Shoutout to the independent contractor who told me my SOW was too loose

Had a freelancer push back on a project scope last quarter and said my statement of work had 'too many gray areas.' At first I was annoyed (I thought I was being flexible), but he was right. I went back and added specific deliverables and timelines for each milestone. Cut down on scope creep emails by like 60%. Has anyone else had a contractor call them out on something that actually improved their process?

3 comments

3 Comments

tara_jones9420d ago

My 2019 freelancer turned down my project because my deposit terms were too generous.

derek65620d ago

Man that's wild. Same thing happened to me a few months back. I offered a 50% upfront deposit which I thought was totally fair and they still said no. They told me they only work with clients who pay 100% after the work is done. Felt insulting honestly. Like they didn't trust me to pay or something. It's such a weird flex when freelancers act like generous terms are a red flag.

thomas_martinez16d ago

Totally get where you're coming from, man. It's like they think we're all out here trying to scam them when really we just want to split the risk a little. I think their logic is backwards sometimes. Being flexible with payment should show you're a serious client, not a shady one. But I guess some freelancers have had so many bad experiences that they treat everyone like they're about to run off without paying. It's a shame because it just pushes away good clients who want to work with them.