How to attract clients you actually adore as humans

While you're in that stage of desperation, of just thinking, I just need a client or two, I just need some work, I just need money, you know, it's very easy to forget about being specific about what kind of clients you're calling in, or even what kind of work that you're calling in. And in that moment, it may feel like it doesn't even matter, because all you need is some money, maybe some validation, a bit of extra experience, you know, we've all got our reasons for just wanting to land that next client or two. But I have learned the hard way that not all clients are made equal. And a lot of the things that I thought I was going to get by landing, just any old client, you know, didn't come really come to pass. Because, you know, for instance, you know, the money that I thought I was going to earn for doing this particular amount of work will, you know, didn't suddenly look quite as appealing when I had to work three times as many hours because of all the files that I was putting out. And the you know, the dramas that I was dealing with the validation or confidence that I'd thought I'd you know, walk away with at the end of this project was absolutely shattered, because, you know, they made me question my ability and my worth as a service provider. You see where I'm going with this. So that is why I felt really cold to do this episode today, talking all about how to not just attract any old client, but to attract clients that you actually adore, as humans, so that you're excited to chat with them. And you enjoy the entire process of working with them and get to like, pinch yourself going, Oh, my gosh, do I actually get paid to do this, which is an experience I have regularly. And I really want you to have that too. So if you're excited, if you would like to know my thoughts on this, I've got five pretty juicy pieces of advice of advice around this one. Well, then obviously, just keep on listening. Welcome to the scene heard paid podcast, where we believe that success isn't just about what you need to do. It's about who you need to be. I'm your host, Kat Elizabeth. And each week, I'll be bringing you practical advice, honest stories and occasional dose of tough love to help you go from industry's best kept secret to in demand brand. So you're not only get paid to do what you love, but can build a platform that creates meaningful, positive change, and inspires the people around you to do the same. Let's get into it. Welcome back. And oh, if this is your first time listening, hello, what what a first episode choose? I'm really excited for this episode. And it just felt kind of timely. I'm a little bit overbooked. Very busy. And on the verge of a tiny bit of burnout more just because of there's just so much else that has been going on between health challenges yet again, changes with moving and like our location, kind of instability, I guess, not to mention what is going on in the world right now. Like it is let's, let's be real, it is not. It's not fun, what's going on at the moment. And I've been feeling very heavy, very tired. And, you know, my initial temptation was to retreat, which tends to be what I do, you know, I mean, part of it, that's just like a self care thing. And so I'm not saying that that is a bad thing. But part of the reason to was that, oh, my gosh, should I even be sharing anything right now, you know, it feels like anything I'm going to share is going to be so superficial and frivolous, and just just stupid. Like, I just really was up in my head about that. And, you know, had to give myself a little bit of time to just kind of process and figure out what I wanted to do. And, yeah, realise that, yeah, there's no point in just kind of sitting and staying completely silent. Because that's not necessarily doesn't feel good to me. And it means that I'm actually, you know, the one thing that I can be doing right now is, you know, providing some value is helping, like, not just my clients, but my audience. And, you know, when I'm earning money, it gives me the ability as well to then contribute to the organisations that I care about, you know, so, me showing up and doing my thing. There's certainly more positive to it the negative, but as you can probably understand, because I know I've had this conversation with so many people like it is not an easy thing to navigate because there's no right or wrong. There is there's no guidebook, and there is also no perfect way of doing this. So my personal decision was to show back up and share again, and just try and do it in a intentional way in a conscious way. Knowing that yeah, it's I'm still probably gonna upset some people and then other people will think, Oh, you're not doing enough or you're doing too much like it's just, we can't win in this scenario. But the thing that has been sort of, I guess, coming through despite all of the, the really sort of heaviness and the darkness, and, you know, the challenges that have been going on, is realising just how dang much I love my clients. They make me so happy. And you know, I can be feeling so flat and tired and horrible and have a headache and just be like, how am I going to pull it out? Like how am I going to get on a 60 minute call, and provide the energy and create the space that they need, you know, to get what they need, you know, out of the call. And as soon as the call starts, I just go, Ah, well, I mean, I don't even real I just forget, I forget completely how I was feeling before and just get sucked into this, just