Being Tough in Business
Discussion
I'm not. I've not had a 'proper' PAYE job since 1997, done some pretty special things with big brands and a lot of wheeling and dealing on a big/corporate scale. Give me your money and I'm ruthless, when it's my own money I'm simply too soft. I can't quite work out why.
I run a small social enterprise providing amateur and youth theatre groups with props for shows. It just about pays the unit rent most of the time, which will do for now. I take a deposit when props are hired which is returned once the props are back safely. Got a message Sunday evening saying some hired props didn't all fit in the van to come back, some have gone, the others I'd get 'as soon as possible'. I was expecting them Sunday so that was a wasted day. Waited in Monday - no show. Fast forward to today and both vans have been and gone with the props returned. Charging extra days would eat up all the deposit even at 1/7 of a week's hire (terms say 17.5% of a week per day late). In fairness I could invoice them for more. I also need to repaint one large prop and build a new wheeled base as they've changed it (maybe 90 mins in the workshop).
Yet still, I find myself trying to find a way to do it so they get *some* or even all of the deposit back. We exist to make things affordable/easier for amateur groups than commercial hire, but I can't find the 'stick up for yourself' button when I really should.
Strange as I'm brutal with everyone else's money, just a soft touch with my own.
I run a small social enterprise providing amateur and youth theatre groups with props for shows. It just about pays the unit rent most of the time, which will do for now. I take a deposit when props are hired which is returned once the props are back safely. Got a message Sunday evening saying some hired props didn't all fit in the van to come back, some have gone, the others I'd get 'as soon as possible'. I was expecting them Sunday so that was a wasted day. Waited in Monday - no show. Fast forward to today and both vans have been and gone with the props returned. Charging extra days would eat up all the deposit even at 1/7 of a week's hire (terms say 17.5% of a week per day late). In fairness I could invoice them for more. I also need to repaint one large prop and build a new wheeled base as they've changed it (maybe 90 mins in the workshop).
Yet still, I find myself trying to find a way to do it so they get *some* or even all of the deposit back. We exist to make things affordable/easier for amateur groups than commercial hire, but I can't find the 'stick up for yourself' button when I really should.
Strange as I'm brutal with everyone else's money, just a soft touch with my own.
We have props for very specific shows, so although one group will recommend us to another, repeat business is rare (as they wouldn't do the same show again).
I emailed to say I was charging 2/3 of the deposit as late/workshop fees - feel a bit rotten as it was all set up for social benefit, but they were a pain paying and then late back etc.
I emailed to say I was charging 2/3 of the deposit as late/workshop fees - feel a bit rotten as it was all set up for social benefit, but they were a pain paying and then late back etc.
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