Guess what I said to that? LOL

Gabriella, that's been my experience, too. Many startups – not all – have no concept or budget allowances for or ideas on how to work with contractors. They spend on all the stupid stuff – the best of everything. But when it comes to design and writing, "Gee, we're out of money, so you'll have to amend your price."

I've learned to say "I can't do that, so you can just get in touch when you are able to attain adequate funding for the project."

Sometimes they do show signs, Ashley. Sometimes those flags are waving like Old Glory in a hurricane, but we choose not to notice. Yet there are those ones who are tough to spot. This one was tough. He came recommended by another writer.

Yay, Paula! Glad the interviews and repair people coordinated. How often does THAT happen?!

I'm happy to say that for the first time in six months, I'm not waiting for any past-due invoices to be paid.

BTW, Lori – the interviews/work/house repairs worked out well. Miraculously. The repairman left about 45 minutes before my big interview, and that interview wrapped five minutes before some long-time friends stopped by unexpectedly.

I'm glad you have another place to send your project, and I hope this mess is resolved without too much more trouble on your part.

Trust your gut on the red flags. You know what you're doing.

You're right. In the beginning, I was painfully nice. Now, I'm willing to cut ties when I sense trouble. Twice I've had to do it.

Once, the guy became three months behind on payments, and he finally said he "wanted to get me something." Nope. Sorry. Eventually, he paid. The lesson: Don't work for startups. They're almost always underfunded, and they somehow think you've got to share in the sacrifice of starting. Again, nope. I have enough risk as a small-business owner.

The second time, the editor kept changing the topic based on the publisher's whims. For the third time, nope. The lesson: You can't win when the client doesn't know what he wants.

I think both situations tie into your comment: "I was trying to preserve a relationship that had no trust and no future." Absolutely. When you sense your client is willing to jerk you around, why continue? It's a no-win.

It was supposed to be an ongoing monthly assignment. After the 1st one, I advised I would not be continuing. What I thought was an "okay" reimbursement turned out to be pittance due to the amount of research required. The topics were highly technical and I was assigned 3 articles on Friday for delivery on Monday.

Anyway, my invoice was sent and I waited, and waited. Then came the official company email that they valued us, blah, blah, blah, but two major clients defaulted on their agreement and another terminated. Their cash flow took a major hit. They were working on major deals and hoped to pay us soon. Isn't that sweet?

We got a similar email the next month and then the emails stopped.

What they owed me wasn't huge. After six months, I was finally paid. They got bought by someone and *drum roll* contacted me with a new assignment. Uh, no…