The self employed blues.....

If you are in the same position, you probably already know what I'm about to say. Money. Or getting it.

I dont know what terms you place on your invoices, but I state seven days from date on the invoice. If you dont state terms, they have ninety days to pay, by law. These laws are there to help us little guys get paid by the big guys. Do they work? Do they hell.

They do give you the right to apply penalties, and take the non paying company to court, but that costs, and they may not want you for any of that nice future work they are dangling in front of you.

I dont really mind the big companies, who pay on a 30 or 60 day cycle, just because thats the way they do it, I have no problems with small business who usually pay up right away.

No, its the medium sized businesses, usually still run by the founder.

They suck.

Ever have problems managing international projects....

Time differences, language barriers, cultural differences.......

In saying that, most people I deal with have an (almost) perfect grasp of the English language (better than Americans), whether they are German, Finnish, Dutch or Spanish. When I used to goof around and get sent to see the head in French, my counterparts must have been furiously swotting and revising like crazy the English classes they took.

Of course, this all seems to break down when discussing technical matters, its not that my counterparts misunderstand me, or I them, its just that they seem to miss out small but vital facts, like "yes, you can do that with our software, like so...." then omit that its an optional module that you do not have and leave you to get very frustrated thinking that you *must* be doing something wrong when it does not work.

And do not get me started on manuals...... They can speak perfect English, but ask them for a translated manual, and you end up with gibberish.