I had a BLAST talking with Andy Epstein about strategies for keeping focus, being creative and leading with your strengths in corporate (or new to you) environments. Please listen in, tell me your experiences, ask questions and share ideas in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Struggles+Strengths=Strategies
2. Conference Connecting: You’ve got their business card, now what? (Part 2 of 3)
3. Lead with what’s JUICY!

Melanie Orndorff wants you to Rock Unemployment! I want you to rock your passions and get what you want! We talked about how to create your PitchPerfect! introduction as you look for new gigs, seek out clients and build a community of evangelists!

Listen to me and Melanie talk cattle prods, tattoos and values. OH, and yes, how to pitch yourself! (N.B. I offer a special discount during this recording. . .so, listen for the secret word!) While you are there, sign up for Rock Unemployment tips and check out the blog.

What do you say when someone says, “what do you do?” How do you lead with what’s juicy? Share your stories, questions and ideas in the comments.

Prism photo of Jean Kim by Dyana Valentine

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Are you working for free?

Are you “on sale?” Can you think of one job or project that you are either not getting paid enough for or aren’t sure what to charge for?

Are you asking for it (money, that is)?

How much do you charge for your services? Does it vary—wildly? Do you find yourself lowering your prices?

What are you afraid of?

1. Some of my clients worry about losing an opportunity. Others feel that they are not worth what the current market will bear.
2. Do you worry that you will offend a potential client or get a reputation for gouging?
3. Others may fear getting the job, because they will earn less money than it will take to actually perform the services.

Where do you go from here?

1. If you are worried about losing a job, I wonder: what will you give up to invest in the project versus having the client invest in your skills and talents? Does it promote client retention? Is it a one-time discount to a very special, long-term client?
2. Do you have a reputation for being a “Yes, of course I’ll do it,” person? If you think this client is calling you because you always drop your price for fear of looking like a Selly Tavales, PAUSE. Is this why you want clients to call? Imagine a neon sign above your head that says, “On Sale–Always .” Are you okay with that?
3. Figure out if the gig is REALLY up your alley and worth your sale price. Does the project excite you? Would it help an amazing organization do something really wonderful? Does this particular job put you in the spotlight in a unique way? Are you chomping at the bit to strut your stuff, with these clients, at this time? How do you calculate your hourly rate? If you don’t know, check out this terrific interview with Ilise Benun–she’ll steer you right (full disclosure, I chime in on that radio show, too).

Now, think back to that client, job or project–are you gonna take the gig?
Will you reconsider putting yourself on sale?

Here are some incredible resources to support you as you wind your way through these challenges:
Ilise Benun and Peleg Top go deeper into this challenge and give fantastic strategies for creative freelancers in their newest offering: Pricing and Marketing Secrets.
If you are interested in a more spiritual approach to money in general and pricing your services from the heart, check out Mark Silver. Colleen Wainwright highly recommends him and I think she knows her stuff, so I’m passing along her recommendation.
For those of you building an online presence and may need interesting ways to monetize that work, check the how to make money from a blog post Chris Brogan’s community-minded, business-savvy site.

Your turn:
When do you struggle with money, setting fees or discussing money with clients?
Do you have any interesting strategies to share?

Photo by timparkinson, used under a Creative Commons license.

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Dear Fabulous Followers, Subscribers and fellow truth seekers,

I have had the privilege of being the first of many incredible interviews hosted by Danielle LaPorte. I tell the truth about my addiction to being busy and call MYSELF out, for a change!

Enjoy her and let me/her know what you think.

Burning Questions with Dyana Valentine.

Related posts:

1. Lead with what’s JUICY!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pitch Perfect: 3 Steps to your perfect pitch

Ever find yourself in a panic when someone asks, “What do you do?” Here are 3 easy steps to take to create a perfect pitch, elevator speech or blurb. Please make comments and let me know your ideas for creating a perfect pitch. Ideas in this video are adapted from a tool developed by Colleen Wainwright and used with permission. Find out more about how fabulous SHE is at communicatrix.com.

Related posts:

1. Pitch Perfect: How-To
2. Pitch Perfect: LIVE! 7/17, 1p, Pacific
3. How-To: Get a Project GOING!

Have you felt like you are dragging a bag of leaky onions around behind you? Do you have a list of struggles, complaints, to dos, woes as long as your arm? I get it, really. I made an art out of dragging that stinky pile of rotten veggies around. I was 100% focused on that other shoe dropping any second—so much so that I couldn’t celebrate my accomplishments. YIKES!

I came face-to-face with a realization that I was sick of hearing myself bitch. I made my list of struggles into WHO I was being (in addition to what I wasn’t doing for myself). I wasn’t interested (at ALL) in that version of me. One of the key lessons I learned doing my masters’ in Community Psychology is that we do better, achieve more and are healthier when we focus on what we CAN do versus what we can’t do. Okay, so you’ve heard all of this before, be positive, you’ll get more bees with honey, keep a stiff upper lip. What’s different here is that I’m not going to tell you to ignore your struggles, but to use them for GOOD.

Get going! Okay—so here’s something to play with. Feel free to use this worksheet or 3×5 cards or paper or your fabulous brain to play my game, Struggles+Strengths=Strategies:

List all the issues, conflicts and delayed decisions you have going on in the Struggles column. Then, list all those amazing things about you: your talents, savory skills, or anything you get complimented for, under Strengths. Now, take a Struggle and pair it with a Strength, any strength, and let your creative juices flow! Create as many Strategies as you can, a “could do” list that may help you turn your Struggle into a success!

How’d it work for you? Did you find any surprise strengths? Strategies? Get stuck? Ask a friend to help you play, post your questions and comments below so we can all learn from your greatness.

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Image by frischmilch, used with permission via Creative Commons License

Have you ever felt nervous starting a new project, job or adventure? Wondered how to put your best foot forward on the first day? How about two weeks in?

When communicating with others, you are constantly demonstrating your intentions. If you can get clear about your intentions: which you have put on the wall, you can communicate them clearly. Here are some tools rocking it out:

1. SHOW UP, Attendance/Accountability:
Don’t be on time—be early;
Do what you say you will do;
Be prepared: find out what is required.

2. BE CLEAR, Phone/E-Mail/In-Person:
Phone: your cell is your business line now, plan out what you will say on someone’s voicemail, consider your policy on responding to messages (is the work culture one where everyone returns calls within 2 hours or 24 hours?), be shrewd when making your ringtone selection;
E-Mail: make a very clear Subject Line, be sure to include your Contact Info, make a Draft (without recipient’s email in the To line) first, a note on blind cc’ing: either copy all openly or forward your e-mail with a note indicating why you are copying them separately;
In-Person: Use same principles, be clear, respond to points on the table and keep it professional.

3. GET WHAT YOU WANT. Really, you can!
Don’t leave until you got what you went there for;
When in doubt, ask for help OR hang back and imitate person next to you, act cool and take notes;
Keep an eye out for one another and share resources.

Good luck!

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