A Long-Term working relationship, with a client you care about and enjoy working with, is worth ten one off projects.  I don’t care what they pay.  That’s what this relationship is to me.

And so I’m tasked with creating a video – that I think is really important – for something he’s about to launch.  And I want it to be AMAZING.  Trouble is, even this client couldn’t/wouldn’t pay me what i’d charge for this.  So what to do? In my case, I do it anyway.

If I said it would take me 4 hours to complete the video – then I’m going to only charge out that much.  If I wanted to, I could complete it in 4 hours, and it would be ‘very good’.  Thing is, I don’t want to deliver ‘very good’ in this instance.  It deserves more, and i’d rather deliver what I consider AMAZING and ‘lose money’.

Should You Tell Your Client?

Now, of course – I have to let the client know that it’s indeed taking longer.  Not to make them worship the ground I walk on (that can happen after I deliver the goods).  No, I have to tell them so that they understand I normally wouldn’t create something this outstanding for what they’re paying.  No, even at my breathtaking skill level (ha!) – I can’t finish something of this caliber in 4 hours.  I can’t have them expecting it every time, for this cost.

Is it worth it to put in that much extra effort without the monetary gain?  Well – if you recall up above I mentioned how important a long-term working relationship is.  That’s where the value comes in for me.  We’ve already been working together for awhile – and neither of us plan for that to stop.

What I gain from putting that extra effort in is the satisfaction of delivering something better than I’ve ever done before.  I get the benefit of people saying “Wow, who did your video?”. I get a really happy client. I get to show this off, instead of forget about it in 2 weeks.

When NOT to do this?

When you’ve got a deadline that HAS to be met.

When you need to put food on the table and make as much happen as possible.

When putting 4 hours into something is going to yield the same result as putting 14 hours in.

When you’re just learning how to do something – you shouldn’t be charging for all your time anyway, and in this instance you shouldn’t be telling the client it really took you 14 hours either.

Pick your Battles

In this instance, we’re running on a short timeline so I’m pushing the envelope to make something amazing and meet our timeframe.  Just the satisfaction of creating something I WANT to show the world, is reason enough to take the extra effort to make this great.

Putting in more than the minimal required effort is almost always going to yield positive results – so long as you’re ‘picking your battles’ wisely.  Do this for the client that hires you for your expertise, not the client that hires you because they can’t do this part by themselves.

In that movie, there is a part where The Mask says “It wasn’t me! It was the one-armed man!” as he is about to be arrested.  I found this funny.  And I had no idea it was referencing something else.  It was years later when watching ‘The Fugitive” around the same time as “The MasK” that I realized they went together.

So here was something that most likely, everyone had heard before.  Most likely everyone got the joke.  And yet, I did not.

What? You DIDN’T already know this?

The other day, I was discussing with a fellow web person website stuff.  You know, shop talk.  Flash Websites came up and I said something like ‘Everyone knows Flash isn’t a good platform for your website anymore” – to which he replied “Says who? I haven’t heard that.  Why not?”

At first, I was shocked.  Was he serious?  He believes it’s cool to develop a clients website completely on Flash?  Surely he would know why this isn’t very smart.

The thing is, he’s so in love with Flash that he wouldn’t be out hearing anything else.  He hadn’t heard it before – and I got to explain to him the many reasons it wasn’t such a hot item anymore.

So in realizing that not everyone has heard everything before – i realized I shouldn’t ever discount a thought or an idea based on others knowing its obvious existence.  It’s obvious to ME.  That doesn’t mean it’s obvious to YOU.

Here’s my challenge when you have something you want to share but you think ‘Everyone knows this”.  Do it – and do it better than anyone would have done it before.  Even those that find what you’ve created that already “know it” will appreciate your take on it.

Here’s the thing: It’s okay to be the technician when you choose when that will be.

I’ve had a lot if hopeful projects in the past that haven’t done what all involved dreamed they would do. Because of that I began to always doubt what the success and possibilty of a project would be.  It had pretty much gotten to the point where I doubted the likelihood of a projects success all the way along.

