How To Phase Out Clients And Services You No Longer Want To Do

Recently this has been coming up on my Monetize Movement group calls, multiple times actually, of, like, removing services from the menu, uh, and maybe even clients as well too. I actually had, uh, somebody recently where they've, uh, in Mastermind, who is very successful, has plenty of clients, is overbooked, you know. Like, they can't get their returning clients back in, and we're working on that. But they were talking about how, like, they have these certain clients that they actually really don't enjoy doing either, and, uh, we kind of have to, you know, face that and approach it.

And I think what's great is at a certain point, you get to, uh, a spot where you have the foundation and privilege to be able to get rid of those things that don't bring you joy, whether that be the services or the clients, without having to be fearful of risking revenue, um, or stability in the business. On the flip side of that, it actually also can become a thing where after you truly understand your numbers and your KPIs and, like, what it, w- the potential that there is in your business, um, or even what you... even the opportunity cost, uh, of you doing certain services, and even clients as well, it becomes essential actually for you to remove certain services or adjust services in order for you to actually grow beyond where you are right now. Right.

And even just to regulate your revenue a little bit more too, to make it a little bit more predictable. Um, the more services that you have and the more unbalanced they may be in your profit per hour, the more complication you add and the more unpredictability you add to your revenue and the growth of your business. Mm-hmm. The more tight it is, the more things just become very clean and clear, and probably more profitable as well too.

And so in today's episode, we'll be talking just generally about removing services and clients, um, and I'll t- I'll give you guys a little bit of, like, the how to do so as well too. Um, so yeah, I'm excited to talk about it. We don't have an outline. We're just, like, popping off with this one, 'cause I feel like...

I mean, I can go in a million different directions, and I know how to talk about this. So what's up, Jodi Brown? How are you doing today? I'm good.

I'm excited to talk about this. I think this is something that a lot of... Actually, my hairdresser, the other day, she is so busy, and she is so booked, like, like months and months and months ahead. And, um, I remember talking to her, I think it was my last appointment or the one before, about how she is, like, done with doing haircut only, but she is so...

And she coulda dropped this years ago. Like, she has been busy for a very long time. Um, and she is just, like, really nervous and worried about- Mm ... like, disappointing her clients, 'cause obviously- Yeah ...

that means that a lot of her clients she'll no longer be able to see anymore. So I think this is very top of mind for a lot of stylists, particularly when they get to a certain level in their business. Yeah. Uh, there are so many places that I could start with this conversation and so many ways that we could go down.

I, I think that's a good start, though, is I think that the... One of the biggest things that comes up is the, um, is the emotions around it. Right. Because it's like as much of a, uh, as much of a business decision that it may be- Mm-hmm ...

it still means that you may sever relationships with clients- Right ... because they are coming to see you for those services. Mm-hmm. And, you know, very real feeling.

I've been through that, very much so. Um, and this is why we very much have to practice remembering that, like, your business is your business, and your personal life is your personal life, and those are very two separate things. And at the end of the day, those clients are coming to you because there's a transaction being made. It's...

They're handing you money, and you are doing them a, a service, right? Right. And I think, you know, you can absolutely still build relationships that are authentic with your clients, uh, through your business. But, uh, it's just so important as you move forward, right?

I mean, I don't think... Uh, especially... For those of you who have been in the industry for a long time, like, you know, I think for me it's been, like, 13 years at this point. Um, uh, uh, be- years ago, you know, when we started, we just thought, you know, this was a big, happy family, and, like, our clients are our best friends, and all of that stuff.

And there wasn't much talk or feeling of bo- wanting to create boundaries between you and your clients, right? Um, I think that for those of people who you've stuck with for a long time who you never really thought of that in that way, I think it's s- very, very deeply emotional, you know? But for now, right, now that you know and now that you've faced the fear of this stuff, like, now moving forward, I very much encourage you to keep that in mind, to try to have stronger boundaries in place, because it can be very healthy for you in the, in the future when you have to make these difficult decisions. In the meantime, girl, you can go out to dinner with them.

I've been loving saying that for the past year. You can... Like, if you love this person so much, go out to dinner with them, you know? Like, uh, just be- like, why is the only place where you guys...

