Accept that some projects are destined to die

Stay in the design business long enough, and you’ll run into at least a few clients that are on fire for their projects at the beginning but drop out of sight somewhere along the way. These are often clients with big dreams and a shortage of ambition or funds.

As long as you’ve given the client a timeline for payments and are firm in collecting before you proceed to the next milestone, you won’t lose out financially. You just have to accept that there may come a point when your messages go unanswered and you have to set the project aside.