Samantha Hartley’s Story … #BossBabe Love Month Series

Networking didn’t come naturally to me, but it was a skill that I built over time. All my growth in the early years depended on networking. I realized that I had to be visible to get clients (because most people don’t have psychic powers). 

Nowadays, thanks to social media, it’s much easier to be visible. But, it’s extremely important to know that the attention span of someone seeing you online is less than in a face-to-face meeting. It’s important to put yourself in front of potential clients every single day.

About the time I really got traction with my revenues, I had a string of dreadful clients who really took the wind out of my sails. This of course, made me incredibly passionate about finding and working exclusively with perfect clients. I’m grateful to those difficult people for making me wait around before meetings, bringing up inappropriate topics and never, ever implementing. They showed me what I cannot tolerate, and how to recognize them, so I don’t work with anyone like that ever again. 

A lot of business owners are afraid to turn down work with difficult clients because they fear they don’t have enough business as it is. I can assure you that terrible clients will punish you more than they’re worth. And somehow, my resolve to turn them away has always attracted a perfect client right after they go.

There are so many business models and ways of doing business that it can be hard to choose. I didn’t have a clear idea of what I was building when I first started. I basically followed my intuition and passion. 

In the early years that meant classic consulting engagements in which I went in and worked several months with a small business. Later I started to work with clients online – either in the same consulting engagements, but remote, or in small groups. For a while there, everyone was creating passive revenue streams with low priced self-study programs. That seems pretty appealing, so I made a course like that which did okay.

Looking back, the best benefit of having done that was taking a lot of my intellectual property out of my brain and turning it into a curriculum. I realized that was a strength of mine, and that it’s not something everyone knows how to do.

The detriment was that it pulled my focus towards those who could least afford to work with me – NOT perfect clients. 

I’ve come to realize that we all do our best when we serve at our highest level, when we serve those who we are uniquely suited to serve. Yes, perfect clients, but in my case, I thrive when I work with clients I call “next-level” – the ones who show up and don’t seem (at first) like they need anything at all! 

When my client Sharon came into my life, she was famous in her niche and earning 4 times what any of my other clients do. I started asking questions and discovered she didn’t need any Business 101. She needed someone to help her break through into her potential by showing her opportunities that others couldn’t see and helping her get there. 

I now know that many of the women consultants I work with once had coaches who advised them — in good faith — but simply could not hold a big enough vision. They couldn’t see the potential of my clients to charge $250,000 per engagement, to speak on world stages, to create a massive business with a 30-hour work week.

I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my business.

My mission and my passions are aligned: to lift up women business owners and help them to create profitable, joyful businesses.