@bstrand

Guts.  Lotsa guts.  Be willing to grovel a bit from time to time when things aren't going well.  Learn to do without when the outgo must go out but the income hasn't come in.  Learn to be self-motivated because the rest of the world doesn't care just so long as you get MY JOB done on time.

It takes quite a mix of skills and a willingness to go outside your comfort zone on a regular basis for one reason or another.

Grovel, whaaat??ÿ That sounds like it would be a dealbreaker...

@bstrand

Part of the gig.  If you can't then don't!

@holy-cow

I recall a couple of years ago I took a job surveying about a hundred acres with a house on it. I pulled up with my trailer in tow carrying my four-wheeler. I pulled off the long single lane asphalt drive into the grass on the opposite side of the lane from where the house was to go introduce myself to the property owner (client) and let them know I was there and beginning the work. The first thing he said to me as he pointed to the truck and trailer was "If I wasn't selling this place I'd be telling you to get the f__k off of my grass." He was a grumpy transplant from somewhere far North of Texas. My workload was pretty light and I needed the work, so I politely apologized and made sure not to park the survey chariot there again. My internal response was to get back in the truck and go back to the house, never to return. But I did what I needed to do instead, finished the work and got paid.

As an aside to this particular job...

When I proposed to do the work for him, I sharpened my pencil quite a bit. I didn't lose any money on the job, but it wasn't terribly profitable either. When I gave him my price, he haggled me down a few hundred dollars. I felt I could still do the work for our negotiated price so I agreed to it. In a later conversation with him I found out that he had one other surveyor offer a proposal for the work. I asked what his offer was... turns out my initial proposal was already 80% of what the other guy's number was and this was before the client haggled me down. Ugh. I didn't get bent out of shape over it. No one forced me to accept the work at the agreed price. But I definitely chalked it up to a learning experience.

@shawn-billings

Yes.  Every job can turn into a learning experience for one reason or another. Love your example of how something may be important to the client that we would not guess in advance.  Experience is the best guide and reference book we have.

Keeping one's cool is vital.  I remember one job where the client was a certifiable A-hole.  My crew was ready to mutiny----NOW!  I was furious at the client and his antics but I not only had to calm myself down, I had to get the crew's focus back on what we were there to do.  Still he gnawed on all of us the entire time we were there.  What I really hated was that cash flow really sucked at that point and I was going to get paid immediately upon completion of that particular job.  Immediately, as in figure it up on the spot and leave with the money before even drafting and the standard wrap up was complete.  I explained to the crew later how critical getting this particular job done was to ensuring their paychecks were good later that week.  One decided to tell me how I should run things better so we didn't need to work for such jerks.  Explaining that there was no way to know the guy was a jerk ahead of time did not change the debate.  What was funny, in a way, was the problems with the A-hole led one crew member to start a search for a different employer.  That worked well for both of us.  However, in his new role he was put in the position of being the one who had to attempt to get along with a series of A-holes while holding in his true feelings.  He told me later how he had no idea of what I was going through until he had been put in the same position.  We are still good friends and he works for me from time to time.  He simply didn't have enough seasoning to understand the big picture.

@shawn-billings

Way back in the early days of this site (in a different incarnation) we had a contributor who lived in Houston who was super feisty.  It seemed that he had anger issues involving nearly every client he had.  One thing he would do when some client ticked him off would be to hand the client forms that could be used to turn him in to the Texas BOR and tell him to file them if he was so certain improper work was being done.  Otherwise, shut up and leave me alone so I can get the job done.

I would not recommend this procedure to anyone. 

@holy-cow

Nor would I. I recommend keeping the main thing the main thing. Get the work, get the work done, get paid. All of the rest (including pride) is a luxury you can afford only on occasion. 

@shawn-billings

I don't know about that, the customer is not always right...

@bstrand

I would agree with you there. I would not compromise on performing my jobs correctly. That would be unethical and thus a deal breaker, and I'm very serious about that. However, dealing with difficult people who are being difficult is not unethical. If you can afford to tell them to kiss off, then perhaps give in to those urges. But it often happens that putting up with the pookey is part of doing business.

@bstrand

If the word "grovel" is the deal breaker, call it something else...

I would say, be humble when humility is required.

@bstrand

Certainly "grovel" was probably not the right word but hat in hand humility and the ability to pursued someone thinking they're right into believing they aren't without them knowing are important skills.?ÿ Especially when/if you have people working for you who's dinner depends on those abilities.?ÿ I don't care if you're talking Surveying, tire sales or greeting cards...owning your own gig can be TOUGH and there are many moments when you have to make your tongue bleed to keep from saying what you really want to.?ÿ It's like getting old; it isn't for the faint of heart (quote from my Grandma)!?ÿ?ÿ

?ÿ

@bstrand

Consider the two words and the various definitions provided below.  In the sentence I used above I used the phrase "grovel a bit".  I didn't do a search for the definitions before using it but simply went with my preferred memory of how it may be used.  I was thinking more along the lines of the last three definition provided for grovel and the two definitions offered for obsequious.

