I have a problem ...

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CudaChick1968

CudaChick1968

Leanna ~ The Mistress of Metal
Legendary Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
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Location
Greenfield, Tennessee
For the first couple of years of being in business, every part that arrived here for me to work on was accompanied by a payment for the amount of my initial quote, and usually also covered the return shipping. As my reputation built and the word spread, I've been getting busier ... especially over the last few months.

Now it seems that everything that shows up is accompanied by a note that says "Just let me know what I owe you when you're done."

Please don't misunderstand ... I really REALLY appreciate your guys' confidence in my abilities and the fact it doesn't really seem to concern anyone what I charge for my work, as my bill is eventually paid when the job has been finished for a few days. But what this does to me, as a small business owner without any other source of income, is to leave me with no working capital whatsoever to actually get your parts done. I have to rely on payment from the customer ahead of you to cover my expenses to do your work and get your job shipped out to you. One late payment from the last guy and I'm left scrambling.

The Pricing & Shipping page of my website contains a lot of information, I know, but this paragraph is important.

"If you are not using paypal, please include a check or U.S. Postal Service money order inside the box with your parts for the full amount of your quote, plus the funds necessary to ship your parts back to you when they are finished. (For example, if your quote is $50 and UPS is charging you $8.53 to ship your parts to us, your check should be made payable to "Phoenix Specialty Coatings" for $58.53.)

...

We will begin your work if you include at least half of the quote amount with the parts, billing you for the remainder and all return shipping charges when your parts are finished. ..."
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Now guys, I don't mind working with anybody, but please understand this has been leaving me in a bind for several months and it's kinda getting old. If I was independently wealthy and did this just for something to do to keep me out of trouble, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But this is my profession, and Billy doesn't have a job at all.

Out of the 19 jobs I have here right now, 18 of them are for FABO members and more than 85% were not accompanied with any payment at all.

Please don't get me wrong!!! I absolutely LOVE working for FABO members and, to date, have really had no collection issues [knocking on wood LOL], but including at least half of what I expect your job to cost when you send me your parts would make life a lot easier for me. Paypal is all fine and good, but it takes almost a week to convert a paypal payment into actual cash in hand. Unfortunately, my suppliers -- blasting media, powder, sand paper, silicone, etc. -- do not accept paypal.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for your understanding. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or need clarification about any of this.

And no, I'm not PMSing ... I'm just broke. When I run outta cigarettes in a couple days, the $hit's really gonna hit the fan. :-D :-D :-D :-D​
 

Let me know when you run out of smokes so I can remember to duck......:toothy10:
 
65 Dartman said:
Called - got your answering machine
Click to expand...


Sorry Don ... as usual, Billy is on the phone.

As my most often repeated customer, please understand this isn't directed at you either -- you're always fabulous about taking care of the bills well in advance. I'm just not quite ready to start on your next batch of stuff yet. :-D
 
I am glad you spoke up and you did it so tactfully. I hope this clears things up for folks and things run more smoothly for you, Leanna.
 
Some people think that since you own a small business you must be exhorbitantly wealthy.
Little do they know that most small business owners are just scraping by once all of their bills are paid.
 
Hello Cudachick1968. I happen to own a couple small businesses myself and you must have a good business policy to stay open, especially in these hard times. You're correct in saying that most small businesses rely on their working capital even from their newest customer. Most people that don't own a business don't understand this because they never had to deal with it. I know you do good work and people trust you but it's still a business. If your policy is prepayment, that includes return shipping, than it must be made perfectly clear that no work will be done until payment has been made. I know everyone here is very friendly and are like a family and that's great. That's why I enjoy everyones company. But business is business and a promise of payment will not feed anyone or satisfy creditors. I believe most everyone here has good intentions when doing business with people in general. We all must respect the rules put in place by any small business owner. Running a business is very stressful and I know you care about your work and customers. I'm glad your doing well and wish you many more years of success.
 
I feel your pain...in the same boat myself, everybody thinks were loaded because we have our own business..I've been out of smokes myself, so if superdart doesn't send you a pack let me know and I'll get some of my crusty money out and send you a pack or two..lol..
 
we need to take care of Leanna... sending business her way is only half of it... paying her and making sure she is around is also important!
 
we run in to the same thing at work his lawyer like to have work done and gives a cc then it won,t cover the whole bill. as he is going out of town for the week. he has rental houses and we fix his work trucks we are sitting and 155.00 dolars of shocks that we may not see the truck for weeks. but have aready paid for parts. no big deal for him.
 
