Freelance Your Way to Freedom

6Meeting Customer Expectations

The customer is always right.

— Harry Gordon Selfridge

Do I believe the customer is always right? Absolutely not. But that quote holds weight to it, whether you agree with ole Harry or not.

Your entire freelancing business is based upon paying customers. Without them, you have no business. You can't exist without them. So even when they are making you want to throw your laptop out the window (been there), you must realize it's ultimately your responsibility as the freelancer to minimize all miscommunications, confusions, and lack of information.

When I was first starting out freelancing, I was young and immature. Clients would occasionally tell me they hated my work, and I would fire back at them—quickly. Instead of listening to their feedback, I would take it personally and say things on Fiverr that got me account warnings. Yes, I am not immune to account warnings—I am just like everyone else.

Over time, I learned that it's in my best interest to work with these people. They are the ones handing over the money at the end of the day. Instead of taking their dissatisfaction personally, I started to upgrade my business in a way that anticipated their complaints. When one client would say the blog was missing X, I would go into the blog questionnaire and add X to it. That way, the next customer wouldn't complain about X—I was proactive in fixing it.

Customers can guide your freelancing business in a better direction than you could ever take it. ...