this bowl of joy for 60 minutes, no matter what we're talking about. And that is such a gift. You know, I realised you know, the level of privilege that I you know, that I have even to be able to just run a business in general to, you know, to be getting paid to have all the things that I have all the creature comforts and whatnot. And so I'm so grateful for that. But there is something like it's a whole another thing, to also have a job that doesn't feel like a job that is full of so much joy and fulfilment, and passion and laughter and challenges. And you know, all the good things, everything that I wanted from life has managed to come together in this business that I have now. And so much of it kind of rests on the fact that it's the people that I'm working with that make it so awesome, because trust me, I've worked with enough nightmare clients to know what it's like like to know that the whole self employed like freedom of self employment thing, it does not feel like freedom when you're working for clients that you cannot stand I've lived through week long or multiple week long anxiety attacks that got triggered every time I heard my like Gmail notification, don't worry, I do not have Gmail notifications anymore. That was a very long time ago. But you know, I have, I've experienced the other side to know that your self employment can also just feel like a self made prison sentence, if you're working with the wrong people. So the fact that these days, not only am I booked out, and you know, getting paid well, to do what I love, I'm working with people that I consider to be friends, every single one of them, I would absolutely have over for a barbecue, or to go out for cocktails. And that is a really big deal. So I guess really long story short, you're going to have to excuse all the tangents. I've got a very tired brain at the moment. But what I was thinking is okay, I'm done. I'm done talking about all of the heavy stuff from last year. I think I've made my point. Hopefully, you've learned some things from it found it helpful. Now let's talk about the good stuff. Let's talk about the things that have been working. And I want to just share some of my insight and my hard earned wisdom around what it's really taken me to get to this point where I guess my hit rate of clients that I love working with, it's like what would hit right? It's like 100%, like 10 out of 10. Like, I don't have any duds. So I thought I would break this down. My usual style, I've kind of got this five big nuggets that I really want to share. There is so much more to this. And some of these are going to be like big points that I could go so much deeper into. So you're going to have to just bear with me as I give you as much as I can in a short period of time. And if you want more, there's always ways of getting more. You know, if you want to work with me on another level, and go deeper into this work, obviously, I'll always have links to all of the things in the show notes. Plus, let's not forget if you listened to last week's episode, it was more than a week ago. But on the last episode I hinted about my new programme that's going to be coming, which is called Unbridled, the waitlist is open right now at least at the time of recording this which is early March. So that programme is going to be very much in line with what I'm talking about in this episode today. And that some of the things that we need to either stop doing or start doing in order to be attracting dream clients and not nightmare clients. So let's just dive in to point number one. We're going to start with a tough love. Stop trying to impress anyone or trying to build a brand based around what you think is going to attract your clients. We often get so caught up in trying to get it right and being like, Okay, well, I think they really like the colour pink. And and they definitely respond to like this style of content and these different things and we, you know, base our photoshoots around this and all our content strategy is around just like trying to, to look good and to get it right and to impress and to attract. And the fact is that is already setting you behind. Because that means you are already sort of manipulating your natural way of showing up, it means that you are sort of blocking your own natural magnetism by trying to fit into this mould that you've created for yourself that is actually completely unnecessary. Because the thing that I have to keep telling my clients over and over again, is that, you know, while we're obsessing about like, what is the right way, like, how do I do this, right? How do I do this? Right? Like, that's how, that's the sort of mindset that so many of my clients come to me, like, when they first start working with me, they're just fixated on this idea of getting it right. And like, I just want to make sure I launch the right way. And when I finally put this out there, I've like, I've done it, right. And I've you know, the thing that I have to break to them is that there is no actual, right? There is no like, Yes, this is how you do this successfully. And this is how you do it unsuccessfully, at least not in the beginning. Because when you are first getting started with anything, like everything is guesswork, like you basically have to create a hypothesis. And this is I literally call it like the ideal client hypothesis, inside of my Seen, Paid, Heard Academy, because I know so many people taking that programme are very early on, they haven't, they may not have worked with any clients, or they've worked with