What a trip to a private island taught me about attracting the right clients.

We all stepped onto the industrial scale and waited for the verdict.

"You're cleared to fly!"

Me along with my three travel companions squeezed into a plane that was approximately the size of a clown car.

In fact, it was so small that our luggage had to be flown separately because of weight restrictions.

We got in and put on the seatbelts when we saw a man approach who looked like he'd just fallen out of a hammock.

He had no shirt, no shoes and tattered swim trunks.

Who's this dude?

He opened the pilot's door and sat down.

"Put on your headphones. Flight time is about 40 minutes."

He turned the key in the engine, and the propeller roared to life.

You don't actually "need" shoes or a shirt to fly a plane, I reasoned to myself, wondering if we'd make it alive.

We took off from the coast of Fiji and flew until we saw a patch of deep green in the aquamarine water.

Ten minutes later we'd landed off the shore of this small, remote island.

Strapping Fijian men, wearing hula skirts and leis waded through the water towards the water plane. One by one, cradling each of us in their arms, they carried us to the shore like a groom taking his bride over the threshold.

The staff was waiting for us on the beach, first adorning us with leis, then a tray of cocktails.

A small band playing traditional island music was singing away to celebrate our arrival.

"Welcome to Turtle Island," one woman cooed. "We make couples' dreams come true. Over the next week, we can't wait to create the most romantic experience for you and your partner."

Turtle Island is one of the most exclusive resorts in the world.

A private island designed for the pleasure of only 14 couples.

Sounds great, right?

There was just one small hiccup.

I wasn't there as a couple. I was there with my roommate, Anne.

We weren't even dating.

I am not even a lesbian!

We'd been offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit this exclusive island, all expenses paid, by a married couple who we were friends with.

They were celebrating the acquisition of their company, and wanted to do something extravagant - and a private island vacation for couples fit the bill.

They also didn't want to do it alone - which is where Anne and I came in.

Could I pretend to be in a lesbian couple for a week with one of my best friends in exchange for a once-in-a-life opportunity.

The answer is yes.

Yes, I can!

Anne and I had our own buré, or villa, designed in the Fijian style.

We also had a "buré mama" who we could contact via walkie talkie anytime we needed something.

We would mingle with the other dozen guests over lunch and dinner, where we met record producers, hedge fund managers and entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, I fell into the role of the most neglectful wife ever - I kept forgetting I was supposed to be married to Anne!

I couldn't remember to hold her hand.

I could often be found doing distinctly "solo" activities, like reading a book under an umbrella while she was off with our friends in the water.

But despite my terrible acting, the staff was incredibly kind and accommodating - and probably fearing our relationship was "on the rocks" because I kept forgetting about my "wife", tried to plan all kinds of romantic activities for us to rekindle the romance.

Private dinner at the end of the dock? Check. 

Sunset boat cruise? Check. Check.

Escape for a private picnic in a remote part of the island? Check. Check. Check.

Horseback ride to watch the sunrise with a catered breakfast waiting for us? (I refused to wake up at the crack of dawn for this one, but heard it was lovely.)

All options that would have been PHENOMENAL if we were a couple.

But as two people pretending to be a couple, they didn't hit as intended.

In fact, the whole time I was there I just kept thinking about how great this would've been if I had been in an actual relationship with the person I was there with.

There was something oddly melancholic about the experience for me.

Now before I start getting hate mail about this - we still had a really fun time with our friends.

And even though this trip happened more than a dozen years ago, it is emblazoned in my memory as one of the best experiences of my life.

(And I didn't even tell you about the couple we met that drank the entire island out of vodka.)

But the next time I return to Turtle Island (because there will be a next time) I will only be returning as a couple - a real couple!

I couldn't possibly have the fullest experience of this resort, because I wasn't the right target market.

This private island, couples-only resort had a crystal clear idea of who its target market is and what they do to serve them extraordinarily well.

They had designed every single experience to nurture the beauty of a romantic relationship.

And while this was an incredible experience, it wasn't the OPTIMUM experience for two single gals pretending to be married.

If you try to shoehorn yourself (or your clients) into products and services that aren't right for them, even if it is an incredible offer, it won't leave them totally satisfied, nor will it leave you thrilled to work with them!

One of the most important lessons for advisory and consulting based businesses is this:

Some clients are for you, and others not so much.

As much as I loved Turtle Island, the experience wasn't designed for me.

As business owners who run high-touch consulting businesses, we have to be OK not engaging with prospective clients that aren't the right fit.

It doesn't make them bad people, it just means that we can't do our best work with them.

See, you have two options in your business - you can have a virtuous cycle of clients or a vicious cycle of clients.

In the Elevate program, where I offer high-touch coaching for consultants that want to double their revenue in 30 minutes a day, you learn how to create a virtuous cycle.

This is what happens when we only work with clients we love.

That means we do our best work, our amazing clients are thrilled, and they refer us to more amazing clients.

The cycle repeats.

In a vicious cycle, we let the wrong people into our business, and because we feel drained by them, we don't do our best work and we don't provide the best experience.

This leads to them not often not being thrilled with the work.

And we get stuck, in an unending cycle of trying to please people who simply should never have been in our business in the first place.

We actually do a disservice to people by trying to shoehorn them into a business offering that isn't right for them.

The better approach is to refer them out to a trusted colleague who might love to work with them or have a better business offering.

Remember, if you have a system for always getting new clients, you don't ever have to worry about letting one go.

Laura Khalil helps consultants and creatives work only with clients they love and double their revenue. See how easy it can be to double your revenue in the next five minutes. 

She has consulted for some of the world’s most recognizable brands on marketing including GE, Intel and Twitter. She is host the Top 125 Apple Podcast, Brave by Design.