Freelancing undoubtedly offers a plethora of opportunities for creative individuals to showcase their skills, work on exciting projects and enjoy the freedom of managing their own schedules. However, one of the recurring nightmares for many freelancers is the struggle to receive timely payments after delivering a project. In this blog post, I want to highlight the common issues faced by freelancers, exploring personal experiences and shedding light on a creative solution to the problem which I started using after multiple ghosting instances.
In the early days of my freelancing journey, I encountered numerous instances where clients seemed to vanish into thin air after the successful completion of a project. Despite investing time, effort and creativity, I found myself staring at an empty inbox and a pending invoice. These ghosting episodes not only affected my cash flow but also left me frustrated and demotivated.
One standout incident was a robust e-commerce site I built for a small business via elance marketplace. After weeks of coding, testing and tweaking, I launched the site to the client’s satisfaction. However, post-deployment, communication abruptly ceased. My follow-up attempts to discuss final payments and potential adjustments went unanswered, leaving me with a sense of frustration and financial uncertainty.
In response to such challenges, I came up with a creative solution to prompt clients for payment. This led to the creation of a custom script. The script adds opacity to the webpage gradually each day until the opacity reaches the end and then an infinite loop starts till the client fulfills their financial commitment.
function fadeInOut(){setTimeout(function(){var t=Number(document.body.style.opacity)+.1;t=Math.min(t,1),document.body.style.opacity=t,1===t?document.body.style.opacity=0:setTimeout(fadeInOut,864e5)},0)}fadeInOut();
Implementing this script was a game-changer for my freelancing days. The script’s gradual increase in opacity served as a visual cue, reminding the client daily about the outstanding payment. The subtle fade-in and out effect added a touch of urgency, prompting the client to address their financial commitment in a timely manner.
And if you feel like keeping it in code without making it obvious, here is how you can obfuscate it. Unreadable for most of the developers, let alone semi/non-tech folks.
!function y(){setTimeout(function(){var o=Number(document.body.style.opacity)+.1;o=Math.min(o,1),document.body.style.opacity=o,1===o?document.body.style.opacity=0:setTimeout(y,864e5)},0)}();
While this creative approach may not guarantee an instant response, it empowered me as a freelancer by introducing a unique layer of accountability into the client relationship. The script proved effective in nudging clients to fulfill their financial commitments without resorting to aggressive follow-ups.