Seriously. Because you never know what will happen. The last time I planned on working in the northeast, I should've pulled about 10k, based on appointments booked. But then all the chaos and paranoia set in with the recent events up there. And I had cancelled my trip. Never count your chickens before they've hatched. That saying is true. You can request a deposit before appointments, but between getting guys to actually pay them, and then in the event you have to cancel, they have to cancel, snowstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, armeggedeon, aliens, and everything else, returning deposits, all those annoying details,  well... you may want to hold off until you're more comfortable in this business and are more business savvy.

This is the nature of our business... nothing is guaranteed. And you have to manage your business that way. Be smart. And in the future, learn typical weather patterns for your area, and when weather such as this typically starts to occur. Adjust your business plan accordingly. Being in such a major city, you should watch everything that effect your business, from seasonal weather, trade shows in town, large sports events, tourists, etc, etc. Pay attention to these things. It'll make a big difference.

Hi, I'm a fairly new provider and I've lost several appointments and thousands of dollars this week due to the pending snow storm in Boston. I'm upset about this, I know it's a legitimate excuse for clients, but anyone have any advice? All my appointments were for the latter half of this week, and thanks to things out of anyone's control but God's...I'm suffering. I've considered requiring a deposit of half to secure an appointment so I don't get let down as I have been numerous times this week....Thoughts?

I too have lost tons of appointments  this week due to the bad weather. The gentlemen booking the appointments have no control over mother nature or the airlines. Asking for a deposit is up to you and my best advice is to NOT depend so much on appointments because shit happens when you least expect it to. Be safe sunshine!

Particularly in this industry, gents IMHO would be stupid to trust a provider he does not know with his money. I have seen many scenarios as well where men have loaned providers money, or given deposits to providers they are well acquainted with & gotten burned. You may cost yourself a lot more in the long run. Strong money management skills are the best answer as I see it. Treat that $ like it's the last one you'll see to make sure you always have something to fall back on. This industry more often than not can be feast or famine.

In the long run, I don't think requiring a deposit is a good strategy for most: you'll cut off a huge number of potential clients.

More immediately, there is a BLIZZARD heading our way with 12-20 inches of snow to drop on Boston! Accidents might shut down major thoroughfares. Planes, subways and buses will surely be canceled and delayed. Guys even wanting to show up might be hours late. Where will they park? Guys planning to leave work and arrive in 1 sunny hour will find that they can't exactly leave work 4 hours early for "that" kind of emergency. The city might even ban cars from the roads. Would you penalize someone who couldn't make it to see you because of a traffic ban?

You might want to consider canceling your appointments and your hotel reservation. Even the hotel, if it's a decent one, will understand why you want or need to cancel (well, not ALL the details) and not penalize you. Maybe people here can suggest some good explanations. If they have too many canceled bookings and empty rooms, maybe you can negotiate a lower rate due to your ruined "vacation" instead of heading over to stay with friends or relatives.

Are you local to Boston or on tour? If local, cancel and stay home! If on tour, I guess you are stuck unless you can hop a plane or train to someplace warmer or less snowy. But by the time this is posted, the snow will be coming down and you'll be stuck.

I don't know the risks, but maybe you'll meet some stranded gents in the hotel bar or pool?

Sorry about the financial downside but this will affect other businesses, too: shopping, dining, entertainment ... The only guys making money will be driving the snow plows. If you can get them to visit you on their breaks ...

(BTW, do you have profile? I can't find it.)

Move to FLORIDA baby!!! It's always nice here.

I personally would never put up a deposit; you will cut a lot of potential clients out of the mix with that strategy.

NYC, NJ, Philly, etc is that they are all AMTRAK accessible. If you see a big storm coming, fire up your laptop and book a room in DC, MD or VA, hop the train and re-post your ad.

The storm that hit NYC barely touched our area, and this one won't do much either. AMTRAK keeps running long past the airlines.

preventing most car travel, cities with many cancelled flights, trains, buses, etc., just stay warm and wait for the travel conditions to improve.

I don't think you meant what you wrote.  I find it very hard to believe you would keep a deposit if the guy couldn't even get to your city because air travel was disrupted or there was a "state of emergency" and auto traffic was prohibited.

This veteran hobbyist does not pay deposits for regular appointments.  Now, if I were asking a provider to "fly to me" or for an overnight or other extended timeframe, then I understand a deposit would be required.

I wasn't hobbying in 2001, but I doubt providers kept deposits when air travel was grounded for over a week because of 9-11.