264: 🦧 What to Do When You Lose Your Biggest Client (Part One)
Feb 2, 2024
The podcast discusses the impact of losing a major client on income and the personal experiences of entrepreneurs. It explores the importance of diversifying income sources, seeking support during financial calamity, and taking action to handle the immediate crisis of losing a big client.
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Loss Sparked Honest Writing
Jenny Blake lost her largest corporate licensing client in summer 2023 and used writing to process the shock.
That event became the origin story for her paid Substack and inspired candid content about business setbacks.
insights INSIGHT
Silence Hides Useful Lessons
Entrepreneurs hide failures to protect reputation, but silence erases useful lessons and empathy.
Sharing setbacks creates real resources for others facing similar business shocks.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From Gorilla Client To New Niche
Kelli Thompson lost a major 'gorilla' corporate client during COVID and 80–90% of revenue disappeared quickly.
She pivoted by niching to women's leadership, diversified offerings, and later the client rehired her at double rates.
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What do you do when you lose your biggest client? That was my Spotify search query for podcast episodes on this topic in the summer of 2023. It came up empty—there was not a single podcast episode on this topic. Of course not. Who wants to admit out loud and in their archives that they've lost their biggest client? In the past, I probably wouldn't have fessed up to this either. Except for the fact that now it's what I wish I could see, read, and hear. Today’s compilation episode is here to fix that!
If you've been reading Rolling in D🤦🏻♀️h, you know that the origin story for my new-ish paid Substack was losing my biggest, most beloved corporate client in the summer of 2023. Getting The News shook me up so much because not only was it one of my longest-running favorite licensing clients, but it also represented at least six figures of income for the next six months being instantly wiped off the table.
Now, at least, we will all have something to turn to (and return to). My goal is not to provide advice but rather to offer some comfort through the voices of some of my dearest friends and favorite Heart-Based Business owners who are speaking from experience about how they've handled situations just like this.
Maybe you don't need this episode right now, but if something does happen in the future (even if we hope not), you'll remember that you can come back and listen on a proverbial rainy day.
Please share with any fellow business owner friends who might be going through a tough time, and enormous thanks to the wonderful group of friends and former podcast guests who shared their stories for this two-part episode!
📝 Contributors & Permission Slips:
Kelli Thompson, author of Closing the Confidence Gap: “Diversify your business income and give yourself permission that you can do a lot of things that align with your mission, but offer it in many different ways that feel good for you.”
Kristoffer ‘KC’ Carter, author of Permission to Glow: “Drop the self-judgment, give yourself more self-compassion, and just get back to work with creating the next even better client.”
Pamela Slim, author of The Widest Net: “Give up the idea that you are in control of the success of your business. When you release that idea, then you can be more curious about how to step in and fix things that aren't working.”
Charlie Gilkey, author of Team Habits: “Do not take the client loss personally. Stand tall, take care of yourself, and go get your next client.”
Free Time with Jenny Blake