Beloved by Clients

Client Horror Stories

Business EN ↓ 106 episodes

Tales from those on the front lines of dealing with clients. Tales of difficult clients, complex situations, relationship management - and how massive client management problems were solved, and what they learned. Largely those running agencies, but all across different professional services.

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Beloved by Clients

Episodes

That time when the web guy suddenly went MIA because he’s going through an existential crisis (with Timi Orosz) 11.05.2022 1:01:56

In this whiskey and wine-powered episode, Timi Orosz, founder of Connect One Marketing, shared a story where she learned three crucial things in business: communication, boundaries, and friendships. It happened when a friend of hers approached her and asked her to help him develop a branding strategy for a new business. At that early point, a little voice in her head told her that this could lead...

That time when you were too nice to a client so a 15-page website snowballed into a 150 + page one (with Ari Krzyzek) 12.04.2022 56:11

In this episode, Ari Krzyzek, the co-founder of Chykalophia, shared an exciting-turned-heartbreaking project that led her to learn how important it is to have detailed contracts and establish policies when offering digital services. It all started when a client approached her to do an exciting project, and Ari was excited about it too. The client also recognized Ari’s expertise, saying that they a...

That time your client complained about your slow response time, a week after you met him in the hospital during your radiotherapy (with Rachel Brenke) 04.03.2022 56:59

In this episode, Rachel Brenke, a multi-faceted entrepreneur and intellectual property attorney shared two stories with key takeaways: (1) Always establish good communication with your clients and (2) Know that no money is worth the stress and mistreatment. The first story started when Rachel was diagnosed with cancer in her early 20s, but she just shrugged it off since it was “impossible” for her...

That time when you worked for a client in the funeral business and ended up being ghosted yourself (with Liz Wilcox) 10.02.2022 41:48

In this episode, Morgan meets fellow Will Smith fan, Liz Wilcox. A self-employed Email Marketing Specialist from Miramar Beach, Florida. A while ago,  Liz´s was contacted by her friend because their client needed some email marketing services. And of course, she was very excited to work with her buddy. The client worked in the funeral industry, and to begin with they thought Liz´s rate was wa...

That time you were hired to remotely create a Shopify store, yet ended up setting up your client’s store, in a mall, at midnight (with Nick Janetakis) 28.01.2022 33:49

Always be careful when working with friends, close ones, or family members. You might wind up becoming their packager! In today's episode Nick Janetakis, a Full Stack Developer,  tells us the story of a time when he was introduced to a friend´s friend who sold sports sweaters and now wanted to start selling them online, so asked Nick to work on this. He ended up taking the job and because he...

That time your client who was too good to be true was, in fact, too good to be true (with Dimitri Constantine) 31.12.2021 58:55

Dimitri Constantine is the CEO & Founder of Brandcoders, and the protagonist of today’s tale. His story brings us back a couple of years when a long-time friend brought him into a brand new project that seemed all too good to be true. And here’s our first lesson: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Dimitri’s narrative walks us through the birth and development of a business...

That time getting “comfortable with uncomfortable conversations” was the key to managing your startup (with Kison Patel) 21.12.2021 1:20:03

Today’s story might as well fall under the “Managing Horror Stories” category because that’s exactly what it is. Kison Patel, CEO and Founder of M&A Science and DealRoom brings us a tale on the insights of starting a business that you really believe — and trying to save it at all costs. Kison’s tale takes us back a couple of years, to the time where he decided to chase an idea he was passionat...

That time your client threatened to fire you if you didn’t deliver a surprise demo, months before the due date (with Andrew Kemendo) 14.12.2021 50:56

Andrew Kemendo is the Principal Architect, AI at Unity Technologies, and also the star of Client Horror Stories #24. Today, he brings us a story that has that one killer combo: just enough drama to keep you gripping, and just enough lessons learned to know it was time well invested. Andrew’s tale brings us back a couple of years ago, to a young startup dedicated to creating augmented reality exper...

