Today’s Better, Smarter, Richer Mastermind class was wonderful.  The participants are seeing great progress in themselves and able to implement this in their business.  One participant asked if we thought a solopreneur would be considered if they were to bid on a really big job.  What a great question, I have my opinion of why solopreneur’s are a better choice and the serious side of it includes the passion and commitment they have for what they do but on a lighter note I pointed out that a solopreneur is less likely to get sick and delay the job because they aren’t in a big office where “bugs” are passed around from office to office.  I’d love to hear what you think about this….let’s keep it light hearted and fun.  Why is it better to contract a solopreneur than to go corporate?  Click below to access [Read More]]]>

A Solopreneur is Passionate About What They Do For a Living.

Today’s Better, Smarter, Richer Mastermind class was wonderful.  The participants are seeing great progress in themselves and able to implement this in their business.  One participant asked if we thought a solopreneur would be considered if they were to bid on a really big job.  What a great question, I have my opinion of why solopreneur’s are a better choice and the serious side of it includes the passion and commitment they have for what they do but on a lighter note I pointed out that a solopreneur is less likely to get sick and delay the job because they aren’t in a big office where “bugs” are passed around from office to office.  I’d love to hear what you think about this….let’s keep it light hearted and fun.  Why is it better to contract a solopreneur than to go corporate?  Click below to access our Facebook page and add your reasons.  After you add your reasons, click the following link and read about what Forbes thinks about Solopreneur’s……. They are predicting that the future is ours!!  Commit today to become Better, Smarter and Richer as a solopreneur! 

Forbes Article- 5 Trends That Will Topple the Traditional Workforce

As a business advisor, I council my clients to look back over the previous year and see the accomplishments of the past year and really celebrate them. I personally will celebrate the great success of the study groups we have been able to set up and help creative entrepreneurs and solopreneurs work through the book, Better, Smarter, Richer and really show them how to make the money they deserve by doing exactly what they love doing.  I am also thrilled at the breakthrough’s the Mastermind Group is having and celebrate their success.  On a personal note I’m excited to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary, no easy feat during the remodel of our house. 

I also council my clients that after they celebrate all their accomplishments of 2011, I suggest they also see what habits, mind sets and other limiting belief’s held them [Read More]]]> We will be ringing in the New Year soon and with it comes new goals, new focus and the momentum to create our best year so far. 

As a business advisor, I council my clients to look back over the previous year and see the accomplishments of the past year and really celebrate them. I personally will celebrate the great success of the study groups we have been able to set up and help creative entrepreneurs and solopreneurs work through the book, Better, Smarter, Richer and really show them how to make the money they deserve by doing exactly what they love doing.  I am also thrilled at the breakthrough’s the Mastermind Group is having and celebrate their success.  On a personal note I’m excited to celebrate my 10^th wedding anniversary, no easy feat during the remodel of our house. 

I also council my clients that after they celebrate all their accomplishments of 2011, I suggest they also see what habits, mind sets and other limiting belief’s held them back in 2011 and commit to not bring them into 2012.  Whether your goals include tripling your income, finding your deep and narrow niche, staying away from mission creep, developing a business mindset or working on any of the other seven business principles outlined in Better, Smarter, Richer, I hope you will take some time to contemplate the successes you have had in 2011.  By identifying these and celebrating them, you will bring more of these successes to the coming year, this may make your resolutions even more clear for 2012.  I would love to hear about some of your successes.  Please leave a comment below so that we can celebrate with you.  Everyone at Better, Smarter, Richer wishes you a happy and prosperous New Year.   I say let’s all get Better, Smarter and Richer in 2012!

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Exciting news from Better, Smarter, Richer is coming soon…..watch for an announcement after the first of the year.

This makes it easier to market every day.  Here are some ideas for a marketing strategy every day: 

-  Phone calls to past and current clients.

-  Sending out emails to leads or to possible colleagues in your area of expertise.

-  Attending a networking event.

-  Writing blogs or newsletters.

-  Making a proposal to a target customer.

-  Researching target customers.

-   Having coffee with a referral source.

-  Working on your marketing materials.

-  Attending a class on marketing.

- Developing your marketing plan.

-  Working to polish your unique value proposition.

 The idea is for you to [Read More]]]> Marketing is sharing your enthusiasm about your work.  This is where your passion comes in.  Remember, you have chosen a focus about which you are passionate, where you have talent, and where there is money to be made.  Marketing is about bringing forth that passion and sharing it with others all the time.  The more enthusiasm you have for your work and for what you do, the easier it is to meet others and talk about the work you love. 

