Dyana Valentine » entrepreneur

Passion+Push=Profit

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:42:32 +0000

Chris Guillebeau and Pam Slim kick some serious butt. If you don’t know them already, you are missing out. Chris is the king of circumnavigation (with the miles to prove it) and non-conformity. Pam is your get out of cubicle jail free card. I’m doing their $100 Business Forum this month. The basic idea is to take 28 days, 150 cool people and a c-note and get expert help start a business, launch a product or just get your head in the (small biz) game. And if you are the type to do it at home without 150 witnesses, then you gotsta check out Danielle LaPorte’s new sizzlefest:

Alrighty, I’m on the $100BF the first two days, buzzing around pollinating and getting the lay of the land. It’s really energizing connecting with cool people, being nosy, and most of all, giving this time and focus to MY BUSINESS!! Yes, as much as I preach about it, this is rare for me and I’m NOT proud of this. I’m committed to doing more of this and sticking to it, dangit!

Okay, enough intro–here’s the good story. I’m connecting with this cool cat from Australia who is talking about all of the great work he’s doing. He has several projects, interests and directions he COULD pursue. While I am reading his introduction, I get a ZING! from one project he listed. BTW: I’m being vague because I didn’t get his permission to chat up HIS bid-ness, okay? So, I write to him and ask which idea is the most passionate for him; he names the Zinger. I start to get all butterfly-y and excited. THEN, he ups the game and says that not only is that the one he feels the most heat for, but it is scary and challenging, too. I start to prance in place a little. Here comes the money shot. He says, “it’s also financially the most likely to give a clear transition away from the day job.” We have a WINNER!! It’s the triple-threat of what’s possible:
PASSION+PUSH=PROFIT
It’s juicy because it’s true.

What comes to mind when you read the following ideas?

PASSION: something that drives you, wants doing, really rings YOUR bell (and yes, if it bugs other people, but still makes you giddy, then you are on the right topic)
PUSH: there’s an edge to it, maybe it’s a recurring dream or a project that moves from back burner to front and back again, but never really leaves your mind. There’s an element of thrill, challenge, and eek! to it.
PROFIT: this is not all about money. The profit is really about the deep benefits: satisfaction, peace, exhilaration, more time with family, less time with family, living in a van traipsing around the country.

What does your triple-whammy look like? What are the things in your life that turn you on, are a bit scary(good scary) and that are your ticket outta jail? Tell us in the comments.

Photo by Beija Flor, used under a Creative Commons license.

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Keep Your Creativity in a Corporate World

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:14:09 +0000

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.

Are you (always) “on sale?”

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:01:50 +0000

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?

Some of my clients worry about losing an opportunity. Others feel that they are not worth what the current market will bear.
Do you worry that you will offend a potential client or get a reputation for gouging?
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?

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?
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?
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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Pitch Perfect: How-To

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:04:13 +0000

WOW! I was on a terrific show on blogtalkradio today! Colleen Rice Nelson has a show dedicated to supporting self-employed folks and she invited me to give a Pitch Perfect workshop today. Three wonderful volunteers, Walt, Melissa and Heather made the process fantastically interactive–we got so into it, we even had and after-show where other folks called in for one-on-one help! Download the show, listen in, subscribe to Colleen’s show if you want more great resources (if I do say so myself). If you are really game-on, then try out my handy-dandy worksheet.

I have tried blurb workshops, elevator speech how-tos online and found one that really works! Colleen Wainwright (yes, I have several Colleens in my life–and they are all keepers!) and I worked together and what came out of that process is Colleen’s great system for talking about a business or project. It boils down to three prompts:
Are you this person?
With this problem?
I can help, here’s how:

My adaptation of Colleen’s questions are:

What is one challenge your clients struggle with?
Describe one characteristic that makes you right for them?
What’s one product you offer or specific method you use to help them?

Fill in the blanks for yourself, your business or your product and you have the beginnings of a great pitch. Once you have answered the questions, then comes the creative part. Write a two-sentence summary of the answers and this is your draft pitch. Play around with it!

After I used Colleen’s process, I developed several pitches. BUT it didn’t stop there—I still really struggled with delivering my pitches and, for a while, nothing felt right. SO, I looked into WHAT REALLY WORKED for me, and in my style. I came up with these 6 principles for a Perfect Pitch as an add-on to Colleen’s excellent strategy:

Remember: if you focus on even ONE of the Perfect Pitch Principles, you WILL make progress!

