For small business owners, large commercial banks got them into this mess and now they are preventing them from getting out. Bankers have become as respectable as used car salesmen. Large commercial banks that practiced unprofitable lending policies that were deemed “too big to fail” where bailed out by the federal government through the “Troubled Assets Relief Program.” While most of TARP’s $245 billion that it invested in banks has been repaid, the banks aren’t doing much with the profit. Absolutely, positively nothing.

Robert Eyler, professor of economics at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif., provides a shocking insight into the current state of banking. Before the 2008 recession, he states that banks had about $2 billion in assets that they had not lent out. Today, they have $1.5 trillion on hand!

“We Are Lending!” is a popular sign in front of many banks these days. It invites the small business owners to apply for a loan even though their chances of getting one is very low. What is worse, banks tease small businesses by advertising low interest rates on loans. When I inquired at my local bank about who can qualify, the reply was, “Not many!” I now need to explain to my teenage sons that banks used to lend money, not just charge fees to keep your cash or give out coffee, cookies and trinkets on Saturdays. (When my son asked me why there was a guard at the bank, I told him that it was to make sure no one asked for a loan.)

Paradoxically, now entrepreneurs need to prove they don’t need a loan in order to get that loan. This is reminiscent of a joke that says banks will give you an umbrella when it’s not raining, but take it away when it starts to storm. Without credit, it becomes very difficult for most small business owners to expand their companies, and that is exactly what the economy needs. Large commercial banks should be ashamed of how little of their available funds has been lent out since 2009.

At the same time that banks are stockpiling cash, their fees are increasing on almost everything. Public opinion recently thwarted Bank of America from charging fees for using its debit card. However, the average bank has 49 different fees, ranging from $1.50 to $175. Among them are fees for:

• Overdraft protection
• Using an ATM machine
• Receiving or sending a wire transfer
• Making copies of statements or checks
• Replacing a debit card
• Not having enough transactions monthly
• Not depositing money in a given month
• Closing the account too quickly
• Making online transfers to other banks

This has prompted a response by small business owners to move their accounts to community banks and credit unions. In fact, November 5, 2011, was proclaimed National Bank Transfer Day, which encouraged 40,000 people to move $80 million to less-costly credit unions. In fact, the Credit Union National Association reported that from September 29 to November 5 650,000 people joined credit unions, more than in all of 2010. Not surprisingly, in the retail banking sector, more customers are choosing Wal-Mart’s financial services over those of banks.

The blame is not all on the bank executives. In an overzealous effort by the federal government to ensure that another politically-charged banking failure does not happen, the FDIC imposed very strict lending rules. It makes it much more difficult for the banks to lend money, even as political leaders publicly push those same banks to do more with the SBA. New laws require the FDIC to establish minimum leverage capital requirements and minimum risk-based capital requirements for all banks.

Banks also make payments to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund based on total domestic assets minus the tangible equity of the bank. The FDIC determines new ratios of insurance premiums to assets, where banks with higher safety ratings get lower ratios. In other words, if you lend less, you pay less. In fact, the largest banks with $50 billion in assets are also now required to show the FDIC how they would break up and sell off their assets if they were in danger of failing.

Small business owners can no longer wait for the pendulum to swing back to the lending side of the ledger. The FDIC must take action to allow and instruct banks to make loans for small business. They should establish a fund for small business from the $20 billion profit that the federal government made from TARP. This “Small Business Relief Fund” would more than double the loans that are currently available through the SBA.

If small business is indeed the key to a broad economic recovery, the FDIC, the SBA and the federal government need to pay more than lip service to it. Stable and rich banks are still a failure to the economy and to every small business owner who participates in it.

What do you think the solution is to the small business credit mess? What path should be taken?

Protest Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Solving the Small Business Credit Mess

Small Business Trends: I would love to get a little bit of your back ground before we jump into the whole area of where we are today with customer collaboration.

John Hernandez: Sure, my background has been, for the last 15 or 16 years, customer service contact center application development.  Now, more importantly, it’s in the collaboration space with customer collaboration from B2C to B2B communication.

Small Business Trends: Maybe you can tell us where things stand in regards to what customer collaboration means today.

John Hernandez: The four key areas we see really driving change are:

• The whole explosion of mobility.
• The use of video as a collaborative tool between businesses and customers.
• The whole area around virtualization and how you can virtualize not only the desk top for your employees, but also in the Cloud for application use.
• The use of social and how you incorporate that into collaborating with your customer base.

