We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee Bowden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

One of the most unexpected problems I’ve ever faced happened early in my career, and it became the moment that shaped everything I do today.
Years ago, I worked part-time as a collections specialist for a small IT company just outside of Boston. On the surface, everything looked fine — the company was making sales, delivering great work, and serving its clients well. But one day, I discovered something that stopped me cold:

They had 8 million dollars in sales on the books… but none of it in the bank.
No one had been tracking invoices.
No one had followed up.

No one wanted to deal with the reality that the business was running without real cash flow.
I remember sitting at my desk feeling the full weight of it. This wasn’t just about numbers — this was about people’s jobs, the owner’s livelihood, and the survival of a company that had already delivered the work but hadn’t been paid. If the money didn’t come in quickly, the business was in serious trouble.
It was overwhelming and completely unexpected. But I knew something had to be done.

So I prayed. I rolled up my sleeves.I got to work.
I was part of a collections team, but this situation required me to take ownership of my portion of the problem and figure out exactly what was going on with the accounts I was responsible for.
One of the first things I did was call every company that owed money and connect with the person in Accounts Payable who handled our account. I needed to hear directly from the source what had happened, what was missing, and what it would take to get the invoice paid.

That’s when I began asking the question that would define my approach:
“What had happened was…”
Because every unpaid invoice has a story behind it.
From there, I built genuine relationships with Accounts Payable leading with professionalism, customer service, and respect. I tracked everything, because you can’t collect what you can’t see. Through consistent follow-up, problem-solving, and a lot of persistence, something remarkable happened:

I recovered $6 million in unpaid invoices in 60 days while working part-time.

That experience changed the trajectory of my career. It showed me that Problem-Solving, Customer Service, Expressing Gratitude, and Relationship Building are essential tools for recovering revenue.

Those became the 4 Keys to Collect the Cash, the foundation of the framework I teach today.

That unexpected challenge became the turning point that shaped my mission and the work I do now.

Collect the Cash! The Sale is not complete until the Money is in the Bank.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dee Bowden, and I’m the Author and Creator of Collect the Cash. I’m known for teaching business owners and consultants that the sale is not complete until the money is in the bank. I’ve spent over 20 years working in Accounts Receivable, Contract Administration, and Revenue Recovery across both government and private sectors. My journey into this industry wasn’t planned — it found me.

I got into this work the day I discovered that the small IT company I worked for had 8 million dollars in sales on the books but none of it in the bank. I was part of the collections team, and that moment changed everything for me. I saw how quickly a business could get into trouble simply because they weren’t collecting the cash it had already earned. Using my approach, I recovered $6 million in 60 days, and that experience became the foundation for the book and business I created.

What I Do

As the Author and Creator of Collect the Cash, I provide Revenue Recovery Services, and workshops for companies and organizations that want to improve cash flow and reduce overdue receivables

I teach teams how to close the gap between the sale and the payment by using clear tracking systems, consistent follow-up, and respectful communication.

My work centers around the Collect the Cash Framework, built on four principles:

Problem Solving

Customer Service

Express Gratitude

Relationship Building

These 4 Keys reflect the softer side of AR — the human side — because behind every unpaid invoice is a story.

The Problems I Solve

Most companies struggle not because they don’t have enough sales, but because: invoices aren’t tracked properly, follow-up is inconsistent,

communication with clients isn’t clear,

or no one knows the real status of what’s owed.

I teach teams how to fix these gaps and get paid faster. I specialize in working with companies that have $500,000 to $5 million stuck in outstanding invoices and want to reduce their overdue receivables by 25% in 90 days or less.

What Sets Me Apart

What sets me apart is my approach. I don’t treat Accounts Receivable as just numbers. I focus on relationships, communication, and customer service — the things most companies overlook but that actually lead to payments.

I’m also set apart by the results I’ve delivered. In addition to recovering $6 million in 60 days, I recovered over $100 million dollars in excess funds for several government agencies, including large-scale reconciliations across multiple federal departments.

What I’m Most Proud Of

I’m most proud of creating a framework that works for those who see its value.
I’m proud that Collect the Cash has helped companies protect their revenue, strengthen their processes, and stay in business.
I’m proud that what started as a challenge turned into a calling.

What I Want Readers and Potential Clients to Know

I want people to know that cash flow is the heartbeat of every business, and when you track your invoices, communicate clearly, and build relationships, you create a smoother path to getting paid.

I also want readers to know that Collect the Cash! is more than a phrase — it’s a mindset, a system, and a commitment to making sure your business gets paid for the work it has already delivered.

Everything I teach is grounded in real experience, real results, and real stories.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I built my audience on social media by sharing my real story — the day I discovered the company I worked for had $8 million in sales on the books but none of it in the bank, and how I recovered $6 million in 60 days. That moment became the foundation of my message, and I showed up online to talk about what most people avoid: unpaid invoices, broken follow-up systems, and the truth behind cash flow problems.

I didn’t try to be perfect. I just shared what I knew — the 4 Keys to Collect the Cash, the softer side of AR, the importance of tracking every invoice, and the “What Had Happened Was” stories behind overdue receivables. I stayed consistent, posted in my own voice, and talked to my audience the same way I do when I speak onstage or teach a workshop. Over time, business owners and consultants connected with the honesty, the lessons, and the reminder that the sale is not complete until the money is in the bank.

My Advice for People Just Starting Out

Tell your real story.
The $6 million story is what opened doors for me — your story will do the same. Don’t water it down.

Be yourself every time you post.
My audience connects with me because my voice online matches who I am offline — smooth jazz, clappers that celebrate getting a past-due invoice paid, real conversations, and a passion for fixing the cash flow puzzle.

Teach what you know.
Every post doesn’t need to be long. Just give one lesson someone can act on today.

Stay consistent even when it feels quiet.
Your audience grows in the moments when you think no one is listening.

Build relationships, not just followers.
Respond to comments. Start conversations. Treat people like people — that’s how your brand becomes a community.

Bottom line…

I built my audience the same way I teach people to Collect the Cash — with consistency, clarity, problem solving, and relationships. Show up with your story, share your expertise, stay true to your voice, and your audience will find you.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A story that illustrates my resilience is the journey of writing my book, Collect the Cash. People see the finished product today, but they don’t know what it took behind the scenes. I was working full-time, speaking on podcasts, building my brand, and on top of that,

I committed to turning years of lessons and real stories into a book. Writing it wasn’t glamorous. It was discipline. It was showing up when I was tired. It was carving out time, either early in the morning or late at night, because the message mattered.

There were moments when I wondered if I could actually do it not because I didn’t know the material, but because writing a book while managing everything else on my plate required a different level of commitment. But I kept going, page by page, chapter by chapter, reminding myself that business owners needed to understand that the sale is not complete until the money is in the bank.

Finishing that book required patience, sacrifice, and determination. And when it was finally done, it became more than a book it became my calling card, my introduction to stages, and the foundation for teaching the 4 Keys to Collect the Cash. It proved that resilience isn’t always about big, dramatic moments; sometimes it’s simply choosing to finish what you started, even when the process stretches you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://collectthecash.biz/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deecollectscash
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deebowden/