Should I poach her clients?

[lunaticow]

I have had a consultancy for 7 years during which time a large proportion of my work has been subcontracted to me by another consultant. However, the income from this work is not particularly good. I am the main person helping this consultant. She is inconsistent with the amount of work she gives me and has, at numerous times in the last 2 years stopped giving me work to give it to her son who has caused loads of problems with her practice. She then falls out with him, changes the locks, and gives the work back to me. He is back on the scene and she is giving him the work and me hardly any again.

I am struggling to pay my mortgage and I have 3 daughters to support. She is parading around the place with new Gucci bags and Vivienne Westwood clothes. She loves to tell me how much each item cost her whilst I can hardly afford to shop at Primark.

I am fed up with this woman and I am tempted to cut my losses and phone the clients I have worked for through her over the years and see if they would like me to work for them directly.

I don't think she shows me any loyalty so should I be obliged to show loyalty to her?

It sounds as if you are going through a tough time - sorry to hear you're struggling. It can be a frightening feeling when you are the main breadwinner - I know.

However, my initial reaction is to say no, don't poach her clients. For one thing, just because she behaves unprofessionally doesn't mean that it justifies you doing so. But also, it is your own reputation that you could be risking. In any industry, personal relationships can be very important. You could end up making these clients think badly of you, and potentially telling her what you have said. This could result in you losing what work you do get through her.

I would be inclined to suggest that you put all your energy into finding new clients, so that you are no longer reliant upon what she puts your way. Then you can cut ties with her without risking your professional reputation or your income.

Wordweaver I agree with your advice and this is what I have been doing up to now. I realise that if I choose to poach the clients I will immediately have to sever all ties with her.

I suppose I am so fed up with her behaviour that I feel like chancing it now, especially as she only pays me 1/3 of the fee I'm charged at. I know she will fall out with her son again sooner or later and the work will come back but I am just fed up with her antics and her boasting about all the money she is making from me.

Is there anyway you can advertise your freelance services in a way that your previous clients that used you via her might see the ad? Because if they contacted you, that would be a completely different situation. You would simply be advertising your business....

Do you have a website?
Advertise yourself.
Mention your website in the signature line of your emails.

Quote higher prices to that woman.
Increase your prices generally. If they are willing to pay 3 times more for the work than you are currently getting, it would seem that you could easily charge more.
Quote your own prices on the website, and the current clients will most likely see that they are getting a better deal going direct.

If you poach clients, then she will be able to blacken your name very effectively (and with clear evidence). Don't do it.

Concentrate on building up your own client base in a totally fair manner. Can you expand the work which you have other than via her?

It's not about showing loyalty, it's about business integrity. Her marketing efforts brought those clients into her business and if you attempt poach them you may get some of them, some of them may be unimpressed with your behaviour and stick with her anyway, and there will potentially be enormous damage to your credibility and integrity, very important to a freelancer.

Go out and get your own clients, then you can charge and manage them as you like.

Ok, I have been persuaded against this idea. Thanks for clarifying my thoughts.
I do have a website and there is a link on my signature. I charge other clients twice as much as she pays me. Perhaps I should just tell her that I will be charging more from now on as there is too much of a differential between what she and others pay me.
I have never formally advertised. I'm thinking about joining a local business network.

Tell her you are changing your pricing structure because you are not earning enough from the clients she is sending you to make it worth your while.

flowery do you know where I could get some good and updated cv samples? I havent done my cv in 10 years, and now that I am changing jobs I need to do my cv. Thanks muchly for any advice.

-highjack over

Quint I don't to be honest. Have never used a sample either for myself or when helping friends with theirs, so I wouldn't feel able to recommend any. I did have some cv tips I have put on several threads which I used to cut and paste in the end. hang on...

Here you go, my standard tips:

'Put personal information at the top (name, address, contact number only, not 'married 3 kids age 37 favourite colour blue').

You could put a personal profile-type statement after that, just a couple of lines summing up what experience/skills you have to offer and the type of position/company you are looking for. Obviously make sure these tie in with the job you are applying for.

For each job, put dates, job title and employer, in reverse date order. For most recent/relevant jobs put a list of bullet points of main responsibilites and/or achievements. Do this with the job description for the job you want in front of you so you can emphasise relevant stuff.

Then qualifications/training. List in most recent order, include relevant training courses and higher education if you have it. Don't put Home Ec O Level. Everything on your cv should help you get the job you are looking for, and school exams usually won't unless you are a school leaver or very early in your career.

Don't put photos or anything else annoying and irrelevant, don't put it in a folder or on pink paper, don't staple it. It needs to be easy to read and easy to copy. Put page numbers and your name in the footer of each page in case of mishaps with photocopying. '

A lot of that is probably pretty obvious. Basically don't pack with irrelevant nonsense of any kind, everything must be geared towards helping a recruiting manager with very little time tick boxes quickly for the job he/she is recruiting for.

thanks flowery. My cv is a nightmare. 10 years with various roles in our own company. Who on earth would hire me...

Quint we often use freelance sub-contractors and I often have to improve their CVs before I send them out to clients. I'd be happy to give you an hour or two for free to look at your CV if you want to pm me.