Small Business Trends: How has collaboration changed since the smart devices have come out, and social networks have really proliferated, now that everybody is actually on them?

John Hernandez: Just the explosion of those devices have enabled a whole new application development area around how companies communicate and collaborate with their customers. Embedding collaborative tools right inside of an app now is pretty straight forward.  You can escalate that application use into a collaborative video interaction, a chat, an email, an SMS or a phone call, and have full context and transparency as well as policy and security built in.  So that is really starting to take off in the mobile space.

Small Business Trends: Are we now in the age of the collaboration center when it comes to customer service?

John Hernandez: I fully believe so and not just the core contact center agents, CSRs as they are sometimes called, but also subject matter expertise inside of the broader corporation is getting engaged with customers.

Small Business Trends: How are tools like the Cloud enabling this transformation to a collaborative experience?

John Hernandez: One piece of the cloud is all around social. Not only are consumers realizing that social is the back door to many companies, meaning that they do not have to navigate the call center but can simply send something out, either a Facebook post that’s publicly accessible or Tweet or a LinkedIn post or Yelp or whatever it might be.

Then the other piece from the corporate perspective is just accessing these applications.  They are changing very rapidly using a cloud format to absorb that technology change.

Small Business Trends: What are some of the new challenges being brought on by this environment?

John Hernandez: Expectations every quarter, it seems, are raised to a new bar with a new device coming out or a new application being seen as the latest and greatest from our consumer world. As that continues to accelerate, it does put pressure on to understand which of those things are important from the customer service perspective.

Small Business Trends: Do you think that the customer service agents job is more challenging today?  Or is it about the same, just different challenges?

John Hernandez: I think it’s getting more fun. I have seen a rise in agent satisfaction where they are actually happy to use some of these things like Facebook and Twitter. Now, from managing all of the interactions and multitasking, there are definitely some folks that prefer to be single interaction focused.  So I think it is up to employers to understand the skills of their employees and put them into the right role to do their work. But for the most part, I have seen a rise in people having fun in the job these days.

Small Business Trends: Are you hearing from your customers if the philosophy of collaborations vs. the call center is seeing tangible benefits at this point?

John Hernandez: I was talking to a customer about how they’re surveying customers differently now, using social to get un-filtered feedback on customer satisfaction, or using SMS text messaging in the simple way of getting quick feedback from their customers. The days of a long survey and email, or long voice prompted IVR input on surveys; those things are starting to diminish from what we see. Very quick interactions are behind a rise in both net promoter score as well as customer satisfaction.

Small Business Trends: What are the big benefits to the actual end user?

John Hernandez: The benefits of the actual end user are just the simplifying of how they engage with companies. Not being force fed into, ’This is the way we have always done business so you need to engage with me in this fashion.”  That really is the consumers that are driving corporations do that.  And the smart corporations are jumping on it very quickly.

Small Business Trends: So if we were to look out maybe a year or two form now, what are we going to have at our disposal by way of collaboration services to assist the customer in having a greater experience?

John Hernandez: The big thing for the consumer will be a more proactive nature.  The ability for corporations to understand the consumer at the time of need and what service they require, as opposed to the consumer having to reach out. That will be the huge benefit to the consumer population.

On the corporation side of things, it is going to be all about simplifying technology use.  It is going to be around collaborative insights, to map insights to consumer needs, to drive business growth. So it will be a win-win for both.

Small Business Trends: And where can people learn more about how Cisco is playing a role into bringing all of this change in?

John Hernandez: Yes, a good place to go is a web page that is set up on Cisco customer collaboration.

This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series.

Whether you’re growing your business or starting a new venture, BlackBerry solutions provide you with the freedom you want and the control you need. [Series sponsor]

From Small Business Trends

John Hernandez of Cisco: Driving Change

Dogs in the workplace are cartoon gold. There are so many possibilities it’s almost criminal.

Dogs’ competition? Cats. Dog paperwork? Eaten like homework. Dog VP? He’s your beta dog.

See? And that’s without even trying!

So it’s a pretty short walk from a dog calling in sick to that whole warm nose thing. Sometimes it’s easy like that. Mostly it’s not, but sometimes.

