Dear Client, Would You Still do That if I Weren’t a Freelancer?
If only I had a dollar for every single time someone tried to haggle with me over price.
I’m slowly getting sick of it.
I believe I’m quite good at what I do. Deadlines are sacred to me. I’m always up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry. I’m very self-sufficient and rarely need specific guidance.
I’m an excellent communicator and I probably give AWAY too much free advice anyway.
So what is it?
What is it that am I doing wrong that gives people the right to bargain with me as if we’ve met in the middle of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, one of the most popular places in the world where you know you can get a bargain for sure?
Most of the time nowadays, clients find me, not the other way around.
You are the one reaching out to me. YOU are the one looking for MY services. You need my expertise to grow YOUR business.
Don’t know about you but I’d feel embarrassed if I were you. Just imagine, I ask someone to do something for me, talk to them on the phone for hours, insist that they’re the right person to do it and then ASK for a discount.
No reason really. It’s just because you’re doing business with a freelancer — and what’s stopping you from haggling with a freelancer, right?
Doesn’t that make you feel uncomfortable?
Hold on, maybe I know why.
Does it have something to do with the fact that I don’t wear high heels or dress to impress on my Skype meeting? I put perfume every day and my skin is spotless if that counts for something.
Does it have anything to do with me having English as a second language?
My writing in English often excels the writing of native speakers. I know this because I’ve lived and worked and created with English native speakers, all of whom sought advice from me. Dear client, writing isn’t only connected with language — it has more to do with stirring emotion.
Does it have anything to do with the fact that I’m a girl, and a fairly young one — so I don’t deserve to be paid, not even when you take a look at my level of expertise and all the experience I have and all of the projects I’ve successfully completed?
No, really — I don’t get it.
You want some quality work done? You’ve got to pay for it.
Freelance doesn’t mean free.
Freelancing means doing everything as a one-man show. I get to be a writer, a copywriter, a marketing expert, an assistant… and make my own coffee during the day.
Freelancing means handling every single expense & cost associated with the business myself.
Freelancing means I spend hours each day dealing with people like YOU, people that believe they are entitled to get a LOWER price just because they work with someone like ME who chose to build their own independent business.
And I don’t know about the rest but if you want to work with THIS freelancer, you’ve gotta respect that.
Would you do that if I had an office — an actual office, with a massive working desk, mustard armchairs and a coffee machine in the corner?
Do you walk into a store and ask for a discount just so you buy something from them?
Do you grab an Uber and decide you’ll only pay half of the price?
Do you go into a restaurant and ask to pay half of the check? I mean, there are so many restaurants out there and WOW, you’ve picked one and honored them with your presence — that’s enough to give you a discount!
NO!
And yet, you dare to do that to me.
It’s disrespectful, and it’s shameful and it makes me feel horrible. Scratch that, it makes me feel like CRAP whenever I have to reason why the prices I offer are set the way they are. Yes, surprise, freelancers have emotions as well!
You do not get to determine my worth by deciding my price for me.
You do not get to put a value on the time I spend working on your project.
You do not get to decide how much my effort costs.
I do.
And I can complain about freelancing and how lonely I am sometimes but you know what? At the end of the day, I still love it because it also comes with one major advantage: the freedom to tell you to f*** off.
Just in a more polite, professional way, of course.
* * * * *
Dear client, no, I no longer want to work on your project now, even when you’re offering to pay me the full price.
You wonder why?
Because even you don’t care about the project yourself — you only care about the price.
Why should I care?
And see, I have one big flaw. I don’t know how to NOT care for a project — I don’t know how to work without infusing passion into my work.
Trying to get a bargain at first only showed me that you’re interested in shopping price — not getting quality. And I’ve spent years mastering my craft to know that great results only come when working with people who look for quality.
I’m sure you’ll be able to easily find someone who’s a bit more “flexible” when it comes to meeting your tight budget. After all, plenty of people out there promising to “help you convert”.
In the end, you’re doing me a favor, really.
You’re only pushing me to improve more and more. You’re helping me toughen up and don’t take everything to the heart the way I still do now.
You’re making me reach for the top — only so I get that good at my craft, that I won’t have to spend a minute out of my day dealing with people like you.
And you’re helping me find and stick to some great people to work with, clients that I’ve worked with for years at a time — people that treat me as the professional I am.
And I thank you for that.
Note: not looking for any specific advice here, thank you. Just needed to vent!
