Tuesday 21 September 2010

Connected

I tend to be somewhat solitary by nature, and being a WAHM limits my social interaction even more.

But this week I've reminded myself how nice it is to connect with the wider world.  

  • I've joined British Mummy Bloggers, and I'm like a kid in a sweet shop (or a swot in a library, to be more accurate). So much to read, so many groups to join. This is going to cut into my working time in a big way, I can tell...
  • And today I had another lunch with my local SfEP branch. Yet again, I was amazed by the generosity of everyone there ~ so willing to volunteer tips and share information.

It can be hard to get 'out there' sometimes, but necessary; it's good to get new perspectives and remember that being a lone she-wolf doesn't have to mean being a lonely she-wolf.  

Friday 17 September 2010

Time flies like an arrow...

...Fruit flies like a banana :)

Seriously, how is it two months since I last posted? 

I have A LOT to say, because I have learned A LOT recently, a (happy) side-effect of the tribulations of trying to set up a business whilst looking after a toddler. Each lesson is a blog post in itself, so I'll not 'blah' it all out here.  

But, following on from my last post, in which I signed off with a(joking) aside about possibly not getting paid, I err, didn't get paid, not until I had sent LOTS of emails, increasing in bile and righteous indignation.

To add insult to injury, each email was ignored.  

Ignored, until I threatened to report them to their course supervisor, head of department, university chancellor and current employer (hint: you can run but you can't hide. Not when you have an extremely unusual name). 

And then: Oh, you gave me the wrong account number (I didn't). Oh, I can't get to the bank today. Or tomorrow. Oh, I went to the bank but they said they couldn't do a transfer.Oh, I have to wait until I next get paid. Oh, all of my fingers fell off so I couldn't write your account number on the paying-in slip...

I did get paid, after a lot of to-ing and shoo-ing, I got my money. I should have charged for time wasted chasing the payment, and lost interest, but I didn't. 

Lessons learned:

1)  If you cannot pay the agreed fee, for whatever reason, get in touch sooner rather than later. This saves them sitting stewing over the hard work they put in on your behalf, and saves the situation turning nasty. Be honest, and try to sort out an amicable arrangement.

2) Regard your first contact with someone as a barometer for the continued relationship. This client was highly disorganized, and late in submitting their work to me for correction (resulting in me working till 4:30 am to help them meet their deadline. Great fun when my daughter chose to start the next day at 6:30 am). No surprise, then, that they were equally flighty when it came to payment.   

3) Time spent chasing payment eats into your hourly rate something rotten. By the time I was eventually paid I probably made less than minimum wage, given all the chaser emails and time spent sleuthing online to track them down.

Still, I'm a wiser freelance for it...