The Love Group, LLC (“TLG,” “we,” “our,” or “the Firm”) operates thelovegrp.com as an informational site and maintains separate written agreements for any paid 1099 advisory, consulting, or business‑development engagements (the “Services”). Your casual use of the Site, including viewing content or submitting an inquiry, does not by itself create an engagement, advisory relationship, or confidentiality obligation. Any Services the Firm provides, and any handling of Client Confidential Information or sensitive business data, are governed by a fully executed 1099 statement of work, the Firm’s Engagement Terms, and a mutual non‑disclosure agreement (MNDA) in a form acceptable to the Firm.
Hierarchy of terms (personal data vs. Confidential Information). For clarity, nothing in these Engagement Terms prevents the Firm from processing personal data as described in the Privacy Statement prior to execution of an SOW or MNDA — for example, contact details submitted through an inquiry form, business-card information exchanged at events, or correspondence the Firm receives during business-development outreach. “Client Confidential Information” and “sensitive business data” for purposes of these Engagement Terms are narrower categories than “personal data” and are limited to engagement-level materials shared under a fully executed SOW and MNDA.
1. Parties, Scope & Two-Document Framework
These Engagement Terms (the "Terms") govern all professional advisory, consulting, and business-development services (the "Services") provided by The Love Group, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company headquartered in Gainesville, Virginia ("TLG," "we," or "the Firm"), to any client, individual, or entity that retains the Firm on a 1099 independent-contractor basis (the "Client" or "you").
Two-document framework. The Firm operates two separate written instruments. (a) The website Terms of Use govern visitor access to thelovegrp.com and any related public-facing site or material; they do not create an engagement, a confidentiality obligation, or any duty to perform Services. (b) These Engagement Terms (together with a signed statement of work and a fully executed mutual non-disclosure agreement) govern every paid 1099 engagement the Firm performs. Visiting the Site does not bind the visitor to these Engagement Terms; only retaining the Firm under a written SOW does.
By executing a statement of work, signing an engagement letter, accepting a written proposal, paying an invoice, or otherwise instructing the Firm to begin work, the Client agrees to be bound by these Engagement Terms. If a separately signed master services agreement (MSA) or statement of work (SOW) conflicts with these Engagement Terms, the signed document controls; otherwise these Engagement Terms apply.
2. Independent Contractor Relationship
The Firm operates exclusively as an independent contractor (1099). Nothing in these Terms, any SOW, or the course of performance creates an employer-employee relationship, joint venture, partnership, agency, or franchise between the Firm and the Client. The Firm is not authorized to bind the Client to any contract, obligation, or representation without prior written authorization from a duly authorized officer of the Client.
The Firm controls the manner, means, schedule, and methodology of its work. The Firm uses its own equipment, tools, software, and infrastructure unless the Client expressly requests work be performed inside the Client's installed operating stack — the systems the Client already uses to run sales, communications, finance, delivery, and security — including, where applicable, the Client's AWS environment. Each party bears its own taxes, withholdings, benefits, insurance, and overhead. The Client will not issue W-2 wages to the Firm or its principal under any circumstance.
Use of subcontractors and AI tools. The Firm may, in its discretion, engage qualified independent subcontractors, specialist operators, or automated tooling (including artificial-intelligence and large-language-model systems) to assist in delivering the Services. All such subcontractors and tools are bound by obligations materially equivalent to the Firm's confidentiality, data-handling, and non-disclosure obligations under these Terms and any MNDA. The Firm remains responsible for the acts and omissions of its subcontractors in the performance of the Services.
3. Engagement Structure & Billing
All engagements are hourly, written, and itemized. The Firm does not sell undefined retainers, fixed-bid project fees outside of the Government Readiness Audit, or month-over-month minimums unless the Client expressly requests them in writing.
- Hourly rate. The Firm's standard rate is $175 per hour for a single resource (the founder, Donovan Love, operating as the sole engaged principal), billed in fifteen-minute increments and rounded up to the nearest quarter hour. Rate changes apply only to engagements signed after the change takes effect.
- Multi-resource or bundled engagements. The $175 hourly rate is a single-resource rate and does not apply to engagements that require additional Firm personnel (e.g., senior operators or specialist contractors brought in alongside the founder). Multi-resource engagements are quoted and presented separately as a package or bundle, with the composition, resources, hours, and fees specified in a written SOW or addendum. No additional resource is deployed, and no additional rate applies, without the Client's prior written acceptance of that package or bundle.