This makes it easier to market every day.  Here are some ideas for a marketing strategy every day: 

-  Phone calls to past and current clients.

-  Sending out emails to leads or to possible colleagues in your area of expertise.

-  Attending a networking event.

-  Writing blogs or newsletters.

-  Making a proposal to a target customer.

-  Researching target customers.

-   Having coffee with a referral source.

-  Working on your marketing materials.

-  Attending a class on marketing.

- Developing your marketing plan.

-  Working to polish your unique value proposition.

 The idea is for you to participate in activities that keep you in a marketing mind set and to keep yourself there by doing something every single day.

 Will you get too many clients?  Not likely.  But, what if you do?  Tell the later customers that you can begin work for them at a defined time in the future.  Remember, there are two ways that customers acknowledge your mastery or expertise:  They will pay you a premium price and they will wait for you.  There is nothing wrong with having work booked out into the future; in fact it is a very satisfactory feeling.

So what things can you commit to doing every day that will keep in that marketing mindset?  Share below…..

Our mastermind is having some wonderful breakthroughs in their business and one of the participants recently committed to attending some events for networking.  This was out of her comfort zone and it was a great way to push those limits we sometimes set up for ourselves.  She gave her report to the group and said that she was overwhelmed when she arrived at the event.  There were over 300 people there and she wanted to turn around and go home. 

My advice to her was:

#1- STOP at the door.

#2 – Take a deep BREATH.

#3- SAY to yourself.  “WOW!  Look!  300 prospective clients.”

This brave creative entrepreneur has been working on her Unique Value Proposition within the mastermind and she was ready to use it.  She is heading to another couple events for more networking and I’m proud of her for getting her marketing done every day.  Whether she is calling a previous client, making new contacts, finding an [Read More]]]>

Our mastermind is having some wonderful breakthroughs in their business and one of the participants recently committed to attending some events for networking.  This was out of her comfort zone and it was a great way to push those limits we sometimes set up for ourselves.  She gave her report to the group and said that she was overwhelmed when she arrived at the event.  There were over 300 people there and she wanted to turn around and go home. 

My advice to her was:

#1- STOP at the door.

#2 – Take a deep BREATH.

#3- SAY to yourself.  “WOW!  Look!  300 prospective clients.”

This brave creative entrepreneur has been working on her Unique Value Proposition within the mastermind and she was ready to use it.  She is heading to another couple events for more networking and I’m proud of her for getting her marketing done every day.  Whether she is calling a previous client, making new contacts, finding an event she can attend to network with people or adding content to her blog, she is treating her business like a real business.  I’m so excited for the obstacles and ‘fear’ she has pushed through.

You may have heard that my nickname is “Raise Your Prices Jackie” and recently I was able to share this with a huge radio audience, hosted by Barbara Saunders on the Women 4 Women Network.  We talked about how important focus is and we also were able to answer a call from someone wanting to know how to make enough money to pay for the help they need as a one person business.  Of course we were able to spend some time speaking about my favorite subject,  “How to Charge What You Are Worth.”   Here is a recording of the radio interview.  There are so many great nuggets of business advice packed into this hour long program, check it out. 

Click this link and scroll down to the bottom for previous interviews.

 As always, we’d love to get your feedback and hear about how you are finding and keeping your focus as well as your success stories in raising [Read More]]]>

Listen To Jackie on the Women 4 Women Network.....

You may have heard that my nickname is “Raise Your Prices Jackie” and recently I was able to share this with a huge radio audience, hosted by Barbara Saunders on the Women 4 Women Network.  We talked about how important focus is and we also were able to answer a call from someone wanting to know how to make enough money to pay for the help they need as a one person business.  Of course we were able to spend some time speaking about my favorite subject,  “How to Charge What You Are Worth.”   Here is a recording of the radio interview.  There are so many great nuggets of business advice packed into this hour long program, check it out. 

Click this link and scroll down to the bottom for previous interviews.

 As always, we’d love to get your feedback and hear about how you are finding and keeping your focus as well as your success stories in raising your prices and charging what you are worth.  Share it on our blog or our facebook page.

Who is YOUR target market?

Targeting clients means that you focus your energies on the EXACT person who is most likely to hire you and most likely to have a good experience working with you.  This is often, someone just like your favorite clients.  To begin developing a target client profile, it is just fine to start with a sample of one or two. 

 Take a close look at that favorite client of yours and describe them:

 Find as many ways as you can to describe them. 

 Then talk with them.  Say, “I have loved working with you.  This has been a great experience.  I am looking to expand my business and I would like to have more clients just like you.  How can I find more people [Read More]]]> Principle number six in my book is about understanding your target market.

