I say WHO

A surprising perk of owning your own business is the option to NOT work with someone. For most of your adult life, you have been subject to working with narcissistic beasts that you had to grin and bear- all because they were standing between you and your next pair of shoes, or meal as it sometimes was. 

Although one should never turn away good money-don't you feel a little stupid when you are CEO of ONE and you are having anxiety working with a difficult client? Choosing who you get to work with has to be one of the nice things of working for yourself, right? 

Interesting psychological battle I had when I met with a gentleman who was so used to beating up on salespeople to get what he wanted, when I walked away from the table he was shocked. Do you not want my money-he asked incredulously? Of course I wanted his money, but I could do without his demanding attitude and nasty nature. It seemed to me that this guy was so used to getting his way from salespeople who were intimidated to keep his business that I surprised him by walking away. 

Things to keep in mind when dealing with the unfriendly:

1. Keep it Kind. At the end of the day, you don't want to burn a bridge. I usually tell people that I am jammed up and it will be months before I can give him the proper attention his business needs. That seems to work a little better than, I rather eat glass than take your business on. 

2. Offer him some other options. Since you are sooo busy, give him some names of people (your competition) that may be able to help him. I don't want to be the first to admit, but maybe you and his (or her) personality just doesn't match and someone else may have a better turn with him. As long as he is not a raving lunatic, you are instilling a little good will along the way and everyone is happy. Your competition may be a little bigger and have a staff that has to deal with whatever personality is put in front of them. You still end of smelling like roses in the end. 

3.  Don't apologize. You aren't working round the clock, 24/7 for no reason. The least you can do is pick the people that are supporting your quest to become a solo success. I find that this is more important to me than I thought it was. The idea of being in business for yourself is to take what is good and get rid of what was bad and make your own thing work. Not that it will always be blue skies, but it is a lot easier to weather the storms with clients you actually like and want to work with. 

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