a handful of clients, not enough information to help them understand who they really want to serve. To really understand what their unique gifts are like, it's all going to be a hypothesis. And the really good stuff that like the juicy stuff that we uncover for their, for their messaging and their positioning and all of that, it basically never comes from that hypothesis, the hypothesis means we don't have a blank page, and we get to put it out there. And then we see what starts to happen. And what we're looking for is trying to see what is resonating with the right people. So you know, paying attention to the actual sort of data, which is obviously important. But to be completely honest, the most important thing is you just showing up as you because that becomes this beacon, and you're naturally leaning further and further in to your unique gifts, your strengths of communication, and just how you want to show up naturally, that is already going to start to give you more insight into what you could be doing, you know, with your strategy to get it right, inverted commas, then, by you trying to be so fixated on this idea of what you're supposed to do supposed to look like supposed to sound like and do that from the beginning, and never give yourself this chance to just fly. So number one thing that I want you to keep in mind is that as long as you are trying to impress trying to attract, you're going to do the complete opposite. I mean, you might attract something, but you are very, it's very unlikely you're going to attract the things that you actually want. Because that energy of trying to impress, kind of it sends out the wrong signals, let's say Okay, so I just want you to know that I know it feels like just getting the like the next perfect, you know, template like something fill in the blank or having someone do a strategy for you is going to be like how you can finally just short with confidence. But it's kind of it's kind of backwards, the showing up kind of needs to happen first and then then you start to understand what this strategy is going to be about. And then the strategy will be able to amplify all of the stuff that you've already discovered that came from the inside. I hope this is making sense so far. Thing number two, talk about the things you're obsessed with, in a in the way that you would if you were hanging around people who already thought you were awesome. Okay, I know this can be tricky, because maybe you don't have heaps of close friends or family who really understand your obsessions. And you know, like, what you really do so just kind of like, imagine for a second that one of your favourite people in the world does understand what you do and loves hearing you talk about your passions like obsessively, obsessively. How would you show up if you knew that your entire audience was full of people who are We're hanging off every word that already thought you were awesome. So anything that you shared that we're just going to be like, yes. Versus that sort of like, Oh, who's listening? And what are they going to think? And oh, is this, they're probably going to judge me if I say it like this, or maybe I should I just like I might hold off and not talk about this topic for another few months. Like, once I've, maybe I need to warm them up first. Can you already see like the difference or feel the difference in how you would be showing up based on your impressions of who's listening and, and who really is responding to your content, you just getting on a roll. And I know, we're all different, we all have different personality styles, not everyone talks as fast or as much as me and goes down as many rabbit holes, that's just my style. But you know, you have your style, you have your way of doing this. And I know there are things that you get fired up about, and whether your version of firing, you know, getting fired up is like me, and just going on a rambley tangent, or it's writing a passionate essay, it doesn't matter. As soon as you can unlock that fire, that passion for the things that you are really excited about. Now, I'm obviously talking in terms of your personal brand, like this is going to be really powerful. But you don't have to just draw the line and say, Well, I can only talk about the things that have to do with like my offer, I'm not allowed to talk about anything else that I'm passionate about quite the opposite. If there are causes that you believe in, if you have these values that are just they're so ingrained in you that you know that they kind of drive you and they impact all the decisions you make. Those are the things you need to be talking about to what do you disagree with in the industry, what gets you really angry, when you see it happen, the more you show up and share in that unfiltered, dare I say it unbridled way, the more you're sending out signals to people who are so on board with your mission, who can get behind that movement, like it becomes a movement that you're actually creating. Because passion attracts passion, like, let's be honest. But you know, if you are filtering out half of that passion, filtering out half of the things that you want to talk about, the stuff that you are sharing is basically that is the determining factor of who you're going to attract, and could like drastically change who that person is. So this is really important. I know that it can be really scary to come around to this, I was having a conversation with a client yesterday in one of our Unstuck Sessions in the academy. And I was really trying to