If you guys are truly that close and you have this deep relationship, right, like, why can that only exist within this transaction, right? Why is that only existing within this appointment time, and why is that the only place it exists, right? Or, or it can exist. Like, why is this such a grief-ful thing- Mm-hmm ...

when if you, y- you absolutely have the option to have a relationship with this person outside of work, whether they can afford to see you an- anymore or not, or whether you are forcing them to not see you anymore or not. And I think that's a, I think it's... That is a big question I would ask yourself when you're going through this type of transition. Um, and there's a lot of other things I could say about this particular topic, but I'm gonna pause for you, Jodi.

Right. I was just thinking about this. My mother just broke up with all of her clients, because she just retired after 50 years. Wow.

Yep. Wow. Which is- That's crazy ... crazy, right?

Like, she started working at a salon when she was 11 years old as a shampoo girl. Wow. Um, just retired, and it's funny, because, like, out of her whole clientele, she literally does actually keep in touch with a couple people now. Like, she has hung out with them.

So you're right. It absolutely is an option. Like, if you have those relationships, you can fully maintain those even when you transition away from doing their hair. Yeah.

And, you know, I, I, I, I... It completely... It's, like, so valid, you know? It's such a valid- ...

emotional experience, you know? Uh, these people tell us the deepest, craziest shit, and we end up sometimes sharing that back with them, you know? Where- Mm ... we're not having these same ty- types of conversations outside of that space.

Maybe because it's a transaction- Right ... it feels less risky, and it feels like you can be a little bit more vulnerable. Right. So I understand it, but at the end of the day, you can't allow that to hold you back from something that's going to benefit you in the grand scheme outside of your business.

Your business is not here to entertain you. Right. It's here to grant you wealth- Yeah ... and to be able to live a sustainable life with you and your family, and you're holding yourself back from a lot of potential from the fear of severing those types of relationships.

Yeah. And I wonder, too, if sometimes it's like, is it the fear of losing the relationship, or is it the fear of disappointing someone? And I think as women, as hairstylists in general, like, we are socialized to be people-pleasers. Like, and to an extent, you know, that is part of the industry.

It's a service industry, and so sometimes I wonder if it's like, is it, like, "Okay, I'm worried that th- I won't see this person anymore," or is it worried, like, "I'm w- scared this person will have negative feelings about me"? Oh, yeah. Uh, uh, somebody s- I- somebody said this one time. I forget where it was.

Maybe it was on Clubhouse way back in the day or something like that. Uh, but it stuck with me, which is like, "You gotta stop thinking that you're the only person who can take care of them." Yeah. You know?

Like, you really have to stop thinking that you are the only person that exists on this planet who's gonna be able to do a great job on their hair and- Yeah ... and create a great relationship with them and that they can trust 'cause it's just... Maybe there's a certain truth to that, right? Mm-hmm.

For whatever nuances exists in your certain situation, maybe it may be difficult to find somebody else. Right. But it, in reality, there is another hairstylist- There will, yeah ... within an hour radius who will take very good care of this person.

Yeah. And you can also decide to be a part of that transition, you know? Like, you can absolutely, like, make sure that you're doing your due diligence to make sure the transition to whoever they go to is a good transition and that you are a part of it and that you hand off the formula and the way that you do things and the way that they like it and all that stuff. You can make that transition great, and I've been through that many a times, you know?

I, I, and I've handheld people through, especially the clients that I really love and I really took care of and, like, that really trusted me a lot. I have been, like, the hand holder through transitioning them to another stylist because that's how I show I care. Yeah. And, you know, I've shown that I've given a fuck, like, with the way that I've shown up and I've served them up until this point, and I, and I'm gonna show them that I care and I'm gonna take care of them in this transition- Yeah ...

because it's just essential for me, and it's essential for both of us. Because at a certain point, it's like, what's gonna give, you know? I mean, at a certain point, you can't take care of this person if you're not taking care of yourself and your business. Yeah.

It just is what it is. And what's the alternative, right? Is it resentment? Is it just, like- Right ...

continuing to do this thing forever? Like, it's just not, just not sustainable. So okay. Outside of the mindset piece, like, what is the logistical, "Okay, I know that I need to make this decision.

Like, I've kinda talked myself through it." Like, how do you recommend people actually do the phase-out? Me and Jody, J- I... You guys, I don't understand how Jody handles my bullshit, dude.

I really don't. Me and Jody kinda planned on this episode being, like, a how-to, and now I'm wanting to talk about, like, the before the how-to a little bit. 'Cause another thing, and I think, like, in the, one of my recent conversations was, like, the... Like, they were asking, like, "Should I do this or not?"

Mm-hmm. And I think that the other thing was, like, the f- like, there's f- it's not just the fear of the emotional, uh, relationships and stuff like that. It was also the fear of, like, well, what happens if, you know, I need this diverse service to be able to fill in my gaps or something like that? Right.

