Larry Weidel argues you should choose clients like you choose a partner: aim for three-year relationships with people you actually enjoy, not one-off sales. He says being financially stable enough to turn down bad fits lets you build work that feels like serving, not selling.
It's just like a marriage, right? You're picking the right partner if you know that you're going to spend three years with a client. I want to work with someone that we can, you know, build a great relationship together, that we want to work with each other. I don't want to be stuck with someone who doesn't like me for three years because that's not going to serve them or me. And I'm grateful enough where I'm in a financial position where I don't have to make a sale, and that's the big thing. This is the wrong industry to be in. If you have to make a sell, go work somewhere else, build up your income and portfolio, and then come to this industry. Because I feel like I'm a servant to my clients. I am helping them achieve goals. I'm not creating an income. While that's a byproduct of it, that's not my purpose. My purpose is to help my clients achieve their goals, and I don't have to have a sell in order to keep my lights on.