Who is YOUR target market?

Targeting clients means that you focus your energies on the EXACT person who is most likely to hire you and most likely to have a good experience working with you.  This is often, someone just like your favorite clients.  To begin developing a target client profile, it is just fine to start with a sample of one or two. 

 Take a close look at that favorite client of yours and describe them:

• How old?
• Gender?
• Business or professions?
• Ethnicity?
• Life style?
• Location?
• Other interests?
• How did you find them/they find you?
• Size and type of transaction?  How did you work together?
• Attitudes?

 Find as many ways as you can to describe them. 

 Then talk with them.  Say, “I have loved working with you.  This has been a great experience.  I am looking to expand my business and I would like to have more clients just like you.  How can I find more people like you? “

 Engage your “right on target” clients  in helping you.  Happy clients know that it takes referrals to keep someone in business.  They want you to stay in business; after all, they had a great experience with you.  And, they love to be asked to help.  It is not only flattering to be asked, it is enlightened self interest to help.  Go talk with them and build that relationship.

 Find out where your target may hang out.  What they may read, what events they may attend, who else they may know that you know.   All of this information will give you clues about where to spend your time and energy.

What works in marketing these days is for you to be very targeted, not scattered.  Know who you are looking for and go after them.  Make sure that all of your marketing materials, especially your web site, are optimized to use the language that people use when talking about your work.  How do you know that language?  You ask your referral sources.  You say, “I so appreciate your referrals and I am trying to grow my business.  What would help me is to know how you talk about me so that I can use the language my customers use, not just the language I use to describe my work.  Can you tell me exactly what you say when you talk about my work?”

These four elements will help you find your target market:

 Being clear about your unique value proposition.

• Knowing exactly how many customers you actually need to find to provide the revenue you want. (November Newsletter Article…. make sure you are signed up to get this monthly!)
• Using the words your clients use about you.
• Engaging happy and satisfied customers to help you find more business.

 Being clear on these four things will focus your efforts to get sales from exactly the right customers and keep you from wasting time on the wrong work and the wrong customers. 

Do you know who your target clients are? 

How do you find them, please share, we’d love to know!

Please share this blog so that other creative entrepreneurs will know some tips and tricks on where to start finding their target clients.

Sheri Joi recently did a phone interview with Amy….click here to listen to the updates going on with Amy and what she has learned in her journey to the top.   This is a short interview (about 15 minutes) that will inspire you on your creative journey.

Small file of Amy McAuley interview

She has a piece of advice that EVERY creative entrepreneur needs to hear.  

Visit Amy’s blog to keep up on the exciting new projects she is working on. http://oculuswindow.blogspot.com/

As Creative Entrepreneurs and Solopreneurs, we work and work and market and market and then a possible opportunity comes our way BUT it is not QUITE the right thing.  Is it a great opportunity not to be missed or is it mission creep?  How to know?

I believe mission creep comes from two sources:  a fear that the work you want is not attainable and more importantly a fear that there will never be enough money if you follow your dream.  Mission creep can also happen because of a fear that if you don’t take the first thing that comes along, you will remain poor and without work forever! 

But what if I need money now?  That is the big question.  I often hear “How am I supposed to spend all this time working towards my future goals if I still have to support myself?”  My answer is:  You take the minimum time needed to make enough survival money and then you spend the rest of your time focusing on your goal.  Taking short term work is not necessarily mission creep as long as [Read More]]]>

How do I balance the time I need to focus on my business and making money to survive?

I believe mission creep comes from two sources:  a fear that the work you want is not attainable and more importantly a fear that there will never be enough money if you follow your dream.  Mission creep can also happen because of a fear that if you don’t take the first thing that comes along, you will remain poor and without work forever! 

But what if I need money now?  That is the big question.  I often hear “How am I supposed to spend all this time working towards my future goals if I still have to support myself?”  My answer is:  You take the minimum time needed to make enough survival money and then you spend the rest of your time focusing on your goal.  Taking short term work is not necessarily mission creep as long as you keep your laser focus on your business goals. 

Recently I spoke with a creative entrepreneur that had returned to his previous transport job on a part time basis because it was easy, he knew the work and being part time allowed him the time he needed to focus on the goals he had for his computer programming business. 

I know that it can be extremely tempting to go for the easy money when money is tight but I encourage you to make your choices with a very careful eye on the future.  If you consistently take work outside of your direct mission or take a long term job in a completely different direction you may be giving up your entrepreneurial dream and turning it into a “beloved hobby.”

What ways have you made money while getting your creative business under way?  Share with us below.