Hot take: I used to hate sharing project files until a client called me out

I was at a coffee shop in Portland last month working on a logo for a local bakery, and the owner sat down across from me to check progress. She asked for the native file and I gave some excuse about 'protecting my process,' but she just laughed and said 'I'm paying you for a solution, not a secret.' That stuck with me because she was right, I was hiding behind control instead of trust. Has anyone else had a moment where a client totally flipped your approach to collaboration?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer_fisher6d ago

That line about paying for a solution not a secret really hit home for me. @adamcoleman, I had a similar thing happen with a restaurant group last year where I finally realized holding back files just makes you look like you don't trust your own work. Now I just hand over the working files right away and it actually builds way more trust with clients.

adamcoleman9d ago

Five years ago I lost a client because I wouldn't share the working file with their in-house designer.