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The $8,000 deposit rule I stole from a guy at the Columbus agency meetup
Went to that small agency meetup in Columbus back in March, mostly for the free pizza if I'm being honest. Guy named Ray ran a 6 person shop and during the Q&A someone asked how he handles clients who pay late. He said he doesn't. He just doesn't start any work over $2k without half up front, no exceptions, not even for the nice ones.
I thought that was way too rigid. I'd been doing deposits on and off for 3 years, usually caving when a client pushed back. Then he said something that stuck. He said every time you make an exception, you're teaching that client your invoice is optional.
Checked my books that weekend. 4 unpaid invoices totaling $8,100 going back 7 months. All 4 were clients I'd skipped the deposit for because I didn't want to seem pushy.
Switched to half up front on everything over $2k in April. Lost 2 leads. Collected on time 11 for 11 since. Has anyone else had a rule like this blow up in their face, or has it just quietly worked?
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aaronfox1mo ago
Ray sounds like the guy who tells you to wear a helmet and you roll your eyes right up until you eat pavement. $8,100 in unpaid invoices is a rough way to learn that lesson but hey, 11 for 11 is 11 for 11. Losing 2 leads to collect on every single job after sounds like a trade I'd take every time.
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