Independent / Small Business Owners

Quote of the Month:
“Money is of no value; it cannot spend itself. All depends on the skill of the spender.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist (1803–1882)

Jerred Roth is a collections attorney and has been with
Fowler Measle & Bell about four years. The firm handles between 2,500 and 3,500 collections accounts at any given time from a litigation perspective. Jerred’s parents have a small business in West Virginia, so he understands small business owners.

Quote of the Month:
“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
—Albert Einstein, German physicist (1879-1955)

David Knights is an attorney practicing collection law and commercial litigation at Fowler, Measle & Bell, where he heads the creditors rights practice area.

“If you’re in business, you will have unpaid debts,” he said. “For whatever reason, a customer won’t pay. It’ll happen no matter what.” But there are ways to lessen the number of bad debts and make it easier to collect from clients.

Quote for the month:
“In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.”
— Paul Harvey, broadcaster (1918-)

[Kathie’s note: Before I tell you what all attorney Brad said, here’s a caveat for reading this information. We all need to keep in mind that clients are people. Computers have no emotions whatsoever—I mean, you can scream and holler and smack ‘em upside the head, but the printer won’t print if it’s not plugged in, right?—but people are another matter. A little grace and finesse can go a long way. Brad spoke with grace and finesse at the luncheon, but I’m not sure how the words will actually look on your monitor, since inflection keys have yet to be invented.]