I finally had it. That dream client I had been hoping to find since the day I chose to start my business. She was absolutely amazing to work with, every time I got off a call with her I had a HUGE smile on my face, and I knew each time we spoke that I was making a positive impact on both her business and her life. I felt like I was on top of the world. The only thing was, she wasn’t the ideal, dream client I had pictured, or the ideal, dream client I had built my services around, or the ideal, dream client I had been targeting with my marketing.
You see, when I first began my business, I did the ideal client work we’re told to do. I created a client profile that outlined my dream client. I broke down the demographics and identified her pain points. I decided I’d be working strictly with women (mothers in particular) who had big dreams of starting their business. But, the more I began developing my services with this ideal client in mind, the more I realized there was a gap. I struggled because something was out of alignment, and I couldn’t quite figure it out. So I kept plowing forward until I met my first ideal client.
She was a coach. She had a business that was VERY established but wanted to scale, to create more freedom, and to feel more ease. She was confident working 1:1 in-person with clients, in running in-person programs, and building relationships in person, but she had no idea how she could grow and scale sustainably. She needed support navigating the online realm, creating an authentic brand, creating systems and processes to help her scale and uncovering opportunities for additional, passive income so she could have more time to enjoy life.
I realized this was the gap. Yes, I loved helping women discover what’s possible and get started building their dreams, but where I really flourish is in the next phase. When they are somewhat established, but are ready to step-up their game, creating processes and new streams of revenue to help them grow and scale.
It wasn’t until I started working with the RIGHT client, that I realized what that right client even was.
So, I revisited the ideal client work I had done when I first began my business and kept her in mind. I tweaked the profile, I updated the struggles and identified the pain points I could help her overcome. I even began to think about what changes I needed to make to my services to better support this ideal client.
Then it happened. I got another ideal client. This client was a little bit different than the last. Yes, she was established in-person and was also looking to grow and scale sustainably online, but it was clear to me (and eventually her) that she was working in a way that wasn’t 100% aligned with her heart and the breadth of her capabilities.
So, again I revisited my ideal client. I tweaked and updated, keeping in mind my ideal client wants to grow and scale but may have lost sight of her own needs, who she is serving, and may even feel misalignment with her own business. Hell, she may need to do ideal client work of their own!
Yes, you read this right. I have been running my business for under a year, and I have already revisited and redefined my ideal client three times. But, the truth is, I know I’ll revisit and redefine this ideal client many, many, many more times. The good news is that with each iteration, I’ll be able to create more clarity, more alignment, and potentially uncover additional opportunities to grow and scale my business.
You see, when you do ideal client work, and you go beyond the basic demographic information to uncover what they are trying to do, and what’s keeping them from doing it, a shift occurs. The more you know about these struggles, the more you can figure out how you can help them overcome them. Then you can then create offers that solve their problems, marketing that aligns with their needs, sales processes that meet them where they are, and even content that educates them to demonstrate your value. By digging in and getting to know your ideal client, you can gain more clarity around the opportunities that lay ahead for you and your business.
So, whether you’ve been in business for a day, a year, or ten years, do the work and get to know… and then re-know your ideal clients.
