How to Break Up with a Bad Freelance Gig
The world of freelance is built on relationships and reputations.
Why should a client spend hours searching for a new writer/actor/painter/photographer/musician/ice-sculptor, when they already know and love a qualified professional? Why not just hire that person again?
As a freelancer, this means you need to maintain a positive relationship with your client in addition to delivering a satisfying product. If you behave like a professional and provide quality work, customers are more likely to contact you again, recommend you, and design future opportunities with you in mind.
Maintaining a positive relationship with a client means using those customer service skills you developed back when you worked at [the last place you worked at before you changed your life and became a famous writer/actor/painter/photographer/musician/ice-sculptor] — but with even higher stakes.
Back then, if a customer was upset, you may have shrugged and thought, “I’m still getting paid, so who cares?”
When you’re a freelancer, you’re not just performing a task, you’re representing yourself as a brand (aka your reputation). A good reputation has a positive impact on your likelihood to be hired again. And a bad reputation? Pretty much the exact opposite.
Your reputation isn’t the only one you should worry about. Sometimes clients have a history of their own and might be known for behaving unprofessionally. It may be impossible to know this ahead of time, but do some digging if you can- this can help you avoid getting roped into a nightmare gig.
Sometimes:
- They kick and scream instead of providing constructive feedback about the types of wedding photos they wanted.
- Their organization skills are so awful that you wonder why you even auditioned for their movie.
- They ignore you until the last minute and are frustrated that you didn’t read their mind about whether the ice sculpture should have arms or not.
In many cases, you’d finish the job but probably never work for them again. Hopefully you’ll avoid these pitfalls and have successful working relationships, but this could be unlikely depending on your line of work.
When you’re starting out you’ll probably need to take any work you can get, because a paycheck is still a paycheck. If that means accepting work from someone you don’t respect or drives you nuts, then so be it. You may let a few out-of-the-box concerns slide because if you do, then you get to pay your internet bill. “I’ve already come this far, might as well just stick it out so I can get tacos tonight.”
Building your freelance brand can be nerve-racking because you’ll be desperate for work and might have to take on bad clients for a while.
But what about those times when you just can’t deal with a bad client? Whether or not it’s their fault, they’re making your life a living hell. You may need the work, but not THIS badly. You will have to decide if you’re willing to quit.
Note: It’s important to identify where this line lives when it comes to accepting work. Don’t sacrifice your dignity if you can afford not to, doing this can also influence your reputation. If people regularly take advantage of your work and who you are as a businessperson, you’re not going to be in charge of your career and you probably won’t enjoy it. Find the line and stick to it the best you can.
ALSO: Developing a reputation as someone who cancels after signing a contract is awful. You do not want to become “Jane/John Doe the Flake.” People will never hire you.
So, how do you back out of a gig once you’ve already signed the contract? You’ll have to make the decision for yourself, but here’s some advice:
Find Out If It’s Worth It
Ask the following questions when you feel like you need to quit.
What are the terms of the contract ?
You should know this before you sign the contract in the first place, even if it’s 400+ pages long. Never assume the client has your best interest at heart and has written an ideal contract — this is critical in protecting yourself and your career.
Even if you’ve already read it, it’s worth revisiting before deciding if you want to cancel.
Are there any fees for cancelling?
Some contracts have fines that one party would have to pay to the other if choosing to cancel. Determine whether you’re willing to pay those fines, if any exist.
Can the client influence future job opportunities?
It’s easier to feel okay about ditching a project where the client is relatively unknown in your industry. As a photojournalist, you may have less regrets cancelling on a one-time photo shoot for a family reunion than you would dropping a recurring newspaper gig.
- The family that hired you for their reunion may be upset, but they probably won’t have much sway on your career. (It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful, though. You never know who-knows-who!)
- The newspaper might frequently need photographers and is more connected to the freelance community; they can recommend dependable freelancers or provide feedback about the ones they’ve hired. Cancelling on them at the wrong time may affect future opportunities.
It’s much more difficult to cancel on the projects where you like the client but the quality of the project isn’t up to par with your standards.
What if the music you’ve been hired to sing is terrible? What if you show up to a model a photoshoot and you know how to use the equipment better than the photographer?
Determine if attaching your name to the project will deal a larger blow to your reputation than if you withdrew your involvement.
What if they get upset?
A contract is a legal agreement. It takes time to put those together, to negotiate. Dissolving a contract means negating all the time dedicated to drafting that contract and committing to the relationship. It can be an inconvenience to you just as much as it can be to your client. They’re likely to be upset, but if you’re serious about withdrawing from a project, this is the risk you’re taking.
Still set on quitting? Here’s some advice on what to do.
Have the “Conversation”
How do you go about breaking the news to the client? What should you say if you think the quality of the project is so poor that you need to leave?
Apologize for the inconvenience.
“I apologize for the convenience” may seem like a throwaway line, but you are backing out of a business arrangement. Whether you feel sorry for leaving the project or not, acknowledging that you are breaking away from your expectations shows your now-previous client some respect.
Don’t be a selfish drone about it — let them know you understand they don’t like this outcome.
Be honest but stay professional.
Don’t be afraid to provide feedback about why you’re leaving the project but avoid letting your frustrations loose. If you want to leave a project because you realize it endorses radical conspiracy theories, you can say something along the lines of, “Upon understanding the project in a larger capacity, I will not be able to provide the painting as expected.”
You don’t want to say, “After I found out y’all were a bunch of tin-foil-hat-wearing crazies, I had to dip.”
If necessary, burn the bridge.
Sometimes breaking up with a bad client is like forcing a child to eat their vegetables: they just can’t take it. Even after you’ve provided your feedback, they may not understand or agree with the reasons you need to leave.
If they throw a tantrum, verbally attack you, threaten to damage your reputation, or cross the line in any way — let them know how you feel. I prefer to take the high road, as it’s the very model of a Modern Major General, but if you need to yell back, then yell back.
Consider this as part of the true fight for your passion. Sometimes a defiant stand like this can help your reputation by letting your customers know you don’t take any nonsense.
Being a freelancer means being your own champion while embracing the “customer is always right” mantra. It can take time before you know how to handle every uncomfortable or discouraging situation, but as long as you keep doing what you’re doing, it’ll become second nature and you’ll find the right balance.
Or you’ll immediately hit it big with a masterpiece gig, become an instant millionaire, and never have to worry about any of this (I’m still crossing my fingers).
Jonathan Holdsworth is a new contributor to Medium and a writer for a San Francisco-based fintech company. He occasionally does freelance writing and editing to spice things up. He lives in Arizona with his wife and two huge dogs. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @Joldsworth if you’re into that kinda stuff.
