“No” is not a negotiation ploy

Most freelancers feel a little short of work when they first go freelance. True, there are some who go freelance because they have so much work from so many different clients that they have outgrown the confines of single-employer employment. They are, however, more the exception than the rule. For most of us, abandoning the perceived security of a stable workflow (or more accurately, a stable income) induces an anxious willingness to take on any and all comers and its corollary inability to turn down an assignment.

Unfortunately, this initial anxiety is habit-forming, and even busy freelancers find it difficult to turn down the prospect of more money, however meager. So they get busy, and busier, and frazzled, and burned out. But they still cannot get off the treadmill. Because what if there is no work next week? What if I end up homeless and my family leaves me because I’m a miserable person? What if I starve to death and nobody notices? The “what if”s are endless. So is the frazzle.

Stop. This is not the freedom you signed up for when you went freelance. Say no. If you are that busy now, odds are you are not going to suddenly have a years-long dry spell just because you say “no” once in a while. Besides, if you are that busy, you cannot do your best work for this additional client anyway. And not doing your best work is going to damage your reputation more than the occasional “no” is. So do yourself a favor and say no.

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“I’m sorry, but no. I cannot do this. I just do not have the time to do it justice.” If you say this, it is possible the would-be client will offer more money. Do not take it. You have said you do not have the necessary time. That time is already committed to another job, another client. To change your mind for more money is to say you are willing to break your word to that other client—willing to betray the client for money. And if you are willing to do that to client A, who is to say you are not willing to do it to client B, or client C, and on down the line? Do you really want to tell a potential client that you cannot be trusted to keep your word? When you get to No, it has to mean No. If you think you might be able to squeeze the job in, ask for a rush surcharge. Thirty percent sounds reasonable. So does fifty percent. Or even double. If the job is doable under the right conditions, go ahead and push for the right conditions. But if you are really too busy to do it, you are too busy to do it no matter how much money is on the table. Because your credibility is also on the table.

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