How do you meet the customer of your dreams? How do you best serve your ideal client? How do you "sort" the right people for your business from the wrong people for your business?

Luckily for all of us who are interested in green living, green business development, and true respect and care for the planet, it is easy to find the "right" people based on the kind of language they use and their stated social and environmental responsibility report. Here are some pointers I've found along my own journey:

SAY YES to ONLY THE RIGHT PROJECTS.
When I was first starting out in web design, my partner and I were anxious to do as much business as possible, and so we ended up saying yes to all kinds of projects --- we quickly found out that this led to three kinds of trouble as we struggled to differentiate ourselves and our process:

1) We had difficulty in discerning the projects on which we wanted to work.
2) We were anxious because many of the people who found us were anxious themselves and it became a feedback loop of anxiety!!!
3) When we were unclear, unfocused, and provided too much of a broad approach, it led our customers to ask for unclear, unfocused, and very broad requests.

Saying YES to only the right projects does mean saying no to what might look like profitable work. However, when you say no to the wrong kind of work, you open up many opportunities to allow the right kind of work to come into your space.

Create a niche and dominate it by saying yes to only the projects, distributors, customers, partners, or affiliates that match what you want to achive.

NARROW YOUR FOCUS.
Narrow your target market and narrow the type of work you do. For example, in my case:

• Instead of creating static HTML based websites, now we focus on content management systems.
• Instead of doing "any kind" of website, now we create highly functional websites that support organizational growth.
• Instead of working with "anyone", we now work with green businesses, progressive organizations, and minority women entrepreneurs.
• Instead of working on "any project", we work with partners who intend to grow their business and who benefit from our expertise.

We're happier because of the changes we've made, and we now have a better sense of when we are a good fit for a project or when the customer would be better served with a referral to one of our partners.

BE EFFICIENT.
As you develop experience and a set of methods and business processes, you'll help everyone involved with your business. Think of your management and staff, your teammates, partners, and customers -- how does your process "fit" everyone's feedback and desired results? As you create your own process and procedures, you'll understand how you best function.

Use "green" guidelines to help you make decisions on where to get supplies or how to distribute and market. When you set policies, you give all the people working on the project a clear "road map" to milestones along the way to your shared success.

SPECIFY, SPECIFY, SPECIFY
Know how to describe your green business in 7 seconds or less. Be specific. As you specify more and more what it is that you value and who you support, it is easier and easier to find the people who share your values and who want to support you. You'll find yourself gravitating towards your "true community" of customers, clients, partners and friends.

ENVISION THE FUTURE-- and CREATE IT
Consider what your successful business (or life) looks like to you. I encourage you to map it out in as much detail as possible, writing it on a piece of paper, or using vision boarding to copy and paste images that match your ideal.

Then, bring your current situation closer and closer to that ideal by saying YES only to the people and projects that match your vision. What will happen is the ideal starts coming closer and closer to you, and you do more and more of the work you love. As your green business thrives and supports others who share your values, our entire community, society, and planet benefits.

SHARE YOUR VOICE
We all need your unique voice-- we need you to share how you believe in your actions and how your green business is a part of the solution. Please share your unique vision of what it is you want to accomplish with your life --- and let us all work together to make it a reality.

List your green business for free in the national directory at http://www.greenbizwomen.com. Follow @monicadear and let me know your green business or connect on LinkedIn.

Originally published by Monica S. Flores at TheGreenGirls.com