Do you work with your ideal clients, or with any client that comes your way?

Heidi Dawson
Oct 30, 2024
3 min read

Are you specific about who you want to work with?

I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting recently about a ‘mantra’ that I set for myself a couple of years ago. At the time, I was going through a period of being incredibly busy but feeling unfulfilled by my work.

Working with the right clients in the right places

When I examined the root cause of my issue, I realized that I’d fallen into a habit of accepting clients that didn’t necessarily fit with one of my core values; supporting people to grow, flourish and realise their full potential.

Sometimes, people who are ‘stuck’ aren’t ready to get ‘unstuck’ yet and there’s nothing wrong with that – we all need to be in the right headspace to be prepared to make change happen. However, as a coach and therapist, I want to support people who are ready to take the next step, however small that may be.

My ‘mantra’ became “I work with clients that are uplifting and nourishing for me.” These are my 'ideal clients'.

So, why my more recent reflections?

Well, lately I’m seeing a lot of my clients, peers and friends, who have their own businesses and who are feeling a bit like I was feeling – busy, but not really enjoying their work and certainly not loving running their own business.

And there’s a common theme. It’s not a new theme, in fact it’s ancient, but it’s certainly more prevalent since, dare I mention it, The Pandemic and, more recently, the cost-of-living crisis!

“What’s the theme?” I hear you ask. It’s simply that many of us are a bit scared; scared of not having enough work to pay the bills; scared of feeling like a failure; scared of saying “no” to the ‘wrong’ client, or customer, in case they’re our only client, or customer.

But it’s simple really (note I said “simple,” not “easy”), because saying “yes” to any potential client that crosses our path, makes us less available to the right clients. In other words, saying “yes” to the wrong clients leaves us without the physical, emotional, or energetic capacity to accommodate the clients and customers who will make us feel uplifted and nourished by our work.

And the thing is, when we’re clear and specific about who we want to work with, they find us, because they want to work with us too – just Google “Law of Attraction” and see what comes up, or better still, if you haven’t already read Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, it’s one of my highly recommended reads.

I know that we all need to make a living and that it’s tempting to grab every opportunity that passes our way, but I do believe that our ‘right’ customers are out there and that your ‘wrong’ customer could be the next person’s dream client…. and that works both ways.

With my Coach hat on, I urge my aforementioned clients, peers and friends to be specific about who you want to work with, bearing in mind that this doesn’t have to be based on age, shoe-size and hair colour (OK, I’m being flippant now!). In my case, it’s largely the simple concept of being ready to move forward from being ‘stuck,’ rather than actually being quite comfortable with where they’re at for now.

Afterall, don’t we all deserve to work with clients and customers who are uplifting and nourishing for us? Whatever that might mean for you.

And my new mantra? Be Brave. Be Fierce. But above all, Be Kind. It’s how I approach my work, my clients, and life. This mantra shapes everything I do, from helping a business restructure to guiding someone through personal transformation.