One among my purchasers is a small company and we began working collectively with out a contract. I noticed a few months in that we actually wanted to have one in place. That is my first time as a FT freelancer, so there’s a lot in studying as I’m going. The consumer advised me to ship over one thing and I despatched over a contract, doc on IP provisions, and a press release of labor for one of many tasks we had been engaged on. I’ve already adopted up as soon as on my preliminary e-mail, nevertheless it’s now over three weeks later and so they haven’t signed it.
A beforehand delayed mission is now again on observe and this company’s consumer is anticipating me to get again to engaged on it. I don’t wish to do that earlier than the contract is signed. I’m having a tough time determining learn how to inform the company this. I’m pissed off that they’re ignoring my emails and doubly pissed off that we nonetheless don’t have a timeline in place for this mission that’s been beginning and stopping for the previous three months.
Any recommendation on what I may e-mail or say over the telephone? I wish to deal with the contract needing to be signed earlier than I proceed work and in addition that earlier than I proceed, I would like us to agree on a press release of labor as a result of the mission has been too disorganized. I battle with onerous conversations as a result of I are typically blunt and don’t prefer to faux pleasantries.
In this case, being blunt is fine. You can be blunt without being rude. It’s something you’re going to have to learn to do if you want to be a successful freelancer, otherwise people are going to walk all over you for your whole career.
I would just say something like “What’s the status on getting the contract back to me? I’m afraid I can’t move forward any further on the projects until we discuss this. Please let me know asap.”
I’m working in small studio and sometimes do freelance work on Upwork. And hell, it’s so hard to speak with clients, and more i talk to “bad” customers more it makes me feel stressed and nervous all the time. And sometimes you can’t choose customers because you need money to pay your bills. Idk, there should be a way to get past it but i guess gotta learn it hard way. Reason of me writing this, is to tell that you are not alone 🙂 We all love our clients so much.
It’s a rough spot, but I had to deal with close to the exact same thing recently. It’s a hard conversation but let them know, in person or over the phone, that it’s not fair to your other clients for you to have it in the air and not have a signed contract. You’re prioritizing time that could be used for paying/contract clients.
The contract protects you and your other clients time. You can also explain that the fact the contract is not signed doesn’t allow you the confidence to deliver the best design for them. While working on this project you’re thinking about these unknown possibilities instead of focusing completely on art. Hold your ground and say you would like to get it sorted before moving forward. Artists are commonly exploited and if they are a serious agency then this should be no issue at all.
I know this is a hard conversation but in the end it will increase your value and self esteem for the next time. Hope it works out for you and it’s all learning experience.
Being blunt and kind can go hand in hand! Try to frame the conversation in your head like you work at a front desk for yourself: provide plain information, be friendly, and let any defensiveness/negativity they send out glide right over you because you just work at the front desk! and it doesn’t matter to you! 🙂
Practically speaking, the words “work stoppage” might be helpful here. It tends to get ears perked.
You could say “Please let me know when you will be able to review and sign the contract I sent on XX/XX/XX. To maintain my scheduled workflow, I will have to put a work stoppage on your project until your contract is signed. Thank you for your prompt attention to this, and let me know if there are any questions I can answer in the meantime.”