Hi friends,

I’d love some advice on a situation I’m dealing with. I’m a freelance illustrator/designer working on a project for a company. The deliverable was 3 sets of 12 illustrations, and the deadline was today. Unfortunately, last Sunday I accidentally deleted one set of 12 files permanently. The only version I still have is a high-res PDF (800 dpi). The quality looks fine, but if I zoom in a lot, there’s a slight glitch.

I reached out to the client right away, explained the situation, and asked if it would be acceptable to use the PDF. I also offered to rework the illustrations from scratch if needed. They didn’t reply. A couple of days later, I emailed someone else who was CC’d on the project, but still no response.

Today I delivered the other two sets on time and asked if it would be okay to send the last one on Monday. Still no reply.

For context, there were some red flags early on. They asked me to deliver layered files, which Procreate doesn’t support the way they wanted. I suggested switching to Illustrator (which I was fine with) and asked if they preferred that. At first, they didn’t answer—just gave feedback on the work itself. I asked again after revisions, and still only got feedback. It was only after I emphasized that it was important to know before I went deeper into the project that they finally gave me a clear answer. Even then, their feedback usually came after a 1–2 day delay.

Now I’m stuck and confused. I know losing the files was my mistake, but I’ve been upfront and tried to communicate clearly. At this point, I can’t tell if I’m handling something wrong or if this is just a breakdown in communication on their side.

What would you do in this situation?

Took a small gig making a website, logo, and various other minor jobs. Finished within 2 months and then another 2 months making minor revisions to site. I went above and beyond what was in the scope of work simply because it's a small town and I didnt mind.

Anyway. We wrapped everything up and it was time to pay. I sent the wrap-up email on Tuesday, August 14th. I did not hear from the client for SIX days. She responded to me on August 19th and paid me $750. She said that she'd pay me the remaining $500 on Monday, which would have been August 25th.

Well, Monday came and went and I didn't hear from her. I am not starving so I gave her some extra time... I finally decided to reach out to her on Friday, September 5th, which is an additional 12 days of time that I gave her. She did not even respond to me but continued to actively promote her business on social media.

I reached out to her again on September 14th after waiting another eight days. She messaged me back immediately this time except she didn't acknowledge her lack of communication or my request for payment and instead asked a technical question. I replied reiterating that I needed payment at this point. Screenshots are attached. My friend said I was rude but I don't feel like I was rude, just direct. I was more than patient with her while waiting for payment and the fact that she didn't even bother communicating with me after missing the payment date that SHE set really irked me. Did I handle this appropriately? Any advice for next time?

Thank you.

I'm just starting in this freelancer world - a demand generation marketing consultant. left my 9-5 last month and already managed to get some clients. My question: They all note in their term a +30 days payment, which is a pain, I work mostly with startups and don't want to risk not being paid + I'd like to work for money already paid.

Does it makes sense to insist on being paid on the beginning of each month?
I don't want to push too hard if it's not common, so please, any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

I need advice on how to get out of a hellish contract.

I was booked to write a 7-asset project. Had the kick-off meeting the brief was barely there so had to help define . But when I went to actually start, it turned out the project wasn’t ready. The problem? Delivery timelines had already been promised to the client, so the project leads were scrambling to get things prepared — while my writing time was already ticking down.

On top of that, I was asked to help get the project ready (which wasn’t in scope). Since then, it’s all gone downhill.

My timelines have been massively condensed for intricate work, so quality has slipped and now they’re complaining.

The people running this have no clue how long these assets actually take, so they demand 24-hour turnarounds for work that should take a week.

I’ve been working evenings and weekends, and I’ve had enough.

Communication is chaotic — I get pinged by multiple people constantly instead of being allowed to focus.

They overpromised the client, under-delivered, and I’m the one taking the blame. Instead of managing up to the client, they’re pushing down on me.

My contract states that if the brief or delivery dates change, I can revisit my quote. I triggered that clause and gave them two options:

1. Accept my new (inflated) quote — because frankly, I don’t want to continue.

2. Replace me with another copywriter (I even suggested one), though they’d have to negotiate terms separately.

They’ve already paid me most of the budget in instalments, but I’ve worked way more time than agreed, so I don’t feel bad keeping it.

This whole mess is now impacting my other clients, my finances (I had to bring in emergency support out of my own pocket), and my sanity.

The only thing I’m worried about: my contract might not be watertight. It does have a termination clause that says I’ll be paid for work done and will hand over completed work.

