Recently I had a tenant move from out of state where they had a two-bedroom apartment to a large one-bedroom apartment in one of our buildings. Needless to say, they had to downsize and get rid of extra furniture and stuff.

It reminded me of what happened 23 years ago when I met my current wife…

I had a three-bedroom house and all the furniture, plus a two-car garage filled with items I had for 35 years, like the surfboard I had from my teenage years.

My wife, being a Realtor, sold my house and I moved into her house which was about four blocks away. What I got to bring with me was my clothing, a sewing box, and a clock with large digital numbers. That’s all!

What that means is I downsized tremendously.

I held three garage sales, sold the furniture, beds, tables, chairs, and TVs – and when it was all done, I filled three dumpsters with stuff.

To this day I recall the feeling of lightness and freedom getting rid of so much stuff. And downsizing and getting rid of clutter seems all the rage these days.

Maybe that’s why Marie Kondo, the queen of tidy, is so popular. Her approach is if an object does not “spark joy” get rid of it.

Guess what, you can apply this same approach to your clients and customers.

If you look at the 80/20 rule you will see that 20% of your clients or customers probably provide 80% of your income.

And a different 20% of your clients provide 80% of your headaches.

When you get past your insecurity, you can achieve more business growth and have less headaches by getting rid of your annoying clients.

The universe will reward you with more of the clients you want and you will get more of the clients that you enjoy working with. More of the clients who respect what you do, appreciate what you do, and pay you appropriately,

One of the benefits of being an entrepreneur, coach, or professional is that you get to choose who you want to work with.

There are even gentle ways to fire the pain in the a** clients. You can tell them your business is growing in a way that you can no longer support them and refer them to someone else. Even give them two to three names to choose from.

I recall an attorney from over 30 years ago. I told him, “I cannot work with you until you see a psychologist, and here are three names.” – A month later he called and asked me when we can start to work together. I asked which one of the psychologists he was going to work with. He said, “None of them.” And I replied, “Then I cannot work with you.”

There is a fun book written by Lou Bortone that was inspired by some of his deadbeat clients. You can find F*ck You, Pay Me! on Amazon.

Please let me know your thoughts. Do you agree, disagree, or have a story?

To Your Prosperity,

Rennie