Choosing who to work with

The most profitable decision a freelancer or small agency makes is which clients to refuse, and almost nobody does it deliberately when starting.

The signals in the first conversation, which are reliable and which people ignore because they need the work.

They will not say what their budget is, after being asked directly. Usually because it is far below what the work costs, and the conversation is being extended in the hope you will quote low.

They are already unhappy with the last supplier, and describe it entirely as that supplier's fault. Occasionally true and frequently the pattern that will be repeated about you.

They want it urgently and have been thinking about it for months, which means the urgency is theirs to manage rather than yours to absorb.

They ask for free work to prove yourself, which is not what a client who values work does.

They are difficult before you have started, which is the strongest signal of all. People are at their most accommodating during the sale, and if this is the accommodating version, the working version is worse.

And they want to negotiate everything, including terms that protect both sides.

What to do about it. Decline politely, with no explanation beyond being unable to take it on. The discomfort of refusing is far smaller than three months of a bad client, and every experienced freelancer can name the one they should have refused.