Letting someone go is one of the most dreaded and difficult tasks that a small business owner will encounter.

Firing a customer is doubly difficult.

In this tough market, many small businesses are cutting loose demanding, resource-draining customers who want deep discounts or pay their bills late.

Dropping these "high-maintenance" clients reduces frustration and allows entrepreneurs to devote their time to more profitable clients.

So how do you know if you need to fire a customer?

If you have customers that don't get the value that you are adding, don't appreciate your service, or have unreasonable demands, you should think long and hard about continuing the relationship. 

Not only do these types of customers eat up a lot of time, they do not create any positive word of mouth for your business. They also frustrate your staff. By forcing your employees to deal with these people, you are sending them a message that their professionalism, values or sense of quality don’t matter.

Letting a customer go is never easy, but sometimes it just has to be done.