1. Start where you are: be nice to yourself! It takes time to break into your pitch—look at it like a new pair of shoes. Wear your pitch around the house a bit before you take it on the road.

2. Lighten up! If you aren’t having fun doing what you’re doing—how can others hire you? A pitch doesn’t have to be deep or serious—it just has to be clear and easy to understand. Use other folks’ or your clients’ comments to spice it up.

3. Test it: practice your pitch with strangers or really candid friends and colleagues—select folks who ARE NOT your prospective clients—you won’t be as pressured to perfection AND they will be honest with you! If you ask friends, be sure to ask the ones who WILL tell you your butt looks fat in those jeans!

4. Focus on the OTHER: by starting with what problem you are here on earth to solve, it becomes about your potential clients, not about YOU. Remember, others are buying your product or service to help themselves.

5. Pitch & Pause: practice saying your pitch, quickly, if it’s your introduction, cut it down to 10 seconds or LESS, then WAIT. Allow the person you are talking to ask questions and react (remember: it’s about THEM!)

6. Commit to your pitch for a month: nothing is permanent, you have the pitch process now—it’s yours, you can always try a new one. Allow your pitch to settle in. Take notes on people’s responses. Did more people get confused by it than those who got what you were saying?

What’s your perfect pitch? Put it in the comments and get some feedback!

Client Tell: Brownie Blockade, Part 2

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:06:05 +0000

Signature Bites, by Alison Tucker

Client Tell is a guest-post series from clients who have worked with me and want to share their process. The first series is a 5-part story from Alison Turner, Brownie Boss of Signature Bites, a small-batch, handmade and all natural gourmet brownie company. Let us know what you think of her story–and her brownies!

First step to breaking through the “brownie blockade”
- By Alison Turner

I approached my first phone session with Dyana with a good deal of trepidation. I was fearful of sounding like a “corporate snob”, of not appearing committed enough to my brownie cause, of coming across as “too knowing” about the ins-and-outs of starting a business when I’ve no proven track record.

Thankfully though, my desire to connect with someone who could help me break through my “brownie blockade” was more powerful – and so while it occurred to me to worm my way out of our initial conversation and put forth another self-imposed STOP sign, I forged ahead and made the call.

Dyana was brilliant at getting to the heart of things very quickly, and very painlessly! Her probing questions promptly validated my self-diagnosis for throwing out one excuse after another for not having developed my business as far as I proclaim I have wanted to. “It’s not a lack of self confidence,” she said, “It’s about shaking the anxiety loose and growing in a controlled fashion.”

Ah, control. That word comes up in my personal life too. My ever-supportive fiancé commented on my control issues this past weekend in an entirely different context, so I shouldn’t be surprised that this spills into my business persona as well. But what to do about it? When does too much control become a bad thing? How do I control my control problems?

Dyana was also quick to identify my very practical nature and approach to life, and encouraged me to start segregating the practical side of my brain from my brownie plans and aspirations. It’s almost as if my practical mind has a choke-hold on my ambitions, circumventing development because I’m trying to control the outcome of next steps instead of just moving forward.

I was also very encouraged to have Dyana explore my work-style preferences. I’m a social person, and historically, I’ve really enjoyed the corporate office atmosphere and working in teams with smart people. I fear my quest for entrepreneurship will leave me lonely and bereft of social interaction.

I wasn’t quite sure where all of this was heading, and how we would work through it. So when “homework” was assigned, I smiled to myself and like the good student I always was, I wrote down my assignments:

1.    Come up with a brownie vision – how to take it from a one-woman collective to something much bigger and doesn’t have me as a lonely baker!
2.    Map out my collective ambition and develop an organization chart. Define the ideal business model – is it Patagonia-style or Vermont Country Store?
3.    Develop a target list of buyers, both “sure bets”, “maybe’s” and “fantasy” buyers.

But I think my most enjoyable, and easiest homework assignment – what Dyana called my “bonus” task – will be listing all those STOP signs I have no problem coming up with – just watch me fill up an entire sheet of paper with those!

Give Alison some feedback, add your own story and add your own blockades or blockade-busters below.

Find out more about Alison and order some brownies!