Right. Um, and I've been thinking about this topic a lot recently, which is, is like, a lot of people will stop making decisions out of fear of something happening in the future- Right ... instead of, like, the data that's on paper right now that is indicating that you can do this, right? And I think that the holding yourself back from doing something that you know is right for you right now in fear of something that might or might not happen is not very smart because you may be m- in the year later- Mm-hmm ...

and that did not come true, and that moment has passed where you could have taken advantage of that opportunity, and now you've lost that, you know? Right. And you can always add it back, is like- Right ... I think that the other thing, too, like, we forget that it's like, oh, you get to, like, actually lower your prices in the future if your price increase completely fucked you up.

Right. You get to add the service back in and start taking it again, you know? Like, you can change things in the future. Like, not every- Right ...

decision that you make in the business is permanent, and I would argue that most of them aren't, you know? Right. Um, and so especially with this one, you can always just start taking those services again, and it's no big deal in my opinion. I mean, so if right now, if the data is showing you that it's okay, if you feel like it's i- deep down, it's, like, the right decision- Mm-hmm ...

it probably is, and you will probably be fine, and I don't want you to take your fear of what might happen in the future and let that stop you from just making the decision for what is right for right now. And I can tell you, so many times I have, even myself as the facilitator, as the coach, like, I have walked people through very, very large increases, like, large price increases, okay? And at the time, I remember even myself, I had this fear of, "Okay, well, what happens if the economy is, like, fucked up in a year," right? Mm-hmm.

Like, how is this gonna end up for this person? Thank God we did those price increases. Right. Like, I c- I think about one person particularly where I was like, honestly, like, they kind of were like I said to not go as high, and they went as high as they did, and I was really nervous for them.

And now they're making a stupid amount of money working a very small amount of days. And if you had delayed that decision out of fear for what might happen in the future, then you wouldn't... That might have never happened, you know? Right.

Right. So anyways, uh, sorry. I'm, I, I'm, I'm, I'm derailing our, our original plan. No, I think it's true though, because, like, I feel like that's kind of the tricky thing with changes like this, right?

Is it's almost like you have to, like, I think mentally, as someone... Like, I've actually done this in my business as a hairstylist before, and it... There is something that's very difficult about, like, okay, like, you can't take on more of the thing you want to do until you, like, make the room by removing this thing. But it's like the actual removing this thing does trigger all of these things, like you said.

Like, it's the, that feeling of scarcity. Like, "Okay, what if I stop-" Mm-hmm ... "booking this thing?" And it, it is kind of a lot to go through, I think- Oh, yeah ...

in terms of the logistical part of it, because you do have to almost take a little bit of a leap of faith at first. Totally. Absolutely, with anything. I, I've done- Yeah ...

I've done, I've done all the things in my business, I feel like- Absolutely ... even in a very short amount of time- ... um, behind the chair. Uh, I've removed services, I've fired clients, I did massive price increases.

Like, I've lived through all of that shit, and the reality is, and this is my answer for almost anything, is just, like, this is your, this is your brain doing its job, trying to make you feel safe. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so therefore...

And trying to keep you safe, and therefore it is going to give, give you every single little excuse- Mm-hmm ... to not do it. It's gonna- Yeah ... try to come up with every single angle and every single corner for why you should not do this, and you get to do it anyway.

Yeah. Right? Like, you get to thank that voice, appreciate that voice, but then you understand that you still get to take the actions regardless of whatever your voice trying to keep you safe is telling you. Okay.

Um, I totally think that that is, like, the biggest part of this, and now can I hit you with a little, a little more- Yes ... just... Okay. Yes.

So here's, here's what I think would be super, super, like, helpful as a listener is, like, what are some of those markers that this is the right choice? 'Cause I think we've alluded to that a lot in this episode so far. Like, when you know that it's safe to do so, like, you have the data, like, what is that data? What are we looking for when it comes to knowing, like, "Okay, yes, I'm ready."

No, I'm glad you prompted me for this, 'cause this is what I wanted to naturally talk about next. So l- uh, one of the biggest... So, like, what I would first ask yourself, okay, like, let's say that you're approaching this from, uh, maybe it sounds like you're a stylist, maybe possibly this is the situation. Um, let's say that, uh, this is the most common reason why somebody may wanna do this.

