Even though I told myself I would never get into another client situation where I felt like I was being taken advantage of, I got myself into another client situation where I felt like I was being taken advantage of.

I have no one to blame but myself. I got bad vibes in the beginning and I didn’t listen to them. It was a potential client who wanted a logo, then didn’t want the logo, then wanted the logo, then didn’t want the logo. Then disappeared. Then came back. Then said, “I want to hire you.” Then disappeared. Then wanted a lower price. Then agreed to my price. Then asked for the contract. Then sat on it for 8 months. Then came back.

Did I really think this was going to have a happy ending?

Well, it didn’t. I’m out quite a bit of income after putting in a herculean effort.

I don’t like to give up, but looking back I can see that nothing I did was going to do cut the grade because the grade could never be cut.

The saddest part? I created something really lovely because that’s my M.O. I put my heart and soul and wild spirit into the design and I’m proud of it. But its loveliness could not be accepted.

Finally, I said to myself, “I can’t do this anymore. It’s not healthy for me.”

And I cut my losses.

Keeping your boundaries strong will be one of your biggest challenges as a business owner. I’m cognizant of it and still I found myself with a hole in my boundary. There’s the tendency to

a) give away too much for free.
b) give someone a deal because they say they don’t make a lot of money.
c) give yourself a nervous breakdown because you believe you have to make every client happy.
c) give away your self-respect.

We’ve been told to protect our business reputations so much that we end up making ourselves crazy trying to please someone to keep them from complaining about us.

Sometimes you need to just let go and not worry what an unsatisfied client thinks. For whatever reason, you need to divorce your client and take custody of your sanity.

I’m going to make it a priority to listen to my gut. Am I getting a good feeling with this potential client or an I getting a crazy feeling?

Walk away if the feeling is not a good one. That way you’ll be available for the good clients looking for someone just like you.

I got all freaked out about marketing, networking, and selling during my early years as a business owner. Whenever I tried to do it, I felt weird, nervous, scared, fraudulent, uncomfortable. It left a terrible taste in my mouth. As a result I didn’t market much.

Hard to be a profitable business with that kind of marketing approach/attitude.

Since I did not want to go back and work for THE MAN, I needed to find a way to conquer my distaste of conventional marketing.

I found the answer within myself — market in an organic way. Market who I am, not some 60 second drab elevator pitch that sounds like a pitch because that’s what it is. (more…)