The Self-Employed Life

As a prelude to the next episode on Creative Warriors with Jessica Pettitt, I share my thoughts on acceptance and being good enough now. We can often get so critical of ourselves and down about where we're at in our lives, I find the idea of "good enough now" really refreshing. It makes me think about how freeing acceptance is. It is through acceptance and the peace it offers that you are free to change your circumstances. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

So often we can feel sorry for ourselves because we're not given the opportunities we think we deserve. We feel overlooked and unappreciated. When we take this attitude, we are avoiding taking responsibility for our relationships. You can't complain about the results you're getting if you're hiding in the corner. I've never been comfortable networking, and it took a mindset shift for me to realize I needed to "get over myself." The reason I avoided networking is that I had a mindset of scarcity and believed I wouldn't be able to handle the relationships. Because of this, I've missed out on a lot of opportunities throughout the years. It really is true: networking equals impact. You need to go into networking opportunities with intention. Set yourself up for success by setting aside follow-up time and drafting your emails before you go. Be aware of body language and engage with people who are naturally open. Don't overthink things like opening lines and instead focus on being interested in learning about other people. To explore this further, I've brought in a networking expert who has truly changed my life: Robbie Samuels. Robbie has been recognized as a "networking expert" by Inc. and Lifehacker, and is the author of the best-selling business book Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, he has been speaking on the topic of inclusive networking for over a decade. As a consultant and coach, he shares how to create more inclusive and engaging connections. Download this episode today to get your head around the abundance that's available to you through the relationships you can build. INNER UNICORN WARRIOR "Your impact on this world is directly related to your willingness to engage your community." -Robbie Samuels Highlights - You can't complain about being overlooked if you're sitting in the corner. If you're afraid of a large network, focus on small touchpoints. Ask yourself, "What can I offer?" before attending a networking event. Write your follow-up email draft before you go to the event. Schedule a follow-up time before you go to the event. Come back from events with knowledge that is actionable. Avoid asking the "what do you do" question. Instead of giving your title when people ask you what you do, tell people who you serve. Thank people who have made a great connection for you. Take a host mentality to any event. Don't "spray and pray" with your business card. It's like human spam. Guest Contact - Robbie's Website Robbie's Twitter Robbie's Book: The Convenience RevoluCroissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferencestion Robbie's 10 Tips for Conference Connections Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

For a lot of entrepreneurs, our businesses are much more technologically driven, forcing us to spend more time sitting in front of a computer. The negative effects of sitting are serious, including restricted blood flow and pressure on the spine. As I've said many times, Warriors have to take care of themselves because, without us, it's likely our businesses would not go on. That's why I have this chat with fitness expert, Jeremy Abramson. To get you moving. To make sure you stay healthy. This guy is a beast. He's the real deal. Be sure to check out his website and Instagram. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Guest Contact - Jeremy's website Jeremy on Instagram @coachjeremy305 Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Businesses need to pay close attention to how society is changing. Due to technology, things are moving at a faster rate than ever. Customers previously had to choose between convenience and lesser quality or less convenience and higher quality. Now, they expect both. If your business is not able to adapt to current demands, it won't survive. Today's customers expect great customer service, speed, and a good price all at the same time. Your business isn't just being compared to other small business, it's being held to the standards of bigger businesses like Amazon. You need to ask yourself, "How easy am I to do business with?" The convenience you create could be the greatest gift you give to your customers. You're giving them time back in their life to put where it matters most: relationships. Adding elements like delivery, technology, and self-service creates a win/win situation: more convenience for the customer and less overhead for you. To dive deeper into this concept, I've brought on an expert who knows all about the business of convenience: Shep Hyken. Shep is a leader in customer service and is the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He's a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame. Shep's most recent book is called The Convenience Revolution. Download this episode today to learn the six ways you can make your business more convenient. WARRIOR OF CREATIVITY "Analyze every touch point in the customer experience." -Shep Hyken Highlights - Be clear about what you really do. Start thinking like Big Business because they're doing some things right. Everyone has good customer service. Convenience will set you apart. Convenience is a justifier for premium price. Reduce friction points. Create self-service options similar to the ones Panera has recently added. Delivery will give more time back to your customers. Access to your business is an important part of convenience. Guest Contact - Shep's Website Shep's Twitter Shep's Book: The Convenience Revolution Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