The most common reason is because it's like, "Oh, well, I have this haircut that's in the middle of my day where I could have a color- Mm-hmm ... and I could make more on the color," right? Right. What if you made the same amount of money per hour on the haircut that you made doing a color, right?

Like- Right ... if at the end of the day you still profited the same amount of money, no matter what service you were doing, would you still want to remove the service? And that would be the first question I would ask yourself, okay? Mm-hmm.

And again, a lot of people don't know how to do that, that math and understand those numbers, and once you do and you actually understand your profit per hour, you can then figure out, "Okay, well, in order for me to make the same amount of money on no matter what service I'm doing, what would my increase have to be on these specific services?" And then, so if that's the issue, it's really just a increase situation. It's like- Right ... it's like, okay, instead of having to go through removing the service, how do I just balance it out so I'm making the same amount of money?

Another option, another, like, mitigation option, I guess you would call it, or even just a smart thing to do, especially if you have high demand for this service, like, low-key, like, if you have high demand for this service, I, I'm kind of like take advantage of that. Right. If it doesn't make you miserable, so I'm getting there. Right.

I know that's a big reason also, right? But even if so, right, like, why not increase the fuck out of it? It's like- Right. instead of, instead of getting rid of it, it's like why not triple the price?

Right. You know? Like, if you have high demand for it, if you'd rather not do it, well, then at least when you're doing it, you better get paid for it. And if nobody books it because it's so expensive, you were gonna stop doing it anyway.

Right. I think that that's something, the m- probably the m- biggest thing that I would consider as an option- Mm-hmm ... before removing it completely. Now, where it makes you miserable, right?

I am gonna just, just throw out to you again, your business is not here to entertain you. If I could make triple the amount of money that I make on, I don't know, a haircut, even though I hate haircutting, maybe I wouldn't hate it as much. Or maybe I would hate it, but guess what? Again, my business isn't here to entertain me.

I might be miserable for an hour. Be well compensated. Yeah. Yeah.

So then I, but I go home, and I'm really fucking happy in my personal life, right? Yeah. 'Cause I'm making a shit ton of money. So it's like, but if there's...

Th- then the question becomes, right, like, this is your other indicator, is there no amount of money, right? Mm. Is there no amount- Yeah ... of money in the world, right, that makes this worth it anymore?

Mm-hmm. So if that's the case, then, uh, what I would just be careful of, right, is, uh, is are you in a position in which, let's say you look at your schedule, you completely lose all of those services, all of those clients. Uh, will you be able to fill those gaps- Right ... with whatever else you can fill them in with, right, that you're not removing?

Right. If the case is yes, then why not? Absolutely, 100%, fucking get rid of it. Who cares?

Mm-hmm. If from a profit per hour perspective, even if, if from a profit per hour perspective, if this is not a service that you can balance, and normally we see this when it comes to, like, different categories of services. So let me explain. Like, I look at, like, extensions and, like, traditional color and cut services as very two different categories of pricing.

Right. Because we traditionally see extensions being much higher- In proportion to your traditional color and cut services. So let's say that your color and cut services are, this is just really basic, not realistic numbers. Let's say that your color and cut services right now are $50 per hour.

Mm-hmm. That you're earning $50 per hour. Okay? Right.

But then let's say that your extension services, you're earning $250 per hour. To increase your color and cut services to $250 per hour proportionally would kind of be astronomical and ridiculous, and maybe that's what you do. Maybe that's what you do. Why the fuck not, right?

I was saying that earlier. But is that re- really realistic or is that actually what you wanna do? In that case, if these other services can make you so much more money in the same amount of time, absolutely very smart to start to just do the most profitable things, right? Right.

If you have the demand for them. So again, ask yourself, "Can I remove these services, these less profitable services, or these more miserable services completely from my schedule as it is right now? And if, and, and if I did, would I have the demand to be able to fill those gaps in with other services that are more profitable or don't make me as miserable and still make me the same amount of money or more?" Right.

And so then I guess, like, the great thing about that kind of, like, ethos is that then if, if the answer to that is no, you know what the action step you need to take is in order to get there, like creating- Yes ... that demand. Yes. It's just creating the demand for- Right ...

whatever services you wanna do more of. And the other thing I just wanna say here too is, like, we also have the option of just only doing this for new clients. Like- Right ... maybe we keep the clients that we have now who are currently getting the service, but we just don't accept new clients to get that service.

