Keep Copies Of Everything!

I finalized my manufacturing agreement last week along with sending in my first official order. I wrote everything up on the official order forms and promptly made copies of all of it before mailing it to my manufacturer.

I learned a very long time ago that record keeping is the single most important function of any relationship, business especially, but friendship, marriage, family, you name it. Keep the paperwork!

I've had a disability check not come for weeks (43 days) only to learn that the copy I made of my doctors report was easily faxed and a check issued within 24 hours. The representative told me that people never have copies of their medical paperwork and usually have to go back to their doctor to have it reissued.

Another good example is keeping and printing an e-mail from my former employer advising me that there is no longer modified duty available for me to do so they have to put me on temporary disability (hence the earlier paragraph). The insurance company hired to settle the the workers compensation claim advised me, in writing, that I was not eligible for a settlement because I quit my job while there was still modified duty available. Ha! I had them caught in a lie, in an effort to bully or harass me. I sent a rebuttal with a copy of the earlier e-mail and they ended up settling for more than was originally discussed.

These examples have nothing to do with my glove business, but they are the most recent incidence of how my keeping records served me. Keep copies of e-mails, letters, agreements, and anything that ties you to them, or them to the other guy. In this day and age of hi-tech communication, a piece of paper could still be worth it's weight in gold. Have you seen the going price for gold lately? My point exactly!