I had to learn this early on -- “You’re the boss…” Not only can you expect to be bullied (especially by a D-type personality), your client will always want something just a little bit extra… an extra tweak, an extra addition…………. To something you weren’t even a part of………… For weeks later! The time adds up, and in the end, they’re not paying what you would normally charge someone else for.

Those extras won’t give you any additional kudos, for the most part, and will label you as having time on your hands to give out a bunch of freebies. It’s not going to bring you Any additional referrals -- and if it does, they will expect the same treatment.

The funny thing is that one of my clients valued my work so much that she called my attention to this. She refused to take incentives for referrals and sent many people my way. She said that if you value your work, you charge for it. Then, everyone else will value it, too.

Since our encounter, she’s sent hundreds of people my way, who never worried about paying top dollar for my services. Because of her, I became more confident, and my company now thrives off of referrals and has spread through word of mouth. Boundaries are everything. And, scope is so important in laying them!

Awesome article!!!