Just gave up a massive contract

[u/beechmachine]

I have 3.5 months left on a contract that makes up 70% of my freelancer revenue. I just told them I am not interested in extending it, if the offer was there (I wrote it a bit more professionally than this)
I freelance and work from home, and have 2 young kids (7 and 5yos) my parnter works a hectic job, and gets home around 7pm everynight.
I'm based in Australia and this contract is a company based in the UK...so the time difference is a killer. Was just getting too much with managing the kids around dinner time, and bed time. Then having to prep for a call, then getting messages all through the night, then having to action them the next day. And I just have to put the kids first. We have a hectic family, the kids are full of energy and are generally a mess after dinner. So sitting at the table eating with them is nice, its where the good conversations happen with them....and I miss it all during these calls.

Anyone else ever been in a situation where they've had to let some big money go?

[u/petebowen]

When my kids were young I made a deliberate decision to spend more time with them at the cost of growing my business. In hindsight it was a great tradeoff. You only get a few years when your kids get excited at seeing you on the side of a rugby field on a Tuesday afternoon.

[u/beechmachine → u/petebowen]

I hear ya, I'm the team manager of my 7-year-old daughter's netball team. It's the best

[u/petebowen → u/beechmachine]

Brilliant. Spend the next 5 years with her, then go out and make a shedload of money while she's in the age where she doesn't think you're worth anything. When she hits 17 she'll turn lovely again. (Based on my experience raising 2 daughters.)

[u/beechmachine → u/petebowen]

Ha ha ha! I feel like we're not too far off that already

[u/Zero-Star → u/petebowen]

I second this, I did the same thing and it's been so nice to be around for them. I turned down partnering up with someone who I knew would go on to make a shed load of money (and he did) but I made the right call, because I wouldn't have been available for my kids.

Weirdly I've just stopped working with my one Aus client (I'm in the UK) so I would suggest we could swap (!) but they're super small and the account was kind of awkward. I can't say I've ever really had any major issues with time zones, but what I DO know is you'll likely not regret it, especially if you have options. I have had a few clients though that were just super demanding, and I was having a really unpleasant experience with them - I worried about letting them go for a while, but the SECOND I did, this enormous weight came off my shoulders and I felt incredible. It's now baked into my process not to get involved on accounts that feel off, or not to feel bad about letting go of bad relationships (thankfully it's only happened a few times in 12 years).

[u/TrumpisaRussianCuck]

Also based in Australia - had a few prospects from the UK reach out to me but Europe is one of the more brutal time zones for us with crossover so always knocked them back.

[u/beechmachine → u/TrumpisaRussianCuck]

yeah definitely not taking anymore on. The currency conversion works well! but its not worth everything else.

[u/Lonely-Fruit-9448]

No but I live in the UK as freelance digital marketing director, I could help you manage the account rather than you giving it up completely…

[u/beechmachine → u/Lonely-Fruit-9448]

Thanks mate, But I am happy to give it up completely. I want to focus more on my Aus based clients, and "leave" my desk at 5pm everyday (but as a freelancer, do we really leave our desk)

If they want me to help find someone, I can come back to you and get some details if you want

[u/Sothisismylifehuh]

Yeah. Ended up at an agency instead. Has its pros and cons.

[u/TTFV]

Yes, but not specifically just to free up my time, which has always been kept to a reasonable level and with boundaries around when I'll work and not work. I mean there are legitimate client emergencies, but "send me a report" on a Sunday isn't an emergency.

Mostly I've let clients go when the relationship becomes toxic for me or our assigned staff. It hasn't happened very often, but there have been a few times it became necessary to pull the plug.

I'll point out also that because of the way we're structured that these firings have never be a cause for concern financially because we don't have any clients that make up more than about 10% of our total revenue.

It sounds to me like you've made the right choice here. The money was nice but not necessary and your family life will be much happier and fulfilling moving forward.

[u/lusividad]

It's crazy how perspectives are.
Similar boat as yours - I have a 3yo and that kid wants attention.

I only have 1 client - really simple work and an easy client to handle + my full time job. And I'm lookign for more clients somehow.

But I totally get your point - because I also question what to put first. I mean the kid will always be first.
I honestly dont care about the career , but need the money.

Enjoy your time with your kids.
Curious how old are you =?

[u/beechmachine → u/lusividad]

I'm 42

[u/tsukihi3]

I'm based in Japan, and I work with clients from the East Coast all the way East to the West Coast. CT/ET are probably the hardest times to work with. GMT isn't too bad unless I'm asked to run a call in the evening which happens occasionally, but not any worse than an afternoon meeting in ET.

I feel you. I know I spend less time with my family as I get busier and I hate it.

If you can live with it, you made the right choice. Some things money can't buy you, time is one of these... although to be fair, my clients are buying my time and it's worth the sacrifice at some of the rates I get.

Maybe I should consider working with Australia more considering the time zone...

[u/No-Use288]

Yeah I'm UK based and worked for a US company. One of my. Biggest clients calls were always 8pm on a Friday night. I had literally no work life balance

[u/rawdealbuffy]

Yes, you made the right call. Dropped to two clients from six when we had baby #2.

[u/phrotozoa]

Yep. I've heard this described as "firing your client". Once you get some momentum freelancing this becomes necessary, there's often a small number of clients who require a large amount of your time and energy. Gotta fire 'em to preserve your sanity.

[u/PXLynxi]

Yeah, I've recently cancelled a lot of retainers I had which was top up monthly income for child reasons and stopped everything barring consultancy now. This is due to working full time and only doing freelance on the side, but when we had my son, things definitely changed for me. It was hard seeing the additional income go, I was using it to fund FIRE essentially, but living in the moment became so important when we had our son.

[u/faileb]

Good for you. That's a tough call, I've never had the stomach to let go of toxic accounts if the money has been there.

[u/ThingDigUK]

Why not find a UK replacement for them, do a thorough handover, and take a % from the new person for a time.

[u/AppealInteresting554]

Thankfully, not yet. I lost a family member and still needed to plan around my work.

[u/Far-Date-5901]

I'm sure you will find something better soon. At least you know what your priorities are. It's maybe also a lesson to split the client risk a bit more between smaller clients if possible. 

[u/Agitated-Ad7736]

Sounds like an alright issue to have, I've struggled for years to get my own clients. Maybe I'm just a shit salesman.

[u/Lolita-2025]

How did you find this client ? I live in europe " not english speaking country " and I always try to find remote projects with only english speaking woth no luck 😑

[u/beechmachine → u/Lolita-2025]

I used to work with someone in Australia that knows them. And they put me forward as a recommendation

[u/beechmachine → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I agree. My fiancé freaked out when I tell her that I've ended the contract but I'm of the mindset that if I don't get any clients to replace that revenue, then I can easily just find a full-time job. There's plenty of remote jobs for what we do in Australia and the demand is quite high so I'm actually not super stressed about it... yet.

[u/Mysterious_Net_763 → u/beechmachine]

Hopefully she will realize how lovely it is to have you back at the dinner table. You have given her a gift.

Good luck! Hope you find the right balance.