The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
I turned down two projects for a client who never sent a contract.
Here's what happened:
Had a great discovery call. Walked him through my past work on a Google Meet. He was sold... said "let's move forward" before we even hung up. Asked for a proposal and a 20% advance invoice that same night.
I sent both within hours. Also put together a full day-by-day timeline for the project... 25 days, mapped out start to finish.
Then came the contract.
"Tomorrow." "By Tuesday." "Before the weekend." "By the 20th."
Three weeks. Same story every time... busy, team member on leave, then a holiday.
Meanwhile, I'd already blocked that 25 day slot on my calendar. Turned down two other inquiries because I "already had a project starting."
Here's the part that stings: he lost nothing. I lost time, momentum, and real opportunities... all because I treated a verbal "yes" like a done deal.
The lesson: Enthusiasm isn't a contract. Excitement on a call costs the client nothing. A signed contract (and ideally that advance) is the actual starting line... not the conversation before it.
Now I don't hold a slot until ink's dry. Doesn't matter how good the call went.
Anyone else learned this one the hard way? 👇
I've learned to treat the calendar slot as part of the deal. I only hold the start date after the contract and deposit land, so a warm call can't quietly block paid work.
I learnt that a hard way... :)
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Trending
retrofuturism
Share your favorite designs from the past exploring the distant future. Or your own take on the aesthetic 🚀
halftone
Dots. Texture. Grain. Let's see your designs using the halftone technique.
Midjourney
Creatives are showing off what they're making with Midjourney.
colorgrade
Video editors sound off: How do you enhance the mood of your video in color grading?
Related posts
Recently, I received an offer for a full-time, fully remote job. The offer included an impressive benefits package (health, dental, vision, generous PTO, the whole nine), and I have to admit that I was enticed.
After nearly six years of freelancing, uncertainty is part of my workflow. Projects come and go, and there are months when I ask myself if it's all worth it. Getting an offer for a full-time job stopped me in my tracks and made me reevaluate everything.
Spoiler: I didn't accept it. Something about the 3,000-word daily expectation felt intimidating, and not in a go-getter way.
But then something amazing happened. Hours before the full-time offer letter was set to expire, I got an email from a potential client letting me know they'd love to work with me. The gap I had in my client roster was suddenly filled, and everything just fell into place.
If you've been questioning whether it would be better to go back to full-time work, I get it. Trading freedom for stability sounds like a good move, especially if you've had more dry months than you're comfortable with.
Call it what you will, but this time things fell into place exactly how they were meant to. For now, I'm still freelancing and enjoying the freedom! ;)
I'd put the offer next to a typical freelance month, including health insurance and unpaid time off, before deciding whether that 3,000-word daily target is worth it.
i joined contra a few weeks ago and it has been interesting to me too, the talents on here are truly astonishing and watching everyone share their journey makes me feel so inspired!
I'm new on this platform and truth be told am loving it.
I believe I get to this point where i will be sharing things like these..
But till then, stay tuned..
i am new here too
I wanted to play with a simple idea:
Write less. Say more.
So I experimented to build a little lettering system where each letter is missing a piece but hopefully, your brain fills in the gaps anyway.
Because good communication doesn't always need everything spelled out.
And, as a copywriter, I feel slightly obligated to believe that. :)
This looks like the from the movie Arrival👀