Step 4: Third column, title "M/S/D/U"=married, single, divorced, unknown. Continue down column.

Step 5: Continue making columns for additional categories you know about your clients. Create a column for age or age group. Location, US, UK, Australia. If all same, skip column. Number of children. How long a client. Total revenue for past year. Service type. How did they find you?

Step 6: Add new distinctions and details over next few days or week as you remember. Set aside first five minutes of day to add to list or as you remember.

Step 7: If you find some information missing, contact client or past client and ask.

Step 8: Look for similarities, for instance, 90% males, single, or divorced. Some of these patterns are going to be obvious and some aren't.

Step 9: Place a "*" or highlight your ideal client or clients.

Many times, and without knowing it, because you are just glad for business, fish pick you.

Step 10: If you couldn't find "the ideal client" then for some reason you aren't attracting them. There are some things you need to change, either inside yourself or out, probably both. Find gap between two? What do you need to do or be differently in order to attract preferred type of clients?

Describe type of ideal client you want. Place as much detail to them as possible, including revenue. What do they want that you aren't expressing you have? What do they want that you don't have and need to change?

At some point during this process you will want to convert this to a spreadsheet for ease of use. Start when information feels it needs too.

This isn't a requirement, you may want to stop as soon as you see that you aren't expressing what client is willing to buy or some characteristics or type of service you don't provide that client must have in order to do business with you. If this is case, you can stop here and work on what needs to shift or change.

Feeling some reluctance in taking time to do so? You will not be first.

Jim, an insurance agent from Arizona, sent me an e-mail after his attendance on a teleclasses with this exercise.

"Darn, Catherine, you're good. The exercise ate at me all night. I gave in and did exercise this morning, even though last night I was convinced that I already knew all answers. Today, I discovered major holes in my marketing. Just by closing one of these holes today sales increased. I look forward to continuing exercise. Thank you for your patient e-mail and letting me move through my denial and seeing that thinking its all in my head and writing it down is two different things."

This exercise deserves repeating regularly. You can use results of this exercise as a measurement when reviewing your yearly goals. Or comparing one year to another.

For first year businesses, I recommend completing this exercise once every three months. After first year, shift to twice a year. After three, once a year. Or before and after a new service or product is introduced.

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