Well. It happened. You were laid off. Maybe you saw it coming, or maybe it came out of nowhere. Maybe you were hoping it would happen, but now the reality is setting in. Even if you manifested it, a layoff is a huge hit to our sense of self worth and self esteem. So - how do we transform this setBACK into a SETUP for the next step in your career?
Read MoreIf you were part of the traditional school system, you learned to wait for permission.
Before asking a question.
Before sharing an insight.
Before stepping out to the bathroom.
Patience and permission are among our most important life skills for sure. But when it comes to following our purpose, we can’t wait for permission. We have to begin.
Over and over (and over again) I hear these two phrases “I’m not ready” and “I have to be an expert.”
And that begs the question: “according to WHOM?”
You show me a baby who nailed their first step.
Read MoreWhether you sell tacos, or towels, or piano lessons or earings, or photography or…. whatever, there is always going to be someone who thinks your work is overpriced.
But just because your work is outside of their budget, doesn’t mean it’s unfairly priced.
Read that again. And maybe one more time.
Just because your work is outside of their budget, doesn’t mean it’s unfairly priced.
“Fast-fashion” and “hand-crafted” are very different beasts. “Cookie cutter” and “bespoke” aren’t in the same world. “Mass produced” and “ethically practiced” cannot be compared.
So what can you do if someone tells you that your work is overprices?
First, remember: You get to set your own prices.
You get to set your own prices based on materials, time, intellectual property, the cost of living and so much more.
Then consider: Is it selling out too fast? It’s time to raise your prices.
Is it not selling at al? It’s time to make an adjustment - maybe price, maybe stronger marketing, maybe something else entirely.
“But Rachel” you think, “I want to make a fair wage AND be accessible”:
Read MoreBefore you pick a random number that sounds sexy - take a step back and reflect.
1. Your time is valuable. What do you need to earn per hour of working time to make you feel good about the decision to do X instead of whatever you’d be doing otherwise.
When you say yes to one thing, it means you’re saying no to something else. To feel good about your “Yes” - weigh the hourly rate against that walk, that project, that post - whatever you’d be doing otherwise.
2. How long will it take?
Get really clear on the scope of work. Drill down into every category of work product. It takes longer on the front end, but it saves time, confusion, and disappointment later on.
Consider how much time to allocate to execution, how much time to allocate to presentation, feedback, refinement, etc. Be open about the resources you need to make a project happen. You can always scale down the deliverables to fit the budget, but you want to be transparent about the true time commitment.
3. Are there expenses?
…
Read MoreI believe that when everyone has a seat at the table, our ideas, our work product and our world are elevated.
Unlearning racism is a lifelong pursuit. I am committed to justice, equity and inclusion and take my responsibility as a leader, mother and friend seriously.
In addition to learning from BIPOC leaders, supporting BIPOC business owners, reading books by BIPOC authors and amplifying the voices of the many brilliant and talented BIPOC creatives and thinkers in my own community, I am committed to the following:
Read MoreWhy is it so hard to put ourselves first?
Towards the end of a mentorship session this morning, we explored the challenge of finding purpose and meaning while living under the constraints and challenges of our current set of circumstances.
We talked about the desire to cultivate a hobby, we talked about carving out time, and after all of that, we got to the heart of the matter - which is this:
We’ve been conditioned to look for external validation. We’ve been conditioned to feel useful, impactful, meaningful when we’re doing for others.
We make time to work. We make time to parent. We make time to check on our friends. We make time to be accountable to others.
It is SO HARD to be accountable to ourselves.
Read MoreWhen you're ready to take your marketing efforts to the next level, start here.
Work one sheet for each product, service, or message to develop tactics to reach your audience.
Take it one step further by organizing your tactics by Audience to build your strategy.
We’re going through it ya’ll. We’re going through it.
But you can’t go over it. You can’t go under it. We gotta go through it. And, I don’t know who needs to hear this right now, but we gotta stay TF home. Seriously. Just do it.
There have been a lot of long days and long nights.
A lot of skipped workouts and missed parties.
Some of my goals have taken a really long time to accomplish.
Some dreams got put on the back burner or went out the window entirely.
Every single time I post something here, I feel scared. What are people going to think of me? Who am I to (insert a thing I want to do here.)
But then I breathe and do it anyway.
Over the last six years, I’ve been in mom-mode to the max. It took every ounce of strength I had to raise kids and build a business. There was very little time for any more than that.
Read MoreStand up. Right now. In this moment…
Take a step forward if the statement is true. Take a step back is the statement is not true.
You’ve got a great idea. You’ve got a fantastic service. You may even have a business license, a storefront, a website…. If you can cover the bills, save for retirement and sleep a full eight hours every night, no need to read on. If you aren’t quite there yet, keep reading.
Read MoreI know, I know - it's not polite to talk about money. I think that's a problem. If no one talks about money, how does one effectively negotiate salary? How does one know how much to charge for a project? How do we attach value to effort? If the wage gap is real (and myriad studies indicate that it is) what can we do about it?
Read MoreWhen we were kids, we were taught to wait our turn – that Patience equaled Politeness. Times have changed. We all have more demands on our time and more distractions than ever before.
Read MoreWe all encounter moments in our lives when we know we have to make a move. We don’t always have clear directions or an articulated goal in mind, but we know that our current state no longer serves us.
Read MoreThe good news: We all have both extremes in us somewhere. If we can read a situation well and flex the right extreme, we’ll come out on top.
Read MorePeople love to share their wisdom! Asking someone for advice shows that you value their opinion. It gives them a chance to share their hard-won wisdom. Most importantly, it gives you a chance to learn a little something for free.
Read MoreYou have a product. You have a service. You have a craft. You need to get it to the people. How can you ensure that free today will become dollars tomorrow?
Read MoreThe next time you meet a moment of fortune, maximize it … using these four simple steps:
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