Avoiding Burnout – The Subtle Art of Client Qualification and Knowing When to Walk Away

When I started as a freelancer, I would never say No to a client.

I would ignore all red flags and book the client.

Honestly?

I had no red flags. This wasn’t a smart move on my part.

This approach has brought me more misery than benefit.

I was making money from the client but I was miserable.

Why?

Because I wanted to:

• Work with bigger clients
• Create creative marketing campaigns
• Make a name for myself and my work.

But whenever a client came, I would onboard that client. As I got more clients, I wanted to work with fewer and better clients.

I realized that:

Working with the RIGHT client can make or break your freelance business.

Working with the wrong client can lead to stress, frustration, and wasted time.

So, what should you do?

Implement a qualifying process to evaluate potential clients before onboarding them.

By carefully evaluating potential clients, you can:

• Save time
• Reduce stress
• Build stronger and more productive relationships

Strong relationships are all that matters in the B2B and freelancing world.

So, how do you do this?

Well, it is pretty simple, even Mila (a 10-year-old child influencer) from Instagram can do this.

There are 2 steps to this:

• Look for red flags (whether that person is worth investing your time in or not)
• Implement a qualification process (who to say YES and who to say NO)

Red Flags: Key Indicators That a Client May Not Be Worth Your Time

Whenever you are talking to a potential client, look for the following signs to understand if that client is worth your time or not.