Read that again…

When you’re a freelancer or a contract worker providing a service for another business, your compensation isn’t an option. 

It doesn’t matter if your client’s client didn’t pay on time…
It doesn’t matter if they didn’t bring in sales…
It doesn’t matter if your client is out of town…

You are providing services based upon an agreed amount of compensation in return. On an agreed-upon timeline.

That’s the agreement. That’s how it works. 

I’ve seen all the excuses under the sun on why an invoice is late, but the truth is that a late invoice = you’ve given your client a loan that you didn’t initially agree to. 

And most of the time, you didn’t get any notice to plan for it. It just sort of happens, like… “Heyyyy I’m so sorry but I can’t pay you yet”, or “I paid you part of what I owe you, I’ll get you the rest when I have it”.

This means that however well-intentioned your client is, they are taking advantage of you. And, it’s up to us as freelancers to hold onto our values and boundaries and not accept this behavior.

It’s literally not your responsibility. It’s their job to figure it out as business owners, otherwise they don’t get your service.

This is especially important if you are billing for services rendered!

If they can’t pay you for what you’ve already done then the more you decide to work the higher the risk for you. They are the only ones benefitting in that scenario, and they likely won’t be the one to tell you to stop working either.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule but learn from my mistakes and have the rule written and agreed upon in your contract before you start working with someone. Clearly outline your late payment policy around fees and work pausing, and have a written notice policy for ending the relationship.

Whatever that looks like for you. To whatever extent you want to uphold it.

Have it there for you.

This type of thing is SO common in the entrepreneurial space and chalked up to “that’s start-up life”, but really it’s the culture your client is cultivating… and is that really a client you want to be working with?

For all my business owners hiring someone to provide services for their business… don’t hire them if you can’t pay them, OR create their compensation in a way that it’s clear they know what they are agreeing to before they start working. That’s your responsibility as a business owner.