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While clients can be difficult to deal with making contracts is necessary, not all clients are bad. There are certain things we can do to make a working relationship better, and in this video we will go over the things we can do to turn a bad client into a long term one.
Before we close off our discussion on contracts,
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there are a few stray topics I want to cover.
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Now we've already been over creating your contract,
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but the opposite scenario can be true as well.
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The client can present you with a contract
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stating their terms and asking for your signature.
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Just as you would try to protect yourself as much as possible with your contract,
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the client is obviously doing the same.
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Set aside some time to go over every single line in the contract
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before your put your signature on it.
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If you don't agree with certain terms,
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renegotiate the contract to come to a more mutual relationship.
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Now I know I've spent a bit of time painting the client in a bad light,
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whereas the truth is that that's rarely the case.
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Sure, you will have clients that are difficult to work with.
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But rarely will you work with a client that will make you
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want to stop freelancing altogether.
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The key to having a longlasting career in this field
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is that understanding that your goal is not money, but a great working relationship.
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Even if you work with the best of clients,
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there are 3 factors where you will often be clashing:
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money, time, and talent.
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Everyone seeks to maximize what they can get out of the relationship,
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and if you view it that way, all clients will be bad clients to you.
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To maximize your relationship doesn't mean being submissive
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and accepting whatever the client just hands you
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so that they can be happy.
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It means communicating to the client why your price is necessary.
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It means working with them when the revisions seem reasonable.
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And it means using your judgment to understand
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whether certain decisions outside of the norm
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will be good for the long-term business or not.
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There will always be bad clients.
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But as you get better at protecting yourself with contracts,
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holding your ground, and being professional,
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you will soon start to see issues that before you deemed
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as part of being a bad client
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now just a normal part of running a business that you work through.
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That being said, there are some clients you just can't work with,
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and that's fine as well.
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Learn to identify these people early on,
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and promptly say no.
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That should wrap up our talk on contracts.
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And hopefully I've convinced you that, one, contracts aren't a choice—
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you should always have one ready—
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and, two, that there are certain key areas that you must cover.
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Now, as you create your contract,
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remember that you don't have to adhere to a template.
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Most contracts are very strict and legal sounding,
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but if you don't like that kind of stuff, you can change it up.
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I've included a few templates in the notes and downloads section below.
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Pay special attention to Andy Clarke's Killer Contract.
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He does a great job of writing a comprehensive contract
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that covers his needs and is super informal,
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relfecting his personality and work.
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