December 31, 2018

Reader feedback on Fool me twice...

In reply to my recent thoughts about folks who claim they are victims of “Clients From Hell” (i.e., subject: “Fool me twice...”), fellow reader AJ Hauser sent in the following:

I used to fall into this camp of complainers until I started to take ownership of my situation. That was about the time I sought you and a few others out. Once you start to accept that your customers are a result of your actions, you start to look at things a lot differently and see when other people are just passing the buck. “It’s not my fault, it’s just my fate. It’s my industry. You are just so lucky that you have great clients.” Makes me sick and kind of sad for them - but good for you shining light on it and fighting the good fight. Hopefully you made a difference for someone who didn’t publicly respond. I bet you made a few people think and they may decide to take some action to better their situation :) Happy Sunday Jonathan, thanks again for putting out all of this quality content. I really appreciate it. I have so much work to do... Best, AJ Hauser

Thanks for sharing your perspective and transformation, AJ!

The message that I hope to get across - and that AJ has summed up nicely - is that you can TAKE OWNERSHIP of your business. Like personal relationships, you can and should be picky about who you form business relationships with. Being promiscuous has predictable results.

If you are not currently in a position to refuse work - because cash flow is tight and you have close to zero leads - don’t act surprised when a high percentage of your business relationships turn out bad. Instead of complaining, improve your position - i.e., take steps to attract more and better leads and price your engagements to be more profitable.

Yours,

—J