Liar, liar: Top 25 lies told by freelancers and clients

Liars are everywhere, but they’re hard to spot, even if their pants are on fire.

Never fear, I’ve researched the top 25 business lies told by freelancers and clients. Actually, there are only 14, but 25 will attract more RSS and Twitter readers.

If you’ve worked as or with a freelancer, you’ll no doubt have heard and spouted a whole bunch of non-core promises. Freelancers and clients alike know they’re lies, but play along anyway.

Here are the top business lies according to my in-depth global research (not really).

Top business lies told by freelancers:

1. I’m really excited about your project = I’m really excited about your money
2. I’m flexible to meet anytime this week = I have no work on at the moment
3. I’ve been working on that all morning = I’ll start on that this afternoon
4. I’ve scheduled that in for tomorrow = @#$% I forgot about that, but I’ve just written it down
5. I’m booked out for the next few months = I don’t like you, or your business
6. Do you have a budget in mind? = Can I get away with charging even more than usual?
7. I love the flexibility of freelancing = I love taking my time to look for a full-time job

Top business lies told by clients:

1. Your invoice has been processed = I did print your invoice, but left it on the printer
2. We want something really ‘out there’ and quirky = We want something really conservative
3. I’ll send you a full brief early this week = I’ll send you a wad of random documents next week
4. Can you just throw something together? = Can you do a proper job but charge a lot less?
5. Can you give me a ballpark figure? = Exactly how much will it be? I’ll hold you to it later.
6. That’s definitely a phase two requirement = That’s definitely never going to happen
7. We nurture long-term supplier relationships = Well we do, as long as they’re the cheapest

For more fromNoel Ranger, head to www.flyingsolo.com.au, Australia's online community for solo business owners.