In this episode, we dive into how to determine your pricing and the steps you can take to confidently sell your products/services for the pricing you desire.

First things first, pricing is UP TO YOU!

Pricing is an IMPORTANT topic when running your own business. The hard truth of it is: IT’S UP TO YOU!  Right?  There are some helpful formulas that might set you out on the right foot, but ultimately YOU get to choose what makes sense for you and your business and that’s what makes pricing so challenging.

We are super excited today, because not only is this a topic we’ve been wanting to tackle for a while, but we actually received a voicemail question specifically about this challenge!  

It’s our first voicemail segment and we can’t wait.  Since we can’t meet in person for our podcast these days, we’ve decided to start taking your questions as voicemails. That way we can still help you tackle those challenges you’re facing in your day-to-day business life.  So let’s listen to our first voicemail message from Cyrinda….

Voicemail:

“My name is Cyrinda and I’ve been in business for about 3 years. I make handmade luxury, coconut soy wax candles as well as other organic body products. I’ve been doing a lot of custom projects lately where I’ll create signature scents for small businesses. I’ve been struggling with pricing and what I should be charging for these special, custom projects and also what I should charge for wholesale items, as well…”

Where do you start with pricing?

• Local Competitors – Make sure they are actually competitors in the same market
• How do you want to Position Yourself? Quality, Convenience, Price  
• Are you offering Quantity or Quality?

What do you base your pricing off of?

• Hard Costs per product/service
• Hard Costs of running your business
• Your TIME
• How much you need to make to stay in business vs How much you need to make to live a healthy lifestyle

Charge For Your Time

A huge mistake business owners make is not charging for their time. This happens because when we start out we often start with “sweat equity.” This is a great way to start your business without incurring a bunch of debt, however – it can’t last forever. You NEED to charge for your time because your time is valuable and you’ll never be able to grow without doing so. Plus, it’s too easy to start feeling run down and resent your own business if you aren’t getting paid for the time you put into it. It’s also pretty easy to charge TOO LITTLE when you don’t account for the time you spend.

Think about how much do you need to charge for your time so you can live your dream life, hire someone else, utilize software to make your job/life easier, etc.

Example: If you want to make $1000/week and only want to work 25 hours/week, then you need to charge at least $40/hour for your time.

Confidence In Selling Your Price

Once you have an idea of your costs, value, and time to figure out your price you’ll have more confidence in your pricing.

• Do the work to decide your prices and make a price list/sheet for yourself
• Possibly create packages
• Stick to your pricing
• Decide if and when you’ll offer discounts
• Put it on someone else to make it less uncomfortable
• Act like YOUR hourly rate is a hard cost – you wouldn’t mind paying someone else for their time, so treat your prices the same way
• Start where you are comfortable and grow from there

Your Pricing Should Change Over Time

• Start with introductory rates that help you build your confidence
• Note that it’s an early rate when you start out so you can easily raise prices later and avoiding having that bite you in the butt
• Change your pricing as you gain experience and confidence

The way I felt most comfortable raising my prices was:

1. Start by saying here is our “Introductory rate” so it’s clear this is special pricing for early customers
2. Give a heads up to existing clients that prices are changing and act now to save
3. Schedule a pricing review and plan to change pricing on an annual or bi-annual basis
4. Review your numbers regularly to make sure they are actually working for your business

Next 3 Steps:

1. Figure out your hard costs (both per products and as a business)
2. Determine your hourly rate and start charging for your time
3. Create a pricing sheet for yourself based on that info

STICK WITH IT! And feel confident in your sales pricing!

Recommended Resources

• Leave a voicemail HERE
• Learn more about Cyrinda’s Luxury Candles here: https://www.emandro.com/

The post How To Be Confident in Your Pricing appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary 

When a potential client comes to your website, what do they see? Are you talking about you and all the things you know and offer? It’s so easy to talk about yourself too much. You feel the need to explain your services, your story, your background experience, etc.

But that’s not what people want to see or read when they land at your website or social media pages.  

