Last night I received a piece of official looking mail. At first, I suspected it might be a solicitation disguised as government mail.

Turns out I was wrong.

It was a bankruptcy notice.

After carefully scrutinizing three pages of paperwork, I finally located the name of the business in question: it is (was) one of my clients.

I received the bankruptcy notice because I still have two invoices outstanding with this client and can file a claim if I choose.

Obviously, the news came as a shock since I finished my last project for them about 5 or 6 weeks ago.

And they had already paid me for four previous projects I had done for them this year. So I had no reason to worry about getting paid — or so I thought.

In this economy, anything is possible… including your client going bankrupt.

Now, more than ever before, it is important to get paid up front. Even with clients who have been reliable in the past, it may still be a good rule to follow.

-Ryan M. Healy

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