What a roller coaster ride, a learning experience to share

Well, I felt I had to walk away from the Miami mural job I was anxiously waiting to start. It went from agreeing on a price and my sending out the proposal and request for the deposit....ok, that was fine.....he said "I'll get the deposit out", he emailed pictures and ideas for the murals....... to a few days later when asked if the deposit had been sent he said he'd rather wait til I start the work to give me a deposit as stated in my contract. There was no contract, only a proposal stating the deposit was due prior to start. First red flags are starting to show. When I asked for a time line, I was told maybe about two weeks. I'm getting really anxious, knowing I have no money and the rent in a brand new place is due in less than two weeks, and no other work is presenting itself. Checked in a few days later and asked again about the deposit and was told he knew I was anxious to begin work and needed the money but he'd let me know when things were ready. More red flags. At this point I needed to know his reason for not sending a deposit check so I asked. His explanation was that he's been a business man all his life, dealt with contractors, and the number 1 rule is deposit at start of work......may be his rule, but its never been mine or any other artist I know. The other thing that really bothered me (and I probably shouldn't have allowed it to, I'm always more human than business) was that he knew my situation and was not willing to help by sending the deposit......me still thinking that the job was to start in a week or two......didn't make sense to me....yep more red flags.
He finally responded with he wasn't sure when the work would start, maybe a month, maybe two, maybe not at all....that money was tight and the mural work was not the priority, and suggested when the project was ready perhaps I could submit a bid.......UH????? He did apologize if he had misrepresented the situation.......right.
I hesitate to tell you how foolish (ok..desparate) I was committing to do this job in the first place...I had agreed to do several large murals for a mere 3 grand....I know...I know, but I was in a situation where I had just relocated and getting some work, any work was at the fore front.
Now....still in need of some new clients.....but do not regret walking away from that experience, I felt a great sense of relief. The next day I won $84.50 in the lottery! Can you believe it...two more numbers I could have been a millionaire...as it is, I get to eat this week :-) I also met with a new potential client :-)