If you’re self-employed, there’s a high chance at some point along the journey you’ve asked yourself, “Why is all this so damn hard?”

This may have included some shouting, screaming, hair-pulling, crying, throwing yourself around your house or bewailing to your partner or friends.

Yes? Been there? (Trust me, you are not alone.)

Okay, on the one hand, it’s obvious that the path of self-employment means there’s a lot to do. If you want a financially viable business, you’re basically creating a job for yourself and doing the job. You’re working in the business and on the business.

And that naturally involves a fair amount of hours, a considerable degree of brain power and enough creative juice. You don’t get to just lie about twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the cash to come flowing in.

But although your days can quickly fill up with clients, website updates, social media activity, strategizing, accounts, networking, follow-ups, giving talks, writing articles, maintaining a blog, designing packages and creating programmes, it’s actually not those tasks themselves which makes self-employment “hard”.

No. It’s when the inner demons come out to play

Posting a status on Facebook turns out to involve a whole lot more than ten seconds of typing. It triggers the fear of visibility, the yearning for acceptance, the desire to be “interesting enough”.

Sending a promotional email about your new workshop reminds you far too uncomfortably of inviting your school friends to your birthday party and feeling so mortified when only five of them showed up.

Pitching an article to a magazine reminds you of applying to university and getting the rejection letter. Following up with a prospective client takes you back to how awkward you felt when you clumsily told your crush you liked them and they said you weren’t their type.

These undercurrents aren’t always conscious, which is why we’re often left wondering what on Earth is wrong with us and why these basic business activities feel like walking through treacle.

They feel so hard because they wake up those little demons which decide to bounce around on your table, on your computer screen and inside your mind. Having stuff to do isn’t a problem. You’re intelligent, capable, talented – you can handle that. Having stuff to do which tugs on long-ago pain and brings with it an avalanche of emotion is a whole other matter.

So, be compassionate with yourself

Recognize you’re taking a brave path. Acknowledge that self-employment is as much about personal growth as it is about professional fulfillment or paying the bills. Give yourself a massive pat on the back. You’re birthing something here and birthing isn’t always pretty. But it’s worth it.

When the demons come out to play, pause and give them some attention. Sit with them for a while. Get curious about what needs to be looked at. Find what’s really making this task “so damn hard” and know that patterns can be changed and you are resourceful.

What tasks that “should” be easy have most plagued you, as you go self-employed? What remedies have you found? Leave a comment, let us know…

A brand new toolkit + a tried-and-tested programme

If you’re feeling anxious on the turbulent path of self-employment and want to feel more secure, check out the new Creating Safety Toolkit.

If you’re feeling isolated and want to share your business-building journey with like-minded others, check out the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme (new dates just released; next group starts May 2012).

Want to receive alerts about these blog posts to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Subscribe to my free newsletter here.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2012

I live in Cambridge, England. I have a piano but was frustrated I couldn’t make progress with sheet music. Then I discovered Ryan’s awesome business Play Piano King and now feel enthusiastic about tinkling on the ivories.

But this blog post isn’t about music. It’s about how your business can be found by total strangers and it comes down to this:

Stop trying to find clients

“Huh? But aren’t I reading this to discover how to find clients?”

No. It might seem like semantics but there’s an important distinction between trying to find clients, and positioning yourself to be found by people who are already looking for you.

Out there, whether down the road or on the other side of the globe, are people who already know they want or need something that is an exact match for what you most love to offer.

These people are your “Tribe”. They are already looking for you. They’re asking their friends, they’re looking on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on forums, and searching on Google. They’re eager to get their needs met, find relief or get their situation resolved and they’re prepared to take action and spend money to meet this end.

Your mission is to know who these people are and what they’re looking for.

What are they looking for?

The first websites I found promised to teach me classical piano: Beethoven, Mozart, Bach. I wasn’t looking for that.

Ryan stood out because he focuses on helping people who don’t want to play classical piano. His Tribe love him because he teaches popular modern songs by singers like Rihanna, Coldplay and Adele.