From Small Business Trends

Amazing Excuses For Sick Days

Franchise Basics

How to pick a winner. Are you thinking about getting into franchising? No business opportunity is perfect, but franchises have created some incredible small business opportunities in the past. The key is knowing what to look for in a franchise that will perform to expectations. WSJ

Should you incorporate? Once you’ve picked that winning opportunity, does it make sense to incorporate? Franchise consultant Joel Libava shares this great interview with incorporation specialist Nellie Akalp to learn more. The Franchise King

Human Resources 101

Do you have geniuses on your team? There may be potential in your small business that you didn’t even realize. Those resources could help you drive huge innovation if only you know how to tap them. Your resources are, of course, your existing team. Here’s how to get started. Open Forum

Helicopter parents (and other human resource problems). Here’s a discussion about unusual hiring and staffing management practices with an important point about what you should really be looking for in employees. bizCompare

Tech Tips

Apps that will save you money. Revolutionary technologies have created apps that can help small business owners compete with the big boys. You don’t need to be a technology company to take advantage of these. Bloomberg Businessweek

Social Media

Choosing your words carefully. Everyone knows about the incredible networking power of LinkedIn. But did you know the words you choose for your profile can make a gigantic difference. An important infographic shows you more. Resonance

What Facebook can teach you. Core values can pilot a company to success. When a company fails to follow those values, it can mean a failure to reach that ultimate potential. Here are some lessons about core values from one of the world’s most successful companies. BusinessTips.ph

Small Business Leadership

What makes a person an entrepreneur. It’s a fascinating question defying easy answers, but here’s a look at how one small business person came to realize what he was best at and how to build a business around it. BizSugar Blog

Don’t skimp on this stuff. Operating a small business requires intelligent use of resources. But that doesn’t mean cutting corners when it comes to making sure you have the tools you need for success. There are some things no small business can be without. Small Business Trends

What rain forests teach you about growing a business. Marketing consultant Robert Brady took a trip to Caribbean rain forest and came back with some unique perspectives on growth. It doesn’t matter whether you’re growing a PPC ad campaign or a business in the F2F world. Here are some insights you may want to consider. Righteous Marketing

From Small Business Trends

Looking for Success In Franchises (And Other Small Business Opportunities)

What if you could break up traffic with a simple gesture? Your super-power, “able to dissipate afternoon gridlock in a single bound.” How much time would that save you, knowing that you had a technique to keep the highways clear so that you never waste another moment sitting in afternoon or morning traffic?

In terms of brainstorming, idea generation, and breaking mental roadblocks, clustering – or the more common term mind mapping—is that tool (if you trust it and do it right).

In “11 Tips for a More Innovative 2012” Anita Campbell says:

“The key to mind-mapping is that because it’s visual, it engages a different part of our brain than verbal communication does, which encourages us to think in new ways.”

It’s all about awakening both sides of the brain so that you can look at your problem, business or idea in a new context. Learning to see your business from a fresh perspective may carry fresh and creative solutions.  In “Innovation Starts With Defining the Problem” Anita says:

“The way you define the problem affects the solution.”

And she suggests context-mapping which is a form of mind-mapping to help you get clear.

But why does it really matter?

To answer that question, we have to have a little brain talk (I’ll make it quick).

The Right Hemisphere is The Artist: Pictures, Designs

According to Dr. Gabrielle Lusser Rico, Author of Writing the Natural Way, the right hemisphere “looks at the whole,” operates in metaphors, and “is mute.” The right brain uses pictures instead of words. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, Author of Stroke of Insight, adds that the right brain  sees the big picture and the more subtle kinds of understanding:

“The brain is dual and each hemisphere is capable of operating independently of the other.”

So if you want to benefit from both, you have to activate both.

What about the other side?

The Left Hemisphere is The Critic: Words, Analytical

This part of the brain uses sequential and linear thinking.  According to Dr. Rico, the left hemisphere is literal, precise and driven by information and processes (sounds like business doesn’t it?). In fact, Dr. Jill says, the left brain carries our ability to relate to the world. It’s the part of the brain that interprets language, performs it function and “talks and talks and talks.”

All This Talk About Mind-Mapping

. . . is about getting to the best of both worlds. And more specifically, activating the right hemisphere in addition to the very active left, so that you can benefit from the creative ideas that lead to unique and effective design and innovation in your company.

Clustering can shake up the mind. You can use it when you don’t know where to begin. You can also cluster your way out of overwhelm and into an angle and a focus that makes sense. And when clarity comes, action can follow.

