They Bet on One Client and Watched $600K Disappear

Hey, it’s Arvin.

Yesterday, I finally got to hang out with my brother.

We’re both usually caught up in our own stuff, so it’s one of those “once in a while” kind of things.

It was getting dark, kinda rainy, and me and my brother ended up sitting at this little juice stand run by a mom and her daughter.

You know the kind. Plastic chairs, wobbly table, but they serve up a mango juice that hits different.

We figured we’d chill there for a bit, sip something fresh, and watch the street life go by.

Something about the place felt simple and real.

Maybe it was the vibe.

Maybe it was the way the mom was slicing fruit while her daughter tried to help.

Either way, we stayed.

The $600K Deal That Disappeared

I asked him,

“Bro, how’s life? How’s work?”

And he just kinda shrugs.

“Not too bad, not too good either. The company’s kinda in shambles.”

Okay…

I’m thinking, what the hell happened?

Because the last time we talked, the company my brother works for was discussing closing some huge deals.

He tells me:

“We had this $600K project lined up. Big IoT thing. The company hired a bunch of staff to prep. But it just… vanished.”

I was stunned.

Turns out, they had this long relationship with a client.

Years of projects together.

And this year, they landed their biggest one yet. So they doubled down.

Hired people. Allocated resources. Focused all their energy on it.

Then bam. New regulations, new decision-makers on the client side.

Deal canceled. Just like that.

$600K? Just vanished to zero.

And now the company’s scrambling because they were relying on ONE big client to keep the lights on.

Honestly, I get it.

If you’ve got a whale of a client paying the bills, it’s easy to get comfortable.

You tell yourself, we’re good.

You stop chasing new clients.

You stop marketing. You stop prospecting.

Because hey… why bother? You’ve got THE client.

Until you don’t.

The Hard Truth About Marketing

And that’s the scary part.

If you’re not always working on filling your pipeline, you’re basically handing your business to your client who decide whether or not to give you work.

And spoiler alert: they don’t care about your bills.

Here’s the thing no one tells you when business is going great:

You need marketing the MOST when you think you need it the least.

Because that’s when you’re relaxed.

That’s when you stop showing up.

That’s when the silence starts creeping in…

… and you wake up one day realizing there’s no one knocking on your door anymore.

Keep Moving (Even When You’re Busy)

I was thinking about what my brother’s company could’ve done differently while we sat there watching the rain drizzle off the stall’s plastic tarp.

It’s not like they weren’t working hard. They were.

But they got too comfortable, relying on that one big fish.

No safety net. No backup plan.

And it made me realize this is exactly why we need to keep showing up, even when it feels like we don’t have to.

🔗 Keep prospecting

🔗 Keep your team ready

🔗 Keep the traffic coming in

Even when things seem stable.

You build systems to make this happen without burning yourself out:

• Nurture people before they’re ready to buy.

• Automate your lead generation (ads, SEO, referrals, whatever works for you).

• Create a simple follow-up process (you’d be shocked how many deals die because no one followed up).

• And please… don’t ghost your email list. Keep showing up.

The goal is to never be desperate for your next client.

And the only way that happens?

You stay in motion.

Even when you don’t “need” to.

And hey, if you’re still confused about which digital marketing channel to start with, I’ve got a free guide that’ll help you figure it out.

Make sure you read it fully. (Seriously, don’t just skim it like Terms & Conditions.)

Takeaway

If there’s one thing to remember from this whole story, it’s this:

Don’t wait until you need clients to start marketing your business.

By then, it’s usually too late.

Stay consistent. Keep showing up.

Build your pipeline while you’re busy, so you’re never desperate when things slow down.

Curious? Have you ever relied way too much on one client (or job or situation), and it backfired?

Hit reply and tell me. I’ll read every single one.

(And I promise not to judge. Been there.)

Talk Soon,

Arvin

Q&A Corner

Got a question you’ve been dying to ask? Drop it here (or upvote the ones you’re curious about).

Question from Jo:

“what tools do we need to understand trends and keyword for SEO? Any free tools we can use?”

You honestly don’t need a bunch of fancy tools for this.

Here’s what I mess with (all free):

• Google Trends : Tells you what’s blowing up or fading out.

• AnswerThePublic : Shows you all the weird questions people are Googling.

• Google Keyword Planner : Solid for search volumes and keyword ideas. You just need a free Google Ads account.

• Ubersuggest (free version) : Basic keyword ideas plus a little peek at what your competitors are up to.

If you’re just getting started, these are more than enough.

But if you wanna get serious, it’s worth investing in something heavier like Ahrefs or Semrush.

They’ll give you way more data (and save you a ton of guesswork).