This client cost me $150K right before Christmas. Here’s the business lesson. Restaurant client needed cleaning, painting, minor construction. Did the site visit, started working. First invoice - payment missed. “The investors are sending the money.” Second invoice - payment missed again. Same excuse. But I kept working because other contractors were there, I thought it was legitimate. Then one day - restaurant closed. Food suppliers outside. All unpaid. I lost $150K. Client red flags I missed:

To the client, Palladium was the perfect alternative. To the caster, it was a technical nightmare. On paper, it solved everything. Naturally white, hypoallergenic, and lighter than Platinum. It fixed every headache that white gold created. But behind the bench, it was a different story. Palladium acts like a sponge for gas when molten. It creates porosity that makes casting unpredictable and expensive to finish. Then came the auto industry. Because it is an incredible catalyst for scrubbing exha