I remember calling my friend Gareth who had run a very successful, large marketing and advertising agency.
I was in a bit of a quandary because I had landed a MASSIVE client.
Big paycheque, big brand name – like, an actual celebrity with books and TV appearances and stuff.
But even with all that…
The client was an absolute nightmare.
I loathed looking at emails from them.
I was losing sleep thinking and worrying about them.
And, I didn’t enjoy their company.
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind if you want to work with them any more” he suggested.
Well, yes, I had made up my mind. But what about the money? What about the “clout” that came with it?
What about my reputation and, more importantly, what would they say if I fired them?
What would other people think about me?
Would they see me as a failure or a hack or a fraud?
“They won’t think anything Mike. Because, realistically, no one cares about your business but you. And the client? They’ll be upset, but they already get angry with you.”
So I fired them.
Well actually I refused to be, and this is their words “at their beck and call whenever they need them” (including my wedding day and honeymoon) and I said “I can’t do that”.
To which his very educated and wealthy toff mouth said “you’re fucking fired then” and he hung up on me.
The key, I learned, is that there is no sense arguing with some people.
They’ll believe they’re correct and that’s their right to do so.
But it’s also your right and your task to control your actions.
Nightmare clients aren’t worth the money.
You couldn’t pay me tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to lose sleep now.
