Beware clients who ask you to “grow with them”

There is no strategic reason for a client to tell you how big their company is going to be, or the big plans they have lined up in the future. Yet, low-paying clients do it all the time. Actually…wait—there is one strategic reason: to get you to work for cheaper. 

Big clients with healthy businesses gain no advantage from telling you that their business is “going to the moon.” In fact, high-paying clients will do the opposite. They’ll tell you their budget is “a little tight on this one,” to throw you off the scent that they do have margin, and if you negotiated with them, they could accommodate your higher rate. 

Be wary of low-paying clients who tell about their “big plans” for the future, or who ask you to “grow with them.” This is just a method to make you feel like you’re making a smart investment. “Investment” is an interesting word to consider, because if you are giving a client a discount now for the potential of future earnings (as they try to make it seem), you are “investing” in their company, in a sense. But if you ask them to back up their talk with a payment plan, or a profit sharing model, they’ll sober up real quick. Then the reality of their situation will become clear. 

Good luck out there.