understand, like, I knew that she her work is very deep. I know that she has training and experience in areas that other people in her industry do not. Okay, so I was really clear that she had this pretty epic point of difference that the transformation that she could take her clients through looked very different to what other coaches in her space do. And yet, when I was looking at her content, looking at her Instagram, and the messaging work and everything, I was like, okay, um, I'm just feeling like something's not, it's not coming through, like something is missing. Like I'm, I'm sensing that you're trying, like, you feel like you need to be checking these boxes. And this is the kind of content that you need to be showing up and sharing. But is this the experience that your clients get in your programme? Like, is this what you're actually walking through with them? You know, are these the things that you're going to be talking about, you know, talking about it in this way, you know, etc, etc. And she had this lightbulb moment where she realised Hold on. Yeah, there is all this stuff that I want to talk about. That's in my offer, stuff that I'm really passionate about. And that I believe is the key to success. But I'm just worried that if I start sharing that publicly, like on Instagram that some of my audience are going to just like be really put off by it think it's weird. Like I'm Yeah, so I guess I've not really been sharing it now. Like, Oh, okay. I think we've hit the nail on the head. Like, I think like I now it all made sense to me what this disconnect was between the work I knew she actually did and what she was passionate about, versus what was actually getting put out into the world. So I set her a little challenge. And she went off and wrote a letter to her dream client, and unfiltered one knowing it did not have to be shared with the public. And she sent it to me today. I hope she doesn't hate me for for talking about this. I'm not naming names. Although if you are on my Instagram, you might have seen me share a little story about it. So I read this letter that she wrote to her dream client about all the things that she really believes goes into this transformation and the way that she really wants to help them and why. And within reading a few sentences I had full blown goosebumps, I started to cry. Yes, I know, I'm a passionate, emotional person. I do not apologise for that. But there's a reason like, I do not normally get this emotional when I read other people's work, especially like Work in Progress stuff, you know, I'm used to doing like, I do like a thing called Copy Critiques inside of the academy to and, you know, I'm normally just like, Yeah, this is great. This is where it needs work. Instead, I was just, like, obsessing, like just eating up this letter, feeling, like, I could feel her passion, her just her commitment, her hunger, everything. I was like, Oh, my gosh, this is it, like, this is it. This is what you need to share. If you want to start attracting dream clients who actually want what you have to offer. Right now, if you're attracting people who want you for the wrong reasons, it's because all they like all they've got to go by right now is what you're sharing. So you need to understand just how much weight what you share has in who you're actually attracting? And you know, if you are, you know, attracting right now clients or working with clients that you like, off, yeah, they're okay, I tolerate them. But you know, they're a bit like this are a bit like that, like, I want you to really think like, what, what was it that made them want to work with me? Like, what were the signals that I was sending out that attracted this person, and what needs to shift? Is there anything that I could have been sharing that would have helped me avoid this, you know, and sometimes it's obviously more like a qualification process, you know, through applications and vetting people. But also, sometimes it's just the content, because they're just all they're doing is reading what you're putting out there. So if they are misunderstanding, something like we actually need to take responsibility for that. So very long story short, I want you to start trying, at least because I know it can take some practice, just talking about your stuff, with the same level of passion and unfilteredness, that you would, if you were working with a client, or if you were, you know, hanging out with a bestie or, you know, just imagine that person that you're most comfortable with, who you have the most confidence when you're around, like they make you really tap into all of that self worth, and you don't question yourself when you're around them. That is the level that we are aiming to be at, eventually, when we are showing up and sharing. Okay, and that is going to change the game. I'll give you one quick example of just, I guess what I mean by this, on the flip side, when it does work, I used to get a little bit self conscious about my rambling and my tangents. And, you know, thought, like, should I be editing my podcasts better? Should I script them better, because, you know, in case you don't know, like, I've literally basically just do five bullet points, and then I riff. And then I had this discovery call with a client who's a client today, where I was kind of like, almost started, like apologising for it. And then she goes, I love this, like, I feel like I'm like, I've gone from just like listening to you on the podcast. And here I am talking to you right now. And like, This is