Compromise doesn't always need to mean settling for second best. When working with clients, compromise can mean everyone taking away something of value.

Compromise is often a word used in a negative way to indicate when you settle for second best. In my time as a freelancer though I've come to find it to mean a positive result.

I speak to my clients alot when it comes to starting new projects. Last week I had a meeting regarding some technical decisions that the client and myself wanted to make before starting a new project. We couldn't decide on which course of action to take. The client wanted to go one way, I wanted to go the other way. It should never be this way though. Allowing one side to completely dictate the decisions is bad for the relationship with your client.

When either side tries to remain in control, the other side invariably suffers. Not giving the client any control of their project can mean that they don't get what they had in mind and will reflect on working with you as a bad experience. On the flip side, if the client is always in control, you end up doing work that isn't enjoyable, challenging or in your best interests.

It's About Balance

Your client has an objective, you have the knowledge to get your client to the objective, there must be a happy medium where the two of you can meet. This happy medium is called compromise. In the example of my client meeting, I discussed the options available to the client and we came to a decision that was a compromise on both sides but one the will benefit any long term work we do together. By compromising we came to a result that benefited both of us.

Not all meetings will go this way though and you might wonder if this is only achieveable through some utopian freelancing world where all clients pay on time, attend all meetings and respect you for the work you deliver. It's not, the decision to work with clients is a decision you have to make as a freelancer. I don't need to tell you that clients that compromise are better than clients that don't yield control at all.

With compromise, both you and your client walk away with a positive result. It might not be what your client wants or what you want, but is it not better to walk away with a healthy working relationship with your client than to walk away with no client at all?