Show me the money

A client refuses to pay a deposit before I do work for her and asks me wait for my cash for moths after I've done the job. What should I do?

SHRINK RAP

PEOPLE treat you the way you allow them to treat you . Your client is showing she does not respect or value you as a supplier.

Your relationship with money mirrors your relationship with yourself.

A customer is only able to devalue and take advantage of you if you place no premium on yourself and what you offer.

Every time you allow this pattern to repeat, you feel weaker, more inadequate and humiliated.

Locked in the vicious circle, you keep allowing yourself to be exploited and victimised by this client. Like in all abusive relationships, over time you feel you have little to offer, so you need to be grateful to have this client because you do not have the power to get better ones.

You must start taking yourself seriously and stand up for your right to be paid on time. Realise how much your client is costing you and be prepared to lose her patronage. Simply and clearly set the rules and stick to them. - Leonard Carr

SUPER NANNY

All working agreements should have terms and conditions drawn up in a contract which both parties commit to at the outset. There is nothing to prevent you from saying to this client, or all your clients, from a particular date: "These are my terms and conditions of service."

This is where you get to assert your requirements and state clearly, that if they are not adhered to, services will be terminated.

The real question is - do you need this client in your life?

Peter Block, author of leadership books, says: ''Your 'yes' means nothing if you cannot say 'no'."

Once a client understands he or she cannot push you around, you will gain greater respect.

Recontract with this client or say goodbye. - Stephanie Dawson-Cosser