#6 of 10 - Business Coaching Series - Read time: 6 mintues

Who's Your Person?

Stop trying to serve everyone. Here's how to identify your ideal client and create messaging that actually connects and converts.

Welcome to coaching moment number six.

We've covered belonging, belief plus strategy, overcoming action paralysis, understanding what you're selling, and creating realistic financial forecasts. Now let's tackle something that will either liberate you or terrify you: getting ridiculously specific about who you actually serve.

The Exhausting Myth of "Everyone"

Let me guess: when someone asks who your ideal client is, you say something like "anyone who needs help with [your thing]" or "small business owners who want to grow."

We all know we're not supposed to market to just "anyone," but I am shocked at how many clients tell me this. In fact, most people who come to me for a website tell me this. We know it, but we're not doing it.

TOPICS IN THIS SERIES

You're Meant to Be Here
Belief + Strategy = Success
What Stops You From Taking Action?
What Are You Actually Selling?
The Numbers Don't Lie
Who's Your Person?
The Trust Factor
The Client Journey
Your Money Story
Where Strategy Meets Reality

Here's why that's killing your business: when you try to speak to everyone, your message becomes so watered down and generic that it doesn't meaningfully touch anyone.

The Sanity-Saving Truth About Specificity

Here's what nobody tells you about finding your ideal client: it's not just about them finding you. It's about you keeping your sanity as a business owner.

When you know exactly who you're talking to:

Your content writes itself. Instead of wondering what "everyone" wants to hear, you're having a conversation with a specific person about their specific challenges.

Your decisions become obvious. Should you create that course? Attend that networking event? Easy – does it serve your person or not?

Your messaging hits differently. Instead of generic platitudes, you're speaking directly to someone's lived experience.

Take a business coach who used to help "small business owners grow their revenue." She was constantly overwhelmed trying to create content for restaurant owners, consultants, e-commerce brands, and service providers. Her messaging was basically business horoscopes – true for everyone, meaningful to no one.

When she shifted to "helping accounting firms scale without burnout," everything clicked. She understood their specific challenges, language, and goals. Her content became laser-focused, her ideal clients started raising their hands, and she tripled her revenue while working less.

What "Niche" Actually Means

A niche doesn't have to be "left-handed yoga instructors who own purple cars." It's simply any way of narrowing down from "everyone in the world" to "a small group you know how to find and appeal to."

Your niche could be geographic (Denver restaurants), industry-based (law firms), life stage (estate planning for adults with aging parents), problem-specific (entrepreneurs with anxiety), business stage (six-figure service providers), or values-based (environmentally conscious brands).

The "I Am My Client" Trap

Here's another thing that trips people up: assuming your ideal client is just like you. It's tempting – who do we understand better than ourselves?

Sometimes that's true. But not always. Your ideal client might be completely different from you – different industry, different life stage, different challenges. The key is making the effort to truly understand someone who isn't you.

If your ideal client is different from you:

Spend time in their world. Join their Facebook groups, attend their industry events, listen to their podcasts. You're learning their language and concerns.

Ask lots of questions. "What was your day like before this became a problem?" "How do you explain this issue to your spouse?"

Find a bridge person. Know someone who fits your ideal client profile? Pick their brain over coffee.

Study their existing solutions. What are they currently doing to solve this problem? What frustrates them?

The "Dinner Party" Test

Here's how you know if you've identified your person: can you describe your ideal client like you're talking about a real person at a dinner party?

Weak: "I help small business owners."

Strong: "I help accounting firm owners who are drowning in tax season chaos and can't find good staff. They're usually 10-15 years into their practice, technically skilled but hate the business management side."

The second version paints a picture you can visualize.

Finding Your Person

Look at your favorite clients. Who energizes you to work with? Who refers others and pays without hesitation?

Identify the patterns. Similar industries? Life stages? Geographic areas?

Listen to their language. How do they describe their problems? What keeps them up at night?

Notice where they hang out. What conferences do they attend? What social media platforms are they active on?

Why This Feels Scary (And Why You Should Do It Anyway)

"But what if I turn away good clients? What if I'm limiting my market?"

Here's the counterintuitive truth: specificity expands your market. (I know, right - I have to just blindly force myself to believe this too.)

When you speak generally, you compete with everyone offering similar services. When you speak specifically, you become the obvious choice for your ideal clients.

That accounting firm coach isn't competing with every business coach anymore – she's the accounting expert. Plus, ideal clients have friends. When someone feels truly understood by your marketing, they refer people exactly like them.

Your Person-Finding Action Plan

This week, analyze your best clients. Look at your top 5 favorite clients. What patterns do you see?

Write their story. Create a detailed description of your ideal person. Where do they work? What frustrates them?

Test your messaging. Rewrite one piece of content specifically for this person.

Ask your people directly. "What was your world like before we worked together?"

The Liberation of Specificity

When you get clear on your person, you stop trying to be everything to everyone and start being exactly what someone needs.

Your marketing becomes conversation instead of broadcasting. Your ideal clients start feeling like you're reading their minds instead of guessing at their problems.

Stop trying to appeal to everyone. Start speaking to someone.

Who's your person?

Still stuck? Type this prompt into ChatGPT, CoPilot or your fave AI platform.

I just completed a quiz online by a coach for online business. A topic came up and my answer showed that I still have work to do. Can we have a business therapy session right now so that you can help me work through it?

Topic: I'm trying to serve everyone and my marketing feels generic and isn't connecting with anyone specific.

Ideal outcome: That I identify my ideal client so specifically that I can create messaging that makes them feel like I'm reading their mind, and that I understand how to find and speak to my people consistently.

Ask me a question and let's take it from there.

Numbers Don't Lie

The Trust Factor

Hi, I'm Birit

I’m a business owner, mom of two, and former survivor turned strategist — building elegant, intuitive online businesses that help clients step into their next chapter with clarity and confidence.