It’s an easy mistake, especially when times are hard to think that any client is better than none. Keeping in focus and on track to the clients you want and need is an art and science that must be developed through many mistakes and exceptions. Thanks for the guidance

I loved this post and I think we have dealt with the same client before! I kid a little bit but who knows. Needless to say I don’t want to have to live 2007 over again. We are making stronger, more detailed contracts, moving content to the front of the process instead of the final step. Another thing we are looking at is not accepting every client that comes our way as easily. Just as you need to show discretion who thinking off working for an employer you need to show that same discretion was a freelancer or small business person. Not every client will be a good fit and many will cost you more money in time and heartache than what you are getting paid.

I’m actually having trouble with #2 right now since have an invoice that has not been paid in three months. While I’ve been in constant contact with the client, it’s difficult for me to say “I’m not doing work for you anymore” because it was incredibly profitable. Really, really profitable in fact. I guess there’s shades of Grey to everything and it’s all about balance.

Thanks for this post, it was exactly what I needed. I kept thinking it was me with a client but they fit four of the signs.
Question is, how do you bow out gracefully from a client?

This article came at a perfect time! I just started my business in August 2007, and today I dropped my first client. It actually went quite well. They where very understanding, witch surprised me since we had gotten of on a rocky start. I was stressing about the work way more then I needed, for the pay I was getting. Things had to be done too quickly and quality was going down hill because of the quick turn around time. Also the client was modifying my code as I was building things, and I did not care for that much. I found being honest and not getting emotional works well when dealing with problems. Also nothing is ever one sided. It was just as much my fault for not saying no and standing up for myself as it was for the client doing things on the list above. At the end of the day it’s a business and you need to do what is right for you even if it is not right for the client. Also make sure you share your concerns with a client right when you have them. It’s not good to sit and slow boil on problem that the client does not even understand. Make sure you give your client a chance to fix the problem before you get mad. Lack of communication can really complicate things. That’s pretty much what I learned from experience.

Fortunately i have not worked with too many of these types of clients, however No. 5 and 6 ring a bell! Personally these are the most frustrating, being committed to a project only to find your client suddenly does not have the time, drops off the face of the planet or simply cannot keep to the agreed deadlines, are definite signs it may be time to cut your losses!

Chris i also give after-care support for 14 days after the project launch. I find clients really appreciate your support, advice and help in ironing out any kinks or details.

Leo,

These are great thoughts! It is very important for a designer / freelancer to feel a connection to the client and work. After 20 years of designing - and days where jumping on a live hand grenade sounded more appealing than doing another dreaded project - I have finally gotten to the point where I now choose (though not always) the projects that are more of a fit for my style and interests. It is difficult to turn away work, especially when you have more bills than projects, however in the long run it is more beneficial to both parties.

As for point #2…I have been blessed with painful experiences in NOT getting paid and that is no longer a problem. I’ve noticed that it’s a common thing among freelancing and my advice is to get at least 50% upfront and the rest before you hand over any files, designs, work, etc. If the amount is less than $2,000 I require it to be paid upfront (it’s harder and cost prohibitive to collect smaller fees in court). This policy has worked great and without objection - and in the rare instances where someone asks for different terms or complains about my terms, I happily will pass on their project.

Thanks again for your reminders!

Very good article. And you know what, I’ve got client (or rather had, after reading this) who fulfills almost all of those points. Cheers!

- Harry

hmm…

Ran across this post, and I have to say… I think it’s great. I rarely like blog articles this much.
Clearly defined client traits that can ‘clearly’ make your business a bit more difficult.
I think most (people,) clients, don’t really intend or try to be difficult, (although some ‘clearly’ do,)
but they just end up falling into these 10 brackets not realizing it half the time. It’s a hard call.
As much as I hate to admit it, some of this I realize can be avoided upfront by laying down the proper contract, rules or agreement. However, sometimes it’s just not worth it.
As you stated, it’s a whole lot easier to deal with positive clients.