What are your Tribe really looking for? Here are some examples:

– “I want a massage but I hate the idea of stripping down to my underwear”

– “I want to learn yoga but I’m not sure if I can practise during pregnancy”

– “I’m in an unhappy same-sex marriage and feel alienated by opposite-sex relationship advice”

– “I’ve got Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and want it to go away, not just ‘be managed’”

Pause and consider who is looking for you. And what specifically are they looking for?

Know how they search

Once you know what your Tribe are looking for, consider how they are looking.

I didn’t search for ‘piano teacher’ or ‘piano lessons’. Instead, here’s what I typed into Google:

how do you get good at piano
piano playing rusty
improve piano playing
playing contemporary piano

These aren’t the most obvious search terms but these were the words and phrases I automatically went for when thinking about my needs.

Likewise, your Tribe might not search for the “thing” you offer (like Pilates or coaching, or massage) but instead express their situation (for example: losing my fitness, hate my job, back ache).

Watch what you type when you do a Google search. It’s interesting to notice the words and phrases you instinctively go for.

Now, imagine being one of your Tribe. What would they type? It’ll make more sense to optimize your website for these words and phrases than for very popular search terms like “life coaching”.

Let them know they’ve reached the right place

When someone new reaches you or your website, make sure they realise they’ve found what they’re looking for – and that they can call off the search.

You can achieve this through a simple yet powerful marketing message. Check out Ryan’s to see how he uses empathy, (“I know it seems almost impossible to learn the piano”), offers hope (“You do not need to know how to read sheet music”) and fills his new visitor with excitement (“After you learn a song, you will be ready and able to play it anywhere”).

What could you say to a total stranger to reassure them they’ve found what they’ve been looking for?

And finally…

Once someone has found you, give them something. Always: give before you expect to receive.

I got hooked on Ryan thanks to his free online taster videos. (If I want more in-depth tutorials, that’s where the $97 comes in).

What could you give your new visitor? A free article, report or audio recording?

Choose something that will give a total stranger a taste of how you can help them – and make it easy for them to come back for more.

So:
– Know who is looking for you
– Know how they’re looking for you
– Reassure them they’ve reached the right place
– Give them a free taster so they come back for more

How have you already been found by total strangers? How would you like to be found? And how have you discovered other brilliant companies or service professionals? Leave a comment below, let us know…

Not sure who’s looking for you?

It’s frustrating to be unclear about your Tribe. If you’d like step-by-step support with gaining clarity and getting into action, check out the support options available > >

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2012

I sat down and ate it in 45 minutes and felt deeply satisfied as a result.

Confused?

Let me explain…

Now and again, a book alters your brain so much that you can never think how you used to think. For me, one of those books is Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. Do you know it?

If you’re like most the women I work with, one of the great challenges in self-employment is how to actually get stuff done. You’re setting your own hours, you’re the only person who can decide what matters most. There’s no job description to follow so you choose your own criteria for success.

The problem is – procrastination takes hold. You feel swamped by the multitude of possibilities, drowning in a never-ending To Do List. You’re chasing your tail, driving yourself crazy by never completing those projects which you desperately want to complete.

Procrastination can make the difference between staying in business and enjoying profit and success… and having to throw in the towel and get a job. I want you to enjoy the success and profit so here are four of Tracy’s key principles that can have the most impact for the self-employed:

#1 Have clear, written goals

You’re the only person who can decide the direction of your business. What do you want to achieve? Decide exactly what you want. Write it down. Set a deadline for your goal. Make a list of everything you have to do to achieve your goal. Organise the list into a plan. Take action on your plan immediately. Resolve to do something every single day that moves you towards your goal.

Tracy: “An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.”

Strangely enough for a coach, I used to avoid setting goals. I wasn’t confident I would achieve them so it felt safer not to commit to them. I now realise that goals felt random and uncertain because there was no clear, step-by-step plan to achieve them. Now that there’s a plan and a clear next action step, goals feel completely different – and I trust they can for you too.