amazing. Like, this is one of the things that I loved about you and why I wanted to work with you. And I was like, right? Because if I just show up as the real me on the podcast, then of course, people know what they're getting into. And I don't have to be so if selfconscious I don't have to apologise for myself, when they actually meet me. Cause they know. And full disclosure. These days, I often if someone gets in touch, and I can tell it's quite a, like a cold inquiry, as in, they've just done like a Google search. And they reach out to me, and I can just tell that they're like, Oh, I see you do these things. Like, what's the information? Like, can I chat with you further, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes I in fact, I need to do this more often. Because it works really well. I will just send it I'll say, hey, yeah, like for sure I do all these different things. But if you haven't listened to my podcast yet, I highly recommend maybe just going and listening to an episode, you'll get a much better idea of my approach and my style. And then you can decide for yourself if you want to chat with me more and that takes so much pressure off so again, look at how powerful that is as a tool of even just like not wasting time on sales calls with people who just aren't going to jive with you can save you a lot of effort. You don't have to have a podcast to do that. Obviously. You can do that with like a little loom video like have a recording you know even on the on your services page where you just explain your approach and what it's like working with you simple as that. And you know, not everyone will watch it but hopefully for the ones that do you'll have some people who are more excited to work with you and then others who decide not to because of that video, and wouldn't you rather like and then you don't even need to know about the ones who decide not to work with you. like better than getting on a call with them spending like half an hour an hour talking to them, and then having them go, Yeah, I just don't think we're a good fit. So anyways, this one's got too long. So let's move on to point number three. Okay, this is gonna be a short one, create offers that allow you to do the work you absolutely adore, and rock at. Now this sounds so obvious and self explanatory. But, but just like with creating content that we think other people want to consume, I have noticed the same thing happen with people's offers, you build this service offering or this coaching offering, or this course around what you think people are going to want to buy. And it is not actually what lights you up. And there's two problems with that. Number one, if you have an offer that you are not obsessed with and think is amazing and actually love doing, you're actually going to struggle to sell it, like, it's going to be so much more difficult, it's going to feel like you have to sell it, instead of just sharing it and knowing the right people will work with you. But then the other issue is, you can then attract people who want that particular thing, which you know, is obviously, which might not be your people because like your people want you to be you and do the thing that you are obsessed with and best. But you will attract a different kind of person when you manipulate your offers to try and appeal to other people. And then you know, not only may you end up with the wrong clients, but also you're not going to love the work. I mean, so there goes the joy, like what was the point of trying to attract dream clients, if you know, no matter who you're working with, you don't even enjoy the work. So like I said, very self explanatory. But I want you to like before you poopoo this, this tip, I want you to really ask yourself like, is there anything in? Like, do you have any? Like, if you have multiple offers, obviously it's one thing or if you have one offer, it's like going more granular what's inside the offer? But right now, are you offering anything that you actually don't like doing, and be really honest with yourself, there is no judgement from me. Like, it is so easy to do this because sometimes once you start and then you land clients, it becomes the safe zone because you're scared that if you stop offering it, people won't want to work with you anymore. And then the vicious cycle continues. So we keep doing more of it than we get more miserable, lose the joy in our business stop resenting everybody like it's, yeah, that is also some of the reasons people come to work with me is they're just like, Well, why don't I love what I'm doing anymore? I'm like, Well, okay, so you spend most of your week doing this service offering for these clients? Do you want to do this service offering? And sometimes the answer is flat. No. Like, I actually hate it, it exhausts me, it stresses me out, like, oh, okay, well, this explains a lot. So that is why I'm saying I know it's obvious, but I have to say it. Because there are so many people out there offering things that they don't love, all because they're scared that if they offer the thing that they do love, no one's going to want to buy it. And that is just a story in your head trying to keep you safe. And we need to put that one to rest point number four, it is time to talk about money. Because yes, it makes the world go round. But it is connected to so much more. It's money really has energetics attached to it. At least we attach energetics to money. Money itself is just a thing. It's just a neutral thing. That obviously, human beings, we wrap up so much in