The Truth About “Working For Yourself”
Let me tell you something: running a business – a legitimate business – is TOUGH. Those who tell you any different are lying.
Are you remarkable?
Question: Are you remarkable? I mean, really remarkable. If so, how do you know you’re remarkable?
…
Answer: You know you’re remarkable when other people are remarking about you. When people are exclaiming and talking about your value, your worth, and your merit – THAT’s how you know you’re remarkable.
Why are you underselling yourself?
A big problem aspiring & starting entrepreneurs have is underselling themselves.
Too often, we give stuff away for free, just to get people interested. Or we price our services really lowly, just to get some cheap attention. But I’m tellin’ ya, once you start giving stuff away for free or severely underpricing yourself, you’re hurting yourself AND your client.
Because, think about it from the client’s shoes: When you get something for free or really cheap, you’re much less likely to value it. But when you pay good money for something, you’re more likely to value it and follow through with it?
So, the lesson here is to price yourself what your worth. Price your services and products what they’re worth because when you’re playing the ‘low price’ game, both sides lose.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the cash
I don’t understand why some people have a problem making sales – more specifically, asking for the cash!
I mean, c’mon.
I’m sure you know someone who (or you yourself) has had trouble asking for fair compensation for your services. It’s easy to sell yourself and sell your services – but sometimes you have trouble ASKING FOR THE CASH. And not just asking for the cash, but asking for it BEFORE you do the work.
But think about it: Have you ever bought a hamburger from McDonald’s and paid for it AFTER you ate it? Have you ever ordered a book from Amazon and paid for it AFTER you read it? Have you ever bought shoes from Under Armour and paid for them AFTER you wore them?
NO!
So, why is it OK for you to get paid for your services AFTER you perform them? Why is it OK for your clients to wait until AFTER you fulfill your service to pay you?
This is NOT OK. Make sense?
Make a change…learn to ask for the cash up front and fulfill on the back – just like every other successful business that exists out there.
What ‘money’ conversation are you having?
You’re either in the occupational – or what I call the “industrial age” – conversation, which is about minimizing, restricting and living within your means. Or you’re in the entrepreneurial conversation, which is about expanding, creating and generating wealth.
If you’re in the occupational conversation, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s how we were raised. Many of us were raised in the post-Great Depression era where we learned from our parents and teachers that getting a job and working hard would get us the security we needed to survive. This industrial way of thinking made sense back then since it got us out of that first depression…but it’s not a completely outdated and extremely limiting conversation around money that’s no longer serving us.
However, if you’re in the entrepreneurial conversation, your mind is open to wealth-building, it happily accepts new challenges, and seeks opportunities at every corner. You take risks, you’re a self starter, you’re a visionary, you’re not boxed in, you’re flexible, you’re innovative, you’re resourceful…
So…what conversation are you having around money?
Are you another cog in the system designed to produce workers who never challenge the status quo … or is your mindset open to endless possibilities, new opportunities, and limitless creations?
Why do you undersell yourself?
A big problem aspiring & starting entrepreneurs have is underselling themselves.
Too often, we give stuff away for free, just to get people interested. Or we price our services really lowly, just to get some cheap attention. But I’m tellin’ ya, once you start giving stuff away for free or severely underpricing yourself, you’re hurting yourself AND your client.
Because, think about it from the client’s shoes: When you get something for free or really cheap, you’re much less likely to value it. But when you pay good money for something, you’re more likely to value it and follow through with it?
So, the lesson here is to price yourself what your worth.
Price your services and products what they’re worth because when you’re playing the ‘low price’ game, both sides lose.
Why you should solicit guest bloggers
One of the easiest and quickest ways to pack your website with relevant information and build your SEO is by writing a blog.
That doesn’t mean supplying regular articles for this blog is actually easy, though. In fact, many companies don’t have one because they can’t handle the effort it demands. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to not only include a blog on your website but to keep it up-to-date: solicit guest posts.
The first reason you should solicit guest posts is also the most obvious: it relieves your company of work. Someone else will handle the writing for you. Depending on the circumstances, they may even supply the topic they’ll be writing about. So long as you compensate them, you get a tailor-made blog post that will benefit your company.
Speaking of compensation, it doesn’t always need to take the form of actual money either, which is another reason to consider guest posting. Sometimes, all it takes is providing a backlink to the blogger’s own page. They get extra page views for their website; you get happier visitors. There are a number of other ways to compensate guest bloggers, too, so be creative and you’ll see your overhead shrink considerably.
Guest blogging won’t just result in happier customers, though. It may also result in new ones.
If you pick a blogger who has a substantial following of their own, you can depend on their market potentially becoming yours. Just as you may compensate some bloggers by linking to their website, more established bloggers can benefit you by doing the same. You may need to compensate them more than the average writer, but if you do your due diligence properly, this may turn out to be a very worthwhile investment.
Also, consider the advantages that can be gained from returning the favor. Something as simple as blog posts could actually turn into the strategic partnership you’ve been looking for (or weren’t looking for, but can still benefit from). If you work with someone in your industry who isn’t a competitor, you or your writer can give their website a blog post for doing the same in return.
With the right article and backlink, you can establish yourself as an authority to a whole new market and potentially attract new customers.
Blogs are so easy to start that many companies take them for granted. Some disregard them because they think they’re too difficult to maintain. Thanks to guest posts, blogs can become an effective—and affordable—marketing tool. Just apply the above advice to ensure you solicit the best writers.
Finding mentors (and why you NEED them)
Hands down, the greatest key to my successes during my early years was finding great mentors – notice I said “great” & not “good.
I was fortunate enough to be mentored by some mega-giants as a young entrepreneur, and you need to do the same – but be careful in who you choose to emulate.
A person you can always rely on to give you an upper hand is incredibly important, but you’ll want to carefully consider how best to choose one.
Like so many things, finding the right mentor begins with first establishing what exactly you’re looking for. If you don’t clearly define this, anyone will do and you’ll soon end up disappointed in your choice and the final results.
Part of this initial process will mean making yourself vulnerable, to some degree. By nature, needing a mentor means admitting you need some help. So don’t let pride get in the way. The more open you can be about your needs and the more vulnerable you’re willing to make yourself in your pursuit, the easier time you’ll have finding a mentor to assist you.
Don’t limit yourself in terms of the places you look for a mentor. Your goals for a mentor may necessitate you choose someone from your own industry. That’s not always the case, though. Thanks to the Internet, you can expand your search to any industry, anywhere on the globe. So don’t allow yourself to settle for a subpar mentor because you weren’t creative enough with your search.
Once you’ve chosen the ideal mentor, contact them and invite them to lunch or some other form of meeting. Explain to them your intentions so they don’t feel ambushed. When you meet, you’ll have plenty of time to elaborate on your needs and what you can offer in return.
After securing a mentor, set up a regular schedule with them to meet. Then be sure to stick to this arrangement and consider moving on if your mentor isn’t able to. Without a concrete schedule, no mentor is going to be much help.
Always keep in mind that your mentor is not a charity you can abuse. While they could be helping you out of the kindness of their hearts, they’re under no obligation to stick it out if they don’t want to. So be sure to show your appreciation often. One of the best ways to do this is by proving you take their lessons to heart and apply them. Let continued growth and success be the form your gratitude takes.
The right mentor can be a force multiplier on your path to success, but you first need to find the right one. By using the above advice, you’ll soon find yourself receiving the help you need.