# Which clients should I stop serving?

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/answers/which-clients-should-i-stop-serving · By Ivanka Menken, Strategic Mentor · Updated 21 October 2026

Ivanka Menken ranks clients by margin rather than revenue, beside what each one costs in time, attention and late payment. The clients at the bottom of both lists are the first candidates to reprice or release. Letting the wrong clients go is often what makes room for the work the business can afford.

## Why do founders keep clients they should let go?

Because the revenue is visible and the cost is not. Long-standing clients often sit on old prices, ask for the most and pay the slowest, and founders keep them out of loyalty or fear of an empty month. The busyness feels like success while the margin quietly thins.

## How do you rank your clients?

- List every client with the revenue and gross margin they bring.
- Beside each, note what they cost: time, scope creep, late payment, the founder's own attention.
- Sort by margin, not revenue.
- Mark the clients at the bottom of both lists.

## Do you have to let them all go?

No. Some clients at the bottom are there because of an old price, and the right step is a new price on the next piece of work. Others are there because the fit is wrong, and no price would fix it. The ranking tells you which conversation to have.

## Why is subtraction a growth decision?

In Ivanka's work, scaling is often subtraction. Every client kept at a loss takes time, people and cash that could serve a better one. Stopping is how founders make room, and a stop list is often a clearer plan than another growth target.

## How do you know it worked?

Watch gross margin and weeks of payroll covered by cash on the monthly scorecard over the following quarter. Revenue may dip; if margin and cash rise, the business is healthier.

## How does Ivanka work on this?

One client decision fits a 90-minute Scaling-Is-Subtraction Intensive, and the margin-first test is how the ranking is done.

- Scaling-Is-Subtraction Clarity Intensive: https://ivankamenken.com/what-to-stop-scaling-decision
- The margin-first scaling test: https://ivankamenken.com/margin-first-scaling-test
- Scaling-Is-Subtraction Workshop for teams: https://ivankamenken.com/scaling-is-subtraction-workshop
- The five-number scorecard, free: https://ivankamenken.com/scorecard

## What else do founders ask about this?

### How do I tell a client we are no longer the right fit?

Ivanka Menken suggests deciding first and talking second, so the conversation is calm rather than defensive. Say plainly that the business is changing what it focuses on, give a sensible notice period, and where you can, point the client to someone better suited. Many founders find the conversation easier than the months of putting it off.

### Should I raise the price instead of letting a client go?

Often, yes, as the first step. Ivanka Menken separates clients who are unprofitable because of an old price from clients who are a poor fit at any price. The first group gets a new price on new work; the second group is where a release makes sense.

### What if the client I should drop is my biggest?

Then it is a decision worth making carefully rather than avoiding. Ivanka Menken would look at the margin on that client, how much of the team it absorbs and what concentration risk it creates. Sometimes the answer is to reprice, sometimes to reduce dependence over a set period, and occasionally to let go.

### Is this financial advice?

No. Ivanka Menken is a strategic mentor, not an accountant or financial adviser. She reads the numbers with you, asks the questions and holds you to the decision you make. Your accountant does the accounts and advises on tax and financial matters.

## Related answers

- How do I raise my prices without losing clients?: https://ivankamenken.com/answers/how-to-raise-prices-without-losing-clients
- How do I free up cash tied up in stock?: https://ivankamenken.com/answers/how-to-free-up-cash-tied-up-in-stock
- How do I make a hard business decision I keep putting off?: https://ivankamenken.com/answers/how-to-make-a-hard-business-decision

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