The Unorthodox Entrepreneur - 6 Things to Never Forget When Working With Clients
May 10th, 2008 by JerkyBeef
If you are a Family Guy lover (i am) then you would appreciate this scene. If you are a small business owner who deals with invoices and clients, then you will appreciate this video. One of the hardest things when working with clients is when they do not own up to pay you for your services.
Back when i owned my own design firm this was a problem that seemed to happen every month like clockwork. Invoices and clients ducking you, loving the work but not wanting to pay you for it. If you are a young entrepreneur then you are bound to deal with this because regardless of who your client is or may be there will come a time when they feel that they can pull one over on you.
How to Prevent This From Happening
1. Always have your clients sign and contact
I don’t really think i need to explain this one… They will be held liable to hold up with their end of paying you. This eliminates the confusion and keeps it simplistic.
2. Always get your contracts recorded and certified by a notary
This will make it easier for you to enforce the contract in a court of law. When doing business, try to avoid short cuts because eventually they will come back to bite you. All contracts should be certified and notarized.
What is a notary?
someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify a document’s validity and to take depositions
3. Always collect a non-refundable deposit before every job
This locks in your job and position and solidifies your contract. Most clients will not joke around once their money is on the table. This also, in most cases, prevent your clients from deciding at the last minute that they will go with someone else for less.
4. No when to say NO!
When working with clients (depending on the job), most clients will try to get more than what their money is paying for. If you are a freelancer then you can probably relate to this. As a designer during school most clients (big and small) always tried to keep the job going by making unreasonable requests (paying for an HTML design job but requesting FLASH Animation and Programming). This is when you need to learn to say no, or ask if they would like to pay the additional fee.
5. ALWAYS DO QUALITY WORK
This and number 6 are very important. During my freelancing days i saved a ton of money because most of my clients were referred to me from repeat clients who loved my work and professionalism. These are your knights in shining armor. Even if you and the client leave on the wrong foot they will use the work that they paid for and as a result this too will generate more clientèle. Maybe even their competitors. You do not owe anyone just the client with the open contract, this too is an ethics thing i guess.
6. ABCP - ALWAYS BE CLOSING (i love this acronym) PROFESSIONALLY
The title is self-explanatory. Follow it, even if you are just getting started. Clients appreciate and will respect you more. A client and business relationship is all about trust. If you don’t trust them take a little more off the top (deposit) than usual. If they aren’t willing to give a deposit then they aren’t serious about the work. Let them go and move on, DO NOT COMPROMISE! They will take advantage of you and cause more headaches then necessary.
Think of it this way… When i pay for a service, I don’t pay for the service itself, I pay for the results…
The Unorthodox Entrepreneur
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