Here’s why: because I began to doubt my partners. I began to not know how it would go because I couldn’t put total faith in my partners like I could with myself.  And – alternatively (and it sucks to realize it) my partners couldn’t have total faith in me.  I wasn’t perfect all the time either.

Choose Your Partners Wisely

This isn’t sayin my partners were bad. Far from it. I only chose to work with amazing people.  I’m pretty strict with who I choose to work with and I always did plenty of due diligence before moving forward.

But because of so many different elements I began to doubt the success of each project’s future.

Today that is gone. I’m in control of my own future and I feel amazing. And I know where it’s going to lead. I know what my vision is and I know what I’m working on.  I know whatever step I take, is deliberate and i’ve thought it through.

You need to do the same. You need to be in control.

The whole point is to be your own boss.

Whether you’re simply a freelance web designer or you’re operating a full-fledged web development business – you started it to be your own boss.  What happens when you start to take on partners?  They start to be your boss as well.  So how do you get around this?

I’ve developed a set of rules to follow when working with Partners on a project, and I’ve simplified them for consumption below:

1. Be clear with your partners in how you work.  Let them know what your work schedule is and let them know when you have other things to work on.
2. Institute a way to be contacted.  If you only wish to communicate via Basecamp, let them know.  You’re partnering for financial gain, treat it that way.
3. Regurgitate often.  Getting clarity on expectations of you is top priority.  If it ever seems out of whack, re-state what it is you hear them asking you to do.  When they hear it they’ll see the unbalance as well.
4. Measure your success.  Is what you’re working on working for YOU?  If it’s not then be honest with all involved and explain why.  This includes being honest with yourself – if you’ve committed to more than you can chew you need to CHEW REALLY HARD or spit it out right away.
5. Quit.  That’s right – if it’s sucking your life you need to quit.  It’s not helping anyone to hang on out of ‘integrity’.  This is especially the case if there hasn’t been any gain after lots of up-front effort.  It’s okay to let go.

They’re simple and they rely heavily on your instinct – but if you’re in this for the long haul then you’re thinking for yourself anyway.  All you need to do is start following your instinct more often,

Say ‘No’ Early, but not Often.

I’ve all too often never uttered the word ‘No’ to a partner or a client.  It just wasn’t something I could bring myself to do.  It’s not nice.  I’m a nice guy.  It’s who I am.  Or at least – that’s what I told myself.

No, when something doesn’t work for me, I say ‘No’.  When it does, I agree to it.  Here’s what’s happened for me professionally since implementing this ‘strategy’ (which should really just be normal).  I’ve developed a greater respect from partners and clients.  My time is more respected and trusted.  When I say I can do something – I actually can because I’ve let go of the things that always get in the way of that.

When I say ‘No’ my partners and clients believe it.  It is not questioned and it is actually respected to a much greater amount than I initially thought would be the case.

What comes from me saying ‘No’ is that my ‘Yes’ actually has more weight.

Now when I let a partner or client know I am available to work on a a project – instead of it being expected it is appreciated.  So when i’m asked if I can make a change to a site in 2 days, and I say I can make it work – they’re extremely grateful for me taking the time to make sure their ‘whim’ is accommodated.

Saying ‘No’ when I first realize it’s something I shouldn’t commit to frees me to make sure I complete the things I’ve said ‘yes’ to.  And those things I said ‘Yes’ to are the projects I believe in.  This keeps Me in  control and when I’m in control – I look forward to tomorrow.  And the next day.  And the day after that.

Be the person that believes in your client more than they believe in themselves. Be the one that instills in them a desire to be better. Be the one that let’s them know how to deliver their passion.

My client, let’s call him Bilbo, has a hobbit party planning company. He loves to plan parties and when people attend they have a crazy, longbottom leaf smoking good time.

Bilbo loves what he does and people love Bilbo doing it.

