i am breaking this bad money cycle
I had few sales calls in a row this week that followed an all-too familiar pattern.
"I am so excited to work with you. I am IN!
I’ll have the money suuuuper soon, can you float me?
I can pay you after we get started, right???”
No, girl.
I’ve heard that one before 😅
It's not like I think these prospects are trying to short change me or get work for free.
What I do KNOW is that they have terrible systems (read: boundaries) in place with their own clients.
So their clients are paying them late.
Therefore they know the money is coming...sometime? And then they can pay me.
So they wait for their clients, I wait for them, and then my contractors wait for me?
I am breaking this cycle of people pleasing and paying each other whenever.
BUT: Here is the catch-22 for me:
Many of these types of leads that come my way are being paid late by their clients because they do not yet have the proper systems in their business that ensure they are getting paid on time.
Things like:
Requiring a deposit before work begins.
Hella automated invoice reminders leading up to the payment due date, and even more reminders if the invoice is overdue.
A policy of work STOPPING and a project restart fee if a payment is missed.
I cannot emphasize enough that I have had EXACTLY ZERO late payments since implementing these systems in my own business.
So even if its a little tight to pay me in order to start, the stretch ends up paying off tenfold once the work begins.
We all have other people to pay.
Beyond that - we all have families to feed and mortgages due and health insurance none of us can really afford.
Your clients aren't late because they don't care about you paying your own bills.
Honestly, its not their job to give a damn about your bills.
Your clients pay late because YOU do not have systems and boundaries in place.
So help me stop the cycle of people pleasing and us all being paid late by implementing smart systems in your business.
And on the rare occasion that a trusted client needs a little wiggle room around your boundaries - you can feel into the situation and decide if its worth letting up a little, as needed.
Pay YOUR people on time.
And set up systems in your business so YOU can be paid on time.
If you want healthy boundaries like this built into every piece of your business, we need to talk.
