I've just finished one of the most frustrating assignments I've done in memory. The client is a really nice person, I think.
But between the "scope creep," and my inability to grasp what the client wants ( not sure who's fault was that:-), I wasted a lot of time , and my potential to earn, trying to get the assignment done. And all I can say is, I'm never doing an assignment from this client again. I can't afford the work. Really!
Anyway, the incident got me curious: where do you draw the line about what you would do/not do for money given the opportunity? When would you say NEVER!
4 comments:
I am kind of suffering a work situation where I should have stood up and said no weeks ago, but at some point I surrendered and just took whatever came my way, and as a result I am so damn miserable. I need to learn to put up boundaries before it is too late!
It's different for me though because I have the stress but I get paid anyway, so maybe I am being paid to put up with nonsense whereas you just cannot afford it!
@po- I'm sorry you're going through such a rough time at work. I think both employees and small biz owners sometimes feel like they do have to put up with the stress because they are being paid by the employer or client. Sometimes I've just swallowed my tongue and done the work even I feel the situation was wrong.
But even when you are an employee, there has to be boundaries. I sometimes feel that some employers, even colleagues, do things that trample over your rights not because they are right/ think they are right, but because they can. It's one of the reasons I am self-employed. At some stage I decided that I wanted the option to say, "no thank you for the work" and not lose my job, as such.
I try to think long-term and if... this client was good in teh past, then I would take it and say yes... but if the client was not so good, I would politely decline.
PS, good news your guest blog post is now up.
Great question. I have a bit of a list, actually. :)
I will never:
- work for free
- work to fix something someone unknown to me suddenly has a problem with
- work with someone who insists on tracking my movements (that's just creepy)
- work for someone who agrees to my rate, then argues every penny
- work for new clients who expect an immediate price break
I could go on....
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