Best Blackhat Forum

I am an up and coming designer/web designer, and my name is just now starting to hit the streets where I am. I have one client right now who, right from the start, was freaking out about their last tech, basically spouting off while trying to make it sound friendly.

I have been working with them for about a week, made $140 out of it for rather minimal work, however, the mention of contracts for these people literally scares them.

I have a freelancer's contract written up right now, after awhile she was convinced to sign a contract with me. I have that waiting to be signed today actually.

The thing I am really curious about though, is that this is all for an internet show with a relatively low subscription rate, with a show that borders low-quality soft-core adult entertainment (foot fetish people will dig this).

They did say that they were considering getting more classy with it, which I have been heavily pushing for. 1 hour of content that is basically two or three people sitting in chairs yacking about relationships and BS isn't exactly awesome entertainment when the studio is low-brow, poor lighting, and the quality of the content itself is sub-par.

I won't be giving names, naturally, but I just kind of want an opinion here. The show host did pay me, however, I don't feel this is the right venture for me to start with, especially seeing as how my professional name and reputation is already being put up by them on Facebook when they mention me in things I really didn't even take part in.

The whole thing feels generally unprofessional, and I feel that I shouldn't go through with working more, but I could also be missing out on something huge...

This person does have a publicist from Showtime Entertainment working with them, so it really could be a big ticket in if done correctly.

Do I help push them into stardom, despite my perceptions of their content?
Opinions?

Well, .. personally,
I think if it doesnt feel right, then you should probably re-consider,

Most of what you mentioned seemed to be negative,
and you genuinely seem worried regarding your up and coming name/reputation,


You also mention they are putting your name to things with out your consent,
which also smells pretty fishy to me, ..

I could be wrong, so please do wait for some other opinions,
just thought i would add my 2 cents in hope of a constructive debate


Also, remember, at the end of the day the decision is yours ;)

If it were me, I'd do some thinking about where I thought the client was likely to go.
As they've already identified you in Facebook posts, and you sound somewhat concerned about their future path, I'd ask myself the following questions:

1) Do I think the client is going to get better or worse (relative to social mores)? If they are currently involved in something rather tame, great. However, if they decide to go down a darker path, how far do I think they might go?

2) Am I being compensated relative to my effort? (I once had a client that wanted me to create her a community similar to Craigslist, but in a specific niche, and be paid a percentage of the revenue she planned to collect on the site. On the surface, not a horrible deal, but once I looked at the relatively small size of the niche and her proposed charges it looked sort of iffy. In one of my lapses of good judgement, I agreed and created the site features she wanted. As I feared, her audience wasn't large enough, and the whole concept imploded within 6 months, though the first couple of months looked promising. My net was probably around ten cents an hour for the effort I put into the site.)

3) Is the money they may pay me worth the possibility I may be associated with something I'd rather forget? If you think the client is likely to do something that will besmirch your name, the answer should be relatively easy. If you're not sure, it's much harder, especially if you could use the money now.

Think about it. Trust your gut. Intuition is a powerful thing, and all too often we ignore it under current circumstances and wish we had later.

Just today someone stated that, "If it doesn't feel, taste, smell, or look right then don't do it."

And in the future, to control the conversation, do a presentation at a meeting and a draft proposal on site to keep the conversation focused. Send questionaire via email beforehand and have them submit it before meeting.