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Fire your worst clients
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June 14, 2000: 8:14 a.m. ET
Reassess the worth to your business of your most high-maintenance clients
By Jane Applegate
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If your desk looks like a pharmacy, you have some serious people problems and it may be time to fire your worst customers and clients.
My motto is "never work with anyone who gives you a headache or a stomach ache."
First, make a list of the high-maintenance folks you deal with. Next, determine how much business they actually generate. When you see it in black and white, you'll be able to judge whether they are worth keeping in your life.
 If you decide to let them go, write a letter or make a call explaining that you are having a tough time keeping them happy and it would be better for both of you to part company. Sometimes, being honest will prompt a frank discussion and problems may be resolved.
If there's no interest in improving the relationship, you haven't lost anything but gained an opportunity to serve new, lower-maintenance customers.
(Jane Applegate, a syndicated columnist and author of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, covers small business for CNNfn.) 
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