I was having drinks with fellow coaches after a conference. We were laughing and chatting around a circular pub table when one of them said she’d been watching my business focus shift over the last few years as I’d moved from talking about the Transition Town movement and Green Party MPs to “how to make money”.

Passionately, she looked me in the eye. “You’re a parasite! You sold out.”

I could have been offended. But the funny thing is, I understood where she was coming from. If I had been her, I might have felt exactly the same. I might have thought that people who make money by helping others make money were like players in a pyramid scheme.

And it dawned on me: “Oh… you think I care about the money! You think that because I help people make money, my passion is for the pound signs. You think I stopped caring about all those things I used to talk about – like stewardship of our planet and community cohesion and personal empowerment – and started caring about money instead.”

Have you thought this too… about yourself?

I heard this perspective from the lips of someone else. You might have had a similar experience, or you might have noticed an internal dialogue along these lines, a little voice in your head saying that you’ll be judged as “selling out” if you start making really good money doing this good work. That your generosity and big heart will be polluted by focusing on profitability. That you won’t be a good person anymore if you care about making money. That you might go for a drink and get called a parasite.

So, this feels like a great opportunity to articulate the extent to which I care about money, and why it’s so important for you to focus on profitability.

Ready?

It’s precisely because you’re not doing it for the money that means you need to make good money doing this good work.

I’ll say that again: you’re not doing it for the money, and so it’s important that you make money.

You’re not doing it for the money – and yet until you earn a solid, consistent income doing what you love, you can’t keep doing this work. You have to do other work that is less fulfilling in order to pay the bills.

It’s not about the money and yet until you make money, it’s about the money. See the irony?

We need to address the money piece so that we can get back to what it’s really about. By keeping an eye on the profitability of our ventures, we can enable our work to truly be not about the money.

We have to allow the money struggle to fade away. We have to allow the other soul-depleting jobs to drop away. When you sell out your workshops, your sessions, your classes – that’s the only kind of selling out that is happening.

When you sell out in this way, you can forget about the money and focus on what truly matters. (Which is what – for you? Just pause right now and remember and know that you won’t lose this passion when the money starts flowing in. In fact, you’ll have far more brain space for it.)

By paying attention to money, we actually make money less important.

Here’s a parallel example… I used to lead an LGBT (les-bi-gay-trans) youth group in Cambridge. We met every Tuesday evening in a cosy room with sofas, games, books and hot drinks and we’d chat about school, careers, new romances, upcoming events, family issues – all the usual teenage stuff. One day, one of the boys said to me, “I love coming here precisely because it’s not about being gay. That bit which always marks me out as different at school? It’s just invisible here. It’s normal, it’s a given.” Because sexual orientation was the primary focus of the group, our time together became about everything other than sexual orientation.

By focusing on money to a healthy degree, you can make your life’s path about everything other than making money. You’ll find yourself free to focus on the people you are here to serve, the passion you are here to share, the unique message that is yearning to come through you.

I have a vision that one day it’ll be so normal for people to earn a healthy living doing work they love that I never have to write or speak about this subject again! Mine will be a redundant perspective, because it’ll be so obvious to everyone that it’s the only way a happy, thriving society can work.

And until then, while it’s still a rarity, I’ll keep doing this work and helping you with the kind of “selling out” that matters.

Over to you

Is it “selling out” to make good money doing good work? Is this an internal belief, or one you’ve inherited from others?

Or have you found that receiving a healthy income doing what you love is liberating and allows you to focus on what matters most?

Leave a comment below, join the discussion.

p.s. I have space for two more 1-1 coaching clients. If you’re keen to make enough money so you can dedicate your time to what matters most, click here for details. Or come and be inspired by a few of these Success Stories to get a sense for what coaching support could help you achieve.

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

And yet, if she doesn’t let people know about the workshop, she feels she’s letting them down. She knows she needs to give them the opportunity to hear about it and decide for themselves if they want the benefits. She also knows that if she doesn’t sell enough places, the workshop can’t run and she won’t get paid and she’ll feel less confident about leaving the job she hates.

