We’ve covered firing a client, making a “not to do” list, and coping with client fall out, but what do you do if you just can’t say no? As a new freelancer, I am still loathe to say that I cannot complete a clients request.  My answer right now is “Yes!” – regardless of what they need.  Requests like “Can you do websites?” or “Can you create a 10 page, long copy sales letter about the efficacy of acai on middle aged men in Ohio?” gets the same response from me – “Yes!”

If it’s something I can do, I do it.  If it’s something I can learn, I try and find a way to learn it on my time.  I don’t think it’s fair to learn on the client’s dime.  If it’s something that I can’t do myself, and can’t/won/t/shouldn’t learn how to do it, I will find a provider who can provide the quality I require.

I know this isn’t an ideal business model, but I am confident that there are many readers that find themselves in this situation.

Are you comfortable and secure enough to tell your client no, or have you taken the N-word out of your freelance vocabulary?

Photo by mic_salak.

We’ve all said yes to freelance gigs that, in retrospect, we wish we’d said no to. Bad clients, bad pay, bad projects. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

We’ve also had great projects that make us thank goodness we’re freelancers: jobs that cause us to look upon the poor 9 to 5 lemmings with a mixture of pity and smugness.

But how do we tell the difference between the good projects and the bad projects? When the phone rings with a new gig our first instinct is to say yes, but how do we ensure that we’re making a wise decision? Continue Reading