I was chatting with a friend the other day who, among other things, is a professional wallpaper installer. A local hotel had contacted her and asked for a bid to redo all the wall coverings in their halls. She knew that her price would be higher than others in town; in fact, she knew that her client was getting competing bids. But as we talked, she thought through what her client was actually paying for.
How to talk about price
One of the scariest things a solopreneur has to do is start the discussion of how much a project will cost. You might be having a great conversation with your client, in which you learn everything your client needs and you figure out how you can delight your client with your deliverable. Then comes the big moment where one of you has to start talking about cost….
Do you choke?
Think like a rock climber
I’m from Boulder, where there seem to be more professional rock climbers than people like me who like our feet planted firmly on terra firma. Whenever I drive up a canyon, I can see the tiny figures of people halfway up a sheer rock face, appearing to defy both gravity and common sense.
Our local newspaper has a regular column for rock climbers and a recent one caught my eye. Chris Weidner, in “Don’t just get stronger, get smarter“, offers four tips for mental toughness that seemed directed at us solopreneurs as much as it was to those about to scale the side of a mountain.
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Even the Death Star is client-focused
If you are a true Star Wars fan, you know who Colin Cantwell is. For the rest of us, let me introduce you to a concept designer whose ability to be entirely client-focused landed him a really awesome gig.
How’s your solopreneur mindset?
I have often wondered about why some people succeed as solopreneurs and others don’t. Almost everyone I run into has at least the basic skills needed for their business; it isn’t that they can’t do the work. Rather, I see attitude and approach as the distinguishing factors between successful business owners and those who never seem to get the traction they need.
Logo or no?
I used to advise new solopreneurs to invest in a professionally-designed logo – something that reflects well on their business and conveys a certain permanence. And while I have one that I use for invoices and proposals on letterhead, I haven’t used a logo on a business card for years.
Improving your ca$h flow
Summer is a slow time for many solopreneurs; our clients are on vacation or taking Fridays off, and they just aren’t calling as often as they do during the rest of the year. That means that many solopreneurs are facing a cash crunch this summer. Our recurring expenses — utilities, ISP, health insurance, etc. — still need to get paid, but the income isn’t coming in. If you were able to anticipate this slow-down, you put money aside to cover your basic expenses when your income is not coming in. But even with preparation, it’s nice to get the cash flow going again. The following are a few thoughts on how to ease cash crunches.
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A tag line that works
I just saw a car with a large sign for a local housecleaning service, The Cleaning Fairies. The tag line was perfect:
We give you your weekends back !
I live near Boulder, and there’s nothing Boulderites value more than free time we can spend in the mountains — skiing, hiking, kayaking, climbing, biking — anything to enjoy our 300+ days of sunshine every year. (And yes, when I saw their car, I was playing hookey and on my way up to the mountains, just because I’m self-employed so I can.) The message I took from the tag line is “I know how much you value your free time, and isn’t that worth way more than the cost of a cleaner?”
What better way to sell the value of your service than by reminding people of a better way they could be spending their time?
How do you describe your service to prospective clients? Do you talk about what you do or how you do it, or do you talk about the amazing thing that happens when you are done?
Who’s showing up for work?
We solopreneurs are CEOs of our business, but that stands for Chief Everything Officer. We are responsible for everything from strategic planning to marketing to sales to accounting to – oh, yeah – whatever it is that we charge our clients for.
Marketing Vignettes
Have you ever struggled to describe what you do so your prospective clients really hear you? Do they look at your web site and say “Oh, that’s nice” or do they immediately recognize you as the person who can help solve their most important problem?
One way to talk about your services memorably is by telling a story. My 10-Vignettes Exercise, which takes no more than an hour or two to complete, helps clarify how you describe who you are and what you do for your clients. And if you don’t have any clients yet, use this as an exercise to picture your prospective clients.