Breaking up is hard to do.

There’s an old gag in freelance journalism circles, about what does a  lifestyle freelancer say if he’s asked to write about nuclear fission. The answer: “Sure, when do you need it by?”

Turning down work is a counter-intuitive thing for most freelancers – so it’s hardly surprising that after 10 years, I’ve never resigned a client or turned down a commission.

But this month, I resigned a client for the first time. It felt like a real watershed moment. I had good reasons for walking away: the client’s expectations sadly didn’t match the available budget, and there were internal conflicts in the company that made my job unnecessarily difficult. It was a great job and a reasonable client, but it just reached the point where the cons outweighed the pros.

However, it’d be fair to say the ending of the client relationship didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped. I used all my best “wish you the very best in future” and “it’s been a pleasure” lines that I used to stick in resignation letters, but to no avail: I have a strong suspicion that the now ex-client is probably sticking pins in a plasticine model of me about now.

So, here’s what I ask of those people with more experience than me in such matters – how do you walk away from a client without creating a nuclear detonation? Have you ever inadvertently got it wrong?

Comments

[SteveR]

Er, just posted that on completely the wrong post - sorry!! (Steve is a highly experienced web professional...)

Sorry you've had a bad experience, Sally, I hope it settles down soon. I once had to fire a client because I discovered illegal activities, and because I had this knowledge, the client was extremely threatening and aggressive. I insisted on being paid before handing over web files, which I think is sensible.

For what it's worth, I'd take it as a compliment that a client is upset to lose you - most of mine happily waved me on my way!

[AJB]

Three tips:

- Being very clear that you're terminating the contract, not the relationship. Offer to continue to provide advice or recommend a replacement.

- Having a decent notice period so you can do a proper handover, and ideally building knowledge transfer into the contract, so that the client isn't suddenly left unable to do any marketing or PR if you leave.

- Remaining polite and not entering into negotiations, which just make people feel like you're playing games to get more money out of htem each month.

[Katie Lee]

I've quit a few freelance gigs and usually I find it hard not to start talking myself out of it while I'm doing it.

I used to have this annual one-off magazine spread I did, which seemed like good money, but always ended up taking months and months, needing to be redone if the client decided to re-shoot the products in a different style or whatever whim they had that week. Every year I promised myself I wouldn't do it again, and every year I did. In the end I passed it onto a fellow freelancer, who gave it up straight away. The guy came back to me the following year and it took every ounce of my determination to say no.

It's just not natural to turn down work when you're working month to month. Now I try to work out what I need to earn to be happy and comfortable and then relax once I've hit the target. It's taken me a long time to learn though!