Looking Forward to a More Prosperous 2010
As we look forward to 2010, I have prepared New Year’s resolutions for my business. I am re-framing the recession as an opportunity. In past years, even in the frothy bull market, I spent too much time chasing clients for payments past due. I hated being a bill collector! It is not just a drain on your time, but a drain on your energy. Now I am using the difficulty accessing capital to explain to current and future clients why I require a more significant retainer before commencing work. Not everyone will accept those terms, of course, but those who do are serious and those who don’t may be opportunities that I should not pursue anyway. The end result may be a smarter, but smaller business, but one that will better support my lifestyle objectives. Large corporations typically refer to their procurement policies to explain why they cannot pay retainers. After all, they say, we pay everyone net 45 days. But with widespread knowledge about the access to capital, it is easier to explain why that no longer works. It is hard to justify drawing down on your working capital to perform work and hope for timely payment. Assuming of course that your client doesn’t go into bankruptcy. The new environment may offer some peverse upside and my New Year’s resolution is to find it.