I got a call recently from a prospective client who wanted some help with his tax returns. As we talked more, it turned out he actually needed help with almost five years of taxes he had never gotten around to filing.
It also became clear that he was doing his own bookkeeping, but admittedly didn’t really know what he was doing, but wasn’t interested in getting it fixed.
Sometimes I come across people in this position who are there because business has been going poorly, and they are trying to save money and figure they don’t owe any taxes and can’t afford a bookkeeper, so they’re just doing the best they can. I get it, and I sympathize and try to help out.
That wasn’t this guy, however. He was doing well, making money, but just couldn’t be bothered to do it. He’d created a big mess for himself and now was hoping I could bail him out. He also wanted me to do it for him quickly, and at the same time, he wanted to pay as little as possible and didn’t want me to do it right (fix the books and then do the taxes), he just wanted me to “take care of it” the way he wanted it done.
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My response to him was that I wasn’t a good fit. He wanted to know why not. And I said honestly that if he didn’t care about his business, then I didn’t see why I should care about it!
He didn’t understand. He insisted he did care about it and that I was being unreasonable for not helping him and not doing it right now and not giving him a deal on the price and just doing it the way he wanted it done. Needless to say, he is not a client.
Not doing his taxes for five years isn’t the end of the world, but creating problems you then expect other people to solve for you is not the attitude I want to do business with. People who don’t value the professional help they are asking for are not clients I want. And luckily there is no law that says I have to work with them!
Because I am confident this is the same client who will, despite wanting a deep discount, expect white-glove five-star service, instant communication, unrealistic deadlines, and be the first to write a crappy review the second he doesn’t get it.
When you are new in business, you often take anyone who wants to hire you because you have lots of time and not nearly enough revenue. But as you gain experience, you learn that some customers “cost” more than they could ever possibly pay you. And your gut will let you know every time you come across one of these. Your job is to listen to your gut, give up that small amount of money upfront, and save yourself that huge cost down the road when that whole thing goes south.
Even in the earliest days, some customers just aren’t worth it. But this is a lesson it takes a few bad experiences to learn, so I won’t say never do it- we all have to learn the hard way. But the faster you have it happen and learn to say No to customers (or opportunities or partnerships or vendors, etc.) who aren’t a good fit, the better off you’ll be and the less stress and regret you’ll have to deal with. Just remember, you do have a choice and sometimes the best choice is just to say no thanks!