Have you ever wondered whether some of your clients are actually more trouble than they're worth? Both Jane and Sue had been given a generous redundancy package - and after lots of discussions late into the night, they'd decided to set up their own coaching and training business. The pair soon had many happy clients...but their problems were only just beginning! Learn from their mistakes...

At first, eager to build up their business, Sue and Jane had offered their clients special rates - in the hope that they would be able to put up their fees at a later date. But like many people before them, they were soon to realise that it's harder to put up fees than to discount them - and as a result Sue and Jane were working increasingly long hours for little return.

Neither woman had stopped to think about the efficiency of their business but matters came to a head when Sue's husband issued an ultimatum. "It's either me or your business," he told Sue. "I'm sick of spending so much time on my own - and frankly, it's not even as though your business is successful!"

Initially Sue had been hurt by her husband's comments but as she calmed down, she saw that he had a point. Looking for help with their business focus, they'd booked a session with me.

At first, Jane was adamant that the company was thriving, "We must be," she said, "we have a full diary - and we've even got prospective clients who are desperate for us to squeeze them in."

Jane also believed that the amount of repeat business their business had generated was proof of the organisation's success. Sue though was now beginning to have doubts.

"It's true to say that we provide an excellent service," she admitted, "however I'm not sure that I would put all of our clients in the same 'excellent' category."

She'd put her finger on the problem. I asked her to continue. "Well, if you think about it, we got many of our clients in the first place because we were prepared to undercut our fees. While this policy did gain us some clients in the early days, when I look back on it, those who pay the least expect the most!"

Jane accepted this truth gracefully - and the pair welcomed my suggestion that we categorise all the company's customers according to whether they were "good" or "poor" clients. Jane began to laugh as she put a couple of their most troublesome clients into the "poor" category, saying, "To be honest, I'd be happy not to work for some of these people ever again!"

"But how are we going to tell them, without offending anyone?" Sue asked. "After all, it wouldn't be very good for our reputation if people get to hear that we're in the habit of firing clients!"

It was a valid point. "How about being honest with them?" I suggested. "Tell your 'poor' clients that you can now no longer afford to continue working with them. You could suggest that they source another cheap supplier - however, if they want to continue using your services then they will have to pay the proper rate."

Sue looked a bit daunted by the thought of the conversations that lay ahead. "What do you have to lose?" I asked. "Think about it, if the 'poor' clients take your news badly then are they really the kind of people with whom you want to do business? After all, negative and difficult people can really sap your energy. And I think you may be surprised - and you'll find that most of your 'poor' clients will readily accept your new prices if it means they can retain your services."

As we continued our session, Sue and Jane worked on creating a plan for creating future win:win deals. I also suggested that the pair should agree on an optimum number of 'good' clients for their business.

"This way, you'll learn to say 'no' - and to charge a professional fee. And by only taking on a certain number of clients at a time, you'll also be able to ensure that you finish on time - and can spend time more with your husbands!"

1 While sometimes in the early days of setting up a business you have to offer heavily discounted rates, it can often prove to be a false economy. When you're working flat out for little money, there's no room in your appointments book for better paying customers.

2 Clients who don't pay a fair fee for your services are poor clients. They drain you of energy and steal your most precious commodity - time.

3 In order to preserve your integrity, talk to your clients first before considering whether or not to fire them. Offer to help them source a cheaper alternative, or if they wish to retain your services, negotiate with them to find a rate which you both feel is fair.

4 Decide on how many proper-fee paying clients you want in order to achieve your goals ' and then stick to it! Taking on more contracts may bring in more cash in the short term but it's likely to lead to your life becoming imbalanced ' which will have negative consequences in the future.

5 Always make sure your deals are set up on a win:win basis!