If clients don't pay me, I have no money with which to pay my bills or rent and buy food. If I don't pay rent, I have no place to stay. If I have no food, I have no energy and therefore can't work at maximum efficiency/effectiveness. Surely, this is not a difficult concept to grasp, right? Yet, I keep having to explain this to my customers. This is why I insist on a deposit up front. I'm tired of getting burned by bad debtors trying to take advantage of me, an independent businessman trying to keep a roof over my head and food on my table.
There's no fairness nor honesty in business under Capitalism, which is sad. Going forward, I have no choice but to ask for 50% deposits upfront for any jobs over $100 and full deposits upfront for any jobs $100 and under. I find this a distasteful way of doing business, but it will weed out anyone that doesn't respect me enough to pay first.
For the half upfront payments, I'll not hand over the work until I receive full payment. Clients will get screenshots or two week trial versions to convince them that I've done the work. On full payment, they will receive license codes.
I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I need to eat and pay my bills. I'm not going to play fair with when it's clear to me that other people aren't going to and my livelihood is at stake. A few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel.
Lead image by Moose Photos from/on Pexels
