Often when freelancing you tend to work with clients of many different sizes. The way that I initially got into freelancing was working with smaller clients who then referred me to bigger ones.

In freelancing, it can become a habit to let the smaller clients slip through since the bigger clients pay more. However, here are some reasons to keep the smaller clients.

1. Continuous reference

As my dad said with many things, ‘Dance with the ones who sent you.’ The point of this is that you should always remember the people that got you where you are today. I have some of the big clients today because of the smaller client’s referrals. These referrals become crucial since marketing is not everyone’s strong suit. Another benefit of continuing working with them is that they will continue to refer you.

2. Reliability

Chances are the bigger clients still talk to the smaller clients. I have heard about many different conversations between some of my bigger and some of my smaller clients. Very often my bigger clients have honestly relied on my smaller client to tell them whether they should continue to pay me or if they should drop me and hire someone. Staying in good standing with the smaller clients can keep you in good standing with the bigger clients.

3. More enjoyable tasks

Sometimes the smaller clients are more enjoyable to do work for. For the longest time, I thought that I should only ever want to do work for large clients. Quickly after my first big client, I realized this was not true. The smaller clients are more enjoyable to work with even though the bigger clients are willing to pay much more. Smaller clients tend to have a homier feel and typically have more people who want to be there. Some of my best clients continue to be the small 10-15 person companies rather than the gigantic 300+.

Therefore, the biggest thing is to remember that those smaller clients are what helped to get you where you are today and that you probably shouldn’t discount them and completely forget them as clients.

Those small clients are the ones that will help get you the bigger clients that you are wanting to work for. Also remember that the smaller a client is typically the less corporate structure you will have to deal with while working for them.

How do you find the work with smaller clients? Do you consider them to be better partners in business? Let me know in the comment section below!