What if I said doing business in the selfie age is a good thing? Well, I think it is. But not in the way you might be thinking. Listen and learn how your customer's "selfishness" is an opportunity for your business. How customers are empowered today like they never have been before. Why you want to understand this concept to build a business that speaks to your ideal customers, allows them to create the experiences they want, and to know what is most convenient for THEM. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Pricing for creative services has always been a difficult topic. As creative entrepreneurs, we often feel embarrassed about charging a high amount for our work. We'll set rate based on time spent or put a fixed package rate up on our website. As a result, we often undervalue our services. The prices you set shouldn't be based on the cost of the input or the market value of the deliverables. They should be based on the value that you're adding to the client and also the risk that you're taking on. At the end of the day, value comes down to a feeling and what people are willing to pay for that feeling. Services are either a productized business (pursuing scale) or a customized services business (pursuing quality). If you're not a productized business, you need to stop pricing yourself as such. You can reserve the right to charge different clients based on how they value your business. Bring the same creativity you use in your work to your business model. To dive deeper into this concept, I've brought on an expert who knows all about the art of pricing: Blair Enns. Blair's sales training program for creative professionals, Win Without Pitching, seeks to change the way creative services are bought and sold in the world. Blair wrote The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond The Billable Hour. Download this episode today to learn to price your creative services based on value to the client and risk involved instead of a fixed rate. WARRIOR OF GRACE "In life, all profit comes from risk." -Blair Enns Highlights - Our prices should be based on the value to the client. The Value Triad consists of revenue gains, cost reduction, and emotional contributions. Ending a price with a "9" signals to people that the item is on sale. Always offer price options. Price the client, not the job. Don't put prices on your website. You need to decide whether yours is a customized service business (pursuing quality) or a productized business (pursuing scale). The last obstacle in pricing creativity is you. Don't be embarrassed about making a lot of money. The exchange of money is a certificate of appreciation. Guest Contact - Blair's Website Blair's Twitter Blair's Book: The Win Without Pitching Manifesto Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Pricing for creative services has always been a difficult topic. As creative entrepreneurs, we often feel embarrassed about charging a high amount for our work. We'll set rate based on time spent or put a fixed package rate up on our website. As a result, we often undervalue our services. The prices you set shouldn't be based on the cost of the input or the market value of the deliverables. They should be based on the value that you're adding to the client and also the risk that you're taking on. At the end of the day, value comes down to a feeling and what people are willing to pay for that feeling. Services are either a productized business (pursuing scale) or a customized services business (pursuing quality). If you're not a productized business, you need to stop pricing yourself as such. You can reserve the right to charge different clients based on how they value your business. Bring the same creativity you use in your work to your business model. To dive deeper into this concept, I've brought on an expert who knows all about the art of pricing: Blair Enns. Blair's sales training program for creative professionals, Win Without Pitching, seeks to change the way creative services are bought and sold in the world. Blair wrote The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond The Billable Hour. Download this episode today to learn to price your creative services based on value to the client and risk involved instead of a fixed rate. WARRIOR OF GRACE "In life, all profit comes from risk." -Blair Enns Highlights - Our prices should be based on the value to the client. The Value Triad consists of revenue gains, cost reduction, and emotional contributions. Ending a price with a "9" signals to people that the item is on sale. Always offer price options. Price the client, not the job. Don't put prices on your website. You need to decide whether yours is a customized service business (pursuing quality) or a productized business (pursuing scale). The last obstacle in pricing creativity is you. Don't be embarrassed about making a lot of money. The exchange of money is a certificate of appreciation. Guest Contact - Blair's Website Blair's Twitter Blair's Book: The Win Without Pitching Manifesto Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

