This is down to managing expectations. You're doing the work, you tell them how long it's going to take. If you think it'll take a week, tell them two. Don't let them hound you into feeling bad for doing work for them. "Well it's not going to be done yesterday, it's as simple as that."
It's just one small part of a very large and complex picture full of things that never quite happen the way they should, mostly because what programmers like us expect to do does not line up with what our clients want or, more accurately, how they perceive what they want.
mostly because what programmers like us expect to do does not line up with what our clients want or, more accurately, how they perceive what they want.
This is exactly the problem that expectations management solves, but it requires actually saying the words.
There is so much of 'not what you know, who you know' and a lot of work these days that I get is through recommendations, I'd highly recommend taking some time each week to go to local meetups (not so much business related ones) as not only will you find people in a similar situation, you might find you can work with some of them later
I'm not a sales guys so for me finding the work is really something that is out of my comfort zone. However, when I finally do get the work it's usually heads down because this client want's it yesterday. So while you're heads down there is no finding work being done. This can become problematic and a downward spiral if you don't actively conscious of it.