This past twelve months has been one of wonderful highs and an equal number of out of control lows. The highs have all been centered around the success of my clients. It's great when I get a call saying how the last thing I did worked as expected. The calls typically start with "Thanks!" followed by "Can you do something to accomplish _______?" That almost always means more business, and that makes me happy.

I won't go into the lows, except to say I thought it ended when my dog, my faithful companion, died two weeks ago. Fortunately that was the only death, among the lows. Although there were a couple of near misses. But last Friday, I got an email from a client, informing me that they could no longer continue our retainer relationship. I knew it was coming, I just didn't know when and there was nothing I could do about it.

You see, for some clients, I provide advice on business ventures and marketing programs that I am not involved in managing or creating. This particular client called last year with a too-good-to-be-true program. We discussed the pros and cons as well as how the deal could be constructed in a way that would minimize losses and give the program a fighting chance for success. The client said, "Thanks." And then did it another way. Unfortunately that program was a resource sucking hog based on a flawed premise. The promoter did not have the experience needed to make it successful. So, my client invested tons of cash and did all the work for the promise of instant payback. The promoter wasn't a con man, he had a good idea. But he didn't have a clue. My client saw the potential, he just underestimated the work involved and over estimated the ability of the promoter.

I look forward to a continuing relationship with that client, on a project by project basis. I'm sure they will survive the ordeal, because the deal is now structured properly. They just have to wait for the program to mature. In the mean time, I need a couple good clients to fill in the gap. Do you know any?

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