{"id":1315,"date":"2020-11-20T09:07:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T09:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/?p=1315"},"modified":"2022-10-10T16:12:39","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T15:12:39","slug":"they-wanted-to-come-to-my-place-at-10-pm-an-unexpected-freelance-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/?p=1315","title":{"rendered":"They wanted to come to my place at 10 pm: an unexpected freelance experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am Lilian Alvarez,\u00a0freelance iOS\u00a0expert\u00a0and manager of a training organisation specialising in supporting\u00a0IT\u00a0freelancers. The story I am about to tell you really happened to me. I have intentionally changed and left out some details\u00a0out of respect for my clients\u2019 privacy.<\/em> Discover an unexpected freelance experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

An unexpected freelance experience<\/h2>\n

It all started with a message\u00a0on\u00a0a\u00a0professional\u00a0networking platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Hello, Lilian.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u00a0need a developer to update the version of a mobile application …<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After a few messages\u00a0were\u00a0exchanged, I proposed\u00a0a telephone meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the meeting, the person\u00a0told\u00a0me they ran a web agency. A few weeks\u00a0before, they\u00a0had\u00a0inherited a project\u00a0from another team, and they\u00a0were having\u00a0a lot of technical issues\u00a0with it.\u00a0They needed\u00a0assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far, nothing surprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Right away,\u00a0I\u00a0offered\u00a0to make an estimate of the cost of\u00a0my\u00a0services.\u00a0To do this, I needed\u00a0to\u00a0analyse the source code.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And … That\u2019s\u00a0where things got\u00a0tricky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The person refused\u00a0to share the project\u00a0files\u00a0with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not odd by itself. Secrecy is vital for some\u00a0companies (which I hear and respect).\u00a0This\u00a0is why\u00a0I\u00a0proposed signing\u00a0a confidentiality agreement.\u00a0But the\u00a0person refused again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I tried\u00a0to explain\u00a0myself better:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

It’s like walking into the\u00a0auto repair shops\u00a0and saying, “My car won’t start anymore, how much will it cost me to fix it?”\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s a difficult\u00a0question\u00a0to answer without\u00a0first\u00a0getting your hands dirty to\u00a0identify\u00a0the origin of the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That’s when the person offered to come to my house after\u00a0<\/strong>a full day of<\/strong>\u00a0work<\/strong>. Because why not.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

– This way, I can make sure\u00a0that you are not making any copies of the source code.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

– Uh, sorry?<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Okay, I should have ended the discussion\u00a0right there.\u00a0But no.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of an accommodating nature, I suggested\u00a0meeting at a bar to assess the problem.\u00a0The person accepted,\u00a0only to end up cancelling\u00a030 minutes before the appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I learned a lesson from this experience.\u00a0To say the least:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not all leads\u00a0<\/strong>that come to you\u00a0<\/strong>are worth pursuing.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spending 2 days doing pre-sales for a service that won’t last more than a week is\u00a0just\u00a0not worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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My advice\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Beyond this\u00a0little\u00a0adventure, I would like to give you\u00a0some advice\u00a0on the 4 types of customers\u00a0you should\u00a0flee:\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. The torturer\u00a0<\/h3>\n

They\u00a0have\u00a0been abusing providers ever since\u00a0they\u00a0read Steve Jobs\u2019\u00a0biography.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They\u00a0tend to change\u00a0their\u00a0mind about the\u00a0colour\u00a0of the connect button 45 times a day. Of course,\u00a0they\u00a0want\u00a0these requests to be\u00a0addressed\u00a0immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to\u00a0spot this kind of client?\u00a0Their\u00a0last 3 providers have disappeared without leaving any\u00a0trace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. The bad payer\u00a0<\/h3>\n

They\u00a0refuse to pay any deposit before the start of the\u00a0job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. The\u00a0psychopath\u00a0<\/h3>\n

They\u00a0want to come to your home at 10 p.m. to watch you work. I speak knowingly\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. The lawyer\u00a0<\/h3>\n

They\u00a0want you to sign a contract with penalties for non-compliance with delivery deadlines.\u00a0In an of itself, this type of contract\u00a0is not bad, and\u00a0may well have its place in a client-freelancer\u00a0relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, I\u00a0must\u00a0warn you: never sign such a document if you are dependent on resources and customer feedback to meet your deadlines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it can get worse. If the boundaries\u00a0and deadlines\u00a0of the project are blurry, this kind of commitment is the best way to end up working for free and under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, it is possible to come across a serious customer who\u00a0at first glance seems to\u00a0fall\u00a0into\u00a0one of the\u00a0categories\u00a0mentioned above.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But,\u00a0as I often tell participants of my training courses,\u00a0a freelancer\u00a0is not just a consultant.\u00a0A freelancer is also\u00a0the manager of a company. And a\u00a0manager must\u00a0work to do the best\u00a0possible\u00a0job\u00a0while preparing for the worst.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And\u00a0how about\u00a0you, what\u2019s your weirdest and unexpected freelance experience?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Before closing this web page, I invite you to follow my newsletter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I regularly share advice on\u00a0IT\u00a0freelancing as well as my latest articles (one-click unsubscribe):\u00a0?\u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/3je2vvL<\/a>\u00a0?\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can also explore my trainings and guidance for freelancers here: www.lilianalvarez.com<\/a> (Eligible for financing)<\/p>\n

Lilian Alvarez.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Find me on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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To avoid\u00a0ending up working with the\u00a0bad\u00a0type of client, you can also go through a partner such as\u00a0Mindquest\u00a0<\/em>?. Get\u00a0access to\u00a0the best jobs and benefit from personalised follow-up until the end of your contract. You focus on the\u00a0project;\u00a0they\u00a0take care of the rest.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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