Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance and Order of Documents

By accessing or using this website, you agree to the website provisions of these Terms. By signing a proposal, approving a statement of work, paying an invoice that references these Terms, or instructing us to begin services, you agree to the service provisions applicable to that engagement. If you act for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

An engagement may be governed by several documents. Unless a signed document states otherwise, the order of priority is: a signed master services agreement; a signed statement of work or proposal; a written change order; these Terms; and descriptive website content. A later, specifically negotiated document controls over a conflicting general provision. Client purchase-order terms do not apply unless expressly accepted by us in writing.

2. Eligibility and Business Use

The website and services are intended for adults acting for themselves or a business. You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering a contract. The services are not designed for individuals seeking emergency assistance, personal financial advice, legal representation, tax advice, clinical advice, or other regulated professional services.

You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the website and services is lawful in the jurisdiction where you operate. We may decline an inquiry or engagement where the requested work is outside our capabilities, creates a conflict, requires a professional license we do not hold, or cannot be performed responsibly with the available information.

3. Nature of the Services

Sloan's Lake Managing Member provides business consulting services that may include strategy consultation, operations review, workflow optimization, process documentation, market and competitor analysis, growth strategy, business plan development, performance analysis, improvement planning, and ongoing advisory support.

Consulting is collaborative and depends on the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information supplied by the client. We provide professional judgment, analysis, recommendations, and agreed work products; the client remains responsible for management decisions, implementation choices, staffing, compliance, financial commitments, and business outcomes.

4. Proposals, Scope, and Changes

A proposal or statement of work should identify the objective, scope, assumptions, deliverables, responsibilities, schedule, fees, and any acceptance criteria. Work not reasonably included in that description is outside scope. Examples may include additional interviews, new data sources, substantial revisions after approval, travel, implementation support, third-party procurement, or analysis of a new business question.

Either party may request a change. We will explain any material effect on timing, fees, responsibilities, or deliverables. A change becomes binding when both parties approve it in writing, including by clear email confirmation. We are not required to begin changed or additional work before that approval.

5. Website Prices and Estimates

Prices shown on the website are starting points for common scopes in the United States and are not binding quotations. A “from” price assumes a reasonably defined question, timely access to information, normal scheduling, and no unusual travel or specialist requirements. The final fee depends on complexity, volume, urgency, stakeholder count, data condition, implementation requirements, and other facts identified during scoping.

Unless a written proposal states that a fee is fixed, an estimate is a good-faith forecast rather than a maximum. If circumstances indicate that an estimate is likely to be exceeded materially, we will communicate the reason and seek direction before continuing beyond the approved scope.

6. Fees, Invoices, and Taxes

Fees, deposits, retainers, expenses, invoice timing, and payment due dates will be stated in the applicable proposal or invoice. Unless stated otherwise, invoices are due within 15 calendar days. Reasonable, pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses may be billed at cost. The client is responsible for sales, use, value-added, withholding, or similar transaction taxes imposed on the services, excluding taxes based on our net income.

If an undisputed amount is overdue, we may pause work after giving reasonable notice. Where permitted, overdue amounts may accrue the lesser of 1.0% per month or the maximum lawful rate, together with reasonable collection costs. A client should notify us promptly of a good-faith invoice dispute and pay undisputed portions on time.

7. Client Responsibilities

The client will designate an authorized decision-maker, provide requested information and access, arrange stakeholder availability, review materials within agreed periods, and disclose facts that could materially affect the work. The client is responsible for lawfully obtaining and sharing any personal information, confidential material, or third-party content supplied to us.

We may rely on information provided by the client or apparently authoritative sources without independently auditing it unless verification is expressly included in scope. Delays, incomplete data, conflicting instructions, or unavailable decision-makers may require a schedule or fee adjustment. The client should review deliverables promptly and identify factual errors or material omissions.

