When I was starting out in the audio business, somebody offered me a gig and my answer was pretty much always the same.

Yes.

Record your band?

Yes.

Run sound at some little club?

Sure.

Work some ridiculous hours for not much money?

Probably.

Take on something I'd never done before and wasn't entirely sure I knew how to do?

Why not?

And you know what?

When you're starting out, there's actually something good about that.

You need experience. You need to meet people. You need opportunities to try things, make mistakes, solve problems, and figure out what you're actually good at.

Some of the strangest gigs I've taken over the years taught me things I never would have learned sitting at home.

And you never know where one little job might lead.

But somewhere along the way, I learned another lesson:

The gig you turn down can be just as important to your career as the gig you take.

When You're Starting Out, Say Yes

I don't want somebody who's just getting started to read this and suddenly decide they're too selective to take any work.

Quite the opposite.

If you're new to the business, I think you probably should say yes more often than you say no.

Record your friend's band.

Help somebody with their podcast.

Take the little voice-over session.

Run sound.

Mix something you've never mixed before.

Work with people outside your normal circle.

Get out there and do stuff.

That's how you learn.

It's also how you build relationships.

Your first paying client probably isn't going to be some complete stranger who discovers your Instagram page and decides you're the greatest engineer they've ever heard.

They're probably already somewhere in or around your existing network.

One small project can introduce you to someone who introduces you to someone else.

That's how careers start.

But eventually something changes.

An Empty Calendar Has a Different Value Than a Full One

When you're starting out, an empty Tuesday isn't particularly valuable.

Nobody has booked it.

So when somebody offers you $300 to work Tuesday, that's $300 you didn't have before.

Great.

But as your business grows, Tuesday becomes more valuable.

Because if you take that $300 job...

Tuesday is gone.

Now imagine somebody calls Monday afternoon with a $1,500 project that needs Tuesday.

You can't do it.

You've already sold Tuesday.

That's what we sometimes forget when we're trying to get clients.

Every time you say yes to something, you're also saying no to whatever else could have occupied that time.

That's called opportunity cost.

And eventually you realize you're not simply deciding which projects to take.

You're deciding what gets your time.

And your time is one thing you can't make more of.

Not Every Client Is Your Client

This took me a while to learn.

Just because somebody is willing to give you money doesn't automatically mean the two of you should work together.

Sometimes the budget doesn't match the expectations.

Sometimes the deadline is impossible.

Sometimes they need something you don't really specialize in.

Sometimes your personalities simply don't work well together.

And sometimes...

You can tell before the project even starts that this is probably going to be a problem.

That doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad person.

It might simply mean:

You're not the right person for the job.

There's nothing unprofessional about recognizing that.

In fact, sometimes it's the most professional thing you can do.

The Red Flags Usually Show Up Early

After you've been in business long enough, you start recognizing patterns.

A potential client starts arguing about your price before you've even agreed to work together.

They don't want to pay a deposit.

They want exceptions to every policy.

They need something tomorrow that should realistically take a week.

They've already worked with three other engineers and every one of them was supposedly terrible.

That last one is worth paying attention to.

If every engineer, producer, studio, musician, and mixer someone has ever worked with was the problem...

There's at least a chance everybody else isn't the problem.

I've learned to pay attention when my gut starts telling me something isn't right.

The red flags usually don't suddenly appear halfway through a project.

A lot of the time, they were there before we ever said yes.

We just chose to ignore them.

"But This Will Be Great Exposure"

Ah, yes.

Exposure.

Anyone who's worked in a creative business long enough has heard some version of this.

"We don't really have a budget, but this could be great exposure for you."

Exposure doesn't pay your electric bill.

But I also don't believe that means you should never work for free.

I've done things for free.

Maybe you believe in the project.

Maybe you want the experience.

Maybe it's a credit you really want.

Maybe you're helping a friend.

Maybe it puts you in a room with people you genuinely want to meet.

Or maybe you just think it'll be fun.

There's nothing wrong with any of that.

The difference is:

YOU decided it was worth doing.

Don't let someone convince you they're doing you a favor by allowing you to work for nothing.

A $500 Gig Isn't Always a $500 Gig

This is something else we don't always consider when we're setting our rates.

