What to Do With Shady Clients (How to fire them with tact)

We’ve all had shady clients. The question is what you should do when encounter one? For Ben, he gets rid of them as quickly as possible.

[1:15] There isn’t an easy solution if a shady client makes up a good portion of your business’s revenue, but working with an unscrupulous person can put your business in jeopardy.

[1:45] The first signs of a shady client will come up when you’re marketing. When you connect with a potential client, you should try and get a sense of how they feel about taxes.

[2:10] Everybody should avoid taxes as much as possible, but there’s a big difference between avoidance and evasion. If the person insinuates an interest in evading taxes, walk away.

[3:10] If your potential client is hiding something, that means they are lying, and if they are lying to the IRS, do you think they are going to have a problem lying to you?

[3:30] When you’re consulting with these clients, look for things that are off. But if they are already a client and things start to feel wrong, there are some steps you can take.

[4:00] If you start to see warning signs, the first thing to do is to document it and bring it to their attention. First, assume they don’t know and get them on the phone. It may be an innocent mistake, but if it’s not, you’re going to want to call out your client immediately.

[6:15] Ben’s general rule of thumb is one mistake can slide, but if they make a second “mistake”, that’s a pattern and that’s the end of the relationship. Even if the shady things seem small, if you’re seeing them more than once, you should end your relationship with that client.

[7:00] It’s okay to get rid of shady clients. You don’t need to serve them. Most people are fine, but for people that want to pull something over, it’s okay to turn them down. Handle them with care when severing the relationship, and consult an attorney if you need to.

[8:20] You want to work with quality clients that respect you, that respect the laws, and obey everything that they are supposed to.