Dear Ones,
I'm compelled to write this because of course I go through the same thing almost every year around this time, but I'm not the only one. Instead of making it out like I'm the only person chasing someone down to pay an invoice if it's between Thanksgiving and Christmas (totally not true – I'm totally not alone here,) I'm going to alert those of you who may not have realized something… So, here goes:
Every year around the holidays, almost any independent contractor you know – or anyone who gets paid by commission, – will suffer from not getting paid. 😛 This isn't because people are intentionally mean or selfish – in fact, it's the opposite as they often want to buy gifts for their family, and so they sacrifice their personal appointments or put off purchases for themselves. However, when you miss an appointment, put off a sale, or ask to pay a bill super late (like after Christmas,) you're putting a small business or an independent contractor or a person being paid by commission in a bad place. See, we have families and friends to get gifts for, too – and bills, and regular purchases we need to make for our homes and businesses. We DO plan for the season to be "thin" as far as sales. I actually make sure I have regular sales all through the month to help consumers pay less. I know others save a lot through October and early November and buy their gifts early. People stay open later. People pay bills a few months in advance. But…if you find yourself being paid 1/3 to 1/4 of your regular income for an entire month…that can kind of suck no matter how much you plan. 😛
Now, everyone's got families and friends and people that they want to celebrate with during the holiday season, and one thing I think we can all do to HELP people in small businesses, and who are independent contractors, and/or who get paid by commission, is to KEEP APPOINTMENTS, and PAY ON TIME when you do have an appointment or make a purchase. Sure, maybe you need to miss something this month, but let the business know well ahead of time, and that will give them the opportunity to sell that time to someone else, or to take steps so that whatever they couldn't sell to you, they can now sell to someone else. 
AND EVEN OUTSIDE OF THAT….this is a stressful season for many people. PLEASE try to be nice to each other. Try to remember everyone has their own problems, and if you're sad or angry, you taking that out on anyone because it's the holidays may mean you bringing someone in a similar emotional state to your own even farther down, just by you being mean, grumpy, or rude. The holidays are supposed to be about giving, and being kind to those around you. If you feel like a lump of crap, (and hey, I've had a few Crappy Christmases myself, heh,) try to fix that by either removing yourself from others until you can brighten up a bit and not share the crappy mood, OR at least don't take it out on everyone. 😉 We're all in the same boat – it can be a stressful time.
I do try to run a lot of sales during this season because I understand how poor it can make everyone. I do try to keep everyone on an even keel if I can (not always easy when it's 2am or something and I just spent an hour with you and you asked to pay me 2-3 weeks later, haha,) and that doesn't mean I love the holidays, or that I love earning less, haha – it's because I don't want to be the person making someone else have a bad holidays (except maybe a few people, but they're jerks, and I don't work for them.)
I'm not saying this to be preachy. I'm saying this because sometimes I need to read something like this and remember to get the bah humbugs out of my system before I go outside (that shit's contagious!!) and make everyone else mad or angry, and I'm sure a few of you needed this reminder too.
Also, all I want for Christmas is Chris Hemsworth dressed like Thor…and a real live elephant. An African Elephant. One of those giant ones. So I can drive it around the city and have it poop on compact cars. I mean…if you wanted to buy me something special that is. 😉
I'm thinking a love spell should come up next, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading! 🙂
~Cat
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