Comments on: Getting That Bad Feeling in Your Gut vs. Getting Paid

By: Mark Jacobs

Mark Jacobs — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 20:49:00 +0000

Awesome post Mike – THANKS!

By: Kristina

Kristina — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:18:00 +0000

Lovely post Mike. I always judge a client’s personality against the cost it takes to work with them. Luckily, I have a dream list of clients, but it took years and firm boundaries to get there.

By: Cath Beaton

Cath Beaton — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 02:25:00 +0000

Great post Mike, very timely for me to remember that the worth of a customer is not always just in the invoice. On occasion i’ve chosen to do a project for very little upfront investment, but those clients have sung my praises and brought in bigger clients. They’ve also grown their own businesses along side mine. Sometimes you’re fostering an ongoing relationship, not just adhering to a budget.

By: Simon Kelly (sk)

Simon Kelly (sk) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 20:56:00 +0000

Great stuff to get in the right mindset. If the client’s are always calling the shots then you’re not really running the business.

Client’s respect when you take control of the process.

I’ve found it helpful to tell them what I will do instead of what I won’t do.

For example, with the weekly call you mentioned, we let our client’s know that’s when we provide an update on the project and we go through any questions and feedback so far. This makes it so the rest of the week we can get back to executing the plan instead of replying to every little questions the pops up.

With ongoing clients, we have a monthly consultation with them, so any questions or strategy related things that would be too much to discuss by email we talk about via a Skype call.

It’s very helpful to always have a timeslot for these conversations so everything has a place and nothing will get missed. BUT it doesn’t need to get dealt with right there and then in the email.

This works great for both parties 🙂

By: Patrick O'Doherty

Patrick O'Doherty — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 05:48:00 +0000

Yeah the “do it for free and share in the profits” thing must be the biggest red flag there is. Interesting you turn it back on the customer and point out that they obviously have no faith in generating much profit if they’re willing to share it with you. Urinals though, haha.