That Client You Can't Afford to Lose - But Should
Your #freelancer career has never been better. You barely find the time to sleep, let alone eat healthily or have anything resembling a social life. Your friends are jealous because you've become the entrepreneur of the gang. Your bank account grows, but you don't always feel as happy as you should.
Why is that?
Those of us who hustled or still do it on a very shy percentage have experienced heaven and hell while working in the #contentmarketing industry. Clients, agencies, companies. Each with their unique language, strategies and unpredictable social skills.
There is a natural tendency to shine bright on #LinkedIn. We talk about our fears and failures, but not to the same extent that we come to promote our achievements. It's only natural. We are the product, and our success lies very much in our ability to masterfully sell our services without sounding like we're bragging.
Today I wanted to #write about those clients you can't afford to lose. They represent a significant percentage of your income, but your relationship isn't great. And that's why you should consider letting them go at the first opportunity.
Sometimes, you know you're being taken advantage of. Others, you're a victim of abuse, neglecting your own rules to please a passive-aggressive professional relationship. It happens more frequently than we like to admit, so here are a few thoughts on how to deal with it.
Cut the Crap From Day 1
Are you experienced? Is your portfolio filled with valuable, diversified experiences? If so, a new client should recognize your value immediately. Admittedly, not the cent, but assuming they want to replicate the results and approaches you used on Company A and B, they owe you some respect.
If you have a big brand on your cards - or a few, even - perhaps your new client needs to appreciate you dealt with sophisticated methodologies and systems to deliver sharp, top-notch content. There isn't another way to do it when you play with the big boys, and if a solid portfolio doesn't earn you immediate respect, nothing will.
But let's say you're fresh. You're just starting out, but your talent and will to learn are unmatched. Should you be less respected because you haven't worked with the largest Unicorn yet to scam their users on $1 billion yet? Of course not. Any sign of abusive I set the rules approach should have you walk towards the exit.
And at any time a relationship - personal or professional - takes such a turn, speak up and cease collaboration immediately. You don't have to take abuse from anyone, whether in an office or even worse, from someone on the other side of a screen.
"But I Really Need This Gig"
The need tends to create a situation where your principles seem negotiable. They shouldn't be, but I understand they often need to be more flexible than you'd like them to be. So let me put this from a more personal perspective and how I dealt with it when I was freelancing:
Diversify. Diversifying has always been a proven way to tackle risk. Let's say you have $1,000,000 to invest. Are you going to place all that money in a single bet, or will you split it across 10 different #businesses?
I'd say your time is more valuable than $1 million. I'd even go as far as saying your mental health is far more valuable than that figure. When you diversify your client base, you gain leverage. Leverage to raise rates, to work on the projects you want and excel at, and most importantly:
Leverage to tell a bad client you're done.
I believe we have a responsibility to remain professional, supportive, flexible and meet our client's needs. Most freelancers I've met failed to live up to those principles. They bought the my life doesn't revolve around work narrative. What happens when you place yourself so far up and disconnected from your clients?
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They seek someone else who can help them.
So keep a steady, balanced approach to work. By all means, pick the ones you love to work with, keep the ones who help you build your income close at hand and cut out anyone who does any of the following:
The list goes on and I don't want you to fall asleep. Not unless it's 3 am, you're having a hard time doing so and you stumbled on my words by sheer accident.
The Never-ending Self-marketing Approach
What do successful freelancers do? They never stop marketing themselves. Whether through professional social media, their website or even paid exposure. You wouldn't believe how many of those inspirational people you follow here have paid for their rapid growth. Nothing wrong with it - it's a mechanism which works.
This goes back to my point on attitude. A successful freelancer needs to have plenty of it. They need to crack on with work and still find the time to reach out to new clients. Letters of Intention (LOI's), keeping in touch with your existing network and expanding your reach.
These things take time, effort and drain your energy. Not to say your life, which in my case as a parent meant my days were extremely long and my evenings terribly short. But I remained hungry, approachable, and flexible. I said goodbye to weekends and holidays and somehow things worked out.
As you go along, you'll know your strengths better. What projects make the best use of your skills and time, what client profile adjusts best to your methodology and definitely where to go from there.
The Rising Threat of AI
A final word on everyone's favourite topic: #AI and what it means for #content creators. It's normal to be scared and worried about what happens next. It doesn't matter if you've just made a transition into freelancing or if you're an established professional.
AI is reshaping millions of jobs, and companies will opt for whatever provides the best results for the lowest possible cost. We can argue on whether AI can write up a page as well as an expert if it can draw up a logo like a top designer or even help you book a holiday like a travel agent with 30+ years of experience.
We are losing sleep on it, we are definitely witnessing our anxiety levels go up and the only suggestion I can think of is: keep in the loop, but don't consume too much replication on it. Otherwise, you'll lose your mind. So far, there is still room for the human mind to contribute, and most likely, it will remain so in an AI-assisted future.
The same client that has been abusive towards you will be the first to flip the switch. No warning, no open conversation on the topic. One day he's paying you late for the work you've done, the next, ChatGPT is filling up pages with its soulless lines of content.
Remember why you should diversify?*
* 97% of the people I worked with were fantastic. We congratulated each other when our children were born or turned another birthday. We shared details about our personal lives and had a laugh. In society, expect 3% of people to be psychopaths. Since those have to eat too, sometimes, they'll own a business that comes to you for content, so... nurture the other 97%!