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Question: I have been meaning to call for advice. I got all ready and then have stalled. I wanted bit more experience before I really promoted myself, but that does not seem to have happened. I am "working" on 4 jobs but none are finished. 1. Playroom: I did the initial consult. Suggested some storage units. She chose some and we made plans to continue when they arrived - one week. She called a week later to say that she had changed her mind on her choice. So I sent her four other product line choices. 2. Garage re-do. Great project. 3rd garage to be filled with shelves and racks. Did consult, she wanted to paint garage first. Very excited. Paint done. ($1000) They are real estate agents in a slow market, so it may be a few weeks before they have $500 to continue so I am in wait mode. 3. Holiday storage room. This lady has over 40 large totes in a 8x 10 room. You could not step into it. We did consult, and cleaned out bins. I suggested some carpenters for inexpensive shelving. Stalled again. 4. Memory boxes/non-traditional baby books. Lady bought the products that I recommended and has my ideas for pages but is moving really slowly. Waiting. These are all friends, so I don't want to push too hard any advice is welcome!

Answer: It sounds like you are getting paid for these projects--right? For future projects to prevent stalling asking for a non-refundable down payment of 50% prior to project start and then 50% collected at the end of the project. Money motivates people. There are clients who do move very slowly--in fact most do. It has to do with their state of readiness. Read this fact sheet from the NSGCD to understand more about client readiness. In the meantime, I would call each client back and get a session scheduled or ask them what they need from you to get back on track with their project. Let them know if they don’t schedule now, there could be a delay when they want to schedule because you book out 2-3 weeks. Don’t give up, sometimes you have to be persistent :)

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