The short answer, explained
Companies invest heavily in their client relationships and their teams. A non-solicitation agreement, often shortened to non-solicit, protects that investment by limiting your ability to use those relationships for another business. There are two common types. A customer non-solicit restricts you from soliciting the company's clients or prospects, sometimes only those you worked with directly. An employee non-solicit restricts you from recruiting the company's staff.
Most non-solicits apply during employment and for a defined period afterward. They usually appear inside an offer letter, an employment agreement, a separation agreement, an equity or bonus plan, or the sale agreement when someone sells a business. Many people sign one without remembering it, which is why it is worth finding and rereading before starting anything on the side.
The wording varies a great deal from one company to the next, so two professionals in similar roles can have very different restrictions. Reading your own agreement, rather than relying on what is typical, is the only way to know where your lines are.
Non-solicit, non-compete and the other clauses to check
A non-solicit is rarely the only restriction that matters. Before you pursue side income, look for each of these in your paperwork.
- Non-solicitation: limits approaching the company's clients, prospects or employees.
- Non-compete: limits working for or running a competing business; enforceability varies widely by state and is restricted in some.
- Confidentiality: prohibits using the company's client lists, pricing, data or other non-public information.
- Moonlighting or outside-activity policy: may require approval for any outside paid work.
- Intellectual property assignment: may claim ownership of work you create, sometimes even outside work hours.
- Conflict-of-interest policy: may require disclosure of outside financial interests.
Non solicit and side income: the it-depends factors
Whether a non-solicit affects your side income depends on what it says and where you live. The scope matters: some cover every client of the company, others only clients you served or learned about in your role. The definition of solicit matters: some agreements treat any outreach as solicitation, others focus on actively inducing a client to move business away. Duration matters, as does the state whose law governs the contract, because courts in different states treat these restrictions differently.
The type of side income matters too. Referring a non-competing service to people in your personal network, none of whom are your employer's clients, raises different questions from introducing your employer's customers to an outside vendor. The safest working rule is simple: keep your employer's customers, prospects, colleagues and data out of any outside activity unless you have written permission. A non-compete side hustle question is even more sensitive, because offering anything that competes with your employer can be a problem regardless of whom you approach. This is general information, not legal advice. If a clause is unclear, ask an employment attorney before you begin.
How Random Income partners handle non-solicits
Many Strategic Partners have full-time roles, so respecting existing agreements is built into how we suggest working. Partners are 1099 independent contractors, never employees, and they refer only when the fit is genuine. For anyone bound by a non-solicit or non-compete, the practical guidance is consistent: read your agreements first, never refer your employer's customers or prospects, never refer products that compete with your employer, never use company time, email, devices or data, and get written approval if your employer's policy requires it.
Within those limits, there is usually plenty of room. Your personal network, former colleagues at unrelated companies, peers from industry groups and friends who run businesses are often entirely separate from your employer's book. Our page for sales leaders covers this in more depth, including which offers tend to fit a sales leader's network without competing with a current employer. On stack products, commission is a percentage of retail calculated on redline: 20% when the client buys fully online untouched and 12% when an in-house rep works the deal.
Common mistakes with non-solicitation agreements
The first mistake is assuming you never signed one. Check your offer letter, handbook acknowledgments, equity grants and any separation agreement. The second is assuming a non-solicit only applies after you leave; many apply while you are employed too. The third is relying on a narrow reading of solicit, such as believing that responding to a client who contacts you first is always fine. Courts and contracts differ.
Other mistakes are practical. Using a company CRM export, a shared contact list or a client email thread to find referrals can breach confidentiality even when the non-solicit is narrow. Posting a broad announcement on a professional network that reaches your employer's clients can create questions. And skipping the conversation with your manager or compliance team, when a moonlighting policy requires it, turns a simple approval into a disciplinary issue.
Questions to bring to an employment attorney
An hour with an employment attorney is often the cheapest insurance a professional can buy before starting side income. Bring every agreement you have signed with your current and recent employers, and ask a short list of questions. Which restrictions apply to me right now, and which only after I leave? Who counts as a client or prospect under my non-solicit? Does the agreement define solicitation narrowly or broadly? Is my non-compete enforceable in my state, and does my planned activity compete at all? Do I need my employer's written approval, and what should the request say?
With clear answers, most professionals find there is a defined, comfortable lane for outside work. Without them, even a well-intended referral can become an argument. Getting clarity first lets you build random income with confidence, and keeps your primary career, the thing that built your network, protected.