New client asked me to start work before the contract was signed and now I'm out $600
Back in March I met a guy at a coffee shop in Denver who wanted a full website for his food truck. He said he was in a hurry to launch before a big event and asked me to start right away while he looked over the contract. I spent about 15 hours on the homepage and a menu page over two weeks, then he stopped answering my calls. Turns out he hired his cousin's kid to do it for cheap and never signed anything or paid a dime. Has anyone else dealt with a client who wants work started before the paperwork is done?
Yikes, I learned that lesson the hard way too. I once did three weeks of logo work for a guy who swore the check was "in the mail," and all I got was a free burrito from his shop and a very small amount of wisdom. For what it's worth, 15 hours of work is a cheap price to learn you never touch a keyboard until there is a signature and a deposit. That cousin's kid will learn the same thing someday, just with more code and less burrito.