So for the haircut only example, we don't accept any new haircut only people, but we keep the haircut only people that we have. Right. Do I believe that it's like this is maybe possibly delaying, like, having to get rid of these people e- eventually in the future 'cause you'll prob- something... Y- you're gonna hit a breaking point, and it's probably they're gonna have to go too, you know, eventually.

Right. Maybe, but I don't know. That's something very easy to turn off and on in my opinion. Right.

And especially when you're in a fully booked place, like, you have so much leverage that it's very important that you aren't taking any new clients in your book that aren't going to be very likely to be retained. Right. And that means that if you have some sort of specialty that you want to be fully just making room for- Mm-hmm ... you're gonna be able to deliver that service much better, and you'll be able to serve that client better because of that.

Right. And therefore, they're likely, much more likely to be retained. Right. For example, for me even, the salon that I'm at right now that I work in, it's like, girl, I cannot take y'all's clients, okay?

Like, do not give me y'all's clients. Like, I just can't do it. I'm not gonna be doing any and all services. For me, for example, if you give me some sort of, like, haircut only client or something like that, or even just a, a root touch-up, and they have to come see me every four weeks, it's not fucking happening, you know?

Like, you're not g- I- it's just not going to happen. So then, like, why am I wasting any of my time taking a client- Right ... who would not eventually stick with me- Right ... when I could be taking a new client who is much more likely to stick with me because that one client that I'm taking in that day, that my time is so precious and valuable because I'm fully booked, right?

Like, it's almost like you have to think about that as, like, an investment of your time. Are- Right ... is this the, is this the right client that I'm willing to invest my time into? Right.

And that's what you have to look at when you are f- completely fully booked and your demand is overflowing. You have to get, you have to start to get much more specific about who you take into your chair. This is the importance of having, like, a separate, like, booking situation for new clients and, and for existing clients so that you can do- Oh, yeah ... these kinds of things 'cause I think that's, like- Yes ...

another point. Oh, that's really, really good. Yes. Uh, uh, I completely agree.

Like, having a different experience for existing returning clients versus new clients, you're able to then make these types of changes in very, like, um, in very smooth ways. Uh, uh, I completely agree with you. Yeah. Very much so.

And I know, Hunter, you really, really coach, like, having marketing that is, like, slightly... Like, your marketing channels for new clients and bringing people in are gonna be different than those for your existing clients. And I think when you want to make changes like this in business, when you want to, like, essentially market for the business you want, if you're wanting to phase things out, having this set up strategically and, like, really knowing how you're marketing and how you're delivering inside your business makes all of these types of decisions so much easier. Totally.

Very much so. And my last thing, 'cause this comes up in this conversation, so... 'Cause I was saying not just services, I was saying clients. Yes.

So to those of you- Yeah ... who are out there who is like, "I maybe wanna take, get rid of some of these clients," the... I have a whole, I have many episodes about this I feel like, but I, I do have a more recent-ish one of, like, should you, how to fire a client or whatever it may be. More relevant to this conversation, like, the easiest way to let go of a client is by getting rid of the service that they get.

So, like, if you have a specialty and you're lucky enough that the people you wanna get rid of are not getting that specialty, you can blame it on the specialty and you can say, like, "As of right now, I have so much overwhelming demand for this thing that I'm continuously getting education in, that I am most profiting in, that I'm most interested in. And as of right now, I don't believe I can serve you well anymore because I'm not focused on the type of service that I give you. And I believe that there's other people in the area who'll be able to serve you better, and I just need to make room for this thing that I have very high demand for." Right.

That is the e- it makes it so easy 'cause you can blame it on the service- Uh-huh ... and it's very fair and across the board. Mm-hmm. So that can be very helpful to you, and I think a lot of the time people mostly a lot of the time kind of hate the clients that are also getting the services- Right ...

that they would most likely want to remove. It's very common. Yeah. Um, so yeah, just to throw that out there.

I had a recent person who was just going through this, and I, and they were, they w- they made the list of all the people they would like to get, they, they would like to let go of. And I was like, "Oh my God, this is awesome 'cause none of them are getting your specialty." Like, this- Right ... they made things, it made things very easy.

Right. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah.

I think, um, we've really covered everything on, like, how to actually do this. And in terms of communication, I know there's lots of episodes too that, that you have to reference, like, how to have these conversations with clients and all of those different things. Yeah. So y'all gotta keep digging through the podcast and listening to my crazy, my crazy ass and Jody's beautiful voice- ...

to figure that out. So dig through the catalog. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode. I hope it was helpful to you, my friend.

Peace out, Girl Scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2026 Hunter Donia LLC.