How can Alice promote this great offering without becoming an annoying spammer?

And how can you promote your products and services, authentically and freely?

The key is to promote to an email list that has given you permission to do so

You’ve probably heard marketing coaches (like me) banging on about your “email list” like it’s the be all and end all for growing your business. And in many ways it is. One reason is that a professionally managed email list (in other words, using software like Aweber or Mailchimp) is one of the strongest vehicles for “permission marketing”.

Let’s backtrack… Once upon a time, the world became saturated with what’s known as “interruption marketing”. A lot of the marketing messages we’re confronted with on a daily basis would fall into this category – for example, an advert on the side of a bus, in a magazine or on TV, or a flyer you get through the door.

These “interrupt” your experience. You didn’t ask to see a large film poster on the bus stop, you were enjoying looking at the scenery going past. You may have absolutely zero interest in that film – for example, it’s a horror film and you hate horror films.

“Permission marketing”, on the other hand, is about communicating with people who have said they want to hear from you. They voluntarily give you their email address (for example, by signing up on your website or on a sheet of paper you pass round at an event) because they want you to send them useful content. They know that much of this content will be free (like blog posts, videos, webinars or teleclasses) and that some will be information about paid offerings. That suits them just fine because the services you’re offering are likely to be useful for them – they’ll be solutions to needs they have.

If you have felt uncomfortable emailing people about your offerings, it’s important to check your set-up. If you’re using your regular email account (like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or AOL) and are sharing the information with all your contacts, it can feel like spamming because those people haven’t asked to receive the information. It’s unsolicited and they also don’t have an easy, polite way of unsubscribing.

With a professionally managed email list, people can easily unsubscribe. They can take their permission away at any point – namely, by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any email you send.

This means that anyone who stays on your list is telling you that you can keep communicating with them. So, do!

Disclaimer: Maybe some interruption – or disruption – is okay

Even with permission marketing, you are still interrupting in a way – in a good way. You are interrupting the reader’s norm with the message that something else is possible for them. You are disrupting their notion that things have to stay as they are: stuck, painful, unsatisfactory or unfulfilling.

This was an insight I got from one of my brilliant one-to-one coaching clients, Nancy Murphy Spicer, who supports women who are mothers to create space for their own life and passions. When promoting her new workshop Pamper Your Soul & Claim Your Passion she realised that her promotional messages had a positively disruptive impact. She says,

    “Maybe that’s what this work is about for me… disrupting the norms of how mums are expected
    to operate… giving endlessly and selflessly to others. Yes, I want to disrupt those notions!”

Could you disrupt the notion that back pain or RSI is forever? Could you disrupt the belief that divorce is the only solution? Could you disrupt the notion that writing a book is hard or that a stammer will always hold someone back?

Just as your subscribers are giving you permission to market to them, give yourself full permission to let others know about what you offer. Give yourself permission to disrupt their unsatisfactory norms. Take this as your mantra: “It’s okay to let people know I exist and that I have something of value to offer”.

Over to you

What ways of marketing are you already using that feel “permission” based? When marketing has felt icky, was it because permission wasn’t there? How do you imagine it would feel different to communicate with people who actively want to hear about what you offer? Leave a comment below, let us know…

(And if you’re a mum who’s aching for time for YOU, then do check out Nancy’s upcoming Pamper Your Soul & Claim Your Passion workshop, taking place on Saturday 19th May in London. Feel it will positively disrupt a way of being that doesn’t work for you? Book your place!)

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

She tried going to the gym and that worked for a while but it’s quite a drive from her house, plus she feels self-conscious exercising in front of people. She spent a fair amount on an exercise bike but it’s become somewhere to hang clothes; there’s a set of dumbbells languishing under her sofa, gathering dust.

So, she thinks personal training might be the answer. And in her city, there are several trainers who look pretty good, one of whom is even personally recommended to her and who she has emailed.

