As a freelancer, you have the unique opportunity to choose your own clients. You also have the unique opportunity to end those relationships when they are no longer serving you. So, how do you know when it’s time to end a client relationship?

Here are four signs that it might be time to move on.

  1. When you’re not growing personally, professionally or financially.
  2. When communication with your client stops.
  3. When your client stops showing up for themselves.
  4. When the audience stops showing up.

When you’re not growing personally, professionally or financially.
A wise man once taught me to look at projects through the lens of how it serves me personally, professional and financially. As a freelancer, you should always be looking for ways to grow and improve your skillset, but if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with a particular client, it might be time to move on and find someone who offers opportunities for growth. Similarly, if you’re not being paid what you’re worth or if a client is consistently late with payments, it might be time to end the relationship. Remember, as a freelancer, you have the power to choose who you work with—so make sure you’re being compensated fairly for your time and expertise.

The biggest difference between a freelancer and an employee in someone else’s business is that as a freelancer, you value freedom over stability. Exercise your freedom.

When communication with your client stops.
Effective communication is key in any relationship—including business relationships. If you find yourself repeatedly trying to get in touch with a client without any response, it might be time to move on to someone who values clear communication. After all, how can you effectively do your job if you can’t even get in touch with your client? If email and phone calls are going unanswered, it’s probably time to start looking for new clients who are more responsive.

As a freelancer, sometimes you’re not in the day to day with your client, but thats why communication is so important. Look at the quality over your conversations. Does this feel like a collaborative relationship?

When your client stops showing up for themselves.
Just as important as communication is collaboration—and that goes both ways. If you feel like your clients are no longer interested in working with you to create their vision or if they’ve stopped providing input altogether, it might be time to walk away from the project (and the client). A good freelancer-client relationship is built on trust and mutual respect—if either of those things starts to disappear, it’s probably time to call it quits.

Often times with creating videos, if your client just isn’t making time to be in front of the camera (or behind it) then what’s the point?

When the audience stops showing up.
In some cases, it’s not the relationship between freelancer and client that needs to end—it’s the project itself that needs to be abandoned. If you find yourself struggling to attract an audience or generate interest in a project, it might be because the project itself isn’t feasible or desirable anymore. In cases like these, doing some soul-searching (and market research) can help you determine whether it’s worth trying to salvage the project or if it would be better off abandoned altogether. And if you decide that the project isn’t worth salvaging, don’t be afraid to walk away—your time (and energy) is better spent elsewhere.

I do want to be clear here — the audience might have stopped showing up because you did first! Inconsistency in posting videos to YouTube, for example, makes it almost impossible to reach an audience.

It’s hard to not feel bad, but don’t.

There are many reasons why a freelance client relationship might come to an end—and that’s OK! The most important thing is that you listen to your gut and trust your instincts. If something feels off, chances are it probably is.

So don’t hesitate to walk away from a bad situation—you owe it to yourself (and your business) to only surround yourself with people and projects that inspire, challenge, and excite you.