3rd Party Work

[NeoMatrix]

I think the company reporting such companies would lose an immense amount of business. I myself would never do business with a company who publicly reported those companies who owe them money.

You are totally correct, but the fact that the company won't pay you is solid evidence that all future transactions are terminal. So all future business is null and void. Which is all the more reason to shame the S.O.B's so other good business can gain from your interlude and build a profile against the SOB.

Zero from zero is still zero... Starting with zero profit ending with zero profit is still zero....

I don't work with negative profiles in any case., the web page was just and idea. It's not how I truly operate.
I appreciate your input on the subject....

[theengel]

As you said you were just starting out as an independent, I can give you one tip: you'll be waiting a lot longer than you expected for people to pay... but most of them DO pay, eventually. I think in 10 years, I've only been stiffed once. But I've waited six months for a $500 check. I send them a lot of letters and make a lot of phone calls. So far, I've learned to expect the bigger companies to pay slower than the small companies. I think it was Pitney Bowes who took the longest for me. They have trained book keepers to keep money in their accounts as long as possible. Most won't even look at an invoice until it's 30 days old.

It makes things hell when people owe you money and you don't have enough gas to get to your next call. Three different times I've had to take part time jobs to keep from drowning in bills. Life as an indie isn't easy. Unless, that is, you have a huge chunk of business from the very start.

One of the things that really helped me was accepting credit cards. You can get set up as a merchant with Paypal and accept credit cards over the phone for something like $30 a month. This made payment faster for probably half my customers.

[atwageman]

Some of my more trust worthy business relationships I've got set up on net 15 and net 30 payments. I also accept credit cards.

Im also insured/bonded and have business licenses. Many companies want to see that before they will do business with you. It's a good thing to have when negotiating. Clients will ask sometimes why am I more expensive? I say I'm insured in case something goes horribly wrong. What's the other guy gonna do for you if he fucks something up beyond repair? Or falling thru on a commitment he wasn't qualified to handle to begin with.

[atwageman]

All kinds of little things things need to be considered when it comes to being profitable.

An example can be something as simple as covering the cost of parking in some downtown metropolitan areas. Did you figure in enough to cover it? If I have a regular customer base within a few blocks, I may spread it out a little, but yet I bill them as if they are the only customer I have.

No need to struggle to stay afloat.