It’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur to create their vision of a successful company by imagining lots of revenue coming in from clients who can afford high prices. That seems to be pretty straight math and a recurring theme – my perfect prospect is someone with a lot of disposable income.

And while there’s nothing wrong with that, sometimes you’re actually chasing a vision that’s not as crystal clear as you initially believe. It may be someone else’s vision and doesn’t really mesh with your values and mission.

And by focusing on the wrong vision you may be overlooking the very path to success that’s right in front of you. (Remember the Good Witch telling Dorothy that she had the power to return home all along because she was wearing the Ruby Slippers?)

I just mentored a very smart and talented business owner who is successful in the jewelry business. Typically, her customer base is the hard-working middle class individual of her same culture. She knew all about them on a deep level – their values, beliefs, what they treasured, what they needed.

I asked about her goals and dreams for business success and she surprised me by saying she wanted to appeal to a different, higher income population – but by doing so, she’d have to make lots of changes. First of all, the type of product they were seeking was completely different than what she was already an expert in, so she’d have to learn that from scratch – her current product inventory and knowledge base wouldn’t serve her. And her store was a small spot in a location not frequented by her dream clients so she’d likely have to move. But those wealthy people would be spending more so it would be worth it…

We were on the phone so she couldn’t see me shaking my head, Noooo……!

I directed the conversation back to her mission, and she told me the story of how she got to where she is. Funny, by telling her story, she realized the mistake she was making in wishing for a different clientele. Her own story told her that the people she served today was indeed part of her mission and her vision for success.

Now that we closed that detour, we could focus on how we could serve her current group of clients better – with superior products and an amazing experience, letting her grow her revenue while remaining an integral part of her culture and keeping customer loyalty.

It was a gentle shift and we arrived at the right balance after I changed her focal point.

It’s common to think you can make more money by targeting people with lots of money, but very often, it doesn’t work this way at all. The math is complicated, with more variables. The route is bumpy with lots of detours.

What is your vision of prosperity 5 years from now? 1 year from now? Where are you today and what’s the gap between your position now and where you want to be in a few years?

Sometimes making a meaningful improvement to what you’re doing today is the answer. Know why your people are your ideal clients, determine how to improve their overall experience while staying true to your mission and standing out from the crowd.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, but when you’re working alone it is certainly confusing!

I’m going to admit something here – I had to drive to an appointment today, and to prepare, I looked up the location in Google maps the night before, declared it was easy peasy, and drove there without my GPS on. As you can guess, I had a lovely drive but wound up in a completely wrong location. Shame on me for thinking I didn’t need help. If I had guidance, I would have avoided lots of extra driving and U-turns.

Don’t go it alone when you don’t need to. Reach out and find a mentor who understands you, who shares your values, and whose process makes sense to you. Am I that mentor? We won’t know until we have a conversation. Reach out and make some time to talk about where you are now and where you want to be – let’s close that gap together.