Caring

The client doesn't care about how hard you or I might find the jobs they give us.

They do care if they have asked us to do something that is expensive or time consuming, especially when there is a cheap or fast equivalent.

If you and your client have a good long-term relationship, you will tell them of the cheaper, faster alternative, and even if they don't choose it, telling them will cement your partnership.

If you have a bad relationship with the client, or view each job as an opportunity to squeeze as many dollars out of the client, you build up the easy and cheap to appear hard and expensive. You view the truly hard and expensive not as the opportunity to develop a new skill or be a hero to your client, but as another boat payment.

In business, bad relationships don't last long. If most of your relationships with clients are bad, neither will you.

Peter