What a client breakup really feels like
No matter who you are or how much experience you have, client breakups really, really suck.
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Happy April!
I just got back from a week offline, mostly spent hiking in Utah. It’s amazing how creatively inspired I feel when I step away from my computer for a whole week.
While I was gone, I had an idea: This month, I’m sending my paid subscribers an exclusive newsletter about a touchy subject, in addition to the usual journaling & business planning prompts. I think you’ll want to read this one because I’m talking about the excruciating and liberating experience of firing a client.
Into it? Hit that subscribe button to get the whole newsletter! A monthly Mindset Mastery subscription is just $5 — less than a latte — and you’ll be supporting my time spent writing this newsletter. You also make it possible for folks who can’t subscribe to get the newsletter for free, too.
I knew that it wasn’t the right fit within two days of onboarding.
Originally, I was incredibly excited about the project: It was perfectly aligned with my interests and my professional background, I felt like I could learn a lot from the client, and the pay was fine. When the project lead agreed to bring me on board after our initial discovery call, I was stoked.
But then the project started and red flags popped up everywhere. First, the client clearly preferred meetings over emails. Then, they started booking meetings just a day or two in advance. (If you’ve ever tried to book a coaching call with me, you know that I typically schedule 4-6 weeks out. Because of my limited work hours, I don’t have time for many meetings if I want to get my writing work done and be a healthy person and involved parent.)
Then the client sent me four emails on my day off, when I said I wasn’t available. When I opened the emails, I found an itemized to do list with two-day turnaround times for huge projects. That night, I found myself answering this client’s emails at 9:30 pm. This is so far outside of my boundaries; I felt nauseated. I literally yelled UGHHHH as I sat next to my husband on the couch.
I knew the nausea was flowing because I felt trapped: I didn’t want to burn a bridge but I could tell that this just wasn’t going to work. It had little to do with the human being on the other side of my inbox. It had nothing to do with the project, either. But the workflow was a mismatch. The pace was a mismatch. The meetings were a mismatch. And the hourly scope we’d agreed upon was creeping.
Previously, I would have spent a few weeks “feeling it out.” But after five years of freelancing, I know when I know. It wasn’t going to work. And my body was shouting about it, too.
Here’s how I knew that I needed to fire this client:
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