You started your business to do great work, make a good living, and maybe even have a little fun along the way, right? But if you’re like most small business owners, you’re probably stuck in a cycle that feels the opposite of that. You’re constantly hustling, putting out fires, and dealing with clients who are, to put it nicely, a bit of a headache.
What if I told you there’s a different way? A better way? It all comes down to the type of clients you choose to work with.
Think about it this way: Working with an existing race car driver to help them shave two seconds off their lap time is worth a million dollars. But teaching a teenager how to drive for the very first time is worth about thirty bucks.
This isn’t just a fun analogy. It’s the secret to building a easier, more profitable, and more enjoyable business. Let’s break down why chasing the “race car” clients—the ones who are already “good” and want to become “great”—is a game-changer.
Meet Your Three Client Types
In the world of small business, clients generally fall into one of three categories. Once you see them, you can’t unsee them.
1. The “Starting and Needs Going” Client (The Driving Student)
This client is brand new. They have an idea, a dream, but not much else. They’re the kid in the driver’s ed car, white-knuckling the wheel, unsure where the blinker is.
What they need: The absolute basics. They need you to build everything from the ground up. You’re not just a specialist; you’re a teacher, a guide, and a therapist.
The Reality: They often don’t know what they don’t know. This leads to endless questions, constant hand-holding, and scope creep (where the project slowly grows without the pay growing with it). The value they see in your work is low because they’re just learning what “good” looks like. That’s why they only want to pay the equivalent of $30.
2. The “Broken Needs Fixing” Client (The Car Owner with a Clunker)
This client has a business, but it’s not working. Their website is a ghost town, their sales process is leaking money, or their marketing is stuck in 2005. Their car is smoking, making a weird noise, and barely moving. They’re panicked.
What they need: An emergency mechanic. They need you to diagnose the problem, fix it, and get them back on the road.
The Reality: These projects are high-stress. The client is often frustrated, impatient, and looking for a quick, cheap miracle. They see you as a cost, not an investment. They’re focused on stopping the pain, not on building something amazing. The work is reactive, not strategic.
3. The “Good-to-Great” Client (The Race Car Driver)
This client is already successful. Their business is running well. They have a nice website, a solid customer base, and money coming in. But they want more. They want to be faster, stronger, and more efficient. They’re the professional driver with a high-performance car who knows that shaving off just a couple of seconds wins the whole race.
What they need: A expert coach or a master engineer. They need your specialized expertise to find those tiny, crucial adjustments that lead to massive results.
The Reality: They understand the value of expertise. They’re not hiring you to teach them what a clutch is; they’re hiring you to tune the engine for peak performance. They see you as a strategic partner. And because the results you deliver—like a 20% increase in sales or a massive boost in efficiency—are worth a fortune to them, your services are worth a fortune.
Why the “Good-to-Great” Client is Your Golden Ticket
Okay, so the race car driver client sounds nice. But why are they so much better for your bottom line and your sanity? Let’s look under the hood.
1. The Profit is in the Performance, Not the Parts
Fixing a clunker requires a lot of new parts. Teaching a new driver requires hours and hours of your time. Both are labor-intensive.
Helping a race car driver go faster, however, might just be about a slight adjustment to the aerodynamics or a change in their driving technique. The physical work might be minimal, but the value of that knowledge is enormous.
With “Good-to-Great” clients, you are selling results and expertise, not just hours. You’re paid for the outcome, not the effort. This is where you can charge premium prices. The driver will happily pay you $1,000 for a one-hour coaching session that reveals a flaw in their technique, because that flaw was costing them the $1,000,000 prize. You saved them 99.9% of the work; they already did the hard part of becoming a champion. You just provided the final, critical piece.
2. The Work is Actually Fun and Energizing
Let’s be honest. Hand-holding a nervous beginner or dealing with the panic of a “broken” business is draining. It saps your creative energy and makes you dread opening your email.
Working with a successful client is a breath of fresh air. They get it. They appreciate your ideas. The conversations are about growth, innovation, and the future—not about fixing basic mistakes or justifying your every decision. You get to do your best work for someone who truly gets how good it is.
3. They are Low-Maintenance and High-Impact
“Starting” and “Broken” clients are high-maintenance. They need constant communication, reassurance, and education. This “unbillable” management time eats away at your profits and your patience.
“Good-to-Great” clients are often busy running their own successful operations. They don’t have time to micromanage you. They give you a clear goal, trust your expertise, and get out of your way. You spend less time managing the relationship and more time doing the high-impact work you were hired to do.
