What I Learned When A Client Fired Me

Image credit: Nathan Dumlao, Unsplash

A couple of weeks ago, a client told me my services were no longer required.

Oof.

That was certainly a dampener to my day. It’s not the first time, and won’t be the last. Here are the top 5 things I learned about being fired from a client.

1. It’s not personal

Well… sometimes it is. Miscommunication, personality clash, the client is just a jerk. This time, it was none of those things. I was hired to edit this guy’s work to get it ready for publication. I was also building a website (something I don’t usually offer) and basically get his stuff out in the big wide world. He found a wealthy friend willing to skip the middle-man (me) and get his stuff expedited to publication. In other words, instead of paying me to do it, his friend will pay for him to get it done. Ouch.

2. When one door closes…

As a freelancer, I was relying on this money. That’s the part I am most ticked off about. However, I have since gained two more clients to replace the one I lost.

3. It’s not a reflection of your work

It’s just not. The first client who fired me refused to pay when I presented her with the work I’d done. I have all the briefing notes. I know what I told her (repeatedly). She claims it was not what she asked for. If I wasn’t a newbie, I would have sued for the outstanding charges. Instead, I felt deflated. I blamed myself. I thought I was not cut out for this work. I gave it away. I allowed this client to crush my confidence. Sometimes, I remember that incident and I still feel like I can’t do this.

I did good work. I delivered what I promised. I am proud of that work.

4. You (probably) didn’t need them anyway

This is possibly the most important thing I learned. This client was intense. He was enthusiastic. What he wanted was out of his budget. Work was slow, partly because of his budget and partly because I only had limited time to work on his projects. The day after he emailed me, I returned his works. I didn’t want that energy in my house any longer than necessary. While I miss the money, I don’t miss the client.

5. It’s not the end of the world

I got up the next morning. I took my kid swimming. I ate lunch. I made dinner. I went to sleep.

But I was angry, hurt, annoyed. I love doing work. Obviously the money is a good thing too. I questioned everything. Why am I doing this? Why did I fail? Why can’t I catch a break? For the answers to those questions, see points 1-4.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.