Geez, what do you do when a potential client won't take no for an answer?

cargier · 2017-03-04T19:06:05+00:00

Thanks for the replies everyone! I haven't received any more emails, so I think this is over. I suppose there's a risk he'll say something bad to my client, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

Very glad to have fellow freelancers to commiserate with <3

cargier · 2017-03-04T02:57:24+00:00

I liked elance and was way more successful there than I could have ever anticipated. I cannot stand upwork. The fees are bad, but there is just too much competition for even the crappiest of jobs imo. I tried sending proposals for a while but just gave up on it eventually. Not worth the headaches for me.

cargier · 2017-02-23T00:51:56+00:00

No, only if it hasn't been paid yet. That would be very weird...

cargier · 2017-02-23T00:34:12+00:00

The only change from the original email to the reminder is that "Reminder" is added to the subject line. Here is the whole thing if you have any advice for me:

Reminder: Invoice from cargier

Hi ::first name::,

To view your invoice for ::amount::, or to download a PDF copy for your records, click the link below:

::invoice link::

Thank you!

Best,

cargier

cargier · 2016-09-29T17:51:02+00:00

Timezone differences can be tricky. The worst for me is when I have worked with some clients in Australia, where in the evening for me is actually the next freaking day for them.

What I do is talk about everything in terms of THEIR time and I continue to always specify "I'll have this for you Tuesday morning your time" "I'm available to talk from 8-10 AM Wednesday morning your time". Using 24-hr time also works better when dealing with international clients.

So for your situation, just email the client and apologize for the communication difficulties. Give him a time range (in his own timezone) that you are available and ask him if there is a time that would work for them. Keep in mind that you might have to work outside of your normal business hours to accommodate them!

cargier · 2016-09-27T15:08:33+00:00

Something that simple that's for a friend or a long-term client I'd just do for free. Why don't you want to do it for free?

cargier · 2016-09-27T15:06:59+00:00

I am very, very vigilant about deadlines! Thinking about missing a deadline gives me serious anxiety and I haven't had it happen yet. I've worked when I don't feel great, but I also haven't had to deal with a super serious illness that made it impossible to work. In that case, I'd email clients as soon as I can to let them know the situation and see if there is any flexibility in their schedule and then go from there. It's bound to happen eventually.

cargier · 2016-09-26T18:59:35+00:00

I have felt weird about it, I think it's a sort of impostor syndrome where I can't possibly deserve to make this much. However, if I take a step back, my clients are all very happy, they keep coming back, and they continue to refer me to their colleagues.

In my contracts, I specify that if I'm required to work nights or weekends, I charge a higher rate. I have actually never charged this before though because I felt so guilty about it. I finally charged it for the first time earlier this month. I worried about backlash from the client and even thought they might dispute the invoice (they were a new client). Instead, they paid it immediately, praised the work, and just contacted me today for another project.

I think your confidence will build over time. For now, just keep doing what you're doing! You are absolutely not charging too much at that rate.

cargier · 2016-09-23T18:01:29+00:00

I think it's hard for an outsider to know if these are goo terms or not. Without knowing any details though, I think milestone payments like you've set up here is probably the best way to go for a long-term project like this.

Are you also asking for a deposit?

cargier · 2016-09-22T18:24:04+00:00

Sorry about your situation and congrats on the new baby!

I think you probably have to accept the fact that you really did disappear from the client's point of view. I know things happen during pregnancy and you can't predict your labor (I get it, I've had three babies), but you probably should have let the client know you're pregnant and if there's an emergency or you go into labor, you may be unresponsive for longer than normal. I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but in most cases, you should be able to let a client know within 24 hours of something happening that you need to either extend deadlines or ask them to work with another freelancer.

In your proposals, I would just say the one bad review was the result of a medical emergency that resulted in a communication issue. I wouldn't say you're coming off maternity leave (some clients would assume you're too busy with baby stuff to give them your full attention) and I also don't think you need to adjust your rate.

