Why did you become a freelance blogger?
That’s not a hypothetical question, I want to see the reason in the comments below.
Why am I asking? Because most freelancers lose sight of why they shunned the 9-5 to chase the freelance dream.
They start out full of promise. They want to live life on their terms, build their own empire, and get paid to do what they love, write.
If we boil that down, I’d say bloggers like you place a higher importance on happiness and personal growth than simple financial gain.
And that’s amazing.
But it rarely lasts. The dreams that drove you to leave your 9-5 soon escape your grasp. And with them go your positivity, happiness, and dreams of personal growth.
You see, most freelancers I speak to end up miserable, overworked messes. They’re terrified of falling from feast into famine and end up stuck.
Stuck doing work they hate for clients they despise. Stuck being overworked, under appreciated, and wishing they had more time to explore how they can improve themselves and their business.
But their fear of losing income prevents them from doing this. And that’s no way to live.
What most freelancers fail to understand is that holding on to clients because they pay is not how to run a successful business. You are the commodity and the value of your business.
When you’re unhappy, that value drops. You owe it to yourself and your business to drop bad clients. Sure, you’ll lose some income in the short term, but you’ll be a happier, more productive you which will help with long term growth.
Why Dropping Clients is Necessary For Growth and Health
We’ve all had nightmare clients.
Maybe they pay late, keep moving the goalposts, or are just absolute shits. Whatever the reason, the effect is always the same.
A huge drain on your productivity.
When an email from a crappy client drops into your inbox what do you do? Do you immediately see what they need and how you can help? Or do you avoid that email, fret over what they need, and procrastinate elsewhere?
When you can no longer avoid their request how quick are you to get started? Do you jump straight on it or procrastinate for hours?
But most of all, how does your pain in the arse client make you feel? Dejected, undervalued, and pretty useless, right?
Feelings that bleed over into other areas of your business. The time you waste procrastinating on this client’s jobs is time you could spend doing paid work elsewhere.
The feeling of uselessness robs you of your confidence and energy which shows in other client’s work.
Bad clients aren’t just a pain, they’re problematic for you and your business’ growth.
I know it’s scary and can seem like a step back, but you’ve got to drop them.
A happy freelancer is a profitable freelancer. And in that order. Happiness before profitability.
Happiness is not the result of success, success is the result of happiness.
When you’re happy you’ll work harder, achieve more, and do better work leading to more perfect clients. Hold on to crap clients and you’ll stall your career progression.
You owe it to yourself and your business to drop the dead weight.
But you’ve got to do it in the right way. Here’s how I drop bad clients like a bad habit without leaving a bad taste in their mouth.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Dropping the Client
Are you breaking up with this client for the right reasons?
This is the question you ask before taking any action. I speak to a lot of freelancers who, for lack of a better term, are thin skinned.
They perceive criticism to be an attack of their “art”. The perception is often bullshit and ill founded. It’s simply a knee jerk response to a client telling you that something you’ve created is not what they’re looking for.
You can argue the point. And if you have more experience than the client in that sector I’d encourage you to professionally disagree and explain why. But remember, it’s ultimately the client’s decision. They know their business better than you and their criticism might have nothing to do with your work, but with their long term business goals.
So before you take actions to drop a client, I want you to answer the below questions:
Is the client being a dick, or are they offering constructive criticism that’ll help you grow?
A huge difference many writers fail to notice. Sure, you’ve put your heart and soul into a piece, but the criticism you receive is often well intended. If it’s about the work then listen to what they say and improve. If it’s personal or just absurd then smile, nod, and move on.
Is the client making ridiculous requests, or do they have a plan you’re not aware of?
Clients are often looking at a far larger content picture. You’re simply one cog of a larger machine. That request to remove all reference to X might be because they have an upcoming article exploring it in more detail. Before you get frustrated ask yourself (or the client) if there’s a reason behind their decisions.
Does the problem occur often, or is this a one off?
Even clients have bad days. They can miss a payment, be short on the phone, or say something they later regret. Give them a break, they’re only human. But if the problem occurs time after time, it’s time to bounce.
Can you do the job well?
The work you do for the client will ultimately go into your portfolio or be attributed to you. If you can’t do a good job you’re going to hate the work and not want to use it later in your portfolio, so it might be better to move on.
Has the client worked with freelancers before?
