Knowing When To Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em

In this economy especially, it's hard to turn clients away or sometimes even dissolving your business relationship. I recently had to part ways with a client after a prolonged and agonizing self-examination of our relationship. My "a-ha" moment came after I realized that I was not enjoying our work together and that there was a disconnect between us. After analzying how much revenue (or lack of revenue in this case as it was not much) would be lost if I fired this client, I decided that it was time to fold 'em as Kenny Rogers says.

Looking back on how I arrived at this point to have to fire a client, I realized that if I had followed what I teach my clients to do, I would not have gotten to that point at all! There's a saying, "physician, heal thyself" that applies to this.

When new or prospective clients come to you, it's critical that you take those dollar sign glasses off and really look at several factors, such as:

• Do I feel comfortable with interacting with this person? (for example, are they compatible to my personality?)
• Do I enjoy doing the tasks or services they require of me? (for example, if you don't like making telemarketing calls and that's what they're looking for--well guess what? You'll be wishing you turned this client away from the jump start!)
• How much work or product would I have to make from this relationship for it to be worth it to me?
• Is the work or service they're asking for in alignment with where I want to be?

If you ask yourself those 4 simple questions, you will save yourself some questions later on. Having a great relationship with your clients is a key to more business--through referrals from them and future work opportunties with them.

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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author,speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.