Measuring Worth

No, it’s not yet another post on payment – not quite. It’s about determining if the project you’re working on or being offered is worth it. I bring this up after waving bye-bye to the long-arsed project of a week ago. The work was tedious, but it paid okay. The projects were large, but again, they paid well. The worst part of it was the time it took me to get an answer out of anyone. So much for guidance. I did decide not to continue on with this particular client for that reason, but also because the time involved in delivering these very detailed projects left me exhausted, overworked, stressed, and scrambling to make sure I met other client deadlines. My work was suffering.

I’ve been given advice by my better half to go back to the client and renegotiate pay so I can drop my other clients. I won’t do that. See, he means well, but he doesn’t quite understand that one client is great, but it’s way too easy to find yourself unpaid and out of work should that client decide to drop you or not pay the invoices as agreed. Instead, I’d much rather cut loose this lucrative client with its problems intact than sacrifice good clients who pay on time and who aren’t vague or evasive. Call me crazy.

I measured the worth of this project over all others, and it lost. Someday you may find yourself in a similar position, where the ongoing work and the promise of nice pay is outweighed by too many other factors. Don’t be afraid to make the hard choice. In the end, I think you’ll find it was an easier choice than you first thought it to be.