profile

Louise Beattie | Modern Business For Solopreneurs and Small Businesses

Even Hans Zimmer has a client avatar...

Published over 2 years ago • 2 min read

Hans Zimmer is one of Hollywood's most sought after composer's - he's worked on over 500 projects in film and tv from blockbuster movies such as the new Top Gun, No Time To Die, the Batman movies to documentaries like the BBC's Frozen Planet.

Even if you don't know his name, you will have heard his music.

Of course there are many factors to his success, such as his outstanding talent, surrounding himself with a good team, innovating, wanting to lift others up and being good to work with...

​

However, one thing really jumped out at me whilst watching Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel.

He has a client avatar and for every movie score he composes he asks "what would Doris think?"

​

After leaving school, Hans joined a band called Krakatoa, mainly playing working men's clubs and this is where his avatar comes from.

In his words...

​

"We were the entertainment nobody listened to. We were so bad. Up north, We would be the support act to the stripper. And it was interesting because it was the 80s and it was Margaret. Thatcher and it was coal miners strike.
​
Woh, it was rough up north. People were so frustrated. You know you left London and you entered another world, entered another country and this country was a country that was desperate and it was poor, and it was everything that you could only imagine of the left behind and of the forgotten.
And to this day I have this person I write my music for, and she's fictitious.
​
She's called Doris and she lives in Bradford, and she has a great coat, and you know uncertain age. She's got two terrible boys, I mean they are so ill behaved and her hair dye job isn't very good, you know and she works really hard throughout the week.
​
And come the weekend she has a choice. She has a choice of going to the pub, having a drink, or she has a choice for coming and seeing one of our movies.
​
And she's a hero to me because she works hard. And so when she comes to see one of our movies, I want to make sure that she gets her money's worth.
​
And I promise you I mean, every movie I sit there and I go what would Doris think?"

​

If you've been in my world for any length of time, you will know how much importance I place on having a good understanding of who your clients are and referring to that avatar.

But notice too how evocative Hans description of his avatar is... he paints a picture that, if you have any familiarity with northern Britain in the '80s, takes you right back in time. You can feel empathy for Doris and her struggles in life.

And he is aware of the choices that Doris has - the alternatives to the work he is involved in.

And not just that, every piece of work he does, he asks what Doris would think...

​

He does this because he realises that it's all about satisfying the end client.

So I ask you, who is your Doris? Because if it's good enough for Hans Zimmer...

​

Louise (the Hans Zimmer fan)

​

P.S. The program about Hans is really interesting and inspiring. Worth a watch if you can get it Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel​

​
​
P.P.S. If you are feeling stuck in your business and not sure what to do next? I've opened up some slots for Triage Assessments. It's a 15-minute investment of your time - here's where to find out more and schedule. Spots are limited and it's a first come first served basis...

Louise Beattie | Modern Business For Solopreneurs and Small Businesses

Founder of Forge & Flourish, Heroic Coach®, and dog lover with an insatiable curiousity, redefining success with AI

I help solopreneurs, small business owners and professionals build modern businesses that thrive in a post-AI world through smart AI use—amplifying their sovereign minds for more freedom and revenue, and lives that matter with greater time, connection, and purpose. Join a community of bold thinkers using AI to create lives they love.

Read more from Louise Beattie | Modern Business For Solopreneurs and Small Businesses
morning stroll ai image of woman walking in the fields with her cocker spaniel

I’d been wrestling with a decision for days. You know the kind, where you think you’ve made it, then second-guess it half an hour later. I’d turned it over in my head in every direction. It was still unclear. Then I took Midge for a walk. No earbuds. No agenda. Just sky, the breeze, and soft rhythm of paws on grass. And somewhere around the field, the answer came to me. Simple. Clear. Settled. Not because I tried harder. But because I stopped trying at all. That walk reminded me (again) that...

14 days ago • 1 min read

Sometimes the clarity fades. Not dramatically. Not all at once. We’ve all been there, lost our way. But slowly. A plan that no longer feels alive. A rhythm that stops making sense. A sense that you’re “off”, without being able to name why. If you’re wired for responsibility (and most of us are), the instinct is to fix. To push harder. To get back on track, fast. But what if there’s nothing to fix? What if this moment, the doubt, the pause, the quiet, isn’t failure, but recalibration? I wrote...

24 days ago • 1 min read
A thoughtful woman pausing on a quiet path through nature, symbolising reflection and recalibration.

There’s a certain kind of moment that doesn’t get talked about much. The moment when you’re doing all the right things… but something still feels off. The rhythm breaks. The plan doesn’t land. The clarity fades, and you can’t quite see where you’re headed anymore. In those moments, the voice of urgency tends to rise. It tells you to push. To fix. To prove you're not falling behind. But what if that voice isn’t your true guide? What if the pause isn’t a problem? What if it’s just your system,...

28 days ago • 1 min read