I Just Fired My Client And Loved It — Here’s Why
Why you might do the same
I’ve been earning my living writing online for four years now.
During this time, I’ve seen many clients come and go.
In most cases, I stopped working with them because the project went as planned, and there was no further work for me.
This time, it was different.
I had to fire them.
And although it was difficult, it was the best decision I could make.
Why I got this client
Last November, things finally turned normal again.
After a rough year of business ups and downs, November finally felt stable. Coming off this, I decided to take on new clients to ensure future success.
This one client, an agency, produces a lot of sports news.
I thought this could be an easy way to get some side income paired with great flexibility, just like I had in the past with similar clients.
Just for context, I’m working with multiple agencies.
Whenever they have something, they ask me if I can do it, and then I’ll charge them the costs at the end of the month.
Getting another one on board sounded great.
They offered an OK rate but with a high workload, which sounded great, as I wanted to build a stable base from which I could work.
A trial followed, and we signed the contract.
I felt great because it gave me some much-needed security back.
But naive me had no idea how much of an energy drainer this all should become.
Why I fired this client
Never undersell yourself, even if it’s painful.
It’s easy to undersell yourself as a writer. Sometimes, I still do.
But it’s never worth it.
As a writer, you sometimes need some revision time. There might be feedback you need to fix something, or they want a slightly different angle on a specific paragraph.
That’s fine, as it’s part of the business.
What isn’t fine is when you had a successful trial, another onboarding call, where they praise the freedom they give their writers and then communicate problems poorly.
That’s exactly what happened.
I worked with a senior content strategist for the first few texts, which was fine.
He gave me briefs, I wrote texts, he made suggestions, and I made amendments.
Then everything changed.
I lost my motivation and neglected other writing endeavors, too.
Why I loved it
A lack of motivation is a bad place to write from.
But fearing to submit your texts and doubting your abilities is even worse. This will kill your writing.
As soon as I started working with the lead content strategist, it was a complete pain in the ass. He’d write me entire books as an e-mail about why my texts aren’t worth a penny.
I’d revise. He wouldn’t answer.
Then, as soon as I submitted the following text, the entire thing repeated itself.
I couldn’t stand it anymore; that’s why I fired him.
Now, I feel much better. I can work with a similar client without having to make insane amendments and fight back and forth via e-mail.
And I got more time to focus on other things like Medium.
If I’d do it again? 100%.
Having a client is excellent and all, but if he:
- has unrealistic expectations
- doesn’t communicate well and
- can’t respect your effort
you should cut him loose.
Thank you for reading!
Like, comment, leave a message, and if you want to read more:
The Happiest People In The World Have Realized These 3 Simple Truths
Here’s What I Learned After Publishing 100k Words On The Internet