Ever since she was a little girl, Claudia had dreamed of becoming a celebrity chef. If it was food-related, she was into it: by the time she finished high school she had two food blogs, a YouTube channel, an appearance on Junior Masterchef and even a semi-successful Instagram under her belt – page after page of sumptuous plates shot under perfect lighting. While Claudia dreamed of culinary school and opening a three-star restaurant, her parents had other plans, insisting that she go to university instead. Reluctantly, Claudia enrolled at the University of Sydney in 2016 and found her Commerce degree to be surprisingly enjoyable. CLAW1001, of course, was her favourite subject, and it wasn’t long after finishing the course (with a highly respectable Distinction grade) that she began to think about how she might put the skills she had learned to good use. Claudia knew from her studies in BUSS1001 the importance of spotting business opportunities, and it wasn’t long before she realised that a golden opportunity was right in front of her. “The food on campus is terrible”, she said to herself. Why not combine her love of food with her newfound love of business? After applying Porter’s five forces and conducting a careful SWOT analysis, Claudia was convinced that there was a market on campus for a food truck selling quality treats students really wanted to eat (and photograph): gourmet dumplings, proper hand-made sushi, cold-drip coffee, artisanal cronuts and deconstructed Nutella sandwiches. After a frantic night of writing recipes and drawing up business plans, Claudia approached the University to ask about how she might get started with her idea and was told that she would first need to obtain a licence to sell food on campus from the Sydney University Students Society. Later that week, Claudia met with Paige, the society’s president, who passed a thick pile of paper across the table to her. “The annual license fee is here”, Paige said, pointing to a page in the contract. “Read the rest of the terms and conditions if you like, when you’re happy sign it and you’re good to go”. Claudia knew from her CLAW1001 studies that it was important to always read contracts, so she quickly took a look at the terms and conditions. She noticed a clause on page 27 of the contract, which was written in very small but bold font: Clause 84(a)(3): All food license holders serving coffee must use only Scadente brand coffee beans, which shall be purchased from the Sydney University Students Society at a price which the Society sets from time to time. “What’s this about? I was hoping to use my own suppliers for coffee”, asked Claudia, launching into an enthusiastic lecture about the benefits of single-origin, mountain-grown organic beans. “Oh, I’m glad you asked, because this is quite important” replied Paige. “We have a relationship with the supplier and this enables us to pass on to you the best possible prices.” “So there’s no room to change that term?” “No”, Paige said firmly. “It’s for your own benefit and ensures that we provide the best possible coffee to our students”. Sceptically, Claudia looked at the price list that the Society was charging for coffee and to her surprise thought it was fairly reasonable. She signed the contract with a shrug, musing that her unique cold-drip preparation methods would set her apart from the competition in any case. The next few weeks were an exciting time for Claudia as she decorated her food truck, took promotional photos and launched a successful viral social media campaign via the USYD Rants page on Facebook. Realising she would need more than one chef to make her vision a success, she contacted Jimmy, an acquaintance who she had met on Junior Masterchef some years ago, and offered him a job at her new food truck. Excited at the prospect of finally holding down a stable job, Jimmy called Claudia to discuss the position. “So it’s just like, cooking right?”, Jimmy asked. “I’m hopeless at serving customers.” “I just need you to help out”, replied Claudia. She knew the importance of ensuring all of her contracts were in writing, and later that day sent Jimmy an employment contract to sign based on a template she had found online. In the contract, under the heading “Employment Duties”, Claudia had written: Food preparation and other related duties. Jimmy signed the contract without looking at it and sent it back to Claudia the next day. Before long, the day of the grand opening of CFC – Claudia’s Food Corporation – finally arrived. With great fanfare, Claudia and Jimmy set up the food truck underneath the tree at the front of the Abercrombie Building. The coffee had been brewing all night, the dumplings were juicy and freshly steamed; the sushi rolled to perfection. The cronuts were piping hot and the smell wafted up Codrington Street, rapidly drawing a large crowd. Claudia beamed with delight. It was going to be a good day.