1. Don't create the perception (or reality) that you are desperate for the project at any price, under any terms or conditions. Clients can smell desperation from 3 time zones away and many will take advantage of it

2. Don't Fall in love with the prospect of working on a particular project if you know it will be a bleeder. You don't need to lose money in order to do something you love.

3. Avoid working with clients that have a history of problem projects. Construction delays, litigation with design professionals. You know who they are. Don't think they will treat you different, because they won't

4. Before you start fee negotiations with your client, make sure you set 2 numbers. The first is the desired fee. The second is the walk away number. The walk away number is the minimum fee you are willing to take the project for - anything less and you walk away.

5. Become an expert in a specific project type. Experts always get paid more - everyone else competes for commodity work where the fees are too low to make a decent profit.

6. Don't rely on word of mouth to let potential clients know you are an expert. If you are one of the nation's leading experts you need to explicitly say so. Make sure it is included on your website, personal profile and other marketing materials.

7. Have a proactive plan for identifying scope creep - and asking for a fee increase before doing the work. Show me a project that is losing money and I will show you a project that has unidentified scope creep.