Cutting Business Relationships

Sometimes it takes a series of events to improve the relationship you have with yourself and others. Months ago I had spoken about how compromising can be damaging to relationships. The two prime examples I used were my sanity in New England and Julius’ safety from an aggressive bunny. When I realized I was compromising against the truth of the matter, both our lives improved immediately: I decided to cut ties with negative relationships, and Julius stopped getting beaten up. I also began my quest on “Making Eggs” to see how I really liked them. The jury is still out on which way I prefer, but then again there are many ways of preparing eggs I have not tried.

What would it take for you to cut a business relationship? When it comes to healthy business relationships, I find that being respectful is the key. In my experience, the actions of business clients who are condescending or flat out refuse to acknowledge what other partners offer makes an unforgivable compromise. Recently I had that experience when I was told what I advised was nonsense to the business owner. It was not until the other employees made inquiries on the very same points that the tune was changed. An example was when a blog post I had written was rejected because it was “too late” to use to sell to customers. Since I had cross-posted my article to my own site, and then posted its link to a fiber industry group on Facebook, the well-received attention was so much that it finally was released on the blog. It is actions such as these that many in my field of marketing need to be wary of in business relationships. When a person contracts you for your marketing savvy, rejects them as rubbish, refuses to pay you, then uses them while telling folks those ideas are theirs, you better start looking elsewhere. It is one matter when a client refuses your advice and refuses to pay you. It is completely different when they start using your ideas that they rejected, present them as their own, and will not acknowledge that you were the one behind them in the first place.

Sometimes getting around that compromised position takes time. You find that you are resentful and find yourself championing other companies in competition with your former client. Such actions and feelings are normal and understandable. Blunt honesty hurts like the dickens but helps in the end when you can overcome them. Now I proceed with caution before accepting work from clients. =:8