Have you ever become friends with a client?

A few weeks ago, we had dinner with our friends Hannah and Willie.

Hannah and Willie are married and they were in Vegas for a few days, so they flagged us down.

It was so great to sit and chat about all things life, love, and business.

We gathered for steaks and drinks and allowed ourselves to feel aligned and in flow with one another.

Getting offline and connecting in real life is such a special privilege these days.

But hey. Did I mention Hannah is a client?

(We recently celebrated Hannah on Artemis’s Instagram.)

Since we run an online business, our clients live all over North America, and we’ve never met most of them in person.

And yet, we have built deep, meaningful relationships with each and every one of them.

The relationship between a coach/student, or mentor/mentee is an intimate connection.

In the kind of work we do, we dive down into deep sh*t.

We invite vulnerability and honesty from our clients so that we can help them get to the bottom of the limiting beliefs that hold them back in business.

Vulnerability is a two-way street.

In order to create a safe place for our clients to show up and get real with us, we exchange energy with them by being open and vulnerable with them as well.

The traditional business police are definitely coming for us on this one.

How can you maintain authority and collect payments if you’re showing your cards to your clients?!

Traditional business models are built on fake relationships.

Wining and dining.

Golf courses.

Strings. So many strings.

The connections aren’t real.

There is an unwritten rule that you leave your personal life at the door.

God forbid you reveal something personal because it can and will be used against you when it’s time for a promotion or evaluation.

But we don’t work under traditional business models.

And neither do you.

We are in the business of connection, authenticity, and alignment.

We firmly believe that if we are authentically ourselves, our energy will attract the right clients into our business.

The idea of separating business from personal comes from a scarcity mindset.

From a fear that you will lose money or be taken advantage of if you get too close.

That you will lose your authority if you show your humanity.

We believe the opposite is true.

We believe all good relationships are to be nurtured– whether there is a formal arrangement or not.

We met Hannah at a StrongFirst barbell certification in the Fall of 2018. Artemis was teaching there and Hannah was a student.

Artemis and Hannah connected.

First as a coach and student.

Then as people.

We stayed in touch online, talking about everything from kettlebells, to business, to pets, and Hawaii.

When Hannah was ready for a business coach, she knew exactly where to find us, and we transitioned into a coach/client relationship.

Our success in business has proven to us that our realness and authenticity is actually an incredible asset.

We have attracted the right clients because they have picked up what we put down.

Authority and authenticity can coexist.

Your friends can become paying clients, and your paying clients can become your friends.

There’s one caveat:

The business/personal relationships will go south if you do not charge your worth.

Trouble happens when you start coaching your friends for free, or giving beloved clients big discounts.

When you undercharge (or don’t charge at all), you:

1. Have an imbalanced energy exchange
2. Will not prioritize the friend the same as you would a paid client
3. Diminish your friend’s potential success because they need to activate their intentions with their own investment

So show up as yourself. You see us doing it all the time on our Instagram.

Be yourself.

Show your clients your heart.

Be loving and supportive.

Make deep connections.

And then make sure those people know how you can help them.

Does this feel foreign to you?

Do you kind of love it?

If you feel drawn to our energy and our coaching style, we would love to help you build, grow, and scale your online business.

EmpowerU Business Academy is opening for enrollment in mid-August.

EBA is our most popular coaching program, and it will sell out (it always does).

Get yourself on the waitlist now to get priority access before we open the doors to the public.

To aligned relationships in business and life,

Artemis + Eric

P.S. In EBA, we will teach you everything you need to know to turn those authentic relationships into referral machines that help your business grow. Get on the waitlist now.