Avoid problem clients with this list of red flags
How many times have you done the thing you knew you shouldn’t do?
Now take that number and divide it by the number of times you’ve worked with clients who gave you an icky feeling; a feeling you ultimately ignored. You should get something like… a really confusing, semi-depressing number.
But hey, that’s called being a flawed, imperfect, I’m-just-figuring-this-all-out person who happens to run a business. And if I’m quite honest, if you haven’t had a nightmare client yet - your time will come.
Or, maybe it won’t. Because you’re reading this blog, which will give you a complete and comprehensive list of red flags to keep on your radar, so you don’t make the same mistakes that I, and so many others, did.
The goal of this blog is to give you a list to carry with you throughout each and every day, and every high and low. I want you to bookmark this, screenshot this, email it to yourself with a subject line of, “READ THIS WHEN YOU’RE QUESTIONING YOUR JUDGMENT.” I want it to be the thing that you go to, when you feel you have nothing else to go to.
Basically, I want this list of red flags to be the resource I would’ve loved to have as a budding business owner.
Now, I want to say that I didn’t build this entire list on my own. I had the help of fellow creative small business owners* who were kind enough to chip in with their experiences and most common client red flags.
So in a way, that makes this blog even better! You can rest assured that many, many brains (and backgrounds and experiences) worked together to dump all of the not-so-great things we’ve gone through into a list to share with you. That way, you’ll be able to refer to these red flags anytime you're dealing with a client who makes you think: that doesn’t seem right. Right?
(and then we, the collective folks who shared our most-hated red flags, would silently say back: “right”)
Refer to this list of creative client red flags whenever you’re feeling iffy.
“This shouldn’t take too long,” or “this should be a quick one” (they’re basing your worth on time, versus inherent value)
“I just need ONE _____ “ (photo, graphic, piece of copy, miscellaneous thing)
“I’ve talked to a few other X and I found they were difficult.” (Just run, okay?)
“Yeah, we can’t sign your contract… but we’ll send you ours.”
“Hi can we get on a call right now?” (No? Do you think I’m just waiting around hoping for the chance to call you today???????)
“We were hoping for a super simple process.” (AKA, they don’t necessarily want to follow your well-developed and thought out client intake process)
Not answering your questions about their needs or goals, or answering in a very roundabout way (they’re likely hiding the fact that they’re A) not serious about the project or B) completely unsure about what they want. If they’re open to being led and seeking your advice as an expert, however, this might be one you can easily work through!)
Bashing a fellow or previous creative they did/didn’t work with, just because.
Questioning your RATES (just had to add that in)!
Vagueness or indecision in terms of project timing or budget.
Sending you multiple follow up emails when you don’t reply within the same day.
Texting or DMing you about the project.
“We’ll know it when we see it.” (Will you??? Will you really???)
“I’m not sure what I need right now, I’d love to learn about what you do and what you offer!”(The issue here is the indication that this person has not read your list of services on your website, and cannot tell you what it is they need)
“Explore” (Okay fine, that one is just a pet peeve and it made me laugh to throw it in here)
“We’re a startup working with a limited budget” (AKA, we’ve seen your rates and think we deserve to pay less while receiving the same amount of work OR we haven’t seen your rates but we think “fair” pricing is somewhere within $10-100)
Stating that their budget is “reasonable.” (Reasonable to me is $5. I can tell you that not a single thing I do will cost $5)
“We’re hoping for a quick turnaround.” (aka we left it til the last second and will breathe down your neck until you get it back to us)
“Looking for ____ (project type) within the next week/two weeks.” (again, too rushed)
Being unable to give you direct feedback, but still saying they’re unhappy with the outcome of your work. I.e., “It looks good, but there’s something missing. Can you rework it?”
“How many hours will it take you to do ____?”
“Can you just throw that in, or would that be another increase in cost?”
“We’d like to implement some changes to your usage rights,” (without being willing to pay more for said changes)
“Can we have the raw files?” (Photographers, I just heard you all SCREAM)
Requesting usage rights/licensing in perpetuity.
Requesting anything in perpetuity.
Requiring regular, unpaid “meetings.” (You’re a contractor, and they are not legally allowed to require you to “clock in” ever. You can pay them a fee to consult on an hourly basis, however!)
“Since you’re a member of the team, it’s really important that you be here for _____ .” (insert completely unnecessary call or meeting)
Being unwilling to provide feedback or constructive thoughts over email.
Being unwilling to communicate at all via email.
Calling you without a scheduled meeting time or fair warning.
Of course, this is an ever growing list. Feel free to share a red flag you’d add in the comments!
Pin this for later - you never know when you might need it!
*A special thank you to the contributing creatives who made this list possible: Irene, Michelle, Steph, Cassidy, Mandy, Victoria, Emily and Jeeval (businesses and full names not shared for privacy).