Conference Connecting: It’s All In the Wrist! (Part 3 of 3)

admin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:38:40 +0000

The Creative Freelancer Conference is 21 days away! Imagine yourself at the CFC, you are well-stocked with business cards and taking notes on the ones you collect. Here comes the juicy part, and it’s all in the wrist: FOLLOW UP and FOLLOW THROUGH!

Here are my 3 tips for taking your connection to the next level:

Set a doable date to follow through. Pick a date and schedule it! Send e-mails or call the folks you connected with within a week or two of the conference. There is also no better sign that you are sincere, committed to your business and interested in other solopreneurs’ growing their businesses.
Thank them when you reach out. Tell them what was useful to you from your conversation with them. Did they inspire you or share a resource? Remember to remind them who you are and how you connected in the first place. Refer to the notes on your card. Take a moment, before you follow through, to look at their website and refresh your memory about who they are and why they are a good connection for you.
Show&Share. A CFC blog reader made an excellent suggestion to ask folks to add them to your newsletter mailing list. Great idea! When you follow through, consider sending a post-conference update with what you learned. Send your favorite CFC photo or offer a tip. Make a point to ask them how their project(s) is going or what their latest accomplishment is.

So. . .how do you follow through? Do you have any tips for how to make the post-conference connect meaningful for you? Do you have a story of a great collaboration that came from a conference?

image by spitzgogo. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Conference Connecting: You’ve got their business card, now what? (Part 2 of 3)

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:36:57 +0000

The Creative Freelancer Conference is 32 days away! Have you ordered extra business cards, yet? In part one of this series, I suggested that you Take a box of 500 cards to the CFC; Give said cards out and Ask others for their cards. Now what?

Imagine you’ve met a riveting fellow solopreneur, you had a great talk and they are walking away, stop for a moment and jot down a few notes on their card! A week (or 10 days. . .okay or 3 months) from now you’ll be able to quickly figure out who it was who wanted to refer a client to you, share cab fare to O’Hare or give you tips on eco-friendly printers.

Here are my 3 tips for taking notes on business cards:
1. I noticed ________________ about them. This is a great place to write down a physical description or note something remarkable about them as a person.

2. I learned ________________ about their service, business or websites your new collaborator recommends to you.

3. I.O.U. ________________. I always think of great people ideas or information to share when I meet new folks. Share your ideas, resources and contacts—it’s an amazing way to connect! Be sure to include what you think they might like to know about what you are up to.

Be sure to jot a quick “CFC” on the back of their card, too, even though you think you will remember where you met. I have had many “where the heck did I get this card?!” experiences. Save yourself the mystery and take advantage of the treasure chest you’ll find at this year’s CFC!

So…how do you connect at conferences? Is there anything you do in advance to make it easier to connect once you’re there? Or do you have a story of a missed connection? Click here to let us know.

(NEXT: You collected cards, shared yours and took notes—NOW WHAT?)

image by jeffbauche. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Conference Connecting: Part 1 of 3

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:35:13 +0000

The Creative Freelancer Conference is approaching like a comet! Are you feeling ready and game? Have you thought about how to make connections with folks while you are in Chicago? The way we join up with other solo entrepreneurs will certainly color our immediate conference experience, but it could also lead to bigger and better things business-wise after the conference.

Here are 3 things that will help you connect and cavort while you are at the CFC:

1. Take a box of 500 (even if you end up using 30) business cards, calling cards, name cards, chico bags with info you want to share on them.

2. Give said cards to people you connect to; duh. I am writing this not to beat you about the head with the obvious—but to remind you that at a 3-day conference of 300+ folks, you may only have 45 seconds to personally interact with someone who piques your interests, curiosity or who you’d like to know more about. Be intentional about what you want. If that includes connecting, collaborating, or wanting access to great humans in your field—make it easy for them to find you.

3. Ask others for their cards. There are more fringe-dwelling solo-artists out there, many of whom are not used to talking to strangers. It is totally okay that you “don’t do networking,” but please don’t let that keep you from showing up in Chicago as available to connect. And for entrepreneurial sake: don’t get caught rationing the wallet dose of 15 cards you brought to an national conference of terrific folks who showed up to connect with you!

So…how do you connect at conferences? Is there anything you do in advance to make it easier to connect once you’re there? Or do you have a story of a missed connection? Click here and let me know.

(And look out for part TWO of this blog post: You collected cards and shared yours—NOW WHAT?)

image by mrflip. Used under a Creative Commons license