money, so much, you know, self worth and identity and fear versus safety, all of those things. So here's the deal. You need to start charging prices that make you feel good. In order to attract clients you love. You can so easily start attracting misaligned clients when your pricing is off. Because if you overcharge, that can mess with your head, I can actually cause all sorts of trauma, and have you showing up in a way that's very out of alignment and therefore attracting the wrong kinds of people. And also let's I mean, from purely from a strategic standpoint, pricing is a form of positioning as well. So we need to keep that in mind that you know, dramatically manipulate manipulating your prices to what you think you're supposed to charge could also change who you're attracting, just through positioning and how they perceive the prices. But what this is really more about is what happens. Yeah, when our pricing doesn't feel good to us. When we undercharge there is obviously resentment that can kick in. Because we start to be like, Do you know how much you're getting like wow, like, you start to kind of feel resentful to your client who's just paying what you said the price was like, so it's not really their fault, is it? But also, sometimes when we're overcharging, what can happen is this whole battle in our heads, where either we kind of force these prices, and then we feel really gross through and then we start over delivering, and then there's a weird vibe going on with our clients, or you can't even bring yourself to charge those prices, you keep offering discounts on them before you even do it. And then clients are signing up for the wrong reasons, because maybe they like it's the discount that convinced them instead of just wanting to work with you, depending on your pricing as well, you know, you might find that some potential clients are really just price shopping, is that the I think that's the term. They're really just shopping around and comparing on prices. And I had this happen recently, I could really tell in a call that someone was just kind of like, Yep, so price is a huge factor. And I've already talked to someone else. And like they've actually offered me a discount because of what I do. And I was like, okay. And you know, this isn't really about the discount thing. It was more that I could just tell that she was going to factor like her decision seem to be coming down. Oh, that is if you can hear that there is a buzzer one moment, don't mind me just DHL. But the nice little thing is the deliveries lately have all been to do with my upcoming personal branding photoshoot that I mentioned in last episode. So just a fun behind the scenes fact for you. Anyways, to wrap up what I was ranting about probably a good thing I was interrupted, because I knew that that could get really out of hand, I could tell that the person that I was chatting with was not necessarily just interested in working with me personally, and the money was going to be this huge factor in weighing up who they were going to choose to work with. And, you know, I never judge people like I know that money is a factor. And always kind of say like, if now is not the right time, like I don't want you to work with me right now I want you to work with me when it feels good. Or I can talk to you about you know, other options that might suit better. But when it's a flat out, look, I'm just gonna say like how much you cost versus how much this other person costs and like, well, then I don't think you're a dream client for me. Because you're not convinced that I'm the perfect fit for you. I'm not saying that there was only you know, one personal branding coach, that's meant for you, you know, in the sea of the entire world. Like we say that, you know, this like one perfect match, like your soulmate is out there. And if you can't find them, watch out, not even close. But I at least want to know that this person is truly lit up excited about working with me, because that's what happens when I work with someone I get completely lit up excited about them, helping them everything they're about, it needs to be very mutual, which is kind of brings me back to my point that charging prices that aren't feeling good for you can mess with that, because it starts to warp people's perception of what you do can potentially attract the wrong people, or have you showing up in a way where you don't feel good. So while I know that there are all these factors that we bring into, when it comes to what we're going to charge, like, what's the industry rates, like what's the value of my time, and yada, yada, yada? Ultimately, none of those things matter if the price that you're coming up with doesn't feel good to you. And just one final aside, just keep in mind, your your happy price that really feel good price will change as time goes on. So that is just something to keep in mind as well. So long ramble short, please make sure that what you're charging feels really fantastic because that's going to pair with you also feeling amazing and really excited about the thing that you're offering. And those two things will really work together as just this natural magnetism when you show up and talk about what you're doing. That becomes way less salesy, and way more just genuine, which I think we all want, right? Okay, we are now ready to round it out with point number five, which is probably the biggest one the most challenging one to face, but it also it holds the most weight, I'm going to be completely honest, at least in my personal