The Secret to Freelancer Success: Choosing the Right Clients
Some freelancers are successful, thriving, and happy with their work.
Others are just getting by and are miserable.
Often, a key difference is their choice of clients.
Note the word “choice”. When you start freelancing, you’re probably not choosing. You’re taking on nearly any client that comes your way.
You need the money, you need to build your portfolio, and you need the experience of working with clients.
If you’re lucky, you’ll meet clients you’ll keep working with for months and years. You’ll have others you never see again after the first project. That’s just business.
But once you start to establish yourself, you should be choosing clients.
How to Choose Clients That Are Right for You
After a few years in business, you’ll know what kind of projects match your skills and what you enjoy doing.
So, for example, as a writer, you may learn that you’re best at writing detailed blog posts for SaaS companies. You’ve created a system for writing these posts, you know what information you need, and you know how to optimize them to attract traffic.
You do other types of work, but writing blog posts for these types of companies is your jam. You’d like to do more of that type of work, less of everything else.
The first step is to identify and define these projects. In other words, blog posts, not social media, SaaS companies, not random tech companies. You might even narrow down the SaaS niche to companies offering specific types of services.
Then, start looking for more companies in this niche. LinkedIn makes it easy. You can find the companies and the individuals you need to contact. Follow them, reach out to them, let them know of your expertise.
More about where to look for clients that are similar to your existing ones.
You’ll also find industry websites and newsletters. Dig in, sign up, learn about all the companies in the niche.
This same process works for graphic designers, developers, and consultants. Look at your clients, group them, and decide which types of clients you want more of for your business.
Find prospects and introduce yourself. It’s never been easier. You don’t have to do cold calls. Warm up the prospects. Warm calls are much better.
Develop your niche. I wrote more about how to develop your niche here.
Here’s a focus on high-paying niches. It’s worth thinking about which niche is right for you.
Find Clients With Products, Services, and Ethics You Can Support
Your work is much easier if you believe in your client’s products, services, and ethics.
For example, if you have strong beliefs about the environment, you’ll find it easier to work with companies that share those beliefs.
That also means there are companies you wouldn’t want to work for.
The challenge comes when one of those companies offers you a project. Do you take it or not? How happy/unhappy would you be working for them?
Do you take the money and look the other way, or politely say, “Not for me, thanks.”
Aside from your feelings while working on a project, consider whether it would be a sample for your portfolio. Would you be proud to show it as an example of your work?
Think about this as you look for clients or as opportunities come your way.
Find People Who Respect Your Work
We’ve all had clients who hired us but thought they could do everything better themselves.
Your first draft is just the beginning of endless revisions.
You write an article for them, which they re-write by committee, turning everything into mush.
You’re hired to lay out web pages, and they make a dozen wrong-headed changes.
Even worse, they will tell you, “this is how we work”. They don’t see anything wrong with their “process”.
Unfortunately, once it’s done, it’s a mess, you can’t put it into your portfolio, and you feel used and abused. In the worst-case scenario, they don’t see why they should pay for the endless revisions either.
Generally, there’s no changing that type of behavior. You have to cut them loose. You’ll be happier the minute you do it.
The clients you want give you detailed briefings, along with all the support information you need, and let you do your work. There may be minor changes, but soon the project will be over. Another one for your portfolio.
Sound like a dream? Believe me, these clients exist and successful freelancers seek them out, and hang onto them.
Find People You Get Along With
You may be working for the right companies, but it’s also essential to work with individuals you like. I call these people my “business friends”. More thoughts on business friends here.
After all, dealing with them takes up a big part of your days. If you’re gritting your teeth every time you get an email or text from “this a##hole”, you will not be thrilled working for that company.
If you find yourself in that situation, you have a few choices. You could grin and bear it and hope they find another job. You could have a heart-to-heart talk to find ways to make the working relationship easier. Or you could walk away from the client.
This is never an easy decision, especially when you like everything else about the work, other than this person.
Companies Must Respect Your Terms and Conditions
As a freelancer, you’re a business. That means you have business rules, aka Terms and Conditions.
Terms and Conditions generally address payment terms, revisions, schedules, and agreeing on any legal requirements or restrictions.
For example, you want companies to pay you according to your proposed payment terms.
If you asked for a 50% deposit and the rest within 10 days of completion, and they agreed, you expect them to honor that. It’s important that you explicitly review your payment terms before starting to work with a new client. If they tell you they have different terms, you’ll have to decide whether you want to proceed.
Even worse, if they claim to have payment terms but don’t stick to them—"we pay in 30 days, but actually, you won’t get paid for at least 90 days”—you’ll have to decide.
Similarly, you should be clear on how you charge for revisions. We would say that our projects included “up to two rounds of revisions, and further revisions will be estimated as necessary”.
You may want to have terms around schedules. Specifically, you should account for delays caused by the client.
If they delay a project by two weeks, does that mean the end deliverable date moves out two weeks, or do they somehow believe you can magically work 24 hours a day to meet the deadline?
It’s worth discussing, especially if you sense the client has time-sensitive projects.
You’ll also want to know about any legal restrictions they may want to impose on you. Are you expected to sign NDAs? What about non-compete agreements?
Remember, any legal contracts from them are heavily weighted in their favor and potentially detrimental to you.
Be careful about signing any restrictive agreements. Get legal help if you don’t fully understand what they’re asking of you.
More about what Terms and Conditions you should have here.
How Do You Find Those Clients?
You start by deciding which types of companies you want to work for and figure out how to contact them to let them know you exist.
Keep in mind companies are having a hard time finding the right talent. You could be the one they need, but you’ll have to let them know.
After that, you have to have your “red flag” antenna on high alert. How do they propose to work together? How are your interactions with your client? Can you find terms and conditions that work for both sides?
What About Waiting for the Right Clients to Contact You?
I know many freelancers get much (most?) of their business through referrals. That’s common.
If you get the business you’re looking for that way, fine. But I would suggest that at some point, referrals drop off, and the pipeline dries up.
For me, it was always a combination of getting referrals and going after clients that interested me.
There’s much more on choosing the right clients in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
With over 300 pages and 23 chapters, it’s available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and Gumroad (PDF).
Cuts through the clutter
“As a freelance filmmaker trying to start my own business, I felt this book really broke through the clutter of starting a creative agency. I would oftentimes look at people who founded large organizations in the creative fields and wonder how they did it. How do you keep the lights on in such a fickle and tough industry?
This book breaks it all down from beginning to end. It gives practical advice from a seasoned veteran and a path you can follow to your own success. It's an easy read that doesn't bog itself down and is highly adaptable to your personal career journey. I highly recommend this book!”
Verified Purchase, Amazon
The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.
Want a free taste first?
Sure! Sign up below to get a free PDF of Chapter 14, Working With Clients.
Questions? On Twitter, I’m@StroteBook. DMs are always open. Ask away.