No 54 April 2005 10 Things To Do TodayNot sure about this lot but it was passed to me so I pass it on to you. 1. Today I Will Be Happy. I will put on a happy face. I will strive to be happy. I will act as if I am happy knowing that those who act as if they are happy, actually become happy. I will bury the past. I will move on. I will have no regrets about yesterday. I will stop being resentful. I will stop feeling guilty. I will forgive my enemies and anyone who may have ever harmed me. I will forgive myself for what I have did and for anything I failed to do. 2. Today I Will Become More Organised. I will begin the day by making a list of all the things I have to do. Next I will number all the things on my list in critical order of importance. Then I will make a new list in numerical order. I will start on the number one task and finish it before moving on to the next. The things that don't get done by the end of today, I will carry over and add to tomorrow's list. 3. Today I Will Review Goals. I will think about where I am now and where I want to be in the next five, ten and fifteen years. I will rewrite my goals as positive statements such as, "In five years from now I will have...or be..." 4. Today I Will Make Better Use Of Time. I will concentrate on doing only those things which will help me reach my goals, or adversely affect the realisation of my goals if left undone. If possible, I will delegate all the minor tasks that can safely be delegated, and concentrate only on the main issues and on doing the things that only I can do. 5. Today I Will Be A Possibility Thinker. I will visualise the future exactly as I would have it. I will not contemplate failure. I will expect success. I will imagine exactly how it will be. I will refuse to think, "It's impossible" and "I can't. " Instead I will think, "I can and I will," realising that nothing is impossible unless I choose to think it is. 6. Today I Will Seek Out New Opportunities. I will not stay at home waiting for circumstances to change, for the tide to turn and for opportunity to knock. Instead I will go out looking for opportunities, and when I don't find them, I will immediately try to create the kind of circumstances that are favourable to me and conducive to success. 7. Today I Will Aim To Be Of Service. I will seek to serve others first, knowing that my success will be totally dependent on my ability to satisfy others needs. I will say to those who can help me , "How may I help you? I am an expert in my profession. Tell me about your needs and wants," rather than burden and bore them with my needs and wants. 8. Today I Will Network. I will widen my circle of influence. I will ask every customer or potential customer I contact to give me the names of three people whom they think might benefit from my advice. I will practice the "Three Foot Rule." I will tell everyone who comes within three feet of me that I am open for business and anxious to serve. 9. Today I Will Be The Best I Can Be. I will aim to be the best at doing what I do. I will strive for perfection. I will be a people pleaser. I will treat everyone the same way I would have them treat me. I will assume the customer is right, even when he is not, knowing that I need him as a customer more than he needs me. 10. Today I Will Build Goodwill. I will seek to establish a good reputation for myself and for my business. I will be willing to give free advice to all those who for ask it but cannot afford to pay, knowing that it is truly impossible to help another without being richly rewarded and compensated in some way. I will be a kind friend to all those who need a friend. 11. Today I Will Act As If Were Impossible To Fail. I will think and behave as if I already am a success. I will dress like successful people dress. I will concern myself with the things that concern them. In so far as I am able, I will be like them, go where they go and do what they do. I will believe success is inevitable and I will persist until I do succeed. Yes, I know that there are 11, but there were 11 in the list with that heading. Some positive attitudes all the same. What To Do When You Don't Get Your Cheque On Time.In the last few months, I have taken action to collect some outstanding debts from clients for whom I had completed work. There was no dispute about the work or the standard of work, the clients just didn't pay. My business terms are pretty simple, and pretty standard. Payment within 30 Days. Which means that if you are a client, your cheque is due in my hands within 30 days from the date on the invoice I sent you. (Which I religiously mail or hand-deliver within 48 hours of completion of a job.) I figure the client is late on day 31. And I call the client and tell about it right away. I don't yell, rant or rave, or threaten or complain. I simply let them know that my money is due - per our agreement -and ask for a firm commitment on when I can expect that money. Whatever is told me, I write it down on the invoice. If it's late again, we call immediately. Now if this is a job between friends, I generally make a "friendly" call. Let my buddy know that
If the client has a cash crunch and tells us so, I generally back off a little bit; I've been there and I know how frustrating it can be. But I keep in regular contact until I get my money. If I'm not paid in 90 days, or I get jerked around - you know, promised money on specific dates that never arrives, told continually that my client or the accountant is out to lunch, that sort of thing - I head directly to Disputes Tribunal/Small Claims Tribunal. What a godsend to the small business! You can take legal action for unpaid debts up to around $7500, without a lawyer. It costs $30 if your claim is under $1,000; $50 if your claim is $1,000 but under $5,000; $100 if your claim is $5,000 or more to file An appointment for court is made and you show up with your paperwork and tapes and your argument. If your client is found liable, they have to pay you. And that's pretty much it. The Disputes Tribunal is located in the nearest District Court and you get provided all the pertinent details and paperwork. Beware of agreement to pay outstanding debts by instalments. I've tried this and it didn't work. Good idea but! --it takes discipline to pay bills on time. I finished up than arranging a payment schedule with a cash-poor client, listening to apologies and effusive thanks and hearing that the schedule will not only be met but the balance due will be in my hands well ahead of the schedule --and then having to call and bug the client every time the money was due to remind them to keep their word. Oops! That cheque bounced higher than a Superball!I receive cheques in the mail regularly. I NEVER let them sit on the desk. I make an immediate deposit in the bank. I like to keep that money flowing in the system, you understand. Once in a great while, a cheque will bounce. If that happens - and it really is sort of a rare event, - I call the person or company immediately and let them know what happened. "Mr. Jones, this is ???? and we've got a little problem, here; you paid for your order with a cheque, and it was returned to you this morning marked insufficient funds." At that point, pause to let them make whatever excuse or apology they'd like to make. In most cases, they apologise, offer some explanation, and tell us what they will do to rectify the problem --either ask us to redeposit the cheque, or wait until they send us a cheque from another account, for instance. If they merely apologise and don't offer any solution, then I leap back in, reminding them of their problem and offering a couple of acceptable alternatives: "How would you like to take care of this, Mr. Jones? You can either send me a new cheque, or send me a money order for this amount. Or we can try to redeposit this cheque if there are funds in the account. What works best for you?" In this fashion, the ball is in THEIR court, not mine. They are the ones who decide to figure out the problem, which is only fair; I didn't make the mess, did I? Then I shouldn't have to go through all the aggravation of cleaning it up. Collections aren't fun, even under the best of circumstances. But neither is telling the family that they can't eat next week because someone hasn't paid me. So stick to your guns and get what's due you. Be friendly but be forceful! Get what is yours and remember for the future. |
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