5 Signs That Its Time to Fire a Freelance Client

5 Signs That Its Time to Fire a Freelance Client5 Signs That Its Time to Fire a Freelance ClientOne of the hardest decisions youll ever have to make as a freelancer is when to let a client go. Even if the company in question is a pain to deal with or the project is less than exciting to work on, its hard to walk away from money, especially when you work for yourself and dont have that guaranteed paycheck coming in every two weeks. However, I can tell you anecdotally that Ive never met a successful freelancer who hasnt had to part ways with a client before. Its the nature of the game no gig is forever, and sometimes, youll be the one to decide that the job no longer meets your needs. How to Know When Its Time to Go The trick is to know when its time to go and to make the parting as pain-free and professional as possible. Go about things in the right way, and youll free up time for more worthwhile investments, while still maintaining the goodwill of your former client which you wa nt to do, because its a small world, and you never know when youll binnensee them again, or whether theyll turn out to know people at your next big project. But, first things first How do you know when its time to fire a client? The following, separately or together, are pretty good signs that your association might have outlived its usefulness. Youre Not Making Enough Money Whats enough money? Rates are notoriously hard to set, and often vary widely from client to client, but a good rule of thumb is that your hourly rate as a freelancer should at least equal what you made as a full-time employee (taking into account things like health insurance and paid time off, which youll now have to cover for yourself). If you find that youre working all the time and cant make your overhead, or youve worked for the same client for several years and never received a rate increase, chances are, youre underpaid. The first step, obviously, is to ask for more money, but if that doesnt work, its time to start quietly shopping for a replacement client, or looking into increasing your hours with other existing contracts. Once youre sure youre not putting yourself in a worse spot by pulling the plug, go for it. You Wouldnt Use the Work Youre Doing in Your Portfolio Every freelancer has a story (or five) about a job they took solely for the money and would just as soon forget. Thats nothing to be ashamed of. Every gig cant be something youd pick for your highlight reel at the Oscars. However, if you find that the work doesnt boost your personal brand, or worse, that youd just as soon no one knew you worked for these people, its time to think about whether the job is a good fit for your personal goals and values. You Cant Communicate With Your Primary Contact rolle Ever talk to someone and feel like one of you is using a translator and not a very good one? Sometimes, for whatever reason, people just cant express their ideas to one another. Maybe one party has a listeni ng problem, or there are different communication styles at play. Whatever the reason, if you find yourself unable to get your ideas across to one another, eventually, it might be time to call it quits. You Feel Disrespected or Abused by the Client It takes all kinds to run the business world, and some of those folks, by default, are going to be not-nice people. The good news is that you dont have to deal with them ever. Theres no excuse for abusive behavior like name-calling, yelling, or inappropriate language or actions that make you uncomfortable. If the client engages in any of these activities, whether or not they meet the legal standard for harassment, you should part ways immediately. On a related note, if your client is treating you more like an employee than a contractor you may need to take some steps to clarify your work relationship. You Have a Better Offer As a culture, we value loyalty, and we show that by punishing people who demonstrate it. Im only sort of ki dding. While you never want to leave clients in the lurch, you need to remember that youre in business. If a current client wont pay you what youre worth, isnt a good fit for your CV, and/or isnt fun to work for, its completely OK to move on to a situation that works better. Your first loyalty needs to be to yourself, your business, and your family. How to Quit a Freelance Job Whatever the reasons why, once you determine that you no longer wish to work for these folks, do things the decent way and resign with professionalism, just as you would from any other job, freelance or full-time. Give them plenty of notice, in writing, abiding by the terms of your contract. Dont get into the weeds with all the reasons why youve decided to quit. If youve really decided to go, now is not the time to talk about the poor pay rate or the unreasonable hours. All you need to do is to let them know that youre not going to be working for them anymore. Especially if youre really overworking for the m, its a good idea to take a look at some sample resignation letters, before you sit down to write your own. Keep your note short, sweet, and professional, and youll never have cause to regret it later.