STATUS REPORT => Ben is cash poor.

I don't have rent money and rent is due TODAY.

I can stall my landlord through Wednesday, so that gives me two days to raise $550 for rent.

I have saved about $6#k in "retirement" savings I promised i wouldn't touch unless I was willing to get a real job.

I have $14k in receivables that of course are not here yet and have been requested.

My Merchant account has a couple grand in it and it was frozen, but is supposed to be unfrozen by now and isn't.

Why do I need $5k if rent is only $550? Great question==> I have to buy a plane ticket to run a speaking/attending circuit. I need pocket money so i don't appear BROKE in front of GURUs and prospective clients. I owe Tony M., aka DeepbyDesign, $715.

ALL MY AFFILIATES ARE PAID IN FULL to the best of my knowledge.

My primary source of income is with a company where I hand sell a $4,995 package. On Friday they changed their commission payout so instead of getting paid, i now wait a month.
(i sold barely shy of $15k on the phone the month of October but I won't see that $ for a while.)

Marshall Thurber undeniably owes me $450. I'm frustrated he washed-out two BIGGER sales from the beginning of summer so I can't expect a commission there. He sees that event as not his fault. That may be, and I don't have the money that was the agreement... it feels like Joel Bauer all over again... i strike a deal, i deliver, i don't get paid. Makes me want to say, "Damn Gurus" and i've been told that saying "Damn Gurus" hurts me. That may also be true and I don't like being pushed around.

I asked a friend if i could borrow $5k from him last Tuesday, as a backstop. He said yes. I called and emailed him on Saturday and I haven't heard from him yet.

Is this me playing a violin? Is this where folks come forward and tell me they told me so? Or, is there substantive advice that might help me, or another copywriter, raise $5k in 7 days or less?

What questions may I answer to substantively move me closer to not getting my electricity turned off again and get me eating something more hearty than cereal, pasta and at friends houses?

* bows with humble gratitude *

The best i know how,

~Ben
p.s. is this any good...
Real World Branding Vol 1

Shakespeare William - Poem


Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
~William Shakespeare
Sonnet 116

Ben,

If you have any email lists of your own, offer them some type of promotional sale or even a full-blown fire sale. If you have previous copywriting clients, offer them a one-time special offer.

If you put your marketing thinking cap on, you'll be surprised how quickly you can make money "appear out of thin air".

In a previous life, I owned a massage therapy center and we accepted workers comp cases for medical massage cases. Long story short, my company was owed $8K on a comp case dragged out for 2 1/2 years. It was EXTREMELY stressful for me.

Finally, I hired an attorney to cut thru the riff-raff and stalling. Within 6 months, I got an out-of-court settlement. The thing is, as soon as the attorney got involved, the other party stopped stalling and playing games.

The most critical thing to watch in business is cashflow. Run out of cash and you're screwed... regardless of your receivables.

Ben, find whatever ways you can to tighten up your receivables. If people owe you $400, ask them to send you $100 now. You'd be surprised how quick those partial payments add up.

If you have receivables that are more than 90 days past due, then I'd suggest talking to an attorney.

Stop worrying about show-off cash for gurus...start focusing on getting your cashflow issues straightened out.

Good luck,

Mike

One additional thought. If you have a rental lease, chances are you have a 5 day grace period to pay the rent before a late fee is applied.

Check your lease and see if you are afforded additional time to cover your rent.

Mike Humphreys, GREAT SUGGESTIONS! First, I got on call with merchant and funds were released in less than an hour. so, that freed up about $2200. I went and paid rent and bought myself a couple used Dr. Seuss books.

Next, Brad Fallon called and asked me how he could help. Nice to see who reads this board.
or somebody emailed him. now that i think about it... i don't know he knew, but he and i are finishing something we started.

Mike Humphreys, I sincerely appreciate your reaching out to me in such concrete ways. Thank you my friend.

I'm working through more of your ideas right now.

with gratitude,

~Ben

Ben,

Glad to be of help.

Good luck,

Mike

I know this is a little late, but I'll put in my $.02.

I would use this AFTER you have tried the stuff Mike already told you about... after you already tap out your assets (list, relationships, etc)...

I would then move to a hungry market that is easily accessible. I would put together a great offer for a service package and put it up on the warrior forum special offer.

I'd use a service package so you can deliver the goods after the sale (you don't need to create the product first).

With your credibility, experience, and sales expertise... I don't think you would have any trouble following this and making a couple grand pretty quick.

Just food for thought.

Hi Ben,

As a Manager in the past, I really think that this is the money that you should chase up. It is unacceptable in most developed countries to change commission payment at such short notice.

3 things that I would advise that you do:

1, check your' contract thoroughly to find out if the company has broken it's agreement by not paying your' commission on time. If it has, quietly bring it to the company's attention. If nothing is done take it further.

2, if you don't have a contract and you have worked with this company for more than 3 months: check when you have been paid in the past and use previous practice as a mutual agreement. ie if you have been paid on the 1st of the month for the last 3 months, and your' company changes that without your' consent you can ligitimately claim a verbal agreement.

3, 1 or 2 should work but if they don't. Explain to your' company how much this delay in payment is likely to affect you, and ask them to consider paying you half of your' commissions now and the other half when they want to pay you. This would help you cover your' overheads over the next six weeks, and would give them the opportunity to keep hold of a cracking salesman.

hope this helps

Chris

Raising $5K, while important, won't ultimately solve your money problems. Like you, I've been caught short so many times, and I know how stressful it is.

Do you have a budget? I know, the dreaded Budget word. But if you don't know how much money you spend each month on groceries, electricity, gas, etc. then you have less power and are left hanging at the end of the month wondering how to pay the rent.

I recently read Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness and for the first time in a very long time I feel less stress about our finances. He clearly explains the baby steps necessary to set yourself up so you aren't left scrambling for the rent money again.

The first baby step is to get current on all your bills and set up a budget. He includes worksheets for self-employed people with irregular incomes.

Then you stash $1000 into an emergency fund. Any time you make a withdrawal you stop and rebuild that fund until it's back to $1000.

Then you work like heck to pay off all your unsecured debt.

Then you start saving 3-6 months expenses. Etc.

A financial adviser can also help you with this process and help you set up a budget.

Becoming a six figure copywriter or internet marketer doesn't mean much if you don't know how to manage your personal finances.

thank you for the P.M. => Andy Catsimanes. Brave.

I reckon the quickest way to make money is to use
your list, a ridiculous offer, a deadline and a paypal link.