If not, the problems might just be a case of education. Working with outside help is a new process and they might need educating in how to manage everything. Instead of dropping them prematurely, help them to better help you.
Can you afford a temporary lull in income?
It’ll take a little while to fill the income gap. Ideally you’d have a replacement client lined up before dropping your current source of income, but that’s not always possible in the battle to save your mental health. When you have to get rid of a client ASAP ask yourself if you can afford to lose a few weeks/months of income.
If you ask yourself the above and are still set on dropping them, here’s a few steps I recommend.
Remain Professional
For god’s sake remain professional. Above all else this is the key takeaway from this piece.
Sure, they may have stiffed you on payment or berated you on a personal level. And yeah, telling them to go forth and fornicate would make you feel a hell of a lot better in the short term.
But refrain from personal outbursts. Your emotions will betray you here.
This is a business relationship, and even if the client acts like a child you shouldn’t. Taking the high road gives them little ammunition if they talk to their other editor friends about you.
Finish Existing Obligations
This falls under remaining professional.
If you’ve agreed with the client to complete X pieces, you complete X pieces. Even if you’re halfway through and they’re making your life a living hell, you finish what you agreed.
There’s no faster way to get a bad rep than to renege on your promises. Don’t be a dick, keep your word.
Give a Little Notice
Unless working on a single project, give the client a little notice you’re leaving.
They might be relying on you to provide their weekly blog content, and if you just up and leave after your next payment they’re not gonna appreciate it.
Do the decent thing and let them know you’re leaving so they have time to find a replacement. They might be pissed you’re leaving, but they’ll appreciate the notice as it’ll help them continue their service with no breaks.
Stick to Your Guns
What happens if they offer you more money or an increased workload?
Well, unless a lack of work or payment was the reason for leaving, you shouldn’t stick around. I know it’s tempting to stay on with a client if they’re providing you with a healthy wedge, but if you dread doing their work then that money really isn’t worth it.
Stick to your guns. You made the decision to end the agreement for the right reasons, don’t get drawn back in to a shit situation for a few extra dollars.
Call, Don’t Email
The lack of tone in email means there’s the potential for some pretty damaging misinterpretation.
You’re basically telling someone you don’t like them. Sure, you’ve remained professional, but there might be some part of the client that will take this denial of service personally.
If there’s even a small part of your email which could be misconstrued, there’s a good chance it will be.
Don’t take the chance of pissing the client off at the last hurdle. Give them the respect they deserve and explain everything to them over the phone. You’ll reduce the potential for misunderstanding and it will be far better received.
Refer Some Other Writers to Take Your Place
This could be a win-win for you.
If you know another writer who could fill your shoes then let the client know. Reach out to the writer, explain the situation, and explain why it could be a perfect fit for them.
You’ll not only keep the client happy by ensuring there’s no break in their service, but you’ll also have earned a favour from a friend.
A Quick Script to Follow
I’m not a huge fan of providing scripts. They’re too generic and are often easily spotted for what they are, quick and easy copy – paste jobs.
However, I know this is a pretty sensitive subject so I’ve included the skeleton template I use when telling a client we can no longer be content-chums.
I’ve written out an explanation each section and included a slightly amended version (for anonymity’s sake) of a client I very recently dropped.
Hey [Client Name],
Some small talk
Bring up a recent project’s success, how things are with the business etc. Basic phone stuff rather than just jumping in to “I can’t do this anymore!”
How are things going with the office expansion? (And then a handful of relevant responses to the client’s response).
Tell them why you’re calling
Get into it now. You’re not here for a chat, you’re here to break up. Once the niceties are over do what needs to be done.
I’m calling because I’ve unfortunately got to end our working relationship after we complete this project.
The reasons
You’ll likely be given an “oh, really?” type response then a request for clarification. Don’t lie, but at the same time, remain professional. Give the real reason to save the next freelancer they hire the headache you had to deal with.
It’s mainly due to the delayed payments and communication. We contractually agreed on a two week turnaround for payment and had a strict communication policy for each project. Both of which are heavily delayed.
The lack of communication is causing more work. 4-6 weeks after submitting I’m getting feedback on how to edit, feedback which could have been applied to the work turned in the interim. If I had the feedback when agreed, I wouldn’t need to re-edit everything turned in during those 4-6 weeks. The extensive edits take too much time and have made the agreed fee too little for the time I’m spending on this.
