Entrepreneur
11 Pros and Cons of Working for Yourself
Working for yourself isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, sometimes it is just as hard as working for someone else. It’s up to you to determine whether the good outweighs the bad and if it is something you will be able to accomplish. So, it’s good for you to know in advance what the pros and cons of working for yourself are so that you can be realistic about what you’re getting yourself into. Pros and Cons of Working for Yourself
Cons:
Work and home-life often collide: Due to the lack of planning, and no clear picture of work versus time off, you’ll find yourself working odd hours. This will be to accommodate both, the needs of your family and your business. Because of this, you may feel overwhelmed and feeling as if you never have a day off.
You’ll do a lot of work for free: Much of the work you do for your business is not billable, therefore will feel like free work until you start making a profit. It can be hard to push yourself to do things that aren’t producing income right now, but you must push through so that you can keep your business running smoothly.
Family will ask you to do stuff (“since you’re not doing anything”): Not just family, but sometimes friends will start to depend on you being there for them when they didn’t while you were at your 9-5 job. They might ask you to help them out by watching their child, who’s not feeling well, so they can go to work. Family members might stop helping out as much around the house because you are home all day. It can be never-ending.
You’ll crave being out of the house: Sometimes, when you go out, as you’re on your way home you’ll get the distinct feeling you’re going to work. You will want to do anything but go home, even grocery shop.
Stuff will distract you: Without a direct supervisor, even the most studious and organized individual can go off the rails due to the internet, television, pets, that pile of dirty dishes in the sink, just stuff around to distract you from work. It’s up to you and only you to set up a good working schedule to help you avoid this.
Pros:
No more living by the clock: If you arrange your business right you can wake up naturally without an alarm forcing you to get up when your body isn’t ready. You can also go to bed when you want to as well. It’s freedom very few have, to not live by the clock.
No more traffic jams: One of the best perks is not having to be caught in a traffic jam during rush hour when you need to pee! You won’t have to do that anymore and it will be a small blessing, most especially on bad weather days when everyone else has to trudge through the snow or the heatwave.
Fewer work-related interruptions: Office chatter can get overwhelming at times and it can be difficult to get work done due to them. Be honest, did you ever really get work done due to a meeting? 9 out of 10 times, during the meeting you’re thinking about how you could be getting work done, instead of talking about it.
You really CAN work in your PJs: Oh yes you can. You can wear PJs, yoga pants, or a moo-moo; no one cares. You can even get inspired right out of the shower and work naked if you want to. It’s your business and your house.
A flexible schedule: If you have a parent-teacher meeting you don’t have to ask permission from a superior or manager to attend. If you want to get your hair done, take the time to get it done. Whatever you want to do during the day is up to you – as long as you find time to also get your work done so you can get paid. Your schedule is your own.
You can eat healthier – Going to a 9-5 job, often causes you to eat out for lunch five days a week. That can not only be super expensive, but it is also very unhealthy for you. Working at home, you can take the time to prepare healthy lunches for yourself or eat leftovers from dinner the night before. Save money, and save your life.
Working from home offers many benefits and, like everything, a few drawbacks. It’s up to you to determine if you have the disposition for it. You’ll need to be able to rein in family and friends who want to take advantage of you, as well as taking a good look at yourself, to stay on track for creating a healthy and profitable home business.
Pros and Cons of Working for Yourself
30 Day Blogging Bootcamp – Now Available!
Blogging is a great way to grow your reach and engagement with your target audience. It’s also fun and easy to do and frankly, it can be quite profitable if you do it right. I invite you to join me for 30 days, inside the TVS Workshop for my Blogging Bootcamp. I’ll have a fresh new post for you each day that will help you accomplish two things:
1. Give You Plenty of Ideas for New Content to Help You Become a More Consistent Blogger
My first goal with this challenge is to give you plenty of ideas for things to blog about. Sometimes it is hard to come up with something fresh and unique to write about. So, when you’re stuck with writer’s block or just feeling a little uninspired, look no further than these quick and easy content posts.
Use them right away, or file them away for those days when you’re struggling to post consistently.
