Why you might feel lackluster when you start to succeed
It’s wild, but I’ve seen this happen quite often. Someone has been working hard on their business, trying to get it to produce, to do well… and then it happens, money and clients coming in, success! And… all of their motivation drains away. They stop pushing, it’s hard to keep going… What the heck is […]
Why you might not want to base your marketing off your past clients
Before we get into it, I wanted to mention that the wonderful Eryka Peskin is hosting me for a virtual book reading of my book, Heart Centered Business, next Thursday, September 12. Details are here. Okay, here we go on why you might not want to base your marketing off your past clients. When folks come […]
Guilty about waiting lists
There’s an interesting dynamic that comes up, not with everyone, but with a significant number of people, and keeps them from marketing or otherwise making their business better. It’s this: guilt about waiting lists. Or, really, guilt about saying no. They are imagining if they develop their business, they will be overwhelmed, flooded with people […]
How simple design mistakes lose you clients
Today I have something that is almost more of a tip than any deep strategy or understanding. I had a client want me to look at one of their promotions, and they sent me something that looked like this, that was at the bottom of their weekly email: Name of class. Information about the class, more […]
Some thoughts about how hard it is to talk about the magic of your work
My friend and colleague Chris Zydel, who teaches Wild Heart Intuitive Painting, had posted this on socials: “Some of the most important work that I do can never be talked about because I simply can’t find the words.” And it’s not that Chris isn’t incredibly thoughtful, articulate and coherent about her work, because she is, and […]
How to interrupt a client that keeps on talking… without hurting them
Recently, when I did the video on “when clients keep taking and taking” someone wrote in, “At first, I thought you had written “talking and talking’…” Right! That’s an equally good topic, for similar reasons. It is so easy to hurt people unintentionally, which is not a great way to be in the world, of […]
When clients just keep taking (and taking, and taking…)
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced clients who take a lot. They want appointments all over the calendar, they want flexibility on price, and maybe other things. If you don’t handle this, it can create a lot of resentment. But, the way I see a lot of business […]
When people keep interrupting your work week
When you’re self-employed, or otherwise have some control over your schedule, it seems like sometimes folks feel free to just ask you for help, even when they know (or should know) that you’re working. They don’t bother those who have office jobs. Why do they bother you? And it’s not like you don’t want to […]
When friends and community want free services from you
What do you do when friends, community, loved ones want your services for free, but you’re trying to make a living doing them? And of course you want to be able to give to them, and you also need to pay for your life. How do you draw the line? This is an important question. […]
Why a 5% response to your offers is actually really good.
I saw someone out in the wilds of social media, struggling to understand why they were only getting a 5% response to an offer they put out. I figured you folks here might be interested in what my response would be. There are many people who have really unrealistic sense of what a “good response” […]