Questions to ask before you say yes to a freelance client

A client who looks fine on the call can still be the wrong job. The expensive part is usually not the work itself. It is the unclear scope, the slow replies, and the extra rounds you did not price.

Before you say yes, get answers you can write down. Eight questions are enough.

1. What does done look like, in one sentence?
   If they cannot describe the finished result, you will be guessing for the whole project.

2. What is already decided, and what is still open?
   Ask which tools, brand rules, and approvals are fixed. Open items become your unpaid research.

3. Who approves the work, and how fast?
   One approver with a known turnaround is workable. A committee with no deadline is how a two-week job becomes six.

4. What is explicitly out of scope?
   Name two or three things you will not do. If they will not agree to any boundary, that is the answer.

5. How will we handle a change after we start?
   A simple rule is enough: a change gets a short note, a price or time adjustment, and a yes before you do it.

6. What does a normal week of communication look like?
   Ask for the channel, the update rhythm, and what "urgent" means. Urgent everything is not a plan.

7. When is the first payment, and what triggers the last one?
   Deposit, milestone, or paid-in-full before files. If payment timing is vague, do not start the files.

8. What happens if we are not a fit?
   A clean no is cheaper than a bad yes. You can say you will send a short note either way within two days.

After the call, write the answers in one page: result, scope, out of scope, approver, timeline, price, and payment. If you cannot fill that page, you do not have a project yet. You have a conversation.

I keep a one-page client checklist for this exact moment, so the answers do not stay in a notes app. It is free: https://mosaicmaker5.gumroad.com/l/skgtmh