Page 82 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis Other customers are greedy and dishonest. They want you to invest in a relationship with their business and charge them the lowest price. And once the chance to switch comes along, theyʼll jump ship. Most businesses wouldn’t even consider firing a customer. But sometimes it’s the smartest thing you can do. Other customers have horrible taste. They demand products and services that no one else could possibly want, that force you to develop skills you canʼt transfer, and that donʼt create the positive word of mouth and buzz you need. And the last sort of customer is a jerk. He yells. He screams. He doesnʼt pay on time. He lies to you. He drags you into court. He badmouths you to others. Want to guess which ones you need? Most businesses wouldnʼt even consider firing a customer. But sometimes itʼs the smartest thing you can do. Several years ago, we fired one of our best customers. The company ac- counted for a significant percentage of our income. But its employees were nasty people. They constantly assaulted my own and my employeesʼ integrity. They threatened to violate contracts whenever they thought it would benefit them. Tired of living in fear, we politely asked the company to find a different supplier. In the burst of energy that followed the sigh of relief we all breathed, we replaced it with four customers who generated more than twice the business. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | Every one of our manifestos is free. SEE THE REST OF THEM. h 82/103 f