Did you ever have to kiss a few frogs before you found your prince or princess? I was never someone who enjoyed dating (I would’ve been a horrible candidate for the TV show, The Bachelor). I was more so into long term relationships, but I get it, the dating must occur before the long-term relationship.
Can’t put the carriage before the horse, right? But still, I wasn’t chasing after every prospect. I was always strategic about who I chose to date. I needed a good sense of what truly didn’t work for me, and I needed to give my potential partners time for that. So, for that reason, I wasn’t just casually dating for the fun of it.
Let me share a story that illustrates this…
I was looking for a long-term partner and from my dating experiences, two of them turned out to be love interests, meaning that there was a high possibility that I could marry either one of them, which I did, and we just celebrated our 8 years wedding anniversary last month.
Our love story is still beautiful and stronger than ever after eight years (are we still in the honeymoon phase?) because we are compatible, and we respect and value each other.
Now, if we treat our businesses like a string of casual dates, we are less likely to find those clients that are compatible. I didn’t say yes to every dating opportunity because I knew that not every person was “the one”. There was one person who talked about himself a lot and drained my energy, another who wasn’t honest and a couple others who just weren’t the right fit, right off the bat.
So it’s wise for us not to chase every potential client but to take the time to find those who are compatible with us and our values. Those who will respect our time and our expertise. Dating definitely gives us the opportunity to gain wisdom on what we don’t want in a client relationship, so it’s an essential part of the networking process. The more wisdom we gain, the more we stop saying yes to every potential client who crosses our path. That gives us room to draw in the right clients and create relationships.
The Bottom Line:
At this stage in our lives our time is valuable and if a potential client isn’t the right fit then we need to move on and not try to force a relationship because we will never create a love story that way. The sooner we stop saying yes to the wrong clients out of habit or desperation, we start to make room for the right ones.
So, I’ve learned to take a step back and ask myself if I’m still saying yes to the wrong clients, or am I making space for the right ones? The more I network and connect with people, the easier it is for me to pin point that Love Interest who I can build a thriving business with. It’s all about the love story for me, and that can only be built when there is mutual respect and shared values. So let’s choose wisely, my friends.
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Chuckle of the day! 😂
“Telling a client ‘We’re not a good fit’ is the business equivalent of ‘It’s not you, it’s me’… except this time, it’s definitely them.”
Shamayne Brown is a virtual assistant and the founder of Camp Virtual Assistance.
She works with solo professionals and small business owners who are ready to invest in their business and need the support that she offers.
She specializes in creating email newsletters as well as other admin and creative design tasks.
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