I've struggled to put together a successful business for as long as I can remember. My first "business" was picking weeds for neighbors at age 4. My first "business plan" I came up with at age 5. It was simple, elegant, inventive, and imaginative. My plan was to pick blackberries, because they grew for free, smoosh them up, allow the juices to dry out, scrape up the residue and package it as my own kool-aid packets for 10 cents per packet. Naturally, this plan did not work. I had failed to calculate the cost of labor and the sheer volume of berries required to produce much money.
For the last three years, I had a business that wasn't successful but it was supporting us. That collapsed in on itself in July and my husband and I have been scrambling to figure out an alternative. I decided to do two things: Take a class in evaluating entrepreneurial ideas from Coursera and read through the entirety of Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid and blog the results of the exercises.
I have a lot of skills and talents, just haven't really been able to put together a solid plan to market those and attract clients. I'm hoping that between the two classes, I can figure it out. It at least may give me an idea for a direction to head and an honest assessment of what I need to do to make things work more long-term this time.
One of the first things he says that I really, really like is this, "When I began my business, I would work with anyone who had a pulse and a checkbook. Then I began to consider what it would mean to choose my clients. What it would mean to work only with clients that were ideal for me."
When we were running Creative Technology Services, that's where we were. We would accept whatever work came our way out of desperation, fearing that nothing else would. As a result, we often wound up working on projects that didn't really fit us and our abilities very well. We didn't enjoy the work and we weren't doing our best work because of it. That's one thing I want to change this time. I want to work with people who motivate and inspire me to want to work with them. I want to know that helping them means making a positive difference in the world around me.
Exercise 1.1.1. Name the characteristics or behaviors you refuse to tolerate because they shut you down or turn you off?
I can't stand working with clients who are bullies, who think that they need to harass or badger people to get things done faster. I don't want to work with clients who look down on me or think I'm just another servant at their command. I won't work with clients who want me to do everything for them. I can't read minds, so I don't want clients who expect me to do that. I hate working with clients who don't take themselves or my time seriously. I don't want to work with clients who aren't sure where they are going or who change directions constantly. I can't work with clients who won't listen or take advice. I need to be sure that the clients I work with know how to communicate their ideas and expectations clearly.
Exercise 1.1.2. Of your past/current clients who should not have gotten past the red velvet rope protecting you and your business?
Looking at the past, most of the clients we took on should not have gotten past the red velvet rope. Of course, we didn't really have a rope. We had an open gate, and that was part of the problem.
Exercise 1.1.3. Dump the dud clients
This one isn't hard to do. It's pretty much happened on its own, which is why our business isn't functioning right now. Lesson learned from this experience: Dumping them before you get involved preserves your sanity and the reputation of your business. As he says in the book, "You owe it to these clients to refer them to someone who can, and will, do their best work with them."
Exercise 1.1.4 Define Your Ideal Client
My ideal client has a specific goal they want to achieve and they have a plan in place to achieve that goal. They know what they want, but are open to suggestions and input. They recognize that working with me will be a collaborative effort and they are prepared to provide feedback on what they like and don't like in a constructive manner. They are pleasant, even-tempered, and ask questions rather than make assumptions. They understand that I have bills to pay just as they do and are as prompt as possible in payment when the terms of service are met. They believe in themselves and are generally optimistic.
Exercise 1.1.5 Who Among Your Current Clients Fits This?
Since I am reinventing my business and may not be doing the same things I have been doing in the past, I think I will approach this from an "I don't have clients yet" standpoint. I know I have absolutely loved working with my developing writers in writer's group, and I seem to have a special gift for helping them to find and develop ideas for their writing.
Exercise 1.1.6 Why Do You Enjoy Working with Them?
I enjoy seeing them go from having this seed of a dream to fulfilling it for the first time. I love being part of that process for them, of watching them come alive as they realize for the first time - maybe in their whole lives - that they can write and that what they write is worth something. That's what gets me going about the whole process of working with writers.
Exercise 1.1.7. What Would Your Ideal Clients Absolutely Need to Possess in order to work for them?
I need them to be committed to writing, to have a strong message they want to share, a recognition that they don't have all the answers, and an ability to take constructive criticism. They need to be people of strong faith, and people who hold themselves accountable for the results rather than blaming others. They also need to be willing and able to pay, because I have to pay my bills in order to be available to help them.
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