Which I think there may be one more although it’s a cross between number one and number 10.
Like Saturday Night Live, #11. The Constant Whiners.
These people no matter what happens, no matter what you say or do, there is always something to whine about. This may have nothing to do with the actual job, but just overall in general. ‘The dog died,’ ‘Grandma’s getting ill,’ ‘I got in a car accident - again.’ Which, in turn leads to excuses why they couldn’t get back to you, why they are disorganized, or why they couldn’t even go over the copy you sent them that they needed desperately overnight.
And possibly, #12. The Drama Queen. - The one which we have all experienced, where is sort of like #11 but really it relates more to like, o.k.ing 10 lines of copy is like, SUCH a big frigin deal. It’s like the end of the world. Next thing you know a 3 hour discussion about target marketing and I need to cancel our appointment because the Xerox guy is coming[?] or my hair is a mess or my boyfriend doesn’t like it. what is that?
And possibly. #13. The Mentally Disabled. Where if there was anything, anything whatsoever, that required a little common sense or functionality on the computer - forget it.
Like, email me a copy and send a copy to someone else also. forget it.
Go up to the top of your screen and click the log in button. forget that.
Or My computer doesn’t show the browser and its got the copy on it.
Or Did you send me that email because I didn’t get anything.

I think the follow up now should be:
“5-6 Great ways to Get rid of Bad Clients…”
or… “How to Successfully ween off your Difficult Customers”

Oh, I think we have all definitely been there.

@ Corby: It might be really profitable, but what happens if they don’t pay. You could be digging yourself into a deeper hole.

All of those points describe my last regular 9-to-5 job.

Great post and I can certainly relate to number 6, Not enough communication. Maybe I’m doing something wrong in the way I lay out to my clients what I need as far as content, but it’s a constant struggle for me to get the relevant description of their products or services in order for me to insert that into their sites.

Any links to advice on this are greatly appreciated!

One Eyed View

Be there and are still for the reasons you suggested and also because in my government job the bad client I dont get a say about because they are placed there

I hate clients that take 1 month to pay and I found the best way to stop people paying you and then saying “oh can you do this, that and this again?” I say “sure that will cost __”. You need to say it otherwise you will be doing free work.

Add to this list - clients who ask you to do things that are not part of your job, e.g. as a programmer to do spell checking copy texts or doing the graphics design of missing buttons etc.

I’ve been lucky enough to not have too many of these, but I can attest that when you do you must turn off that voice that says “well what about the money?” Don’t worry you’ll make up the money and then some!

Wow… I actually had a client that was all 10 of these things once. Notice I did say “had”. Thankfully that is a rare thing for us and most of our clients are actually the opposite of all these things.

Amen. And, thank you. Excellent list and excellent comments.

And, yes, I fired my first client — not long ago. Not that there were clients before this one that I should have fired.

To find humor sometimes in all the aggravation, oh, no, wait, not aggravation — valuable life lessons! (and after this year, if I’m not a lot smarter as a result, I’m in trouble!) — I equate client relationships to dating relationships because from perfect client “professional soul mates” to toxic, abusive slow payers to high-maintenance divas, I’ve found a lot of parallels to relationships and dating in all the signs, safeguards, guidelines, and common sense required. And, in the case of a client relationship — it’s not about love, it’s about money!

My goal is not have to worry about a list of signs to know when to “break up” with a client because I’ve figured out the warning signs for what clients to work with or not work with ahead of time. And, trust me, if a client starts a sentence with: “You are the second (or fourth or fifth… and believe me, chances are good they are low-balling the count) consultant I’ve worked with this year….” Run away! Run away!

The other thing I’ve learned is that I tend to let my guard down on referrals. My biggest divas and collection concerns have been the referrals. But I actually think I should be more diligent on referrals and really be aware of red flags (and a red flag can be as simple as one “uh-oh” comment) — the referrals were from people I trusted and knew in “high places” but that recommendation isn’t in anyway a pre-screening process, the referrer just knows what you do and that someone else they know is looking for help and they want to help create a win/win situation for the people they know and like — that’s it!

