10 ways to spot a non-paying client from a mile away

I have lived and worked in Lagos- Nigeria for over 15-years, practicing architecture in one form or the other. Here are my Top- 10 pointers for spotting a client that would want to get your service for peanuts or absolutely nothing!

10. “We would want you to partner with us.” They approach you or your practice with a project. Asking that you partner with them because they have the contacts and you have the technical skills. In this case, they are not willing to commit to any financial responsibility and will wait to raise the issue of funding. Even after asking, they urge you to go with phrases like “Money is not everything, relationships are”.  

9. “It has the potential to be big.” They come promising you wealth and fame but in the actual sense, they don’t have your interest at heart. They have no intensions of paying for your services. They often present themselves to be wealthy and accomplished.

8. Someone has offered to do it for less. They often have this arrogant demeanor, with the attitude of “it is either you take what I can afford or forget it.” They often make references to non-existent professionals who are willing to do it for less.

7. Let us package this together. Their catch phrase is also “Money is not everything, relationships are”.  They are friendly and will see to it that you are comfortable, by giving you money in bits, they often buy you lunch and they appear to mean well. They will never want to discuss fees. And once you are done, their phones cease to work.

6. You will handle the construction work. Promissory note of handling construction work has led a lot of young architects to take up design jobs for free. That in itself is fraud and shooting one in the foot.

5. There are many more jobs after this. This is the one that makes me laugh. They don’t have the funds to pay for the service but instead of asking for a discount. They go ahead to invent non-existent jobs for you afterwards. Using that as an avenue to walk away leaving you with nothing.

4. I don’t pay for design. These ones are very rare but I have met some highly successful but ignorant few- who see no intellectual value in design but view it as an add on to the construction work. The sad part is that they are hard to convince otherwise. My advice “run!”

3. It is a prospective. This is the oldest trick in the book. You hear things like “I have spent all my money on this and I am not even sure if I will get the job…” Developers and prospective government contractors are the main culprits. So they appeal to your conscience to offer services for less. Apparently, I have found out that they never pay in full. They are sometimes callus enough to promise you payment when they get the job. However, if and when they do, you don’t get to see or hear from them.

2. I just want to try you out.  They know what standard services are like. However, they present this front of trying you out to know if you are as good as you actually claim to be. They hop from one architect to the other demanding for the wow factor in their project, getting ideas but they will never commit to paying with the guise that will get back to you.

1. Money is not a problem. I fell for this as a young entrepreneur. I worked my butt off. I got my friends and colleagues to participate. I paid for soil tests, engineering drawings and all. But guess what? Once he had the documents, he forgot his way to our office. They often pose to have it all. Fancy clothes, wrist watches, cars, and tales of grandeur. My friends, when you hear “money is not a problem”. Please don’t lose your guard. He is most likely going to walk away paying nothing.

Disclaimer: Some people may use some of these phrases and they genuinely mean well. Don’t underestimate the power of your instincts. These are just muses from my experience as an architect practicing in Lagos, Nigeria.