I am an independent software contractor. Companies hire me to write very specific pieces of software in a particular industry. I bill/invoice companies only for the hours spent working on the specific project they have me working on.
A new client of mine recently sent me a service agreement that will cover the time period over the next year, in which I will be doing several projects for them. It does not mean they are going to pay me for 40 hrs per week for the next year. Only for the time I spend working on projects for them, as usual.
The projects are usually short (only a few weeks at a time of work) and spread out, sometimes as much as 2 months between projects.
In this agreement, there is a non-compete clause that says I can't work for any competing companies for the length of the agreement (1 year). This surprised me because as an independent contractor, to have a consistent income, I need to work on multiple projects for multiple companies year around.
How do independent contractors usually approach this issue?