Economies are cyclical. For every upturn, there’s a downturn. When there is a downturn, unqualified collection agencies tend to spring out of nowhere. In 2011, during the Great Recession hundreds of un-trained collection agencies entered the market. Predictably, complaints about collectors’ abusive practices reached all-time highs. According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2011, the … Read more
Whether you own or lease, real estate is a huge expense for any business. If you are planning on remodeling your space, or building a new facility, the expenses can skyrocket. Quality construction costs money, but that’s no reason to throw away money by failing to plan properly or negotiate with your contractor. Negotiation is … Read more
Working from home, either full-time or part-time has become a popular option for both employees and business owners. More and more companies are becoming 100% remote. Workers like working from home because it saves commuting time and money and can provide a great work-life balance. Employers like the ability to attract top talent (no matter … Read more
With e-commerce and the Internet, some of the barriers between international business no longer seem as difficult, especially when it comes to close neighbors like Canada and the United States. But, if you’re doing business with Canada, it’s important to know that there are different laws covering situations like unpaid invoices, collections and corporate bankruptcy. … Read more
Entrepreneurs report rates of depression and stress that are significantly higher than those of other people. According to the Gallup Wellbeing index, 45% of entrepreneurs report being stressed. Thirty percent of entrepreneurs report being depressed, compared to only 15% of the general population. It’s important that business owners and CEOs be aware of the risks … Read more
It’s hard to imagine anything more awkward than asking about an unpaid debt after someone dies, but just because it’s awkward doesn’t mean you can avoid it. What happens to an individual or company owner’s debt after they die? It depends. If an individual dies owing money, generally, their estate is responsible for paying any … Read more
If you Google “hiring negotiation” you’ll see hundreds of articles about how to negotiate a higher salary when given a job offer. You’ll also get a lot of articles from the employer’s point of view about how to negotiate a lower salary. But what so many of these articles overlook is that the negotiations involved … Read more
The book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz was published in 1997. The book has been translated into over 40 languages and has sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone. Clearly, it hits a nerve for some people. Although the book is meant to help with personal growth and relationships, I’ve … Read more
We’ve all been there. You miss a payment on a credit card or utility bill and find yourself paying not just the amount due, but the amount due, plus a late fee. In B2B relationships charging a late fee and/or, a finance charge, is also common practice. If you aren’t already charging your clients for … Read more
If you’re the owner or CEO of a company, you’re probably familiar with what happens when you have a struggling employee. You sit down with the struggling employee and assess what they’re doing wrong. You ask them to improve and then, six or eight weeks later you assess their improvements. Sometimes things get better, sometimes … Read more
As we’re writing this, the longest ever U.S. Federal Government shutdown just ended, albeit perhaps only temporarily. Whatever your political views, there are clearly economic costs to both businesses and individuals. Some of those costs are far reaching. Even if none of your clients are federal employees or agencies, you may still feel the burn … Read more
Anytime you work for a company or ship a product before getting paid, you are extending credit to that company. That’s why, just like any lender, before you begin working with a new client or company you should review the 5 Cs of Credit. Character For individuals applying for a loan, “character” generally refers to … Read more
For 20 years, the United States – China Exchange Council (USCEC) has hosted delegate exchanges between the U.S. and China for the purposes of education, commerce, and friendship. Because of his experience with multiple industries and his extensive knowledge of both U.S. and international commercial collections, Dean Kaplan was recently asked to speak to a … Read more
Principal Dean Kaplan was recently interviewed by Yahoo Finance – you can view the video above, or read the article below: If a business has debt and doesn’t pay, a debt collection agency will be on the hunt to track the money down. That’s where Dean Kaplan comes in. As CEO of The Kaplan Group, a commercial collections … Read more
The Kaplan Group is very excited to announce that Rebecca Strasser is this year’s $1,000 scholarship winner! Rebecca is beginning her first year as an MBA candidate at Gonzaga University. Rebecca was one of over 100 scholarship applicants many of whom submitted excellent responses to our essay prompts. With such stiff competition, Rebecca should be … Read more
You are probably well informed about your industry. It would be hard to run your business if you weren’t. But what about your clients? Do you know what’s going on in their business world? One of the best ways to solve debt collection problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place. When … Read more
When it comes to companies that owe you money there are two basic types, those who won’t pay and those who can’t pay. With a company that can pay, but won’t, either because they are unhappy with the work or simply want to get away without paying, it’s best to act quickly. If a company … Read more
Social media is how we live today. We find recommendations for restaurants and babysitters, we find jobs and dates, we rant about poor customer service and annoying coworkers, but should we also use social media to try and get paid? Is social media a good tool for collecting on unpaid invoices? Well-meaning friends and … Read more
Sometimes, a company that cannot pay its bills may offer you stock, or equity instead of paying what is owed. If you have a personal relationship with the company, or truly believe that their financial problems are temporary, this can be a tempting option. It may seem that by accepting stock options, equity, or … Read more
As with almost any problem, the best way to stop debt collection problems is before they start. The second-best solution is to identify a problem early. Business owners are often unsure about when to turn a client over to a collection agency. Unfortunately, studies show that after seven months, the chance of collecting on … Read more