So I don’t write much here on this blog about business stuff, but for MANY months, I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of something that crossed over into the personal. WARNING – this is a LONG post!
I had this one female client for a long time that parted ways with earlier this year. For sometime, I didn’t feel we were on the same path. However , this client and I had also become pretty good friends too. At first, they were small issues like minor miscommunications, not paying on time, having to request on multiple occasions to be paid, etc .. however I dismissed most of it as I felt this person was just un-organized and it would get better. I was wrong.
However , it did not after a year and in March 2011, I finally saw the writing on the wall.
The final straw came in early April with finding out all kinds of information about this business owner and her business methods , broken promises and a variety of other things. So I ended our working relationship on April 15, 2011 .
Lesson learned. (again) Originally when this happened, I wanted to write about it right there and then. I didn’t. (Maybe I should have )
Since then, I have dealt with all kinds of things from this client and her “Chief of Operations” (her mother doubles as the head of Operations). From claiming that they didn’t get materials/invoices needed to close projects, to questioning my experience in social media and refusing to pay me. Yes they STILL owe me a small amount of money on projects that they requested and approved. I don’t think I’ll ever see this money from them.
However, it’s not just me … They owe another member of the “team” in excess of $3000 for services rendered and have yet to pay her. (That person no longer works for her either. )
We are no longer friends for the obvious reasons. In fact, I don’t think that we ever really were. I think it was all fake and just part of her “charm”. Also — to keep me and others happy when being treated so badly. The sad thing is that now it is up to the attorneys to figure out the next steps and how to proceed from here. It could have been handled very differently and the relationship could have stayed intact.
I would love to reveal who this person is, to show who she REALLY is .. but alas I can’t yet. (Close friends will know EXACTLY who I’m referring to ) The funny thing is that part of me doesn’t want to reveal the fine details .. I don’t want any extra traffic going to her site(s). I don’t want her to be able to say that SHE was a victim here. The simple fact is that she used and abused those members on her team because she thought she could.
I do want others to learn from my mistakes though.
If you are thinking of doing business with someone , do a couple of things :
- Do your research . Are they who they really say they are ? Do they have all the legal paperwork done for their business ? What is their paying history with other vendors/consultants ?
- Get it in writing. Make sure any projects and contract are signed and both parties are aware of the requirements, expectations and expenses involved
- Save EVERYTHING. Save any pertinent emails, chat messages,etc. that you may need down the road to prove your point
In the end, I don’t regret the time I worked for this person. I have made several wonderful friends and learned a lot about HOW NOT TO RUN A COMPANY because of her . I also realized what is important and what my passions are.
I’m happy that the majority of this is behind me and I can now move on…
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m sorry it came to that. I’m 99% sure I know who you’re talking about. Thankfully she didn’t owe me enough to bother with it, but I trust it will work out for you guys in the end.
Thanks Shannon! Yes it is THAT PERSON who you think it is.
Unfortunately what she did to me and you … she has also done to a lot of other people as well. One day Karma will come knocking on her door and it won’t be pretty.