One hundred percent of what Lara and I do with Making Brands Happen is rooted in our love for true, authentic transformation, for witnessing real heartfelt change in our clients. I hate to even use the word “clients” because they truly become and remain our friends. I just had a great call with Lara (who is on maternity leave loving on her sweet baby Grace) to catch up and we talked about our big dreams for this year: the people we are going to be working with, the fine-tuned processes we are laying out to help each really be changed from the inside out and the personal goals we have for making 2012 amazing. We are so blessed to be able to connect with the right clients with Making Brands Happen. In our work with each client we help them define their ideal clients thereby defining their ideal relationships for not just their businesses but their lives. In thinking about this today, it made me think about the connection between ideal CLIENTS and ideal RELATIONSHIPS – this exercise is so valuable professionally AND personally.
Who are those people you spend the most amount of time with? Are they ideal. Do they enrich your life?
I opened my Stationery Academy textbook to the definition of MY ideal “client” or friend, really… this woman buys my stationery and products. She reads this blog. She identifies with the look and feel of what I design. “She” doesn’t exist as a REAL person, rather the description of her describes who I want as part of my life – professionally or personally. It made me smile to read my description of her. After writing this, I shaped my brand, my communications, my collateral and all of my interactions to attract and connect with THIS woman…
My ideal client is in her thirties and is busy as a bee. She was raised in the South and loves being a mother more than anything in the world. Every now and then she wants to put on her brown peep toe pumps for a night on the town with her husband. She’s a wine lover but will surprise her friends by ordering a Belvedere slightly dirty martini with extra olives when she has a wild hair. She loves to dress up (fake doe-eyed lashes are her weakness) but prefers jeans and a fitted tee any day of the week. She shops at JCREW and Ann Taylor LOFT, reads Real Simple Magazine and makes a Target run twice a week but splurges on a Dooney and Bourke handbag once a year. Her clothes fall into a neutral palette as does her home – decorated form Home Goods, Pottery Barn and a good sale at Restoration Hardware. She loves entertaining, throwing parties and showers. She has a penchant for boxes, bins, tins, cubbies, jars, notepads and stationery. Her label marker is always within arms reach. She is slightly (admittedly) OCD and turns the shampoo bottle labels out before stepping out of the shower. She lines up her boxes, bins, jars and tins neatly and feels empowered and calm in a clean home. That being said, she’s authentic, comfortable with slight disarray and prefers a lived in look to perfection. She’s flawed and okay with that. She’s also a little silly and laughs at herself daily. When her home is a mess she remembers it is because a family lives there. Being type A she is driven beyond belief and works feverishly. But her family is her heart and is served by her passion. She loves God and her faith run through every fiber of her being. She wants to be inspired, encouraged, connected and she wants to make an impact on others. She values being put together in appearance and image but more than anything she values tradition, family and authentic grace.
Who is your ideal friend/client? Often they’re one in the same. Get to know him or her and you’ll be surprised how much you learn about yourself.
Image credit: Some random guy at the Houston Airport during Making Things Happen 2010. Natalie, I wish you were in this photo. : ) This is Gina, myself (and Brady in my belly!) and Lara. I’m so grateful for these girls. They define “ideal” for me.