I Still Remember the Client I Lost at 17, Almost 20 Years Later

I Still Remember the Client I Lost at 17

My first client was a winery in Belgium. I was 17, a dropout, and completely unqualified.

I had passion, drive, and enough design skill to get in the room. I lacked almost everything else that goes into running a real business.

They asked if I could build them a Flash website.

Of course, I said yes.

The second I got off the phone, I opened Google and typed:

"how do I build a Flash website?"

That was pretty much my business model back then. Say yes first. Figure it out after.

I built most of the site. I was proud of it. Then I sent the invoice for the first 50% deposit.

A week passed. Nothing.

I was broke. Actually broke. So I did what felt professional at the time. I sent a very formal email requesting immediate payment.

They replied and said there had been a payment issue. They rescheduled it, told me to keep the payment, but said we were done.

That part hurt even more.

Not because the work was bad. They loved it.

But because if I couldn’t wait one week for a payment, they didn’t want to spend the next few months working with me.

And honestly, I get it.

They were taking a chance on a 17 year old kid.
I responded like a lawyer chasing an overdue balance.

Almost 20 years later, when someone is late on a payment, my mind still goes back to that winery.

Not because I think they won’t pay.

Because I learned early that the fastest way to lose trust is to act like you have no patience.

Since then, I haven’t had a client not pay.
I haven’t had one cancel on me either.

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I still think about that moment sometimes.

It felt devastating at 17.

Now I see it for what it was:
one of the most valuable business lessons I ever got.