But she hasn’t hired anyone yet. (And this is a big deal for your business, as you’ll see.)

Alice could be the focus of viable business niche because she ticks the key three criteria:

1. She knows she has a need. (Acutely so, uncomfortably so.)
2. She’s prepared to take action towards meeting that need. (As well as spending time on previous purchases, she has recently spent hours Google-searching for local gyms, boot camps, trainers and exercise classes.)
3. She’s prepared – and able – to spend money to meet that need. (She earns a decent wage as a paramedic – about £27,000 per year – and has a good amount of disposable income.)

So, with these in place, why on earth hasn’t Alice hired a personal trainer already? She’s aware, she’s in action, she has the money – why not just commit and get moving?

Because Alice doesn’t want to look silly.

Alice is not silly. She’s a highly intelligent woman, excellent at her job and respected by her colleagues. When it comes to fitness, though, she can’t seem to crack it. And she’s not convinced that these slim, toned, smiley women in lycra are going to understand why it’s so hard for her. She’s got a sneaky suspicion they might actually laugh about her with their other slim, toned friends when they go out for drinks.

She’s also anxious about their recommended diet regime. They all say to eliminate coffee but she can’t imagine surviving her busy work day without her regular cups. She also wants to be able to celebrate a pending promotion by getting drunk, but all the trainers seem to insist on no alcohol.

She’s happy to exercise in her home but she’s worried a trainer will want to take her running outside; she gets on with her neighbours and doesn’t want them to see her red in the face and panting and to think differently of her.

Alice is a very ready buyer. She’s an easy-spender in many areas of life (when buying DVDs, books, holidays, art for her house) but with this area, she has a whole backpack of concerns. She’d need a massive dose of empathy and reassurance that she’s normal before she parts with her cash, but when she receives that, she’ll happily part with hundreds or even thousands of pounds to address this issue once and for all.

What does Alice have to do with your business?

Everything. Whatever your line of work, there is a large percentage of your potential ideal clients who really want what you’re offering, the price is fine for them (do not automatically drop it! Price is often a red herring) but who won’t reach out to you – and certainly won’t hire you – if they think they’ll look silly.

So, it’s very worth knowing the “silly” concerns that your prospective clients have. Do they feel too fat (or old, or inflexible, or pregnant, or recently out of cancer treatment) for yoga classes? Are they embarrassed about releasing wind while on your massage table? Are they worried coaching will get them even more confused than when they started? Are they unsure whether they can have reflexology because they have a verruca?

It’s 100% worth knowing these concerns. Your prospective clients think they’re silly and unusual; you know they’re quite normal and easily addressed.

In the group business-building teleprogramme I lead (Turn Your Passion To Profit), we tackle this. For example, in Classes 2 and 3, we identify those people you’d love to help who are ready to take action and spend money and we figure out how to find them. I’ll teach you a beautiful soft-sell way of getting into conversations with them and hear their concerns so that you can package what you do to meet their needs (Class 4). And in Class 5, we look at how to use empathy, understanding, reassurance and hope in your marketing so it’s easy for potential clients to say “yes” and pay you.

My people think they’re silly too

I’ve had so many conversations with women who are keen for business guidance, like-minded community and accountability, yet have concerns before committing to group programme support. Here are just a few (see if you can identify…):

• She doesn’t want her partner to say, “Hey, you just spent thousands of pounds of our family budget on training as a coach, osteopath, speech therapist [fill in the blank] – shouldn’t you earn some of that back before spending out again?”
• She worries she’s too far along the self-employment path (or too much of a beginner) to benefit fully
• She has no idea what a “teleprogramme” is (or she knows and dislikes technology, or fears she won’t get the hang of dialling in, or can’t understand how 12 people can all be heard on one phone line)
• Although she craves it, she’s nervous about group accountability. What if she can’t follow through and her group mates think she’s feeble?
• She’s seen there are fortnightly group calls and can’t make all the dates and times

I’ve been helping women go successfully self-employed for years and I’ve heard all these concerns plus dozens more. They’re not silly and they’re not unusual. The group programme is now running for the fifth time and if you want to speak with me about enrolling, please know: you won’t surprise me and I won’t think your concerns are “silly”.

