I said yes to a client when I knew I should have said NO!

You know the feeling, you just not vibe(ing) together, it feels like hard work. Communication is tricky, they really don’t understand what you do or what the process is and they really don’t value your worth.

Apart from saying yes, I also let it drag on for too long, I didn’t follow my processes and it all went to Shit!

“There was was a little voice in my head telling me to pay more attention but I didn’t.”

The contract started 18 months ago, in that time we had Covid, the builder went bust, prices went thru the roof and the build had to change due to rising costs, then it had to go back to council for approval – all of that dragged on for 12+ months and in all of that time my my rates had increased.

Both parties did not communicate the changes very well and when the client was finally ready to start she wanted action immediately and she wanted to know how I spent every minute of my time in her job (another red flag).

I tried to explain the changes to the client, she was not very receptive, she started questioning the hours I had already spent on her job and started telling what she would accept and what she wouldn’t. She also thought any email f/u spent on her job should not be charged and should be general admin (can you see where this is going ) after much deliberation I decided to terminate our contact (thank goodness I had a signed contract @tmsolicitor) and give her a full refund.

My first reaction was to stand firm and collect the money/hours I had spent on her job, I was surely entitled to that (but I decided to let it go and move on).

There really is no point fighting to be acknowledged, when that person was never going to listen.

Now, if I had of stayed in that contract, I would not have enjoyed the process, it would have been painful and although I didn’t want to refund $3k out of my biz it has been the best decision and lesson for me.

I share this because, we all make mistakes, and it’s ok, we learn and we get better. I knew this was not a good fit from the start but I still proceeded.

It was never going to work, I should have acted earlier! Lesson learnt

Pay attention to the RED FLAGS!!!!!