Let's say somebody offers you $500 to mix something.

Sounds pretty good.

But what does that $500 actually include?

How many emails?

How many phone calls?

How much file preparation?

How many revisions?

How much session setup?

How much time delivering files?

How much time chasing payment?

A $500 project that's enjoyable, straightforward, and finished in a day could be a great gig.

A $500 project that drags on for three weeks with 27 revisions is a completely different $500.

The price of a job isn't only measured in dollars.

It's also measured in time, stress, and what that project prevents you from doing instead.

You Don't Have to Defend Your Price

Here's another lesson that took me some time.

Someone says:

"Why do you charge that much? I know somebody who will do it for half."

Okay.

Hire them.

Seriously.

You don't need to get into an argument.

You don't have to convince every person who contacts you that you're worth your rate.

There's a big difference between a potential client saying:

"My budget is $500. Is there anything we can do?"

and somebody trying to beat you up over your price.

One is a conversation.

The other may be telling you something about what the rest of the relationship is going to look like.

You don't have to win every customer.

Sometimes:

"I don't think we're the right fit"

is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Sometimes Saying No Protects the Client

There's another side to this.

Maybe somebody asks you to do something you're simply not very good at.

You could take the money.

Or you could say:

"I'm probably not the right person for this, but I know somebody who is."

That's not losing a client.

That's being a professional.

And something interesting can happen when you do that.

The client remembers that you were honest with them.

The person you referred the work to remembers that you sent them business.

And someday that person may get a project that isn't right for them...

but it's perfect for you.

Now they send it back.

That's how relationships work.

That's how networks get built.

Saying No Doesn't Mean Burning the Bridge

You don't need to tell somebody:

"Your project sounds like a nightmare and I don't want anything to do with you."

There are much easier ways to handle it.

You can simply say:

"I don't think I'm the right fit for this project."

Or:

"I don't have the availability to give this what it needs."

Or:

"I don't think I can accomplish what you're looking for within that budget."

Or even:

"I know someone who might be a better fit. Let me see if I can connect you."

Professional.

Simple.

No drama.

The Hardest Time to Say No Is When You Need the Money

This is where I think we need to be realistic.

It's very easy for somebody with a full calendar and plenty of money in the bank to tell you:

"Never take a bad client."

It's different when the rent is due.

I've taken gigs because I needed the money.

Most people who've made their living doing this long enough probably have.

Sometimes you do what you have to do.

But there's a difference between taking a less-than-perfect project because you need the money right now...

and building your entire business around clients and projects you don't want.

The goal is to eventually create enough stability that you have a choice.

Because choice is incredibly valuable.

Saying No Creates Room for Yes

Every time you turn down something that isn't right for you, you're keeping that space available for something else.

Maybe it's a better client.

A better-paying project.

A project you're genuinely excited about.

Time to follow up with old clients.

Time to market your business.

Time to work on your own music.

Or maybe...

It's just time to go home.

There's value in that too.

I spent a lot of years believing that being busy meant being successful.

They're not necessarily the same thing.

The Goal Isn't to Work With Everyone

If you're just getting started, say yes.

Get experience.

Meet people.

Take some chances.

Try things outside your comfort zone.

Make some mistakes.

You need those experiences.

But as your career grows, start paying attention to what you're saying yes to.

Because eventually being a professional isn't simply about getting work.

It's about choosing work that makes sense for your business, your career, your clients...

and your life.

Sometimes the most professional answer you can give a potential client is:

No.

Because after more than 40 years in this business, I've learned something I wish I'd understood much earlier:

The gig you turn down can be just as important as the gig you take.

Before You Say Yes to Your Next Client...

I put together a FREE Audio Client Red Flag Checklist to help you decide whether that next project is actually worth taking.

Inside you'll get:

• 10 client red flags to watch for before accepting a project

• A simple Client Fit Scorecard

• Questions to help you evaluate the budget, timeline, and expectations

• Copy-and-paste responses for professionally saying no without burning the relationship

🟧 GET THE FREE AUDIO CLIENT RED FLAG CHECKLIST

It's available free inside The Business of Audio Free Resources.

Get Good. Get Clients. Get Paid.