We get it, as a business you feel like it’s your job to talk about yourself so others understand your credentials and why you could be a great fit for them…but the harsh truth is – no one cares!

What’s more important is getting down to the nitty-gritty psychology of your client. Address The Pains That Your Audience Is Experiencing instead of defining yourself and your services. Meaning, talk about the problems your potential client is having and how YOU can SOLVE those problems for them. Get emotional.

Describe a transformation: the solution to their problem from their perspective. That’s where you want to spend 80% of your efforts in your marketing.

• Think about yourself when you’re hiring someone or buying something.  
• What are your habits?
• What are you looking for in your research?
  • Immediate solutions, vetted opinions, testimony, brand value

Be a resource to nurture your audience. The only way to nurture a lead into a client is by engaging with them and providing value. You need to have something that your potential clients want. You might think that people want your product or service, but more often than not, what people really want is WHAT your product or service can provide them.

Landscaping Example:

People don’t wake up wanting to hire a landscaper, they wake up wanting a beautiful yard. Spend your time describing your client’s problem yard. Use your knowledge to become a trusted advisor on the topic of landscaping and how if they hire you they’ll spend more time with their family and less time mowing the lawn.

Wedding Example:

Brides don’t have the desire to hire a hairdresser, they just want to look good for the wedding.  

This kind of thinking is really powerful because oftentimes your potential clients don’t even know to look for your services.  They are just living their lives and find themselves needing a solution…market the SOLUTION, not a general list of what you offer.

So, think about the marketing and content you’ve been making and ask yourself…Am I just talking about myself here? If the answer is YES, it’s time to flip the script and re-work your marketing messaging.

These are the things you should be utilizing in your marketing to really connect and engage with your audience.  Think of how you can provide value for your potential clients and speak to the things they care about – themselves. 

We like to keep a Google Doc with these ideas on it so that whenever it’s time to write some marketing content, we can refer back and double-check that we aren’t just spending all our time talking about ourselves.  Hopefully this is something that you can all start to implement in your own marketing to make it a little more effective and a lot more engaging for your audience!

Quick-Wins

1. Start by listing the BENEFITS your potential clients would enjoy if they hired you or bought your product/service.  
2. List the CHALLENGES you help your clients solve.  
3. Think of the PAIN that causes your potential clients to look for your service. 
4. Think of what your potential clients might be SAYING or THINKING.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources 

VIDEO: Why You Need A Brand Guide
BNI

The post Quick-Win Episode 8: Stop Talking About Yourself appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary

If something triggers you to get into a funk or in a bad emotional space this gives you the opportunity to do a little bit of investigative work.

Hit the pause button and pinpoint the root of these bad emotions or experiences.

We hear a lot about business owners carrying a lot of stress around.  We get it, being a business owner is by no means a walk in the park and you’re going to have rough patches, but we’ve all got to realize that we’re not in business to cause ourselves stress.

Get to the core of the issue for any particular bad day. 

Are your clients causing you stress? If so, what’s it about?  A process that you control or something outside of your control.  

Are you stressed that you don’t have enough time? Do a time audit, figure out what’s sucking away your day.  Usually, it’s tied to a lot of inefficient processes that you can easily fix with a simple plan, automation or outsourcing.

Is money your main stress? If so, it’s going to be hard to become a successful business owner if you don’t have a good relationship with money.  Figure out the root of this – is it confidence based? Is your pricing an issue? Do you not have enough clients?

Is it something going on personally? Or your lack of self-confidence?  It’s easy to let your personal life bleed into your business when you are self-employed.  Sometimes when you really look at it, it’s personal stress of bills or a lack of time to spend with your family, or maybe even a lack of support or self-confidence that it’s eating away at you.  This is why personal development is so important for self-employed business owners like us…sometimes we are our own worst enemies!

Moral of the Story – Bad days put a magnifying glass on things that are inefficient and stress-inducing.  Once you know the problem, you can work towards a solution.

