Reprinted from The Local Ringer Official Publication of the Southern California Security Association © 2008 Glenn M. Gottlieb All rights reserved.

What happened to those new year's resolutions?
DO IT NOW!

Glenn M. Gottlieb
(February 2008)

We’re now one month into the New Year, and I’ll bet most of those New Year’s resolutions you made with such sincerity are already a distant memory. Or, did you sort of “forget” to make any resolutions at all this year? Hmmmmm . . .Well, sorry, as your attorney and legal counselor, I can’t let you off the hook. So here is a list of things you should have promised yourself to get done this year, that I’m strongly advising you to put at the top of your list and “just do it!”

1. New Contracts. Yeah, I know, I harp on this year after year, and you probably think of doing it year after year. So what are you waiting for? Yeah, yeah – it’s a hassle and it’s going to cost some of your hard-earned money. But are you a professional or not? Why wait until you’ve got a problem?

If your contracts haven’t been reviewed and revised in morethan two or three years, chances are very good they are outof date and out of compliance. And if you also hold a contractor’s license (either a C-7 for low voltage work, or a C-10 for fire) and do work on any residential property, they almost certainly don’t comply with the 2006 and 2007 amendments to the Contractors State License Law. It’s time to bite the bullet, give me a call and “Get ‘Er Done!”

2. Three-Day Right of Rescission Notice. You mean you still aren’t delivering a three-day right of rescission notice to each and every residential client when you sign them up to install a system? Well, you’re not alone! I would guess more than 80% of the ACO’s I speak with don’t comply with this requirement. But the potential liability could be catastrophic.

Listen – it’s a simple, one-page form that costs almost nothing. Get the form and start using it. Deliver one to every past residential customer who didn’t get one. You’ll sleepbetter at night. (And, as your lawyer, so will I!)

3. Incorporation. You keep promising yourself you’ll do thisnext year. Well, okay, it’s now “next year.” If you’ve got any assets to protect, this is your last line of defense. If something goes seriously wrong, and your contract and your insurance policy aren’t enough of a shield, make sure you will still have something left when the dust settles. And please don’t think it can’t happen to you! (Think: “Famous last words.”) Consider this another form of insurance – it’s well worth it.

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