My old boss told me to never put a non-compete in our contracts, and I'm glad I listened.

Derek Fox · 2026-03-15T15:20:14.274774+00:00

When I started my small agency five years ago, my first boss from my old job gave me some hard advice. He said, 'Derek, putting a non-compete on your freelancers is a good way to get sued for no real gain.' I was worried about people taking my clients, so I almost did it anyway. But I listened. Last year, a freelancer I used for a project in Chicago left to start his own thing. He took a client with him, and I was mad. My lawyer told me that if I had a non-compete, I'd have to spend at least $10,000 just to start a fight I'd probably lose, because they're so hard to enforce for independent contractors. It saved me a huge headache and a lot of money. Has anyone else dodged a legal bullet by leaving a clause out of their agreements?

luna8247mo ago

Non-competes can be worth it for key roles though.

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quinn_barnes67mo ago

That's a really good point about the legal costs just to start. I mean, ten grand is a lot of money for a small shop to burn on maybe winning. Did your lawyer say if there was anything else you could have put in the contract instead, like a clear rule about who owns the client relationships? Something that protects you without trying to stop someone from working.

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riley_taylor6mo ago

That "ten grand to start" point is fair, but it's the cost of doing business sometimes. A well written non compete for a key employee who knows all your trade secrets is cheap insurance. Losing one big client could cost way more than that legal fight.

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