About The Time I Staged a Mini Sit-In To Get My Money
This freelancing life ain’t easy, man. Contractors and non-traditional employees know how that 1099 struggle is real. Net30 and Net45 is the devil but we just gotta deal with it because it’s either we wait orrrrr just don’t do any work and get put out. So we wait.
It sucks too because waiting 2-3 months to get paid for work you do can put you in dire straits. You gotta stockpile all your money and ration it out because it might be another 90 days before you get more. THAT AIN’T FAIR!
Anywho, I say all this to talk about the time when *INSERT COMPANY I WAS DOING REGULAR WORK FOR* got especially terrible about their payment schedule. To get paid, you had to send one person an invoice which then got sent to someone else and then that someone cut a check. AND on top of all that, it was Net45 but honestly, that 45 days was often stretched to 60. At this point, it had been like 3 months since I did work for them and still, no check.
OH THE RAGE! Can I pay my bills on time like the responsible adult I’m faking to be?!?! DAMB!
So I got to the point where I was super frustrated and this truant ass check was leaving me all in dire straits. I wasn’t getting answers on when to expect it either so I decided to just do something about it instead of wait. I put on my Harriet Tubman tshirt (where she’s holding her gun) and rolled up to their office. I needed them to liberate my damb monies so I had to dress for the occasion.
Liberation #alphet.
I got to their office and said a pleasant “hello” to their receptionist.
“Hey. I’m here to get my check.”
“Oh. We weren’t expecting you. We don’t cut checks today.”
“I know.”
*pause* “Let me call accounting.”
“Cool. I’ll wait.” *sits down*
She makes her call and is looking at me sideways. I was looking like I had all the time in the world too. I pulled out my iPad mini and was playing games. I was there with a purpose: to free my monies from their clutches. And it took 45 minutes but someone from accounting came out with my check.
I walked out, vowing to never work with them again. EFF YOU, pay me, bro. Why do I have to show up at your establishment for you to pay a G?
These checks ain’t loyal.
Shoutout to Araminta Ross (aka Harriet Tubman), who continues to be a freedom fighter even after all these years. For those who are wondering, I don’t know where you can get this tshirt. A friend of mine bought it for me years ago and even she can’t remember where she got it from. If I could, I’d own it in 10 different colors.
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19 Comments
People think it’s a game out here. I can be polite and cordial until you hold my funds hostage. Then you meet my crazy alter ego from the low end, Lashonda.
LOL!!!!!! YASS alter ego! Hey Shonda Boo!
I do freelance photography/videography work in thenortheast and it is AMAZING how people will play with your coins ’til you flash ’em a peek of your “less professional” self. Crazy gets results!
Never staged a sit-in Luvvie, but I might have to add that to my repertoire.
LUVVIE!! It isn’t the same shirt but look!!!
http://www.cafepress.com/mf/33312652/harriet-tubman_tshirt?productId=526476476
That’s what I’m talking ’bout Luvvie!!
#aintnojustice #itsjustus
“I know.” Ha! The power of strong resolve and a good T-shirt.
This is why, when I work with a freelancer or a small business, I walk the invoice over to accounting and have the controller sign off on immediate payment. It’s not a huge amount to our company, but it makes a big difference to the person getting paid!
I see your am I gonna have to cut a snitch hoops too! Errrbody know when you pull out the hoops that it is about to go down! Congrats on liberating your duckets! They should have been free a long time ago!
Good for you Luvvie! People messing with my money is one of my pet peeves and is the most direct route to my bad side. If I am not delinquent with my work, then don’t be late with my loot.
You rolled up there all like Djimon Hounson in Amistad “Give us (my money) Free!”
Get yo paper boo-boo!
This might be the most awesome thing that I’ve read in a while.
Side Eye.. My 1099 pays me way earlier. I just talk about Brooklyn a lot.
I have a sweater that says:
“This is my snitching jacket and I know all about you.”
Stay paid, my friends.
I hate it when people get stuck on the “free” in “freelancing”.Makes me want to give ’em a two-piece…with no biscuit!
Why is this so funny to me? I know that struggle 🙂
“Cool. I’ll wait.” *sits down*
That’s how a G handles business.
I stay at my mailbox like a sentry. This struggle makes a sistah contemplate yard sales, fluid donations, pawn shops–anything to keep the boat afloat til the checks come. Thanks for writing this!
But why did I sing the phrase “these checks ain’t loyal”? LOL Luvvie, you give me life errrr-day G. Get them coins #JustGotPaid
I actually am the horrid Accounting/payables person and I feel the pain. I will stand over the manager until the invoice is signed off, then cut the check NOW. I got bills to pay too, so I’m not playing with anybody’s money.
I have ALLLLLLL THE FEELS about this. One time I had to wait 6 months for a ‘known’ african american publication to pay me my MONEY! It was hot when I wrote that piece, it was cold when I receceived my monies! UGH!
Shit, I might have to try this. This one place regularly has be waiting upwards of a month to get my cheque. The freelance life is NOT FUN.