experience from my lived experience and through what I've seen in my clients and also just like friends, colleagues, etc. Okay, so here it is. To start attracting clients that you adore. As humans, you are going to need to commit to doing the inner work that leads to the following. Believing that you're even worthy of landing incredible clients like pinch me I must be dreaming that these people actually paying to work with me to feeling deserving of being paid the big bucks for your expertise. And the work that leads to really trusting that you are the magnet, the client magnets, and that your strategy, you know, the brand stress strategy, messaging, marketing, all of that, those are all just tools to help you grow faster, to amplify your message. But that really, it's it's all just you. Now, this inner work, I mean, it looks different for everyone. But what I really saw, I mean, like, there's this ripple effect that happens, okay. And it works both ways, obviously, earlier on, especially when I was a copywriter, freelance copywriter, because I mean, this is we're talking now it's coming up to, I don't know, if it's seven or eight years, I just, I feel old now. But anyway, in those early days, I had not even begun to do the inner work I thought I had, because I read lots of, you know, self improvement books, and probably because I, you know, I'd overcome some, like adversity and I, you know, picked myself up and built things from scratch after my life fell apart. So I was like, Yeah, I'm doing great. What I didn't realise at the time, was that my self worth was very, very low. To the point that I had no idea what I was really capable of, I was too scared to dream really big, and thought, you know, what, I'm lucky just to have anything, I'm lucky to have any clients, the fact that I'm self employed right now, and getting paid anything, I should just be happy with that. And so for that reason, I put up with lots of crappy clients, years of doing work that I didn't actually enjoy under charging, like getting so much experience and but still feeling like, oh, no, I can't charge more, I'm already charging so much. And that continued for a really long time, all because of the self worth piece. Now, over time, it obviously improved, and it's like, it's not like it's some linear experience, it's like chipping away, it's that 1% work that I always talk about, where there's no single thing that's just going to change everything, at least not overnight. But it's that commitment to just doing a little bit better every single day. And, you know, sometimes the self worth comes from just the action that you take. So for instance, setting a boundary with a client is enough to increase it because you're, Oh, that felt good. Yeah, maybe I am worthy of actually having boundaries, and, you know, not having nightmare clients who are waking me up in the middle of the night, you know, so there's those kinds of things. But then there is like a deeper kind of inner work as well, where, you know, I mentioned in some other episodes, you know, I've worked with coaches, I love to be magnetic, and you know, obviously, part of it is just that your level of self awareness and noticing, where you're just defaulting to these behaviours were that kind of mean that you are putting up with crap, whether it's taking on clients in the first place that you don't really want to out of, you know, fear and scarcity, to putting up with bad behaviour, you know, to offering the things that you don't want to offer because you're worried that if you don't, you won't make any money, like all of that kind of stuff, the more that you start to become aware of it and the reasons why you're doing it and figuring out connecting the dots and seeing how those behaviours started in you know, childhood how it's, you know, so much but it was what you know, you adopted from your, your parents or from, you know, your closest family around you, when you were growing up. Like, it's, it's a lot, it's a lifelong journey. But you can make you can come leaps and bounds in less time than you actually realise. And so sometimes I have to, I do kind of look back and go, Whoa, like, when I think about who I was about seven years ago, in my first year of being a freelance copywriter, holy moly, like, she was a very, very different person to who I am today. And, obviously, part of the the benefit now of the of the work that I've done is just enjoying my life more like that is great. But what you probably care more about is how it's related to my brand. And really, where I'm at at the moment, even though, you know, on the surface right now, there's a lot wrong with my brand because I you know, so ready to do this free brand and start I'm letting stuff like automations and things behind the scenes kind of break while I'm just waiting to fix everything properly. And, you know, there's a lot that just for me, I'm just like, this is a mess. But then when I strip all of that away and get the ego and the perfectionism and all of that out of the way and I sit back and I look at my life and my business today and go holy crap, like I'm booked out, working with people that I think are amazing. Doing work that doesn't feel like work most of the time. Obviously, there's some serious hard slog involved but like when I'm when I'm in flow, actually coaching and working with someone especially like one on one or in a small group, talking about this stuff. I could do that all day, which is why I sit on this podcast, you know, and record these things for free. Like, I'm doing