Is it time to fire my customer?

[tormat]

I have a consulting business, it is not fast lane design yet, but it is the funding source that pays for all my other ideas.

The trouble I have is if I should fire them. They are a pain in the butt! They don’t take as much time as they could, but they also hired off my contract employee to cut their costs.

I have lost a lot of motivation in that business because of that mistake. I started a new contract with them till the end of May, but I am looking for a way to fire them. Anyone have any suggestions?

My other business is still an infant and I need the capital to get it off the ground.

 

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[HenryDicks]

That's a little low on info.

What exactly is your client doing that you don't like? Have you been vocal about this?
What's your average client worth to you? Is your problematic client above or below that point?
How do you acquire new business? If you'd tell your client to take a hike, would you be able to fill the gap quickly? Would you have to?

Either way, the typical solution usually involves pre-selective marketing/selling so you only close the kind of person that suits you. For instance, I'm a marketing consultant; I only approach people who are already paying for marketing. Sure, absolute amateurs might reap greater benefits but will argue about every dollar you want to spend on campaigns, so it's easier to just focus on those who are willing to pay to acquire customers.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

They don’t take as much time as they could, but they also hired off my contract employee to cut their costs.

??

but I am looking for a way to fire them.

Look at the contract.

Any time trade not worth your time is not worth the investment, unless it's a "means to an end" -- like paying rent and bills. Sometimes the selling of time is required to get the ball rolling.

 

[Yussef]

Please read Built To Sell by John Warrillow. The book is only about 150 pages but gives an account of a guy that owns a marketing company he eventually wants to sell. His largest client is a bank that literally gives his company their asses to kiss on a regular basis.

Read the book to find out what his mentor advises him to do to turn his business around. Awesome.

 

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[tormat]

Thanks Yussef, I will check the library after work to see if i can read it tonight.

The stress this client gives me out weighs the cash at this point in time (seeing that I had a prepayed contact with them and tehy termanated it and i still had to work for them for months)

It is just personal, if I could get back to not dealing with them and letting a sub deal with them it would be fine.