Yup…that’s me. I hoard clients. I get requests/project inquiries and I take them all, the good…the bad…the boring. haha. I know what I’m doing is exactly what I don’t want to do, but I do it anyway. I know my time is valuable and the financial benefit of taking on a bunch of freelance clients can only go so far before it interferes with your day to day well-being. I’m working on it guys. haha
Do you guys hoard your clients??
I’m the worst at hoarding clients. The absolute worst. I’ve been reevaluating my work load this week and coming to the (very obvious) realization that I must say NO to someone. But it is so difficult to turn away clients. Thanks for the reminder!
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YES. I have this problem, and I love how you have called it “hoarding clients” hehe. I have just recently started putting a limit on how many clients I can take on in a month. Its so hard to stick to that, because I LOVE the work.. and then it kills me.
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I don’t have too many, so I pretty much take any clients – with the exception of those people who think design isn’t really work and want to pay you $20 for 7+ hours of work. Definitely have no problem saying “NO!” to them. ;)
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Boy can I relate. I fear if I say NO, it till be my last chance to ever get another client. But then on the reverse, my work suffers because I am overwhelmed with clients. Vicious cycle!
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It’s an extremely viscous cycle. I think it just takes some time to figure it out.
I recently had to say no to a few potential clients just because their deadlines just weren’t doable for me – and it sucked!! I felt so bad saying no, because they were so nice and the projects were really cool. As much as it sucked, though, I know it was the right and fair thing to do for the client and myself. Still… I wish I could take ‘em all! It’s such a learning process.
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That’s an interesting point. I hadn’t thought about it like that before!
I definitely find it tricky to say no but then you can end up being the flakey girl or the one that doesn’t deliver, so I’m learning that saying no sometimes is the best thing to do.
I wonder why we find it tricky to say no or move along the work? Maybe a fear of empty books or becuase schools/youth can be so competitive? Hmmm, that’s a thinker, for sure!
Emily x
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Oh yes and it feels as if its choking me.
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