It seems so simple, but clustering, mind-mapping, can break the creative gridlock.

More Information About Mind-Mapping 

Create A Visual Marketing Plan Using A Mind Map

Ivana Taylor shows you how to start your marketing plan by using this creative process. She says, “creating a mind map before you develop a marketing plan activates the creative visual part of your brain. It allows you to see patterns and opportunities” that you would have missed with a traditional outline.

Writing the Natural Way 

Dr. Gabrielle Lusser Rico says:

“I specifically developed clustering as a way to gain access to the right brain.”

This book is for writers but it will help anyone trying to maximize the creative process.

Mind Map Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

The Right Brain Holds The Key To Your Company’s Innovation

So, what can you do to build a glowing reputation that helps you stand out to potential customers online?

Turn to your secret weapon: your happy customers!

Unfortunately, people tend to naturally turn to the Internet to share negative feedback about a company.

You know the saying: a happy customer will tell one person, but an upset customer will tell ten.

When you take the time to ask your happy customers to share their feedback, you might be surprised just how big an impact it can have. Many satisfied customers are glad to share their feedback, they just may not know it’s valuable to you as a business to have their reviews posted online. In fact, you may already receive notes, letters, or comments from happy customers. It may just be a matter of giving customers another avenue to share their feedback.

So, here are three ways you can put this idea into practice inside your business:

1) Get Your Team Onboard and Involved

Take time to explain to your staff that your online reputation is an important area of improvement for your business. Get them involved in the process of reaching out to customers to ask for reviews. It’s important to know and share with your team that you can’t pay for positive reviews, but you can certainly ask people to leave them. And sometimes, all it takes is to ask.

Encourage employees to ask customers for reviews every time they have a great customer interaction and recognize your team for their effort when they do.

2) Create and Share a List of Top Sites

When you start focusing on building your reputation online, select a list of a few top review sites you would like to get more reviews on such as Google Places Pages or Yelp. Then, create signage with these sites prominently displayed to serve as a visual reminder of your request. Post signs in your business reminding customers that you appreciate reviews on these sites. You can also create small cards to share with your customers so they can easily remember and navigate to a site to leave you a review.

This can help you develop your reputation on important sites – an important first step.

3) Leverage Current Communication Channels

Another way to encourage customers to leave a review of your business is to use your current customer communication channels to share your request. For example, you could put an article in your monthly customer email newsletter, or post a message to your Facebook fans. The benefit of this is that your customer is probably already at a computer when they see your request. Think about how you currently communicate with your customers and find ways to include this message in a friendly, professional way from time to time.<

These are just three ideas for how you can leverage your secret weapon – your current customers – in building a great online reputation.

Do you currently let your customers know you appreciate reviews online? Have you tried any of these tips? Feel free to share your ideas and thoughts in a comment.

Secret Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Your Secret Weapon in the Battle of Online Reputation

Consider handing these over to the experts:

1. Business Cards

Sure, Vistaprint and other sites have free templates you can customize to create your own business cards, but do you really want to use a template that hundreds of other companies have also used? The point of your business card is to stand out and be memorable – and you simply can’t do that with a cut and paste template.

Alternative: Good designers can be cheaper than you’d expect.  Especially if you choose a relatively new freelancer (perhaps a college student) or use a crowdsourcing tool like 99designs. You can also save by bundling several projects together, such as your business cards, brochures and direct mailers.

2. Website

While you no longer have to be a programmer to design a good website, you still should have some sense for design and layout. Content management systems (CMS), while useful tools, don’t make it foolproof to goof up on your website design. And with basic CMS functions, you may not know about more advanced features that let you add in descriptions and metatags.

Alternative: If you insist on designing your own site, go with a do-it-yourself content management system that provides ample customer support so that you can get feedback and help, making your site more user friendly. Try Weebly, SnapPages or Yola. Or ask for referrals for a good web designer based on your needs. Realize that if all you need is a simple 4-page website, the cost won’t be astronomical.

3. Mobile Apps

There’s a reason there are over 500,000 iTunes apps, many of which have few to no users. Companies that have no business creating apps are doing so. There are DIY app design programs like AppMakr, but they don’t help you with mobile app strategy, and without that – your app is useless. After all, do we really need a store locator app for your brand? Doesn’t Google Maps do that? What are you really trying to accomplish with your app?