- Government Readiness Audit. A bounded, fixed-fee federal readiness engagement of $1,500 flat, payable on signature, delivered within fifteen business days. The fee covers the full readiness workstream — not a single deliverable — including: (a) a discovery intake session (up to two hours, senior-operator-led) to capture the Client's federal posture, prior pursuits, capability statement, NAICS/PSC positioning, and target customer thesis; (b) a six-cluster readiness scoring pass benchmarking the Client against the Firm's proprietary federal methodology (Foundation & Decision; Identity & Registration; Compliance & Operating Readiness; Capability & Past Performance; Market Intelligence & Targeting; Pursuit & Execution Readiness); (c) a written audit report with scored gaps, prioritized fixes, and a ninety-day sequenced delivery plan; (d) a target vehicle and set-aside shortlist with qualification criteria; (e) a read-out session (up to one hour) to walk the Client through the findings; and (f) the Firm's preparation, research, scoring, and writing time required to produce the above. Sequence and scheduling. Upon the Firm's confirmation of payment receipt and receipt of a fully executed mutual non-disclosure agreement, the Firm will coordinate with the Client's designated point of contact to schedule the two-hour formal discovery session at a mutually convenient time, ordinarily within ten business days of payment confirmation. The discovery session is the foundational workstep of the engagement; the written audit report, scored gap assessment, ninety-day sequenced delivery plan, and target vehicle shortlist are produced thereafter and issued within the fifteen-business-day delivery window, followed by the read-out session for the Client's findings review, questions, and discussion. The Firm's fifteen-business-day delivery window runs from the date of the discovery session. Scheduling delays attributable to the Client, including unresponsiveness, rescheduling requests, or delayed provision of requested materials, extend the delivery window on a day-for-day basis and do not constitute a breach or basis for refund. If the audit greenlights a follow-on delivery engagement and the Client signs the SOW within fourteen business days of audit delivery, $750 of the audit fee is credited to the Client's first hourly invoice.
- Invoicing. Invoices are issued on a weekly or monthly cadence as specified in the SOW, with itemized line entries describing what work was performed, by whom, on what date, against what scope, and for how long. Payment terms are Net-15 from invoice date unless otherwise written.
- Late payment. Past-due invoices accrue interest at the lesser of 1.5% per month or the maximum rate permitted under Virginia Code § 6.2-302. The Firm reserves the right to suspend Services on any engagement with an invoice past due more than thirty (30) business days, after written notice.
- Expenses. Pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., travel directly requested by the Client, third-party software the Client directs the Firm to purchase) are billed at cost with documentation.
- Disputed charges. The Client must dispute any invoice in writing within ten (10) business days of receipt, identifying the specific line items and the basis for the dispute. Undisputed portions remain due on the original payment schedule. Failure to dispute in writing within the ten-day window is deemed acceptance of the invoice as issued.
4. Working Hours & Availability
The Firm's standard working hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern Time, excluding U.S. federal holidays. The Firm is not obligated to perform work, respond to communications, or attend meetings outside of standard working hours. Any after-hours, weekend, or holiday work expressly requested by the Client and accepted in writing by the Firm is billed at 2× the standard hourly rate.
The Firm responds to inbound Client communications within one business day. The Firm is not on call.
5. Refunds & Cancellation
All performed billable hours are final and non-refundable. The Services are professional advisory work product, not a tangible good or a packaged digital product. Once an hour of work is performed against a written scope, that hour is delivered, billed, and non-refundable.
- The Firm does not provide refunds, partial refunds, credits, or chargebacks for hours that have been performed and invoiced, regardless of the Client's subjective satisfaction with the outcome, internal market conditions, leadership changes, or shifts in Client priorities.
- Either party may terminate any engagement for convenience on fourteen (14) business days' written notice. The Firm will deliver all work product in progress and invoice for all hours performed up to and including the effective termination date. The Client remains liable for those hours.
- Either party may terminate immediately for material breach if the breaching party fails to cure within ten (10) business days of written notice describing the breach.
- Firm right to terminate for cause. The Firm may suspend or terminate any engagement immediately and without liability if, in the Firm's reasonable judgment, continued performance would (a) violate applicable law, regulation, professional standard, or ethical obligation; (b) require the Firm to make representations the Firm believes to be false or misleading; (c) expose the Firm to material legal, reputational, or safety risk; (d) arise from Client conduct the Firm reasonably considers fraudulent, abusive, discriminatory, harassing, or otherwise inconsistent with lawful business conduct; or (e) involve Client non-payment of undisputed invoices. Fees earned through the termination date remain due.
- Exceptions are granted only at the Firm's sole discretion, in writing, signed by an authorized representative of the Firm, and only where the Client demonstrates a documented and justified reason — for example, duplicate billing, billing for hours not performed, or work performed materially outside the written scope without authorization.
- The $1,500 Government Readiness Audit is a bounded, fixed-fee engagement covering discovery, scoring, written audit, target vehicle shortlist, ninety-day delivery plan, and read-out as described in Section 3. The audit fee is fully earned upon delivery of the written audit report and read-out, and is non-refundable once delivered. The $750 Greenlight Credit applies only if the Client signs a follow-on SOW within fourteen business days of audit delivery.
