I am part of a few Facebook groups – and one of the most wonderful ones is Marvelous Brand Builders, run by Suzi Istvan.  What I love about it is every month there’s a challenge, some sort of action item that helps us take action and grow our businesses. This month, the challenge is to let your clients see you in a bigger way. Gulp. This can be harder than it seems. I’m accepting her challenge by making a video and outing myself as someone who spends too much time at home, but also shows up to business conferences without my besties. I am calling on you to leave the (metaphorical and literal) house. It’s the pep talk I need sometimes, so maybe you do too. Let’s all stop spending so much time isolated in our heads, ok?   Ways to leave … Continue reading →

When I first started my business I was so swept up in what I was going to DO and how much I was going to MAKE and how much free time I was going to HAVE that I forgot to ask myself one simple question, that would impact the entire trajectory of my business: What kind of boss was I going to be to myself?  What I didn’t realize when I started my journey of self-employment, is that while I was the founder, the CEO, the bookkeeper, the admin, marketer, social media manager, and every other role in one person, there was one really fundamentally important role I forgot.  Boss.  I am THE boss, and I am the boss of me.  I am my own boss. Normally, when I hear people talk about the word boss, it applied to a lot … Continue reading →

What I wish someone had told me when I was first starting out in my business, is there are very specific steps you take when someone says they’re interested in working with you. It’s such an important, delicate time in your business – the hang time between someone expressing interest to becoming a paying client can be intense for the business owner. There is so much resistance to talking about money and process, I wish someone had spelled it out for me, because once I figured it out, everything in my business started running so much smoother. If you run a service based business, it’s likely you talk to your clients before they book with you.  (Sidenote: This is a really common thing these days, and if you don’t already do this, and wish you had more clients, you might consider opening up some … Continue reading →

Holy moly. Last week I tried to buy two high-end gifts for friends, and TWICE I was shut down by the business owners I was trying to pay. If you were to talk to them, I’m sure they’d say they need the money and that they’d love these big ticket sales.  And yet, when faced with a real person ready to whip out her credit card and throw some dolla bills at them, they both bawked. Which tells me they have some major money blocks going on.  Which makes me sad, and bummed out, because accepting money from a customer who is approaching you trying to pay you should be the easiest thing, and least of your worries. While both of these situations were pretty surprising to me – they were also both big teachers.  They shone a light on how avoidant humans are when it comes to … Continue reading →

Do you find yourself holding back from making changes or updating your business because you think everyone will judge you for it?  I’m talking about my bandgeek days (tuba!) and sharing why no one paying attention to you is great for your business. I’d love to hear what changes or updates this inspires you to make – share in the comments below.  Remember, the only ones paying that close of attention are rooting for your success!

Today’s excellent marketing can sometimes feel overwhelming. It’s no secret we’re in Bschool season, and that means dozens of very famous names talking about how you totally need Bschool to change your life in all these shiny and exciting ways. There’s an incredible affiliate program, complete with top-seller competition, so everyone is amply motivated to say nice things about it. They seem to really believe in the program, but it’s impossible to talk about the Bschool marketing machine without also mentioning the payout. I think Marie has done an incredible job rallying the troops and creating a well run affiliate program.  Honestly, it seems like at this point, she could cut the affiliate program and keep her money since her reach seems real deep.  But that’s just my hit on it, we haven’t talked or anything 🙂 I enrolled in Bschool the first … Continue reading →