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You're not stuck, you're just alone at the top. Most entrepreneurs hit a ceiling, not because the opportunity isn't there, but because you're solving $10M problems with $1M strategies.
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Jon walked into a Contrarian workshop with stress hives up his neck from 80-hour weeks, running a home inspection business that was eroding his relationship.
"I'm watching my marriage fall apart in real time," he told me.
So I asked him one question: "What kind of homes do you inspect?"
"All of them," he said.
And there it was.
Jon's problem was never work ethic. It was his customer list. He was hauling bricks for anyone with a pulse and a house key, competing with 10,000 other inspectors at the same price.
But we didn't change how Jon worked. We just changed who he worked for.
He stopped chasing everyone, and started hunting one very specific customer. Jon found his best customer by getting honest about his worst ones. And once he cut those bad clients loose to focus on his core customers, his business boomed.
(If you want to find out exactly how much Jon’s business grew and hear his entire story, you gotta read the book. So come to my FREE book launch event to find out more!)
Charlie Munger built a whole career on that move.
Most people ask "what should I do?" Munger asked what he should definitely NOT do. Avoid the disasters, and whatever survives is the strategy.
And you can apply the same logic to your customer list. Don’t just ask who you should serve. Ask who you definitely SHOULDN’T serve.
Pull your worst 10 accounts from the last year and look for the pattern. I promise it’ll show up fast. The people you need to look out for all have the same issue: too much trouble for too little return.
Every bad customer is a loan you took out against your best one.
That's Customer Debt, and the interest is worse than the most predatory loans you can find.
The first payment comes out of your profit. You already know that one: the discount you gave, the scope you ate, the invoice you're still chasing.
The second payment is the one nobody counts. It's the hours you spent putting out a fire for a client who was never going to pay you what you're worth, in a week you could've spent finding one who would.
Every bad customer you keep is costing you two good ones.
Profit shows up on your P&L. Customer Debt shows up on your calendar, in your marriage, and sometimes as stress hives. Focus on the energizing clients to avoid customer debt.
You can't find your best customers until you know exactly who your worst ones are.
So here they are, ranked from annoying to fire on sight.
F TIER:
The One-Time Buyer. Buys once, vanishes, and never becomes revenue you can plan around.
The Low Seriousness Prospect. Shows up unprepared, ignores your process, and never follows through.
Neither one is fatal. Just don’t waste your energy, and quit building your business around them.
D TIER:
The Discount Seeker. Their first question is about price, never about value.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting a deal, but be firm with your price. No one gets special treatment unless they earn it.
My favorite response when someone asks if I can “do it for less” is always, “I can do it for more.” Say that with a smile and most people understand.
C TIER:
The Trade Offer. Wants to barter, trade, or "collaborate" instead of pay. These people don't want a deal. They want your margin.
If you really need something they have, there’s nothing wrong with a trade. Just make sure you are getting more in value than the cash price. Otherwise it’s never worth it.
B TIER:
The Boundary Pusher. Texts at midnight, demands instant responses, and treats every problem as your emergency.
If you can automate responses and remove yourself from the communication cycle, go ahead and keep this one. They’re high stress, but almost always pay on time.
But if you can’t throw technology at them as a barrier, cut ‘em loose.
FIRE RIGHT NOW TIER:
The Payment Problem. From late payments, to disputed invoices, they have endless excuses, and ZERO money.
They already got the value, and now you're chasing the cash. Fire them yesterday.
Here's a 5-minute exercise you can do to start weeding out bad customers.
If you need some help, you can borrow this:
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A few of these people might surprise you. They'll come back and pay full rate.
Others might be furious.
Be like Mel Robbins and "let them."
That post might be about personal relationships, but don’t forget: you have a type of relationship with your clients. As you build the best business you can, you’re going to have to let go of some bad customers to foster a relationship with better ones.
If a fussy, energy-sapping client wants to walk away, let them.
Open your calendar for next week.
Whoever owns the most of it is who your business is really serving. It’s not who your website is targeting, it’s who owns your time.
Be honest. Is it who you want it to be?
That's the uncomfortable part. It’s easy to feel like you have to say yes to everyone. Especially on the days you’re scared the phone might stop ringing…
But every yes to the wrong customer is a no to the right one.
The moment you stop chasing everyone is the moment the right ones start chasing you.
So here's my question...
Whose name is first on your Fire List? And what are you going to do about it?
Own or Be Owned helps you take the first steps, learn more here.
- Codie
P.S. A lot of people (rightfully) ask me how effective my free events are.
And while I could tell you all about my credentials, bona fides, and experience buying and selling businesses
I’d rather just show you one of our recent success stories:
This mom is on track to make $250,000 this year.
Her name is Erin.
After beating cancer, she wanted more time with her family. So she quit her job & joined our biz buying academy.
One year later, she closed on her first deal:
First month in, she found an employee had been skimming cash for years - the real revenue was actually $250k.
On top of that, she renegotiated insurance and saved $8,000/year.
But the deal almost didn't happen.
When Erin first reached out, the owner wasn't ready to sell.
His parents had run the place for 20 years, and there was a lot of family history tied up in it.
So she followed up for over a year... until the business finally listed and she got called up by the owner.
Heck yeah!
If you want to learn how Erin found, financed, and closed this deal...
I'm breaking it all down during my FREE bootcamp.
The information contained here is educational, may not be typical, and does not guarantee returns. Background, education, effort, and application will affect your experience and the profitability of any business. Individual results may vary.
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