The Fun Clauses (That Can Still Screw You)
Now here’s where things get interesting.
This is the part people think the whole game is about.
Travel.
Accommodations.
Flights.
Hotels.
Expenses.
Because when someone wants your intellectual property, a lot of times they want you there, in person.
And that?
That’s the deal before the deal.
Before anything is signed, they’re already showing you how they operate.
On the surface, it looks great.
“They’re flying me out.”
“They’re covering everything.”
“They’ve got me staying somewhere nice.”
And yes, that can be a good sign.
But it’s also a test.
While they’re evaluating you, you should be evaluating them.
How they treat you isn’t just hospitality.
It’s information.
It tells you how organized they are, how serious they are, and how much they respect what you brought to the table.
Here’s where it gets tricky.
You can absolutely be sold a bill of goods simply by how you’re treated.
A beautiful location.
A luxurious hotel.
An impressive office.
Everything feels first class.
Suddenly you’re thinking, “Alright, this is legitimate.”
Maybe it is.
Maybe it isn’t.
Presentation is part of business.
Sometimes it’s there because that’s simply how the company operates.
Sometimes it’s there because they’re trying to influence your thinking.
To get you comfortable.
To get you emotionally invested.
To get you moving faster than you should.
That’s where people get into trouble.
They remember how they were treated instead of what they actually agreed to.
Then comes another interesting layer.
When someone says,
“Send us your travel plans.”
or
“We’ll reimburse you.”
That isn’t just logistics.
They’re learning something about you.
They’re seeing how you travel, what standards you have, and what you consider acceptable.
At the exact same time, you’re learning about them.
How they organize travel.
How they reimburse expenses.
How efficiently they communicate.
How well they plan.
All of that gives you clues about how they’ll likely handle the actual business relationship.
Now let’s talk about meeting locations.
Some people have a very specific way they conduct business.
They may only meet at their office.
Their home.
A private club.
A production facility.
Or another environment they control.
That becomes a judgment call.
Not every unusual meeting location is automatically suspicious.
Sometimes that’s simply how they conduct business.
Sometimes that’s the level they’re operating at.
Sometimes, if you’re dealing with someone established enough, the meeting happens where they say it happens.
Sometimes the mountain has to go to Muhammad.
That doesn’t mean you walk in blindly.
It means you ask questions.
Who am I dealing with?
What’s their reputation?
Is this normal for them?
Is the location appropriate?
Is the meeting structured?
Can I bring legal counsel or a witness?
Because where someone chooses to meet tells you something.
How they react to your boundaries tells you even more.
Now let’s look at the opposite situation.
Sometimes they come to you.
Your office.
Your workplace.
Your property.
If someone shows up unannounced, that’s an immediate no.
Business is scheduled.
Business respects process.
If someone ignores your process before a deal even exists, you should seriously question how they’ll behave after one does.
Now here’s another point people rarely consider.
Your time isn’t free.
Even before a contract exists.
If someone wants you to travel somewhere you would never normally go, that has value.
Your time has value.
Your attention has value.
Your willingness to leave your normal environment has value.
Sometimes the correct answer is simply:
“You’re paying me just to be there.”
Professional organizations understand that.
Now let’s get into one of my non-negotiable travel terms.
If I travel…
I do not travel alone.
If I travel, the plus-one travels.
That’s a term.
Not a suggestion.
Preferably, that plus-one is legal counsel.
If legal counsel is attending, then they’re part of the meeting just like everyone else, and yes, they’re getting paid.
That’s part of doing business.
If legal counsel isn’t attending, I may still bring someone with me.
But understand their role.
They are not there to negotiate.
They are not there to help make the deal.
They are there to witness.
Their purpose is simple.
To verify that:
- No agreement was made.
- No terms were accepted.
- No procedures were changed.
- No commitments were given.
Because my rule is straightforward:
No lawyer in the room means no decision in the room.
No signing.
No agreeing.
No committing.
Nothing.
If there’s a proposed agreement, it leaves with me.
Then it goes to my legal counsel for review.
That’s the process.
Pressure is real.
Environment is real.
People can make decisions in the moment that they later regret.
Structure exists to protect you from making emotional decisions under pressure.
And this is where people begin to understand what they’re actually dealing with when they approach me about one of my intellectual properties.
I’m not showing up for the flight.
I’m not showing up for the hotel.
I’m not showing up for the experience.
I’m showing up to understand exactly what kind of deal is being proposed.
If it lines up, great.
If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.
Because the deal before the deal is often where people either become comfortable…
…or get set up.
In the next segment, we’ll move beyond travel and meeting arrangements into the mechanics of long-term compensation:
Royalties.
Backend participation.
Hybrid structures.
And how deals can continue paying long after the initial agreement is signed.
As always…
You still got to hand it to the judge, and actually say it isn’t funny.