So you’ve been running your service based business for a while now and you breathe a sigh of relief being able to say that work has been pouring in – how freaking awesome is that!? I bet you are still struggling to believe that you are actually making money running your very own online biz, huh?

I remember my first few months after starting my business and how incredible it felt being booked out with work. I had very little experience in the field since I was in the process of a career change, and needed to build up my portfolio for credibility.

However, the buzz soon wore off when I began to feel burnt out and unfulfilled…

I started putting off tasks because I had little to no desire to sit down and focus on the projects that needed my attention. Work began to pile up. And, while I knew I should be happy about it, my heart still felt heavy.

It dawned on me pretty quickly why: because, as Marie Kondo would say, those projects did not “spark joy” for me because the clients I was working with were not my “dream clients”.

And guess what? It showed! 

The quality of work was definitely not my finest. I wasn’t getting much feedback from clients which meant that I hardly had anything to show for the time I spent on those projects…

Talk about going nowhere slowly!

So today I wanted to share my biggest lesson with you when it comes to client work: take the time to truly understand who it is you want to work with.

Find clarity on who your dream client is. This simple, yet complex step, is the most important thing you can do for the growth of your business and your happiness.

Need some help figuring out if your current clients are your “dream clients”? Here are 5 questions to gain some clarity:

#1: Do I enjoy the work my current clients require of me?

If you’re not enjoying the work your current clients are sending your way it may be time to re-evaluate which tasks excites you. You could either convey this to your clients so you can take on tasks more aligned with where you’re at in your business, or set out to find clients who need assistance in the particular area you would like to shift your attention to.

#2: Do I enjoy interacting with my current clients?

The answer to this question is a major indication to whether your current clients are actually your dream clients. If you don’t enjoy interacting with the people you work with it will weigh you down. Begin the process of understanding who it is you love engaging with and find clients who match this description. 

#3: Do my current clients share my values?

We connect with people who share our values; and people who don’t share our values can cause us to feel really uncomfortable. Your dream clients should not make you feel uncomfortable, and you should be able to say without doubt that you both hold the same values. If you are uncertain about what’s important to your current clients, you’ll need to learn more about them to figure out if they’re aligned with you and your business.

#4: Do my current clients trust my work, ideas and opinions?

If your current clients do not trust your expertise and never seem happy with your work then it could be a warning sign that they are not your ideal clients. This could also be a reflection of your current state of heart, since you’ll do your best work when you love what you are doing. Your dream clients should be people who trust your skills and the job they’ve hired you to do. If your clients do not check this box it may be time to reposition your offer so you can attract people who you’ll have a better understanding with. 

#5: Do my current clients respect my boundaries and work conditions?

Clients who do not respect your boundaries and work conditions can become really hard to deal with and can cause major distress. Being anxious and stressed out by clients is not at all an ideal situation. So if this is what’s happening with you right now, know that it does not have to be this way and the problem may not necessarily lie with you. It could just mean that your client is not YOUR dream client and perhaps there is someone else out there who is better suited for them.