BizTipper

Tag: LEAST

  • No Credit to New Clients, Other Ways to Charge and Collect

    Getting Paid Means No Credit to New Clients UNLESS it’s a Major Company

    MANY of us have been ripped off in the past. I can honestly say I have only had it happen to me twice in 28 years, but advanced technology should certainly make it easier for us to get our money these days.

    clients, credit, paid

    There is NOTHING worse than completing the work than being lied to and misled about the check being in the mail etc.

    The worst part is like a fool, you are waiting for the mailman for a check that the client KNOWS is not coming.

    You can save yourself from this by doing a few simple things. First: Always have high esteem when it comes to your business.

    By high esteem, I’m not saying “Arrogance” I mean believing in your business, knowing your VALUE, and having an appreciation for what you do. If you show signs of weakness, potential clients can see that, and they will take advantage. 

    Here are five tips for collecting your money in a timely fashion without chasing cash.

    Ask for the Money Up Front

    This is simply the best way to do it. However, you can’t blame them if they are suspicious and wonder if they will get what they have paid for. Nevertheless, that’s not for you to worry about, IF they came to you.

    If you go to them, then this method may or may not work. Imagine you ask someone to support your business then give you the money before you do the work, that’s kind of an insult, and it looks like you are desperate for money. Treat each situation accordingly

    Offer a SMALL Discount if they Pay Up Front

    I would not give them more than a 10% discount. Keep in mind whatever you offer them is what they are going to expect each time

    Tell them New Clients Have to Pay up Front

    This is a good rule, but only if they come to you. If you go to them or if it’s a corporation, you should not expect to be paid upfront. You can offer independents a “new client discount” if they pay upfront.

    Ask them if they use Paypal, Cashapp or Zelle

    Technology is changing the face of business

    (Thank God) now you don’t have to pay outrageous fees to have someone pay you with a credit card. You can just use a small device on PayPal called the PayPal Card Reader and charge them over your cell phone.

    There is a small fee, but PayPal also offers pay by email and more features, and they don’t have to be a PayPal client. Did I mention I LOVE PayPal, Cashapp and Zelle?

    If They are New Clients, they come to you, and they Can’t Pay upfront…

    Don’t walk… RUN. And run as fast as you can. This is a sure sign you are about to get ripped off and you will be chasing money. That will disrupt the flow of your business. Avoid this at all costs.

    They Come Back After Being a Slow Pay the Last Time?

    Tell them you have to collect upfront. Remember, have esteem in your business. Your bill collectors do not want to wait to be paid after they provide a service, so why should you. You have obviously made a good impression on them if they come back. Now it’s their turn to show good faith for their mistakes. If they can’t pay upfront, at least get half or walk.

    Avoid Small Talk Get Straight to Business

    If someone comes to you for business, MAKE IT BUSINESS avoid small talk at all costs, you are a busy entrepreneur.

    The small talk is a setup to ask for a MASSIVE discount or some kind of deal that’s gonna work more in THEIR favor. Don’t fall for it. If they can give you small talk to get the business, they will BS you when it comes time to pay too.

  • When we Stop Learning, We Stop Growing

    2015I have always been very adamant about the direction, goals and focus of my business, never letting anyone or anything change that. I realize now that’s a mistake. If you notice, most older business owners think they have their formulas patented when it comes to the success of their business and we don’t. Trends change and we have to be willing to keep up with them and to keep learning or we stop growing. EBONY magazine is struggling and I remember I stopped reading that magazine in the 80s because it never moved past that period. The stories were boring and predictable and the owner John H. Johnson thought the formula that he had been using for decades would continue to work forever and it didn’t. The magazine didn’t hone in early on technology and quickly fell from grace. They have been struggling for years finally making the changes when it was WAY too late.  Readers had moved on long before. They want to stick to the tried and true from 65 years ago and do business the way they had always done it. That’s an immediate recipe for failure and disaster.

