I’m not a huge fan of snobby people.

Some of the “haves” have a nasty trait of looking down on the “have-nots.”

So I could TASTE the irony when I found myself at an etiquette dinner while in grad school.

Everyone kept telling me how important it was to network. So I relented and decided to go.

I figured we’d learn how to hold our forks and swirl wine glasses obnoxiously in our hands…

But I was wrong.

Sure, we learned how to hold our utensils and cut our food. But we also learned how to project an image of competence—without being jerks about it.

You can do this with your business…

Here’s the deal. Unless you’re selling t-shirts for 5 bucks, you probably don’t want to work with everyone and their mom.

That means there’s a specific set of people you want to work with more than anyone else.

It’s fine to aim for the cream of the crop.

You want to work with Fortune 500 CEOs? Great.

You want customers who are single moms between 35 and 50? Awesome.

Being selective—a bit snobby, even—about whom you’re willing to work with makes you more attractive to your ideal customers.

Too many businesses try to include everyone and not hurt anyone’s feelings.

This waters down their appeal. They attract no one instead of everyone.

If you’re offering a high-end service and refuse to take on clients for less than 5 grand a month, don’t hide that fact. Feature it prominently on your website.

Being unapologetic about whom you’re willing to work with (and on what terms) makes you more appealing to that group.

And those are the people you really want to work with anyway, right?