Client Won't Pay?

[chetzuru]

Hey all!

Hope everyone is doing well.

So, I have this situation and it's the first time I've come across this. I need advice!

First, a little background...

In my business, as a copywriter, I have a process that I really like, one that works well for me and clients, too. Basically, a client contacts me with needs for a project. I then set up a phone interview to discuss the finer points of the project. Once I get the details, I submit an estimate to the client. I do not start any project until the client emails me back, stating in writing, "I approve your estimate." Then, I write. Once the project is finished, I send an invoice to the client. They pay me and life is dandy.

But never, since the inception of my business, have I had a client who simply refused to pay me. Until now.

It isn't that this client is not happy with my work (she is). It isn't that she is not planning to use my writing for her business (she has). She is simply hemming and hawing and complaining to me that she - as a new startup - is hurting for cash and unable to pay me. She keeps stalling, telling me sob story after sob story about how she is short of cash for a variety of petty reasons. And only now, three months after I've completed the work, is she starting to whine that my fees are too high. Huh!?!

My personal feeling is that - startup or no - you should not commission the work if you can't pay the tab. As of right now, she is three months late paying me. I have given her until the end of this month to pay me in full (mind you, the bill is not that much...only about $550).

If she doesn't cough up the dough by the end of this month, I feel like I have one of three options and I'd like your advice on which I should pick:

Option #1: I just write it off to a bad client, never do business with her again, and move on (maybe taking a tax write-off for the loss if I can)

Option #2: I have my business attorney draft a letter to her on his lawyerly letterhead, stating we intend to take her to court if she doesn't pay up (and hope it intimidates her into paying). But with this option, I would not actually take her to court.

Option #3: I actually take her to small-claims court and try to get the money (although, this would be a lot of time and effort for just $550, don't you agree?) However, I'm pretty assured to win in that I have all the emails we've ever sent to each other, including the one I sent her with my estimate and the one she sent back agreeing to pay me for the work, as estimated.


I feel a deep sense of right and wrong, especially in business dealings, so her refusal to pay really grates me. On the flip side, my time and reputation are valuable to me and I don't really want to get "into it" with her and risk the inevitable backlash for such a small amount of money. It seems like she is a person with nothing to lose, yes?

Should I just be glad it only cost me $550 to find out she was a flake, and move on? Your thoughts and experiences would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks!
Erin