    We get older and we are out of touch if we don’t surround ourselves with education.  I passed a music store the other day while walking down the street and the owners where well into their 60s and they had a dirty beige carpet on the floor and paneling on the walls from the 70s (remember that fake wood paneling). There was not one sole customer in the store. Next door was a Mac repair store that was very state of the art, they were packed. As business owners we realize how important our businesses are to us, we are married to them and they are our children. When someone insults your children by saying they are misbehaving you are apt to stand up in defense of your child but what if they really ARE misbehaving?

    A man who has rarely been supportive of my businesses and I had a long conversation yesterday and he insulted my business, so I thought when he compared me to other urban industry sites that I don’t consider to be competition for me. Long ago, I surmised he was an arrogant bastard who wanted to see me fail instead of someone who was willing to take the time to tell me the truth. Clients who pay us are certainly valuable but so are the clients who don’t do business with us… especially when we can find out WHY. Yesterday I did something different, I shut up and listened to this man. I took the emotion out and heard what he said for the first time and when he was done, I realized there were at least two or three things that he was right about when it came to my business. Things that I had never explored and needed to in order to grow.

    The one thing that older people do which often makes us unemployable is we are indeed set in our ways and not willing to learn or listen to anyone younger. Just about EVERY person that I know who is over 45 is like that and they wonder why they can’t get any work. This man is actually older than me but he works in another part of the industry that is one of my targets.  He comes face to face with this side of the industry everyday whereas it much more rare for me. Today I’m working on implementing those changes to grow my business and at the end of the day, I greatly appreciate what he had to say. Sometimes you have to just shut up and listen and realize value is not always monetary.

  • Reasons Small Business Owners Fear Hiring Help

    are-you-running-your-businessRunning a legitimate business is no piece of cake. We go in it to satisfy a passion but we don’t count on the many elements that go with that passion. Deadlines, orders, payroll, hiring, vendors, bills, personal life etc. These can all be managed initially by us but as time goes on we have to come to the decision to start hiring people who have the ability to either duplicate us to have strengths where we are weak. Here are some tips to help you along the way. These are the reasons we often DON‘T hire someone and the reasons that we SHOULD.(click “Next” above or below)

    No Budget

    broke Let’s face it, it’s oftentimes hard enough to keep our own heads above water and to pay our own bills after all is taken care of with the business but hiring someone else puts us in even more debt. Or does it? Believe it or not NOT hiring someone will often hurt us more in the long run. Entrepreneurs must learn… WE CANNOT DO IT ALL not matter how hard we try and we may be able to pull it off for a long time but the downside is WE NEVER GROW. So if you want to be in the same place that you were 4 years ago in your business and you want to age 8 years… keep doing it all yourself. If you don’t have the budget, hire someone part time or on a temp basis. This is a great way to check out a future prospect for full time. (click “Next” above or below)

    Afraid of hiring the wrong person

    ResourceThis is entirely legitimate and I have made this mistake several times. People will always be on their best behavior when you are about to hire them then they can flip the script once you do. My suggestion is to put everyone on 90 days of probation like large corporations do. This is an excellent tactic because few people can wear a mask that long and this is a long enough period for you to not only gauge their effectiveness but also their reliability and dedication. I would also suggest giving them very little slack. There are times when employees will be late but if it happens twice within that period or they have excuses for not completing their work, they are out. (click “Next” above or below)

    Wasting time training

    Wasting-TimeThis is another legitimate concern. You take the time from your already busy schedule to train someone who ends up leaving or not working out. That’s time you could have been working. Well all is well that ends well or not so well. At least you tried. However, this is NOT the time to give up and hold off for a few months because of this bad experience, you simply have to do it again or if you are lucky you have an employee who thinks like you who can show them. (click “Next” above or below)

    Not able to keep an eye on the person and run the business

    Man looking through binoculars

    If you make one of the qualifications that the person has to be a self starter you can give them some autonomy and if you can’t keep an eye on them get one of your employees to for you by asking them to help them out if they need it and then have a talk with them to get an assessment.

    Ultimately, as your business grows, you want to have the time to focus on expanding. Who wants to remain in the same position forever? The best advice I can give once again is to find one main employee who can do what you do to help you hire and train. They know what you are looking for and can often be a great asset when it comes to hiring employees. Best in business…

    Kevin Ross