Your cheapest clients ask for the most. If your calendar is full and your bank account isn't, you've probably got a roster full of bargain shoppers, and today we do something about it.

I get into why the client paying you $100 emails you five times a week while the client paying you $1,000 just says "check sent, thanks." Then we get practical. What belongs in your contract, how to bill out-of-scope work, why you cap revisions, and why you and the client pick one communication channel and stay on it. Plus the professional way to sunset a client instead of firing them by email.

In the Idea Slam mailbag, an SBOC member asked something I hear all the time. "I keep feeling like I need to do more, but then I wonder, like, what?" We diagnose the one big problem, set the North Star, and put the blinders on until it's fixed.

Two AI stories today. Google Gemini will build you an interactive calculator instead of a wall of numbers, and my wife caught me talking like a chatbot this morning. There's a robot emoji involved.

In this episode:

00:00 - Good morning and today's sponsors

00:44 - The bargain shopper trap

01:04 - Why lower priced clients ask for more

03:36 - Set the boundary in the contract

04:19 - Out-of-scope work and your hourly rate

05:52 - Cap the revisions at two

06:39 - Pick one communication channel

08:20 - Sunset a client, don't fire them

12:01 - Athena Legal Solutions and the legal confidence review

13:47 - Idea Slam mailbag: I feel like I should be doing more, but what?

15:33 - Diagnose the one big problem first

18:01 - Blinders on until it's fixed

18:51 - AI story: Gemini builds you a working model

21:55 - AI story: when you start sounding like AI

24:44 - Minuteman Press of Brookfield

26:40 - SBOC26 is 21 days out, and Thursday's Idea Slam

28:30 - Tomorrow: the catch 22, plus Jamar Jones

Resources mentioned:

Athena Legal Solutions: https://athenalegalsolutionsllc.com

Minuteman Press of Brookfield, 20% off print orders through November 13 when you mention Businessing or SBOC: https://minutemanbrookfield.com

Google Gemini: https://gemini.google.com

SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17 in Brookfield: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/26conference

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

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