Magnus Marketing Blog

So, the clients that departed have all been replaced and things are back to normal, a very surprising outcome given the economy. Many people I have worked with are starting out on their own either as full time contract resources or as supplemental resources adding to their full time jobs. This of course means my own network has expanded.

Janet Pinto is offering her marketing communication skills on a supplemental freelance business, she also has a weekend web venture supplying custom made therapeutic aromas and perfumes. It is good to see her flexing her entrepreneurial muscle.

Delia "Sandy" Lehr is offering 20 years of experience to provide payroll and accounts payable support to small businesses.

All of these folks provide additional support and direct supplemental services to my own and together we can really provide a start-up or small company many services that they need in one spot.

I just hope that as they acquire their own clients - they don't get stiffed on invoices!

It is time to discuss the deadbeat clients, the clients who in my opinion steal services and disappear without nary a note or a check. I am completely infuriated at the fact that I spend my time, my talent, and my resources providing support for organizations that then turn around and decide that they cannot or more likely the case will not pay me. Not one client, not one, ever complained about my work and I have contracts with all of them regarding payment and service provided. I too have bills to pay, a family that I contribute to, and obligations. Because I only work with a handful of clients at a time, mine is not a commodity business, when a client decides to disappear or walks off without paying an invoice, it creates great anxiety and financial harm. I am finding that in order to collect, it costs more to hire a lawyer and spend time in court or with collections to get the bill settled. While Obama is pushing healthcare, people like me have no recourse to inexpensively get what we worked for, what we are legally due, and owed. I marvel over the lack of conscience and how the law does not consider this theft?

The Wall St Journal wrote about how small businesses hurt because of this, I like how a respondent noted that the bigger companies think they are banks and, essentially, put the screws to the little guy. Someone mentioned on the internet that you need to qualify your clients - my clients were paying relatively on time up until the last invoice. And, there were zero complaints about performance - again, I have contracts that govern performance and payment.

This has been the experience so far and I know this list will grow!

Siba Padhi's (former CFO of a billion dollar telecom group) conglomerate including Indibar Technologies, Clinwell, Maxelor, and Agnicient owes me $4,492.50 for months of business development and research work. After they lost a major client, the check "was in the process of being co-signed". Turned out there was no check and after consulting with my lawyer who went through the demand letter process, I learned the company was near bankruptcy with mass layoffs and hadn't a thin dime to spare. Many vendors were up in arms over non-payment. After being terminated, I never heard a thing from anyone regarding any payment or reason for delaying any check in the first place. I have learned and written this off as cost of doing business. When a check doesn't come in 30 days, end the relationship - there are paying clients out there.

Mike Salem's Vorex, Inc. (www.vorex.com) provider of SAAS hosted solutions. Stiffed me on the last invoice for $1,440 for one month and report creation which included a host of analysis as to why their solutions failed to gain market traction. After he requested me to send the invoice, I never heard from him or anyone from the company again. No return calls, no emails, no communication at all.

Don Ramer's Arbita, Inc (www.arbita.com) is holding out on payment (it is 60 days past the 45 day due date!) on my last invoice for $992.00. Even after receiving an acknowledgement on July 29 indicating that all invoices (for all vendors) will be paid and the balance zeroed out, I am STILL waiting for my turn. I recently reached out to the finance department, even to Shally Steckerl - who passed me back to the finance department. No status update, no email, no check. This is a company that ERE acknowledged had major growth, I mean they put a press release out that they had 600% growth and were doing well. You would think that such a tiny amount is coverable. They still owe me commission on a deal - a deal that paid for me for a year or more!

A company that cannot remit a $500, $992.00, $1,440 payment is one that clearly has major cash flow issues - that is chump change, particularly for a larger firm. I bet the electricity bill is larger than that! If they can't pay me chump change and alienate suppliers, how do they keep the lights on or for how long will they?

I have absolutely no recourse to collect any money, a lawyer costs more than that - these people are out of state. I did find a collection agency that I may contact, turns out you can hold a company responsible for a few years. I don't forget a deadbeat - and neither should you.