A C+P from chrisoatley.com. Thought it was worth a repost on the blog…
What Do Bad Clients Look Like?
Many years ago, I was offered what sounded like a nice freelance gig.
An oil painting. A huge portrait of a couple that would be given to them as a gift.
The painting would have taken me about two weeks.
I quoted my hourly rate which was around $35/hr at the time.
2 weeks (80 hours) x $35/hr = $2800
If you ask me, for a huge double-portrait in fracking oil paint, 28-hundy is a legitimate steal.
But the man offering the job did not agree. In fact, he was shocked and offended. He had a much lower figure in mind…
He the offered me $25 for the portrait.
I asked him how much he got paid for his job and if it was higher than $12.50 a week.
…and that’s the end of that story.
Granted, the “$25 Portrait” example, although true, is ridiculous. No sane artist would accept that guy’s offer.
My point here is that bad clients usually look bad right from the beginning.
It’s desperation that blinds us.
It is our desperation that gives power to the bad clients.
I’d say this example represents 90+% of the job offers I’ve had while freelancing. Perhaps not to this extent, but similar. With the huge pool of internet artists for both companies and private individuals to choose from these days, generating the kinda money an artist deserves is no easy task.
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