Alternative: Find a mobile app developer with experience in your space. If you’re in the travel industry, find a designer who’s created other travel apps. Let the developer guide you to building an effective mobile app strategy rather than being stubborn about how your future app will be more popular than Angry Birds. It’s simply not happening.

4. Content

I could write books about the companies who undervalue good content. Suffice it to say, a lot of brands want content that will help them connect to customers, but they don’t want to pay its worth. Job boards like Elance are filled with writing gigs promising to pay a whopping $4 for 600 words (I’m not joking). If you devalue writing this much, you probably don’t get the overall content marketing thing. You pay to have a professional writer to create content that reflects positively on your company. For $4, you simply can’t guarantee that it won’t be riddled with typos and run-on sentences. Is it worth the savings to have to rewrite it?

Alternative: If you can’t afford a full-time writer or marketing staffer, outsource your writing to a freelancer or a firm. Look for a company or writer that’s written about your industry before and negotiate a rate for bulk numbers of articles.

5. Software

Sure, there are plenty of freeware programs available and you’ll get a lot done with Google Docs and a free membership to Basecamp. But when you need software to fill a hole that the freebies can’t, it’s time to invest. Paying a nominal fee for accounting software will prevent a major headache, as will project management software.

Alternative: Rather than paying a big chunk of cash for accounting software like QuickBooks to install on your computer, try the online edition for a lower monthly fee (QuickBooks Online starts at $12.95 a month). You’ll constantly get upgrades, which keeps you from having to shell out another few hundred on the latest and greatest edition.

Business Cheapskate Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

5 Things Business Owners Shouldn’t Skimp on

Ecosystem

The real benefits of blogging. The truth is you may never make a living solely from your blogging endeavors. That said, business blogging can open some amazing doors including book deals and speaking engagements like the one mentioned here. ProBlogger

Many bloggers work from home. And since bloggers are a subcategory of the growing work-at-home demographic, it’s helpful to have a look at some tips designed to keep home workers focused. Like other home business entrepreneurs, bloggers need focus and discipline. Bloggertone

Commenting

Why commenting is still important. In the era of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, it’s easy to loose site of the original social interaction: the blog comment. Here are some reasons commenting remains important and is something you should consider  no matter what. Brick Marketing Blog

Don’t let Viagra ruin your community. Of course, commenting works both ways and it’s critical to keep your blog free of comment spam to keep it relevant to readers. Here are some tricks to recognizing the craftiest spammers. PC World

Networking & Marketing

Business bloggers help build connections. Small business woman and blogger Nikki Peele founded a group where entrepreneurs could gather, support each other, network, and discuss their ventures. It’s another example of how bloggers build community offline and on. The Washington Post

Is blogging part of your marketing plan? It should be, according to this post from Mark Nolan, if you have the time or resources to manage it correctly. A well maintained blog and social media presence can have huge impact on your business efforts. Amsterdam Printing

Pros & Cons

Why one size really doesn’t fit all. While many small business advisers will tell you about the importance of a blog to reach your customers, build your brand and market your business, there may be some legitimate reasons why blogging is not for you. Entrepreneur

Want traffic on your Website? Then blog! It’s that simple, according to Bryan Ring, who argues in this light-hearted post that business blogging is about both learning and sharing your knowledge. It’s a combination guaranteed to boost your knowledge and your business, so get started now! Business Website Building

Getting Better

Belt tightening tactics when blogging. Sure it’s a fairly inexpensive means of marketing and community building already, but here are some other ways to save money while blogging. It’s a good reminder to always seek ways to cut costs. Don’t Do It Yourself

Simple tips. Want to understand how to improve your business blog today? A few simple tips will improve your efforts dramatically. Consider these ideas and put them into practice. You’ll surprised at the difference they make. Earning Diary

From Small Business Trends

Triumph of the Business Bloggers

The recent recession had been dubbed a “mancession” as men lost jobs in record numbers. By comparison, the study found, women fared better at keeping jobs (however, men are faring better in the current recovery). Not only that, but “Single, childless women in their 20s are more likely than their male counterparts to graduate from college,” says Sphere Trending CEO Maxine Lauer. “That demographic segment is going to be where a lot of the new young talent will come from in years ahead.”