But Bilbo doesn’t have anything to do but plan parties. And there are only so many parties that need planning.  When not planning parties, Bilbo thinks about how to make his business better.

So Bilbo believes that if he makes his website better, more people will find him. And hopefully in finding him they can either A) decide they should have a party and hire him or B) that they have a party needs planning and then hire him.

That’s about it. So Bilbo’s plan is at making a better, prettier website. And Bilbo has come to me to make those changes. Changes like moving the navigation bar, making a testimonials page, re-writing the about page or changing the colour of the text. So I could make changes to his website like asked and take my payment and feed my family.

But what does that do for Bilbo? Does doing those little website changes get him further in his party planning business? And if it doesn’t get him further he’s not gonna have money to pay me for more and more work. And he’s not gonna care enough to tell others about how cool I am. Cause really, how cool am I if I just do what he want’s me to do.

It’s Important to Care About A Clients Success

So I’m better off to make Bilbo aware of what he can do, that would REALLY make a difference. I’m even better off to make him care deeply about it. And even better still would be to be the one that inspires him to want to achieve that greatness.

If you know a client needs a blog, tell them this. And refuse to help them make it happen until they are 110% commited to making it amazing.  Do not sell them on a blog because it’s “the thing to do – every business should have a blog”.  No – sell them on why THEIR blog can be unique and why it can be amazing.  If you don’t think they can be amazing – don’t sell them on a blog.

If you know a client should get video done, mention it. And then don’t let them do it until you know their video is going to be fucking phenomenal.  Yes they should have a video – but of what?  They need to figure out (and you can help them) what can really speak volumes – what can really get their point across.

Let Me Sum Up

Do NOT take their money until you KNOW in your heart it will be money well spent.

How many clients have you encountered that simply don’t care about their business as much as they care about paying a bill?  Or worse how many seem to care more about being ‘busy’ rather than ‘effective’.

Be the person that reminds them what they started this for in the first place. Ask them the hard questions (it’s okay that they don’t answer them for six months). It’s okay that they don’t change for a year. You be the person that cares more about their own business than they do and they’ll remember you when it’s critical to do so.  They’ll remember you as the person who was there trying to open their eyes before they were.

Your key to your own successful business is longevity. Not what is going to bring you a check tomorrow but what is going to feed your business next year and in five years and in 10 years.  What is going to ensure that you have everything taken care of that you need to.  And that isn’t taking any old job from any business.

Be the person that people think of when they think about making their business great. You can build their website – but you need to nuture their passion if you want to stick around.

Have you learned how to use Twitter and Facebook?  If so, you’ve qualified to call yourself a consultant.

Now that you know how to use Twitter and Facebook, you can use it to build your social media business. But first, you need proof that you rock.  You need to show your potential clients you know what you’re doing.

• You need 10,000 followers on Twitter (Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter if you are following 20,000 people).
• You need at least 500 friends on Facebook (You don’t have to personally know any of them)
• You need 100+ Connections on LinkedIn (Ask for connections to Big Players)
• You should start a blog and write at least once a week. (Only write about the success of your business)

How do you do all that?  Just go out there and start following and friending as many people as you can. Tell them all you’re a consultant.  Eventually, one of them will be dumb enough to give you some money to do the same for them.

Don’t Do The Above Please

Seriously – I am followed on Twitter by at least 2 ‘Social Media Consultants’ a DAY.  If I don’t follow them back I am un-followed soon after.  These people learned ‘How To Become a Social Media Consultant’ by taking someones $2,000 course.  They’re following a system and they’re just muddying up the aspects that actually make Social Media so effective.

These Social Media Consultants ‘proof’ is only around how they’re building their OWN business using the tactics and strategies they learned.  Most haven’t done a single thing for any other business but their own.

So here’s how to REALLY become a Social Media Consultant

I want you to first ask yourself WHY you’re contemplating becoming a professional in the Social Media Consulting business.  The challenges are plenty.  To do it effectively and with integrity – you need to put in time and effort in the beginning, like any other business worth doing.

