Naively, I took everyone at their word. The nature of my own well-meaning and fairness-oriented personality made dealing in the often cut-throat world of business somewhat challenging.

Unfortunately, I found myself working all the time (averaging 18 hour work days along with regular all-nighters) and yet somehow I was still struggling just to pay the rent. I was winning awards and getting new contracts every week, then borrowing money from family to buy groceries. People loved me and they loved my work, but Ontario Hydro doesn’t accept second-hand love in exchange for heat.

Over the years I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way, including contract and deposit policies to (at least partially) protect me from con-artists and deadbeats. That said, one of the most important skills I’ve had to develop has been the proper and ample usage of the word “no”.

Don’t get me wrong, I do hate having to say it. And it’s not easy. But it’s as vital to your professional success and personal well-being as the air we breathe.

Here are a few questions I almost always say ‘no’ to:

1. Can you show me a mock-up to help us choose a designer?
Spec work. I used to fall for this one all the time. I even used to participate in design “competitions”, which in essence require a large number of designers to invest work hours into a project, for which only one will actually get paid. A lazy customer wants an off-the-shelf design that they don’t have to invest much time or effort into, so they get a diverse group of naive designers to work for free with the intention of only paying one for their time. I would often “win” these competitions, but it always left a foul taste in my mouth. Time, talent and ideas are our product – we don’t give them away for nothing. It’s NOT like “test driving different cars before choosing one”… it’s more like asking the salesperson to GIVE you a fleet of cars, and then only paying for the one you like best. Even if you never use the other cars, the salesperson doesn’t get them back.

2. I saw someone online selling logos for $99 – can you match that?
Yeah, and you can buy designer handbags in China for a buck. I do unfortunately get this question once in a while, and the response is always “no”, without exception. You can find stock and cheap design easily enough. The tradeoff is… wait for it… it’s crap. And if it’s not crap, it’s royalty free, which means you can’t trademark it, and anybody else with $99 can use the same design for their brand. You would think that more people would realize that you get what you pay for.

3. Can you give me a deep discount?
This is similar to number 2, but in this case it may be a long-standing client asking the question, or just someone who loves your work but can’t quite afford it. I get this question all the time. People are always out to save a buck, and while I’ll quite often apply a loyalty discount or an agency rate if you’re giving us regular work, it’s never more than X percent of our standard rate. I almost never agree to flat rate projects – they will suck you dry unless you’re VERY specific about the inclusions. Remember, this is your livelihood. It’s your mortgage, your grocery bill, your family’s expenses, AND your company’s integrity.

4. I really like X by Y company – can you copy it for me?
This comes up more than you’d think. A client sees something they like, and they want it for themselves. It’s only natural, but a line has to be drawn. You can use existing sources for inspiration, guidance, general style and the like, but a carbon-copy is immoral, unusable, illegal, and relegates the designer to more of a drone than anything else. Nothing good will come of it.

5. Can I have your home number?
I’ve given this out to precious few clients. It’s hard enough to keep that fragile line of sand that separates work from home from blowing away in the wind of my hectic schedule. While I work very long hours, and I always have work “with” me in some form or another, I do make serious efforts to be as fully present as possible, in whichever context I find myself. If I’m at work, I’m at work and I am immersed in it. If I’m stealing a few precious moments to have dinner with my husband, we both deserve to have that time to ourselves. If you don’t maintain some sort of balance, you’ll be looking at an early grave – or a mental hospital.

6. Can you design X for free in exchange for advertising or stock?
Um, no. I’ve reached the point where my company gets all the advertising it needs through word-of-mouth. Everything I do that’s not covered by an NDA (and that I actually like) goes into my portfolio or my Flickr profile, and websites I’ve developed link back to my website from the design credit area. This is my career – I’m not your neighbour’s kid with a stolen copy of photoshop. And while I do appreciate the offer of stock, and I wish my clients the best, it’s rarely a wise investment on my part.

7. Can you do this by tomorrow?
I always have at least a dozen or so contracts on the go at once, with each one often having a multitude of different tasks to complete. All tasks go into a queue, with a constantly changing order based on an algorithm involving time, priority, skill, effort, urgency, overall project scale and client seniority. Note that urgency is only one part of the equation. If I can do it, I will, but please don’t ask me to stay up all night to get it done. I’ll often do that on my own, but the generosity can end rather abruptly when you start to make assumptions. Remember, the more you bend over for a client, the more they’ll expect you to bend in the future. That’s not to say you shouldn’t do good clients a favour now and then (you should), but be mindful of the slippery slope.

8. Can I just pay the whole amount when I’m done?
I’ve been burned by far too many deadbeat and dishonest clients to fall for this one. All new contracts require a 50% deposit before any design work begins – and it doesn’t matter how big or small the contract is. At the end of the project, finals are only delivered AFTER final payment has arrived. The majority of your clients will be honest, and the majority will pay in full provided you’re good at what you do. But you always have to account for the jerk factor. These people don’t care about the time and effort you poured into the project. They don’t care if you can’t afford to eat because you devoted a month to a project that would never be paid for. Don’t fall prey to it. I do have long-standing clients on monthly billing schedules, but only agree to do this once you’ve developed a trusting relationship with the client.

So there they are, but remember, there are no absolutes. Depending on the situation, you may have different answers (and I may too), but the take-home message here is that you need to develop the ability to say no to your clients. The customer is not always right, and when they are wrong, your personal and professional success will depend on your ability and willingness to tactfully tell them so.

Commercial failures illustrating the consequences of implementing “new” and “different” without insight abound, and you have to wonder, what were they thinking?

Heinz: an ambitious but short-lived go of colouring its ketchup green, purple and blue in their EZ Squirt line.
General Mills Fingos: jumbo pieces of cereal whose boxes depicted a large tongue, introduced and pulled in 1993.
Orbitz: that nasty looking fruit-flavored beverage with little edible balls suspended within.
New Coke: do I really need to elaborate?

Creativity run amok in a vacuum is obviously not going to help your business. But by the same token, processes, systems and business sense in the absence of insightful creativity are simply monotony personified. So when looking for marketing consultants or designers for your business, it is important to find insightful, creative people who ALSO have a solid understanding of real-world applications.

Sage Media is an international corporate design firm based in Ottawa, Ontario.