"Your clients can afford better lawyers than you can." -CEDIA class

Embodies all of these: Don't get behind on payments, don't spend their deposits on stuff other than their equipment. Contracts are for lawyers, find an aimiable solution whenever possible. Listen to that little voice that says walk away when interviewing. It's rarely the fault of the previous installer that he fired. If you wouldn't invite him to your picnic, he's probably a bad client. It's not done, if you can't answer anything but yes to said question. Don't take a big job for your ego.