Quick-Wins

1. Target the cause of your bad day.  If you can do something about it, do it.  
2. Implement changes to your workflow or processes if you’re seeing work or client related stress.
3. Always work on your personal development to stay balanced and level-headed.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources 

Time Audit Worksheet

4 Ways to Use Your Phone to be More Productive Video

You’re A Badass At Making Money

The post Quick-Win Episode 6: Bad Days Are A Good Thing appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary 

Brand value is a very important thing to understand, especially when you’re a SEBO who is on your own. 

It’s also very important to the business owner who is looking to revamp themselves due to inefficiencies in their pricing, marketing, and overall brand image.

We assume that you’re awesome at what you do.  There’s a ton of people who are really awesome at a lot of stuff. But what’s going to get you into the conversation with bigger markets, clients, affiliates and frankly more overall business — is how legitimate people feel you are — based on your branded marketing materials.

You’ve been there.  Someone refers you the name of a company for a cleaning service and you immediately google them.  First, I check their website to see if they’re “legit”…and that’s the key thing. We’re all looking for legitimacy.

Then, I might head to see if they’re active on social, check online reviews and etc. 

Have you ever looked up a business and found they had no logo? Or their logo looks like your nephew made it?  When you see a low-quality brand it tells you that the business didn’t invest a lot of money into the way they look.  And if a company doesn’t care enough about how they look to invest in it…I assume they aren’t a very profitable business…which probably means they aren’t very good.

Think of it like hiring a new employee.  Potential Employee A sends in a typed resume with a nice photo of themselves and a portfolio of their work.  They show up to the interview dressed professionally and present themselves well. Potential Employee B scribbled their past experience on a napkin and shows up in pajamas.  They could both be equally qualified and skilled, but there is no doubt one of them has a higher perceived value and THAT person is getting the job.

Is your business wearing pajamas?

Perception is everything!

Quick-Wins

• How would a stranger value your brand? Audit your brand and see where you can find any deficiencies. 

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.

The post Quick-Win Episode 5: What Is Brand Value? & Why Do I Care? appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary

We hear it, I say it, and we all do it – but using personal time is not the way to “get ahead.”

First of all, getting ahead rarely leads to more free time or making more money and secondly, for most of you that terminology of “getting ahead” is hollow.  

Unless you have a strict schedule of work – but most of us just flow with what’s happening.

*NOTE: If you work in certain industries, your business relies on the weekends, which is not what we are talking about.  Maybe your “weekend” is Tuesday/Wednesday, but whatever it is TAKE IT OFF!

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE

If you find yourself working all the time it’s because YOU allow that to happen.  You are always setting expectations for your clients. If you are always available, that’s what they’ll expect and then you always need to be available.  If you set boundaries and tell your clients when they can contact you and when they can expect to hear from you, they’ll understand and expect that. The hard truth is, YOU are the one allowing your business to control your schedule and it doesn’t have to be that way.

YOU NEED TIME AWAY FROM YOUR BUSINESS 

-You’ll have more energy

-You’ll come up with great ideas

-You’ll spend time recharging your personal life and friendships

-You’ll resent work-time less when you allow yourself free time

-You’ll remember WHY you work so much

YOUR GOAL SHOULD BE TO CREATE A BETTER LIFE

-The whole reason you’re in business is to live your life!

-Take yourself seriously → this shouldn’t be work vs. life…this is just one big life.

-Weekend work is usually due to an inefficient work week or procrastination, which leads to stress.

STOP ALL CLIENT OR TEAM CORRESPONDENCE DURING ALL NON-WORK HOURS

-We’ve all been guilty of it, but DON’T DO IT…otherwise, you’re self-sabotaging your time and setting the wrong expectations

Quick-Wins

1. Commit to giving yourself time off
2. Create boundaries for yourself and your clients
3. Don’t check emails on your weekend

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources 

-THINGS TO HELP: Set SLEEP mode on your phone, use a scheduler for email correspondence, don’t reply to things during non-work hours.  Your dentist wouldn’t answer the phone at 8pm, neither should you!

