Signing without reading the contract
To keep our first big client we signed a 40-page contract overnight. We paid for it for two years.
The contract said "unlimited revisions". We had no lawyer, the advance was invoiced and the team was excited.
The project was planned for four months; it took 19 and wiped out our margin.
Key takeaways
Tie scope to a number
Any clause containing the word "unlimited" must be rewritten.
Urgency is a negotiation tactic
"It has to be signed tomorrow" is usually pressure, not a fact.