Overall, some 70 percent of U.S. women now work outside the home, and one in four married women earn more than their husbands. What else do you need to know about today’s female employees? The study examined women in three age groups—Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Each faced special challenges:

Gen Y: Overall, this age group is doing great. They’re out-earning their male counterparts and embracing technology and social media as tools for both business and personal life. In fact, 53 percent identified themselves as early adopters of technology, and women were more likely than men (32 percent vs. 24 percent) to use social media to network and connect with co-workers. Younger women believe work-life balance is crucial and are less likely than older generations to sacrifice their personal lives for a job. Instead, they’re using tools like flextime, remote work and mobile devices to get it all done.

Gen X: Stress is the key word for this age group, which has more family responsibilities than Gen Y. Even though men are taking on more duties at home, most of the childcare and housework still falls on Gen X women, who may also be dealing with elder care. Gen X has high standards and these women often feel like they’re letting down their families and their bosses, satisfying no one. In the workplace, Gen X’s strength is “brokering” between Gen Y and Boomer employees and serving as a facilitator to smooth the generation gap.

Boomers: Boomers face many of the same issues as Gen X. Although their children are generally adults, the economy has pushed many of those adult children back into the nest, leaving Boomers in a tough position. With Americans living longer, even the oldest Boomers are often caring for aging parents, which can lead to lost productivity and greater stress. At the same time, Boomers may feel they’re getting pushed aside or left behind by younger employees, especially as Gen X employees rise up the ladder.

How can you help your female employees succeed? As with many employee motivation issues, the key is understanding what they need. That will vary from age group to age group, from life stage to life stage, and from person to person.

If your workplace is filled with young women, allowing remote work and making sure they have the mobile technology they need to work anytime, anyplace can be key. Be more focused on results, not on hours spent in the office.

If your team is mostly moms, flexibility to handle family responsibilities is most important. Like Gen X, they’ll appreciate being measured on their results, not the hours clocked.

If you’re dealing with Boomers, be aware they may be reluctant to share their challenges, especially eldercare. Being sensitive, providing resources to help them and finding ways to let them share their knowledge and experience with others on your staff can keep them feeling valued as members of your team.

Generational Women Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Understanding Women Workers

Whether it’s an overly-demanding client who’s prone to instant message you any time of day (or night), an indecisive client who’s sole feedback usually entails “that’s not quite it,” or the client who’s perennially slow to pay, some clients just aren’t worth the business. An extension of the Pareto Principle says that 20% of your customers probably account for the majority of your time and trouble.

Most of us strive to avoid conflict and stick with the mantra that clients are good for business. However, staying too long in negative client situations can take a significant toll on your job satisfaction, emotional wellbeing, and business.

If your attempts to actively manage the negative aspects in a client relationship ended up hitting a brick wall, it’s time to cut the cord. Firing someone may not come as easily to you as Donald Trump, but here are some ways to make the process as pain-free and professional as possible:

Take emotion out of the equation: When deciding to fire a client, don’t act rashly from frustration or a bruised ego. Take a few days to consider the situation before acting. Although, if you find yourself going through this process multiple times in a month or year, it’s time to listen to your gut.

Review the contract: Before approaching the client, go through every line of your contract and check for loose ends. If you don’t have a contract, gather any documents you have (including initial emails) that define the project scope and expectations. Make sure you have completely lived up to your obligations. If a client has already paid for certain parts of the project, make sure you have delivered on them. If you’re concerned the client may fail to pay what they owe, consider how to minimize the damage. This could mean waiting until they have paid before telling them your intentions.

Meet face-to-face: As tempting as it may be, firing a client doesn’t mean you just stop answering their emails or calls. Meet your contact face-to-face (or over a phone call if you’re a web-based contractor).

Keep it brief: No doubt you have a billion reasons why you don’t want to continue working with this client, but you only need to offer one. And it can be as simple as, “I no longer think my services are meeting your needs.” The more details you provide, the more you open the door to an argument.

Give sufficient notice: If a client relies on you for regular work, give them time to find a new contractor or vendor. This could be 30 days, the end of a major deliverable, or whatever works in the context of your relationship.

Offer alternatives: Unless the client was disrespectful or a major problem, help them find a new solution by referring a colleague who could meet their needs. If you don’t have a specific person in mind, you can still offer guidance on the type of provider who might be a better fit such as, “Your needs have grown, you may need to consider a full-size agency.” Or, “Why don’t you look for someone who specializes in x.”

At the end of the day, firing a client is never easy. Yet the difficult conversation will be over soon enough and you can move on to more restful nights and bigger and better things.

Fired Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Is It Time to Fire That Client?