How to Charge What You're Worth, Get It, and Much More!

For heart-based entrepreneurs, it is often difficult to determine, stick to, and express their fees. Especially for women entrepreneurs who have a big vision for bringing value to their clients. A significant ingredient to making a profitable business is to create a profitable brand. For the entrepreneur, you are discovering and defining your personal brand because your personal brand IS your business's brand. When you are defining and expressing your personal brand, you are sharing with the world your excellence and the value that you bring to your clients through your work. 

When I work with clients, as much as they love what they do (and they LOVE what they do!), they want to find ways of making more money. Why? The reasons depend of the individual, but I often hear that they want to travel more, spend more time with their family/friends, feel more successful ("I have made it"), give to others, or just live more comfortably. The great news is they CAN make more money, while staying true to who they are and what they value personally and professionally. I often refer my clients to check out Kendall Summerhawk's "How to Charge What You're Worth and Get It!" 

Kendall asks a great question in her "How to Charge What You're Worth and Get it!": "Why settle for less when you KNOW you're worth MORE?"


Having talked with many of Kendall Summerhawk's clients and hearing how they have been able to quickly and easily charge 20-40 percent more than they had been previously, I wait in great anticipation for what will be shared at Kendall's event this October. If you are a heart-based entrepreneur like myself and many of my clients, you will find great value in the program as well as "How to Charge What You're Worth and Get It!" 


October Event: I will be there; will you?


Created and hosted by Kendall Summerhawk and her team, The Money, Marketing, and Soul Intensive will be here before you know it. Will I see you at the event this October? Plan on improving your money mindset, charging what you're worth and much more! 




*Excellence

How to Find the Best Web Designer for YOUR Site

When considering whether or not to work with a web designer, first take close look at the company’s or designer’s portfolio. It’s important that you like the looks of websites they’ve made in the past. If you don’t like their work, it’s simple: Don’t call them.

Try to make a list of a few designers or firms whose work you like. Then, set up time to talk to them. During your discussions, the most important thing to find out is whether they are knowledgeable about marketing.

There are thousands of graphic artists who will be perfectly happy to make you a website, and there are tons of programmers who will do the same. But only rarely will they be able to make a site that is effective for your business. If you want to have the best possible website, what you need is a digital strategist.

How do you know if a designer you’re considering is also a digital strategist? First, inquire into their development process. If their process doesn’t have a “Discovery” stage-i.e., a stage in which they schedule time with you to discuss strategies and goals-then it’s probably best to walk away from that designer.

In short, the development process should include several stages:

1. Discovery
2. Information architecture
3. Graphical user interface
4. Design
5. Programming and testing

Do the designers seem like they plan to simply make a pretty site for you without first consulting you about your specific needs? If they’re not going to involve you in the process, there’s a good chance you’ll be wasting your money on a nice-looking but ineffective site.

Also, it’s extremely important that your web designer will be handing the PSD files over to you. The PSD files will allow another graphic artist to make changes to the design (if needed). If they’re unwilling to commit to this, run!

Other things to consider:

• Will you have the copyright to your site? It’s fine if the designer wants to have the right to put your site in their portfolio, as long as you’re the actual owner of the site.
• Are Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing among the designer’s main concerns? They should be.
• Do they use a Content Management System (CMS) to make their sites? This is very important, as if there is no CMS you’ll end up having to pay your designer for every site update, which would quickly get ridiculously expensive.
• Finally, make sure that you’re going to own your own domain name. Don’t use a designer that wants to retain ownership of your domain. I’ve worked with clients who were being held hostage by a former site designer, and it’s not a fun situation.

Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the “Getting Clients Home Study Program”, the step-by-step guide to getting clients, building your business and making more income. Grab a FREE copy of her 14-Step Formula for Getting Clients and Report “What you Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients” visit http://jjscoaching.com/free-report/

The "R" in CRM

Link to full article>>

If customer loyalty is your objective then Customer Relationship Management could be your answer. The CRM concept became popular in the 1990’s as consumers became less loyal and more demanding of the businesses they purchased goods and services from. A decade later, companies began leveraging software applications specifically designed for CRM; these applications were an extension of database marketing. Yet as information has become readily accessible online and often independent of the company’s control through blogs, user reviews, and discussion boards the “R” in CRM, the relationship component has become increasingly important.