That time your cowboy mounted shooting client ripped his tax return in half in front of you (with Liz Farr) 06.12.2021 53:31

How often do you see a headline like that? Well, that’s because not often we get stories like this. On today’s episode, we have our first ever guest from the finance world: Liz Farr, Founder & CEO of Farr Communications, telling us an incredibly dramatic story, filled with incredible twists and lessons. Liz’s story takes us back to 15 years ago, when handwritten tax notes and mail filing your...

That time your inexperienced client turned into an influencer sommelier in less than 2 months (with Rick Schirmer) 20.10.2021 54:49

Today’s episode brings us, straight from Hollywood, Rick Schirmer, CEO & Founder of Viral Brand, with a super interesting and incredibly well told story that, regardless of the horror that made it CHS worthy, actually has a happy ending. Rick’s tale brings us back to 2020 (or, as he calls it, the “pause” year) when he took under his wing a “cut deal” client with very little experience, and a l...

That time you had to develop two apps a day, every day, for a 19-years-old boss (with Ben Nuttall) 29.09.2021 35:57

In our 21st take at Client Horror Stories, we have Ben Nuttall, Software Engineer at BBC News Labs, with a story that, from the very beginning, has us wondering what’s with people’s common sense: showing up for an interview all dressed up, only to have the interviewer receive you in shorts and flip flops, and announcing that the person who called you in was no longer working there. Ben’s tale take...

That time you poured your heart into your moonshot, but ended up burning down 3 acres of Stanford University (with Mark Jacobsen) 10.09.2021 51:46

Our 20th take at Client Horror Stories brings in a particularity that sets apart from the rest: there are actually no clients involved. In today’s episode, we have Mark Jacobsen, author of Eating Glass: The Inner Journey Through Failure and Renewal, with an excruciating story that has us sharing his pain from the very beginning. Mark’s narrative brings us the point of view of a military pilot duri...

That time your teenage idol hired you to manage their show, then makes you learn not to meet your heroes the hard way (with James Hush) 30.08.2021 1:04:36

In our 19th take at Client Horror Stories, we have James Hush with a story very different to anything else we’ve heard: for the first time in Client Horror Stories, we have the story of a client with nothing to do with the tech world, and we definitely loved it. Not only today’s guest comes from the music industry, but he also has an awesome ability to link bands and shows management to handling a...

That time your company had you working 36 hours straight, then took away your bonus (with Violet Femm) 23.08.2021 59:05

In our 17th take at Client Horror Stories, we receive Violet Femmes, who brings us a dramatic and introspective story that lasted two years but gave her lessons for a lifetime. Today’s episode has a therapy-like tint that definitely makes the narrative strike a significant chord in us. Opening with the phrase “I am terrific at making mistakes”, Violet’s tale has more than enough elements to make i...

That time your offhand joke became the embarrassing headline in the press (with Scott Kveton) 17.08.2021 27:40

In our 17th take at Client Horror Stories, Scott Kveton, founding partner of Fractionalist.co, brings us a story that takes us 11 years back in time, back to the moment where people used to camp and wait in line for hours to get iPhone 3.0. Scott’s tale starts with a “Why wait three months? Let’s launch in 30 days!” optimism, and includes everything that a good story should: The press, young and i...

That time your wonderful client was growing fast and doing great, then mysteriously shuts down overnight (with Bonnie Rothman) 09.08.2021 34:33

In our 16th take at Client Horror Stories, Bonnie Rothman, CEO of Company B, brings us a fast, exciting, and very well told (not that she tells stories for a living!) horror story. Today’s tale has everything that a great story needs: dynamism, excitement, plot twists, and shoes in the oven. In today’s episode, Bonnie walks us through the story of an incredibly well-funded startup that had a great...