Most services are paid for at completion but there are exceptions such as ones that require purchase of material by the contractor. In that case often half of the total cost is paid in advance which always seemed reasonable to me, maybe you could work with something along those lines? Just a thought, I can totally understand your situation.
 
Ok what you need to do is have a bussiness account with say 5 grand over draft to cover costs untill all are paid in full.
 
I'll be shipping my aircleaner next week. I see you take paypal, it might be the easiest for me. I have the decal and it will be in the box. On another note, I quit smoking...it isn't good for you!!!
 
Guys, thank you all for being so understanding, and for the humor ... it's appreciated.

I should have clarified something though because I had a couple phone calls this afternoon after I wrote up my post. Those who've sent parts under the Summer Reservation Program have special payment arrangements -- that was the nature of the concept to start with, spreading it out to make it more affordable -- and those parts weren't included in my little rant up there, nor in the job count. I'm just working them in as I can, and all of you who took me up on my 20% discount offer have been beyond wonderful in the patience department.

You may or may not realize that it's not unusual for me to spend a lot of time working exclusively on one project, especially the custom stuff -- sometimes several days. Having a steady cashflow in between arrival and departure is what I'm shooting for. I hate having to rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak, but it's been happening quite a bit lately.

Thanks again for all the great input! It's nice to know I'm not alone.
 
My wife took our screens to the repair shop and they made her prepay. I must admit I was not very happy about it. Why because she came home with no screens and less money in the bank. Ended up getting the screens the next day and they looked great.

However I don't like to front capital or be a credit supplier to a small business. You never know who is going to be gone tomorrow now days. It would be bad enough to lose parts but to lose your money on top would be really insulting.

With that said Leanna seems to have a great reputation around here. I'm not sure she has a store front. If she did and I was local I don't think I would prepay. But the way her business runs it sounds like a lot of business is shipped in and shipped out. So as a customer you would just have to have a certain amount of trust that you will be happy with her service. It seems that she has earned that, so more power to her and the prepay policy.
Wish I could get my customers to prepay:-D
 
Leanna,I have been there and know exactly what you mean.There is nothing wrong with explaining to your customers what is required in order for you to complete the work.I have been told some times my prices were high at which point i told the customer i charge what i have to in order to stay in business.Pm me and I will gladly paypal you the money immediately .You are offering discounts and a high quality product and we need to support you in whatever way we can,your family.Ok,I ran out of gas.8)

P.S. don't be afraid to say no if you have to,i have done it to billion dollar companies,they can kiss my a$$ if they don't pay.
 
Leanna, glad you brought this to the table. Small business owners always need to address this, and it can be a touchy subject to bring up.
Some large jobs I require a large deposit, some smaller jobs I require 100% deposit on parts, and 50% deposit on labor.
 
zhandfull said:
My wife took our screens to the repair shop and they made her prepay. I must admit I was not very happy about it. Why because she came home with no screens and less money in the bank. Ended up getting the screens the next day and they looked great.

However I don't like to front capital or be a credit supplier to a small business. You never know who is going to be gone tomorrow now days. It would be bad enough to lose parts but to lose your money on top would be really insulting.

With that said Leanna seems to have a great reputation around here. I'm not sure she has a store front. If she did and I was local I don't think I would prepay. But the way her business runs it sounds like a lot of business is shipped in and shipped out. So as a customer you would just have to have a certain amount of trust that you will be happy with her service. It seems that she has earned that, so more power to her and the prepay policy.
Wish I could get my customers to prepay:-D
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Actually z, I do have a store front, a dedicated 30 x 40 shop complete with signage, another large sign near the road, and a startling Viper Blue mailbox. :-D

IMG_1168.jpg

The ONLY collection problems I've ever encountered were in fact with local customers, not those off the internet. As a result, I will not accept any first job from a local without at least half of the estimate up front; after a relationship is established, then we can work out partial payments. It's sad that everyone else gets to pay for others' mistakes, but In God I Trust ... All Other Locals Pay Cash Up Front.

Conversely, can you call up Summit, Jeg's or Layson's and have an opportunity to inspect the parts in hand before paying for them? I can't compare my shop with a corporate operation like those guys, but it helps illustrate the point.

IMG_1168.jpg
 
Zhandfull i,ve seen local hardwear store full of old sceens cause people don,t come back for them . and paying for a survance is not fronting capital it makeing them able to stay open to serve other.you can get them to prepay just tell them too. or get home depot to do the work. o you have to pay there frist too. as they won,t let you walk out with parts.that said lets suport are own no Q ask.
 
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