#2 Plan the priority tasks for each day in advance

When I entered my office this morning, there was only one sheet of paper on my desk and on it was written the highest priority task. I didn’t check email, I didn’t browse the internet, I didn’t do filing. I plugged straight into that task and completed it. It wasn’t negotiable. I didn’t think, “Now, what would I like to do today?”

It’s a straightforward system. You identify the next action to take in your step-by-step plan towards your biggest goal and that has highest priority. Tracy calls this task your “biggest, ugliest frog”. This brilliant metaphor was inspired by the old saying, “If the first thing you do when you wake up each morning is eat a live frog, nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day”.

#3 Practise the ABCDE method continually

Tracey encourages you to divide tasks into categories:
A – Must do. Very important, big consequences.
B – Should do. Mild consequences.
C – Nice to do. No consequences.
D – Can delegate.
E – Can eliminate.

Many of us go self-employed because we crave freedom, the chance to do what we enjoy. But if we fill our day with lots of C tasks – for example, hanging out on social media, having lunch with our friends, reading blogs – we simply don’t have time for the A and B tasks that would actually move us closer to our business goals.

The short-term pleasure of Facebook is not as compelling as the long-term pleasure of achieving our self-employment dreams.

#4 Single-hand every task

Multi-tasking is not all it’s cracked up to be. When you’ve got your big frog in front of you, focus on that exclusively. Don’t answer the phone, don’t check email. Just work at that frog until it’s all eaten – and you’ll feel amazing.

So, I hereby declare 2012 the year to eat frogs. If you’ve set a resolution to “be more productive”, “get more stuff done” or “stop procrastinating”, then put these principles to work. Identify your biggest, ugliest frog and eat it before you do anything else. Your business will thank you and you can enjoy a highly productive, fulfilling 2012.

If you want more details, do buy or borrow a copy of the book. Also, here’s a cool little video.

What books on productivity do you recommend? What are your most effective strategies for getting stuff done? Leave a comment below, let us know.

Oh – and we tackle procrastination head-on in the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme. Do you want to get your business moving in 2012? We start on Monday! See if any places are left > >

Want to receive alerts about these blog posts to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Subscribe to my free newsletter here.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

A few hours after publishing the latest blog post, How To Get Paid 1,000 Times, I had a similar phone call from a coach who’s been wanting to get her business off the ground for years. She said: “Reading your post, I decided I couldn’t keep going like this. I realised I have to do something - so that’s why I’m reaching out.”

We humans are pretty resilient. We soldier on. We don’t want to admit we need help, we don’t want to burden anyone. We want to be self-sufficient so we delay doing that “something”.

But at what point do you decide to make that call?

When is enough enough?

As a woman wanting to be successfully self-employed, this is the kind of “enough” you’re likely to have had:

• Enough of not knowing which business step comes first.
• Enough of feeling overwhelmed and out of your depth.
• Enough of feeling isolated and alone on your self-employment journey.
• Enough of your partner calling your passion an expensive hobby.
• Enough of not reaching the people who need you.
• Enough of not fulfilling your potential and having your biggest impact.
• Enough of shuffling by financially, rather than enjoying money being easy.

If enough is enough and if you’re done with struggling on your own, please take advantage of the support that’s waiting for you.

The next Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme starts on 9th January, giving you six rich months of business-building guidance and like-minded community. You can decide to make 2012 the year you become clear, supported and able to move into profitability.

I’m ready to have more phone calls with women who’ve decided that enough is enough. Will one of them be with you?

There are only 4 places left on the January programme and if one of them is yours, claim it. Reach out now. Enough is enough.

Click here, read the details, fill out the form.

Want to receive alerts about these blog posts to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Subscribe to my free newsletter here.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

There’s a special moment where you lose your Getting Paid virginity. Someone says you’re just what they’ve been looking for; they want you, they need you… YES!

