Thanks, Kira Leigh — I really appreciate the response and respect your opinion. When I began freelancing and up until I started my own company, I shared the same point of view as you.

I really don’t want freelancers to get the impression that they should be doing work for free, or at a discounted rate, by any means. However, after taking some advice from my mentors I learned this valuable lesson and applied to myself, and it turned out to be a counter-intuitive strategy that works for me.

Just recently, one of my mentees was in this exact situation (which is why I wrote this article in the first place), and I offered this advice to him. His marketing client had been paying him monthly and he didn't see the results he wanted, and his client was about to walk away. Instead of letting him go, I said “why don’t you offer to work the next two months for free (or at a steeply discounted rate) in exchange for some “skin in the game” — either equity or percentage of online sales?”. The client really appreciated his willingness to work with him, and the relationship became even stronger. My friend called me back surprised and super excited he didn’t lose the client.

Offering someone money back in good faith is the last resort, so I apologize if this wasn’t explained clearly or taken out of context. I completely agree with you that having a good process, a clear SOW, and frequent check-ins should prevent this from happening. But, it does happen. If you find yourself in this situation, please consider the advice and try a version you feel comfortable with, and see what happens. We’re all constantly learning and growing, and what have we got to lose — you may be surprised :)