CHAPTER 1
The Red VelvetRope Policy

He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.

-Raymond Hull

Imagine that a friend has invited you to accompany her to an invitation-only special event. You arrive and approach the door, surprised to find a red velvet rope stretched between two shiny brass poles. A nicely dressed man asks your name, checking his invitation list. Finding your name there, he flashes a wide grin and drops one end of the rope, allowing you to pass through and enter the party. You feel like a star.

Do you have your own Red Velvet Rope Policy that allows in only the most ideal clients, the ones who energize and inspire you? If you don't, you will shortly. Why?

First, because when you work with clients you love, you'll truly enjoy the work you're doing; you'll love every minute of it. (Well, almost every minute of it. It is work, after all.) And when you love the work you do, you'll do your best work, which is essential to booking yourself solid.

Second, because you are your clients. They are an expression and an extension of you. Do you remember when you were a teenager and your mother or father would give you a hard time about someone you were hanging out with? Your parents may have said that a particular kid was a bad influence. As a teen, you may have thought about how unfair that felt, but the truth is that you are the company you keep. The people you spend time with make a significant impact on your state of mind and how you feel about yourself. Let this be the imperative of your business: choose your clients as carefully as you choose your friends.

The first step in building your foundation is to choose your ideal clients - the individuals or businesses with whom you do your best work or the people or environments that energize and inspire you. We're going to help you identify specific characteristics of individuals or organizations that would make them ideal to work with. ?You will then develop a rigorous screening process to find more of them. We're also going to help you prune your current client list of less-than-ideal clients.

When Joana began her career as a freelance graphic designer, she found herself lucky. Most of the clients that came her way seemed to all fit the description of "ideal client." That was until a particular sales call where the potential client raised a handful of red flags. In an attempt to scare the client away, Joana asked for double what she normally would for the project, and to her surprise, the client said yes.

As she dove into the project, she started to dread working on it, not because of the creative challenge itself but because of the client's behavior. This particular client didn't seem to value her creative input, would delay payments, and was overly critical of her work. They asked for more rounds of revisions than were included in the scope of the project, and they pushed back when asked to pay extra for it. The experience was nothing short of draining, with many days ending in Joana questioning her decision to freelance at all.

She no longer looked forward to jumping into her work alongside her morning coffee. ?The snooze button got hit more often, and she'd find herself procrastinating, dreading her inbox. Each "just one more tiny revision" felt like it could be the final push that sent her over the edge.

It didn't take long for Joana to quickly realize that even for double her rate, it wasn't worth it to work with nonideal clients, and she started to implement her own Red Velvet Rope Policy. It was a game changer, creating a positive ripple effect. She soon started to leap out of bed again, excited to dive into new projects. This excitement was palpable, and it helped deepen the relationship between her and her clients. In fact, she even started flying out to meet some of them face-to-face. This not only made her relationships with her clients stronger but created opportunities for her to be introduced to new ones, just as ideal.

Joana also discovered that when she worked only with ideal clients, her designs got even better. Feeling pumped and into her work meant she could give it her all, leading to doing her best work.

Live by the Red Velvet Rope Policy of ideal clients. Doing so will increase your productivity and happiness. Plus, it allows you to do your best work, which means your clients get the best results possible, which in turn leads to more clients and referrals than you can handle by yourself.

For maximum joy, prosperity, and abundance, think about the person you are when you are performing optimally, when you are with all the people who inspire and energize you. Now think about all of the frustration, tension, and anxiety you feel when you work with clients who are less than ideal - not so good, right?

Wouldn't it be great to spend every day working with clients who are ideal for you, clients whom you can hardly believe you get paid to work with? This ideal is completely possible once you identify who you want to work with and determine with certainty that you will settle for nothing less. Once you do that, it's just a matter of knowing which of your existing clients qualify and how to acquire more just like them.

1.1.1 Written Exercise: To begin to identify the types of clients you don't want, consider which characteristics or behaviors you refuse to tolerate. What turns you off or shuts you down? What kinds of people should not be getting past the red velvet rope that protects you and your business?

Dump the Duds

Let's take this a step further. It's time to dump your dud clients. We can just hear your shocked protestations and exclamations. "I thought this was a book about getting clients, not dumping them!" We're referring to the dud clients - not all of your clients. It sounds harsh, but think about it. ?Your dud clients are those you dread collaborating with. They sap your creativity, bore you to tears, or leave you endlessly frustrated with the project, even after giving it your all.

Most creatives choose their career out of passion for their craft. They choose this path to express their creativity and connect with others through their work. However, along the way, many of these talented individuals find themselves burned out and experiencing creative blocks regularly because of working with too many dud clients.

When Joana faced this problem with a retainer client who represented 30% of her agency's revenue, she was terrified at the thought of letting them go. She thought that if she got rid of them, her reputation would crumble and so in turn would her business. But guess what? Dumping this client brought about only positive outcomes, and the team thanked her for it.

There are likely many reasons you think you can't dump your dud clients, and we know this can seem really scary early on, but hang in there with. Embrace the concept and trust that this is sound advice from loving teachers and a necessary step on the path to booking yourself solid.

Why have clients, or anyone for that matter, in your life who zap your energy and leave you feeling empty? You might decide to dump five dud clients in one week, or you may decide to dump one per month over the next year. The Red Velvet Rope Policy may be provocative. It might not feel like an easy thing to do. It requires a leap of faith (faith in yourself?), but the emotional and financial rewards will be transformational. Within a few weeks of dumping your duds, you may add a dozen or more delightful clients. Sure, you'll increase your revenue if you add more ideal clients to your roster, but you'll also feel at peace and at ease as a business owner and creative. ?You'll enjoy your work more. Maybe not straightaway, but that Red Velvet Rope Policy? It's your ticket to a more positive workday. It'll keep the duds away and ensure you choose your ideal clients - people who inspire and energize you and, more important, allow you to do your best work.

Ask yourself: "Would I rather spend my days working with incredibly amazing, exciting, supercool, awesome people who are both clients and friends, or spend one more agonizing, excruciating minute working with barely tolerable clients who suck the life out of me?" Any initial discomfort or loss you may feel when dumping your duds will pay off in the long run.

Using the phrase "dump your dud clients," suggests that there is something wrong with them. But that's not necessarily the case. Well, in some cases you may have a real nut job on your hands, but most of the time, they're just not right for you. A client who doesn't resonate with your style, for example, could be a dream for another creative who creates work in the style that client is after. Keep in mind that you don't need to create conflict and fire clients. You just need to stop signing on to their projects. You can be tactful, diplomatic, and loving. You can even attempt, when appropriate, to refer them to a colleague who might be a better fit. Whenever possible, keep it simple. Try, "I'm not the best person to serve you." Or "I don't think we'd be a good fit."

Are you always going to get a positive response when dumping your dud clients? Maybe not. If the first thing that comes to mind is "I don't want anyone out there thinking badly of...