Creative professionals spend a lot of time refining their skills and learning new ones. After all, your business can’t survive if you suck and you aren’t willing to move outside your comfort zone every now and then, right?
But how far do you go to justify the time it takes to build your skillset? And how do you present yourself to clients who might ask for things you’ve never done before?
These questions came up during a Skype call earlier this month and I’m curious to hear what others think. The poll below is anonymous and I can assure you no one will ever know how you answered!
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll answer each question myself.
Have I ever lied about my skills to land a client?
Have you ever taken on a client or project that you knew was beyond your skill level?
Yes, I have. Generally, I will pass on any project that isn’t a good fit for my skills. However, there have been times when I needed money, I knew I could figure out the parts I felt unsure about, and I felt comfortable accepting the project even though I hadn’t done X or Y before.
I won’t even talk about the first decade or so I spent built websites because every project was beyond my skill level. Luckily my rates were so low I don’t think anyone cared.
Have you ever flat out told a client you had experience you didn’t really have?
One time, early in my freelance career (late 90s), I gave a link to a potential client and told her I had built a certain feature on a site. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t really build it.) She was impressed, which was great, except for the part where she emailed the site owner and asked for a reference, and the poor guy was completely confused.
So yeah. I didn’t get that project or any of the others I could have gotten if that first one had worked out. And I learned an embarrassing lesson about saying, “I haven’t done that before, but here’s why I know I can do it,” or, “No, I haven’t done that, but here’s someone who can.”
Have you ever lost or given up a project because you knew it was out of your scope?
Too many times to count. After the incident above, I became an expert at gathering up resources and colleagues, and I’m never hesitant to refer out when needed. My reputation is important and I’m not willing to risk it (plus I stopped doing stuff I don’t like).
Have any of your clients ever paid an hourly rate for the time you spent figuring out things you didn’t know?
Yes. This has happened many times. I’m now at a point in my life/career where I bill by the project, because hourly rates actually punish me for working fast. But early on, I was happy to bill by the hour while I researched, practiced, broke things, fixed them, and tinkered around in general. I cringe a little looking back on this, for the record.
Does it matter if you exaggerate your abilities as long as the client is happy with the end result?
I’m actually sort of torn on this one. Results do matter, and the value a designer, developer, copywriter, or other professional brings to a project means far more than the exact methods s/he used to deliver that value.
However….
Personally, I don’t like the feeling that someone is paying me for one thing and receiving another. I also hate the idea that another dev might come along later and go Holy crap, the last person who worked on your site was a total quack! Trust is an important part of the work I do and I can’t risk that without a very good reason.
Then again, posts like this one from Bourn Creative remind me that there are many, many ways to approach a problem, and there isn’t always a right or wrong way to do things. I’m not sure I’m lying to a client if I end up using a different method than another person might use.
I look forward to hearing what you guys think about all the questions - especially this last one - since I haven’t decided exactly what I think yet.
Great post Andrea… I often take on projects beyond my skillset. I strive to keep learning more, and I surround myself with some pretty amazing developers who can double check my code. In some instances, I plan to sub-contract out part of the project from the start, or I at least give the other dev a heads up that I may need their help on part of the project.
It’s amazing how “Oh, crap” moments have shaped what I know and the things I can do. Sometimes a certain feature sounds simple until I actually try to do it! I have a ton of people who are willing to check my oops moments and/or share code if needed, and it has made a huge difference in my skill level. Learning things the hard way makes them stick! 🙂
Christian Nelson
Putting this poll together is a great idea, and I don’t mind making my answers public:
Have you ever taken on a client or project that you knew was beyond your skill level?
Yes, I have.
Have you ever flat out told a client you had experience you didn’t really have?
Yep.
Have you ever lost or given up a project because you knew it was out of your scope?
Yes I have.
Have any of your clients ever paid an hourly rate for the time you spent figuring out things you didn’t know?
Of course not! I learn on my own time or not at all.
Does it matter if you exaggerate your abilities as long as the client is happy with the end results?
It depends on the situation.
OK…so there it is. I’ve exaggerated fairly often in order to get a project – whether it was a print design project, a web design project, a consulting job, a writing job, or an editing job. But only when I knew that I would be able to get it all figured out 100 percent before the project was complete, and the client would never suffer or spend one extra penny because of my exaggerations.
I guess, in some ways, I’m sort of like a presidential candidate. 🙂
I think there’s always a degree of “I’ll figure this out later” - otherwise no one would ever take on bigger or better projects. I still think it’s interesting, though, how people put that into practice and what they will and won’t do to get a job (which was the conversation that led to this poll).
AnitaC
I love it when you do these polls Andrea. Since I have always worked alone, I don’t take on any jobs I know I cannot fulfill. It would be bad for me to do some of those things and then let the client down. Now I have been contacted by other designers/developers who lack a specific skill set but “they” told the client they could do all these things and then they reach out to me. Sad to say that there have been times when I couldn’t do a job for someone and they got pissed at ME. I’ve also had designers/developers who get pissed if I say yes, but I cannot drop everything I am doing for my clients to rush their request because they’ve waited til the last minute. And I’ve had some who couldn’t afford to pay me because they spent what the client paid them and now they are left with an unfinished website and want me to service them for free. People who bite off more than they can chew should really just stop because it makes everyone in this business look bad and untrustworthy when they can’t deliver the job.
I’ve definitely been in that situation - someone needs me to help with X thing by tomorrow, and if I can’t, they’re angry with me because they’ll miss a deadline. It’s so annoying! I’ve also run into the “But my client only paid me X” discussions before, and I hate it for those people… Guess they should plan ahead next time.
Most of the people I work with now are great. I’m included in the scope/quote/proposal so the dev costs are covered, and I get to provide input re: the timeline and my availability. But I also only work with certain people and not just some random person who contacts me, so that makes a difference for sure.
AnitaC
Oh, I agree! I don’t work with just anyone either. I do have a few people I work with that include me in quotes also. But I am very strict about that even - I need to know the full scope of the work - not just my part. I’ve had several situations where the developer didn’t tell me about a piece of the work they were doing which could effect the work I was doing, only for them to come back and tell me later. When I try to quote them the “fix” price, they squabble at me about charging them. But if you told me the full deal from the beginning - I wouldn’t need to go back and fix something. So I’m very particular about partnering or subcontracting work these days.
Susanta
Everyone of us lies about our project experience once in a while, but one shouldn’t put the client’s projects in jeopardy. I remember a friend of mine was trying to work on several projects together while he didn’t have enough resources to support them all. He kept on avoiding one of his clients on Skype until a point when the client got really mad and decided to hire someone else.
Totally agree - it’s one thing to stretch your skills when you know you can pick up what you need before the deadline, but it’s another if you have projects stretching out for months on end because you have no idea what to do! I’ve gotten a lot of business from people who were left hanging by a designer or dev. It makes me sad. :/