If you’re like most small business owners out there, one of the most daunting and confusing ideas in your business is the idea that there is an Ideal Client out there for you, and you just have to figure out who it is.

If you feel overwhelmed and stressed out every time you try to define your ideal client, don’t worry. You’re among friends here! Most of us have a lot of trouble pinpointing the details about our ideal clients.

A few years ago, the concept of an ideal client was so foreign to me. When I started my business, I didn’t have any sort of “ideal client profile” set in place. I took any business that came my way… don’t we all when we are first starting out?!

About a year ago, I did several exercises to determine the DETAILS about who my ideal client really was. I learned from a business mentor that you can essentially CHOOSE who you work with… if you take the time to dig deep into the foundations of your business. Which, let’s be honest… most of us don’t do, or wait way too long to do.

 

But here’s the thing about defining your ideal client… it doesn’t start with them. It starts with you.

 

 

Now, I might lose a good chunk of you who are reading this. And that’s okay. If you want to go on doing business like you alwaaays have, taking anyyything that comes your way, yet still scraping by… close this tab. Yep, I went there! Bye 🙂

BUT. If you want to have a consistent stream of clients you LOVE, and who love you back, then listen up! Over the next four weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my best lessons for defining your ideal client.

At the end of these four weeks, I’ll be hosting the Stand Out Brand workshop, a one-day, in person workshop that will help you book more dream clients, get more referrals and confidently raise your prices in 30 days…..

Now does that sound like something you want?! I sure do hope the answer is yes. Let’s get started!

So, what does it mean to define your ideal client?

An IDEAL CLIENT PROFILE is essentially a very detailed and specific persona that you create based on your most ideal client’s demographics, interests, and personality. Some people refer to this as an avatar!

But what can an Ideal Client Profile do for me?!

Wow, so glad you asked!!! 😉 Well, it won’t do anything for you if you don’t use it to your advantage. And that’s just the truth! After we implement our Ideal Client Profile in several ways, it can help you…

1. Filter out the clients you DON’T want
2. Attract the clients you DO want
3. Skyrocket your Word-of-Mouth referrals
4. Create a niche business
5. Raise your prices

 

It’s honestly super FUN to create an Ideal Client Profile once you get going!

Now…there’s a TON of work that goes into creating an Ideal Client Profile, but now that we know how valuable it is, we’re ready to dig in, right? Remember at the beginning of this post when I said that Defining Your Ideal Client starts with YOU? Well, it still does, so hold your horses.

Before we ask ourselves ANYTHING about our clients, we have to ask ourselves some tough questions. And each of these questions directly relate to the 5 bullet points above.

• What type of person do I NOT want to serve? Have you ever had a client that just caused headaches for you all the time? Keep them in mind, as painful as it may be 😉

• Who is my most favorite client I’ve ever served? Think of an ACTUAL person you have served. Just keep that person in the back of your mind for now…

• Do I currently book new clients from Word-of-Mouth referrals? If you have, think back…did I like the client that brought me the referral? Did I like the referral client?
• How many types of people do I currently serve? (Think: brides, seniors, mothers, pet owners, business owners, etc) What is my favorite type of person that I serve? For me, it’s split between brides and high school senior girls! It’s totally okay to have two, but I would try to stick with one or two and do it WELL. We can’t be everything to everybody.
• Am I happy with where my prices are currently? If yes, great! But I bet the answer is no… If not, WHY are you not happy with where they are? WHY do you want to raise your prices? Is it to support your family? Is it to go full time? To live a more extravagant or freedom-inspired lifestyle?

I challenge you to get out a pen and paper and WRITE THESE DOWN. We all know that writing things down is good for us! Or, if you prefer typing, create a Google Doc to keep this running list of questions. I’ll be back with more questions for you next week!

This is your homework people!!! 🙂 Nothing will change if you don’t DO THE WORK.

 

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