It happens more times than not and more times than we’d like to admit. When we’re approached with the daunting question, ‘Who are your clients?’ in one form or another we end up mumbling something to the effect of ‘Um…everyone.’
Because we can’t help but wear our heart on our sleeves and hang our wallet out to dry when we’re first starting out in business.
We want to be of service. We don’t want to cut anyone off. And we don’t want to say ‘no’ to someone dishing out a virtual dollar to pay for services we created from our passion.
‘If I don’t say ‘yes’ who knows when the next person will show up?’
Those kind of thoughts may run rampant in your mind right now. But this doesn’t have to be your day-to-day. The biggest wake-up call for me was when I learned after yet another ‘walk-all-over-me’ client, another reluctant refund and another dreaded coaching call that everyone is (certainly) not my someone.
So if you haven’t reached this pivotal point yet, take note of this cautionary tale so that you can save yourself some woe down the line.
Getting clear on how I wanted to work and who I wanted to serve changed everything for me. Instead of wondering ‘who will like me best?’ I started to ask ‘who can I show up as my best self for?’ I started to know boundaries.
[Tweet “”Getting clear on how I wanted to work and who I wanted to serve changed everything for me.””]I went from serving millennial men and women to solely women entrepreneurs. Because that’s who I was attracting. My message was attracting other women entrepreneurs. And if I got specific? It was attracting women, of all ages, who were heart and soul based, in a relationship or married, had some sort of faith and were starting out or rebranding in business. So that’s who I honed in on.
I learned that if I could solve one specific problem for them really well then my message would be more fine-tuned. And I’d be speaking directly to them. So I focused on communication because it was something they and I struggled with the most.
So how do you identify your ideal client?
1) I narrowed down my person
I took a step back to see who I was actually attracting and focused on them. Even if it meant cutting out a gender. I made sure that we had shared values.
2) I fine-tuned my message
Now that I knew who I was talking to, I could do more refined research on what they were actually looking for. And it helped to clarify and specify my message.
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3) I laid down my boundaries
I only wanted to work with clients who I could show up as my best self for. To ensure that, I made sure to set intentions for how I would work and with whom.
Because relationships are relationships. Whether they’re in business or your own life. If you wouldn’t be polygamous in your personal life don’t aim to be so in your business.
Monogamy seals the deal. Your someone will thank you for it.