You enjoy the delirious satisfaction of that first incoming financial transaction, that warm after-glow, staring in awe at the cheque in your hand or the PayPal notification in your inbox.

Lost yours yet?

Before that first financial encounter, Getting Paid can feel like foreign territory. It’s longed for but scary. You’re hungry for it but daunted.

Even once you’ve enjoyed a few dozen payments, you might still have question marks about how to get paid consistently.

How do you fully enter and stay in this territory? How do you reach that point where someone actually reaches into their purse, or bank account, and hands over their hard-earned cash – again and again?

1,000 yes’s

Last week, You Inspire Me enjoyed its 1,000th payment. Since going self-employed in 2005, I’ve tracked every financial transaction (much to the joy of the Inland Revenue) and felt a surge of joy when we tipped into four figures. You know that voice which nags at you, “Are you good enough? Will people ever pay you for this?” Getting paid for the thousandth time felt like pretty conclusive evidence that the answer is “yes”.

Getting paid repeatedly is wonderful but if you’re thinking “Getting paid just once or twice would be nice!”, then let’s take a peek at how I lost my self-employed virginity…

How to get paid once

My first ever payment as an independent practitioner was from a woman named Sue. She was looking for an English tutor for her daughter, her friend (Penny) knew I’d recently resigned as a school English teacher. It was a clear match: One woman had a need. Another woman could fulfill that need. And Penny was the pimp in the middle.

I went on to be paid repeatedly as a tutor. Then as a life coach to teenagers. Then as a life coach to women finding their passion. Then (and now) as a coach and mentor to women starting their own businesses. But although my niche focus has changed, the principles of Getting Paid have stayed the same.

Want to know the principles?

People pay independent practitioners because three things are happening:

Principle #1: You’re visible as the perfect match

It’s important to become a beacon for people who have a need that they’re prepared to take action and spend money to meet. Joy, an osteopath, is the perfect match for people in Cambridge who have Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Elinor, a coach, is the perfect match for working mothers who feel guilty and overwhelmed. Margaret Hiley, a translator, is the perfect match for academics who want their work translated from German to English.

(Not sure who you’re the perfect match for? Then check out the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme because Class 2 will give you clarity about this. And yes, Joy, Elinor and Margaret are all Passion To Profit success stories).

Becoming visible means letting people know about you. If I hadn’t made myself known in my community, I wouldn’t have been on Penny’s radar when Sue spoke about wanting a tutor.

If you want to get paid repeatedly, you need to become known for helping a particular group of people resolve a particular challenge. Who are you the guardian angel for?

Principle #2: Your pricing is resonant

You know that pure musical note a tuning fork emits when it hits a surface? It resonates at a specific pitch – and it can be like this with your pricing. A resonant price is one that feels right to you and to your ideal client.

The amount I quoted Sue sat well with me and sat well with her. Resonant pricing is a method of setting your prices that has less to do with market rates, competition and ego and more to do with your intuition. Sounds crazy but it works – time and time again.

(You’ll get to grips with this in Class 4 of Turn Your Passion To Profit.)

Principle #3: You make it easy for someone to pay

How is that prospective client actually going to give you money? Newbies to self-employment often haven’t thought this far in advance. It can be such a shock when that first person says “yes” and it’s easy to get tongue-tied at the payment stage.

In the free How To Help More People Become Your Clients audio class, I talk about the inadvertent obstacles which can block money that wants to flow to you. Take a listen here – it’s a recording of a 75-minute teleclass that will help you nail this whole getting paid thing.

The simple formula for getting paid

Since losing my self-employed virginity, each payment has happened because I was following these same three principles:

1. Being visible as the perfect match for people who are prepared to take action and spend money to meet their needs.
2. Setting a price that feels resonant to both you and the prospective client.
3. Removing obstacles and making it easy for someone to pay.

What do you think – are there other elements that need to be in place for you to get paid? How are you doing in these three areas? Is getting paid harder (or easier) than you thought? Leave a comment below, let us know.

