I find writing these things quite cathartic in a way. This is my eighth year in business, and still these situations turn up.

Not because I’m not quick enough to avoid them, but because I’m not able to influence enough of the variables to steer everyone clear of what will often be a fruitless and hugely frustrating encounter.

And then sometimes, it’s a worthwhile exercise to let such situations come about, to illustrate a point.

It’s a fine line, because you’re essentially playing a game, and if the client sees it that way, you may find yourself falling out of favour.

As a designer and a business owner, I often find one in conflict with the other in certain circumstances.

A client might ask for something that I know will work really well, but cost them more than their budget allows for.

And because the idea appeals to the designer in me, I want to do it anyway. But as businessman, I’m not a charity or a miracle worker, so I have to say no.

All good fun!

But others can be more challenging. The ones that have the worst ideas, ideas that are counterintuitive to their goals are usually the ones least likely to listen to your advice.

I have a potential client calling me back at the end of the month that I suspect I will reject. She called me 3 times on the day she discovered me asking me a variety of questions and showing me various interpretations of her current sites, and her reasoning for not wanting to stick with her current designer. My fear is that if I take her business she’ll call me at all hours wanting to fine tune each pixel, then dump me halfway through to hire someone else. She also hinted at wanting a discount for being non-profit.

I think I’ll either bid really high or say no. I try to stick to one freelance project at a time since I’m doing sites for the university all day, and I can’t have her calling me while I’m at work, or reading, or trying to sleep!