Burned through my first big freelance project after a client ghosted me mid-deadline

I was sitting in a coffee shop in Portland at 2 AM trying to finish a website redesign when the client just stopped replying to emails for three days. I had to pivot hard, offer a partial refund to keep my reputation, and ended up using the leftover code for a portfolio piece that landed me two new gigs. Has anyone else had to scrap a project mid-stream and make it work out somehow?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_moore14d ago

Refunding a client who ghosts you just rewards flaky behavior and teaches them they can treat freelancers like garbage without consequences. Did you try hitting them with a formal breach of contract first?

uma_mitchell8314d ago

@hugo_moore brings up a good point about contracts but missing the real issue here. If a client ghosts you that usually means something went wrong on their end too. Maybe they are embarrassed or stressed about money. Holding onto their payment without resolving things creates bad blood and even a bad reputation for you down the road. Refunding can be a professional way to close the door clean and avoid a nasty review or them badmouthing you to other potential clients. You can always set a policy upfront for no refunds after a certain point and stick to that instead of fighting over a small amount. Sometimes walking away is the smartest business move even if it feels unfair at first.