Kissing the Toads Goodbye

I’m like most other virtual assistants these days, we will put up with a lot sometimes.  I know I’m good at what I do, I learn quickly, I provide excellent service, and because I’ve worked in so many industries, it’s hard to throw me into something I haven’t at least worked on the outskirts of.  So it was interesting with a client that I had previously worked for one of his competitors in a very niche market.

So right off the bat, I knew it was somewhat of a flaky industry, but one that does serve a viable and useful purpose.  We agreed to terms, and everything was fine until he decided he wanted to change my terms of service.  I won’t bore with the details, but I really did try to accommodate him.  We parted ways, and then he approached me later – anyway we went back and forth and he canceled the payment he said he had sent, and wanted a different plan.  The thing is you can’t make money if you work for free or nearly free.  I would actually love an assistant to help me personally, if I didn’t have to pay him or her.  As far as I know, outside of my own mother helping me for free – no one else is willing to.  Most certainly I am not willing to work for free, or where keeping track of something would take more time than the actual work.

So over time, I think one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn about my business is that it’s ok to say “no” to some business.  The hard part is doing it gracefully and professionally.  It’s ok to be clear that you don’t want to do business on any level, but not ok to say “lose my email”.

I handled it professionally and firmly, while in my head screaming “NEXT!!”