How to be trusting AND avoid dead-end clients

Freelancers are always thinking about the next client, the next paying project.

Anxiety about money (”What if I don’t have enough?”) and loss aversion (”What if the client slips through my fingers?”) can cause us to ignore yellow and red flags and repeat past mistakes. As we rush down the hall to close the deal posthaste, we skid past the room that held the obvious insights.

I’ve written before about what makes a good client “good,” and have encouraged savvy freelancers and consultants to create their own Good Client Checklist.

This post takes the idea of vetting clients one step further by passing on two principles that have served me well:

1. “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”
2. “Go positive and go first, and be constant in doing it.”

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The best way to set freelance prices you’re confident in

Pricing can be tough for freelancers and consultants for various reasons:

• You feel conflicted about earning more.
• You don’t know your Survival and Dream Rates.
• You don’t have a process for calculating strategic prices.
• You feel insecure about your current rates, so charging even more? Ha.
• You’re not sure how to break the news about the rate increase to clients.
• You worry that your clients won’t agree to pay more and will leave you to find a cheaper alternative, which would put you in an even worse position than before.

And let’s not even get started on the mental hangups freelance folks have with money in general.

Just mentioning money is enough to make some solo service providers start sweating and looking for exits.

Even if you have a sneaking suspicion that you’re leaving money on the table and should revisit your prices, discomfort with pricing and money makes you drag your feet.

When it comes time to put numbers on a more complex project, your mind freezes like a bad television.

Later, when the client pushes back on those numbers, you fumble your response.

And what happens when we don’t proactively raise our prices?

• We continue to undercharge.
• We must work longer hours to make the money we need.
• Worst of all, we keep attracting price-conscious clients more concerned more with saving money than achieving valuable outcomes.

Break the cycle and start charging what you’re worth.

Change your prices, change your life, right?

Buy the Smart, Strategic Pricing Bundle and follow the instructions in the Read Me First doc.

About Austin L. Church

Hi, I'm Austin L. Church, a writer, marketing consultant, and business coach.

I started freelancing in 2009 after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to a portfolio of mobile apps, tech startup, children's book, branding studio, and consulting practice.

Over the last 15 years, I've made north of $1.8 million as a creative entrepreneur, and looking back, I see so many missed opportunities.

That's why I'm so passionate about stacking up specific advantages and teaching freelancers, consultants, and creators how to do the same.

I want more of us to find our income-lifestyle sweet spot.

You can learn more at FreelanceCake.com.