Around 65% of small business owners in skilled trade industries experience anxiety or burnout because of financial stress, according to a recent survey of 750 small and medium U.S. businesses from the online business banking company Relay.
The Cash Flow Compass report found 91% of small business owners say they experience significant cash flow issues.
Small businesses in the skilled trades sector experience delayed client payments 50% more frequently than other industries, according to the report.
Jon Yvon, owner of Austin, Texas-based Magical Builds Design & Build told WFB late payments from clients have caused him “a lot of anxiety.”
When a client takes days or weeks to pay for a job, Yvon said he’s had to float payments between jobs.
“It creates this worry of ‘Oh no, am I going to get paid? Is this client just not gonna pay us?’” Yvon said.
Yvon has found implementing a “profit-first” method has helped ensure clients make payments while reducing his anxiety.
For Yvon, this method involves collecting payments from clients before individual steps in the project, instead of in a lump sum when the project is finished.
