When you first start a business,
you’re likely to be
one of your supplier’s smallest customers.
You might worry that
this supplier will put you last.
This might not happen
if you pay this supplier first.
My cover artist,
my editor,
my formatter,
all have payment upon delivery terms.
I pay promptly.
Unfortunately,
many of their clients don’t.
My editor works for a large publisher.
They pay her in 60 days.
She puts my projects first.
Always.
She knows she can earn cash fast,
that she won’t have to chase me
to collect her cash.
There’s a cost attached
to this promptness.
I can’t use the money for other things,
can’t invest it.
But having my projects looked at first
is worth the cost.
Paying promptly can be an advantage
you, as a small business,
have over a larger business.
Consider it one of your tools.