One of the best things about running a freelance business is the ability to fire a client if they aren’t working out. When you run your own business you can pick and choose who to work with, and sometimes that means firing clients that are more trouble than they are worth.
Admittedly, this is not an easy thing to do in the beginning when you are just starting out. But as you gain more experience, you become very grateful for the ability to exercise your right as a business owner and let go of clients that no longer work.
There are many reasons why you may need to fire a client, and they aren’t all bad. Below you’ll find some of the common reasons for letting clients go.
You Raised Your Rates
It’s very common that when freelancers raise their rates that you may have to fire some clients who don’t want to pay. Unfortunately, there are people out there who will try to take advantage of your generosity up until that point, so it’s up to you as the freelancer to stick to your guns when it comes to your rates.
You do have the option of grandfathering in older clients and that is completely up to you. You’ll have to decide whether you want to keep doing the same amount of work you’re doing for other clients for lesser pay.
Alternatively, you can fire a client when you feel like you aren’t getting paid enough for the amount of work you are doing. This does sometimes happen and it’s up to you stand up for yourself.
You Finally Found Your Niche
Specializing in a certain area is how you make the most money as a freelancer. If you have a specialty you can charge more and people are more willing to pay it. Even though we as freelancers intellectually know this, sometimes it takes us a while to really figure out what our niche is.
For example, it took me four years to figure out that I’d stumbled into the personal finance niche. Once I really owned it, I began to gradually let go of clients that no longer fit into my niche. This has led to more money, more clarity and far less stress.
Your Client is a PITA
At some point in your freelancing career, you will have a client who is what Marie Forleo likes to call a PITA. In other words, they are a pain in the you know what.
You know they guy. He never pays on time (if at all). He’s always emailing you at all hours of the day and night expecting an answer. He doesn’t respect your boundaries. He wants endless edits and is never satisfied. His demands are ridiculous. And in some cases he just sucks the life right out of you.
Although I’ve been fortunate enough to not have to deal with many of these, they do exist. This would be a great time to exercise your right to fire a client.
Final Thoughts
Remember, clients are not bosses you have to put up with. You are the boss. The ability to fire a client is a part of the beauty of running a freelance business. Exercise the right when you need to.