Given the current economical climate the free based expansion of Web 2.0: blogs, twitter, and wikis can offer companies, particularly start-ups, a way to tap into the changing demands of their customer base. This data alone does not result in developing strong relationships, the relationship is a two-way interaction that depends as much on the consumer as those trying to manage them. Incorporating the “R” into both the culture and the strategy of an organization is pivotal to building a customer-centric organization.

So how do you prepare for a successful CRM initiative that has a strong focus on the “R”? Check out what Katelyn Nadeau says to try at She Takes On The World >>

Share Your comments below~

Create a Company Wealth Map - WomenEntrepreneur.com

Your business must do more than make money; it should increase in value and lead you to financial independence.

Many people start their business with a business plan, perhaps for the purpose of getting initial funding from financial institutions or investors. But those plans are designed for lenders, not for business owners. They don't tell business owners how to create value within their business for themselves.

I conducted a "why are you in business?" poll for my book, Show Me the Money. About two-thirds of respondents said they are in business because they want to make more money and become financially independent. But a business plan really doesn't address this. Many business owners do create a lifestyle for themselves from their business. But few double or even quintuple the value of their business. That's because most don't have that big picture or road map to guide them.

A "company wealth map" is a road map to guide you in terms of creating wealth or value for you from your business. In layman's terms, it's how you visualize your ultimate financial independence. Granted, every one of us has a different definition of financial independence. The company wealth map is the big picture showing you how your business can work for you.

"I am so good at seeing the big picture, visualizing the future--doing everything toward how the end product looks," says Kelly Gaines, the owner of Charlotte Aquatics. Unlike most business owners, Gaines intuitively knows what her big picture is, writes down all of her goals and monitors them on a regular basis. She has that mental picture of her company wealth map.

Many business owners wait until they hit a wall or get stuck before they do something. >> View Full Post at WomenEntrepreneur.com

Create a Company Wealth Map - WomenEntrepreneur.com

How to Attract all the Clients You Need

How to Attract all the Clients You Need

by Ileana Kane

I was taught if I work hard and take one step at a time, I'd get to my goal. For awhile that did serve me and it's only one way. What I'm talking about is day to day, striving and struggling to make incremental gains in business. It's the path of conventional growth. What I call ladder climbing instead of leap-frogging. What I'm asking of you is to be open to stop accepting present circumstances and being content with incremental growth in your business.

Take a risk on going for unconventional success by going the route of unconventional approaches. Go for a breakthrough! A quantum leap!

Focus On The End Result

Start first with a crystal clear vision (dream) of the outcome you want. Create a strong focal point for yourself and your business. Go ahead and visualize your arrival - just as if you were a runner readying yourself for a race. Forget the how! The answers will come to you like simple and streamlined solutions. No forcing necessary - stay out of your own way and let it occur. Now for you perfectionists, forget making the perfect plan, forget getting everything neatly organized and eliminating the risks. Be willing to be with ambiguity, confusion or chaos. All that you're doing is what Columbus did. He sailed into uncharted territory. Just keep your focal point of where you're going to land.

Light The Fire In Your Heart

Passion is the single element that will energize the soul, fill the spirit and put fire in your heart. Go with your burning desire, the fire in your heart, and you will never be let down. In order to allow this to happen, shift the limits on your thinking.. >> Read Full Article

How to Become an Entrepreneur on the Job

Are YOU an intrepreneur? I love this article by Deborah A. Bailey. She talks about having an entrepreneurial mindset within the corporate environment, which I see many times in my work within organizations.


"An intrepreneur is a person who has an entrepreneur skill set but works within an organisation, enterprise, or venture. This could be within an organization that seeks the dynamisism of forward thinking employees or incubation companies." (Wikipedia)

It is not only about taking control of your career and ensuring job security; it is about bringing more purpose to your work and your vision to the world in your own unique way. What I enjoy most about working within the corporate environment as a brand strategist is seeing each individual brand (aka personal brands) – passion, unique attributes, and strengths of each individual who make up the corporate team.