4. They Become Your Best Marketing
A happy “Good-to-Great” client is a powerful referral source. They run in successful circles. When they tell their other successful friends, “This person helped me increase my revenue by 15%,” you instantly gain credibility. You’re not the person who fixed a broken website; you’re the person who supercharges already-successful businesses.
This is how you build a reputation that attracts more “race car” clients, creating a virtuous cycle that pushes your business to a whole new level.
How to Start Attracting the “Race Car” Clients
I know what you’re thinking: “This sounds amazing, but all I ever seem to get are the ‘driving students’ and the ‘clunkers!’” Making the shift is a process, but it’s absolutely possible. Here’s how to start.
1. Change Your Message: Stop Talking to Everyone.
If your website and marketing say, “We can help any business with anything!” you will attract the clients with the biggest, messiest problems.
You need to niche down. Instead of being a “Marketing Consultant,” become the “Marketing Consultant for Established B2B SaaS Companies.” Instead of being a “Business Coach,” become the “Business Coach for 7-Figure E-commerce Brands Ready to Scale.”
This does two things:
It scares away the people you don’t want. The new startup with no budget won’t contact you because they see you’re a specialist for established companies.
It magnetically attracts the people you do want. The successful SaaS CEO will see your message and think, “Finally, someone who speaks my language and understands my world.”
2. Price for Value, Not for Time.
This is the scariest but most important step. You cannot attract a million-dollar client with a $30 price tag.
Shift your pricing model. Stop selling hours (“This will take me 10 hours”) and start selling outcomes (“This strategy will help you generate 50 new qualified leads per month”).
When a “Good-to-Great” client sees that your service can make or save them a significant amount of money, a $10,000 or $50,000 price tag becomes a no-brainer investment. For a “Starting” client, that same price is an impossible expense.
3. Become an Expert, Not a Generalist.
Race car drivers don’t hire mechanics who also work on lawnmowers. They hire specialists who live and breathe high-performance engines.
You need to become the specialist. Share your knowledge freely. Write articles, make videos, or speak on podcasts about the specific problems your “Good-to-Great” clients face. Show them you understand their world at a deep level. When you become the obvious expert in your niche, they will come to you.
4. Qualify Your Clients Ruthlessly.
Not every client who can pay your price is a good fit. You need to start interviewing your clients as much as they are interviewing you.
Ask questions like:
“What does success look like for you in this project?”
“What have you already tried? What were the results?”
“What is your budget for achieving this goal?”
Their answers will tell you everything. If they have clear goals, have already tried some things, and have a realistic budget, they’re likely a “Good-to-Great” client. If they’re vague, haven’t done anything, and wince at your prices, they’re probably not the right fit.
5. Fire Your “Broken” and “Starting” Clients (Politely).
You might be stuck in contracts or relationships with clients who are holding you back. It’s time to make a plan to move on. You can do this gracefully.
For “Starting” clients: You can say, “I’ve loved helping you get started, but my business is moving in a new direction. I’d be happy to refer you to another great provider who specializes in working with new businesses.”
For “Broken” clients: You can say, “I’ve done everything within our current scope to address the immediate issues. To get you to where you want to be, we would need to move into a more strategic, long-term partnership. Here’s what that looks like and what it costs.” They will often say no, which is a perfect, professional way to part.
This frees up your time, energy, and brainpower to go find the clients you truly deserve.
The Finish Line Awaits
Building a business around “Good-to-Great” clients isn’t about being elitist. It’s about being smart. It’s about working smarter, not harder. It’s about building a business that fuels you, instead of one that drains you.
The “driving students” of the world will always need help, and there are other businesses built to serve them. The “clunkers” will always be there, creating stress for someone. But that someone doesn’t have to be you.
Your skills, your experience, and your expertise are valuable. Stop giving them away to clients who see them as a basic commodity. Start offering them to clients who see them as a strategic advantage.
Your business is your vehicle. Stop spending all your time in the driver’s ed car. It’s time to get in the pit with the champions, where your work is respected, your value is understood, and your payday reflects the massive impact you create. Go find your race car drivers. They’re waiting for you.
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Hi, I’m Heather.
Let me help you scale your Utah $1M+ biz to $20M+
My credentials:
- Built & sold Queen of Wraps (yep, that’s my face on the side of I-15)
- Learned 1,769,230+ lessons so you skip trial-and-error
- Zero Ivy MBA (just pioneer grit + market-tested tactics)
Let’s talk if you’re:
- Ready to make your ‘good’ business a GREAT business
- Hitting $1M+ and knowing you’re built for more
- Have 10+ employees that need to see your vision
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