Nor should you…
No, it’s not another post about low-paying clients. If you don’t know enough by now to avoid those jobs, I can’t help you. This is a post about how to know when to cut bait with a client whose rates are fine, but where something just doesn’t sit well.
We’ve had them, haven’t we? These are clients who start out with such promise, but where things quickly dissolve into rather unpromising situations. I’ve come across a few whose work I would avoid like smallpox. They include:
The Control Freak: Everyone wants to be in control of something. But when that something is your project’s work process, it’s a no-win situation. Never allow the client to call the shots. While he may have editorial approval of what you have written or edited, he cannot own the way in which you work. That’s a sure recipe for disaster.
The Posse: This one has happened to me a few times. You’re working with the client, when suddenly you’re receiving feedback from everyone that client shows it to. Now instead of writing for one, you’re expected to please the posse. Don’t do it. Your job will turn from a creative one to a clerk-typist one. You lose complete control over the product because your client now wants to please her friends. Or worse, she could now think her friends know more than you do.
Start-up Companies: Please. Spare me the raised eyebrows. I’ve seen my own work go unpaid thanks to about three of these “fantastic, ground-floor opportunities”. That they were indeed legitimate from the very start made the failures all the more heart-wrenching. That I didn’t get paid has soured me to ever working with another start-up.
Contractless Arrangements: Never. Won’t work for anyone without some written arrangement. Even an email verifying what is expected of me is better than nothing. I once turned down ongoing work because the client flat-out refused to consider a contract. Somehow, I couldn’t see beyond that big red flag waving to trust him…
24/7 Connectivity: Believe it or not, I’ve had clients expect me to be available at all hours all the time. No, that’s called a full-time employee or more specifically, your live-in servant. I’m freelance. Unless you’re wanting to pick up my benefits for me, it’s simply not possible.
So, who won’t you work for?
I’m with you, Lori, especially regarding the 24/7 Connectivity situation.
I left the Information Technology field so that I woundn’t have to work at 3 AM if I didn’t want to. No way I’m going back to meeting some a$$bag’s demands in the middle of the night.
“The Posse” really hits home for me. I was once asked to write an informational booklet. The client showed my first draft to his entire board of directors and asked me to incorporate *all* the changes they suggested. Would have worked great if many of their ideas hadn’t been mutually contradictory! I managed to do the job but was so embarrassed by the finished product I won’t even list it on my resume.
Great list, Lori!
I’d add the “Hurry-up-and-waiter.” You know, the one who makes you work all night on a draft and then disappears for weeks without a trace?
Oh, that one’s a classic!
I’m not terribly fond of the “noncommunicative” client. You hand over the project and that’s the last you’ll ever hear from them. Ever. No good feedback, no bad feedback. Nothing. They’re not even considered ghosts. Ghosts would at least say “boo” once in a while!