Midway through putting together an article on “the paperwork” I found myself running down quite a few interesting situations that have come up over the past year, many of them providing the very reasons my contracts, bids, etc undergo constant updates and refreshing.
As part of the series I think it is important that I share some of the situations that have helped me learn to “do it right”, so here I thought that it would be kind of fun to share a few stories/encounters with you and then open it up to hear some of your own experiences in freelancing.
I am not simply suggesting that you run the other way when you encounter these particular types of situation, rather that you be cautious and not let your vision be clouded by a clients pitch of the windfall to come. Call these red flags or warning signs if you would like.
I’m Looking for a Partner
No you are not, you are looking for someone you is going to work with you at hugely discounted rates and/or for free because you have managed to sell them on the I’m looking for a partner line. Listen, I am all for entrepreneurship, I am all about exploring opportunity, but be wary when you hear this come out of a potential clients mouth.
I am not exactly sure how things work elsewhere but around here when someone is truly looking for a partner in a new business venture there are normally many discussions, a bit of paperwork and certainly a signature or two to follow.
I am not saying to turn and run every time you hear this uttered but I am suggesting that you use common sense. Sit and listen to what they are pitching and if you honestly think that this is something that has potential for you then suggest a meeting and see where that leads. If they are suggesting that you become a partner and you are willing to provide them the work at a discounted or free rate in return for that partnership then treat the arrangement as what it is, a business arrangement and make them do the same. You will eventually find, more often than not, that there is no real opportunity or partnership that presents itself other than the opportunity for you to give someone a discount.
It Will Look Great In Your Portfolio
This is a story I love and yes this really happened. First to lead into this, I understand the need for a few pieces in your portfolio and yes I understand that is especially attractive for a college student to get this opportunity. However I don’t see any reason that a college student should be doing work, outside of a class project, for free. Anyhow on to the story.
I received an email one morning in a similar fashion to many of the emails I receive. I need a quote on a website. I followed my normal procedure, got in touch with the client, started to explore and learn a bit about the client and what exactly the project requires. This particular client was a A small startup lending company specializing in providing funding for small business. (Keep that in mind.) They dropped the we don’t have a lot of money for the project. Let me just say that I don’t ever let this line alone discourage me because more often than not they do have the money and they are in fact willing to pay what your work is worth, you just need to let them know why it is worth what it is.
Moving on. Being a small business myself, it sounded rather interesting. For the most part all of our correspondence was professional, seemed to be legitimate and thus I put together a quote for the client and emailed it off. A few hours passed by and I received an email in reply.
Well actually I was really looking for someone who was willing to do this for free and in return use it in their portfolio.
Wait, what? At any time during our talk did I give you the impression that I did this as a hobby? I believe we even covered the fact that I was technically a small business, see the relation? So by putting together a quote you thought that I meant I was going to spend the time on a detailed project scope document and then scribble $0.00 at the bottom? And wait a second aren’t you a company that specializes in helping small business, is this how that works? Last thing, as a financial company are you really telling me that you can’t even afford to foot the bill for your own website?
Of course I responded professionally, explained that this was my full time job, my business and that I was not in the position to do the work for free so I would have to respectfully decline.
To which I received the single line reply, That’s ok, I’ll just find someone who will.
Smart move or not, out the door with the professionalism because the tone of this reply got me heated. Having taken the time to breath I somewhat politely let this arrogant knob know exactly how I felt about the way he had handled this entire interaction. Sad thing is, he wins, because he will in fact find someone willing to do it for free.
You’re Gonna Be a Huge Star
Ok that might be an exaggeration, but you are definitely going to hear “This could be a big opportunity for you.” more than once during the span of your freelance career, especially if your client contact has any type of sales background whatsoever. At this point the client is trying to sell you on a discounted price for them. Trust me it’s going to get you and you are going to find yourself contemplating slashing a few numbers off that quote.
This is not to say that this is an immediate red flag or that they are going to be a bad client. For most I think it is just “in their blood”. You have to remember that they are trying to run a business as well. In most cases a good client is going to understand that while you see that this may be a potential door to many more clients to follow, you are not in the position to offer a discount based on that presumption.
Again here I would examine the weight behind that pitch, if you feel that offering a discount will most certainly land you this client and there is in fact good reason to think that by working with them you will be opening the doors to many new clients to come then it might be something that you want to consider. This is your choice. My point here is don’t let yourself get wrapped up in think that fame and fortune is about to come pouring throughout the door simply because this person has a few friends in high places.
In closing. Be cautious, don’t let yourself get caught up in the clients pitch to you when bidding a new project. Examine each opportunity and make sound business decisions. Ideally you want to work with clients who are respectful of your pricing, professional opinion and the seriousness of your career as a freelancer. If they start off treating you as a hobbyist, working from home in your PJ’s, then more than likely they will continue to treat you that way throughout the life of the project regardless of whether or not money changes hands.
You are going to stumble a few times throughout the life of your freelance career, you are going to find yourself questioning your decisions and your ability to really make it as a freelancer. Don’t let it discourage you, treat each stumble as a learning experience and do it right the next time. Adapt the way you do business and move on because just when you think you have covered it all, a situation will present itself that causes your to rethink your strategy.
Feel free to share your “caution” story below.
Check out other articles in this series:
Excellent read Jeremy.
All of these incidents are situations that every freelance designer will come across, and it is important that we always handle ourselves professionally. As hard as it is to say no to potential money making opportunities, all freelance designers should know that something better will always come along.
One situation that I am faced with a lot is acquaintances and/or friends of friends coming to me looking to have design work done. Most of the time they have no knowledge of what design work costs and upon receiving a quote from me they automatically back out or say they aren’t ready to proceed with the project because of insufficient funds at the moment. They assume that because we ‘know each other’ that I should automatically do work for them for discounted prices.
If you have faced situations like this, how do you keep these types of client without devaluing yourself?
@Antonea Luckily for me I don’t have many friends so it doesn’t come up that often.
No, really this is such a tough one. One the one hand you would hope that friends and family understand that this is your livelihood, that you have put time and money into this business and learning the skills necessary to do what you do so you can’t just give it away. On the other hand you don’t want to jeopardize an otherwise good relationship with someone over money.
This was a problem that I ran into all of the time when I produced a small t-shirt line. Everyone assumed that since I had boxes stacked to the ceiling with t-shirts that I had more than enough to hand out a few freebies. What they didn’t think about was the fact that those boxes of tees also had a good chunk of debt behind them waiting to be paid off on sale. Sure I floated a shirt to a good friend from time to time, but it was always based on the understanding that to any one else you are a paying (full price) customer.
Honestly I have found that my good friends and family, the people that I would actually be willing to give a discount to are the first ones to offer to pay for the products or services. For instance I have worked with my brother on several sites and he always paypals me some cash in return whether I ask for it or not. (In a lot of ways he saves me from having to deal with these situations, all I have to say is listen, my own brother pays for my work.)
I also don’t think it’s entirely wrong to float a discount to a good friend, but there has to be an understanding there as well. With the discount it also becomes more of a favor, if a full price paying client comes along they are likely to be served first. Also come to the understanding that you appreciate them keeping the discount confidential to avoid that inevitable Hey I’ve got a friend who will hook you up with that real cheap Which obviously opens the door to one awkward situation after another.
I think the hardest part of it all is getting over the fear that there might be hard feelings and just letting them know why it’s not possible. From my experience good friends and family are going to understand where you are coming from and why you can not afford to give them a certain discount or even something for free.