel like they got

471
00:17:19,998 --> 00:17:22,338
value from it is an
unsuccessful one.

472
00:17:22,587 --> 00:17:24,768
And so the other
party does want you

473
00:17:24,768 --> 00:17:26,328
to feel good about
their relationship

474
00:17:26,328 --> 00:17:26,958
as well.

475
00:17:27,409 --> 00:17:30,818
And they are set
up for you to have

476
00:17:30,818 --> 00:17:33,578
conversations about
those provisions.

477
00:17:33,933 --> 00:17:36,513
What do I do if
my client insists

478
00:17:36,518 --> 00:17:38,223
on including
a non-compete?

479
00:17:38,744 --> 00:17:40,819
Yeah, I mean,
sometimes as it

480
00:17:40,819 --> 00:17:43,279
will happen, and
again, depending on

481
00:17:43,279 --> 00:17:45,829
the nature of your
industry, it will

482
00:17:45,829 --> 00:17:47,839
be very important
for them to know

483
00:17:47,839 --> 00:17:48,559
that you aren't.

484
00:17:48,881 --> 00:17:50,748
Working with
their competitors.

485
00:17:50,958 --> 00:17:53,358
Certainly if you're
doing anything that

486
00:17:53,358 --> 00:17:55,398
involves access
to your client's

487
00:17:55,617 --> 00:17:58,391
trade secrets,
they are going to,

488
00:17:58,491 --> 00:18:00,741
probably insist on
having some version

489
00:18:00,771 --> 00:18:01,821
of a non-compete.

490
00:18:02,162 --> 00:18:04,991
And so again, you're
going to have to

491
00:18:04,991 --> 00:18:07,991
just make sure that
it is as narrow in

492
00:18:07,991 --> 00:18:09,881
scope as possible.

493
00:18:10,141 --> 00:18:12,944
and even specific
to, maybe let's

494
00:18:12,944 --> 00:18:14,654
say it is a
pharmaceutical

495
00:18:14,916 --> 00:18:17,895
company and they you
to not work with any

496
00:18:17,895 --> 00:18:20,775
other pharmaceutical
companies, maybe try

497
00:18:20,775 --> 00:18:23,268
to get it as narrow
as We won't work

498
00:18:23,268 --> 00:18:27,138
with someone who is
in the same category

499
00:18:27,228 --> 00:18:29,830
of drug, know,
diabetes drugs or

500
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:31,040
hypertension drugs.

501
00:18:31,198 --> 00:18:33,230
So as narrow as
you can make it

502
00:18:33,506 --> 00:18:35,313
so that, you can
still work with

503
00:18:35,313 --> 00:18:36,813
other pharmaceutical
companies.

504
00:18:36,873 --> 00:18:38,573
You certainly
there are a lot

505
00:18:38,573 --> 00:18:39,983
of pharmaceutical
companies, although

506
00:18:39,983 --> 00:18:41,543
they may be
competitors on the

507
00:18:41,543 --> 00:18:44,513
surface, they really
aren't because they

508
00:18:44,513 --> 00:18:47,023
work in different
areas of, therapy.

509
00:18:47,451 --> 00:18:49,104
that would be my
recommendation.

510
00:18:49,164 --> 00:18:51,084
Um, again, just as
narrow as possible

511
00:18:51,286 --> 00:18:52,601
and making sure
that you can

512
00:18:52,721 --> 00:18:54,461
continue to work
with your existing

513
00:18:54,461 --> 00:18:55,331
relationships.

514
00:18:55,697 --> 00:18:57,692
one other thing
I wanna add, Is

515
00:18:57,697 --> 00:18:59,762
when they ask you
to come and get

516
00:18:59,762 --> 00:19:02,469
their approval
of working with

517
00:19:02,469 --> 00:19:03,219
any competitors.

518
00:19:03,219 --> 00:19:05,579
That is generally
not workable.

519
00:19:05,896 --> 00:19:08,529
Your clients are not
going to want you to

520
00:19:08,529 --> 00:19:11,229
talk to your other
clients about who

521
00:19:11,234 --> 00:19:12,969
you're working with
and they wouldn't

522
00:19:12,969 --> 00:19:13,239
want you to.

523
00:19:13,978 --> 00:19:15,508
so anything that
says you need to

524
00:19:15,508 --> 00:19:17,398
come to us and get
approval really

525
00:19:17,428 --> 00:19:18,328
isn't workable.

526
00:19:18,590 --> 00:19:19,948
You need to just
make sure that

527
00:19:19,948 --> 00:19:21,568
there are very clear
parameters that

528
00:19:21,573 --> 00:19:22,618
you can work with.

529
00:19:22,938 --> 00:19:24,558
so that you can
continue to grow

530
00:19:24,558 --> 00:19:27,258
your business,
create a niche

531
00:19:27,288 --> 00:19:29,118
so that you can
develop, a high

532
00:19:29,118 --> 00:19:31,192
value business,
where you're known

533
00:19:31,192 --> 00:19:32,782
as the authority
in the business

534
00:19:33,112 --> 00:19:35,032
can command
premium prices,

535
00:19:35,185 --> 00:19:38,398
can accelerate
your expertise all

536
00:19:38,428 --> 00:19:40,408
the riches that
come with niches.

537
00:19:40,829 --> 00:19:44,178
So, Thank you for
joining me and all

538
00:19:44,178 --> 00:19:46,043
the links, will
be in the show

539
00:19:46,043 --> 00:19:47,543
notes and of course
if you have any

540
00:19:47,543 --> 00:19:49,596
questions, please
don't hesitate

541
00:19:49,596 --> 00:19:50,736
to contact me.

542
00:19:50,736 --> 00:19:52,296
Oh, actually have
contact page.

543
00:19:53,026 --> 00:19:54,676
you can find
me on LinkedIn.

544
00:19:54,736 --> 00:19:57,750
I am the Erin
Austin, without

545
00:19:57,755 --> 00:20:00,780
Thethe of course,
and I also have

546
00:20:00,810 --> 00:20:02,280
many resources.

547
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,980
On my website,
think beyond@ip.com

548
00:20:05,153 --> 00:20:07,086
where you can
find me as well.

549
00:20:07,206 --> 00:20:09,036
So thanks again
for joining me.