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Just recently I got an email from a client that I hadn't heard from in a while. I'd done some bulk work with them a while back, where I'd provided ten or twelve articles a month for two or three months. The work trickled out and the client and I parted ways, but just recently he got back in touch with a one-time article writing project. Following my normal business procedure, I sent over a contract defining the length of the pieces, price, and payment schedule. That's when the
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Comments
09.30.08
This has all the red flags of a client needing services, but something in his organization has changed to where he may not be as "liquid" as he once was, i.e., you are not going to get paid as fast or at all once you do the work.
When you are the very best in your field, terms are simply not negotiable and all parties know that. As a client, I will always try to get better terms, but the creatives that get my business are the ones who don't bend as that tells me they know the value of their services. But, they damn well better deliver or they just don't get called back on future projects, whatever their terms or cost.
And Jennifer, I was right there with you until you did the "nice girls" vs "professional women" line. I cringed because you should see yourself as a "professional" regardless of your gender.
09.30.08
I actually liked that last line, because it underscores the reality that many professional women have difficulty asserting themselves since they were raised to be "nice." Of course you should see yourself as a professional regardless of gender, but in general men have an easier time sticking to their guns than women do. And of course, some men struggle with that as well.
09.30.08
I agree with Susan. Growing up, my family always told me to "keep sweet". And sweet or nice is great if you want to be prom queen but sweet and nice don't always speak up when the time calls for it.
I'm very amused by the client's idea of an "initial" stage of business interaction. A client is still a client. It is not friends or family but a transaction of money for a good/service. Good job on sticking with your personal business terms!
09.30.08
Hello, and thanks for the comments!
@Gerard--I completely agree. Thinking about it later, it seemed to me that there was probably something else going on that I wasn't aware of, probably that the client was having budget problems and didn't want to tell me about it. The weird thing is that I've done 50% deposits with them before and never had any complaints--it's not like he didn't know this is how I work.
I agree that professionalism has nothing to do with gender. But I do think men and women sometimes face different challenges to their professionalism. The expectation to be "nice" is more common for women, at least in my experience--and it's pulled out whenever someone wants you to put their needs before your own. While men may sometimes run into this expectation too, I know far more women who have.
@Susan--Definitely. I think this subject deserves a blog post of its own.
09.30.08
@Dorie--It is funny. I don't really have an "initial" stage, although my business terms change depending on the nature of the project. It's always kind of jarring to me when business contacts try to bring up the "I thought we were friends" line when trying to get me to change something or make an exception. Not that I don't develop friendly relationships with my clients, but business has to come first.
10.01.08
Great post Jennifer - and very, very relevant point re: the nice Vs professional thing too. I often come against this as a fellow freelancer, it's great to see it being addressed. Thank you :)
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