If you recall, I discussed the enormous anxiety I went through for months when my only client did not pay me any money for almost six months. The work was done and the ultimate client was very happy but as a subcontractor to the consulting company I still did not get paid because of their own internal financial challenges. Since the company is essentially two partners with a few employees, I was afraid that they could file for bankruptcy and simply tell me that they did the best to save the company but ultimately they lost. I know how this works because as a management consultant I have helped many of clients actually shut down their operations.
A lot of time when I went through this 6-month period of not knowing if I was going to get paid, I wondered if this was somewhat usual. I could not find an answer online and I told myself that if I asked someone about it they might ask me to sue (as another consultant in a similar situation did and got paid) or stop doing additional work for them (which I was forced to do since I had no other gigs on the horizon). The only thing that gave me hope was that (even though I have never met any of my colleagues since I work for a totally virtual company), I have heard about them in the industry and they have worked at some of the same companies that I did. So I kind of know them a bit. Plus, I also noticed that all the services that they use were working and all the employees were still in place; they were just delaying paying the contractors.
So the good news is that I got paid recently and I am so relieved. I plan to spend conservatively over the next several months to build a safety net. I will also be trying to diversify my client base to get work from other clients, but that is not easy when you are starting out. I guess there are no clear rules or conventions when it comes to getting paid. I know I have a business relationship here and I might end up not getting paid for some transactions, but it just so much more painful when that is the only source of income you have and it does not materialize.
A lot of time when I went through this 6-month period of not knowing if I was going to get paid, I wondered if this was somewhat usual. I could not find an answer online and I told myself that if I asked someone about it they might ask me to sue (as another consultant in a similar situation did and got paid) or stop doing additional work for them (which I was forced to do since I had no other gigs on the horizon). The only thing that gave me hope was that (even though I have never met any of my colleagues since I work for a totally virtual company), I have heard about them in the industry and they have worked at some of the same companies that I did. So I kind of know them a bit. Plus, I also noticed that all the services that they use were working and all the employees were still in place; they were just delaying paying the contractors.
So the good news is that I got paid recently and I am so relieved. I plan to spend conservatively over the next several months to build a safety net. I will also be trying to diversify my client base to get work from other clients, but that is not easy when you are starting out. I guess there are no clear rules or conventions when it comes to getting paid. I know I have a business relationship here and I might end up not getting paid for some transactions, but it just so much more painful when that is the only source of income you have and it does not materialize.