All it takes is one bad freelance client to ruin your reputation and throw you off your path to success. There are clear warning signs to look out for so you can avoid working with NIGHTMARE freelance clients.   

If you’re not careful with who you chose to work with, you might end up with a nightmare client. These types of clients will not only sabotage your growth, your energy, and your time but also cause immediate harm to your empire and success. 

It’s important to understand what a nightmare client is and how to identify the signs of one. A nightmare client is someone who is: 

• Difficult To Work With
• Never Satisfied
• Always Rude 
• Pushy
• Demanding
• Oversteps Boundaries 

There's a lot of different things that can get a client in that nightmare category, and a lot of times there will be red flags during the initial process telling you that this is not a good client for you. Nightmare clients are toxic, and you didn't go into business for yourself to deal with clients who don't appreciate you or respect you.

Ultimately, being aware of these signs before you even go into business with a client will help you avoid working with nightmare clients in the first place.

The first thing to do to avoid a nightmare client is by being aware of the red flags. Whenever you come across a new opportunity, there might be red flags before starting, and you must be aware of these warning flags telling you that this is not a good client for you. Before you go into a project blindly, get to know the client's history.

If you don't know the client and you jump into the project right away, they could turn into a nightmare client who leaves you a bad rating at the end. It's crucial to avoid having this experience happen and to only work with clients with whom you can have success. A lot of times as freelancers (especially when just starting) can easily miss red flags because our mind is fixated on wanting to get more business and to make more money. It can be dangerous to not be aware and to get caught up in the ego.

A lot of times freelancers get caught too much in the present, bypassing any warning signs that may appear because they want that deal. Instead of just looking one step ahead, start looking multiple steps ahead by being careful with what projects and what clients you even reach out to in the first place. When you have a client in front of you ready to do business with you, you have to take a step back and see what kind of client they are and what type of project it is. Not every project presented to you may be the best fit for you and may require work or time more than you initially expected.

To avoid working with nightmare clients, start to research potential clients that you want to work with on platforms like Upwork. The freelancing platform Upwork is great for researching clients and getting to know briefly who they are by looking at their profile. You can find information on their profile by looking at how long this client has been on the platform. Upwork also has a double-blind feedback system, so not only do freelancers get reviews from clients they work with but also you can see reviews from the freelancers who worked directly with this potential client you’re interested in working with.

This gives you direct insight into what it would be like to work with this client. So for instance, if the client got a bad review from a freelancer saying comments such as “it was a horrible client to work with, avoid this client they didn't pay me, they were just unrealistic.”  then that is likely a client to avoid at all costs.

Do your research, see what their reviews look like, see their history and see how long they’ve been around on the freelancing platform you choose. That will give you a better chance of detecting red flags and help you avoid working with nightmare clients. 

The second thing you will want to do before you get a client on the phone to talk about the project is to make sure if this type of client is the best fit for you. Start by looking at the client's business model and combine that with the type of skills you provide. You can do this by researching their website and see if you resonate with their message and brand. You can also see if they are a good fit by looking up their business name and looking at their social media profiles.

Researching will give you more of an understanding of who who the client is and what kind of business they are. If for instance, you look up their website and it's not well organized and unprofessional, you may want to take a step back. Notice if you're starting to feel uncomfortable and not resonating with the website or what they represent.

If the client is looking for help with ads to their website, conversions, or whatever it may be and their website is unprofessional, that might be an initial warning that this might not be the best client to go after. You can’t drive traffic or have success with a poorly optimized website.

Another way to make sure you and your client are a good fit to work together is by getting on the phone with the client to discuss further details. With this in mind, you always want to make sure to get every client you’re interested in working with on the phone. This is a sure way to detect any warning signs of a nightmare client. A phone call will help you find out if this client is the best fit to work with before you agree to go and perform the job.

During this freelance sales process, you need to get them on the phone or a video call. By doing this, you can get a better feel of who this person is, you can see their personality, and you can understand a lot more than if you were messaging back and forth through Upwork messages or email. A message can’t show you the same warning signs that a video call can. Through video calls, it can show the client's body language, and on the phone, you can hear the tone and how the client is speaking.

In addition, it's vital to understand that this initial phone call isn't just an interview for you to get the job, it's also an interview to see if you want to work with the client.

I go into further discussion about asking the RIGHT types of questions to clients here. If you ignore these red flags that start to pop up along the line you are going to set yourself up for working with a nightmare client. 

Not only should you ask the client questions, but also be sure to ask yourself before working with the client, does this project excite you? Do you feel a good feeling moving forward, or are you hesitant?

It’s important to also listen to your body language. When we are aware of warning signs and stay in tune with our intuition, it will reveal everything we need to know before moving forward. All it takes is one bad project, one bad client, or one bad review to tarnish your reputation. Every single project you work on needs to be focused on getting a good review. That is what will help propel yourself forward as a successful freelancer. By being aware of your reputation and cautious of who you work with, you will be able to protect your empire and ultimate state of well-being.

It’s natural that in the early stages of growing our business to say “yes” to working with just anyone you get an opportunity to work with. However, when you have the awareness that not every client may be the right type of client, you’ll save yourself precious time, energy, and possibly your reputation.

With freelancing it's all about the clientele you choose to do business with and who you build your network around. Nightmare clients will cost you money and rob you of your precious energy and limited time. That's why you want to make sure you work with ONLY the best clients. A healthy client will have a long term relationship with you, generate referrals from their network, and give you a good review/testimonial.

Paul Mendes | Profitable Freelancer