I have found that when corporations have a team of intrepreneurs (I would also describe these intrepreneurs as those employees who know their personal brand), it has a significant impact on the success of the business. When employees find those things that they are passionate about within their work as well as what their natural strengths are and how they are known to those around them, they become the BEST representatives for the corporate brand.


How to Become an Entrepreneur on the Job
As a direct result of all of the economic realities we’re faced with, more people are looking into starting their own business. For some people this will be a new and welcome direction. However, starting and running a business isn’t for everyone. When an employee wants to apply entrepreneurial traits to their career, they can do so as an “intrepreneur.”

What’s an intrepreneur? I’m sure there’s more than one definition, but one way to define it is when an employed professional acts like an entrepreneur while remaining in the corporate environment. Instead of being reactive and not having any control over your career, you can use entrepreneurial traits to be more proactive in your career.

No one wants to feel that their work has no purpose. It’s hard to get through a day or feel any excitement for what you’re doing if you can’t see why what you’re doing matters. One reason why people go into business for themselves is because they want more freedom over their lives. They’re tired of being in an environment where they spend the day reacting to the decisions of others.

This is where looking at yourself as an intrepreneur can change your entire outlook. If you’re ready to adopt entrepreneurial behaviors such as taking more risks and creating a vision for what you want to achieve, you’ll be less likely to get stuck in a career rut. It means taking responsibility for your decisions and for the results.

Here are tips to become an intrepreneur in your career right now:

1. Take an honest look at your job situation. How do things look in your company and in your industry? Are there growth opportunities?
2. Be open to learning and growing. If your skills have not been updated in years, find opportunities to upgrade them now.
3. What’s your vision for your future? Where do you see yourself in six months or in a year? Are you willing to take steps to reach your goal?
4. Become more of a risk taker. Is there a project that you’d like to work on or a new process you’d like to introduce to your department? Are you willing to share your ideas or make a request for what you want?
5. Learn to trust yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself or your ideas, it will be difficult for you to take charge of your career. You have to believe that you deserve to have a better experience and that you do have something to offer.

Whether you stay in your work environment or decide to move out into business ownership, you can transform your relationship with your work. Take charge of your career and go from employee to intrepreneur.


Resource:

Copyright © 2009 Deborah A. Bailey

For more great articles, visit The Secrets of Success Blog. This article originally appeared in Identity Magazine.

Deborah A. Bailey is a writer, communications expert, coach, author of "Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transform Your Career and Take Charge of Your Life" and host of "Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success," an Internet radio talk show. For more information visit her website at www.dbaileycoach.com.

Three Personal Branding Lessons From Princess Diana

In unearthing your authentic personal brand, one of the steps is to explore your own purpose and mission. By viewing your career on a larger scale in this way, you gain a new perspective that gives you the guidance needed to be more authentic from the inside-out. That, in turn, ensures that you will be more personally fulfilled by your day-to-day work. For that reason, many careerists and entrepreneurs really think deeply about their mission in life.

Of course we all tend to think in that way when some big crisis happens or when we lose our jobs and are forced to reevaluate our goals. But I don't believe for a minute that the majority of professionals ponder this important component during the important process of defining their images and creating their personal brands.

But unless and until you delve into your own personal goals in life and understand what your mission is for the world, it is difficult to generate a truly authentic brand image that really resonates with who you are. While this kind of exercise can require a little bit of soul-searching - and is a challenge for some of my clients - it is one of the most valuable processes for mapping your career based on the bigger picture. Those who successfully engage in this kind of process of self-discovery and professional branding reap the benefits far into the future, and they are usually the people we remember for what they did for others and gave to the world.

I recently attended the Atlanta exhibition "Princess Diana: A Celebration," and while there it became very clear to me that Princess Di knew exactly what her mission in life was. She intentionally and authentically leveraged her power and celebrity status to influence others in a positive way and really help the causes that were meaningful to her. Despite the fact that many people with fame and fortune squander the opportunity because they lack direction or purpose, Diana was passionate about her mission and as a result she left behind a remarkable legacy.

I was especially moved by photos of her holding the hands of people living with diseases like leprosy and AIDS - at a time when those patients were shunned by others. When those photos were first published it shocked the international media. There she was, for all the world to see, a princess who knew the power of touch and used it to convey to the world that those diseases were not contagious.