And, research ahead of time doesn’t hurt. But learn from me, before I met with one client I googled the guy I was interviewing with and I googled the business and industry (reviewed their website, trends, etc). I thought I’d covered the bases. My mistake was that I didn’t google deep enough — when I started having some trouble with the client, I re-googled and found an online interview with the main decision maker about how much he reviled consultants and likes to use them and get rid of them as fast as possible because they just like to get entrenched and want to keep taking your money. (That explained so much.) And, I learned more about some internal dynamics within the business (growing pains and reactions to changes in their industry) that if I’d known that upfront, I wouldn’t have taken the project at all.

And, also, as previously mentioned by another comment, setting the structure and boundaries and rules of the game up front and then enforcing and reinforcing those house rules also helps. Usually, when someone hires a consultant, they are instinctively wanting change and improvement, but that instinct doesn’t mean they won’t go along the way kicking and screaming. A consultant is, on some level, an agent of change. And, clients pay us often to push them to the edge of and beyond the borders of their comfort zones into new territory. And, sometimes clients think they need a consultant and just really aren’t ready yet.

After my experiences this year, I am going to say, I started questioning myself — What was I doing wrong? (I am normally such a successful relationship builder.) Should I be consulting? and I want to say after reading these comments — I am sorry people have to have these experiences, myself included — but I find relief in knowing that these experiences are often the nature of the beast.

Personally and professionally, I do my best to stay true to who I am and to follow the golden rule. Recently, I read a quote from Alan Alda that I keep in mind, he says, “Here’s my golden rule for a tarnished age: Be fair with others and keep after them until they’re fair to you.”

I want to say, that I am ending the year a little bruised and battered, but so much smarter and I have to say much more confident. I have learned not to just take any job that comes down the pike and any experience where you have to face yourself is no fun, but is, in the long run, a valuable one. I’ve cleaned house and I am rebuilding almost. I am smarter, more discerning, certainly bolder, more relaxed, and funnier about things. I am hopeful I’ll recognize the warning signs earlier and faster. I now know I can “break up” with a client and my fuse won’t burn quite as long as it has in the past.

I am ending 2007 with a couple really strong, interesting clients who are a dream to work with — creative environments, great communications, honest give-and-take, respectful of me as a fellow business-owner, who pay on time!!!!! and act like grown-ups…. ahhhhh. Taking a moment….

Thank you all for sharing your observations and experiences!

In this great and true posting I just miss the following topic:

Slow Feedback
I have come across customers from time to time who take ages to respond to the work I hand in. This can be the feedback on a text previous to publishing, a final feedback on the layout of a website or the decision to change the picture for an advertisement. I found that the lower the payment the longer they take - probably an indicator for priority…

Thanks for this interesting article (and comments)
This is the story of my freelance life and finally the only way I’ve found to get rid of that is that I’m trying now to impose a workflow by defining “rules” for almost almost everything vs. time/delays/monney/responsibilities/validations… and so preventing from falling into those ten cases.
So when most of the project is scripted/planed and signed, things are going smoother, it may looks a bit rigid but at least it saves my life as the workflow becomes better designed (it’s a long shot…).
It only works for middle sized to big projects, as it costs me time and explanations but it really helps me to change from the “so nice nerd who’s doing cool stuffs for a sticker” to a small company that can handles bigger projects, as showing rules automatically show that you can handle the project.
I just think that I’ve lost some flexibility and earn some professionalism, and so professionalism give me more respect from clients and at least the ability to say “Nooooo! I won’t do that that way”.

It may sounds obvious, dreamy or whatever and maybe I’ll change my mind next year. But for now, it’s the way I wanna go.
Sorry for my bad english

I see that I am not the only proffessional in the world with this problems. I have recently dropped a client with #1,#3,#4 and #9 points combined, a real nightmare for a freelancer, constant requests and criticism, complaints every day (sometimes personal), and a point which I thought it might be included here that is ‘excesive and unnecessary comunication’, chat or call requests every day without any real information or help about the work status. I dropped him with a phone call (after the last job was finished) basically saying “Our relation it’s over, you need other type of professional and I need other type of client, Goodbye, and good luck!”.

