When you are employed, the talk you and your client need to have about the cost of your services is often delegated away from you, so that you can focus on matters of the craft. On the other hand, the person doing the delegating usually extracts a hefty premium for that luxury.
When you are the one that (self) employs, you avoid paying that premium, but talking about money stays a pivotal part of your job.
Specialists sometimes carry over the private cultural taboo of talking about money over into business, where it’s impolite NOT to talk about money you are about to charge. Despite the best of intentions, that kind of conduct has serious consequences.
A colleague of mine got ambush-charged for coaching she never consented. They talked on multiple occasions, but It was not clear whether the work had started, or how much it would cost.
And although I would always applaud coaches that stand up for themselves, I will sit this one out, for a very serious violation of an important principle of professional work: never let any due payments surprise your clients.
No matter how much value you objectively created – if the client gets ambushed by an unsolicited payment, your conduct will be seen as unprofessional, and any deal with you as risky, inconveniently full of “landmines” and downright disrespectful which makes it seem less valuable than it really is. Never let that happen.