Hit 50 regular clients this month and honestly it's more stressful than when I had 20

I always thought more clients meant more money and less worry, but now I'm juggling overlapping bookings and running late constantly, so is it worth growing past a certain number or do you guys cap your client load on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_xena1mo ago

Honestly the only thing that scales up faster than your income is your stress level. I hit 35 clients recently and started getting anxiety every time my phone buzzed because it was probably someone wanting to reschedule. I feel like there is a sweet spot where you can actually still breathe and do good work instead of just herding people around like cats. I capped myself at 30 and started referring people out when I get close to that number. More money is great but not when you are running late to every booking and your clients start getting annoyed. Sometimes the best business move is knowing when to say "I'm full" and actually mean it.

mila_perry131mo agoMost Upvoted

So when you capped yourself at 30 clients, how long did it take before the anxiety actually went down? I'm asking because I tried something similar but I kept feeling guilty for turning people away, like I was leaving money on the table. Did you have that "withdrawal" feeling at first where your brain kept telling you that you could handle just ONE more? And what did you say to clients when you referred them out? Did it hurt your reputation at all or did people actually respect you MORE for being honest about being full?