Among all of these points, there is one that really hurts a proffessional, and it is, of course, the number 1 (too critical). Unless you are making your job really bad, sending the client a product far below his spectations, it must be some kind of congratulation by the client, some kind of thankfully conversation, it have not to be a “thanks thanks thanks, great job man!, I will pay you the double”, only a few words or a little sign that he’s thankfull but, at the same time, you must not to be over-confident and continue with that level of intensity and quality. A thanful client make your freelance work easier and increases your job quality.

Great article Leo.

Bye!

How seriously can you take a copywriter’s advice whose article’s title uses a top-five cliché phrase?

Ever wonder why you didn’t know:

1. your new client was a slow-pay or no-pay?

2. your architect or engineer went to Contractor’s Hell University?

3. your inspector whose sister had a grudge against you?

4. your window or cabinet supplier promised delivery in two weeks

and didn’t show for two months?

5. your sub had a gambling problem?

6. your general was a stiff to every sub he ever hired?

Maybe you knew about these people, maybe you were damaged by them, but you took

the lumps, kept your mouth shut, and moved on to the next job, but the unfairness still

ticks you off, and you think about it, and wonder “What if my kid came after me on that job,

what would I do, or want done?”

We in the building trade don’t whine. We do the job and bitch to no one but our wives

or husbands or significant others, and the problem guys don’t go away, they just

keep on doing business the way they’ve always done…..and nobody stops them.

Until now.

thecontractorsside.com is out to strengthen the business of building.

ALL OF IT.

We don’t want to put them out of business, but we do want to arm our people

with information that will prevent problems before they can crop up.

If you are dealing with a liar, no matter how smooth, wouldn’t it be better if

you knew when he was lying, where he was hedging? Of course.

thecontractorsside.com is a person to person website where anyone in the trades

can post a story about what to watch out for. And it’s completely fair. The site will

automatically generate an e mail to the person posted, and that person can come back

and post a reply. (If you want to post anonymously you can, and you don’t have to put in

the e mail of the other person if you don’t want to.)

thecontractorsside.com was launched on April 2, 2007, and we’ve had 70,000 hits

so far, and we’ve had word back from all over the country from people in the trades

who feel great about getting their stories off their chest. We’ve also heard from Europe

and South America, so you see you are not alone.

Log onto thecontractorsside.com and see how you feel about the site. Better yet,

have your significant other take a look.

We hope you see the value and use the site.

Thanks,

Lee W. Dodson

Carpenter, Contractor, Hillside Builder

Owner: thecontractorsside.com

On Sun, 6 Apr 2008, xxx@aol.com wrote:
Sorry cant do over due fee. We sent email, regarding invoices. I was outa town for awhile on business. We still want the City flick and the Body shot flic with the Danny Love. Can You revise the font to Say Danny Love not Luv, And its DLE Records Inc Presents. Thanks for your time. And Sorry for the delay. So if you can send new invoice for $50 payment. That Will be great.

Sun, 6 Apr 2008
Pleas send the new invoice ova so I can get the final Cut of the posters. Could u send one last draft ill send…

Receipt for your Money Request
service@paypal.com
Dear Nicky’s World Productions, This email confirms that you sent a money request for…

Re: Invoice
Sat May 03, 2008
Whats good Nick. So Sorry for the long ass delay. I thought a staff member took care of your account. Im looking now if you still have the designs I would love those. and I have only 2 designs I wanted, the City poster, and the

On Mon May 05, 2008, nickysworld@gmail.com wrote:
did you get the invoive. I had member of my staffs send it t o you. from my Business Accounting Department. i was busy out of town on a exequtive bisiness meeting for my company so i don’t know. So sorry for the incovienient.