Competitors, tricky empolyees and partners are always there in business. And not all of them are mean cheaters: some just realizes and make the client realizes they can do the job better than you.

So instead of being scared from day0 about being poached, why don't you start thinking HOW you can make your services so unique that people will just want you?

I work as a freelance from many many years, I manage work for companies and agencies located all over the world. Never pouched anyone, but there was one time when the guy who hired me to outsource some work was stealing money from the client without doing the job done (he was supposed to apply my content marketing strategy in a wider seo and advertising strategy but was putting the client budget in his pocket with the excuse that costs were increasing) so when I realized I told the client and fixed his problems, working directly with me.

What was more ethical? Not tell the client tbut in this why silently agreeing to the guy bad behavior? Or what I did was the right choice? For me there is no doubt.

Now, besides those extreme cases, my experience can also say that a client ready to hire an agency will keep working for an agency if he has any minimum result. Clients ready to go away with your crowdsourced guy that offered them the same work for 50% less of the price are worth to be lost.