Making sure your customers pay you is paramount in today’s economy.  The key is to stay on top of your collections so none of the risks occur and you don’t spend valuable time implementing remedies.

The inherent risks in not staying on top of aging accounts receivable include:

1. Loss of cash you were counting on to pay your vendors & employees.
2. In the event of the bankruptcy of your customer, being an unsecured creditor.
3. Loss of the product you shipped in the event it is seized by the customer’s secured creditors.
4. In the case of a service business, where a retainer or deposit was not collected, it’s the hours already worked.

The warning signs a customer is in financial distress: Continue Reading “Risks & Remedies with Slow Paying Customers” »

I am optimistic about 2009. I started the year using Chris Brogan’s “Your Three Goals for 2009″ approach. Brogan recommends crunching your goals into the three words and then maintaining a focus on those words in everything you do. My words are educate, expand and exhale.

• I want to educate myself, my clients, my prospects and my colleagues.
• I want to expand by increasing all my outreach activities, building my collaborations, and building my business team.
• Lastly I want to exhale starting with balancing my activities, being quicker to say no, and believing in the impossible.

I’m ready to move forward. Here are a few steps I’m taking:

• Dumping the to do items that have languished on my list. At this late date if it were that important I would have accomplished the task. (Exhale)
• Defining with a laser-focus my ideal client and then committing to meeting them where they are. Sure this may mean a few bad networking events, but I’m there to meet the attendees not necessarily take in the content. (Expand)
• Committing to the writing regularly in a variety of mediums. (Educate)

What are your three goals for 2009 in three words? Happy New Year!