Episode 341
Be Your Own Best Client This Year [Ep. 341]
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Most service providers are incredible at showing up for clients but painfully inconsistent when it comes to showing up for themselves. You follow your own frameworks halfway, skip the hard parts, and wonder why things feel stalled. If you’re being honest, you’re not your best client… yet.
In this episode of The Real Truth About Business, Michelle shares a deeply personal shift that changed how she’s approaching her business this year: becoming her own best case study. She unpacks why being your own best client creates clarity, momentum, and confidence without obsessing over revenue goals, and how using a North Star decision filter keeps you focused on what actually moves the needle. This episode is about leadership, self-trust, and finally applying your own work the way you ask clients to apply it.
Whether you’re a coach, consultant, OBM, VA, designer, copywriter, or ADHD entrepreneur, this episode will challenge you to stop skating by and start fully committing to your own growth.
You’ll learn:
- What it really means to be your own best client and case study
- Why focusing on process beats obsessing over revenue goals
- How a North Star creates clarity and simplifies decisions
- Where you may be prioritizing everyone else over yourself
- How committing to your own work naturally creates better results
This is the real truth about business growth, especially for neurodivergent service providers who crave clarity, structure, and results without falling for every trend online.
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Here's your Next Steps:
- Take the "Where's the Gap in Your Business Strategy" Quiz
- Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads or Facebook
- Visit my website to learn more and apply for the Focused Visionary Accelerator
- Sign up for my newsletter - Sunday Morning Brew - delivered every Sunday at 6 am
About the Host:
Michelle DeNio is a business strategist and growth advisor for service-based entrepreneurs, especially neurodivergent and ADHD business owners. Creator of the Focused Visionary Accelerator and host of The Real Truth About Business podcast, she helps clients simplify, focus, and grow sustainably. With 15+ years in business operations, she’s known for turning big ideas into simple, profitable action plans.
Transcript
Hey.
Speaker A:Hey.
Speaker A:What is happening today?
Speaker A:I hope you're having a wonderful day today.
Speaker A:I want to talk about being your own best client or being your own best case study.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And I want you to really sit and think about and answer that question of like, what would it look like if I was my own best client?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And I'm going to tell you where this is all coming from because it's very reflective and it's really a personal journey.
Speaker A:I shared a little bit about it in the Sunday Morning Brew, but I'm gonna dive a little bit deeper into it today because I think it's really something that will get you thinking and it will help to keep you focused whenever you're listening to this, but primarily for the entire year, especially if you're listening to this in the beginning of the year.
Speaker A:So if you're ready, let's dive in and make it happen.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:First and foremost, I have to remind you, if you are not on the Sunday Morning Brew newsletter, jump into those show notes, click that link, go to michelle denio.com.
Speaker A:you can find it there as well.
Speaker A:Every single Sunday morning, I'm going to send you a Power Move of the Week, a CEO Power Move of the Week.
Speaker A:One action that you can take that will move the needle in your business.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:It's very quick.
Speaker A:I love writing my newsletter.
Speaker A:It's my absolute favorite thing to do.
Speaker A:I never thought I'd be the person that says that, but here I am.
Speaker A:And I absolutely love writing my Sunday Morning Brew.
Speaker A:And this this year I added in that CEO Power Move of the Week.
Speaker A:So if you are not on the list and you've been a longtime listener and you're not there yet, jump on that list.
Speaker A:Because I send some of my second best content.
Speaker A:I would say my best contents here on the pod, but I don't know, there's some really good content that goes out my email list, too.
Speaker A:All right, anyway, let's talk about being your own best case study.
Speaker A:Let me back up a little bit.
Speaker A:In case you're not on the Sunday Morning Brew list and you didn't get this straight story, I'm going to give you the story really quickly.
Speaker A:So I have been not really feeling.
Speaker A:I've been feeling super excited about the new year.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It's January.
Speaker A:Real quick, before we dive into that, I do just want to say, like, if you're noticing a little bit of difference in these podcast episodes, that they're a little bit more conversational, not as structured with topics, etc, I am going to get back to that, but I've had so many things come up and so many thoughts that I just felt like are worth sharing.
Speaker A:And honestly, this is what the podcast used to be.
Speaker A:It's like the OG.
Speaker A:So for those of you that are OGs, you've been here, you've heard this, but this, I used to just share these thoughts, right?
Speaker A:And so I wanted to do a few more episodes like this because I know that when I share some of these more personal stories and journeys, like, they really resonate.
Speaker A:And even though I love a good structured episode, I also just kind of love sharing what's on my heart.
Speaker A:So we're going to do a little bit of both of that.
Speaker A:You're going to start to see a little bit more of that.
Speaker A:I don't even know if you guys notice.
Speaker A:I don't even know if I would notice is a listener, but here I am recording it.
