Protect your bottom line. Don’t pick up your pencil until your client has signed
dotted line.I refer to
temptation for many artists, designers and other creatives to jump
gun and begin work on a project before there is a signed contract.
It is not unreasonable to make some quick sketches to outline initial ideas as part of a preliminary discussion. But since anything done at this stage is purely speculative, it is best to limit
time spent until there is some kind of commitment by
client.
If it is difficult to define
scope of a project until a greater amount of preliminary work is done, consider drafting a separate agreement covering
preliminary phase.
When you begin work before
contract is signed, you are expending your time and skills in
expectation that you will eventually be paid. But without a signed contract,
client has no obligation to go through with
project, make any payment, or assign
project to you if he does go forward.
If
client himself won’t commit to you, or can’t commit to going ahead with
project itself, be wary. You may be dealing with a difficult client.