The old saying when it rains it pours is so very correct. When I need jobs to work there is nothing available, but when I'm totally booked then I get tons of requests. How does everyone else tackfully tell people your booked, or only working with certain kinds of clients at the time? I'm trying to work with just photographers lately due to my concerns with copyright. I have a lot of people approach me for retouching without the proper releases or just sneaky with copies or scans. I also tire of working on snap shots and digital camera pics. They're fine when slow, but right now I'm running full steam with 3 photographers. Any suggestions on how to nicely turn people away? It is a very "word of mouth" industry and I don't want to hurt my reputation whatever that seems to be. BTW, I so love this forum!!! I can voice all my woes and at least one person has felt my pain :)

Basically I would just tell them that you are unfortunately very busy at the moment, but if they would like you can put them on a waiting list and when you reach their name you can contact them.

That will help winnow out the serious ones and give you a list of contacts for when things slow down.

Just be upfront that it could be a while before they are contacted.

- Noel

Heck, SEND THEM TO ME!!!!!!!

I try to never say no to anyone, but you do have to have some method to control what you do. I do that by using a combination of pricing and the time required for me to do the work. Things I do not really want to do cost more and take longer.

If they are willing to wait and pay, then I do not feel all that bad about doing the work. There is an old saying, "if you do not like the work you are doing, you are not charging enough".

Remember it is your business, take control of it.

Seems to work for me.

Mike

If you are working for yourself with direct copy and restoration sales, having a backlog is good for your reputation! We gererally run 2 to 3 months behind and if anything it only enhances the interest in having us do the work.

Working for other people in business is a whole different matter, as a wholesaler in the chain, it's important for you to set short deadlines and keep them in order to help your client keep their customers happy.

Try a mix with different types of clients and you can achieve the balance you are looking for,

Jim Conway