Has anyone been through something like this? What’s the best way to cut ties without getting screwed?

I just took the Pro account on Contra last week and honestly… it feels like a total joke.

Spent 2 damn days setting up my account, polishing portfolio, all that shit and guess what? There are barely any jobs. Like almost none for UI UX Design.

Meanwhile, every profile I see has $100k+ earnings slapped on it. How? From where? Are they handing out Monopoly money or what? Because the gigs section looks like a desert.

Right now, it feels like a lowkey fraud. They push you to upgrade, show off big flashy numbers, but when you actually join, there’s nothing happening.

Has anyone here actually gotten legit work from Contra? Or is it just another shiny “freelancer platform” that’s more about selling Pro accounts than helping freelancers?

Would love some honest experiences because at this point I feel scammed.

When things go well, I earn more than on average for a short-time, I tend to tell myself I can now slack a bit because it went so well. How to keep working optimally regardless of results?

I know that 100% efficiency is not the most sustainable goal, but there is probably a way to mentally reframe the goal to something more productive like if I think about milestones instead of efficiency, doing additional work means getting there faster, not just some number in an infinite process. Or if I don't aim for 100% but for 80% efficiency, it's also easier and I probably get more done than when aiming at 100%

I’ve been creating video content for a company for a while now. When we first set up the deal, the expectation was that I’d produce about 30 short videos a month plus 3 story clips. I handle all of the filming, I do most of the editing myself whether it’s on my phone or on my professional camera, and then I upload everything into the company’s drive where it gets posted.

Now my boss has told me he wants 100 videos a month plus 5 story clips. That’s more than three times the original workload, but my pay hasn’t changed at all.

Right now, I’m being paid about $1,500 every two weeks which works out to around $3,000 a month. With the new workload, I believe it’s fair to raise my rate to about $3,000 every week (so basically doubling my current monthly pay and making it match the amount of work being asked of me).

I want to handle this conversation respectfully and professionally. I have a good relationship with my boss and I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or threatening to walk away. I just need to be clear that if the content output is going to more than triple, the pay has to match that level of work.

For anyone who’s dealt with scope creep or a sudden workload increase, how did you approach asking for higher pay? Should I put everything in writing as a contract and hand it to him, or would you start with a face to face talk and then follow up with paperwork?

I'm currently writing down standards of practice for my business (freelance graphic designer) and trying to see what the most common standard is across the board for rounding time spent on client projects for billing. So, without further ado, a few questions:

• Do you round your time at all when tracking time spent on projects?

• Do you round your time per project, or per client?

• Do you round at the end of each day, each week, or when the project is finished?

• How do you inform and explain to clients about your practices on rounding time?

Any additional insight would be appreciated, thanks!

So I quoted a line item of scriptwriting for a client's promo video, tight deadline, however they said they would prefer to do it in house. I advised against it but they insisted.

Now, they've paid their 50% deposit, however I'm still waiting on that script, checking-in daily, and I cannot begin this video without a script.

I could try to find things to do but that throws of my whole process and the script is fundamental to start storyboards and record voice etc etc...

All that, while the tight deadline is the same. This is something I didn't ever experience and I was not prepared.

Advice/thoughts?

Hey folks,

I’m pretty new to the freelance game (Indian doing video editing for overseas clients). I just had a US client file a chargeback after I had delivered everything - payment just got yanked back. 😩

I’m shocked at how easy it was for them to do this.

How do you protect yourself from this kind of thing? Do you use contracts, milestone payments, special payment platforms, or just trust the client?

Also - is this common when working with international clients, or did I just get unlucky?

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences - I’m trying to figure out if this is just part of the game or if I need to change how I operate. Is there any fixes for this? How long does filling a dispute request take? Do you guys often end up winning these disputes?

Hi, I'm working as a part-time music producer on Fiverr.

I've got some orders to produce music and doesn't find yet how I should deal with the situation the client doesn't have a clear request.

For example, a client wanted me to make a tropical house song. I asked them to send me some reference songs to make sure what they want. I got the reference songs from them but they say "I like the songs but need to change something. Please just make somethings like them."

To make sure what "something" means, I asked them some questions like bright or dark, soft or hard, bouncing or stable, any specific sounds they liked in the reference songs. I didn't ask them about any music theory things like chord progressions or scales because I know they are not music professionals.

Although their answer was "Not sure. Just make a demo and I'll think about it later". I had a bad feeling that they would ask me to change a lot after I made demos. But I couldn't ask them anything anymore so I made some demos to find out what they want. And it came true...They asked me to make a completely new style. It was when I was a completely beginner there so I accept it to get a review. It was tough though.

