I agree with Steve, get paid up front. Especially with events. If you want to do 50/50 just say 50% up front to reserve the date and then the other half via a check the day of the event.
If a client does not want to do that, they are leveraging payment against seeing if you do a good job, so they have some control. That is not the kind of client you want. After you "seal the deal" a client needs to be confident they can hand you a full check and then get full results. If they are not, then you may need to button up the sales tighter.
Up front pay eliminates stress, paper work, lets you focus on just the craft of doing the project.
Do invoicing if you want when your business grows and you actually have an accounting department. But with doing things on a per project level just yourself, always get paid up front. There is absolutely no reason you should have to wait for payment. Of course you are in an industry with tons of producers doing it the way its always been done, and stressing out waiting for payments. But don't be afraid to think different. And always sculpt your business into an enterprise that is going to make you as happy and as stress free as possible.
Paying you in full after, during or before the project should make absolutely no difference between a great client and a great producer.
And upfront pay affirms the confidence that you are guaranteed to do a great job, as opposed to planting a seed of doubt with payments and "seeing how it goes".
Frank
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