Instead, when we chat, we’ll be able to discern which are valid reasons for not having this group support right now, and which questions I can quickly answer (for example: it doesn’t matter if you can’t make all the dates and times because each of the 12 group calls is recorded for you to download at any time.)

Make it your mission

Beautiful Alice wants to lose weight and she has a sneaky suspicion personal training is the way forward. But until she gets to see that her concerns are normal and can be easily answered, she’s going to stay where she is: stuck, carrying more weight than she’d like, not feeling as good about herself as she could.

Likewise, your potential clients want something that you can help with. So make it your mission to find out what they want, what concerns are getting in the way of them hiring your help, and reassure them that they are normal and their concerns are not so silly after all.

Over to you

When have you wanted to hire someone, or buy a product, but didn’t get your concerns answered? Did you part with your cash anyway, go elsewhere, or did your needs remain unmet?

How do you (or could you) reassure your prospective clients that their concerns are normal? How do you (or could you) show you understand and empathize with them?

Leave a comment below, let us know…

Want step-by-step business guidance?

If you love the idea of doing marketing in a way that’s about connection and hope and empathy and if you were intrigued (and relieved) by the idea of “soft-selling”, then check out the details of the group programme, fill out the form and let’s have that conversation > > (NB There are only 4 places left and we start in a few weeks so if you feel this might be what you’ve been looking for, do fill out the form now so we can speak as soon as possible. I’d love to connect with you.)

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

But, as one of the participants on my current Turn Your Passion To Profit programme recently asked, “What should you literally do when you’re there?”

Here are three keys to networking your socks off so your time is spent as effectively and enjoyably as possible:

1. Find ways to give

Let’s say you meet Amy at an event and you get chatting. Old-school networking would say to interact for a little while, make sure she has your business card, and move on so you can get round the whole room. The thing is: that approach isn’t particularly effective – or fun.

Instead, as you talk to Amy, find out as much as you can about her so you can answer the question, “How can I make this person’s life better?” Get curious about what Amy is looking for. What she cares about. What she’s up to in the world. What themes are showing up in her life. Anything in particular she’s struggling with.

As you listen, you’re likely to start getting a sense of where you could add something of value. Have you just watched a TED talk she’d really love? Do you know someone you could introduce her to? Have you read (or written!) a blog post that would be super helpful to her, or been to a restaurant or shop that’s a perfect for her style or interests?

Ask for her contact details so you can stay in touch after the event and make a note of what it is you want to send her, or who you want to connect her with – and when you get back home, do just that. Be useful, focus on giving.

2. Offer your missing person’s poster

Here comes that moment when Amy asks, “So, what do you do?” If you feel your stomach sink at the thought of having to make yourself sound interesting, here’s the key: Talk about your ideal clients, not you.

Through your words, you can paint a Missing Person’s Poster: a description of your ideal clients that carries with it the whisper of a question: “Have you seen this person?”

So, you might say, “Well, I work with working mums who feel frustrated and guilty about not spending enough time with their kids or at the office”. Or, “You know how healers can actually find the spiritual path pretty tough? And they get fed up with all the fluffy, wishy-washy platitudes they hear in the mind body spirit arena? Well, I love giving them the practical, down-to-earth support they need.” When Amy hears you describe your ideal clients in this way, she’ll naturally get thinking, “Oh, that’s me!” or “Oh, that’s my mum, my friend, my brother – you have to help them!”

I’ve been to several networking events this week and have met amazing practitioners. Now, when I meet a yoga addict who has had an injury and is desperate to get back on the mat, I’ll send them to Graham Stones for one of his specialist massages. When I meet a single woman who’s wondering why she’s not attracting the right partner, I’ll send them to Corinne Blum for her coaching support.

