[Dana Paul jones]

I’ve been a digital editor/shooter for the past eight years and have recently experienced my worst nightmare. After 160+ hours of work, I never received a dime.

I had a contract. I had proof of past performance from this company on DVD. Heck, I even shot an interview with a former baseball player who hit 50 homers in a year on my first day. The show actually aired on local cable. I bought into the whole thing.

The head man was “a great guy”, offered an extremely fair wage, greeted you with hugs and hand shakes.

And was a total con-man. In fact, people are still working for him two months later who have yet to receive pay.

Looking back, I missed plenty of signs, starting with the late payment. Not having an office was another big one (he says he worked from home, which I do too so I bought it). 31 hour days were the next (yep, a 31 hour day, non-stop, no breaks, no sleep, no apology, no nothin). It was almost like he was squeezing as many hours out of you before you wised up to his plan. He gave motivational speeches that I (and everyone else) bought into. Note to self: when it’s always about the good of the comapny, and said company has yet to provide for you, leave said company immediately.

The last I heard, he’s still operating and I’m talking to lawyers. Unfortunately, lawyers believe he probably has no cash (and they’re probably right). It appears that all I’ll get for my 160 hours is a lesson in hard knocks (but I’ll keep on trying to get what he owes!).

Back to working with proven clientele. Nothing more valuable than a good client.

DJ