Let’s get you paid

I want to help you enjoy a solid, steady self-employed income and for you to know that you are being paid for making a difference and doing your good work.

Are you longing for your first payment? Wanting more consistent financial activity?

Visit this page, be inspired by the other women who’ve invested in support, and complete the short form at the bottom of that page to book your free consultation.

There are just 5 places left on the next Turn Your Passion To Profit programme (starts 9th January) and if one of them is yours, I’d love to hear from you.

Please note: I’m taking a technological break until 19th December so please fill out the form now and then I’ll get back to you on my return.

Want to receive alerts about these blog posts to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Subscribe to my free newsletter here.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

If you were on the call live, or as you listen to the recording, you might think: “Huh? Did I miss something?” Yes, it was a smooth call and I’m proud of the content.

But when it got to the part where I describe the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme and invite people to register for a free consultation, I skipped some of the important aspects. I didn’t make the call to action crystal clear. I felt an inner cringe that I was selling.

And to me, that’s messing up.

Why?

Old habits die hard

I’ve done a lot of inner work around selling. I’ve slowed down how I speak, to take the time necessary to communicate effectively. I’ve shifted my perspective from seeing selling as gross to seeing it as potentially generous, an act of service, a way of making it easier for people to find and access the support they need.

It’s because I know what it’s like to transform this area that means I’m well-placed to help other women do the same in their heart-led businesses – but now and again, old habits throw me to the floor. I get coy. I get apologetic (inside myself, if not in words). I rush, I skim over, I try not to take up too much space, I tell myself that people aren’t interested.

Last night’s experience was frustrating but also humbling because I remembered how painful it is when you live in that “I can’t sell” state most of the time.

If you’ve gone self-employed in order to pursue what you love, there’s a high chance you find it hard to sell. It feels pushy and manipulative and those lovely little unhealed parts within you sneer: Who do you think you are, to take up others’ time like this?

Sound familiar?

Let’s get real…

Reality #1: Businesses sell

A business is only a business if it’s selling products and services. Marketing, sales and making money have to be integral parts of your day-to-day activities.

If you’re only giving away stuff for free, then you’re running a charity. Or you’re being funded from elsewhere – by the government or an organisation, maybe.

Now, a good business owner both sells and gives resources away for free. You recognise that giving away content-rich resources can be a beautiful gift to your community and at the same time, it’s a potentially effective marketing strategy.

Sales without generosity is not good for business. But likewise offering freebies without sales doesn’t make for any business at all. The only way you can give away a free class, or offer a free article (like I’m doing in this blog post), is because people are paying you somewhere in your business.

If you don’t sell stuff and nobody pays you, you don’t stay in business. End of story.

Reality #2: Other people know this and have choices

Naomi Dunford, of Ittybiz.com, wrote a brilliant blog post called How To Email Your List. When I read it, I had the biggest, brightest lightbulb moment.

She says: “The purpose of your [mailing list] is to give people who like you the opportunity to hear what you say and buy what you sell. Therefore, you must say it. And sell it.”

People aren’t stupid. They know that you run a business and that if they sign up to your mailing list, or your public teleclass, then you are going to be selling stuff. Yes, you’re giving a valuable freebie that people can enjoy without ever giving you a penny. But one key reason for doing that freebie is that you have something worth selling that a percentage of the sign-ups eagerly want to hear about.

If someone doesn’t want to know about what you’re selling, they can unsubscribe from your list with one click. They can hang up on your teleclass. It’s simple. They are entirely responsible for staying in contact with you or detaching.

It means that the people who stay on your list, or who are still listening to your class, are choosing to be there. They want to hear what you have to say. So say it.

Back to reality?

Time for some remedies…

Remedy #1: Allocate time

One of the reasons I stumbled (inwardly) over the selling section in my call is that I’d allocated one hour and we were running over. I don’t like to break my word on timings (blame my part-German heritage!) and was concerned I would inconvenience the callers.

