Are you too loose with clients?
Are you too loose with clients?
When too much flexibility turns into a nightmare
Being too flexible with clients can quickly turn into a nightmare for freelancers. It's also unprofessional when you look closer. Here's why you need to set boundaries from the start.
Ever feel like you say "yes" too much? Or "no" not enough?
Freelancers overly flexible with clients usually find it backfires.
If you're like I was, you think being super agreeable makes you a more desirable freelancer.
And since saying 'no' feels too confrontational, you prefer to avoid it.
Don't be a 'Yes-Man'
Of course, you want to work with your clients, give them a spectacular experience showing them how you work. You want to be part of the team, even if it's only short-term.
But that only requires regular flexibility.
It's saying yes all the time, being too flexible, keeping an 'order-taker' mindset... is where you get into trouble.
Like this…
Freelancer offers the service but the client tells them how to do it
Client dictates the price
Client chooses the timeline
Everything is a rush job
So what about your other clients
Saying "yes" all the time isn't what a good client wants.
Downfalls of Client-Pleasing
If you're like me, you try to be flexible to client needs. Not super flexible, but flexible enough.
In the past though, I thought clients would value my super flexible approach, where my process was their process. That would make them prefer working with me over another freelancer. And they would appreciate the extra effort in making the relationship smooth.
And they often did, for the first week or so.
Take it from me, as soon as a bad client learns how eager to please you are, they're happy to exploit you.
But the other part of client-pleasing is that you're the expert. You do this day in and day out. They came to you for help, for your expertise.
Part of that is helping them to avoid stepping on landmines. The ones you see coming but they don't.
Like when they ask you to post constant AI and promotional content on their socials to drive sales
...or they want to send a cold email to 10k buyer email addresses from their primary domain
...or they want you to stuff keywords in tiny text at the bottom of every page for SEO
As an expert, the landmines are your job. See them first, then keep your client from stepping in them.
That's what your client wants
And that's how setting boundaries early and often is better for you and for them.
The problems don't end there. Too much flexibility cuts into your personal time too.
TGI...F?
Most freelancers work from home. When your work area is anywhere you can connect, or your desk is always 10 feet away, it can feel like you're always working.
Have you ever agreed to a last-minute request from a client, only to miss a deadline for another. Or agree to hit an impossible deadline knowing it would eat your weekend?
Your reputation, your mental health, your weekend, sleep. They all take a hit.
Too much flexibility messes up everything including whatever work-life balance you've tried to create.
But if you set boundaries, you can get some of that 'free time' you keep hearing other people talk about. You stay happy and do better work because you're not always stressed out.
And you can actually enjoy the weekend.
Unprofessionals Unbound
Think about the last time you let a client overstep a boundary. What did you do about it? It's uncomfortable.
Especially when the bad ones are happy to treat you less like a professional and more like an always-available object.
So what are you supposed to do when a client crosses your boundaries, and how do you keep it from happening again?
In my experience, it's easier to enforce known boundaries than to call out overstepping an unknown one.
That's why you want to set early boundaries.
Get your clients used to boundaries from the very beginning. The easiest way to get them used to boundaries from the start is by:
Being clear about when you work
Being clear about what you do
Being clear about when you're available for communication
Being clear about when you're not
These don't have to be rigidly expressed. Just rigidly adhered.
What I mean by that is... don't have to scream this at them or be harsh about it. Just plainly state them as long standing facts in conversation and over email.
Then when they make a request outside your boundary, it's not news to them. Politely reinform them and offer your next best thing within the guardrails you've created for this exact reason.
Good clients will appreciate your boundary, the polite reminder and your offer. The bad ones won't.
For those, get rid of them. Thank them for showing you who they are as you show them to the door.
It's better not for them to hear of your boundary, for the first time, only once they cross it.
But when you've informed them of a boundary up front, you need only to remind them.
You're not just following your established process and reinforcing they hired a pro.
You're getting back your weekends. 🥳