I have been offered a small project that is not a great fit and barely worth the admin time. The only reason I am hesitating is that the client is connected to a network I would like more work from.
I have accepted jobs for 'exposure to future work' before and, shockingly, the future work did not arrive on a white horse. Still, referrals are real sometimes.
Do you treat referral potential as a bonus only, or ever let it change the decision on a marginal project?
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I will take a small unglamorous job if it is easy and I already trust the client. But I do not let referrals rescue a bad margin on paper.
I will take a small unglamorous job if it is easy and I already trust the client. But I do not let referrals rescue a bad margin on paper.
Same. If the admin is bigger than the work, I pass unless there is something concrete attached to it.
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I only count referral potential if it is already warm enough to name a likely next job. Vague network upside is too easy to imagine and too...
I only count referral potential if it is already warm enough to name a likely next job. Vague network upside is too easy to imagine and too hard to invoice.
That matches my gut. If I do the tiny project, I want to be able to point to a real future path, not a maybe.
Bonus only for me. If the project itself is a bad fit, I usually need a much clearer reason than “maybe someone might remember me.”