No money down

This is a tricky one. I don't really ask for any money up front. This includes very expensive jobs. There are many ways to look at it. First, you ask for money when you haven't done any work. Many customers have been taken advantage of because of this.

What I like to do is set up a payment schedule. If it is a three week job then divide the payments up by three. The customer can pay at the end of each week. At least this way, they are getting work completed before paying out any funds.

The bad part is that a contractor can get ripped off too. I personally have have been taken advantage of to the tune of 35,000 dollars over the past 5 years. Boy, do I wish I had taken 50 percent down on all of those jobs.

When I look back at all of the homes that I have worked on I realize that the trust is a two way street. Yes, the customer is trusting you to do good quality work. However, you are trusting the customer to pay you for your work.

There is no worse feeling that spending 10,000 dollars of your money and not get reimbursed. It sucks. Especially when you buy 5,000 dollars of materials to renovates someone's residence and again, you don't get reimbursed. It is a crushing feeling. When you are independent or a very small company, this can cause you to miss a mortgage payment or maybe to be able to pay your employees on time.

With all the losses I have incurred I would say there is no shame in asking for a down payment.