8. Scheduling, Access, and Cooperation

Dates are planning assumptions unless expressly described as firm deadlines. Both parties will use reasonable efforts to meet agreed dates. A delay caused by missing access, approvals, information, or events outside reasonable control will extend dependent dates as reasonably necessary.

Remote sessions require the client to maintain suitable connectivity and a private environment appropriate to the discussion. On-site work, if agreed, may require separate travel terms, site rules, safety requirements, and expense approval. We may refuse access to systems or materials where the requested method would create an unreasonable security or confidentiality risk.

9. Cancellation and Rescheduling

Cancellations, rescheduling, refunds, project termination, and complaint handling are addressed in the Cancellation and Complaints Policy and may be supplemented by the engagement document. Where a signed proposal contains a different project-specific cancellation term, that term controls for the engagement.

Cancellation does not eliminate obligations that arose before the effective cancellation date, including payment for work performed, approved expenses, non-cancellable third-party commitments, and protection of confidential information and intellectual property.

10. Deliverable Review and Acceptance

Where acceptance criteria are stated, the client will evaluate the deliverable against those criteria within the stated review period. If no period is stated, the client should provide consolidated feedback within five business days. A request for correction should describe the specific criterion not met. We will use reasonable efforts to correct an agreed nonconformity within scope.

A change in preference, business direction, underlying data, or requested outcome is not a defect and may require a change order. A deliverable is considered accepted when the client confirms acceptance, uses it operationally, or does not identify a material scope-based issue within the applicable review period.

11. Intellectual Property

Client materials

The client retains ownership of materials it supplies. The client grants us a limited right to use those materials as necessary to perform the engagement, maintain records, comply with law, and protect legal rights. The client represents that it may lawfully provide the materials for those purposes.

Pre-existing tools and general know-how

We retain ownership of pre-existing methods, templates, frameworks, processes, tools, research techniques, generalized knowledge, improvements, and materials developed independently of the engagement. We may continue to use skills, experience, concepts, and de-identified learnings that do not disclose client confidential information.

Engagement deliverables

Ownership or license terms for custom deliverables should be stated in the engagement document. If no specific term is stated, after full payment the client receives a perpetual, non-exclusive, internal-business license to use the final deliverables for the purpose for which they were prepared. Drafts, working files, unused concepts, and pre-existing materials are not transferred. Third-party materials remain subject to their own licenses.

12. Confidentiality

Each party may receive non-public information that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential. The receiving party will use such information only for the relationship, protect it with reasonable care, and disclose it only to personnel and advisers who need it and are subject to appropriate obligations.

Confidential information does not include information that the recipient can show was lawfully known without restriction, becomes public without breach, is received lawfully from another source without duty, or is independently developed without use of the confidential information. A legally compelled disclosure may be made, and the recipient will provide notice where lawful and reasonably practicable.

13. No Guaranteed Outcome

Business decisions involve uncertainty. Market conditions, leadership choices, implementation quality, personnel, financing, suppliers, regulation, customer behavior, and events outside either party's control affect results. We do not promise or guarantee revenue, profit, funding, market share, cost savings, business continuity, or any other outcome.

Forecasts, scenarios, benchmarks, and recommendations are based on stated assumptions and information available at the time. They are not assurances of future performance. The client is responsible for deciding whether and how to act, for testing material assumptions, and for obtaining specialist advice when appropriate.

14. No Legal, Tax, Accounting, Investment, or Regulated Advice

Our services are business consulting and do not create an attorney-client, accountant-client, fiduciary, broker, investment-adviser, employment-agency, or other regulated professional relationship. General discussion of financial, legal, tax, compliance, human-resources, or technology considerations is provided only as business context and should not be relied upon as specialist advice.

The client should consult appropriately licensed professionals before making decisions requiring legal, tax, accounting, securities, insurance, employment, privacy, cybersecurity, engineering, medical, or other regulated expertise.

15. Website Content and Availability

Website content is general information and may not reflect the facts of a particular business. We may correct, update, remove, or reorganize content without notice. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, compatibility with every device, or freedom from every technical error.

