u/Direct-Jackfruit-775

Three rounds of revisions in and my client has completely changed direction from the original brief. We're basically starting from scratch.

I have no idea how to have the conversation about extra charges without making them feel attacked. Anyone been through this and come out the other side with the relationship intact? 😅

Three rounds of revisions in and my client has completely changed direction from the original brief. We're basically starting from scratch.

I have no idea how to have the conversation about extra charges without making them feel attacked. Anyone been through this and come out the other side with the relationship intact? 😅

Not in a sad way — just that there's nobody around you doing the same thing so everything feels like you're figuring it out from scratch.

Like when I needed to put my rates up for the first time I had no idea how to word it, how much notice to give, whether to explain why or just state it. Spent way too long overthinking an email that probably took the client 10 seconds to read 😂

Feel like there's loads of resources for the actual craft but not much for the day to day reality of running a small freelance business in the UK — the client management, the awkward conversations, the admin that eats your evenings.

Anyone else feel this or is it just me?

Had a client ask for a quick turnaround this week and wasn't sure whether to bump the price or just absorb it. How does everyone else handle this, fixed rush fee, percentage increase, or just depends on the situation?

For me it's writing client emails. Doesn't sound like much on its own, but between proposals, invoice chases, and project updates, it's a constant drain. Wondering what the equivalent is for other people, the small stuff that quietly takes up way more time than it deserves.

Building this alongside studying medicine, so progress has been slower than I'd like. The automation pipeline is working end to end now after fixing a duplicate email bug. Eight different document types are in testing. Still figuring out pricing and payments. Posting this mostly to hold myself accountable to keep going.

Been tracking this for myself lately and it's honestly more than I expected. Between writing proposals, chasing invoices, and replying to client emails, it adds up to hours I could be spending on actual design work. Curious how much time everyone else loses to this stuff, and whether you've found any way to cut it down.

For me it's chasing invoices. The work is done, the client is happy, and then suddenly they go quiet when it's time to pay. You don't want to sound desperate but you also need the money. Anyone else find this weirdly stressful?

Every time I sit down to write a proposal I end up rewriting it three times. Trying to get the tone right, make it sound professional but still like me. Anyone got a system for this or do you just wing it every time?

I've been curious about this — how much of your week do you actually spend on the work vs the business stuff around it? Proposals, chasing invoices, replying to enquiries... for me it started to feel like a part time job on top of the actual job. How do you all manage it?

Genuinely asking because I feel like every proposal I write takes forever. I overthink the wording, second guess the pricing, rewrite it three times. By the time I send it I've spent 2-3 hours on something the client reads in 30 seconds. Do you have a system or template that actually works? Or do you just accept it takes ages?

For me it's chasing invoices. I'd rather do 10 hours of extra work than send that "just following up on payment" email. There's something about it that feels so uncomfortable even when you're 100% in the right. Anyone else or is it just me?

Had a client go 3 weeks past due, sent two polite emails, nothing. Added a small late fee on the third email and they paid within 24 hours. Now I'm wondering if I should just do this as standard. Anyone else done this? How do you handle the awkward invoice chase without damaging the relationship?

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Hello guys! To give you some context, I started making an automated email sender for freelance designers and I'm at the stage where in a few weeks I'll have the actual project ready but however, I'm trying to get potential customers before I launch it. Some advice on how to do marketing would be really appreciated, thank you.

Studio Mate

Genuine question for freelance designers here.

How much of your week is actually spent designing vs doing admin? Emails, proposals, chasing clients, writing contracts...

I've been building an AI tool specifically for freelance designers to handle all of this — you describe what you need and it writes it for you in seconds. Currently looking for a few people to try it for free in exchange for honest feedback.

Drop a comment or DM me if you're interested — would love to get some real designers involved early.

Genuine question for freelance designers here.

How much of your week is actually spent designing vs doing admin? Emails, proposals, chasing clients, writing contracts...

I've been building an AI tool specifically for freelance designers to handle all of this — you describe what you need and it writes it for you in seconds. Currently looking for a few people to try it for free in exchange for honest feedback.

Drop a comment or DM me if you're interested — would love to get some real designers involved early.

Okay so I've been nerding out on productivity lately and decided to actually track where my time goes each week.

Turns out nearly 40% of my "working" hours weren't spent designing at all.

Chasing a client who's 3 weeks late on an invoice. Writing a proposal that took 2 hours and then never got a reply. Sending the same "just checking in" email for the fifth time. Rewriting a contract because the last one was too vague.

It's genuinely demoralising. I became a designer to design, not to run a one-person admin department.

Anyone else feel like the business side of freelancing is slowly eating the creative side alive?

How bad is it for you — what's the worst admin task you deal with regularly?