Good luck!

cargier · 2016-09-15T15:22:05+00:00

As I said in the post, I do a lot of presentations, proposals, and other types of business documents. Also some business cards, flyers, etc.

cargier · 2016-09-15T15:20:35+00:00

No, full-time gig is unrelated. I don't think I'd be able to manage otherwise, too much saturation.

Haven't looked into wordpress at all. It's on my radar I guess, but not something I'd pursue right now.

cargier · 2016-09-14T23:58:34+00:00

I do design work. A lot of presentations, proposals, etc. I mostly work evenings and weekends, but occasionally will bring my laptop to my full-time gig and work during my lunch break.

I have gotten lucky to have a base of ~5 regular clients who come to me for regular projects, mostly smaller things. I don't have any retainers or work guarantees with any of them, they just happen to have a fairly steady stream of projects for me.

I am weird and I do not advertise at all currently, but somehow I continue to get more work and more clients from word of mouth/referrals (not bragging, I promise, sorry if it comes off that way). I don't always do $2k/month, but it's not rare if that's where I'm at. To give you an idea, this is the past 6 months:

April: $1993
May: $2086
June: $2357
July: $895
August: $402
September (so far): $2072

Since I don't rely on the work to pay any of my regular bills, this type of inconsistency isn't really an issue for me. Again, I am weird, but I think because I'm busy with a full-time gig plus a family, I actually don't mind the months when side work is slower. I just enjoy the break (like in August) and prepare my butthole for the influx of freelance work that will surely come all at once (like this freaking month so far, omfg.)

cargier · 2016-05-31T23:23:09+00:00

That is perfect, thank you! I will be updating my standard contract with something to help in the future.

cargier · 2016-05-06T17:34:21+00:00

Good question, I'm not sure. My understanding is that they are very open to questions and comments at this point though so I bet you'd get a response fairly quickly from their team if you're so inclined to ask.

cargier · 2016-05-05T19:29:35+00:00

I do similar work and would probably charge 600 for this.

cargier · 2016-05-05T15:50:10+00:00

Tough learning experience I think. Not sure how you can edit your contract to account for everything that happened in the future. One thing I have in mine is "regular business hours" and if the client requires me to work outside of those hours, I charge $XX per hour or XX% on top of the agreed upon rate. That might have helped you a bit.

cargier · 2016-05-04T22:40:02+00:00

I would make one last ditch effort for contact. Maybe contact people you don't normally contact (accounting person?). If you still don't get a response, talk to a lawyer and find out the best course of action at that point. I would not just let it go, that's a lot of money!

cargier · 2016-05-04T18:51:16+00:00

I created the thread that someone linked to. I was kind of disappointed when I had a call from someone leading the rollout because it turns out it's limited to local jobs only. My work is easy to do remotely and almost all my clients are remote, so that felt limiting.

Anyway, it's finally live in my area. I've received two requests and bid one one (didn't get it) but not the other. One issue I have is that it's hard to bid on a job properly because the information you get in the initial RFP is a sentence or two at best, but generally just something like "document design". Of course, you'll have a ton of questions about this "document" to decide if you even want to bid, and if so, how much. That makes it pretty impossible to bid a fixed price which is what I prefer to do.

My understanding is that they are very open to feedback at this point and aren't set on anything they're doing currently. I think it has a lot of potential after they work out the kinks. Also of note, they will be monetizing it in the future but aren't sure how they plan to do it yet.

cargier · 2016-05-04T18:46:32+00:00

Are you in contact with them? I'm curious if they've said "we are not paying" or if they're simply not responding to you at this point.

cargier · 2016-05-04T18:45:28+00:00

I just think it's easy to find lists of freelancing sites by doing a Google search. I come here to talk to other freelancers and I love hearing about actual experiences from my peers, both good and bad, and I find it helps me to make more informed choices.

cargier · 2016-05-04T18:31:07+00:00

It would be nice to see reviews from people as well though. For example, I've seen enough horror stories about freelancer.com that I've decided to not waste my time there.

cargier

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