Month: December 2015
Lets make your 2016 crush your 2015 together
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Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year (in a few days). All month we’ve been talking about planning your business. We’ve covered everything from your client vetting process to long-term follow-up marketing with awesome clients. You can see all the content in this series on the sidebar. I know that all the stuff experienced…
We all are trying to find our skin
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We each have a unique honest self. A state of being where we feel at rest in our own skin. The problem is that we are all trying to find where that place actually is. Finding that dwelling place is hard because it’s not a single place. It’s a moment in time combined with a…
Staying in business thanks to Contactually
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I know you’re opening up presents right now, or trying to imbibe as much coffee as possible because your kids got you up crazy early and are running around like maniacs. In the midst of this I want to talk to you today about Contactually and how I use it. Contactually is the backbone of…
How to set up Contactually so you get continual leads
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When I was starting my business I’d often go from totally overwhelmed to barely any work in a span of 4-6 weeks. One time in particular meant a very long dry spell and our savings account was getting low — really low. Low enough that I told my wife we were going on a date…
How to close a project that hasn’t gone well
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I hate to say it, but some projects are just going to tank. You’ll miss a deadline and then it will be continual catch up while other new projects load up on your back. You’ll be playing catch up for months and you’ll hate it. Your client is going to be angry (with good reason).…
3 things you need to do when you finish a project
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Closing projects is lots of fun. I mean, it’s the time you get to send invoices and get money into your bank account. You get a rush from that feeling of success and of course that’s it — the project is over, right? Well yes. Sort of. The project work may be finished, but the…
4 Tips for having hard conversations with clients
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Hard conversations are going to happen in your business. You’re going to miss a deadline or your client is going to ask for stuff you feel is clearly outside of scope. The budget is going to need to increase. The specifics are going to change, but the fact remains that at some point in many…
The 4 things you need before you can start a project
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It was Monday and I was excited to start a new project. I pulled out the client emails related to the project and realized I was missing a bunch of information I needed to really get started. Three items were pretty basic, and critical: I didn’t know how to log in to their site yet…
Here’s why NO is not a curse word
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No, I’m sorry we’re not a good fit. No, I don’t think that this is the type of project I’m interested in. I’m sorry I don’t have time for this right now. If you never say those things to prospects then it’s time to start. You’re not the right person to serve every prospect. Sure…
Starting your process right, vetting clients
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We’re on the cusp of 2016 so I want to ask you: How did your 2015 go? Did you get the projects you wanted? Did you hit your income goals? Did you work too much, or did you not get enough work and ended up with lots of down time? This month is all about…
