Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time

How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack because of a client's needs?

I try to live by the 80/20 rule: working from my home office 80% of the time and working onsite with clients 20% of the time. But, the past week has been the exact opposite.

I had a demanding onsite project. I had to drive halfway across town and give up my weekend to help my client meet their deadline. Yeah, I know. It's time to get me some cheese to go with my whine.

You could think of this as "drowning in success". It's an interesting image. You're surrounded by good fortune ? your clients need you, you're doing rewarding work, and, of course, you're getting paid. But, at the same time, you feel like you're drowning. You're so focused on how you're going to get through this stretch that it's easy to lose sight of your larger business goals.

When this happens, I have to put my situation in perspective. The following are 4 steps that help me to see the bigger picture.

1. Discuss your upcoming schedule with your business partner(s) and/or family members. You may have to reallocate some business or household responsibilities. Your business partner can continue to focus on marketing, searching for clients, and getting the word out. Your family can chip in by covering some of your chores. Brett and I are great about continuing to keep the business and household afloat when one of us gets too busy.

2. Be thankful for your current "problem". Acknowledge how busy you are right now. Then, think about what it's like when you're struggling to find clients. I know which "problem" I prefer.

3. Give yourself permission to relax. Sometimes when you're spending that much time on one client, you feel guilty about the other things you haven't had time to do. But, instead, set aside time to do something mindless. My guilty pleasure is my free money online poker game.

4. Leverage your current project.

• Write a press release about the client you're working with. For added punch, include a quote from your client. It's a win-win.
• Write a case study based on the work you did. You could include this with your marketing materials. Or, you could turn it into an article and submit to an industry magazine.

See you in the pool!

Leila Johnson co-owns Data-Scribe(tm) along with her husband Brett Johnson. The New Mexico-based firm empowers Micro-Businesses through technology, the written word & training. To get more tips like this, visit their Micro-Business E-Library or sign up for their Micro-Business Gazette at http://www.datascribe.biz.

---

Customer Service Tips - Is Your Business A Leaky Bucket?

Customer service and customer service training are vital for any... Read More

Sorry, No Customer Service After 4:00 P.M.

A few months ago, I wrote about ingenious styles of... Read More

Customers - What They Really Want - 6 Secrets of Customer Service

What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly... Read More

Five Ways To Wow Your Client

Running a business is about providing goods and services to... Read More

Importance of Good Customer Support in Online Computer Peripherals Shops

Looking for hi-fi computer peripherals? Finding it tough to decide... Read More

At the Carwash; The Customer really is always Right

You have no doubt heard the saying that the customer... Read More

Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide

Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil ChangingHow do most mobile... Read More

DONT Give Your Customers What They Want!

One of the mantras we hear repeatedly in business is... Read More

Create a Positive, Upbeat, Can-Do Workforce and Dazzle the Customer with Your Caring!

Given the choice of dealing with a positive, upbeat employee... Read More

If Everyone Thinks They Give Good Service, Why Do We As Customers Think Its Poor!

First of all let's look at what customer service is... Read More

And The Difference is... Attitude

I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As... Read More

Accountants / Lawyers Do Yourself a Favor - What do Your Customers Want?

In my day to day practice in strategic human resource... Read More

Basic Levels of Consumer Integrity that Presently Permeates Society

Reality is not always pretty. But here is a tad... Read More

Outsourcing: The Unspoken Costs

Outsourcing seems to be the new-new thing and approximately 50%... Read More

Accountability

The Call Center world is an intense pressure-driven environment continually... Read More

What Type Of Software Is This?

The other day while at the book store, I came... Read More

Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain!

Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of... Read More

Are You Giving Your Customers Enough Reasons To Return To Your Business?

Good customer service just isn't enough anymore in the marketplace... Read More

Make An Action Plan To Improve Customer Service

Customer Service is a critical factor for keeping your clients... Read More

What Every Employee Should Know About How to See Customers Problems from Their Creative Side

Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing... Read More

Be A Resource

What is one of the greatest ways to add value... Read More

Become a Customer Enthusiasm-Guru!

One thing all successful small business owners have in common... Read More

Whats For Lunch?

As an entrepreneur, I'm always intrigued by small businesses, home-based... Read More

Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers

The most important aspect of a successful business is developing... Read More

How to Succeed in Business Without Compromising Your Integrity

I spent some twenty years in the corporate world, for... Read More

Why You Should Always Honour Your Guarantees - Even When The Customer Is In The Wrong

The Reason Why Direct Internet Marketers Have To Work So... Read More

Improving Customer Service

Improving customer service starts at the top - with us... Read More

How CRM Software Works -- Creating Customer Satisfaction with a Click

When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is,... Read More

Over Deliver - The Key to Customer Satisfaction

Client satisfaction starts with meeting or beating the contractual obligations... Read More

The Death of the Loyal Customer

One of my classes in management focused on the repeat... Read More

Are You A Coward? I Was

Over the last month, I have come to hate emails... Read More

Who Says the Customer is Always Right?

We all know the old adage, "The Customer is Always... Read More

A New Way To Handle Complaints, Or Is It?

What a lot of money we have been wasting on... Read More

Make Your Customer Your Friend

The simplest way to describe a 'durian' (pronounced doo-ree-ann) is... Read More

Automating Your Help Desk Workflow

Do you know you can open, answer, close and report... Read More