The post Quick-Win Episode 4: Stop Working On The Weekend! appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Then we found out that we were expecting a baby girl and that slowed my progress a bit and it definitely changed the content of what I’d be reading.  Despite all the excitement, I was still able to read more books than I have any previous year, including a few pre-baby titles. And with every book, comes a whole lot of lessons to put into practice…

My Top 4 Must-Reads from 2019

1. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
2. How to be an Imperfectionist – Stephen Guise
3. Declutter Your Mind – S.J. Scott
4. Everybody Writes – Ann Handley

My number one must read from 2019 was A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, in fact, we are only a few days into January and I just finished re-reading the book.  This is the kind of book that you can keep coming back to and get something out of every time. I think that’s something I really enjoy about personal development books; the lessons you learn while reading them are really dependent upon the moment you are in and what is going on for you personally at the time.

How to Be an Imperfectionist was one of the last books I read last year and it really hit home.  If you suffer from perfectionism and find yourself not finishing things – or worse, not starting things –  because you are waiting for perfection, then this is a MUST READ. This book details the root of perfectionism, how it manifests itself in your life, and step-by-step habits to put into practice so you can “become an imperfectionist.”

For the self-marketers out there, I think Everybody Writes is a must-read.  And in reading the book, you’ll realize that these days, we are ALL writers whether we consider ourselves writers or not.  This book is full of tips, concepts, and insights that will make you a better writer. As someone who is constantly creating content and marketing materials for my audience to consume, this book was incredibly insightful and immediately applicable.

Declutter Your Mind was another book with immediately applicable concepts.  If you are looking for a book to read to kick off the new year with a bang, this book is an easy read and loaded with advice and activities you can start to implement right away that will improve your productivity and peace of mind.  I read this at the start of 2019 and you’ll find that we talk about a ton of these concepts in our blogs and podcasts because they are super helpful for the self-employed business owner.

In Summation…

These books definitely taught me a lot of lessons to implement in the new year and I look forward to diving into my 2020 reading goals.  This year, I’m sticking with the 30 book challenge because I really want to hit it and know that I can make it happen if I put my mind to it.  I may have a few re-reads on my list, like “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” a classic that I try to read every couple of years to refresh myself on the age-old concepts that book shares on relationships and success in life. 

For those of you who’ve been meaning to read more, challenge yourself to read a certain number of books this year and let’s hold each other accountable.  The key to getting your reading done is to make time for it regularly and to have a list of books that you want to read so that you always are a few books ahead of yourself on what is coming next.  There were a few times this year when I finished a book and a few weeks would go by before I realized I didn’t have another book on deck to read. So I recommend planning a few books ahead and always looking for new books to add to the list.  Reading is a great way to take a break throughout the day, clear your thoughts, learn and grow. Let’s make it happen in 2020!

And I’m also always looking for recommendations and would love to hear what personal development and business books you might recommend. Share in the comments your favorites and I will be sure to check them out! And as always, I’ll be sure to share my book reviews throughout the year as I find titles that really speak to me which I think you might enjoy.

Happy reading, DOers!!

The post A Year Of Reading In Review – 2019 appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

I recently read “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” by Stephen Guise and I am extremely happy that I did.  I’m always looking to improve the areas in my personal development that I feel are weak and for this instance, in particular, I was looking for ways to improve my habits to maintain personal confidence. On a day to day basis, we’re aboard this crazy roller coaster called life and I’m just looking to make sure I’m wearing my safety belt.

I was drawn to this book because I found that the preview spoke directly to my creative personality.  Personally, I am a planner. I love being prepared in every situation and my mind feverishly rushes through checklists, what-ifs, and worst-case scenarios.  As a business owner and a creative person, I never realized that the pursuit of perfectionism has been what I’ve been hung up on all these years.  

On many occasions, I’ve gone into analysis paralysis, where I’d overthink something to the point where I’d choose to do nothing instead of moving forward.  The mere fact that there might possibly be the tiniest chance of something going awry would lead me to inaction, which would then evolve into guilt that would add to my daily stress. 

