Found out my "broke" client is actually loaded and now I feel like an idiot

★ signal-weak r/smallbusiness · ↑ 692 · 💬 389 · 2025-11-19 · kw: slow moving inventory · open on reddit ↗

Tool

SourceReady

Issue

Consultant lacks client vetting tools and was unable to identify that a client claiming financial hardship actually had $60k+ liquid capital, resulting in a $1,500 discount given under false pretenses.

Cost

$1,500

Recommendation

none

extracted with

anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5 · 2026-05-08

Body

I do product sourcing consulting on the side. Small operation, just me, been doing it for two years. A potential client reached out last month saying she's a solo entrepreneur trying to launch her first product line but "really struggling financially" and could I please work with her at a reduced rate. I felt bad for her. We've all been there right? So I gave her 30% off my normal rate, brought my project fee down from $4500 to $3000. Told her I remember what it's like starting out and I wanted to help. Fast forward to yesterday. I'm helping her evaluate supplier quotes and she casually mentions she's trying to decide between putting 45k or 60k into her first inventory order. Then she's talking about her "backup funds" in case the product doesn't perform well. I didn't say anything but later I'm thinking wait, if you have 60k liquid to drop on inventory plus backup funds, why were you crying poor about my consulting fee? So I did something probably unethical. I looked her up. Her LLC is registered, public record. I found her personal LinkedIn. She's not some struggling entrepreneur. She sold a previous company two years ago. I can't find exact numbers but based on the acquisition announcement and her current lifestyle posts it wasn't small. She straight up lied to me to get a discount. Now I'm sitting here feeling like a complete idiot. I gave her a discount because I thought I was helping someone bootstrap their dream. Turns out she was just negotiating and I fell for the sob story. Part of me wants to tell her I know and revise my rate back to normal for the remaining work. But we're halfway through the project and I already agreed to the price. Plus if she refers other clients to me that's probably worth more than the $1500 I'm losing here. But I'm also pissed. I've turned down two other inquiries this month because I'm at capacity and I'm working with her at a discount while she's sitting on what looks like serious money. My wife thinks I should just finish the project and never work with her again. My business partner thinks I should confront her because she disrespected my work and wasted my goodwill. Honestly I don't even know what the right move is here. I keep thinking about all the hours I'm putting in at a reduced rate while she probably thinks she played me perfectly. Maybe she did. I'm going to finish the project and chalk it up to a learning experience. On the bright side, at least the supplier research part has gotten easier since I started using SourceReady for vetting manufacturers. Wish there was something similar for client vetting though, would've saved me from this mess.

Top comments (6)

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[score=1507] [deleted]

You gave her a deal. Fulfill the deal, and move on. Lesson learned.

[score=646] Boundary14

> So I did something probably unethical. I looked her up. Her LLC is registered, public record. I found her personal LinkedIn. There's nothing unethical about this, and should be standard practice for you. I also do a form of consulting where most projects are in the mid $X,XXX range, and I always look up prospective clients first to check for red flags. Also, YMMV but I find about 3/4 of the time when someone asks for a discount, if you say no they'll just have you proceed with your work at full price.

[score=266] GhostDeck

The lesson here is to stop giving discounts based on sob stories.

[score=142] IndependentPayment70

honestly, she played on your goodwill, and that would be so annoying for anyone. you already agreed on the price, so finish the project cleanly and never offer her a discount again. And treat that as a lesson that sticking to ur rates isn't something wrong.

[score=138] SnooKiwis2161

I think you may not quite realize ... how do I put this Did she lie? Possibly. Also possible, and this may hurt your head like it does mine a little bit - she told the truth. For *her*, she's *broke*. Ask a poor person, middle class person, and a rich person what their version of broke is, you'll probably get 3 different answers.