Updated June 14, 2026
Every freelancer has a Good Faith Fund. Most of us just don’t call it that.
It’s the time you spend with a potential client before there’s a signed agreement — getting to know each other, answering questions, talking through the project, maybe putting together a proposal or two. It’s an investment in the relationship, and for the most part it’s time well spent. Good clients understand this implicitly and don’t take advantage of it. The project gets signed, the work begins, and nobody thinks twice about those early hours.
But occasionally, someone comes along who mistakes the Good Faith Fund for an unlimited account.
How it happens
It usually starts innocuously. A potential client reaches out with a question. You answer it. They have another question. You answer that too. Then they need advice on something tangentially related to the project. Then they want you to look something over. Then they need a tutorial written up. Then there’s a technical issue that needs attention before the project even begins. And somewhere in the middle of all this, you realize you’ve spent hours — real, billable hours — on someone who hasn’t signed anything yet.
I experienced this firsthand with a potential client who was in the middle of a dispute with another vendor. I felt for them — it was a genuinely difficult situation — and I inadvertently became a sounding board. What started as a few emails turned into research, written tutorials, technical work, and more. Significant time, on my end and on the part of others I brought in. None of it billable. All of it given in good faith.
The project ultimately didn’t move forward — the client’s timeline didn’t fit my schedule — so I never had to have the harder conversation. But I learned something important from that experience.
When the fund runs out
There is a finite amount of time that makes sense to invest before a project is signed. It varies by project and by client — some relationships take longer to develop than others, and that’s fine. But there is a point at which the Good Faith Fund is exhausted, and at that point there are really only two options: get a signed agreement and start billing, or part ways.
Recognizing when you’ve reached that point is the skill. A few signs:
- You’re doing actual work — research, writing, technical tasks — not just scoping conversations
- The questions keep coming but the project keeps not getting signed
- You’ve spent more time on this prospect than on some paying clients
- You’re starting to feel resentful, which is always a signal worth paying attention to
What to say when you get there
You don’t have to be awkward about it. Something simple and direct works: “I’ve loved getting to know your project and I’m excited about working together. At this point I’d like to get an agreement in place so we can move forward properly — can we do that this week?”
Most reasonable clients will respond well to this. They may not have realized how much of your time they’d been taking. The ones who push back or suddenly go quiet when asked to sign — well, that’s information too. The Good Faith Fund has a cousin called a red flag.
The broader principle
Your time is your inventory. Unlike a product business, you can’t manufacture more of it, stock it, or put it on sale. Every hour spent on an unsigned project is an hour not spent on a paying one — or on your own business development, or on the life you’re running this business to support.
Generosity with your time and expertise is part of being a good professional. So is knowing when that generosity has been stretched past its limit.
Ready to work together the right way?
If you’ve got a project in mind and you’re ready to move forward, I’d love to hear about it.