You know the experiment Pavlov did with the dog, the bell and the drooling? Make it your mission to be so clear about who you serve that when Amy (or whoever you’re talking to) meets your ideal client, she’ll instinctively think to refer them to you. (And she’ll be able to get back in touch with you or pass your details on because you got in contact with her straight after the event, remember?)

3. Think bigger

Tad Hargrave + Jason Stein hanging out at a networking event for conscious, heart-centred business owners

Think longer-term and also recognize that you are part of a much larger movement. For example, a doula, a Nonviolent communication teacher and an acupuncturist might all share a passion for parents-to-be staying in loving connection with each other during the last stages of pregnancy. A raw food teacher, a yoga teacher and a Five Rhythms teacher might align around the shared “your body is your temple” outlook. There is the possibility for magical win-win cross-referral wherever this happens.

Depending on the size of the event, you might not be able to speak with everyone. Instead, imagine yourself as a magnet, being attracted to (and attracting) those people who are most aligned with your bigger purpose. Rather than rushing round the room playing the numbers game, allow yourself to spend time connecting more deeply with people who feel like like-minded allies, soul brothers and sisters. (Not meeting any of these people at the networking events you’re going to? Choose other events!)

Your part in our jigsaw

Each of us has a group of the population to serve. We’re each one piece of the jigsaw. We each have our unique place in this interdependent web of life. So, go to networking events prepared to be inspired – to find out who else is out there, playing their role, doing something to make a slice of the world more beautiful. When they hear what you’re up to and who you’re set up to help, they will love to refer your ideal clients to you.

Over to you

How do you feel about networking events? What successes (or horror stories!) or tips would you like to share? Leave a comment below, let us know.

Not yet clear what your slice of the world is?

If you’re unsure how to articulate your Missing Person’s Poster because you don’t yet have clarity about your ideal clients and how you can help them, here are a few options:

• Listen to this FREE audio recording, “Do I Really Need A Niche?”
• Get the book Turn Your Passion To Profit which walks you through step-by-step how to identify and connect with those ideal clients who would love to pay you
• Check out the next group programme starting in a few weeks (and if it looks like the support you’re after, fill out the form on that webpage so we can have a conversation)

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

Are you wondering why you ever thought running a business was a good idea? Is fear, self-doubt or overwhelm eating you alive? If you’re finding it harder than you’d imagined to get started or stay committed, here are seven rocking reasons why it’s absolutely worth walking this path.

1. You get paid to grow

Okay, strictly speaking you get to claim your business expenses against tax. But much of that expenditure – travelling to meet an awesome new business contact, taking a training course about public speaking or creating your brand – has countless bonus features in terms of your personal growth. When you’re self-employed, you have a valid excuse to develop. Many of the books you used to buy for fun are now tax-deductible.

You also realize you are your greatest asset and therefore it’s not over-indulgent to spend time and money on healthy diet, exercise or self-care choices. Massage anyone?

2. You can’t get sacked

Sure, clients come and go but you’ll generally be working with different people from different avenues so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. In a recession, you can simply adapt your offerings so they’re bite-sized or more time-leveraged (for example, groups or products rather than just 1-1) and your self-employment ship can keep on sailing.

There’s great security in knowing you are resilient and flexible. You can move with your Tribe’s needs, finding resonant match after resonant match. The possibilities for earning income are endless.

3. You get to transform your mess into your message

I heard this from Suzanne Evans of Help More People and it’s so true. Any past struggles, misery, despair or failures all become fodder for creating a more positive present experience and helping others. (Check out this video from fellow coach Nicky Moran who was beeped off Britain’s Got Talent by Simon Cowell and has used her story to help us transform our relationship with failure.)

Your past becomes useful. It informs your story, provides your compelling “why”. It also deepens your empathy and compassion for others.

