Dropped $250 on a contract template after a client burned me and it paid for itself on the next job
Last year I did a full rebrand for a bakery here in Spokane and we never signed anything real, just texts and a handshake. When the owner decided she hated the third round of colors she stopped paying the last $1,800 and there was nothing I could do about it. So I spent $250 on a proper design contract template from a lawyer who works with studios, and it has a kill fee plus a cap on revisions written right in. A plumber friend laughed at me for it, but the very next client balked at the revision cap and walked before I wasted any hours on them. What is the weirdest excuse a client has used to get out of a deposit?