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The time I lost a client over a handshake deal at a trade show in Cleveland
Back in March, I met a potential client at the Midwest Manufacturing Expo in Cleveland. We shook hands on a project scope, agreed on a rough number around $4,500, and I started work the next week. Two weeks in, they came back with a different list of tasks and a lower budget, and I had no written contract to lean on. I ended up doing twice the work for nearly half the pay, just to keep the relationship. So here's the debate: in a service business, is a handshake still a bond, or should you always have a signed agreement before touching the work? Has anyone else lost money this way, and what did you do differently next time?
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kimr911mo ago
Wait, you actually started work with no written agreement? That is wild, especially for a project that size. Honestly, even a simple one page email confirming the scope and price would have saved you from that mess. You live and you learn, but that $4,500 number turning into half pay is a hard lesson.
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the_cameron1mo ago
Learned that lesson the hard way, eh? Ouch.
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