🎯 Work Smart Wednesday - March 26, 2025
You should leave money on the table, 13 red flags in your leads, and a quote on fanaticism
Work Smart Wednesday
👋 Hey there!
Here is your fortnightly dose of Work Smart Wednesday.
In these emails I will share with you 3 things to help you work smarter.
1. 💸 You should leave money on the table
People often preach that you should “never leave money on the table”, that you should grab every penny. I fundamentally disagree.
You absolutely should leave money on the table. You want money left on the table.
If you’re *not* leaving money on the table then there is something very wrong with your business.
Let’s explore why.
Let’s start with a thought experiment: If I earn $200 per hour, should I spend 5 hours of my time chasing an additional $10 sale?
No. Obviously not. We can all see that. We agree that it would be smart to leave that money on the table.
But sometimes chasing that small sale is exactly what we do.
There are caveats here, for example if that $10 sale is likely to lead to a “customer lifetime value” exceeding $1,000 (5 hours x $200 per hour). You often don’t know for sure whether it will be worth it, but you can make an educated guess. The business gods reward you most for educated guesses that turn out to be right.
Some people know the famous Bill Gates problem of whether he should pick $100 off the floor (his answer is yes, he would), but few people think as in-depth about whether they should take a similar action. Should they put in the effort for a seemingly large or easy reward that may actually be “chump change” for them?
We act by default and/or we treat all leads the same. It is counterintuitive - especially when you feel overwhelmed or busy already - but taking the time to pause and reflect whether the action you’re taking is worthwhile will save you a lot of time and effort. By stopping and spending time, you save time. Weird, but true.
The relationship between effort expended and earnings is typically not linear. Effort (such as time, resources, and energy put into business activities) vs earnings often follows an S curve (example below).
I’ve written about firing bad clients, how bad clients are worse than no clients, and wantrepreneurs vs entrepreneurs. I strongly believe that the best entrepreneurs purposefully leave money on the table. It is more profitable to leave money on the table.
Sometimes it is better to refuse the work, it makes space for higher leverage or more lucrative work. Back yourself. Leave bad money on the table.
The sweet spot is around 60-80% of your possible effort. You make the most, you can be proud of your effort, but you don’t burn out.
Note that the graph isn’t a smooth line. The rewards you get and/or the amount of effort you can put in will vary daily. That is completely normal.
What that graph doesn’t include is the extra effort can actually produce NEGATIVE returns. The quality of your decision making skills drops massively when you’re tired.
Ever spent loads of time working on something when you’re tired only to wake up the next day and realise what you did when you were tired sucked and you need to do it again?
Ultimately, if you work too hard you will burnout.
Work smart instead.
Kaidi (60 second video) from session 24th February 2025: don’t bother selling to all leads right now (situational advice).
2. 🚩 13 Red flags in your leads
I have worked with professional-services businesses like coaches, agencies, photographers, freelancers, and accountants for a long time now. Bad clients exist in every industry, but they always share the same problem patterns.
Some clients are a dream to work with. Others… not so much.
Here are 13 red flags that should make you think twice before signing a client:
🚩 Misses payment deadlines – If they delay payment before you even start, expect more excuses later.
🚩 Vague about what they need – If they can't clearly articulate their goals, you’ll end up figuring it out for them (unpaid).
🚩 Micromanages everything – If they don’t trust your expertise, they’ll question every decision you make.
🚩 Asks for a discount – Quality clients value your expertise. Bargain hunters will always expect more for less.
🚩 Sends emails at all hours – If they message you at 10 PM on a Sunday, expect them to demand immediate replies.
🚩 "This will be a quick job" – Translation: They have no idea what’s involved and will likely scope creep.
🚩 Doesn’t respect boundaries – Pushes for calls outside work hours, expects unlimited revisions, or ignores agreed-upon timelines.
🚩 Badmouths previous service providers – If they say “The last coach/consultant/freelancer was awful”, there’s a good chance they were the problem.
🚩 Doesn’t sign a contract – If they’re hesitant to agree to terms, they’re a risk to your business. No client is that special.
🚩 Over-promises future work – “We’ll have tons of work for you!” but won’t commit to paying for this project. We live in our current reality, not their future fantasy.
🚩 Compares you to cheaper alternatives – "I found someone on Fiverr for $50" - go hire them then.
🚩 Disorganised decision-making – Too many stakeholders, conflicting feedback, or unclear approval processes. You don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
🚩 No respect for your time – Constant rescheduling, late to meetings, or expects instant replies. We work WITH you, not FOR you.
As a general rule if you see any of these flags then be wary, but if you see more than 2 of these red flags you should think twice before working with the client.
What’s your biggest client red flag? Reply to this email or let me know in the Substack comments 👇
P.s. found this one useful? You will likely enjoy my post on “Am I a bad client” and/or my post on “red flags when hiring freelancers” (to see what people should watch out for in you).
3. 💡 Quote I'm pondering
"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.” - George Santayana
People who preach hard work are often fanatics. “Hustle Porn” is real.
Keep your focus on your goal. Direction is more important than speed.
Yes, we could always work more - but at what cost?
There is always a cost. Sometimes it is worth paying, sometimes it isn’t.
Knowing this cost is the difference between being rich vs being both rich and happy.
👋 Want to work together?
When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:
🧩 Your Work Smart Scorecard - what is holding you back? - Fill in this quick quiz to easily see what your productivity problem is. Clearly identify what you need to focus on to improve your life and business.
🔍 Clarity Call - We will discuss your situation and create a step-by-step action plan together so you know exactly what you need to do next for maximum impact.
That's it! I can't wait to hear what you think. What did you find most useful? What do you want more or less of? Reply to this email now and let me know
Also, if you have anything interesting to share, I want to know about it😊
Have a great week,
John
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