Oh Kenny Rogers you are so wise…. I recently had the experience of having a difference of opinion with a client. It was very peaceful and cordial and I don’t think anyone felt cheated out of money or goods, I just wasn’t the designer he needed. My old boss used to say “You can have things done cheap, good and fast… pick two… thats all you get” and I think that was the problem in this case. Sometimes you just aren’t a match. Doesn’t make you a bad designer and doesn’t make them a bad customer. Everyone has a different agenda when working. As a designer you could be doing it for the money, experience, portfolio, knowledge or even boredom. The customer may want the best site possible, the cheapest site possible or a site that was put up yesterday. In this specific example he was looking for a little more hand holding and small little changes done fairly quickly and fairly regularly at a inexpensive cost. I happen to be at the place in my design career where I am looking to create good portfolio pieces of even creating larger “web presences”.

I think the lesson learned here is that leaving a client or not accepting a deal is sometimes more profitable or cost effective then working when the fit isn’t right. It is hard to leave money on the table, but when you realize how much time you have to put in or if you could be doing something else in that time to advance your career/portfolio further or even that you could have made mode money shoveling fries at mcdonalds per the amount of effort you put in, not taking the job seems like the wiser thing to do.

Here are some of the warning signs I watch out for when working on a project to determine if we are not the right match (this is applicable to both the customer and the designer/coder):

1. When you feel resentment towards the customer/designer/coder for taking more time or needing more features then you originally expected. Resentment is the first emotion in feeling cheated and noone wants to feel cheated. If you think you aren’t getting paid well for the time you put in or you aren’t getting the output for what you feel you are paying, pause the project and discuss how you feel with the other party. You can then choose to continue on with your new understanding or stop the project before anyone feels cheated. Cheated leads to law suits and bad feedback.

2. When you feel the other party isn’t living up to your expectations of where you should be. While this is more applicable from the customers point of view when a project milestones aren’t up to the caliber you expected, I have also been a designer working with a customer who isn’t providing me the information I need in a timely manner but expects me to stay on my timeline and make up the difference.

3. When communication just isn’t right. Sometimes when you talk to someone you just feel they aren’t understanding you. If the coder/designer seems to brush over details you think are important or the customer says “we will cross that bridge when we get to it”, think of it this way… neither party is going to feel the job is successful unless they get the goods or money they expected. If there are unknowns and the other party isn’t willing to talk about them that usually is a sign of trouble.

4. You just don’t mix. While this probably isn’t very good professional advise, if you are are good at what you do there is no need to work with people that you don’t mix with. I am fortunate in that I have more business then I can handle. This enables me to filter through clients and work with ones I “click with”. While in the beginning or your career you may not be as lucky to have these advantages, it is really nice to not have to work with people who don’t jive with your work style. I, for example, do well with two types of clients. The type that is technical and knows what they want and we can work together without me having to train and teach them things like what a web server is or clients who know they are not web designers and are willing to let me do my job and follow my recommendations. I seem to have trouble with clients who want a web designer/technical support staff person in one. You need to find who you work with well and who you don’t work with and let that lead you into the clients you take on and the partnerships you establish. Again, I know it is hard to leave money on the table, but if you find you and a client don’t get along or your clash in styles, don’t take on more work with that client… move on. Spend time building relationships with clients you click with and not trying to constantly fight against the problems of relationships that don’t work.