Twenty minutes to save months of headaches? That's a no-brainer. What's another lesson you wish you learned before the hard way?

Doesn't a handshake deal also mean they can't sue you if you ghost them?

Man yeah that napkin circuit drawing thing really hit me. I actually lucked out a bit because there's this old guy who runs a tiny electronics shop near my parents' place, still has bins of resistors and capacitors you can sort through. I was trying to fix an old receiver a few months back and he actually walked me through checking the power supply caps step by step. It's not quite the same as having that knowledge just be part of your regular shopping trip though. I think that kind of help makes you feel less stupid when you're stuck, you know? Now I mostly just end up watching youtube repair videos and hoping the person actually knows what they're talking about.

oh totally @finley_smith, that speed dating comparison is way too accurate. i went to one of those networking mixers last month and the timer was set to like 90 seconds, which is just cruel. by the time you actually figure out what someone does for a living and find a tiny bit of common ground, the buzzer goes off and you're scrambling to wrap up. feels like you end up with a bunch of half-finished conversations and a headache instead of actual leads.

I was in the same boat about two years ago with a client who nickel and dimed me on every little thing. They went with someone cheaper for the next project and it fell apart within a month. When they came back I told them my rate had actually gone up and they'd need to pay half up front. They grumbled but they signed. The deposit rule has saved me more times than I can count.