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Debt Collection: Sexy or Not?

Debt collection. A great topic for cocktail party conversations…if you want to clear the room really quickly. Many small business owners are actually embarrassed to be owed money, as if it is their fault. While there are things to do to minimize bad debt, there is no shame in being owed money. What IS a shame is for a business owner to do nothing about recovering money owed to them.

Several times I attempted to put together small business seminars like, “What To Do When You Don’t Get Paid”, only to speak to a nearly empty room. It seems that people are more interested in topics such as social media marketing or human resources. Once, a friend asked me to speak at a seminar for her clients. I agreed, and we had 7 attendees. We got great feedback, with one participant stating it was the best, most useful seminar she had ever attended. The owner told me she was baffled as to why we did not have a full room. Apparently, the previous month they held a seminar about dealing with the millennial in the workplace and sold out. I wondered too, since I have made a very good living helping people with their accounts receivable, and I know that it is something small businesses struggle with every day.

When small business owners do not get paid, the effect is almost immediate. Vendors do not get paid. Investments in equipment, marketing and new hires slow down or cease altogether. To my mind, the topic of debt collection – how to minimize the cost of bad debt to a business or how to put together a system to recover from delinquent customers would be the first thing I would want to hear about it.

A colleague told me that being a debt collector was just not a “sexy” job, like working in marketing, or starting a brewery, or being a life coach.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am a bit of a nerd about debt collection for small business owners. I am like being paid for what I do, and I passionately advocate for the right of my clients to be paid for what they do. It sure turns me on!

 

 

 

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