4. You can get up when you want

You can snuggle under the duvet on darker mornings or jump up with the early Spring sunshine. Whatever time you wake up, you’re excited about the day ahead, full of ideas and eager anticipation. No-one else dictates where you have to be at what time; you don’t have to contort to someone else’s schedule. If you work better at 6am or 11pm, then you can. You’re autonomous, independent, an adult.

You can choose to spend time outside, soaking up all-important Vitamin D and breathing in fresh air. You can fill your kitchen with your favourite foods and eat in tune with your hunger. You can build energizing exercise into your daily routine. You can sit in cafes with your laptop, drinking smoothies, or have lunch with a friend. You can take holidays when it suits you and you can fit your business around your family life.

5. You get to work with who you choose

Your ideal clients rock your world. They’re a delight to spend time with. You also get to surround yourself with amazing colleagues – both within your business when you grow and hire team members, and also like-minded fellow solopreneurs. You can meet such inspirational people through being self-employed and bask in the sense of collaborative, mutually supportive community.

Turn Your Passion To Profit group celebration lunch (2011)

Forget moaning, bitching and complaining at the office water cooler and instead imagine celebratory tweets and delicious get-togethers. You’ll find the most phenomenal people coming into your life when you’re aligned with your true path and the most authentic version of you.

6. Your self-esteem gets a massive boost

When you’re fully using your talents and receiving glowing feedback, your confidence goes through the roof. You find your true voice is what people are yearning to hear and that it’s okay to express all of you, with utter authenticity. You feel truly “on purpose”, doing the work you were born to do.

Research has found that lottery winners often don’t feel fulfilled. I believe that’s because one of our deepest needs is to contribute, to give our gifts and talents to help others and feel worthwhile. When you run a needs-based business, it’s so satisfying because you realize: “I matter”. You’re receiving a healthy income as you make a difference in others’ lives.

7. You get paid to do what you love

Isn’t that the dream? And it’s also real. It’s absolutely possible to earn a healthy, sustainable income through doing what comes naturally, what flows through you with passion and joy.

This means the future is exciting; you’re day by day living out your visions and goals. Retirement loses its appeal because you get to live the life you want now. And you feel proud that you are growing, emerging, evolving and creating the future you desire.

Take a moment to pause and soak up all of these reasons, knowing that we’ve barely scratched the surface. Self-employment is a rich journey; feel how all of this is possible for you, if you choose it.

Your turn

You know why self-employment rocks. You’re either walking this path or yearning to, so join the discussion – leave a comment below and let us know: What do you love about self-employment? What makes it worth it? Let’s celebrate what’s awesome – oh, and feel free to celebrate what’s awesome about you for walking it too!

I want you to be successfully self-employed

If you’re thinking, “Yeah, okay, I know why self-employment is so cool but I don’t know how to actually make it work”, then you’re in the right place. I’ve made it easy for you to get this ship sailing more smoothly.

** Special Valentines offer **
It’s time to lose the overwhelm and confusion and get clarity. Give yourself the gift of one “I-love-me” Clarity Session and I’ll give you one “I-love-you-back” session, totally for free. Self-employment rocks and I want you to be able to enjoy it so sign up here.

Want more?

If two sessions aren’t enough and you want the full ride, then the Turn Your Passion To Profit group programme may be perfect for you. Imagine 12 inspirational people, all committed to running a happy, profitable, successful business, getting on the phone together once a fortnight, discovering cool, easy-to-implement strategies for business-building, having “Aha!” moments and breakthroughs, and busting through procrastination. Imagine feeling confident that you know, step by step, how to get paying clients knocking at your door.

The group ride starts again in May so book your consultation now. Seriously, why would you wait? Simply fill out the questions at the bottom of this page and we”ll chat. Even if you decide it’s not the right time to do the course, I’ll have loved connecting with you and helping you get clarity about your next steps. Click through here > >

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

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 > >

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

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 person 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 people 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 people 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 people 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 people 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.

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© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2011