Keep things friendly, but reach an understanding

Dear Dave,

My husband and I own a small business. We have a large account providing wholesale items to a client. Our original agreement was to work on 30-day payment periods, but he is three months behind on the bill. We live in a small town, and the businesses here stick together and help each other out, so we don’t want to ruin the relationship. Do you have some advice on handling this situation?

Hollie

Dear Hollie,

From what you said, I assume this guy’s not a cheat or anything like that. He’s probably like a lot of small business owners in that he’s just a little disorganized. Still, you need to correct this behavior.

If it were me, I’d go to his office and have a friendly, sit-down meeting about things. There’s no reason to start throwing threats around, but he needs to understand you can’t be his bank. You’re a small business, too, and you need your money.

Ask a few questions, and find out what’s really going on.

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