What Not to Do When You Start to Work with Clients
When I landed my very first client for my marketing strategy business, I couldn’t believe my luck. It had all happened so fast and I didn’t have any systems in place. I had a lot of experience managing accounts and working with clients at previous small businesses, but I hadn’t laid out the groundwork for how I wanted to run my own business.
I had a feeling that this would formulate in time as I worked with new people. And I was right. But I’ve had a few missteps along the way. Who doesn’t? That’s how we learn. By doing. But if I could go back in time and tell my past self what not to do when starting to work with clients, here’s what I would say.
Don’t skip the new client kick-off call.
Taking the time to have a kick-off call with your new client will give the two of you the opportunity to establish the ground rules. You will be able to ask all the questions you didn’t think to ask, or didn’t have time to ask, in the discovery call. Take some time to brainstorm these questions before the call starts.
At this call, share with your client how you like to work. No detail is too small. Set the expectations for timelines, email communication, texting, and how you would like feedback. This will save you loads of time and stress.
Don’t start work without pay.
Requiring at least some pay before starting work is a must have, in my opinion. I did not make this mistake. While scouring Facebook groups online for marketing consultants, I heard some horror stories of people churning out full projects and then getting ghosted by their clients with no pay. This scared me straight.
I decided to invoice in full for smaller contracts (under $2,000) and to invoice at 25-50% down payment for larger contracts, depending on the contract size, with the remainder due after approval of the final product. You would be surprised at how some clients have the full amount ready to go, so don’t assume everyone will need it to be broken down. I let the client know how I invoice and at that point they can let me know how they would like to pay.
Don’t psych yourself out of a project.
Sometimes you get a client that has very specific likes and dislikes when it comes to the work you are creating. Some people might call them “picky”. Or maybe they just have very high standards. Whatever you want to call it, if you didn’t figure this out before starting work and it starts to come up from the client with every little thing you do, stop and take a breath. You will inevitably start to feel like you’re a total hack and you don’t know what you’re doing. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Do not listen to the little people in your head who are letting imposter syndrome creep in. You were hired for a reason: Because you have expertise! Believe in your expertise and forge ahead. You can do hard things!
If it gets to a point where you feel like the client hates everything you do, ask them for a call to talk it over. Be honest with your client and work together to come up with a plan. Show that you really want to get this right for them.
If it gets to a point where the client is just really unhappy and you’re miserable in return, don’t be afraid to cut ties. They just might not be the right one for you, and vice versa. But I would advise against refunding them the full amount. You should be paid for the amount of work you did. If they paid you for more than that, you can offer to refund them the difference.
Don’t neglect your upskilling
Upskilling in my field of marketing is a must-do. There are new trends every week and the algorithms are constantly changing. If you don’t keep up you’ll be left out. Whatever your field of work, there is always more to learn. Take on a “lifelong learner” attitude and get your hands on any content you can.
There are countless online courses and books out there to learn or refresh the fundamentals, and blogs, podcasts, and social media posts with plenty of free content on what’s happening now. Always be learning! The more I learn, the more confident I feel in my work. I’ve always got a business book on my Kindle and I highlight essential tips that I want to apply in my business.
When you’re starting out with your new business, you are in hyper-growth-mode. It’s really easy to whip yourself up into a frenzy with all there is to do. Make sure to practice self-care. I recently decided to schedule a lunch break for myself every day. This may sound insane, but it’s something that I have to do for me. If I don’t put “LUNCH” in my calendar, I will skip it and keep working. And even though I love my work and get fulfillment out of it, if I don’t take a lunch break I will start to feel really burned out by 3 pm.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your business. Take that time to stop and recharge so you don’t burn out before your business has taken flight.
Julie Nichols is the owner and lead marketing strategist at Julie Nichols Marketing, a boutique marketing strategy agency that specializes in content, brand, and social media strategy and execution. You can find her at julienicholsmarketing.com or on LinkedIn.
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