Why Finding Your Ideal Client is Like Online Dating

I’ve never done online dating, but if I did, I’d imagine it to be an awful lot like online business.

You probably upload your best photos and say things in your dating profile like: “easy going, fun, loyal, looking for someone who’s down to earth, funny, smart and kind.” But if everyone lived up to who they were on paper, dating apps would be a lot easier and so would landing ideal clients in your biz.

It’s not enough for me to just say “my ideal client is a woman who doesn’t want to diet and who wants to lift heavy shit.” Just like someone who’s kind, funny, and smart isn’t automatically your soul mate. It doesn’t work that way.

There’s so much nuance that goes into finding a good fit- which is why every single “ideal client avatar” exercise I ever did was garbage. It’s not enough to figure out the demographic you want to work with- you need to figure out what kind of *person* you want to work with, too.

Of all the women in the world that want to quit dieting and lift heavy shit, are they all a good fit for me? Hell no. For so many reasons. And it’s my job as an online business owner to create content that acts as an initial vetting system- just like it’s yours to do the same.

I literally didn’t hire a business coach once because she was too “perfect” for me. She posted about how she only eats organic food, loves cats, juices celery daily, and takes barre classes. While this has nothing to do with her ability to coach business, she just didn’t have the vibe I wanted- I didn’t feel connected enough to her as a person to hire her.

And the same is true for you. People are going to hire you for who you are and what you’re about long after they read your “about me” section.