2. Tips, Strategies, and How-To Info to Help You Become a Better Blogger
My second goal is to help you and challenge you to become a better blogger. We all have things we can improve and strive to do better. Every other day I’ll have a new tip, idea, or strategy for you. Try them as we work through the Bootcamp and start incorporating as many of them as possible in your blogging.
The reward will be more engagement, more traffic, and more subscribers and hopefully, at the end of the day, more cash in your pocket – results will vary of course, but I promise to share my best stuff with you.
30 Day Blogging Bootcamp
How This Will Work
Once you sign up, each day for the next 30 days I will send you an email and share either a content or strategy tip with you. If you haven’t already, become a member of New Entrepreneurs Workshop in to find inspiration and discuss each day’s content with others that have signed up.
So don’t wait and start building your blog and your confidence online. Learn how to provide consistency, easily keep your commitment and find clarity.
I think you’ll love getting into the habit of blogging consistently and you’ll be amazed at how much your audience and your traffic will grow in those 30 days.
As an added bonus – be sure to bookmark 52 Blog Ideas for your business, to help you with some great content ideas for your blog!
Blog consistently with confidence by signing up for the bootcamp.
Build a Business, Not Another Job
Build a Business, Not Another Job
During this crisis, many people dream of working for themselves, being their own boss, and having the freedom to only take on clients and projects they love.
What they don’t realize, though, is that there is a huge difference between building a business and being self-employed. Because business is an art-form.
This is something I learned the hard way throughout my last 20 years of being “self-employed.” A term I no longer use, and you shouldn’t either.
Business owners scale their income. Self-employed people trade dollars for hours.
Business owners leverage the skills and talents of others. Self-employed people rely only on their own skills.
Discouraged yet? Don’t be. Every business owner started out self-employed. Just don’t stay there. These tips will help you build a sustainable business instead of just another job.
Don’t Try to Do It All Yourself
Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourself—especially in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than money—it’s a path to burnout and stress.
Instead, separate your tasks into those that you love and are especially suited for (such as marketing) and those you dislike and aren’t good at. Then make a solid plan to get those that you aren’t good at off your list of things to do. If you feel like you can’t afford to outsource it all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if it’s just a few hours each month.
Don’t Allow Yourself to Work All the Time
The trouble with working at home is that you live at work. And that means that there’s no clear line in the sand between your workday and your home life. No transition from one to the other.
Since there’s always work to do, it’s easy to find yourself working every available moment—often to the detriment of your family relationships.
You can help avoid this by:
- Setting—and maintaining—clear work hours
- Having an office with a door you can close when you’re done
- Scheduling time for family and other activities
- Taking time for yourself
Vacations and Downtime Are Important
Don’t create a business that requires you to be “in the office” every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, but you should definitely be planning for the day when you can be “off the grid” for extended periods of time.
- Have trusted virtual assistants who can handle things when you’re not available
- Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and auto-webinar systems
- Create repeatable systems so you’re not always re-inventing the wheel
While you might not be able to hit the road with no internet access for weeks at a time, at the very least you should be able to reduce your workload to a daily check-in.
Sound impossible? It’s not. With some forethought and planning, you can create a team—and the systems they need—to successfully run your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked.
Business is an art-form, it takes practice and consistency to ensure it’s a success. Go inside the studio and look into my Art of Business Startup Program. It is a crash course on starting your own company off on the right foot. This 5 module program walks you through big-picture dreaming and planning by helping you create a business plan, define your purpose, set goals and build a strategy.
Be sure to follow the Studio’s Facebook Page! We’d love to hear from you. The page is a free space where you will find business-focused training and support for female entrepreneurs, as well as inspiration and Studio updates!
Build a Business, not another job
Want to Do Your Own Business Branding?
Do Your Own Business Branding!
When you do your own business branding, you need to remember it is so much more than your colours and your logo but choosing colours to represent you and your company’s image is usually where more people start in the branding process. There’s no shame in choosing your own brand colours instead of hiring a designer but it’s not exactly simple. Let’s dive into an explanation of the colour wheel and how it can help narrow down your colour choices.
A colour wheel consists of colours with the following distinctions: primary, secondary, tertiary, complementary, and analogous.
