A big part of freelancing is educating people and dealing with different types of personalities. I had to learn how to stay calm and collected when my clients feel disappointed.
When a client comes to me and I haven’t held my end of the bargain—say I missed a deadline or I can’t quite see their vision—part of me feels disappointed that I couldn’t do a satisfying job for them.
As someone who holds themselves to high standards, I needed to learn how to separate my feelings from business. Over time, I had to learn how to translate what people are explicitly saying with what they are actually trying to accomplish. So even when your client’s criticism comes across harshly, know that it is almost always never meant as a personal attack. It's usually just the pressure they feel with their own business—be empathetic towards that.
Since, I’ve developed a thicker skin whilst learning how to take full accountability for my mistakes: me fucking up does not make me a fuck up.
I remind myself that
“This is a learning opportunity.”
“This is just an expensive lesson learned.”
But this takes practice to develop. In my first year of business, I was once told
“We took a chance on an 18 year old and we completely regret it.”
I was trying to implement a revision system and they weren’t happy with the end product within the number of revisions we agreed upon. I was getting feedback over email, would apply it, and they would change their mind. They were a “I know it when I see it” client.
My character was being insulted and my integrity challenged. What did I do?
I went for a drive with one of my closest friends, crying, stressed, and devastated. I questioned if running my own business was worth it. If the stress was worth it. I drove back home, re-evaluated my communication strategy with the client, and finished the job.
This was my first big blow up in communication. We were sending each other long ineffective text messages. They were explaining why they were upset. I felt insulted. And I resorted to defending myself.
I took a step back and thought—okay, what can we do moving forward? I realized getting defensive didn’t help either party. I needed to take accountability and present productive solutions.
Let’s just finish the project. I scheduled an in-person working session with them so we could explore designs together, get concrete decisions made, and finalize a design. We finished the job and the relationship was mended by the end of the project.
-
My first year of freelancing was rough since every experience, every challenge, every personality I was encountering was so new. As time has gone on, it takes a lot more to shake me up this way. Now, when challenges get thrown my way, I’ve learned to not let the stress, panic, and disappointment take control. I just take accountability, action, and move on.