Actually, when I look back at the stats, I see that callers stayed for an average of 70 minutes, with a couple staying 81 or 87 minutes. They were engaged and keen to hear what I was talking about, including the selling bit, because they recognised that what I was offering was speaking directly to them and their needs.

Allocate 75 minutes for your call if it consists of 60 minutes of content and 15 minutes of describing your new service. If you’re giving a talk and your slot is 90 minutes, then as you prepare your content, allow time for Q&A and allow a chunk of time for passing around your mailing list sign-up sheet, or booking people in for consultations.

Consider your call to action part to be equally as valid as the other content you’re delivering and build in that time when planning your free offering.

Remedy #2: Be transparent

When you listen to the recording of the call, you’ll hear me talk about two main qualities to help more people become your clients: Safety and Ease.

And as one wise caller points out, that applies to you, as business owner, as well as to your prospective clients. You need those qualities for yourself because business is fundamentally pretty damn scary.

The way I would have felt more safety and ease when I moved to the sales element of the class? Transparency.

I could have said something like: “I hope you’ve enjoyed this valuable free content. I’m now going to spend ten minutes walking you through the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme because I want to make sure that you have enough information if you’re ready to take the next step and get support”.

Anyone who wasn’t interested could have left the call, or stopped listening to the recording, and anyone who was interested would have stayed with me. I’d have known that, even if only one person stayed listening, I’d have their full attention.

You’ll hear me doing this to some extent on the call but not quite enough for me to feel totally relaxed and comfortable about taking the time.

As with the other strategies I teach on the class, it’s often one very small action – one line on a flyer or one 30-second voicemail message on your phone – that can make all the difference in terms of how easily you’re able to help new clients.

You have full permission

Considering that people are opting in to your marketing communications, without anyone forcing them, and considering that you’re in business, you’re allowed to sell. In fact, you have to sell otherwise you won’t stay in business.

You’re not a sleazy marketer trying to make a quick buck. You’re a service professional who loves to help others – so don’t apologise for communicating that. People need your help and they need to know what you’re selling.

What do you think – should we apologise for selling? Does that part of being in business feel uncomfortable to you? Have you held back from letting people know about services that could help them?

Leave a comment below and let us know.

And here’s my call to action

1. If you’ve already signed up for the Help More People Become Your Clients call, put aside 75 minutes and listen to the audio that arrived in your inbox today. Not signed up yet? Want to help more people become your clients? You can still get the recording; register here.
2. If the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme that I describe on the call sounds like just what you’ve been looking for, come and read more about it and see who else has benefited and book your free consultation by filling out the form on this page.

Important: The early-bird price ends Wed 30th November; save £150.

There you go. Selling. No apology.

Want to receive alerts about these blog posts to your inbox, plus hear about special offers? Subscribe to my free newsletter here.

© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

Right? (If it’s quite a normal occurrence for you, then I’m curious!)

I’ve been eating über-healthily these past six months, following Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet and heard that colonics can give you a fresh slate, clearing the backlog of gunk that’s sitting around in your intestine.

However, the phone call I had with a colonic hydrotherapist brought home to me how self-employed practitioners can push eager clients away.

Here’s how we started…

Me: “Oh hi, so I’m interested in having colonics”.
Her: “Yes…?”

Ouch.

When a potential client calls you, don’t make them work for it. Reassure them that they’re in the right place and that you’re going to guide them through from there. Take charge – for example:

Me: “Oh hi, so I’m interested in having colonics”.
Her: “Ah, that’s great. You’re speaking to the right person. Tell me what’s inspired your interest…”

Get curious, ask questions, find out why this person is calling. Make it about them.

We continued…

Me: “Uh… So what are the benefits of having colonics?”

See – we start on poor footing. When I asked this question, I wasn’t really asking this question. With the onus on me to lead the conversation, it was a polite conversational gambit – but my actual question was: “What are the benefits of me having colonics?” This is a question the therapist could have answered proactively, once she’d understood a little more about my situation.

Instead, she replied:

“Well, some people want to lose weight. That can work. Um… all kinds of things, really.”

