Remember when a 'client meeting' meant putting on pants? | Freelance Survival

Derek King · 2026-03-30T10:35:07.033127+00:00

Back in 2017, I'd spend half a Tuesday driving across Phoenix for a 30 minute chat about a logo. Now, after three years of Zoom calls, I just closed a $5k project with a guy in Denver I've never met in person. The shift happened fast once everyone got used to video calls during the pandemic. It saved me so much time and gas money, but I do kinda miss reading a client's vibe in their actual office. Anyone else feel like their whole client process is just totally different now?

the_betty6mo ago

Totally get what violatorres means. Those random chats by the coffee machine or walking to the meeting room gave you the real picture. You'd see how they talked to their staff or what was on their desk. Now it's just a scheduled box on a screen, and the second the business talk is over, everyone clicks leave. You have to work way harder to get that same feel for a person.

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fisher.adam6mo ago

You're right about reading a vibe in their office. I used to notice what books were on the shelf or how messy their desk was. That told me more than an hour of small talk on Zoom ever could. Now it's just a blank wall or a fake background. I closed a deal last month with a guy whose whole personality was a potted plant on his windowsill. How do you even build trust from that?

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violatorres6mo ago

Honestly, I miss the small talk before the meeting even started. That's where you really learned what made a client tick.

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