Sometimes being your own boss has its downsides. Mostly when those clients who pay the bills and keep your writing career afloat aren’t as supportive and wonderful as you’d like. When clients cross the line from professional to unprofessional, it’s time to cut ties. That’s obvious. But being unprofessional is not the only reason to sever ties with a client.
Here is my master list of reasons to fire a client:
The PITA Reason
While most clients are great, some are not. Some fall into that “Pain in the A**” category and they need to go. There may be any number of reasons that make them a PITA, but the reasons don’t matter. What does matter is how they treat you. If you find yourself dealing with an unreasonable person, move on. It’s not worth it, no matter how good or steady the pay.
Difficult Is Their Middle Name
Difficult clients are those who believe they can monopolize your time and steamroll your ideas. They are the ones who call incessantly and micromanage every detail. They have issues and when their issues become mine, I move on. If someone can’t handle a professional relationship, it’s time to find someone who can. It’s not worth putting up with a difficult person when you don’t have to. That’s the benefit of being your own boss. You can pick who you work with on a regular basis. (See part two of this blog to find out how to cut ties properly.)
Nonpayment or Delayed Payment
This one is fairly self-explanatory. If a client doesn’t respect a writer enough to pay for the work, then it’s time to move on. You are not offering a free service here. Like me, you have a mortgage or rent to pay and a career to maintain. Denying payment or withholding it for months is not acceptable.
Not a Good Fit
Like any relationship, there will be those that don’t work. It happens. Sometimes I am not a good fit for the client in personality or style. Not every pairing works. When this is the case, I explain why I am not a good fit and refer someone I think would be.
Nice Client, Hate the Work
Other times you find clients you like and respect, but whose projects are deadly. Or deadly dull. I’ve run into this situation a few times. I get hired to write something and while I like the client, I find the work so awful I experience full-body procrastination and resistance on a level unlike any other. If I fall asleep every time I try to write for the client or find myself avoiding the work, I know there’s an issue. If I am not interested in the work, I can’t do it justice. My feelings toward the work will show. Luckily, I am curious and interested in many subjects and material. It is rare to feel antipathy toward the work, but it does happen. And when it does, I back out gracefully. Typically I spot these situations before the work begins and don’t take the jobs on in the first place. But sometimes the issue isn’t obvious until the work begins.
The Undecided
Another type of client that drives me nuts are clients who can’t make up their mind. They can’t describe what they want and then react badly to anything presented, forcing multiple rewrites, often returning to an earlier version in the end. This client is difficult on many levels—they can’t direct the project, often won’t listen and tend to get defensive. It’s fine to be undecided in the beginning. That’s what creative strategy sessions are for, but once a direction is set, everyone should be clear how to proceed. The undecided client is unable to settle on an approach, which is why the project is doomed. In many cases, it comes down to a lack of trust in either the writer or the material or in their position within the organization. This isn’t something that can be resolved easily, if at all. These clients nearly always insist on flat rates too, which is why my contract stipulates a maximum of three rounds of edits before my hourly rates kick in.
Scope Creep
There will always be clients who want more than the contract stipulates. They are the ones who say, “Can you just…” and then add a million things to the project mid-stream. The problem with scope creep is time. Adding things along the way destroys a production calendar and adds stress. It also interferes with the plan and approach. Not to mention, depending on your contract, these add-ons are often “freebies” the client feels entitled to. They are not. Insist on adding an addendum to your contract and getting paid for additions. (Contracts will be the subject of a future blog.)
Unethical Business Practices
It happens. Not all businesses are conducted ethically. If you notice activity you deem unethical, start a file. Document what you’ve seen and heard. Keep everything. Emails, your responses, descriptions of conversations you have had or overheard. Terminate this type of relationship immediately. Don’t over-explain. Don’t make accusations. Just get out. If you have to offer a refund of monies paid-to-date, do so. It’s not worth being in business with someone who is not ethical.
Obstinate Client
Okay, I’m stubborn. Always have been. But in professional settings, I restrict my stubborn streak to important fights—the work, grammar, ethics. When I talk about an obstinate client, I’m not talking about a normal level of stubborn. I’m talking about clients who actively resist my advice and work. These are the ones who insist on changing my work into something ungrammatical or illogical—something I don’t want my name on. When that happens, it’s time to leave. Obviously, this level of resistance is a sign of distrust. If a client doesn’t trust my opinion or skills more than this, then they would be better served by someone else.
Offensive Clients
I’ve had one seriously offensive client. One who felt compelled to share his vitriol and unsavory opinions. Like abusive clients, he got the boot immediately. It’s not worth being around people who offend you. Neither party will be happy working together and it’s best to part ways.
Rude Clients
Like offensive clients, I tend to avoid rude clients. Now I’m not talking about a client who’s had a bad day and was curt with me. That happens to all of us. We’re human. But if a client is consistently rude, I take a pass. If a client curses at me, I’m gone. It’s not professional and unnecessary. Cursing is okay in context, but not when it’s directed at me. Luckily this has only happened once and it was on a long-term contract. I terminated it. The only comfort was that I was not the only source of his tirades. He had anger issues. I chose not to participate.
The Creep
Once I had a client who so creeped me out I refused to be in a room alone with him. That was enough to sever the relationship. When I spoke to colleagues in the industry, I found I was not alone in bolting. He had problems retaining female employees and contractors.
The Non-Signer
Once I had a client who refused to sign my contract saying he wanted a “trusting” relationship. Against my better instincts, and because he was a referral from a good friend, I allowed it. Needless to say, he skipped town and I was never paid. Lesson learned. The contract is a necessity. If someone refuses to sign, I refuse to write. It’s basic business practice.
Gotta Call My Lawyer
My hard and fast rule is: If I have to call my attorney for any reason (nonpayment, unethical behavior, contract disputes, etc), I don’t work with the client again. It’s not worth losing part of my pay for attorney’s fees.
You’ve Grown Beyond Them
Sometimes you need to leave a client behind because your skill level has changed or your rates have gone up. Growth happens. Unfortunately, this might mean you need to move on to more challenging or higher paying clients. Firing this type of client is not easy, but necessary for the development of your career.
You’re Too Busy
This is a good problem to have. Your schedule is so full, you can’t handle everyone anymore. If this happens, you may need to trim your client list. Just be careful to anticipate work flow to make sure you can handle the loss in the long-term. It’s better to turn down a specific job than fire a client if your full schedule is temporary or the result of a single client. You never want to be reliant on just one client.
For No Reason
The fact is you don’t need a reason to fire a client. If you don’t want to work for someone for any reason, you can let him go. It’s that simple. That’s the best part of being independent. You get to pick the people you work for and those you don’t.
There are so many reasons to let clients go that it may seem daunting. The truth is that clients like these are rare. In my career, I’ve had a handful. The majority of clients are great and I enjoy working with them. The problem clients are in the minority and easily culled.
The trick is to let clients go professionally. In part two of this blog, I’ll talk about how to fire a client. What to say and how to go about it without doing your career harm.