And then each payment is very late. As a small business owner, having to chase your finance team for 3-4 weeks after the payment deadline before negotiating the contractually agreed late payment fees is wreaking havoc with my accounting.
Finish Up
Close this off and ensure you do not bend to any requests from them. Close it down with a definite end and offer them a next step.
After the current project is complete I’ll forward my invoice but will be unable to undertake any more work. To reduce the chance of breaks in service I’d recommend you begin looking for a replacement service provider now. I know a guy who could undertake this work for a similar fee and would be happy to refer him if you’d like.
The above is a slightly amended (and hastily recollected) version of an actual call I made to break up with a client. We’re completing the project and they declined my offer of a referral but, otherwise, all is about as good as it can be when telling someone you don’t like the way they operate.
Breaking Up With Clients is a Necessary Part of Freelance Life
As a freelancer, your happiness and mental well-being is of the utmost importance. You don’t have the benefit of a team of people helping you in every area. To grow a successful business you need to ensure you now only enjoy what you’re doing, but also you’re doing it with people you enjoy speaking to.
If you want to make this freelancing thing a success you have to drop dead weight. You only have so many hours in a day and life’s too short to deal with dick clients who drain you of your productivity and creativity.
Just be sure that you’re ending those crap work relationships for the right reasons and in the right way.
So tell me… Why did YOU start freelancing? And have you broken up with any clients lately?
Hi Peter,
Awesome piece; I’ll start with your first question: I jumped into the freelance world because of the joy, peace and flexibility it ensured. This has been my foremost reason for remaining in the business model in the first place 🙂
That said, I’ll make haste to state that I’m an expert at firing clients. While I’m usually polite and do not generally aim for the emotions, I cut off any toxic client before the toxicity spreads to other spheres of my business.
Usually though, it does not always come to this – since I have made sure that many of the loopholes that eventually lead to such an ugly situation are tackled right at the beginning. For instance, all bills are prepaid – so, the issue of late payment does not even arise in the first place.
Further, I take only on ‘premium’ clients who have deep pockets and appreciate the value I bring to the table. This, I make crystal sure by insisting on my (often steep) rates. In my experience, the ‘big boys’ hardly have time for ‘small talk’ 🙂
However, what I don’t agree with is recommending such awful clients to other freelance writers, especially one’s own friends. I was once referred to a super nasty folk who promised to pay $500 per 1,000 words. While I was impressed at first, I soon found out that he was a jerk who solely lived to make the life of writers super miserable…the $500 was a mere bait!
I fired him even before he had the time to hire me…and I wasn’t very pleased with my friend who facilitated the referral.
Already, I’m writing a blog post 🙂
Be sure to make the day great – and thanks for accepting to share with Sophie’s audience.
Always,
Akaahan Terungwa
Hey Akaahan,
Thanks for the kind words and thorough response.
You make a good point in not recommending crappy clients to other writers. I guess I should have been a little clearer in what I meant.
I’ve found that some clients simply aren’t a good fit. It’s not that they’re bad clients or even terrible people, just that the work they need doing is at odds with your skill set.
If you take the job, it can lead to a toxic relationship as you’ll never be able to deliver what they need. However, if you recommend someone else who fits the bill perfectly, it’s a win-win for all involved.
Of course, I’d also recommend you’re completely honest with the friend you’re referring so they can make their own decision on whether to move forward with the client.
Thanks again Akaahan and keep up the great work!
Pete
Hi Peter. Great article! I found it very helpful with my dilemma. It gave me some much needed clarity.
I became a freelance blogger because I love writing and wanted to be my own boss. A flexible schedule, freedom and ability to choose what I want to write about are the reasons I became a freelance writer.
That being said, I hope you (and other writers in BAFB) can give me some advice. I work with an online publication. While I love the work, they are underpaying me a lot. I was denied my bonus after working with them for a year because they had certain financial difficulties at that time. I decided to wait it out and ask for a bonus again when things are better.
Unfortunately, they’re undergoing some changes and one of the new rules is that writers need to write 200 words more per article (about 800 words extra per day). I politely asked my boss for a raise and she told that me she will get back to me about it on Monday (she still hasn’t). She also hinted in the email that she thinks the rate will not go up.
I love working with them and my boss is really nice but I can’t keep working for peanuts. Should I leave or wait for them to give me a definite answer on the raise? Help!
