We’ve always been taught when writing letters to people, that they should be short and to the point. One page maximum – thank you very much – and woe betide you if you go over this. 

When you run a business, there will always be some customers that can’t afford what you want to charge them. When that situation arises, you have a number of choices available to you – you could: 

1. Take on the customer, but at a reduced rate

A common problem for small business owners is the pressure to be all things to all people. People are very scared of letting a client go – just in case they miss out on money coming in through the door. And this is particularly the case when the business is still in its infancy. 

For a long time I always resisted having a hobby on the grounds of I didn’t really know what to do and couldn’t find one that interested me enough. And then someone mentioned cross-stitch to me. 

I’ve met two business owners this last week who have told me that their clients owe them money but for some reason or another, they haven’t chased it up. This made me think what a common problem this was among small business owners.