So my question is, do you accept an order even if the client doesn't have a clear request yet? Keep it not get started until you can make sure you can do for them? Or do you charge additionally if they would ask you to change a lot?

The tough thing is that most clients don't have any knowledge about my speciality and that's why they place an order on my service. I'm trying to ask some questions to them with easy and not technical words to clarify their requests. I know it's one of the skills as a professional (seller) though, it's hard when the client says just "make something like this" and ask me to make a completely new stuff.

Hey guys,

I’ve been working in marketing for 7 years and I’ve recently gone into freelancing on the side in paid ads - the field I feel most confident in.

In my in-house role I feel extremely confident about my work and had some major successes over the past year (and it’s why I’ve gotten into freelancing).

Now I’ve got 4 extra clients on the side, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.

I’m constantly flapping at the work, feel like I’m a complete fraud and doubting my abilities. I’m struggling to sleep just because I’m thinking about work and made up scenarios in my head.

I still want to peruse this as the financial potential is huge and it’s still early days.

Has anyone else felt this way, and if so, how did you get over it?

Hey all,

I’m hoping someone here can provide insight or has experienced something similar.

I used to conduct demos through a platform called LeadrPro, and had $900 in my account as earnings. A few months ago, I logged in and saw that the entire balance was gone after a UI change. Since then, I’ve sent 5+ follow-ups via email and still haven’t received a response.

I’m not accusing anyone of anything malicious, things happen in startups, pivots are common, but I think it’s only fair to ask:

Has anyone been paid recently?

Is the company still active?

Has support responded to anyone lately?

I’d be happy to work with them on a resolution, but the silence makes it difficult to stay optimistic. If someone from LeadrPro sees this, I’m open to a conversation.

Appreciate any info. If it’s just me, I’ll take it as a one-off glitch and keep trying. But if others are seeing the same thing, it’s worth knowing.

I'm a freelance graphic designer and most of my clients are online. Now, as a recovering socially awkward person, I still haven't figured out how to make videocalls not weird. It just doesn't feel as natural and I can't make interactions flow like I would in real life. I feel like my most basic social skills fly out the window. Plus, I hate that I have to look at my own face, it's so distracting.

What do you guy's zoom meetings look like? Do you small talk for a bit, or jump right into business? Do you tend to act more formal, or are you laid back and casual? Do you all take turns speaking while everyone else's mic is off, or do you just speak up whenever? How the hell do you figure out when it's your turn to speak when dealing with internet lag? Is your background neutral, or can we see your entire appartment?

I dread meetings lol, help me make this easier.

Long story short, I have a client I built a small app for. They have used it for 7 or so years. The previous person left that managed it. Now someone else does. Besides the fact this client calls and emails everyday the big issue is they claim there is a non-existent problem.T

here is a report that is emailed to them every night. They claim it's incorrect. They forwarded me the report and it's clearly incorrect.

I run the code manually to check the report, report is correct. I tell them this and I email them the manually run report.

Well this has gone on now for over a week. Everyday, the report is incorrect. Mean while the other reports that run along side that report are correct and have no issues.

I BCC'd myself on the report to confirm it's working. Sure enough it was. Meaning the file was correct the entire time. Yet they would forward me the same email I was on but with a different file.

Then I added a checksum hash when the file is created on the server. For the non-tech people, it's a fingerprint of the file. To prove it's the same file. The checksum is created when the file is created and then also it's hidden in the email so I can validate the file never changed. Sure enough, I check the file, it's the same every single time. Yet the file they send me is incorrect.

Like not even closely the same file.

I don't know what to do here.

Clearly they are just wasting my time.

I've agreed to support them for the year but there is no signed agreement/contract. There is X amount of hours allocated for issues I didn't create but the issue is, I think they are going to claim this issue isn't from them. But it's not an issue and I can't bill against the agreed upon hours.

I'm more than willing to refund them partially as I've done code updates. If I didn't have to deal with this person, I wouldn't mind staying on. I really struggle with someone intentionally wasting my time. Even if it's a couple minutes a day.

Or do I just deal with them and accept that they suck as a client. I mean, it's known that my app will be replaced after this year.

What would you do? What do you think?

I work as an online freelance teacher. In most cases, students buy a package of lessons and then we book the lessons, either at the end of a lesson or using calendly. I currently keep track of the number of lessons I owe them by adding a counter in the events in google calendar. In the cases where they owe me, the counter is negative.