The interactive inquiry form in the supplied configuration does not transmit entries; it validates fields and displays a confirmation in the browser. It is not a guaranteed communication channel. Use the published email address or telephone number for a real inquiry until a secure form endpoint is intentionally configured and tested.

16. Acceptable Use

You may not use the website to violate law or another person's rights; introduce malicious code; probe or bypass security; interfere with availability; scrape at unreasonable volume; misrepresent identity or authority; submit unlawful, deceptive, infringing, or abusive material; or attempt unauthorized access to systems or data.

You may make reasonable internal copies of publicly available informational content for evaluating our services, provided notices are preserved. You may not reproduce, sell, publish, train a competing commercial product on, or create misleading derivatives from substantial website content without permission.

17. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the website is provided “as is” and “as available.” We disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement with respect to the website. Consulting services will be performed with reasonable professional care consistent with the agreed scope, but no other warranty is made unless expressly stated in a signed document.

Some jurisdictions do not permit particular disclaimers, so a disclaimer applies only to the extent permitted by the law governing the claim.

18. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, loss of goodwill, or loss of data, arising from the website or an engagement, even if advised that such loss may occur. This exclusion does not apply where it is prohibited or to liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

Unless a signed agreement states otherwise, our aggregate liability arising from a specific engagement will not exceed the fees actually paid to us for that engagement during the six months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. This cap does not limit the client's payment obligations or either party's liability for fraud, willful misconduct, infringement or misappropriation of the other party's intellectual property, breach of confidentiality, or another matter that cannot lawfully be limited.

19. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, the client will defend and indemnify Sloan's Lake Managing Member and its personnel against third-party claims arising from client materials that infringe rights, the client's unlawful use of deliverables, or the client's material breach of its representations. We will provide reasonable notice and cooperation, and the client may not settle a claim in a manner that admits wrongdoing by or imposes non-monetary obligations on an indemnified party without consent.

20. Suspension and Termination

Either party may terminate an engagement as permitted by the engagement document or Cancellation and Complaints Policy. A party may terminate for a material breach that is not cured within a reasonable written cure period, or immediately where continued performance would be unlawful, unsafe, fraudulent, seriously abusive, or likely to compromise confidential information or systems.

Upon termination, the client will pay amounts properly due through the effective date. Each party will return or handle confidential information as required by the agreement and applicable law. Provisions concerning payment, intellectual property, confidentiality, disclaimers, liability, disputes, and any terms that by nature should continue will survive.

21. Force Majeure

Neither party is responsible for delay caused by events beyond reasonable control, such as natural disaster, fire, widespread utility or network failure, epidemic, war, civil disorder, governmental action, labor disruption, or failure of a critical third-party service despite reasonable precautions. The affected party will communicate promptly and use reasonable efforts to reduce the impact. Payment for completed work is not excused.

22. Governing Law and Disputes

Unless a signed agreement provides otherwise, these Terms and related disputes are governed by Colorado law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before filing a claim, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the issue through direct written notice and a discussion between authorized decision-makers.

If the dispute is not resolved, the state and federal courts located in Denver, Colorado will have exclusive jurisdiction, except that an eligible party may bring a claim in small-claims court. Nothing prevents either party from seeking urgent relief to protect confidential information, intellectual property, systems, or safety.

23. General Provisions

Neither party may assign an engagement without the other's consent, except in connection with a merger, reorganization, or sale of substantially all relevant assets where the successor assumes the obligations. We may use qualified contractors and remain responsible for our obligations. The parties are independent contractors; no partnership, employment, agency, or fiduciary relationship is created.

If a provision is unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the remainder will continue. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Headings are for convenience. Electronic approvals and counterparts may be used. These Terms and the engagement documents form the entire agreement concerning their subject and replace earlier discussions on that subject.

24. Changes to these Terms

We may update website-use provisions by posting revised Terms with a new date. Changes do not retroactively alter a signed engagement unless the parties agree. Continued website use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised website-use terms to the extent permitted by law.