it because I'm obsessed with it, I love it. And I'm here today, because I did the work to believe that I was actually worthy of having a business like this, that I was worthy of attracting incredible clients and charging prices, that may seven years ago, I would have had a heart attack if she saw. Because I know I know down like deep in my my, in my soul in my cells, that I am worth it. And that not everyone's gonna see that value. And that's cool, because they're not my client. That is freedom like that is its power, being able to know that you are worth it to the right people, you are perfect as you are to the right people that your service offering is going to be absolutely irresistible to the right people, you're supposedly imperfect content is absolutely captivating and magnetic to the right people, and not caring about all the people, it's not going to be right for that is everything. And so that is what the inner work is really about, it helps relieve this pressure that you feel that you can get crushed under of trying to get it right, trying to impress, you know, just having to work so hard forcing yourself to show up when you don't want to or in a way that doesn't feel good, like all of that falls away. And you get to do things your way, in your own time. And I mean, isn't that what this is all about? Isn't that why we actually became entrepreneurs or, you know, side hustlers self employed in the first place, to have that level of freedom and to be able to feel good about yourself to know that like, there is no mould to fit anymore. You don't have to hand someone a resume and have them judge you based on what school you went to. This is the power of building a personal brand. But more importantly, it's the power of the work beneath that behind it. The work you do on who you are as a human being. Because having that personal the personal brand part is really just about how people perceive you. And like the visibility of how many people get to know who you are. None of that works. If you don't believe that you are worth knowing if you are worth being seen or heard if you don't have value to offer, which is why I'm finishing off with the biggest point, if you are getting stuck, if you are getting really frustrated about where you're at the progress is not happening in the way you hoped it would. And you just keep trying different things, buying the toolkits signing up for another course. Or maybe it's because I need to do a challenge instead of a webinar. Or maybe I should be just like doing more reels instead of doing posts. And, you know, if it's always about these, like different tactics that you need, or having someone else hand you that strategy, I'm just gonna lovingly suggest that maybe this time, it's time to approach it differently, to not keep trying the same, same but different and instead, kind of look elsewhere. So once again, this has been a much longer episode than ever intended. But you know what, I'm not going to apologise for that, because I am very fired up about what I'm talking about. And I know that there are some people out there that really need to hear this right now. So if you're one of them, I really do. I hope this helped. I hope you're encouraged, I hope you know, or at least you're starting to realise that you are absolutely worthy of setting your standards a lot higher for who you work with, and what you charge and what you offer. And I hope that this is just the beginning, that you keep exploring this even further and diving deeper into this work. As I mentioned earlier on in the episode, the waitlist is currently open for Unbridled and this is a 10 week live group programme. This is the work we're going to be doing. So we are going to figure out what has been going on why? Why are you not currently feeling confident enough and worthy enough to show up and say the things that you want to say and look the way you want to look offered the services that you want to offer? What is it that is constricting you that's holding you back? keeping a lid on your brilliance and muting that magnetism that you have inside you. I am telling you right now we are actually born magnetic and then all of the crap that happens in our lives starts to add up and create all these stories about why we're not and then we just kind of lose sight of that, but it's never gone. It's just about remembering and tapping back into that. So if you are intrigued feeling called to learn more you feel like this is maybe this is the thing that you have been waiting for and needing, or I don't want to say needing, wanting, desiring. That's where I want people to sign up for this programme, not because they think they need it, you don't need anything except to believe in yourself. But if this is what you've been desiring to be sort of in a space where you are encouraged to tap into all of that brilliance and start showing up in a way that is so much more authentic and free and fiery, then go sign up for the waitlist unbridled brand.co .co is where you'll find it. And you will be the first to know as I release more information about it in coming weeks. Thank you so much if you're still listening, thank you so much for tuning in. As always, I really hope this episode resonated in some way please do not hesitate ever to reach out and DM me on Instagram at iamkatelizabeth or you know if you can be bothered, you know, screenshot the episode tag me leave a review makes a huge difference because this is a labour of love. But thank you have a wonderful week ahead and I'll talk to you next time.