When you start out in your own business, being picky with your clients isn't exactly at the front of your mind.
When a client reaches out for you to work with them, you snatch them up faster than you can say 'I've made a huge mistake.'
In all honesty, I love every one of my current clients (and I'm not just saying that because they're probably reading this.)
But that's because I learnt to be picky when I need to be.
It only took one client... One very frustrating client (who shall not be named) who made me realise that it isn't just about the client choosing you, it's about you choosing the client too. It's crucial for an effective partnership and working relationship in your business, and theirs.
So, what happened?
I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say, everything started all peachy - until I quickly realised she wanted everything for nothing. I would get a message at 11pm at night instructing me to share a post to Instagram the following morning (and because I'm 90 years old at heart, I was well and truly asleep by 9pm.)
And then I would wake up to another message at 7am asking why the post hadn't been shared yet...
There were a lot of long and frustrating conversations that actually meant I was hemorrhaging money with this client, instead of making money.
I would do exactly what she wanted, exactly how she wanted it, only for her to scold me for an hour for missing a factor that she never told me she wanted.
Basically, even if it had been worth it emotionally, it wasn't even worth it financially.
There were zero benefits to this partnership, for either of us. I couldn't please her, and she made me question my sanity on a daily basis.
So, how does one handle a 'difficult' client? It can be an extremely stressful situation for a small business owner. You are risking backlash and bad reviews, potentially losing business and money.
But, if you went on a horrible date with someone that drove you insane, you wouldn't take them home to keep, would you? It's actually okay to walk away from situations (and clients) that don't fit your style or brand. Because if you're not having fun in your business... What's the point of doing it?
And the thing is, it's no one's fault that these partnerships don't work out. It has nothing to do with your skills or your personality, it's simply two very different communication styles and some unrealistic expectations that cause the clash.
For me, the next step was to carefully explain to the client that I appreciated the opportunity to work with her, but that I felt I couldn't do her brand justice. I even went as far as to offer a partial refund (despite the fact it wasn't necessary,) to keep the peace.
More frustrations followed... She wanted an in-depth refund statement to state how much I was giving her and why. I complied until she wanted a further breakdown...
At which point I told her the breakdown would be me if I had to deal with any more refund explanations. LOL - kidding, I was totally fine...
But everything turned out okay. She got her partial refund, I regained my sanity (mostly,) no bad reviews were left, and we both went on our way in peace and light and love and all that jazz.
And it was only one client - one client out of dozens. If that's the worst there is, then that's really okay with me. The truth is, I probably could have put up with the frustration if I really wanted to, and I'm so passionate about what I do, but I believe in protecting my peace and not losing that for the sake of my business. The great Maya Angelou said it best, "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."
But here is a little pro tip to help in these situations - an in-depth discovery call and a carefully worded letter of engagement with clear T&Cs at the beginning of the partnership can help establish clear boundaries and expectations, but it can also help to weed out the clients that may not fit well with you and your working style.
It's okay to say "Hey, we can't help, but here are some suggestions of other people who may be able to help." No harm, no foul.
To build your business into something you love doing, you need to choose who you surround yourself with and what kind of work you're doing. Choose carefully, it's okay to be picky and maybe lose a client or two along the way.
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