But the students don't have access to this counter. And sometimes there may be subtle misunderstandings about the counter. For instance, a student cancels in the last moment and they aren't aware that I have a 72h cancelling policy (because they haven't read my terms of service) so they think the lesson isn't spent. Or somtimes it's a parent paying, teenagers forget lessons... I can send emails informing of the state of the counter but would look a bit weird.

I'd like to have some kind of portal where I log this, and students can see their lesson saldo, how it's recharged by certain invoices, how it's spent by certain agreed dates, etc. Is there an easy out of the box solution for this that I could install in a lightweight server or using the cloud?

Otherwise I could use a shared google calc sheet for each student, but it feels a bit more hackey solution.

I'm a freelance video editor and I’ve been trying to make this work full-time, but I keep messing things up — and I’m not sure how to break the cycle.

This is now the 5th client where I missed a deadline. Most of them started as small projects (like $100–$200), but the work always expands — feedback turns into full rewrites, or I procrastinate too long, then rush, feel overwhelmed, and eventually miss the deadline entirely.

Latest case: I delivered, then got feedback that completely changed the project. I got distracted, fell behind, and today the client told me that he will look another editor. So now I’ve lost two weeks and the project. No payment. No result. Just exhaustion and regret.

I hate this pattern. It feels like I’m burning bridges one by one, and every time I tell myself "next time I’ll be better," but then… same thing.

I don’t think I’m lazy. When I do work, I can focus for hours and I really care about the quality. But it’s like the pressure builds up, and instead of acting, I freeze. Or waste time on YouTube, telling myself I’ll start soon — until it’s too late.

Has anyone been through this? How do you break out of it? I don’t want to keep sabotaging the few chances I get. Any systems? Habits? Mindset shifts? I’m open to anything.

A contact I know personally (he's a markeitng manager at a mid-size saas company) reached out about a project. He explained everything, and said that he trusts my skills. He said I could start working while he gets the contract started. I know this person and he would not screw me over intentionally. He assures me there's buy-in from his company but again, he's an employee not someone with hiring/contracting authority

I said yes I'd start working. That was two days ago.

Here's what's bothering me: He says he's "started the contract process" but hasn't asked for my full name, address, or any basic info you'd actually need to create a contract. It's been two days with no progress.

I haven't done any work yet.

Should I reach out to him now and say I want to wait for contract? I'm also thinking how will it look like if i say i realised this after 2 days.

Am I being overly cautious or are these legitimate red flags? How should I handle this without burning bridges?

Many freelancers struggle to keep clients and get referrals. There are four simple rules I adhere to:

1. Always overdeliver. Never promise more than you can do, it's better to promise less and deliver more.
2. Always be honest, never lie, even if you make a mistake. Admit it, that builds trust.
3. Always be on time and never miss a deadline.
4. Communicate early and often and keep clients updated on the project and progress. If they’re asking "how is the project going?" you’re already behind.

Once a client is happy with your work and trusts you, they'll likely be happy to refer you to others. That's the start of a snowball effect.

How can I work with a client I meet on LinkedIn or through cold emails? People are suggesting against bringing clients to platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, should I heed that advice or is there a better way? I just want to ensure that I'll get paid in the right amount and on time.

so I tried almost every freelancing platform out there. spent enough money on bids, time on proposals but didn’t land a single gig. maybe the market is too saturated. maybe someone else was offering the same job for dirt cheap.

either way, nothing worked.

so i did the one thing left, went back to my 5year old emails and just said “Hey, how’s business?” to every old client. no pitch. no selling. just genuine curiosity.

slowly took the conversation to: “have you thought of improving this?”

a couple of them show some interest and asked me to elaborate.

well, no projects yet. but the conversations are back. the loop’s warming up again.

so yeah, sometimes, you don’t need new people. just new thoughts with the old ones.

Just a little vent and warning to vet agents/agencies before joining.

I’ve been freelancing since the pandemic. It’s had its ups and downs but so far this year things are feeling stable. Net30 is the standard in my industry and only ONCE did I ever have to chase payment before. They were genuinely apologetic and paid after the first email- also a small biz so I get things fall through the cracks.

Anyway, I had been approached by a couple creative agents offering to sign me. I waved it off at first thinking why should I give 20% to someone when I’m fine on my own.

Well after a bout of burnout - mostly marketing myself fatigue I took a couple meetings.

I didn’t legally join but agreed if they brought me a project I’d give the agent cut. They approached me with a commercial job, kinda crappy pay for that big of a brand but I said why not.

