Finding an Advocate
In the dog show world you will often find the handler attending to the dog to make them look more appealing. Talking to them, providing small treats, and inspiring them to look and act their best. They are the dog’s advocate when being judged.
In the business world, it is often a good strategy to have an advocate, particularly where payment is concerned. If you are a sole proprietor and you work for larger organizations, their timeframe for payments to you is not always the same as yours. If they are not the owner of project and are instead the ‘Prime’, then they do not control the actual payment, the owner does. If the owner is a government entity there will often be paperwork for the Prime to complete to actually receive a payment. In this scenario, having an advocate at the Prime can come in very handy.
It often amazes me that larger firms who are in a Prime position do not understand the plight of the sole proprietor consultants they are employing on the particular job. The Prime pays it employees regularly in the form of a salary and this occurs because they are usually large firms with multiple sources of revenue creating a melting pot of revenue. They normally do not consider paying their consultants on that specific job until they have invoiced and been paid by the owner of the project.
Fast forward months later when the Prime decides to invoice an owner and the small consultants have been left waiting to be paid for months. As has been written previously in these Blogs, self-employed sole professionals have monthly bills just like those salaried workers. If they are working on one project, they cannot bill for another, and if they cannot get paid for other projects, they are relying solely on that stream of revenue from the project they are working on at any given time. This is where an advocate can come in handy.
Identifying a person or persons at the firm you are providing services to that has a synergy with you, or perhaps they brought you into the project, or they know you socially. These are the workers who can help champion payment for you. It has been our experience there is usually at least one friendly worker you can reach out to on any given job. State your case calmly and clearly, help them to understand you are not like them and cannot wait months for payment.
In a worst case scenario you can always advise the Prime that you will have to cease work on the project until overdue payment is made. This can be fraught with many issues but it may be the last play you have. You can usually avoid this least desirable approach if you have an advocate within to hear your requests.
Every time you engage in a new project, identify upfront an advocate at the Prime who can help tell your story, the way the handlers do with the judges in a dog show. Having an advocate or partner in all aspects of your business can help carry you through the harder experiences. And on time payment is likely one of the most challenging encounters you will have as a sole proprietor or micro business owner.
Be well.