- Primary colours are those which cannot be achieved by mixing other colours together. Red, blue, and yellow are primary colours.
- Secondary colours are those which can be made by mixing two primary colours. Orange, green, and purple are secondary colours.
- Tertiary colours are created by mixing primary and secondary hues together
- Complementary colours are located at direct opposite ends of the colour wheel and
- Analogous colours appear close together on a colour wheel
How does this help you and your small business? Go to the Canva colour wheel and take a look. You probably have an idea already of at least one colour you want to use in your branding, so find that colour/hue on the wheel. Now, look at the four colours next to it. Those are analogous colours that will look appealing when used together. Or find your first colour and look at the colour directly opposite. Those are complementary colours which will also be appealing together. If you use the accompanying drop-down menu, Canva will have selected the secondary colours in the above distinctions for you.
Once you make a decision on colours, Canva will show you the HEX codes for each colour. Write those down in a safe place so you use those colours consistently with your website, social media pages, and products without having to look them up numerous times. (I have them in my daytimer, sticky notes on my desktop and my business binder.)
As the famous artist, Marc Chagall once said, “All colours are the friends of their neighbours and the lovers of their opposites,” and this is certainly obvious when looking at the colour wheel itself. Choosing complimentary or analogous colours in a family that represents you and the image you want to portray is the first step toward branding your company.
Want to Learn More About the Psychology of Color? Join My Webinar…
Did you know that different colours evoke different emotions? Did you know there are warm and cool colours? Inside the TVS Workshop Facebook Group, you will find the “5 Free Tools to Build a Beautiful Brand,” training. Where I delve a little deeper into the psychology of colour and what exactly the terms “warm” and “cool” mean when speaking about colours. I’ll also show some examples of well-branded websites and share my favourite free colour wheel tools! Register here TVS Workshop.
P.S. Don’t forget to take a peek at this great article on defining your brand identity!
Do Your Own Business Branding
Do Your Own Business Branding
Are You Using Blog Drafts To Get Ahead?
Are You Using Blog Drafts To Get Ahead?
I have a quick tip for you today that will come in handy as you’re working on getting ahead on your blogging. It’s using the draft feature. Yes, it’s handy that WordPress and most other blogging platforms have a way to save your posts as drafts so you can continue to work on it over the course of a few days. It’s even better that they usually auto-save for you – at least it is in my case. But there’s another great way to use the draft feature.
You can use drafts to get ahead of the blogging game in several different ways.
Let’s start with the most obvious one.
Use Drafts to Work on Your Next Blog Post (or Two)
The most obvious way to use drafts is, of course, to work on your current blog post until it is ready to publish. But don’t just stop there. If you know you have a busy day tomorrow or later on in the week, go ahead and give yourself a head start by creating a draft and working on it here and there as you can fit it in your busy day. You’ll be glad you did when it comes time to wrap up that particular post.
Use Drafts to Plan Out Your Week
You can also use drafts to plan out your blogging for the week. Let’s say you want to post 5 times per week. Come up with 5 topics and create a draft for each. Then start working on them, making sure you wrap up and publish at least one of the posts on each of your publishing days.
Not only will this keep you on track and show you at a glance what you’ll be blogging about this week, but it also allows you to work on multiple posts throughout the week, giving you options when you get stuck on writing one post.
Use Drafts as A Way of Storing Blog Post Ideas
Let’s wrap this up with my favourite way to use the draft feature. And that’s to use it as a storage container for ideas for future blog posts. Here’s how to do it. When you get an idea for a blog post, go ahead and create a draft. Come up with a working title and make a quick note of what your blog post will be about. If you’re feeling ambitious, go ahead and write a quick outline for the post. Then save it as a draft.
To be honest, I have over 75 drafts sitting in my post calendar! Some are just titles, some are full blow written blogs that just need to be formatted. This makes it super easy when I am “not in the mood” to write, I can choose one, format, and publish.
Do this anytime you come up with an idea and save them for later. Then whenever you need something to blog about, browse through your drafts and pick one of these.
The idea is there and you may even have done some of the writing already. These drafts make for fast blog posts and are just the thing when you’re suffering from writer’s block.