Your prospective client doesn’t care about generic benefits. They want to know: “Is this the right support for me? What will happen for me as a result of investing time, energy and money with you?”

Because this therapist hadn’t found out anything about me, she couldn’t offer tangible outcomes that I could relate to and map on to my own needs. I’m not interested in losing weight so her response didn’t mean anything to me.

Imagine how much more powerful it would have been if she’d replied:

“You’ve been following this super healthy diet right? Well, I had a client like you who [details] and she found that [details].”

Move away from talking about your modality, and focus on your prospective client instead.

And we ended…

This therapist had come to me via a personal recommendation so I was giving her the benefit of the doubt until we got to the question:

Me: “So, where did you train?”
Her: “[pause] Ah, I’ve forgotten the name. It was down in Devon… or was it Dorset…? [longer pause] It was very good, though”.

Any sense of safety I might have been holding on to disappeared. There wasn’t a hope in hell that I’d let someone get me half naked without telling me why they were qualified to do so.

It’s vital to reassure your prospective client that you know what you’re doing and that you have credibility and experience. This therapist’s response was baffling – was she not expecting someone to ask this question and that they would be looking to feel confident in her abilities?

Stop pushing clients away

This woman is possibly very good at what she does. She probably has an earnest desire to serve. She just hasn’t learnt how to do business in a client-focused way and this meant that she threw obstacle after obstacle in front of someone who was asking for her help.

People say “It’s a recession, that’s why I’m not getting clients” but that’s often not accurate.
I was an eager prospective client. I knew what I wanted. I was willing to pay. I just needed to find someone who showed me it was safe to say “yes”.

Your work might not involve putting tubes inside people’s rectums but it’s still wise to convey safety. Whether you’re designing, editing, coaching, healing, gardening or teaching yoga, bear in mind that a person in need has a degree of vulnerability and they need to feel confident that you’re going to take care of them. Whether they’re investing £5 or £5,000, they need to feel that they’re walking forward onto solid ground.

So, think through how you can make it safe enough for people to say “yes” to working with you. How could you answer the phone? What could you record as a voicemail message? What could your first email to them say? How could you reassure a prospective client that they’ll be in capable hands?

And I’d love to know what you think. Have you walked away from getting help because you didn’t feel safe? Have you put structures in place for ensuring people don’t do that with you? Leave a comment below, let us know…

Bonus: FREE teleclass

Do you want more people to say “yes” to working with you? This is such an important topic that I’ve decided to go into more detail in a FREE public teleclass: How To Help More People Become Your Clients. The live call will take place on Monday 21st November, 8pm (UK) and if you can’t make that time, do register anyway as you’ll receive the audio recording.

Find out more and register here: FREE teleclass: How To Help More People Become Your Clients

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

Do you want to help everyone, everywhere, in every way?

Uh-oh. Although that sounds wonderful, it’s sadly one of the quickest ways of not getting clients.

In this 3-minute video, you’ll discover why this is one of the most common roadblocks for self-employed coaches and complementary therapists. You’ll also find a way of making it far easier for your ideal clients to say “yes” to working with you – and to refer you on to more ideal clients.

Watch here:

What do you think – is the “I help everyone” approach working for you, or not so much? Have you identified those people who need you the most, and what difference has that made? Leave a comment below, let us know…

No idea who you want to help?

It can be frustrating to be told you need to “pick a niche” but not know how you actually do that!

We delve deeply into this topic in Class 2 of the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme. It’s quite normal to be resistant to what feels like narrowing down your niche. I hold that you’re actually the guardian angel for certain people and so it’s an act of love and generosity to define and take a stand and build your business with them as your focus.

If the “I help everyone” approach isn’t working out so well for you, you can instead discover how to create a needs-based business where clients (and money) flow to you with more ease.

Places are now being snapped up for the next programme (starting January 2012) so come and check out the details here. (Feel free to ask any questions about the programme in the comments box below.)

