Vetting Your Ideal Providers and Your Ideal Clients
“Vanity is the result of a delusion that someone is paying attention.”
- Paul E. Sweeney
I have an eyelash gal, Amy, where I get lash lift & tints. It releases me from wearing mascara (which I loathe). This is a little piece of vanity I spoil myself with, as my lashes have always been long and black; my one real girlie asset. I’m not a snazzy dresser, I don’t go to the haircutter often, and when I do, it’s a cheesy chain one, and I don’t get manicures (fellas, have I lost you yet?).
I have been having eyelash treatments for about two years now, and I started at a different place before I found Amy. My friend recommended the original spot, and she still loves it there, but it wasn’t my thing. My initial place had loud music. I was out in an open room, and the whole team was hyper and bounced between clients. It was not a place I felt comfortable in at all.
My new place is more expensive, it’s a little further away, but it is a pleasure to go there.
It’s like a spa day, vs the chaos of my first place. I am in a lovely little room of my own, on a comfy bed, with a blankie on me. Amy is gentle and relaxed, plus, she does upper & lower lashes, and uses hard wax for my brows. My first place used wax strips (very bad for your skin) and didn’t do the lower lashes (which meant I still had to use mascara).
She’s soothing, and for an hour and a half, I am in a place of calm and caring.
As a bonus, she told me aftercare instructions, and one suggestion was to use silk pillowcases. I have fallen in love (I’m just using the ordinary ones, not the Blissys, yet I am hooked) and I gave them to my kids, their others, my husband, and they are now a go-to gift for my friendies. She also applies eye steam masks as part of the treatment, which I now use at home all the time and also give as gifts. I can pass along a few treats that I learned from Amy that folks in my life appreciate.
Of course, I love that I can book online, and she makes CRM notes, so she remembers little details about me. She’s a tech-forward yet human-centric business, to which I can certainly relate.
I have found my ideal provider, and unless she decides to leave the industry, I’ll be with her for years.
Me being me, I got into a discussion on her bookkeeping (QBO, and she is entirely up to date), and we chatted about her CRM and booking app (Acuity).
I mentioned to her that she had a friction question on her form requiring consent for before-and-after photos. I thought this was odd, since she hadn't taken any photos during my visits. She said she is not one to take before-and-after photos, and she would have gotten permission in the moment anyway, if she had decided to do them (which she was then thinking she should get a few and revisit her website).
She said she hadn’t revised the booking form in a few years, but she would right away and take that question off.
Amy’s booking form requires a 50% deposit.
She said if people don’t want to pay a deposit, they are not her kind of client. “Of course, I’ll give a refund if they have a reasonable issue and give me time to rebook the slot, but I need commitment”. ⬅️ Love it!
Amy has defined her ideal clients and set the stage for the relationship.
A few things I am getting at here:
Find your ideal providers: team members, services, and software…
Make sure you learn their nuances and fully embrace how they work
Find your ideal clients and vet them to set boundaries from the start
Be “BossyNice”
Give great suggestions that folks can carry forward to others
Make your clients feel cared for and special
Join Your Peers Here
Intuit Connect Las Vegas
October 25-29, 2025
I’m moderating a panel with some super cool cats. Alternative business models: Rethinking growth without private equity
I’m also going to be hanging out at the Financial Cents booth, helping them give away money!
And I will be at the FinOptimal booth talking all things accrual :-}