The idea is there and you may even have done some of the writing already. These drafts make for fast blog posts and are just the thing when you’re suffering from writer’s block.
Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to read 52 Blog Ideas for your business, who couldn’t use 52 blog ideas? Or just head straight to the Classroom to download the PDF!
Now, hop into the Studio Workshop and let us know, have you always been a drafter?
30 Day Blogging Bootcamp
Are You Using Blog Drafts To Get Ahead?
P.S. Did you know I offer a 30 Day Blogging Bootcamp? The Bootcamp provides you with 30 Days of tips, tricks and tools to keep your blog working. In it, you learn how to provide consistency, easily keep your commitment and find clarity.
So, why not sign up and start building your blog and your confidence online.
5 Ways to Maximize Your Presence in Facebook Groups.
5 Ways to Maximize Your Presence in Facebook Groups
Maximize Your Presence in Facebook Groups
Use these tips to really maximize your presence in Facebook groups – and have the group owner love you for it.
Check Group Descriptions for Hashtags
If the group you belong to has themes for specific days of the week, make sure you check the group description to see if there’s a hashtag you should preface your theme posts with on that particular day.
Using the hashtag will not only please your group owner and moderators, but it will also ensure your post reach is targeted to those specifically searching for that hashtag (and by doing so, potentially reaching a wider audience, too).
Use Repetition
Whenever you submit a regular type of post to a group—such as a link to your Tuesday Tech Tip—use repetition to build trust and reassurance in your post. Use the same intro (e.g. “Time for my Tuesday Tech Tip.”) Use the same graphic—for example, an avatar icon such as a smiling cartoon monkey with a wrench, or your logo.
Repetition through repeating themes or post types will soon have those who enjoyed your first few offerings looking forward to the next one and being primed to check out each new post.
Always Check Photo and Graphics Licensing
When using photographs from either free or paid stock sites, watch out for the designation, “for editorial use only.” This means a photo cannot be used for “commercial advertising purposes”—only for educational and journalistic purposes.
Remove Links in Posts
Have you ever typed the link of something you want to share into a post, only to have a graphic box appear showing your post? If that happens, you can then delete your pasted-in link text before you press “Post.” Not only will your post be nice and “clean,” the image will remain linked and take them to the post or website you wanted to share.
Note: If you find you can’t actually do this from within a group because of permissions, post the link to your page instead, and share the desired link via your page.
There you have it! Five simple ways to boost your visibility in public Facebook Groups, without upsetting the admin.
Do you have any other tips you would like to share? Comment below and tell me – I’d love to hear from you!
5 Ways to Maximize Your Presence in Facebook Groups
Adopt a mantra and live by it.
Adopt a mantra and live by it
Building your confidence is not easy. Doing it so you can magnetically attract new clients or customers is even harder. One small thing you can do is to adopt a mantra and live by it.
In the 1999 movie, “Galaxy Quest”, an entire civilization bases its core values on a cheesy TV sci-fi show from Earth. They take the series hero’s glib motto, “Never give up; never surrender” to new heights—and achieve peace within a warring society before teaming up with earthmen to defeat a supervillain.
This is what happens when you adopt a mantra, motto or slogan—and live by it.
“Never give up; never surrender” is a great motto, when you are trying to build new habits that increase your confidence.
P.S. Come on – admit it. Galaxy Quest is one of the best bad movies ever made! You love it as much as I do.
Do you already have a mantra? I’d love to hear it, leave a comment and tell me what it is!
Oh and don’t forget:
NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER
P.S. Have you joined us over at the TVS Workshop Community? If not, stop by and share your mantra with us there!
Adopt a mantra and live by it
Adopt a mantra and live by it
5 Ways to Raise Your Rates
5 Ways to Raise Your Rates
Raising your rates is never just about asking for more money or hiking a fee. It’s all about moving to the next level of your business at the right time, with both you and your clients feeling good about it.
In the Business Session, Raise Your Rates – 7 Ways to Plan Your Rate Hikes, included is a list of 21 Ways to take action. Here are the first five!
