Charlotte Lloyd

The most expensive client I fired was worth $120K annually.

It was a sales training and we were about to extend the contract.

I want to share this story to impact others.

The owner micromanaged the entire project.
Undermined decisions in meetings.

For months, I told myself:
"It's just his style. The revenue matters."

Then one day I turned around and said enough
Not because of the work, because of him.
That's when I realized:

Tolerating a bully doesn't just cost you respect.
It costs you your best people.
I fired him the next week.

And if you don't confront it
You teach everyone watching that your silence is for sale.

4 ways to deal with it in business and personal life:

𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆.
"That's not how we speak to people here."
Don't wait for it to become a pattern.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀.
Private support is kind; public support is culture.
When someone's being undermined, your silence speaks volumes.

𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲.
Recognize the person who raised their hand
Not the loudest voice in the room.

𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱.
Standing up can mean addressing it directly, escalating it, or walking away.

This summer, my daughter was called a "gremlin" at camp for her wonky teeth.

The name-calling spread.
Half the parents pulled their kids.

We chose to stay, not to "tough it out,"
But to stand up, speak up, and teach her that her voice works.

I learned (again) that leadership is parenting in public.
How you handle bullies, clients, colleagues, or team members
is your culture.

Not the mission statement on your wall.
Not the values in your deck.

The decisions you make when it's uncomfortable.

PS. On Nov 7, I'm giving a masterclass in the The HoLT (members only) on how to write a cold email that gets replies.

My fee will go to the Autistic Society, in honour of children like my daughter who see the world differently and deserve to be heard.

One uncomfortable topic I chatted with a client on...

Thinking referrals are your safety net. They're your ceiling.

You tell yourself referrals are a good problem to have.

"At least I'm getting clients without spending on ads."
"Word of mouth means I'm doing great work."
"Why fix what isn't broken?"

What you're not admitting:
You're not in control. You're just getting lucky.
You've convinced yourself that luck is a business model.

Think about it:
• Can you predict your revenue 90 days from now?
• Can you decide to grow 50% next quarter?
• Do you know where your next 5 clients are coming from?

1️⃣ You're outsourcing your entire sales function to people who don't work for you and have zero incentive to send you business consistently.

2️⃣ You're capping your income at whatever your network happens to generate. Not what you're capable of earning.

3️⃣ You're one bad month away from desperation mode
scrambling to take clients you don't even want.

65% of businesses depend on referrals
According to The New York Times

The coaches and consultants scaling past $10K–$30K/month?
They stopped waiting and started building.

If you don't own the relationship, you don't own the revenue.

Clip made with OpusClip

Hustling wasn't what built Canva, discipline did.
I want to talk about why this is important.

Canva's $26B valuation is excpetional.
But let's talk about what they're missing.

Melanie Perkins didn't just build design software.
She mastered the art of elegant business building.

At 19, she was teaching design basics.
At 22, working from her mom's living room.
By 25, she'd faced 100+ VC rejections.

Her turning point?
Meeting Bill Tai - who saw beyond the "girl from Perth" label.

2013: Canva launches
2019: Unicorn status
2021: $40B valuation

Something else makes her different:

1. She ignored the "hustle harder" playbook
Instead, she stayed bootstrapped
until the product was perfect.

2. She built real culture
92% employee satisfaction isn't an accident.
It's intentional leadership.

3. She focused on impact over ego
30% of Canva's equity? Pledged to charity.

The numbers back this up:

• 135M+ monthly users
• 190 countries
• $1.5B annual revenue

Why I like her story and what it really means...

Success isn't about perfect timing.
It's about persistence + purpose.

Melanie proves what I tell my clients:

The best businesses are built on conviction, not convenience.

♻️ Share with someone building something meaningful

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