At the same time she set an example that demonstrated that human compassion and empathy could be contagious -in a positive and healing way. Visiting the sick was one of her humanitarian duties. Her personal missions to help others were often difficult and unfashionable, but she was nonetheless passionate about them. Despite being a highly visible member of the royal family, she still understood how to give and care on an international platform - and she used her time, her wealth, and her other resources to further her mission.

Here are three personal branding concepts we can all learn from Diana:

Know Thy Purpose
To start discovering your personal brand, first take a look at the bigger vision of your life. Why are you here, and what would you like to see possible for the world? How can you leverage the "power of one" to influence a philanthropic cause? Both careerists and entrepreneurs can be involved in something they feel passionate about. If you are a professional and you want to feed the hungry around the world, then getting behind a world hunger project would be great.

If you work in a corporate setting, you could volunteer to organize the quarterly food drive and make a donation on an even larger platform by involving your colleagues. An entrepreneur could donate a percent of product revenues, book sales, or event bookings to the world hunger mission and let people know they support that cause. Leverage your sales while letting people know that you have a heart and want to be a part of something special and charitable. This gives people a glimpse of your philanthropic side. We all like to know that people are giving back to their communities, especially in this difficult time when our fellow man may be worst off than we are. Diana truly knew her purpose and took risks that could damage her reputation among the royal family - but it was her authentic calling.

Understand Your Cause to Chart Your Path
When you have a difficult decision to make or suffer a career setback, having a bigger picture view helps. If you lose your job, for example, but are mindful of what you would like to see happen in the world, then you are more likely to seek out and find another type of work that really fulfills you to help you realize this larger dream. You may decide to go into non-profit work or to work for an organization that values philanthropic involvement. When I worked at Macy's, for example, we could volunteer through the "Partners in Time" events to work on a Habitat for Humanity house or make valentine cards for the elderly in nursing homes.

While we all live such busy lives we also know that once we help our fellow man we better appreciate all that we have. We know that just one single person does have the power to change the life of another. Diana leveraged her celebrity platform to achieve her goals of raising money and awareness for philanthropic causes and being a supportive voice for people in need.

Keep Your Vision Alive
Yes, we are all so very busy today and sometimes finding that balance of work and pleasure or career and personal life can be difficult. But it's important to keep your vision for the world alive. You don't have to donate millions of dollars to an organization to feel that your purpose is evolving - you just need to do a little here and there. We will leave the enormous gifts to well-known and well-heeled philanthropists like Oprah or Bill Gates - those with the really deep pockets. That's part of their personal brand and mission. They are taking a stand to back causes that they are passionate about and to market those efforts every chance they get. If you can think of ways to involve others in giving of their time through a project at church, donating an hour a month on a charitable board, or finding a way to give through your business - you will feel more authentic in your brand messaging.

Tell people why these causes are important to you. Ask them what causes they love and want to support. This allows you to respect and contribute to their personal mission while you give back in an authentic way that says volumes about your image. If you have a great client and know their larger vision for this world, then that is a great opportunity to make a contribution to their cause - versus sending them a holiday gift or a referral fee. It conveys to them that you think beyond the office walls and support their mission and purpose in a personal way.

Diana's brother Spencer is keeping her memory alive by supporting this current exhibition, so that we don't forget that while Diana was the Princess of Wales - she was most of all a passionate humanitarian with a generous heart.

I hope that all of you will think of your larger purpose in life. That's why we are all here. None of us wants to look back over our life or career and realize that we never really discovered our personal brand mission. Seek and discover yours and leverage it for your career or business in an authentic way that conveys an image that you give back to a larger community - beyond your professional and personal life.

Sarah Hathorn is a professional image consultant, certified personal brand strategist, speaker, and author.
Her company, Illustra Image Consulting, works with high-achieving future leaders and large businesses by enhancing their corporate and personal brand image to take their businesses and careers to the next level.
Blog, Ezine & Website: http://www.illustraimageconsulting.com
Phone: 678-528-1239 Email: sarah@illustraimageconsulting.com
Copyright 2009, Sarah Hathorn, AICI CIP, CPBS