I promised myself I wouldn’t work Fridays.
And yet last Friday at 7:30pm, I was still on a client call while dinner needed cooking and my boys were about to barrel in from football practice.
As I hung up the call and walked into the kitchen… I was smiling.
Happy as a pig in shit.
Not one ounce of resentment in my body.
Why? Because that client has worked with me for 3 years.
And he ended the call by saying:
“I’ll keep sending everyone I know to you. There’s no one like you. No one works the way you do and gets these results.”
That sentence landed like a thunderbolt.
For years, I was the woman silently seething through late calls.
I often thought boundaries were the only answer.
How wrong was I?
I don’t believe in that bullshit: “if you do what you love you never have to work a day in your life.” But I do believe this: not all work is created equally.
If you keep spending your time in meetings about meetings, presentations about what you did and what you will do (instead of the actual doing), surrounded by toxic people breathing down your neck constantly – that is soul-sucking. But if you work with people you enjoy, that you lose yourself in conversations with, that you keep learning from? THAT does not feel like work at all.
What we are looking for is Alignment.
When you’re working with the right people, doing the work you’re meant to do…
You don’t feel drained. You feel lit up.
Quote Of The Week
“When values are clear, decisions are easy.”
Roy Disney
How I Built an Aligned Business
As I reflect on where I am now, the better question isn’t “Why was this my best quarter yet?” but how did I build a business that energizes me instead of drains me?
I have to be honest: no business is effortless. There are always hard days. Even joy has a cost. But what matters is the foundation you build: the daily actions that lead to clients you actually want to work with, clients who keep fueling your energy instead of bleeding it dry.
Here’s what I’ve done differently:
- Radical honesty on calls:
From the first sales conversation, I am brutally upfront about who I am, how I work, and what I won’t do. There is no amount of money that will make me bend those values.
That clarity attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones.
2. Consistent messaging:
I repeat this ethos in every conversation, refining it over time.
Why? Because I’ve learned the hard way: when you compromise on alignment, the partnership almost always ends with either you firing the client or them firing you.
3. Referrals as alignment magnets:
Referrals aren’t just faster to close. They’re higher quality, because they already understand how I work. A past or current client has translated my way of working for them, so the new client walks in already aligned.
I wrote more about this here.
4. Selective acceptance:
For me, this goes beyond refusing projects where I can’t deliver. I also refuse projects that would cannibalize the attention and energy I owe to existing clients.
I only accept long-term consulting engagements (12 months or more) because that’s how I can deliver depth, not surface-level fixes.
I also stagger start dates so I’m not onboarding multiple clients at once. There’s always a learning curve when you begin with someone new, and it’s a dance – it takes two to tango. Protecting that ramp-up space allows me to actually wow my clients, and those are the clients who never stop bragging about you.
5. Generosity with connections:
I aim to refer more than I am referred. I meet a ton of people, make time to learn from them, and if I can help, I help.
That generosity always comes back. Over time, it’s positioned me as someone who thinks differently, who isn’t afraid to be blunt, direct, and yes – swear a lot.
Here’s what that bluntness looks like in action: all my consulting clients are senior men in high finance. When I’m coaching them before big meetings, I don’t wish them “good luck.” I tell them: “Don’t fuck it up.” Or if I’m feeling generous: “Don’t cock it up.”
That bluntness isn’t for everyone.
But it’s exactly why the right clients stay, grow with me, and send referrals my way. They want someone who tells them the truth and doesn’t waste their time.
These are all cumulative actions. You don’t see results immediately, but the compound effect is undeniable.
And let me add this: when you’re starting a business, it’s harder. In the beginning, you’ll say yes to more revenue because survival comes first.
But as you grow, you earn the right to be choosier. To get there, you need to be prudent with money. You need the ability to walk away and say no.
I am thankful and deeply grateful to be in that position now, but it didn’t happen overnight.
But this is how I got here.
Own It
If you’re standing at the edge of your own midlife career pivot, here’s the truth:
It’s not about being perfect or following every “rule” you read online.
You need to focus on aligning your skills and personality with the right clients, so your calendar feels like freedom, not a prison.
Aligned clients value your truth, your energy, and your way of working, which is what makes your business sustainable.
And if you want to make your next quarter your best yet?
Let’s map out how.
Because alignment isn’t theory, it needs to be practices. And it starts with your next decision.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to hop on a networking call – always with my coffee.
Claudia
