Legality of reaching out to old employers clients

steve_

Hey guys,

Ive a question here regarding the legality or morality of reaching out to contacts from a previous company i worked for. I had worked at an AV company previously more then two years ago now. Actually i wasn't technically employed, i carried out an internship through job-bridge then proceeded to do some freelance work after the intern period ended. I never had a contract nor did i sign any legal forms what so ever regarding a non compete or the likes.

I've since setup on my own and business has been steady for me, however as you can imagine its time now to grow the business which will involve some email marketing and client out reach. My question i guess stems from any possible legal ramifications for doing so?

There is naturally a few big players in the AV space that host regular events, such as the CCD. And i would of shot here with my previous company, but does this mean i cant reach out to them under my own company now?

I cant imagine it would be fair or right for one company to have a monopoly in their particular niche, surely other companies can reach out to new prospective customers in order to try and grow.

Any help here or advice is very welcome. Thanks!

CIARAN_BOYLE

I've never worked under jobbridge or hired someone under it but there's terms and conditions that you sign to agree when you accept it. You might want to do some digging on whether there's a no compete in there. Other than that I don't think there's a legal issue.

steve_

Cheers Ciaran thanks for that. Ill look into it for sure. Im not sure how long a non compete would last though, is there any standard time frames for which they would be in effect? Like i said its over two years now since working with them.

EDIT: came across this contract i don't see anything related to a non compete. I do recall signing this document.

PARlance

A non compete in a Job Bridge contract.... com'on now.

You're free to go after who you wish but it mightn't be a bad idea to remain on good terms with one or two of your "competitors" until you grow a bit more. They might come across work that's just too small for them and ideal for you etc.

Having worked with some of the bigger AV companies, I can image that it'll be quite a jump to be able to compete with them (labour, equipment, vehicles etc) if you're currently a one man band. Be smart about your growth strategy. There's no point going for contracts with the likes of the CCD if you can't fulfil them.

steve_

PARlance wrote: »

A non compete in a Job Bridge contract.... com'on now.

:rolleyes: i guess it was worth double checking

But thanks for the advice. Sorry i should elaborate a bit more. I said AV but that was just a guise really, its more in the video production space. AV is part of it such as recording conferences and such but its a tiny part of what i do currently. Really im looking to target more of the corporate clients that look to have videos made. Thats really what im doing full time now. And i want to develop a few new relationships with clients.

As for keeping things sweet with my old company, we are still in touch and i do regular edits and animations for them on a freelance basis. Im not out to steal every client from them at all, sure there are areas they are very good in, and others they are not so good in. So im just looking to make contact with the clients where i feel i can offer a better service in that regard

PARlance

steve_ wrote: »

:rolleyes: i guess it was worth double checking

But thanks for the advice. Sorry i should elaborate a bit more. I said AV but that was just a guise really, its more in the video production space. AV is part of it such as recording conferences and such but its a tiny part of what i do currently. Really im looking to target more of the corporate clients that look to have videos made. Thats really what im doing full time now. And i want to develop a few new relationships with clients.

As for keeping things sweet with my old company, we are still in touch and i do regular edits and animations for them on a freelance basis. Im not out to steal every client from them at all, sure there are areas they are very good in, and others they are not so good in. So im just looking to make contact with the clients where i feel i can offer a better service in that regard

Worth double checking but there would have been uproar if a non compete clause was put into a JB contract. It's generally reserved for senior execs etc.

My advice would be to keep the good thing going with your former employer. If you decide to poach their clients, then you have to be prepared to lose all work. My take on it is that while a lot of people like to see someone going out on their own, being poached doesn't sit right with most clients, it doesn't scream trust or credibility... unless you've been badly treated by the former employer.

The market should be big enough to focus on non customers of your former employer? That would be my next step. Once you can afford to lose all freelance work etc then go after the whole market. Spend time building solid relationships in the meantime.

steve_

Thanks PARlance yeah i think your right. It's good getting the regular work from them, i guess it was just getting to me that fact i do 100% of the work on all the jobs i do for them yet only come away with a fraction of what they charged, but hey thats how it goes i guess. But yeah i think i will focus more on building up a diverse list of potential clients and beginning my out reach from there.

pedroeibar1

Don’t confuse the several issues here – what is legal, what is ethical and what is practical.

Two years ago you had a job-bridge internship that lasted a few months. Even if you were a full-time employee and had signed a non-compete clause, its legal ‘strictures’ would be very long finished. You are entitled to earn a livelihood and the original employer would have no rights at this stage.

Ethically, you were taken in by a company that held – and continues to help you but that is a two-way equation. You are being screwed/taken for a ride because they use you only when it suits them and pay you a fraction of what they have charged out for your work. Crumbs from the rich man’s table. Ethically you should have no qualms about competing with them. They certainly would drop you like a brick if it suited them/they found another cheaper firm to do the work.

Practicality – I agree with much of what Parlance has said. I’d add that you need to wake up a bit and consider where you are bringing your business. There is no way you could compete with the biggies at this stage; but you should at least be looking lower down the potential customer segmentation and aiming at picking-off lower quartile prospects, seeing how you can grow and bring your business to the next stage. You need to do the sums, weighing up potential gains and losses.

Only you can make that decision – do you want to play second fiddle to the big guy forever, afraid of upsetting them. Are you capable of preparing the platform from which you will make the leap, or are you content to drift along making a basic living without too much pressure? Not everyone can do the former, and the latter is not to be scorned either.
Your call…………..best of luck with it.

endacl

If they didn't want you competing in the industry, wouldn't they have offered you a full time contract once your period of working for them for free jobbridge internship was completed?

steve_

endacl wrote: »

If they didn't want you competing in the industry, wouldn't they have offered you a full time contract once your period of working for them for free jobbridge internship was completed?

Yeah I was offered a full time contract in the end. But I decided not to take it and setup on my own. The pay was rubbish anyhow

steve_

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Don’t confuse the several issues here – what is legal, what is ethical and what is practical.

Thank you for your detailed response and for laying things out practically. Granted I'm fully aware right now of limitations and I know I can't yet throw my cards on the table with the big boys. But I also don't want to be playing second fiddle forever either. In relation to taking things to the next level that's what I'm hoping to do over the coming year. Again this touches back to my original question as to whether pitching to companies I know my old company have worked with before. But I am broadening my view and targeting many other potential leads. Work is very steady right now and my site is on page 1 of google for a lot of my money terms. But I know direct outreach is something I need to do more aggressively