Clients are essential to your business, obviously, but they can also be the source of some of your biggest challenges.
These are 12 hard truths I’ve learned about what makes a healthy, sustainable client relationship, after years in business.
Clients aren’t your friends
Friendliness helps, but don’t confuse it with friendship. Professional boundaries keep things clear, healthy, and respectful on both sides. You can be friends with clients, but when it comes to work, do not let the boundaries blur.
If they don’t pay you, they’re friends, not clients
A true client relationship involves value exchange. If there’s no payment, it’s a favour—and that changes the dynamic entirely. Nothing wrong with that, but be aware of it.
Never depend too much on one client
No matter how big or reliable they seem, over-reliance on any one single client makes your business vulnerable. Diversify and spread to protect yourself.
Never let a client own you
Your time, your business, your decisions—those are yours. Be flexible, but not submissive. You’re a partner, not property.
You’re in business for yourself, to serve your clients, yes, but for yourself.
Running a service business means being in service, not servitude. Define your working terms clearly, and don’t compromise on what matters. You set the terms, you set the times, you set the ground rules.
There are lines in the sand. Find what these are for you and don’t cross them for anyone
Know your non-negotiables—whether it’s scope, hours, communication style, or respect. Once crossed, those lines are hard to redraw.
Mutual respect is important
Good clients respect your time, expertise, and boundaries. If that respect isn’t mutual, it’s time to reconsider the relationship. For example, I once fired a client, TWICE.
Belief in the client and their service or product is paramount
If you don’t believe in what they’re selling, your work will lack conviction. Truly authentic advocacy starts with real belief.
Your clients are your ambassadors
Happy clients talk. They refer new work to you, endorse you, give you more work to do, and grow your reputation. Treat them well and they’ll do your marketing for you.
Learn to split your focus
You’ll always juggle multiple clients, priorities, and demands. Learning to balance them all is key to keeping everyone satisfied—including yourself.
Believe your staff before your clients
Your team is your first loyalty. If there’s ever a dispute, listen to your staff’s, your colleagues’ side first—they’re your eyes and ears on the front line. Never sell your colleagues down the river over what a client said; listen to them first, and then decide. You’ll probably find that your team member is right.
The client is the enemy
This is something I heard said from a colleague of my wife’s and it stuck with me, probably because it’s pithy and catchy and easy to remember.
This aphorism comes from the fact that often the client thinks they’re doing themselves a favour by not telling you the whole story, or involving you early on in the process, or by trying to do it themselves, and then ending up in a twist.
A softer way to say this would be, “The client is their own worst enemy.”
In fact, it would probably be best phrased as my colleague Diane says it, “The client is a baby”, in that they’re doing your head in with their loud crying and they themselves don’t even know what they need, but you as the good parent know and understand, and it’s your job to hush, and calm down, and administer the bottle and help them quiet down.