Speaker A:I'm like, man, all last year your episodes were so structured, and now this year you're just kind of.
Speaker A:They're not.
Speaker A:So anyway, that's just a little sidebar.
Speaker A:Okay, so being your own best case study, we've talked about the new year.
Speaker A:I was not.
Speaker A:I was feeling very kind of quiet about it.
Speaker A:And there was like this anxiety that I was carrying like this like, underneath.
Speaker A:It was just kind of there.
Speaker A:It was like this low level anxiety that I was carrying around the new year around, like, like this inner critic in my head just kept like saying, like, don't get excited about the new year because every single year you get excited about it and nothing freaking changes, right?
Speaker A:Like, that was kind of this like, inner voice that was going through my head of like, new Year, New Year, what's gonna change, right?
Speaker A:It was like this, this constant loop in my head of like, what is actually going to make this new year different?
Speaker A:Michelle, you've said this every single year for how many years?
Speaker A:And blah, blah, blah, nothing changes, right?
Speaker A:So I was kind of like, I gotta really sit with this because I gotta get past this anxiety, right?
Speaker A:So, so I sat with it.
Speaker A:I journaled, I journal on my phone.
Speaker A:So just a little side note, for those of you that kind of struggle with journaling, journaling on my phone has completely changed the game because I can type far faster than I can write and it keeps up with my ADHD brain.
Speaker A:So anyways, I'm journaling, journaling, journaling, and all of a sudden what's.
Speaker A:I'm, you know, I'm trying to like, give myself evidence of all the things that are going to be different this Year.
Speaker A:And so one of the, the sentence that came up is, what's going to be different is you are going to be your own best case study study.
Speaker A:And it immediately hit me that that needed to be my North Star.
Speaker A:So if you're not familiar, I inside my Focus Visionary framework, step two is know your North Star.
Speaker A:North Star to me is all about creating a decision filter in your business.
Speaker A:It's your big vision, the thing that you're working towards.
Speaker A:But it's, it's not just something monetary, it's not just something arbitrary.
Speaker A:Like there's something so deep rooted inside of you that it becomes an immediate decision filter for every single thing that you do in your business, right?
Speaker A:So you either say like, you know, you go to do something, you go to say yes to something.
Speaker A:And you can use your North Star as this decision filter to say like, does this get me closer to that North Star or further away?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Does this, is this in the same direction as my North Star?
Speaker A:Is the direction I want to go or does this bring me a little bit further away?
Speaker A:Okay, so that's the difference between North Star and like just a goal.
Speaker A:So I had already gone through and done my entire biz planning.
Speaker A:I went to a coffee shop one day, I went through the whole workbook.
Speaker A:I really worked on my folk, you know, the Focus Visionary framework.
Speaker A:I was going through it and looking at my North Star and I had one, but I was like, it just doesn't feel.
Speaker A:It didn't, it didn't feel like I didn't get that.
Speaker A:I didn't get that like emotional gut, like, moment of like, wow, this is it.
Speaker A:This is, this is exactly it.
Speaker A:But when I wrote that sentence, it was so apparent to me, and here's why it was so obvious, because it's not.
Speaker A:There is something so different about being your own best case study versus getting and having clients be your best case study.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, there is no doubt in my mind that I am good at what I do.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And I hope that you have that same competence as well.
Speaker A:Because I have hundreds of testimonials.
Speaker A:I have tons of case studies.
Speaker A:I have clients that are doing big things, landing new clients, landing spending opportunities, increasing revenue, 300, 400%, you know, increasing their referral networks or the referral affiliate income, like 70.
Speaker A:Like I'm talking like I've had some really big client case studies, testimonials, whatever you want to call them, right?
Speaker A:And it's not that I don't feel like I have not grown, because I do see where I have grown, right?
Speaker A:Like, I have exponentially grown.
Speaker A:My business has grown personally, professionally.
Speaker A:I have grown as a strategist and as a coach and consultant.
Speaker A:And I know all of this.
Speaker A:But I have honestly, truly never been my own best client.
Speaker A:Like, I will give my example myself.
Speaker A:Any out possible.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm just being totally honest and transparent.
Speaker A:You give me a tiny little bit of an out, and I'm going to take it, right?
Speaker A:Because I also know how to get by on kind of bare bones.
Speaker A:And I'm just being honest.
Speaker A:Like, I have kind of been able to skate by on a lot of things.
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:But I'm at a point now where I'm so annoyed with myself about that because I'm like, I don't want to just skate by.
Speaker A:Like, that's.
Speaker A:That's not good enough for me anymore, right?
Speaker A:And so what does it look like to be my own best case study?
Speaker A:And when I'm talking about that, like, when I wrote that down, I'm talking, like, at the end of the year, I am hiring a copywriter to write my case study that I can then use.
