The wrong client costs you more than an empty calendar

I once took on a client I regretted in hindsight. Not because the project failed. Because it was exactly the type of client who, looking back, cost more than it brought in: a lot of coordination, thin margin, and energy that would have paid off far more somewhere else.

That's a mistake most trade businesses make at some point. An empty slot in the calendar feels like a loss. So you fill it, even with a project you know, on reflection, isn't going to fit.

Why this happens so easily

An empty week is visible. You see it in the schedule, you feel it in that month's revenue. A wrong client isn't visible at first. He signs, pays, and only gradually does it become clear how much time the coordination costs, how thin the margin actually is, or how often there's negotiation over things that were already agreed.

By the time that becomes visible, you're already in it. And because the project is running, there's no room left for the project that would have fit.

What I do differently since then

I now structurally price above the average market rate, with Groeneveld Tuinen around 25 percent above it. Deliberately positioned as premium, not as the cheapest option in the region.

That means fewer clients. Revenue, meanwhile, sits at the same level as before, with fewer projects. What changes isn't the revenue, it's everything around it: higher margin per project, more time to only take on projects that pay well, and more room to attract and keep good staff or freelancers instead of constantly hiring whoever's cheapest and available.

Price isn't a deterrent, it's a filter

Higher prices scare off the wrong client before he signs, not after the project is already running. Someone who only looks at price drops out at a quote above average. Someone looking for quality stays, and pays for it too.

That filters out exactly the clients you'd regret in hindsight. Not because a higher price magically attracts the right client, but because a low price is precisely what invites the wrong client to keep comparing right up until after the signature.

I'm not done with this yet

Prices haven't been fully worked out. We're now building nationwide coverage through partners across the Netherlands, and as that coverage grows, so does the room to raise prices further without losing volume.

An empty calendar feels unpleasant. But the wrong client costs you more quietly, and for longer.