What it comes down to is listening to others and possibly modifying your behavior in light of their expectations.  Being nice and not putting your ego before others when it will be to your advantage to do so.  I added "a bit" as a qualifier to indicate that one should be careful about how it is done and under what circumstances will it be productive.

We are a service provider.  As much as we don't like to admit it, we are quite subservient to our employer and the needs of the specific project.  We either do what they want done or we have not been of service to them, which is the only reason they chose to employ us in the first place.  We do not get to make up all the rules in every case.

Professionals prefer to ignore the realities because they are sometimes rather ugly and we like things to be neat and perfect.  But, as independent practitioners, we are never truly independent because we do nothing without clients that need the services we can provide.

grovel

Oh, I don't think I'd have trouble dealing with people who can be abrasive if that's what you're getting at.?ÿ I don't think I would do well with people being straight up disrespectful though-- like hiring me and then thinking they can stand there and hurl insults.

@holy-cow

When I was 10 or 11 years old I asked my dad what it took to start a business.

He held his hands up like he was holding two huge watermelons and said "a set of balls about this big."

2023-01-04 ~ status update (nearly 3 years later):?ÿ I am experiencing similar cash flow woes, since roughly November, again, same as before from 10.2019 through 02.2020 (see above) .?ÿ This after probably the best 3 years of my career.

I have analyzed my monthly sales over the past 12 years.?ÿ There is zero trend to indicate that one particular month will be slower than the others.?ÿ See spaghetti bowl graphs my Microsoft Excel Certified?ÿ college freshman did for me this week.?ÿ Maybe "things" (my old lazy self) tend to slow down a bit in November, just in time for the annual holiday expenses, stress, etc.?ÿ

I post this as an update to my future (lazy) self and anyone else who may care.

I have determined that I sometimes take the "charge twice as much ~ work half as much" mantra to an extreme.?ÿ At least on the "work" side of things.?ÿ When things are flowing well and cash flow is excellent, life is good and easy.

Then maybe I get a little bit too lazy and less productive on a regular daily/weekly/monthly basis.?ÿ Next thing you know cash is gone.?ÿ I hope this proves to be helpful to someone besides my future (lazy) self.

One must consider the lag time between the time the service is requested and when the money comes in, or, at least, when the invoice went out.?ÿ Say that is typically six weeks.?ÿ Then a short fall in say November may be attributed to a lull in requests in mid-September.?ÿ Feast or famine, they say.

150K a month??ÿ Damn dude, I'll trade ya. ?????ÿ

I think this may be due to having too many mid to large size jobs that require more time to complete, maybe?

Are you actually projecting cashflow ($10K retainer on Day X. 60 days to deliver, 15 days to pay, so receipt on $10K on Day Z) or just thinking X per year so therefore X/12 monthly cashflow??ÿ

At your size, bringing in three or four multi-month projects together can push a lot of your yearly revenue down the calendar.?ÿ Maybe talk to you established, well paying, clients about cutting back on the retainer and starting progress billing?ÿ

?ÿ

@james-fleming a-men brother! ?ÿI have been getting stressed out in these moments looking backwards at x/12 and saying, ƒ??what the hell, Bradƒ? this is good money, why canƒ??t you make this work.

Well, that is not being completely fair to myself. ?ÿAs shown by those spaghetti bowl charts the cash does not flow in at a steady x/12 pace.

So, my vCFO, same as you James, said that in 2023 I need to try to focus on generating/finding a steady stream income flow source. ?ÿThe good news is that I have an excellent client that can probably provide that.

Then the bottle neck is only me. ?ÿFor this steady stream work it requires me to self start. ?ÿI find that this ends up falling behind on the priority list after other clients requesting specific services.

If anyone would like me to share my vCFOƒ??s contact info, contact me off line. ?ÿShe and I have developed an excellent relationship this past year, 2022. ?ÿWe do a zoom call for a couple hours every month. ?ÿWe have not had to deal with this cash flow issue until just now.

I am hoping that she will be able to plug in and watch my QuickBooks online on a more regular basis and help me see the next hiccup coming sooner than I do.?ÿ

?ÿ

@brad-ott I must be reading something wrong. Those charts seem to indicate about $150,000 per month in income. A solo operator bringing in $150k per month can not have a cash flow problem unless he is doing cocaine or has a serious sports betting problem.