1. Know Your True Worth
Before you raise your rates, create a specific goal for the new annual figure you arrive at. That means knowing your “why”, doing research on your competitors and reaffirming your ideal client. Know both your actual value in terms of what you do and your past experience and accreditations and your perceived value to your ideal client. The more specific you are and the more carefully you analyze every facet, the more you will actually realize your own worth and appreciate yourself, your journey and where you are today.
2. Ask with Confidence
You do not owe anyone an explanation for your rates; nor do you have to apologize. In fact, if you feel like you want to apologize, you haven’t done all the homework in tip number one. Confidence comes from a place of knowledge.
3. Always Add Value When You Raise Your Rates
If you want clients and new prospects to accept your rates without quibbling, show them the increased value, and focus on how this will move them closer to their big results.
Again, do the research to find out exactly what would be the most value-enhancing addition in your ideal client’s eyes.
4. What to Say When Clients Return to Higher Prices after an Absence
If a client comes back to you after being away for a while, don’t lead off with the rate hike that happened in the interim. First, reaffirm that you would love to work with them again; then announce your rate hike as a matter of course. (“By the way, my rates have gone up since we last worked together, to $XXX an hour.”)
Don’t start explaining why. Treat it as a casual fact, because it is. Stop speaking and wait for your client’s reaction. If they protest, let them know you understand if they need time to think about it. Put the ball in their court.
5. Count Your Successes
If you’re having trouble justifying a price hike to yourself, first think of your successes. Write down who you’ve worked with, how you helped them and what you helped them do. Then write down their ‘Before’ and ‘After’ results. When you’ve done that, raise your rates to reflect the value you now realize you habitually provide.
I know that raising your fees and prices is a topic that many entrepreneurs find stressful to think about.
Even if you are totally ready to go ahead and raise your rates, it’s a big step. Lurking at the back of your mind are thoughts like, “What if my clients say ‘no’?” or, “What if no one signs up for my mastermind group?” “What if I lose customers?”
Let me help you eliminate groundless fears by showing you how to plan your rate hikes based on solid criteria that your market can happily afford.
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5 Ways to Raise Your Rates
5 Ways to Raise Your Rates
Fear-Based Decisions Are Bad for Business
Fear-Based Decisions Are Bad for Business
At one point, every business owner will find herself in a troubling situation. Revenue is down. New clients are scarce. Profits are falling, and a peek at the financials is enough to bring on a full-fledged anxiety attack.
Unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, chances are you’ve experienced that sinking feeling of a business that’s trending downward, too. But how you handle it can mean the difference between continued success and business-killing burnout.
Here’s where a lot of entrepreneurs get it wrong. We start to worry about money, and that worry leads to poor decisions that ultimately have a negative impact not just on finances, but—maybe more importantly—on morale, too. Do you know what I’m talking about?
Let’s take a look at two of the most common decisions that are made based on fear and worry, and why it is bad for business AND you.
Taking On The Wrong Client
When business is down, it can be tough to keep your ideal client avatar in mind. Instead, you jump at the chance to work with anyone who comes along. The trouble with this scenario is you can find yourself with a roster full of clients who:
- Aren’t willing or able to do the work required
- Spend all their time telling you why your ideas, products, and advice won’t work
- Drain your energy and make you dread your office
You Stop Creating
And who can blame you? With profits down, you have to pull back. You can’t afford to spend time and money creating new programs, so you recycle the ones you’ve already produced.
Now, this would be ideal if you were repurposing with positive intent. Turning your blog posts into an e-book or online course? Perfect! But that’s not what your fearful brain is telling you.
Your fearful self is saying, “Just re-release this same product again, so I don’t have to have new sales copy written or record new videos.”
And while this might help bring in a bit of cash short-term, it won’t do anything for your reputation or your self-esteem.
Yikes! That’s no way to operate a business, but that’s just what a fear-based mindset can do to you. Better (much better) to hold out for that perfect client. And while you’re waiting, take what you’ve learned from your drop in sales and create the killer program your audience is clamouring for!
Join us inside the TVS Workshop Community and share your insight!
Fear-Based Decisions Are Bad for Business
Fear-Based Decisions Are Bad for Business