Whom Do I Enjoy Coaching?
I have been thinking a lot about my ideal client lately. Put another way, I have been asking myself, “Whom do I enjoy coaching?” It is not an easy question, but it is one that business gurus say I need to know. That is one end of the spectrum. My belief, in my time as a business owner/ADHD coach, has been that I do not need to define my ideal client. That is the other end of the spectrum. These two ends of the spectrum are all I have been exploring in my time in business. I do not like the idea of turning away potential clients, so I clung to the idea that defining my ideal client is unnecessary. This is black and white thinking. One end of the spectrum is black, and the other end is white. What I need is something gray. In other words, how can I define my ideal client without being overly rigid about who I coach. It can be both true that I need to know my ideal client and that I can be free to not be defined by my ideal client. In short, I must be able to define my ideal client my way. I do not want to say I work with people that fit into these neat little categories, like age, gender, or other typical demographics. What I would enjoy saying is I work with people who have certain qualities. For me, it is about qualities rather than demographics. So, who do I enjoy coaching? Let me tell you.
My Process
Before I dive into whom I enjoy coaching, let me explain how I came to this “ideal client.” As mentioned above, I bristled at the idea of using demographics to define who I enjoyed coaching. However, I noticed I liked certain personality traits of my clients. Thereafter, I began saying it is more about the personality and other qualities that attract me as a coach. But, I did not write anything down about it. Again, I was resisting doing anything about it. Eventually, I forced myself to sit down and come up with what those qualities are. I went through every client I ever coached and wrote down what I liked and didn’t like about each client. I then found commonalities, and created a word cloud. The characteristics that came up more often were given a bigger word size, and the less common qualities were smaller. I was still unsatisfied with the word cloud. Someone (I can’t remember whom) asked me if the qualities in my word cloud were all must-haves. I then decided to take the words and recolor them. The essential qualities of my ideal client would be red (my business’ main color), and the would-be-nice characteristics were colored green (my favorite color). This word cloud now better represents my ideal client. I am sure, as I explore more fully what I want in a coaching client, it will continue to evolve and change, but for now, it is what it is. Below, I will display it and unpack it.
My Ideal Client
Above, I said I do not care about age when it comes to my coaching clients, but I do want my clients to have the maturity to go through the coaching process. Other coaches will take younger and less mature clients, but I prefer clients who are mature. One of my youngest clients ever was more mature than some of my older teenage clients. Age has no bearing on maturity. Mature clients have the ability to look at their lives and see what is truly going on. They take personal growth seriously and desire to make changes.
One of the phrases in the word cloud that might cause some pause is “believes in self.” I don’t mean you have to be the most confident person in the world, but I do want someone who believes they can grow and make changes in their life. In some respects, everyone has doubts about themselves, but there are those who know they can do better. These are the people I want to coach. I want someone willing to engage in the coaching process because they believe that, with the right supports, they can reach their full potential.
The mindset described in the previous paragraph describes someone who is ready for coaching. To be ready is to be in a place where you know something needs to change and you are ready to act. When you are ready to act, you will be invested in the process. You will have buy-in. I like those clients who are motivated and are ready to put in the work necessary to improve themselves.
My ideal client is also open and honest with me. By “open,” I mean forthcoming and does not hide anything from me that would be good to know. I also appreciate honesty. I want to be told the truth. Lying does no good. If my client says they are going to do something and they do not do it, I want to know. I won’t be judgmental. I just like to know what is really going on with my clients. It helps me be a better coach for them.
Communication is key in a coaching relationship. I want my clients to be communicative. I want to know what is going on. If they are unable to make their scheduled coaching session, I want to know. Again, I won’t be judgmental. I just like to know. It is also good if my clients are talkative, but I don’t mean they have to talk a bunch. I want them to be able to say what they need to say and carry on a conversation. Granted, I am not the best at this, but I am working on it. If you are working on it too, we can work together.
My ideal client is prepared for our coaching sessions. By that, I don’t mean they have to have followed through on their commitments. I want my clients to come in with an idea of what they would like to discuss in their coaching sessions.
Furthermore, I want my coaching sessions to be fun. I want to enjoy working with my clients. This could mean having a playful attitude towards experimenting and finding what works for you. It could also mean having a sense of humor.
There is more I could say about my ideal client, but I am realizing how long this blog post is getting. If you have any further questions about any of the words in the word cloud, contact me. Let’s talk. Moreover, it might not be a bad idea to explore coaching with me if you are curious about my ideal client. To me, that shows you at least aspire to the qualities listed.
See Yourself in This Description?
If the above person sounds like you, perhaps we can work together. It might be time for you to explore coaching. I would be honored to get to know you and see if we are, indeed, a good fit for a coaching relationship. I would encourage you to sign up for a Free Reset Session.
What If You Don’t See Yourself in This Description?
If you do not see yourself in this description, it does not mean that I will not coach you. If you think I am the right coach for you, let’s talk. Schedule a Free Reset Session. If we determine that we’re not a good fit, I can refer you to another coach who will be a better fit. Either way, I am excited to meet you!