Starting business and old clients wanting to work with you

[iFan]

Hey there peeps,

So I am thinking of starting my own consulting business. I have clients from my current job that have expressed their interest in working with me.

I have the typical non compete in my contract and so forth, so would it still be fine to continue along this path as I am not directly stealing clients?

As a second question maybe, if the said contract has no end date, then wouldn't it anyway be void? Same goes for the non-compete/don't work with our clients, it has no end date but just says for the duration of the agreement and after the agreement is finished?

It seems really unfair as how else would one be able to business when it is your professional services you are offering?

Thank you for the replies in advance...

 

[iFan]

I am also going to see a labour lawyer to be sure, but would just be good to get some opinions first.

Also doesn't an employment contract have to have a specific date for it to be valid?

Thanks

 

[^^vampire^^]

It would be hard to prove you stole their clients but wouldn't look good if you left and the clients from previous employment were paying you either. I guess it depends on what the backlash from the company would be and how low your own morals are.

I would however think that as an act of good faith you shouldn't pursue such things as the company employed you and have done so on certain terms. Also if you leave and steal their clients how are they supposed to grow and offer others the opportunities they offered you? If after a period of time you set up an operation that those clients actively seek you out then fine, they have left of their own free will to use your services but informing those clients in any way that you are starting up your own business/consultancy would probably be seen as soliciting clients which is in contravention to your contract, date or not. It seems however that you have already relayed your intentions to some of these clients, and if that info gets out to your employers they would probably have grounds to fire you already.

You are looking at your employment contract as a me me me and not as a document covering all parties in it's entirety. If you say the contract is void because there is no end date then you are technically also not employed yet I'm sure you would **** your pants if your employer came to you at the end of the month and said we aren't paying you because there is no end date on the contract so you aren't employed.

Maybe think of it as now you are starting your own business, you work hard for many years to keep things stable, employ some people to help you (and them) grow, and they repay you by stealing your clients and putting you in a bad position.

It's fine to start up your own consultancy but do it honestly, don't piggyback off others hard work already.

All this is just the very basics of contracts and morals but you seem to be lacking on both sides. You very clearly demonstrate a lack of ability to be able to run a business effectively, even just from an EQ perspective, and think you should do some more research before going down the route of running your own business.