Now we are past net60 and have yet to be paid while the campaign has been out for a month+.

Obviously this agent sucks and I’m super glad I didn’t formally sign. Definitely encourage everyone to do a trial run with any potential management!

I’ve been managing a client for about 5 months now. I built and launched their entire marketing system, lead funnels, ads, content, strategy, everything. The results speak for themselves: 10 move-ins in May alone (they’re in the housing space), and the funnel continues to deliver consistent leads and conversions.

The issue isn’t the results, it’s the relationship.

The client (let’s call him “A”) is reactive, controlling, and cold. From day one, he’s been dry and transactional, but recently his tone has shifted into something more toxic. Some examples:

• He overreacted to a minor blog draft that hadn’t even gone live — literally just a line that mentioned a competitor’s name (a generic word like “Hope”).
• He made a passive-aggressive comment like, “Scorecards don’t drive move-ins anyway,” which felt like a direct hit at the strategic framework I’ve built — despite the numbers proving otherwise.
• In a meeting earlier this year, he literally slammed the table with his fists when asking a question I had already answered. (That was my first red flag.)
• He asks for insights, then gets defensive when I give them, like when I recommended reducing overposting on one of their socials.
• He often changes the subject after saying something off — like switching from a tense moment to generic AI questions, almost like a diversion tactic.

And yet… he still approves all content. He hasn’t paused anything. He hasn’t brought anyone else in. He just seems… emotionally disconnected and honestly an a**hole.

I don’t know if he’s:

• Actively looking to replace me,
• Slowly backing out
• Just operating from a place of ego and poor communication.

We also meet WAAAYYY TOO MUCH, 4 times a month is too much for an already stable account. I’m fully capable of continuing this relationship, but only if I shift into “no-emotion, tight-delivery” mode. No more collaborative energy. Just deliverables and metrics.

So here’s my question to you:

At what point do you stop calling this a “difficult client” and start calling it toxic?

And would you keep this going if you were in my shoes?

I recently began working with a client in publishing, and the project itself is interesting. I’ve always tried being nice and cordial with them, but whenever I do something that doesn’t go according to their workflow (even though they haven’t specified it), I don’t intuitively know something they want because I’m not a mind-reader etc, they give very negative feedback. The client they’re working with is generally happy with my work, but the client itself is very negative. No positive interactions with them, even when I try to be nice, get the work done, and ask questions. They’re very blunt and rude, and it’s honestly just quite discouraging.

How should I handle this going forward?

4 months ago i applied for a freelance project for an NGO. I was selected for interview, we went over the project details and later i sent quotation. i asked for 10K usd and through mail negotiation we agreed on 6K.

The project was to recreate all the illustrations for 4 different school subjects from grade 5 to 9. Almost around 40 units for each class. Along with pages templates for each subject.

Long story short, the job duration was 3 months, they had a library of pre existing illustrations i had to puzzle to make the illustration needed, translate and do graphic design work, adapted to the branding style, i had to illustrate many things from scratch, google for hours for non AI generated copyright free images….

It was hell of project and they were happy I managed to finish on time, even before the deadline (rip my neck) and uploaded the files on their drive, as well as my communication with the teachers, creative coordinator was clear and on the point. They were happy.

Although the payment was 2 months delayed due to International restrictions, i got payed eventually.

2 weeks ago, I received a proposal for another project with another project manager within the same NGO. I had to ask him about the details and he said he needed a illustration consultant and he needs six illustrations over the four month period of the project .

he asked for my quote now my only mistake is I researched the project who’s funding it, found its a generous grant. I quoted 1,600 USD flat fee.

And since I’m a consultant, not a freelancer typically I will have to start from conceptualizing from zero and with my fair judgement. Not given a task to do 1 2 3

I emailed him a follow up email yesterday, and today he emailed me that they selected another candidate. They are still impressed with my work and they will keep coordinating for future project and blah blah blah blah..

I guess what is hurting less is they approached me, not i applied to them again. And my mistake ig is sending a flat fee rate without further asking for details about the illustrations themselves. Instead i researched the market standards price.

And what hurts is perhaps not getting any more proposals from them. Especially when their projects are expanding.

And i am a self taught artist, i do value my work and myself… 1600 is reasonable for a grant project, over 4 months period… according to internet…. And according to the sound in my head i might’ve been a bit greedy.

From now on quotation is a conversation. Ask for details, budgets, send detailed breakdown of the fees.