In the worlds of personal development, motivation, and positive thinking, were are usually encouraged to move forward. While that is likely the goal, maybe we have to first get frustrated enough about what we want to move away from in order to fully commit to where we want to go. A compelling topic and I look forward to hearing your perspective! The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. If you want to apply to be a guest on Creative Warriors Talking Stick, CLICK HERE. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Entrepreneurs know the power of word of mouth, but not many of us put strategies in place to utilize it. We use the same, tired strategies of discount codes for referring friends or a BOGO sale to bring in new customers. Research shows that one out of two products are purchased because of word of mouth, but still we leave it up to hope or the chance that something will go viral. Instead, you can learn what your customers want and create something remarkable that they'll need to tell their friends about- Talk Triggers. Talk Triggers are strategic operational differentiators done on purpose that create conversation and bring you new customers. They are not a coupon or a contest, and they differ from "Surprise and Delight" tactics. They are something that you do for every customer, every day. You can look at companies with successful Talk Triggers (Cheesecake Factory and their large menu, Double Tree and their cookies) and work backwards to see how the arrived at their end result and how that could be repeatable for you. To dive deeper into this concept, I've brought on an expert who knows all about the power of word of mouth: Jay Baer. Jay Baer is a New York Times bestselling author of six books, an inductee into the Word of Mouth Marketing Hall of Fame, and a renowned business strategist. He's a go-to media source for places like NPR, USA Today, Time, Real Simple, CBC and more. Jay has started more than five multimillion-dollar companies from scratch. He's also the host of the Social Pros podcast which was named best marketing podcast in the 2015 Content Marketing Awards. Download this episode today to learn how you can utilize word of mouth to create conversations and bring in new customers in a scalable way. WARRIOR OF PATTERN RECOGNITION "Our job is to give our customers the best advice. Their job is to decide whether or not to take it." -Jay Baer Highlights - Word of mouth is the most effective way to generate customers for any business. We are physiologically wired to talk about things that are different and ignore things that are average. The Talk Trigger is an operational choice. It's what happens every single day. "Surprise and Delight" is when you treat one customer in a way that is disproportionately amazing in the hope that it goes viral. Talk Triggers have four parts: remarkable, relevant, reasonable, and repeatable. You have to get to know your customers to find what they really want. Guest Contact - Jay's Website Jay's Twitter Jay's Facebook Jay's Book Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn Download this episode today to learn how you can utilize word of mouth to create conversations and bring in new customers in a scalable way.

Are there things you've always wanted to do, but you keep making excuses not to? Well, there's only one thing holding you back. It's a four letter word that starts with an "f": fear. A lot of times, this fear keeps us from ever truly knowing what we will enjoy. It stops us from even attempting certain things. For example, I used to be terrified of heights. If I would look down from a high place, my stomach would drop, I would start to tremble and I kept myself from experience anything that had to do with heights. One day I went rock climbing with a group, with the goal of overcoming a fear. When it came time to repel down the cliff, it was the most amazing experience. I had so much fun, and such a great time falling. I never would have known this was something I truly enjoyed if I had let my fear stay in the way. Today, I have a view from the 31st floor - and I love it. To go deeper into why we can't let fears stand in our way, and how we can let our "whys" be the reason we conquer them, I brought in an amazingly inspirational guest: Chantelle Adams. Chantelle Adams is a storytelling expert and public speaking coach. As a professional speaker, she has delivered over 800 speeches in just 5 years -- in cities including Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Cancun, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. She now helps others tell their stories and turn their message into a movement. Chantelle hosts an annual event called Shine Live for 180 women entrepreneurs, attracting speakers such as Oprah's SuperSoul 100 member Danielle LaPorte. She has been featured on the cover of Business Heroine, Event Head and Mindful Mavericks Magazine. She is also the founder of the Courage Collective Global Community, which is on its way to sharing 1 million stories of courage and raising $1 million dollars for charity. So to learn how you can conquer your fears, and create more courage in all areas of life that can lead you to change the world, download this episode now. WARRIOR OF COURAGE "If I don't make my why bigger than this fear, I'm going to make an excuse." -Chantelle Adams Highlights - You need to be truly living, and not living out of fear. Fighting for other people is not a bad thing. Sit down and make a list of things you want to do but are afraid to. Every time you overcome a fear, it makes you more courageous in other areas of life. Don't be afraid of losing your resources. The best way to find how you can give back is to find the fire within you. You can gift through your work. There's no need to wait to give. Guest Contact - Chantelle's Website Chantelle's Courage Collective Chantelle's Twitter Chantelle's Facebook Mentions - Chantelle's Book Recommendation The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn