Sometimes, having healthy boundaries means firing a client.
Did you just clutch at imaginary pearls and whisper, “Why, I never!”?
When your business is in its infancy, the thought of firing a client may seem downright preposterous. After all, you worked hard to attract prospects and court them until they sign on the dotted line and become, (cue the trumpets), a paying client.
Why, would anyone in their right mind purposefully get rid of them?
Well, as your business grows and matures, you begin to realize that not every client is worth having. Some of them are a drain on your business, your energy, and your mental health.
Did someone just pop into your mind when you read that?
In my book, You Had Me At No, I share a story about how I brought on a client without having any boundaries in place. I gave him my cell phone number (and he used it at all hours of the day and night). I started work without a deposit and he took his sweet time paying me. We discussed what he was looking for (writing services – which is what I provide), and then he wanted design services (which I’m not good at and would have required me to pay an outside vendor) included in my original quote. He showed up late, missed calls, and canceled at the last minute. It was the perfect storm of boundary violations.
Realizing that this was a toxic situation, I wrote him an email establishing boundaries for our working relationship moving forward. He responded that he understood and respected what I was doing. Success!
Or was it?
The boundary violations continued. I’d get texts at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning. His next installment was late, as was he – to just about every scheduled meeting.
Luckily, I have a good friend who’s an attorney. After spending a solid hour writing out an email to him regarding his disrespect for my boundaries and how it made me feel, I sent it over to get her seal of approval.
“This is so well written! Nice job!”
I beamed.
“Now delete everything and write the following: No more services will be rendered until the invoice has been paid.”
Wait. What? Though it pained me to be blunt, I followed her advice. That email went out on Friday afternoon, and he quickly responded that the check would be sent on Monday. Success!
Or was it?
That Saturday, I received a barrage of texts about sections he’d like to add to the project… and could we meet on Monday for our next call? I put on my big girl pants, marched up to my office, and sent him an email letting him know our contract was terminated. It felt AMAZING!
I didn’t realize just how much of my energy was going towards this one client. Once he was out of my life, I was less stressed, I had more time to serve my other clients, and I even attracted new (boundary-respecting) clients.
Chances are you went into business because you loved whatever it is you’re good at and because you wanted the freedom to do what you want, when you want, and for clients you enjoy. Unfortunately, if you don’t establish clear boundaries, you may end up in a nightmare situation. It’s completely acceptable (and incredibly empowering) to fire those clients who refuse to respect the boundaries you’ve put in place. Chalk this up to a learning opportunity so you can create better relationships moving forward.
