Odd Client Question (longish?)

Tattooed and Dusty · 2005-02-08T07:11:31+00:00

Hi All,So in the past several months I have started turning my wood and metalworking hobbies into the way I make my money. It feels good to beworking for myself, making clients happy, and learning more and moreabout small business ownership. I was wondering if anyone has anyadvice on how to avoid a somewhat common problem I seem to runninginto.So I was contacted by a prospective client, wants to have a custom beddesigned. Looks at my portfolio and decides I am the guy to do it,though I don't think he looked at anyone else's. We schedule a designmeeting and I ask him to bring some images, sketches etc of beds thathe either likes or doesn't like so we have a jump off place. He doesn'tdo this, fine we talk some anyways. Seems he likes an idea I amcurrently working on for another client, though wants to look at somemore mass produced beds to have a better sense of how to tweak mydesign. Fine. I quote him the very large window of 600-1000 forsomething like the headboard and footboard I am working on currently.A couple weeks goes by. He emails me and says he went to go look atsome beds, and found one at a local scandanavian design place that helikes the idea of, and wants to combine my project with one from thatstore. Says they have them for 600, so he wants to spend no more thanthat. This is when I start to contemplate dropping him. I want thecommision, but only so much. I email back, as diplomatically as I cansaying, I would love to work more on the design but that I can't anddon't want to compete with the mass made products. That I will usehigher quality materials, it will be made in town, to hisspecifications etc. He replys saying that he can afford 600, and couldmake 800 work. I say well lets go ahead and get together, look at whathe has in mind, let me come up with something, and see if it can comein around that amount. I don't like designing with this hard ceiling,as it frequently means I take the job for less than I would normallywant, but I like the work.Today he...

Feb 08, 2005 42 Replies

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Jedd Haas 21 years ago

hi Tattooed, sounds like you've got a "grinder" on your hands there and you'd be best off just raising the price to $1600 (or more). He'll either pay it or go away, and it might be better if he went away! Check this article:

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mac davis 21 years ago

for sure... life is too short for high maintenance clients..... If they don't want to pay for custom furniture, send 'em to Walmart and find another client..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

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