#103 - "I Fired a $15K Client and I'm Pissed I Did It." | BMK Vision Roundtable

"I fired a client doing 15 grand a month. I've replaced maybe half of it so far, and I'm kind of pissed about it." That question came out of a peer-group room, and it is the most common form of buyer's remorse in MSP ownership. In this Roundtable episode of The BMK Vision Podcast, Josh and Gary walk through why the regret is almost always a measurement problem, not a decision problem. The short answer: you were not supposed to replace the revenue. You were supposed to replace the gross profit. At BMK's 65 percent AGP target, a fired $15K client running at 35 percent AGP becomes two $4K clients — same gross profit, less servicing load, less capacity drag. Underneath the math, the deeper truths land: top-line revenue lies, net profit lies, AGP per account is the tell. And the toxic client tax — the cultural drag on the team — almost never shows up in the financial review that justified the fire in the first place. 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why the regret is a math problem, not a decision problem - Replace the gross profit, not the revenue - The BMK 65 percent AGP target — and what it means for replacement math - The two-lever rule — bad client and bad profit both have to be true - The $5M ego anchor — and why owners protect the round number - Gary's $17M client and the "would you start this business today?" reframe - The "fire some technicians" gift — the recalibration owners usually avoid - Everyone gets paid except the owner — the quietly damaging norm - The toxic client tax — culture drag never shows up on the P&L - Hard call vs bad call — the two feel identical for the first six months ⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP fire bad client, MSP gross profit, AGP, MSP owner pay, MSP P&L review, MSP toxic client, MSP under 5 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley 📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #103 - "I Fired a $15K Client and I'm Pissed I Did It."