🎙️ Episode 6: Ideal Clients or Endless Hustle

“Ideal client” is one of the most talked about (and most avoided) concepts in small business. In this episode, Michelle and Sara dig into what an ideal client truly is, why the idea makes so many business owners uncomfortable, and how skipping this work quietly leads to burnout, resentment, and hating your own business.

An ideal client isn’t a perfect unicorn or your new best friend. It’s a tool — a made-up but intentional construct that gives you clarity, language, and boundaries so you can call in the people you serve best and stop saying yes out of fear, ego, or exhaustion.

This is unsexy, foundational work, and it affects everything: marketing, pricing, boundaries, emotional energy, and how you feel when you open your calendar.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What an “ideal client” really is (and what it is not)
• The myth that you need to serve everyone to survive
• “Warm body syndrome” and why it leads to burnout
• Why avoiding ideal client work leads to resentment in your business
• Why clarity around your ideal client makes marketing easier
• How vague messaging (“all genres, all ages”) repels the right people
• Not all money is good money

The new year is a powerful time to reassess relationships, energy, and how you want your business — and your life — to feel.

Getting honest about your ideal client is one of the most effective ways to build a business that’s sustainable, ethical, and doesn’t make you dread showing up.

🎧 About the Podcast

How to Run Your Biz Without Hating Your Boss is the podcast for creative entrepreneurs and service-based business owners who want to thrive professionally without sacrificing their values, peace, or creative integrity. Michelle and Sara share the hard-won wisdom you won’t find in generic business coaching or “just follow my simple formula” advice.

⭐ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

• Rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen
• Share the episode with a fellow business owner who needs to hear it
• Let us know what topics, myths, or rants you want us to tackle next — we love hearing from you

Mentioned in this Episode

The Art of the Inquiry – Michelle Markwart Deveaux https://thespeakeasycooperative.com/art-of-inquiry-revenue-relationships-retention/

ICA as “best case scenario” – Minal Sampat https://www.minalsampat.com/

In this episode of How to Run Your Biz Without Hating Your Boss, Michelle and Sara do something a little different: they open the mailbag.

If you’ve ever reread an email five times before hitting send, replayed an awkward conversation in the shower, or laid awake wondering whether you handled a business situation wrong — this one’s for you.

Drawing on years of experience helping hundreds of performing arts entrepreneurs thrive professionally without sacrificing their values, peace, or creative integrity, Michelle and Sara tackle real-world scenarios that keep coaches, teachers, and performing artists up at night.

No gimmicks. No “just follow my simple formula.” Just grounded, hard-won insight from people who refuse to hang out on business-coach island.

Key Topics:

• Common business situations that trigger second-guessing and stress
• How to tell the difference between a real misstep and normal business discomfort
• Why spiraling over emails, boundaries, and conversations is so common for creatives
• How to approach tricky situations with clarity, confidence, and integrity

Perfect for:

• Creative entrepreneurs and accidental business owners
• Business owners in the performing arts or service-based sectors
• Anyone navigating people-pleasing, boundaries, or hard conversations in their business

If you’ve ever wished for a trusted sounding board when business gets messy, this episode delivers exactly that.

🎧 Press play and let’s get into it.

👉 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 👉 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more creative entrepreneurs find us. 👉 Share this episode with a friend or colleague who might be struggling with scaling pressure.

Connect with us:

Website: thespeakeasycooperative.com/speakeasy Facebook: facebook.com/thespeakeasycooperative Instagram: @thespeakeasycooperative

Mentioned in this episode:

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High View on Bookshop.org

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most View on Bookshop.org

Have you ever asked the question “Why the Hell Would I Need a Business Coach Anyway?” In this episode of How to Run Your Biz Without Hating Your Boss, Michelle and Sara tackle the question many creative entrepreneurs secretly ask but rarely say out loud.

Whether you’re coach-curious, coach-skeptical, or convinced you’re doing just fine on your own (…maybe), this episode is for you. With their signature mix of humor, honesty, and hard-earned expertise, Michelle and Sara break down what coaching actually is, who it helps, how to know if you’re ready, and why it’s one of the most transformational relationships a business owner can invest in.

-Why creative entrepreneurs often avoid coaching (and what they’re missing) -The difference between coaching, consulting, and just signing up for another course -What a great coach does — and doesn’t do -How coaching can protect your values, your peace, and your creative energy -Real talk about cost, timing, fit, and the “am I broken?” fear

Perfect for: creative entrepreneurs, business owners, and performing arts professionals who know they need support but (maybe) don’t want to admit it.

So, if you’ve ever stared into the mirror at the “boss” making all these decisions and wished you had some support, guidance, or just someone to help you stop self-sabotaging — grab your coffee, tea, or whatever helps you deal with your business-induced anxiety and settle in.

Website: thespeakeasycooperative.com/speakeasy Facebook: facebook.com/thespeakeasycooperative Instagram: @thespeakeasycooperative

Joe Rohde (Wikipedia)