Speaker A:Because not only do I want to.
Speaker A:It's not even like, to prove that my framework works, right?
Speaker A:Like, I know my framework works, but I think there is something so powerful in being able to say, like, I created this framework and it works in this way for clients, but I also created the framework and I put myself through it, and this is the results that I got from following it for a 12 straight months, right?
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:There is something so powerful in that, if nothing else, powerful for myself, right?
Speaker A:And that's what I really am focused on.
Speaker A:But let me tell you something.
Speaker A:Even just having that in the few weeks.
Speaker A:Now, granted, we're only a couple weeks into January, but.
Speaker A:But even just having that, the amount of freaking clarity and focus and determination and motivation that I have to truly be my own best client is freaking insane, right?
Speaker A:And so I want you to really think about that.
Speaker A:Like, when is the last time you have been your own best client?
Speaker A:Have you ever been your own best client?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:How many of us have really never been our own best client?
Speaker A:I mean, I. I think most of the time we're our own worst clients, right?
Speaker A:Like, to be doctors are their own worst patients, hairdressers are their own worst clients.
Speaker A:You know, in general, like, we are typically not our best clients because we're so focused on everybody else.
Speaker A:Which brings me to my next point.
Speaker A:I really had been struggling with a word of the year and was like, maybe I just don't have a word this year again.
Speaker A:Like I told you, I had this like low level anxiety.
Speaker A:I don't know what it was about 20, 26, but I'm just kind of like, I don't, I, I'm just not feeling all of it.
Speaker A:But the less I actually put the pressure on to like have all of these things, like the clarity has come.
Speaker A:And so my word of the year this year is me.
Speaker A:And I told my husband and he friggin started just cracking up.
Speaker A:But what I mean by that is like me putting myself at the forefront, making myself the priority in every single thing I do personally and professionally.
Speaker A:Because you know, you ever, like I said, you ever just get sick of your like your own bullshit?
Speaker A:And I'm at that point.
Speaker A:But I also like have done this by putting other people first and not in a negative way, right?
Speaker A:Like it's not like I would, I'm going to stop putting other people at a level of importance they are, right?
Speaker A:Like my clients are still a priority all the things, right?
Speaker A:You understand what I'm saying?
Speaker A:I don't need to justify that.
Speaker A:But what I'm saying is like it's emotional boundaries, it's physical boundaries.
Speaker A:Committing to my body, committing to my health, committing to my mindset, right?
Speaker A:Like committing to these things that make it like they come first.
Speaker A:So when somebody asks me to do something, if it is at the same time as one of my workout classes that I want to go to, the answer is no.
Speaker A:Unless I can find another time that works for me to reschedule and go to a different class, the answer is no, right?
Speaker A:Like that's what I'm talking about is like really just looking at the lens of like how are you prioritizing yourself?
Speaker A:And with that prioritization comes being my own best client.
Speaker A:Sitting down and being and doing the client work that needs to be done for myself and my business before diving into my WhatsApp and answering all my clients, before diving into my email, right?
Speaker A:Like before I start getting like inundated and doing networking and calls and all the things I have so many days on my calendar blocked off that are just for me.
Speaker A:Because that is what is so important to me this year.
Speaker A:Because I can't be my own best case study if I don't prioritize myself, my tasks and the things that are going to allow me to maintain that level of priority, right?
Speaker A:And so I just, I'm sharing this because I feel like there's somebody out there, there's many of you out there that needs to hear this, that needs to really think about, like, when is the last time I put myself first?
Speaker A:When is the last time I was my own best client?
Speaker A:Could you say that you've been your own best case study?
Speaker A:Like, do you have it?
Speaker A:Do you feel like you could, you could say, like, yeah, I am like my own best client.
Speaker A:There are some people that have such incredible, like, dedication and they are so good at.
Speaker A:And I envy that because again, I'm not that person.
Speaker A:Like, I am the person that's going to work on everybody else's stuff before my own.
Speaker A:And so that has been such an incredible amount of clarity and focus for me to just, I mean, even in little actions, little things that I do, it's like, did.
Speaker A:What did you do today to be your own best case study?
Speaker A:You know, I'm talking, like, I'm executing on all of the back pocket insights.
Speaker A:We're doing a visibility menu and I've got my.
Speaker A:I literally made my own copy.
Speaker A:I've got it up and I'm working on it.
Speaker A:I redid my entire pipeline inside my CRM and I have time on my calendar to look at that every single week I have.
Speaker A:I hired another web developer to help me with my website so I don't have to maintain that, right?
Speaker A:Like, there's just things that I'm doing because I want to make sure that I am saying yes to the right things.
Speaker A:I'm applying for speaking opportunities that I would never have applied for in the past.
