Last month, A Business owner “Sam” pulled me aside to tell me about his ex-employee – a brilliant operations manager — Sarah — who walked out of a $150K job.
Not because of the salary.
Not because of the workload.
Not even because of him as the boss.
She quit because of his “best client”.
The kind who:
- Berated the team during project reviews
- Changed requirements daily and blamed delays on “incompetence”
- Demanded weekend calls and then no-showed
- CC’d Sam as the CEO on every minor complaint to “apply pressure”
Sam kept that client because they made up 30% of revenue.
So Sarah left.
Then two developers followed.
Then the project manager.
Within 6 months the company flatlined margins and lost:
- Over $400K in recruiting + training costs
- Six months of institutional knowledge
- Their reputation as a workplace top talent wanted to join
All to keep one toxic client happy.
The fact is that your worst client isn’t just costing you frustration.
They’re costing you your best people.
Your top performers have options.
They don’t stay for “one more cycle.”
They don’t endure disrespect because “it’s business.”
They walk.
Your mediocre employees?
They’ll stay.
Do the minimum.
Complain quietly.
And drag your culture down with them.
So when you keep a toxic client because they’re “too big to lose,” what you’re really doing is filtering for the lowest common denominator people with the fewest options.
Sam confessed to me that he knew the client was poison.
After all, he was apologising repeatedly to his team after every abusive call.
Buying them lunch after a couple particular nasty emails
Promised, “It’ll get better when this project ends.”
It didn’t.
It never does.
Sarah now makes $180K at a competitor that fired its worst client last year.
While Sam had to approach me because he is still:
- Searching for a replacement.
- Aplogising constantly internally.
- Hemorrhaging talent.
If you’re losing good people and can’t figure out why, stop obsessing over compensation packages.
Start looking at your client list.
The answer might be the one insulting your team right now.
If you want to protect yourself from ever being dependent on — or held hostage by — a toxic client, then sign up for the preview of Fall in Love with Your Business Again.
It’s built to help you create a business where you work with the clients you want…
Not the ones you feel trapped by.
This program will roll out in small cohorts to keep the quality high.
Sign up here to get notified as early as possible when the program comes out.
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P.S. I’m not the “systems,” “finance,” or “fix your processes” guy.
I help you fall in love with your business again—Because it finally gives you the life you want today
While setting you up to exit on your terms tomorrow.
Join my list for blunt insights and practical strategies to build a business that gives you your life back – and the power to walk away, when you’re ready, on your terms