Hey Nemisha,
I’ve written a response to this twice now but it’s not showing up. Let me know if that’s just an error on my end and if it’s showing for you.
Thanks!
Hi Pete! Thanks for taking the time to reply. Unfortunately, I can’t see your reply.
Let’s see if it comes through this time!
You’re in a bit of a tough situation, but with a little planning I think there’s a way out.
The first thing I’d say is to not let how much you like the editor or enjoy the work get in the way of making a business decision. Cause that’s what this is. Don’t let your friendship with the editor force you into making a decision that negatively affects other areas of your life through a lack of funds.
I’d recommend the next step for you to start sourcing a replacement client. If you have a few leads in the pipeline or maybe even some work lined up, you can negotiate from a position of power.
You can assess this situation more rationally as you won’t be so dependent on this client’s income.
Whilst you’re sourcing a replacement client, I’d refer to articles (Like this one – http://beafreelanceblogger.com/triple-your-money/) on how to successfully negotiate a raise.
Put the advice on raise negotiations into effect and see how things go.
If the client is unwilling to meet you at least in the middle, it’s probably time to walk. Keep things going with them and double down on replacement client sourcing until you have one lined up. Don’t leave yourself out of pocket.
It might feel shitty to leave a client you like, but you’ve got to consider how it affects you and your life beyond your working hours. If you’re having to make sacrifices because you’re not earning enough or are working round the clock just to make ends meet, it’s not worth it.
Hope that’s helped!
For some reason it’s not showing up when I reply to this one either. Perhaps it’s too long to be approved?
What I’ll do is I’ll email my response through to the email address associated with the comment.
Hope that’s OK.
Excellent post. Thankfully, I only needed to walk away from one client during my time as a freelance consultant and front-end coder. Months late on deliverables; poor communication; attempts to acquire out-of-scope services for free; late payments. It finally came down to stating I would eat their deposit for all the wasted hours (which totalled a higher amount at my hourly rate) and require a new one if they continued delaying the deliverables. They got their act together immediately after that, but I tactfully made it clear that would be the last work I would prrform for them
Awesome C.
Sometimes we’ve got to play hardball just to make sure we’re not being taken advantage of.
Hi Peter. I liked how your article touched on most of the basic points of why you started in the industry. Not being ‘thin skinned’ (I noticed a lot of Clients can be thin skinned), looking at the ‘value’ the client/their needs/projects bring to Your table; not just what You bring to the Clients’ table, & other good points that I needed to be reminded of :).
Akaahan Terungwa made a great point about insisting on ‘pre-payment’. That does eliminate the late paying, promise making clients. It’s hard when you’re first starting out, not to take a client just for the experience or because you Need to for the money. I feel like I have to be at a certain point before I can be in a position to ‘break up with’ a client. The only thing I feel like I can do is make sure to only take on jobs that, when I talk to the client, we get on really well. It doesn’t matter the personality; I can get along with virtually anyone. But easy conversation flow is an indicator to me that I’ll be able to work well with that client. Luckily I never burn bridges (mostly because I’m too nice I think); because you never know when you might come across an old client again in another project situation, & you want to be on good terms with Everybody.
Thanks for the article & some great reminders about the industry in general Peter :).
No worries,
And thank you for the comment.
You’re right that things are always tougher when starting out. I think that’s partly down to a lack of experience to use as leverage, and partly down to a lack of experience in taking the action the more experienced advise.
Getting prepayment for a project is a tough area. I’ve actually never taken full payment before the start of a project. I routinely take a non-refundable 50% deposit so I can properly bok out my time, but never full payment up front.
As for not burning bridges, you’ve hit the nail on the head. You never know where the editor you’re dealing with now will move to, who they’ll speak to, and what influence they’ll have in 5 years.
Piss them off and burn a bridge, and it could come back to bite you.
Thanks again for the comment!
Thank you for this great article, Peter! I’m glad I found it since I’m thinking about terminating a project with a client. It’s a shame since this is my first retainer client. I just can’t put up with the payment delays. I’ll keep your tips about what to say in mind when I pick up the phone in the next few days of the upcoming week. Thank you again!
No worries Lizzie,
Glad to hear the article is going to be of use! Good luck with everything, I’ll keep my fingers crossed it goes smoothly for you.