I've read everything that's been posted, plus (or course) your 'histoire triste'.
I don't want to repeat what's been said so far, but I'll likely cover a few points that have been mentioned:
First of all, my commisserations to you. It was a tough day. Hopefully you'll wake up tomorrow (or today), read all the positive messages here, and bound out of the house with your head held high, ready to take on the world!
Also, don't forget, now that you've determined that you will charge what you're worth, you are now in a transitional stage. So, especially for past, or ongoing clients like the clothing lady, they may have some difficulty accepting that they can't have high quality at rock bottom prices. She's a businessperson, after all, and I'm sure that she just loved the little arrangement she had with you. It seems that you thought of her as almost a friend. She wasn't. She was a business associate. Like you, she has her bottom line. If she comes to her senses, she'll realize that in the long run, she's better off having her publicity shots done well. If she doesn't, well, you shouldn't bankroll her.
Now (and I'm ~not~ a "silver lining" guy; see my sig below <g>), some good has come of the clothing thing. You did some work for her that you can put in your portfolio. You can put her company's name in your Curriculum Vitae. If she does make it big, it'll look good on you, even if you don't do another thing for her.
And, it may be that for "old customers" some sort of sliding increase in rates may be feasible. Did you discuss that with her?
As far as the other two: well, no sour grapes or anything, but I think they'd have been horrible clients to work for, if they're like this before the job. Your first hint with the "no deposit" lady should have been when she didn't come up with the deposit when she first promised to. You were right to tell her that the booking wasn't finalized until her deposit, and she was in danger of being bumped. You should have stuck to your guns and said, "No booking until I see Green" (politely, of course). That way, you have no worries. They bring cash, you do work. End of story. I know from my past business life, people come up with all sorts of promises. They often lie. Sad, but true. In business, you must always be cynical.
Now, a little parable, taken from my true and actual past:
I used to be a lawyer. I don't like to broadcast it, but it's true. I did family and criminal law. I did a lot of Legal Aid work. They paid me about $60 an hour (barely covering my overhead). I had many clients who didn't qualify for legal aid, but were still poor. I felt sorry for them, and told them I'd charge them what Legal Aid would have paid me for their case (huge mistake!). I had some clients of means, who paid my proper hourly rate of about $250 an hour.
Know who my worst clients were, by far? Not the Legal Aid clients, because, I suspect, they felt some responsibility to their benefactor not to run up the bill. It wasn't my clients of means, because by and large, they knew the value of a dollar, and they didn't want to give me money for frivolous reasons. Yup, it was the $60/hr. clients. They were the most demanding, calling me at home at all hours for no reason at all, and they complained the longest and loudest if they didn't get what they perceived to be a satisfactory result. Plus, I got stiffed by them more than once.
By and large, people who pay good money expect good work. They are paying professional fees, so they treat you like a professional. People who pay discount store prices treat you like crap, still expect top quality (even if they don't know what that is), and pick pick pick at everything. Stay away from them.
Anyone who tries to bargain you down on price will give you problems down the road. Consider it a blessing that they "fired" you when they did!
Really.
cheers, frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
From: "Tanya Mayer Photography" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[suffice to say, she had a bad day - 'nuff said]
_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/bcomm&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca
