Re: Received $600 for a $1200 consulting gig: need advice

<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Perhaps you can help me with a situation.  I had an agreement with an
> advertising agency for 15 hours a week.  Because he was agreeing to
> buy 15 hours per week until Jan 1, I gave him a discount: $400 for 15
> hours a week instead of $600, paid in advance, like everyone else.  I
> get there yesterday, he signs the agreement, and instead of $1200 (3
> weeks for November = $1200) gives me a check in front of his secretary
> for $600 and says "I'll give you the other $600 in 2 weeks".  That
> essentially means that instead of discussing this with me, he made the
> unilateral decision to just pay 1.5 weeks and in 2 weeks will pay the
> remainder.

It sounds to me like this guy can't afford to pay you. Don't bother trying
to bring this to his attention because he won't believe you. My guess is
that your client is using November receivables to pay October bills! That is
a real danger sign -- for you! Of course, your client will be able to run
his business this way indefinitely, often hanging on by his fingernails. The
question is how tangled up you get in this mess and what it does to your
receivables.

> On the way home I became
> angrier, thinking, hey he didn't even discuss this with me,

Nothing personal here, but it sounds like you may also be paying last months
bills with this months income. (Not that I am doing so much better. Its one
thing to recognize the problem and quite another to move beyond it.)

> I'd never Jew you down (terrible
> verbage on his part even if we are both Jews)

That makes three of us Jews here, and I find that verbiage quite offensive.

> and then he asked for
> the discount and THEN did this, showing me he does intend to "--- -- 
> ----".  SO, I'm not sure how to respond.

How is it that your services affect his business. For example, do you do
programming for him that ends up being shipped out with his product? Does he
resell your services? Or are you just there to make his business run
smoother?

On another note: As a consultant, I have found that allowing myself stuck
with clients and/or projects that are not a good match for my business is a
big mistake. My advice: only take on what you can deliver on time, at a high
level of quality and at a fair profit, for those who are sure to pay on
time.

Mike