by Tina | Apr 18, 2019 | General Biz, Success Mindset
Let’s be clear… it takes time.
Despite what you see online when someone is sharing how they ‘made 3 gazillion dollars in 30 days’.
Despite what you expect of yourself when you look in the mirror and wonder why things aren’t moving as fast as you thought they would (and then wonder what is wrong with you or what you are missing…. ugh)
Despite what that coach/trainer/consultant may have promised would happen when you followed just ‘7 steps to making moola in your sleep’
Despite what you might think – or hope – success takes time. Probably more time than you wish it would.
A flower doesn’t spring up the day after you’ve planted it. It needs water, sunshine and nutrients. It needs TIME to become the glorious plant it’s meant to be.
Success takes time.
It takes time to lay out a solid strategy (and then more time to try it, tweak it, and improve it).
It takes time to find and hire the right team, and then time to lead them to do their best work.
It takes time to do great work for your clients. Create new programs. Deliver amazing service.
Success isn’t a race, even though it can feel that way.
Success is a daily commitment.
The commitment to keep going. To show up. Every. Single. Day.
And I promise you – so long as you do that the success you seek will come to life, even if it takes longer than you thought it would. ?
Tina
by Tina | Apr 16, 2019 | General Biz, Success Mindset
We had this question posted in our Certified OBM Facebook group the other day:
“When do you know it’s time to move on from a client?”
People come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime.
The same is true with clients.
We may work with a client for a ‘reason’ – a specific project or objective that has an end date in place right from the start.
We may work with clients for a ‘season’ – ongoing support without a planned end date.
And outside of being an owner (or partner) in a business, it’s rare that you would have a lifetime commitment to a client. 😉
We are meant to stop working together at some point, but it’s not always easy to see when that point has come!
There are two questions I recommend asking when you are wondering whether or not to leave a client.
1) Am I still EXCITED about the client? Do you enjoy the work you are doing? Do you look forward to hearing from that client? Plugging into the vision of what they are creating? Boredom can be a sign that it might be time to move on…
2) Am I able to do my BEST WORK? Do the current needs of the business match what you do best? Are you able to grow and expand your skillset within the work you are doing together? The thing you were hired for originally may not be what the business needs next. Likewise, as you continue to grow and evolve you may find yourself wanting to focus in areas that the business doesn’t need from you right now.
The bottom line is this.
Nothing is meant to last forever, even when we wish it could! But staying past our ‘expiration date’ is a disservice to you, your client & the business. Staying when you are no longer excited about the business or able to do your best work is going to show itself at some point, and probably not in a positive way.
And it’s also really hard to leave! Especially when we love the client and care about their business.
Honor the season and let it go when the time is right.
Tina
by Tina | Apr 11, 2019 | General Biz, Success Mindset, Systems & Productivity
I wouldn’t call it a secret per se, but it certainly is true.
If you want to be successful in your marketing efforts you need one thing:
CONSISTENCY
Consistency in how often you show up – successful marketing starts with showing up on a regular basis. Be it a weekly podcast. Thrice weekly articles. Daily posts or whatever you decide. If you are sporadic in your marketing efforts, you will get sporadic results.
Consistency in what you say – know your ideal client and how you can serve them, and build all of your marketing around this ONE thing. Confusing messages send mixed signals to the point where people may not know exactly what you do.
When we lack consistency it will show in our results. I know this because I’ve made these mistakes myself, more times than I care to admit. 😉
If you struggle with consistency in your marketing, let me ask you:
- What ACTION can you commit to taking daily for the next 90 days?
- What MESSAGE are you willing to focus on during this time?
I’m curious what would be possible if you gave it 90 days… give it a try and let me know.
Tina
by Tina | Apr 9, 2019 | Success Mindset, Team & Hiring
The agency model is one of my favorites for a few reasons:
1) It’s a great way to grow – By hiring other people to ‘do the work’ you naturally expand your capacity to serve more clients (and make more money).
2) It’s a great way to leverage your expertise – The agency model allows you to focus on what you do best, so that you get known as an expert in your field.
3) It’s a great way to free up your time – When you build a solid team around you it frees you up to do more of what you love (and less of what you don’t)
Yes, the agency model is great BUT there is an important pre-requisite before you go this path.
Create success FIRST as a 1-1 service provider
I see too many people wanting to skip this step. They are just getting started in their business and they want to jump straight into creating an agency.
I get it – the agency model is great! But when you jump too quickly into it you miss a few things that working 1-1 brings you:
- Clarity – working 1-1 allows you to become clear on exactly what you do – and don’t! – want to do for your clients
- Confidence – when you serve your clients directly you get to see first hand the results that you help create, and can really own your value in the marketplace
- Clients – when you can fill your business with 1-1 clients, you have proven your ability to make the sale (likewise, if you can’t fill your business 1-1 then you are likely to struggle more as you work to fill your agency)
Do great work as a 1-1 service provider, fill your business with amazing clients and then you will have a strong foundation of success to build an agency on.
Tina
by Tina | Feb 17, 2019 | General Biz, Success Mindset
You’ve been in business now for a while and you KNOW you have more to offer.
Wisdom. Knowledge. Experience. Strategy. <– All of these are in HIGH demand and you would love to officially bring them to the table.
So how do you charge more for your expertise?
Here are 3 tips to make the shift:
#1 – Pick ONE THING
Many of us – myself included – are great at doing many things. And we may create a lot of success in the early days at being able to do ‘everything’ for our clients. (And they will love you for it!)
But if you are known to do ‘everything’ then you are known for nothing in particular.
The first step in being able to charge more for your expertise is to pick THE ONE THING you want to be known for. The one thing that you want people to say “So you need help with X? You need to contact … She’s the best!”
It can be challenging to narrow it down at first – especially if you have many things you love to do! – but narrowing your focus will allow you to be seen as the EXPERT in that area and allow you to build off that specific platform.
#2 – Charge for the RESULT and not the time it takes to do the work
One of the biggest shifts I work on with my clients is making the shift from charging by-the-hour or by-the-session for what they do (retainers, etc) to charging for the deliverable or result they help to create.
Time is our most important asset, and yet it’s the thing we get paid the least for. Why? Because it forces people to value us based on how long it takes to do the work – and they will naturally always measure us on how quick or slow we appear to be. And if you work quickly and are efficient, you end up making less money than someone who is slower… doesn’t make sense!
When you charge based on the RESULT you bring certainty and commitment to the table – the client knows exactly what they are getting, what they will pay and you are committed to making it happen no matter how long it takes. <– That’s the key!
CERTAINTY is worth more than time – it opens up the door to charge more for your services (often double, triple or more of what you would make hourly for the same thing. Oooooo yea)
#3 – Be a DECISION MAKER for your clients
“Tell me what you need and I’ll get it done for you” is no longer enough. Being good at what you do is no longer enough.
“Let me help you determine what needs to be done and the best strategy to get there” is what we want these days. We don’t have time to learn it all and figure it out on our own anymore – there is too much to do! Too much to know!
Someone who is willing to engage at a deeper level and make decisions FOR US that lead towards the objective <– THIS is something you can be paid top dollar for.
Making a shift in one – or all – of these areas can increase your value in the marketplace immeasurably, which gives you the freedom to start charging more for what you already have between your ears.
The world needs your expertise. #bringiton
Tina