Go read this article about the 12 Things that Suck about Social Media Consulting and then come back here.

Still want to do this?  Ready to build a Social Media Consulting Business? Okay, here goes!

12 Steps to Becoming an Effective (and Awesome) Social Media Consultant

1 – Find a family member or friend who could use some help getting started in the Social Media realm

• Pick someone who doesn’t have a business.  Just someone who will use it for personal use.
• Help them get interested in something they love.  Movie Buff? Get them involved in the Film Scene.
• Offer to do it with them for free. (You’re working WITH people, not FOR people)
• Get used to doing the steps you took for yourself, for someone else.
• Keep a journal about what it’s like to do this with someone that isn’t you.
• Highlight the points that you realize you’ll deal with each and every time.
• Do this with as many people as you can.

2 – Now pick a family member or friend with a business

• You’re now going to help someone use Social Media professionally.
• Again, you’re going to offer to do this for free.  You’re just learning this stuff, and this is the best way to learn.
• Let them know you’ve never done this professionally, and that they know their business better than you do.
• You’ll discover quickly how personal use of Social Media is different from professional and corporate use.

3 – Map out a path to Social Media success

• I can’t teach you this, this has to come from within you
• This is the part that you need to be AMAZING at.  This is where it’s going to be hard before it gets easy.
• Keep In Mind: You want to find out what their customer funnel is.  How do they go from no lead to a lead to a sale?
• Try thinking about it as a potential customer of theirs as much as possible.
• Be prepared for strong objections to ideas you have – this is all very new to them!
• It’s new to you too!  In the beginning, you’re not the expert.  Let some things go – don’t be stubborn.

4 – Communicate Efficiently

• You need to be clear and concise every step of the way.
• If you have questions that need answered – make it easy for them to answer them.
• In email I re-state my questions at the end in point form, and I say ‘AnswerThese’.
• Whenever you get anything new ready – get it approved BEFORE making it ‘live’.
• Ask lots of questions.
• Answer lots of questions.

5 – Track all your time spent

• Discovering how long tasks take you is key to turning this into a business.
• Pinpoint places that seem to be taking longer than they should be (Too long in face to face meetings).
• You can go simple by just watching the clock.
• Or you can use desktop widgets, time-tracking systems and invoicing software.
• I think Freshbooks is pretty awesome (They have a free version, but if you ever pay them, i’d make a small cut)

6 – Keep a Journal

• You need to write down what is working and what isn’t.
• Write out the processes and steps you take to complete all tasks.
• Make note of what aspects seem especially hard for the business to overcome (Writing Blog Posts? Responding to Inquiries on Twitter?)
• Keep a page that is ONLY for writing what you are LOVING about doing this.

7 – Decide what Metrics you’ll use to measure success

• There’s plenty of aspects to measure a Social Media campaigns success, so pick the ones that make the most sense.
• Some good examples are: Leads Generated (and from what network), Bounce Rate, Activity Ratio, Conversions, Loyalty, Interaction,
• You want to find WHAT the business wants and then HOW you’re making that happen.
• You’ll run into plenty of resistance if your success isn’t producing cold hard SALES.
• To get over this, you need to illustrate how what you’re doing is leading to long term sales.
• Possibly, illustrate how it’s lowered Customer Service time, or Salesman time.

8 – Set up a Monitoring Dashboard

• Develop something that you can use to track and showcase the results.
• A spreadsheet could work
• A Mind Map can work and be very visually effective too

9 – Results. Results. Results.

• You’re doing these first ones for free so you can start to get paid. The only way a customer will keep paying is if you’re producing results.
• With your Metrics and Monitoring Dashboard in place, showcase the results whenever possible.
• If you can show a solid statistic, don’t wait till the end of the month.  Set up a meeting and show it to them the very next day.
• If you’re excited about the results your producing, they will be too.