As I was trying to make everything perfect to avoid possible embarrassment, I was totally overlooking the life experiences that imperfection teaches us.  Understanding that there’s no true risk in being imperfect [unless you’re in the medical field!] and that the important thing is to just show up and let go of those mental projections, will help you create a much happier and more efficient version of yourself.

I am so happy that I found this book because it teaches you simple, actionable steps to improve your daily habits and headspace.

Who would get a lot out of this book?

If you are a self-proclaimed perfectionist, you NEED to read this book.

If you procrastinate by making sure that you have ideal conditions, an ideal mood, or ideal timing to complete your task, you NEED to read this book.

If you constantly project the outcome of events by listing all the things that will probably go wrong, you NEED to read this book.

If you’re constantly avoiding failure, humiliation, and embarrassment, so you always take the easy way out, you NEED to read this book.

What are our takeaways and how will we apply them?

This book teaches a series of mini habits to help you create actual change in your daily life rather than provide a sense of fleeting motivation.  Here are the takeaways that I’ve already applied to my daily routine.

1. Embrace imperfection.  Doing things wrong is the only way we get better, so the only thing that matters is gaining the experience by doing them.  As soon as you “OK” yourself to be imperfect, you’ll feel a huge sense of relief and allow yourself to get right to business.
2. Stop ruminating. The only way to get over the past is to accept it.  Rumination is a painful form of procrastination where you rehash past events, go through the shoulda, woulda, coulda and end up choosing to relive your nightmares.  Stop replaying old movies in your head and start accepting what has happened and know that each new moment gives you an opportunity to take your life where you want it to go.
3. Implement the concept of binary thinking.  Make your tasks easy to complete by simplifying them to a pass or fail concept.  Instead of getting nervous and procrastinating because you have to give a perfect presentation free of embarrassment that everyone will love, make your goal to simply get up and start talking out loud.  The more you add to the “story” of your task the more you begin to project the outcome which fires up your negative and nervous emotions and stops you in your tracks.  
   1. Another simple example is rather than thinking that in order to go to the gym and get a good workout you have to feel up to it and be motivated. Just make your goal to drive to the gym. That way, you either did it, or you didn’t and it completely bypasses your subjectivity on the matter.
4. Change your language.  Pay attention to the words you say.  In particular, use the term “could” instead of “should.” “Should” always leads to guilt and resentment towards yourself and the task you need to complete. “Could” still gives you the opportunity to do the tasks and keeps your subconscious mind from delivering a guilt trip.
5. Let go of embarrassment.  If you find yourself avoiding doing things because you don’t want to be embarrassed, then you’ll never get to where you want to go.  Embarrassment isn’t a harmful risk and has no unhealthy side effects. It’s 100% temporary and you can actually choose to let it go. Experiences are what help you become more confident and allow you to give less weight to the feeling of embarrassment. Stop seeking approval from the fictitious “everyone” because it’s just causing you to have low self-esteem.  The more you’re able to participate in your life, the more practice you will get and the better you’ll be. If you think about it, everyone who has ever been great was a failure almost 1000x more than they were great. Dreaming big doesn’t always require aiming big. Aim at what’s in front of you to make it attainable and take aim often.
6. Flip the switch on motivation.  Our culture is constantly throwing out ways to get us motivated to take action.  There are books, seminars, and coaches all dedicated to helping us get enough motivational feelings to take ourselves out of the rut we are in and spring us into action.  The trouble with this model is that it won’t work all of the time. Sometimes we just don’t feel up to it. When you aren’t feeling creative or you are in a bad mood, climbing up that hill to motivate yourself to get stuff done is extremely daunting and let’s face it, unlikely.  If you flip the switch and decide to stop waiting for or trying to build motivation, and instead just start by taking action, you’ll find that action actually creates motivation MUCH quicker!

GET THE BOOK

How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.stephenguise.com

The post Book Review: “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” appeared first on Learn It - Do It.