That time your client believed that advertising was a magic solution, but still micromanaged the magician (with Collin Slattery) 21.07.2021 1:00:28

In our 15th take at Client Horror Stories, Collin Slattery, founder, and CEO of Taikun Inc. brings us a story approached not too dramatically, but rather as a learning experience for everyone who was a part of it (and, obviously, us as well!). Today’s tale gives us a lesson on how good students are the ones that don’t need an atomic bomb of a client in order to pick up a bunch of good lessons on h...

That time your mentor gifted you his house in his will, but removed you from it when you asked him for the money he owed you (with Will Rico) 15.07.2021 1:01:37

In our 14th take at Client Horror Stories, we have Will Rico, CEO of CommonMind, along with a parade of mentors, telling us probably the weirdest yet most gripping and surprising story so far. Today’s tale is the compilation of horror, random, and sometimes positively surprising situations that went along in Will’s 9-year long relationship with his then mentor. Will takes us back to 2001, when he...

That time your agency was hired only to prevent the partner who hired you from getting fired (with Anthony Highman) 06.07.2021 56:06

Take 13th at Client Horror Stories is starred by Anthony Highman, along with an exclusive selection of what he considered his top-notch horror stories of many years in the industry. In a quick and easy short story method, Anthony walks us through the perks and quirks of what it takes to engage in a committed and beneficial for both parts working relationship. Anthony’s tales have everything that a...

That time your boss cared only about spending the client’s whole ad budget (with Rachel Smith) 29.06.2021 51:57

In our 12th take at Client Horror Stories, Rachel Smith, PPC Manager at Platform 81, gets us involved in a tale where the actual horror ended up not actually coming from your client, but from your manager instead. Her story (which is told in an enchanting british accent, and accompanied by all sorts of fun british slang) has everything that a good story needs: Drama, hidden information, secret mee...

That time your client was so smoothly turning into your BFF, you didn't realize he had made up all his investors (with Jess McCarter) 22.06.2021 49:08

In our eleventh take at Client Horror Stories, we have Jess McCarter sharing with us a story that started with a way longer meeting than necessary. One of those meetings where they discussed the solution to all the world's problems. And that was the start of many, many meetings like that. Jess' tale takes us back 15 years when he was still a young start-up founder trying to climb his way in the cu...

That time your client needs you to make them $1 million in six months but will only pay you to work Thursday afternoons (with Paul Stephenson) 11.06.2021 1:12:49

In this week’s take, we receive Paul Stephenson, founder, and CEO of 47 Insights, who tells us a story on going back to working with clients after many years in consultancy, and how to take a harsh come back to the industry. All along his hearing process, we have the chance to take on a lesson or two on following our guts, being able to detect yellow flags (and realizing the moment where they star...

That time your client wanted you to sleep your way to the top of Google’s search results (with Josh Silverbauer) 03.06.2021 1:00:55

In our 9th take of Client Horror Stories, we have Josh Silverbauer, CEO of Great Big Digital Agency, opening up with the line “When you are a CEO, saying “yes” can take you very far, but sometimes you just reach a point where you wished you’d said “no ``''. From then on, he tells us a tale protagonist by a (former) celebrity of the holistic environment whose only concern was to remain famous and h...

That time your client sent a “FU” email to the guy you’re negotiating with--at the very moment you closed a win-win deal with him (with Will Haire) 28.05.2021 27:49

Today’s Client Horror Story is the short version of a horrifying scandal with Will Haire, CEO & Founder of BellaVix, as the protagonist along with the kind of person that has a Zoom call while he drives. In our 8th take, we bring you a tale full of drama, randomness, and emails telling people that they are a complete piece of a**, and all of that in just 30 minutes. Will’s narration takes us o...

That time your client was really your client’s client’s client’s client (The Telephone Game) (with Stephanie Schwab) 21.05.2021 45:04

On our seventh take at Client Horror Stories, we receive Stephanie Schwab, CEO, and Founder of Crackerjack, who tells us a story that sounds weird from the beginning, even if she only realized during the interview, when a colleague that you met 3 weeks ago has a project that appears to be a match made in heaven for complementing what both your companies do. So the first yellow flag comes up when h...