One of the biggest challenges I faced in starting my own business was truly understanding who I was as a business. Not just the Amanda Parker part of it, but also The Courage Factory side.
What did I stand for? Who did I work with? What problems did I solve?
I wanted to help people feel more courageous in their lives. That was the ultimate goal. But then I needed to figure out what people…no, EXACTLY what people. I needed to craft and carve intimate details of their lives so that I could truly speak to that specific individual who would best be served but what I had to offer.
In essence, I needed to learn how to market my offer and tailor the way that I speak to the person who would potentially sign up to work with me.
Anyone who works in marketing, or has run a business before, understand this crucial step in entrepreneurship.
The challenge, however, is that who I am is continually evolving along with my business. The questions you would have asked me two years ago about who I serve and what I do would result in completely different answers than today. So this fallacy of finding your dream client and then speaking ONLY to them only gets you a few months of traction before you realize something new about someone new, or have a greater understanding of what kind of person gives you energy and what kind of person drains it.
I am still on this journey, three years in. There is no real end to it, as far as I can see. Nor should there be. As I evolve, my work evolves. What I can offer to people evolves and therefore my so-called “dream clients” also evolve.
Each time I attempt to narrow the focus and get crystal clear on “who” I serve, someone comes into my life that does not fit the bill in any way, shape, or form…and I love them.
I am continually learning that, in essence, my original belief that, “I want to help people feel more courageous in their lives” still holds true today.
What I’ve also learned is that I cannot solely gear my words and creativity towards a specific audience. What I can do, is create from my heart the words that are longing to be spoken, and from that truth “the right people” will know I am speaking to them.
Perhaps that’s the difference between creating a business for scale vs. simply creating. When you first begin, you want to optimize your audience so that your focus is so narrow that those 5, 10, 100 people just know you are speaking to them. Then as you grow you become less encumbered by your target client because your product or service takes on a life of its own – and people don’t just come to you because they need what you are offering, they come to you because your business or brand sparks a desire in them for something different – something they don’t already have today.
Your brand, that part of you that you create from your own inspiration, is what takes on a life of its own. People are inspired just by seeing who you are and what you put into the world – and they, in turn, are inspired to be / see / do / want something different.
That’s the creative side of business. The continually evolving, shape-shifting, self-awareness and brand-building side. The more of you your business becomes, the easier it is for the right people to find you.
Amanda Parker is the Founder of The Courage Factory and a catalyst for human transformation through her coaching and leadership work with leaders & entrepreneurs.
Whenever you’re ready, I can help you activate your courage to truly transform the way you lead your business and life.
- Join Alchemy this March and access your inner wisdom and transform how you lead your business and life. I promise to challenge and provoke your thinking. And you’ll be surrounded with a really smart community of extraordinary leaders and entrepreneurs.
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