I am hoping that I could get a little advice from someone on a potential opportunity. I'd have the ability to operate as an independent contractor for a company that owns a patent on a specific product. It aligns with my experience, and I have a lot of connections that could benefit from this product. I can go into more detail, but I wanted to ask to see if anyone else does this, and how they go about it. I'd be more than willing to buy lunch for your time. My email is my username at GMail. Thank you for the help!

I've done this with helping small oilfield service companies expand internationally Here's a few things I've learned along the way…

1. Form an LLC:

It's cheap and gives you some liability protection.

2. Sign a Consulting Agreement:

This should be between your LLC and the company whose product you're representing.

In this agreement, think carefully about defining who you're introducing as potential clients. My strategy is to include a list of "target accounts" in the agreement. It's helped ensure that I get a commission on any business generated from those accounts. This way, you avoid the company claiming they would've landed that customer without your help.

Keep your compensation simple. I prefer a percentage of top-line revenue, paid within 30 days of their payment from the clients I introduce.

Include a "tail" clause in your agreement to ensure you still get commissions if the agreement is terminated or expires. It can take years to gain traction with new clients, so you don't want your agreement to expire just as a new customer starts generating revenue. Ideally, you should receive commissions for the clients you bring on board indefinitely. If the company pushes back, offer a buyout option where you're paid, maybe three times the commissions generated over the past 12 months. Also, have a ramp-up period where they can't terminate unless you do something egregious. Think about what happens if the company or patent your pushing gets sold….are you still protected by new owner?

Add a "dispute resolution" clause in your agreement. I suggest "binding arbitration" in the nearest major city to you. This is crucial if the company has more financial resources than you. It prevents them from using litigation costs to deter you. Binding arbitration tends to keep things fair (and cheap) for the little guys. I've never had to go down this path, but a lawyer gave me this advice when I first got into this line of work.

Set a cap on your liability, ideally zero, but at most the fees you've been paid.

Add some language that you're not responsible for evaluating any customers credit worthiness. Obviously, you only want them to customers who will pay, but if someone doesn't pay, you don't want them coming after you or holding back your other commissions.

Include audit rights in your agreement. If you're on a commission basis, it might not be practical to enforce, but it's a "nice to have" if things ever go south.

If you get their product in the door with a new customer, try to ensure that any revenue from that new customer qualifies for your commission. That customer might expand their relationship into other services beyond the product you initially introduce. Since you made the relationship happen, you should get a commission on all revenue from that new customer, not just the product you're focused on pushing.

3. Stay on top of invoicing - sounds simple, but when you're a one man show, it's easy to fall behind. I hire a "virtual assistant" from the Philippines to prepare them and make sure my invoices go out on time.

4. Get smart on taxes and financial planning. Once you start having success, especially if you haven't done non-W2 work before, get with a CPA. Learn the basics of things you can write off against this income and consider reducing taxes with a self-employed 401K.

Thank you so much! I got your message and will shoot you an email!