NB Early Bird price available until 30th November; save £150. Book your free consultation by completing the enrollment form you’ll find on the webpage.

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

I love being a megaphone – amplifying the reach of excellent services which more people should know about.

But what difference would it make if I were getting paid for doing this?

And what difference would it make if you were getting paid for spreading the word about me?

Earlier this year, I tentatively started a referral reward system. I invited a few dozen people who were already spreading the word about my work to register as referrers so that they could receive gratitude payments: 10% of whatever their friend or colleague paid me.

The intention was to shower these people with appreciation. They were helping my business grow and it felt like they deserved to share in my profits.

Some people were delighted by the idea and registered straight away. Others said they weren’t comfortable receiving the 10% themselves but registered in the name of their favourite charity or organization.

And others said they didn’t want any money, that the good karma of spreading the word was enough. Some even said they hated the idea of getting paid, that it made them feel ‘icky’.

This, of course, got me thinking. Was the ‘ickiness’ because giving feels good but receiving can feel uncomfortable? And if this were the case, should I be taking a stand and insisting that it’s okay for good people to receive money?

Or was there more to consider, in terms of what happens when we add the money dynamic in with word-of-mouth referrals?

I became hesitant about rolling the system out more widely until I got clear on my position.

I’m clear that I’m unclear

I’m passionate that money should flow towards those who do good. But should that just apply when the person is offering a paid-for service like coaching, acupuncture or yoga? Or could spreading the word count as ‘doing good’ and you could be financially thanked for that?

Should saying nice things about a service be ‘pure’, with no money motive? But that suggests that money makes things dirty, which I don’t believe. And there’s a delicate but important distinction between paying someone for spreading the word, rather than to spread the word.

One way of keeping it clean is to insist upon transparency: that when the referrer mentions me, they fully disclose that they receive these gratitude payments. But that doesn’t change the fact that we believe a friend’s recommendation of a service because they have no agenda other than to help us, as opposed to a salesperson on a commission. Does knowing money is involved skew the trustworthiness of an endorsement?

I have lots of questions so I decided: what better than to open the discussion up to you? Maybe you heard about my work via a recommendation or perhaps you’re already out there, spreading the word about me (thank you!). Maybe you’re an affiliate for other services or perhaps you’ve considered this minefield in relation to promoting your own business.

So, what do you think?

What system could I put in place for encouraging people to spread the word about my services and thanking them for doing so? It has to feel good for me, for the people referring and for the people hearing about me.

And, moreover, what kind of system could you have, as you expand the reach of your own business and acknowledge your ‘megaphone’ people?

It’s a rich topic for discussion – so leave a comment below, let us know…

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011

But is that just what to expect when you go self-employed? Or is there another way?

In this short video interview, watch the beautiful Johanna Best of www.miss-best.com sharing how you can boost your vitality and find the energy and zing to do what you need to grow your business.

Yoga. Walks in nature. Green juice. Meaningful conversations. What’s your fuel? Leave a comment below, let us know.

And what do you think – do your food and exercise choices matter? Is it harder – or easier – to look after your health when you’re self-employed? What makes the biggest difference to your daily energy levels? Start or join the discussion below.

Book your place now! – High Energy For Entrepreneurial Women

Have you heard about the wonders of ‘raw food’ but don’t yet know how it can help you? Is your body craving some attention? Is it time you nurtured yourself and recharged your batteries?

Then come and hang out with me and other passionate self-employed women at this London workshop on Sunday 27th November. Yoga, nutritional advice and goal-setting plus networking with like-minded inspirational entrepreneurs PLUS a delicious energizing lunch & desserts. Led by Johanna of www.miss-best.com and Rosanna (my sister!) of www.rosannagordon.com and with sumptuous vegan raw catering by Blanka of www.gracefullyraw.co.uk

Book here: http://bit.ly/HighEnergyWorkshop

Once you’ve booked, email Johanna and she’ll whizz you over a FREE copy of her wonderful ‘Loving Life, Loving Desserts’ e-book, worth £9.99.

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011