"You\u2019ve got to decide what makes sense for you and that you feel good going into it."\nHey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO \u2014 I\u2019ve got a quick little mini-episode for you today with some practical tips I\u2019ve picked up in my work as a creative freelancer, and the details are all outlined in this post.\n\nOver the last few years of my career, I\u2019ve learned a lot of lessons. I\u2019ve become a better photographer and a better businessman. But I think the number one thing I\u2019ve learned is that clear communication is essential. I\u2019m still learning how to be better about this, but clear, upfront communication between creative entrepreneurs and clients can prevent so much headache and unnecessary conflict.\n\nIf you\u2019re a creative entrepreneur working to grow your business, you must ensure that you and your client have set clear expectations before you start a job. And those expectations must be set by you or by someone who is more educated than you are and knows how your business needs to work.\xa0\n\nI recently had a project turn into a disaster because the party negotiating the deal didn\u2019t communicate their expectations \u2014 which meant that I couldn\u2019t meet those expectations \u2014 and the whole thing became a mess. I learned a lot from that project, and I want to offer my practical advice to you so that you don\u2019t have to learn it the hard way as I did!\n\nSo today, I\u2019m taking you through my top five tips to help you communicate and set clear expectations. They\u2019re short and sweet, and I hope they help you communicate more clearly and have a smoother experience with your next client. Let\u2019s get started.\nTip #1: Get Clear on What You Want\nMy first tip for setting expectations is that you must get clear on what you want out of a particular project. It\u2019s important to understand what you hope to get out of the experience so you can clearly negotiate with the client and maximize your value.\n\nFor me, with most jobs I take, there is a sweet spot somewhere between creativity, exposure, and money. Of course, the ideal job would maximize all three, but most of the time, jobs tend to lean more heavily into one or two of those factors, and that\u2019s okay. For example, some jobs offer a lot of opportunities to be creative and develop my craft, and I\u2019m okay taking those for a smaller fee or even for free. The opportunity to grow as an artist and do something new and creative is worth the reduced profit. Other jobs, however, might offer more money, but they aren\u2019t as creatively fulfilling. That\u2019s okay, too \u2014 as long as I know what to expect up front.\n\nSo before you accept a job, make sure you know what you\u2019re hoping to get out of it. If you need this job to provide you with more exposure in your field, make sure that your name will be credited with the work. If you want to have absolute creative freedom, make sure that you won\u2019t have demanding clients imposing their vision for the art, and be prepared to compromise a little on the fee you charge. If you\u2019re clear on what you hope to get out of a project, you can communicate your desires clearly and avoid taking jobs that don\u2019t provide value to you and your career.\nTip #2: Get Clear on What You\u2019re Going to Give\nYou need to get clear on what you want to get out of a job, but you also need clarity on what you are able to put into it. This is when you need to think about the job\u2019s practical elements \u2014 from actual deliverables to usage, timeline, and anything else along those lines. You need to clearly communicate to your client the timeline for rendering the actual product or service they\u2019re paying for.\n\nWhen you clearly define what you\u2019re going to deliver and when, you give yourself the freedom of negotiation in the event that the client comes to you with additional requests. If the client asks you for something outside the scope of what you defined and agreed upon, you can then negotiate for an additional fee or other compensation for the extra work. But if you haven\u2019t clearly established the scope of the pro...