Speaker A:I'm prioritizing those things, right?
Speaker A:Like, I'm not letting those applications sit and sit and sit and sit while I do other things.
Speaker A:No, they are the priority, right?
Speaker A:Those get done first because those are the things that are going to bring me the results that I'm looking for, right?
Speaker A:And so this is why I find this, the North Star, so powerful.
Speaker A:And sometimes it takes a little while for you to like, really come up with it.
Speaker A:Because I'll be honest, like, I had a North Star that was not that prior, but it wasn't like a really big driving force for me.
Speaker A:It was very, it was very results driven.
Speaker A:And I do not do best with results driven stuff because then I get fixated on it and then it becomes just over.
Speaker A:Like, it sends my anxiety through the roof because then I, I get to this point of like, things are not happening fast enough.
Speaker A:Why aren't they happening faster?
Speaker A:Why should I should be pushing harder?
Speaker A:And then that, like, it comes off as a very desperate energy versus a very, like, allowing and receiving energy.
Speaker A:We talked about that.
Speaker A:And so I am really just very focused on, like, I don't know, I just lost my train of thought, if I'm being totally honest.
Speaker A:But my point is this is like really sit and think about that.
Speaker A:Like sit and think about what needs to happen.
Speaker A:Oh, I was talking about all the things that I'm doing that I'm prioritizing to prove and show myself that I can be my own best client, right?
Speaker A:Like there's just so many things and sometimes it's little, right?
Speaker A:Like it's not big things, you don't have to be doing all the things, but just in general, like even little things.
Speaker A:Like I signed up for a masterclass that I could not attend and I was like, I will watch the replay.
Speaker A:And I actually didn't watch the replay.
Speaker A:I listened to it because I didn't really need to watch it.
Speaker A:I didn't need to see the slides, I just need to listen to it.
Speaker A:But I literally like had to email her and said like, hey, I've got time today.
Speaker A:I'd love to listen.
Speaker A:Did you send out the replay yet?
Speaker A:I mean, like, that's what I'm talking about, right?
Speaker A:Like really just doing the things that are going to move you, like move you forward.
Speaker A:And here was my other point, here was my other point is that in having that case study at the forefront of my mind, I know that it's going to drive the results that I am desiring.
Speaker A:And this is my point here is like, if I don't need to focus on a like specific revenue number or a specific number of clients or anything, like that is my North Star.
Speaker A:Because if I do the things that, that will allow me to be my own best case study, the results will come, right?
Speaker A:Like, you can't be your own best case study and not get the results right.
Speaker A:Like revenue has to increase, you be able to pay off debt, land certain speaking opportunities, get new clients, right?
Speaker A:Like the results are a, they come as a result of the actions that you're taking, right?
Speaker A:And so I'm not so fixated on the results because I know the results will come and I'm allowing the results to come in the way that they are meant to come versus forcing them.
Speaker A:Because sometimes, like I said, when we set these like kind of results driven goals, sometimes we get so fixated on it that we actually like kind of bypass other opportunities that have come our way because we're so focused on one thing and we can't see like what else is kind of happening around us.
Speaker A:So anyways, it's like, focus on being your own best client.
Speaker A:Focus on that.
Speaker A:What's at the end of the line there, that vision that, like, destination is like, if at the end of the year, I can write my own best case study.
Speaker A:Like, I can write a case study about my own results.
Speaker A:Like, all of those other things are going to happen because they have to naturally happen in order to do that other.
Speaker A:In order to be able to write the case study in general.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I think that makes sense the way I said that.
Speaker A:I know my thoughts are a little jumbled.
Speaker A:This is ADHD at its best.
Speaker A:This is why I started to move to structured episodes, because my ADHD sends me on these freaking rabbit holes.
Speaker A:But anyway, that's my point.
Speaker A:So there you have it.
Speaker A:That you have my North Star and you have my word of the year.
Speaker A:When you have conversations with me, feel free to throw it in my face.
Speaker A:Feel free.
Speaker A:Feel free to hold me accountable to it.
Speaker A:I wasn't going to share it.
Speaker A:I'm not going to lie.
Speaker A:I was not going to share this, but I felt called to share it, and so I shared it at the time that felt relevant.
Speaker A:I didn't share it before I was ready, and now I'm sharing it because I feel ready and I feel good about it.
Speaker A:And I want you to.
Speaker A:And I felt like you guys needed to hear it, so I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Speaker A:Like, DM me on Instagram or Facebook.
Speaker A:I'm on both of them.
Speaker A:If you hang out on threads, come connect with me on threads, because I freaking love Threads.
Speaker A:But, yeah, there you have it.
Speaker A:And so I want to.
Speaker A: u to, like, step into and let: Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:I love you.
Speaker A:I believe in you.
Speaker A:I'll talk to you soon.
