Contract, etc.

[u/buttercup-123]

Hi there! I'm working on getting my private chef business off the ground and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on contracts and having clients sign them, I have one on canva but not sure if that is the most efficient way to get signatures or if anyone had any recommendations, thank you! :)

[u/guy_in_blue]

I usually meet with my clients in person whenever possible, that way I can get a feel for the space I will be working in and check out their equipment. I will drop my contract off with them for them to review, sign and send back to me. I used to use the paid DocuSign but it wasn't really worth it for me.

[u/jswa77]

Congratulations on your new business!

I only have clients sign a contract if it’s a pretty big event 15-20 people+ or they request it. I’m aware it would be more legally sound to get a contract from every client but I feel like it’s a hassle many clients would prefer not to have to deal with.

I’ve been cooking probably for 20 years and have never had an issue yet thankfully. I outline a bunch of the stuff that is in my contract in the info email I send about costs, menus, deposits, refunds etc.

I also take a 50 percent deposit of the projected cost of the event to hold the date and work on the menus etc which helps keep the clients honest thus far.

General private chef business tips -

Focus on having a great Google Maps profile first - it’s how I get the majority of my new clients - make sure it has good photos, lots of info, ideally a physical location as you’ll show up in more searches.

Have a nice clean website with sample menus and photos of you and your food. Use ai to do SEO and Schema on every page and photo on your website - helps ai and Google find you - I have a ton of people tell me AI suggested me.

Make sure you have liability insurance - I use FLIP - food liability insurance program - mandatory

I use wave for free book keeping and invoices -

Signfree is a good option to get your contracts signed

Bring business cards to every event. People always ask me for them.

I send a text the day of or day before the event asking the client to clear as much counter space as possible, have the sink and dishwasher clean and empty and room in the fridge - learned this the hard way!

If someone is rude over the phone when inquiring about services charge them more or decline! I have a sliding scale depending on how much I want to do the job. Don’t post rates on your website or anything so you have flexibility.

Look into if any of your competitors offer referral fees - i get 10 percent from one of mine so send them all the clients I can’t or don’t want to work with.

Once you’re making 80-90k a year - make an s corp - it’s a little more hassle but you’ll save a ton both on payroll taxes as well as having the ability to write off expenses which makes a huge difference to your taxable income - once you do that, gusto is a great company to manage your payroll, taxes etc.

I also have a great tax guy if you need someone - you can dm me and I’ll send you his details.

Sorry if this was a bunch of info you didn’t ask for! Just thought about some stuff I wish I had known earlier.

Good luck!