Types of Clients you will Encounter as an Artist

As an artist, and in other roles too, there are different types of people that you will encounter. They may prove to be anywhere from extremely favorable to extremely unfavorable to you. Here are only a few (more might be added in the future). Not necessarily in descending order from best to worst, but grouped by how recommendable they are or not to be invested in. And under this category, as clients.

Recommendable
• The Funder
They look forward to your success. Not only do they want you to survive, but they want you to thrive in your work. Because of this, not only will they become a regular client, but may also make generous contributions every now and then. Be that as money or as other types of resources. They might become personally invested and assist your progress in various ways over time.

• The Tipper
They recognize the value of your work, the effort put into it, and/or how rough things have been or currently are. Therefore, besides paying the agreed-upon amount, they will add something extra in gratitude and consideration. Or they could just be generous by default and in the habit of always tipping. But perhaps they begrudgingly tip for another reason. In any case, you end up rewarded.

• The Appreciative
They will make you and what you do feel beyond worthwhile. Maybe they won’t show you in your preferred ways how grateful they are, but they will genuinely cherish what you made. Possibly be sentimental about it. Vocal or not, you can tell by how they treat it (or by the 5 stars or 10/10 rating they leave you afterward).

• The Flexible
Got a peculiar way of going about it? No problem! They can adapt. And while they won’t stand for scams or being taken advantage of, they can be quite understanding and even forgiving. If you miss a deadline or have to postpone it, they won’t be too appalled. If something comes up and you cannot deliver as expected, they will adjust their expectations. Don’t get too comfortable, though, because even they have a limit.

Tolerable/Manageable
• The Indecisive
They can’t make up their mind. They will ask for something, and then for something else contrary to that. Or they won’t ask for anything but ask you to present them with options - and then some more. They may be conscious and apologetic about it, but still have a hard and difficult time deciding. You may have to step in and make decisions for them or lead them into making favorable ones.

• The Flirt
Do they get special treatment if they seduce you? They will try to find out. It is possible to meet your other half through work, but this is unlikely to be the case. They will attempt to charm you for better deals for them or simply because they find you attractive and getting your attention thrills them. It gets in the way of productivity and efficiency and you will have to set firm boundaries.

Not Recommendable
• The “The Customer Is Always Right”
These people may have heard the phrase and ran with it out of context and proportion. They believe they know better than you, as though they didn’t come to you because you knew better than them. They will “correct” you and be petty, never satisfied unless it all goes their way. Which would be fine if they were indeed right, or at least within the bounds of acceptable, but they aren’t. Your talent and expertise are going to waste. You could please them and have an atrocity with your name attached to it in your history or remove yourself from the situation somehow.

• The Overentitled
You owe them. Why? Just because. There is little to no logic and rationality in it if you think it through. But it can be traced back to a belief in their grandiosity or the grandiosity of their cause. They may believe that they are doing you a favor or that it is an honor to serve them. May shame and guilt-trip you to get their way. They’ll come up with senseless arguments to try to convince you that it is your obligation to bend to their will and whims.

• The Stingy
Whether they can afford to or not, they’d rather not pay. They will bargain for lower prices, making excuses. And if those don’t work, they might begin attacking the price, claiming it is too high. And to argue for that, they will begin attacking your products and/or services, claiming that they are not of much quality or prestige to make it count. Even if they give up and pay the initial price, they will do so resentfully - perhaps after succeeding at shaking your confidence and sense of worth. And if they do get a discount, you’ll probably wonder if they deserved it.

• The Rusher
Zero patience. They must be your top priority and treated with the urgency of an emergency. Will they pay extra for that? Likely not. Are they an extraordinary client that has earned VIP treatment? Also likely not. May constantly check on you for updates and even delay your progress while doing so, then complain about how slow you are. Will they give you a hand to finish sooner? No, they won’t. Their insistence on speedy delivery is their contribution.

Alternatively, as a client, do you see yourself among the Not Recommendable or the Tolerable/Manageable and don’t like it? Start/keep working on your improvement.