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I know firsthand what it’s like to work with clients and customers who value what I have to offer (and those who don’t). I think it’s easy to believe that when you start a business, you’ll magically attract the right people (the ones who value your time and work) when in reality, most of the time, we spend a lot of time working with customers and clients who teach us what we don’t want. (we’ll call those hard lessons to learn). But the truth is, it’s those lessons that teach us to listen to our gut when it comes to the types of people we attract, and over time, we become great at attracting the right audience and saying no to the rest. 

But let me go back in time for a minute. To a time where I didn’t feel valued. Where I felt like I poured my heart into everything I did just to have it go unnoticed. I often sat there and wondered if pursuing a career in something that I am attached to emotionally, something I cared so much about, was the right decision. I think part of me is more vulnerable by choosing this as my job. Because to me, it’s more than a job. It’s something I created from nothing in hopes that the person I’m creating it for, is someone who values it. Pouring your heart into something you love for a long time just to feel like it’s not valued will run you into the ground eventually. 

The truth is that a lot of us spend a long time getting hung up on what we are not to justify the fact that we don’t value ourselves enough. We focus on all the things we aren’t excellent at instead of the pieces that make us great. The idea of truly valuing our time, work, vision, and dreams is always tied to something in the future. We become accustomed to it always being just out of reach because we’re not willing to seize it and hold on to it.

That leads us to the million-dollar question is; how do you get others to value what you do? 

It starts with you.

The first step in getting others to value you is to value yourself.

There are countless hours of work I put into this business. Countless nights that I would stay up all night to get my work done because it was the only time I could because it was when my little ones were sleeping. Countless hours on the road. Nights away from my family. Countless hours of trying over and over to get it right and countless of hours of failing and trying it again. Long days of work while holding my son while he’s sleeping. I have taken every day and pushed towards my goal, and I am the only one who knows how much I have had to sacrifice.

Do you know who values what I do most?

I do.

I know how much I have had to sacrifice and how hard I have worked. I know the hours, the days, the years I have put into this. There have been a million things that I have had to sacrifice to get to where I am now. I value every minute of my day, and at the end of the day, I have become very picky in choosing where I spend my time and who I spend my time on. I am ok with walking away from someone who does not value what I do. Because I know there are people out there that value everything I do. 

So the first step to getting others to value your time, your effort, your work – is to value yourself and your time.

The second thing is learning how to recognize those that will value what you do and those that don’t. With this, you will also need to learn to let go of those that don’t. It’s learning how to filter through people to find your dream client or customer. The people that see how hard you work and they appreciate everything you do for them. It’s not always easy to figure this out but take the time to figure out who your dream client is. 

Have you ever had a ‘dream client or customer?

If yes, sit down and write down what about them you loved so much. Then figure out how to find more of those types of people. Learn to see signs of a dream client and signs of a client that you’ve had in the past that didn’t appreciate everything you did. You’ll soon know exactly how to figure out who falls into what category, and more importantly, how to find more of the right people!

Here are a few things I look for:

They know how hard I work

Someone who understands how much work goes into creating quality products, resources and services. Since most of my clients and customers also have their own business, I always try and connect with those who really understand how much work goes into running a business and creating quality products and resources. Often this is someone who’s been in business for themselves for quite some time and is willing knows the importance in investing in quality items. Someone who has this understanding will always value what we do more than those who do not. 

Their style lines up with mine

You’ll never find an industry that doesn’t have competition in one way or another. Most of the time, there is no shortage of people who have the same thing of service or product available. So what separates these options really comes down to style and vision. For example; Our social media captions are written in a specific voice and style. I know they won’t be a perfect fit for everyone who’d like to get professionally written social media captions delivered each month, but by staying true to this style of writing, we create a resource that ends up being the perfect fit for a lot of business owners. My goal with these captions is not to be a generic option for anyone with a business. Instead, I want these captions to be a perfect fit for the right business owners. 

They value my prices

Like so many others, I started my business charging very little for my time. As time went by and my business grew, my pricing increased as well. One of the most interesting things I found was that charging higher prices helped me attract more of my ideal clients and customers. The ones who didn’t question my pricing tried to get a discount or attempted to compare my pricing to someone else offering something similar in hopes that I would doubt my pricing and lower it. Those types of people often don’t make the best clients and customers, and I learned very quickly that to FEEL valued, I need to charge accordingly. 

They’re excited to support my business

I’ve had thousands of customers from all over the world over the years. 80,000+ people who have in some way ordered something from our shop, became a member, or hired me for something more specific. Regardless of how they found out about Modern Market, it’s the ones who are genuinely excited and connected to this company that I’ve built that always bring me the most joy.

I think because this business is more than just products, resources, and services to me. I feel connected to the people who support it because we’re all in the same business of chasing our biggest dreams. It’s a community of creatives that just understand what it means to put this much work into what we do so when they come along and show their support and are excited to be part of something bigger; it just feels like all the little pieces have fallen into place.

Anyways…those are just a few things that I look at. There are so many signs that you can learn to see in your dream client and customer. You just have to learn what to look for and learn to walk away from those that show signs of not valuing what you do.

With how much energy, time, and work you put into your business, you deserve to be supported by people who value what you do. More importantly, you have to value it first. You have to raise that bar and never bother with losing out on anything that’s below your highest standard.

You deserve only the best. 

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