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client-red-flags

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Spot a bad client before you sign — the warning signs of the projects that turn into unpaid, scope-creeping nightmares, and how to screen, price, or decline them. Use when asked is this client a red flag, should I take this client, screening a difficult client, or how to avoid bad clients. Produces a read on the warning signs present (haggling, vagueness, disrespect, urgency, unrealistic expectations), what each predicts, screening questions to ask before committing, protective terms if you proceed anyway, and how to decline gracefully — so you avoid the clients who cost more than they pay.

skills/client-red-flags/SKILL.md

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# Client Red Flags

Experienced freelancers know: the worst projects announce themselves early. The client who haggles hard before you start, can't describe what they want, disrespects your time, or needs it "yesterday" tends to become the one who scope-creeps, pays late, and drains your energy. This reads the warning signs, tells you what they predict, and helps you screen, protect, or walk — before you're trapped.

## What This Skill Produces

- **A red-flag read** — the warning signs present in this prospect and what each tends to predict (aggressive haggling → payment/scope issues; vagueness → endless revisions; disrespect early → worse later; false urgency → chaos)
- **Screening questions** — what to ask before committing to surface the risks (budget, decision-maker, success definition, timeline realism)
- **Protective terms** — if you proceed, the contract/process safeguards (deposit, milestone payments, tight scope, kill fee) that reduce the risk
- **A proceed / protect / decline call** — a judgment based on the severity and your situation
- **A graceful decline** — how to say no professionally without burning the bridge

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