10 – Do This for at least 3 more businesses

• You want to be an expert at this.  There’s no point in building this business if you’re not going to be the best.
• Having Case Studies to showcase your RESULTS to others, who will PAY you, if going to be integral.
• It would be better to do this for free, than to do this for cheap.  Doing this for cheap just makes you cheap.  Doing this for free makes you generous.

11 – Start your Business/Blog/Website and your OWN Social Media campaign

• What? AFTER you’ve done all that?  Heck yeah – now you have stuff to write about, from an Authority mindset.
• Go back to your journal you kept, and pull out the best bits and write about them.
• Give away all the knowledge you’ve learned.  Teach others how to do what you’re doing.
• You only want the clients that want to pay you what you’re worth.
• Not the clients that are only paying you because they don’t know how to do it themselves (they’ll hate you every step of the way)
• Figure out how much you want to make a month, and divide up your hours accordingly.

12 – Get to know other AMAZING Social Media Consultants

• You still have lots to learn.
• Meeting others in your field of expertise, and being friends with them, will help you feel better about what you’re doing
• There is no competition.  The other Social Media Consultants can be your best friends.
• You can refer business to them when you are not comfortable taking on a client.
• Go to Social Media gatherings around the world and meet them in person.

Being a Social Media Consultant is going to be a lot of work.  You really need to know what you’re doing and be prepared for it, before you start expecting the ‘big bucks’.  Your biggest fans will be those you help in the beginning.  You are free to ask them for referalls and testimonials – and they will happily do both for you because of what you did for them.  You brought them (kicking and screaming) into the ‘New Fangled Internets’ and also increased their bottom line.

If you have any other aspects you think people reading this should take into account, please leave them in the comments.  And if you’re just starting out and ready to build your Social Media Consultant Business – then make sure to read all the comments below too!  There’s bound to be some amazing additions i didn’t think of.

3 Months ago, I realized something about myself.

When I had an idea – I didn’t act on it.  I didn’t write it down.  I didn’t move on making it happen the moment I thought it.  And I also thought of a reason why i shouldn’t act on it.

Do you do this?  I’m almost positive you do most of the time.

I think a LOT of people do this.  Seth Godin (of Seth Godin fame) gave away a KILLER iPad App idea on his blog.  He wanted this App so bad he just put it out there for the world to make.  Seth has thousands of ideas to act on, he can afford to give some to others to do.

So anyway – this Killer iPad App – is out of this world awesome.  And Seth has broken it down to it’s ‘must have’ features.  He’s described what it can do, how it can do it and even how much he thinks it’s worth ($500!).

This idea was given away on February 6th, 2010.  So on May 27th 2010 – Seth Godin shared his 2nd Killer iPad App idea.  Also a freaking awesome App idea, flushed out and given reasons why it would work and features it could have. Seth also shared that no one has acted on his first idea.  It’s been almost 5 months!

I would surmise from this that no one has contacted Seth to work WITH him to make it happen.  No one has said ‘Seth, I want to make this – can we build it with you so as to make it the BEST it can be?“

You know why already, don’t you?

Everyone that read that awesome App idea decided someone else is likely already moving on it.  Someone else read it and is going to make it, so they shouldn’t spend their time and resources on it because they’ll be the second one out of the gate to do it.

I have a story from my Dad that he told me a few times while I was young.  He had the idea to bring Personal Storage to Canada.  At the time, it was only in the USA.  He wanted to open up Personal Storage in Canada, and his lawyer told him it was a dumb idea.  My father was going to move on something before someone else, and he didn’t because he was advised against it.  Someone else eventually did (and now it’s everywhere).

Here’s the thing – if there is an idea and it’s worth moving on – START on it.  My dad’s lawyer may have been an idiot.  But at least my dad started down the path.  He didn’t think about it and decide it was stupid.  He isn’t telling me today ‘So I thought of this idea once 30 years ago’.  He acted on the idea and followed it to a point where it felt maybe it wasn’t as good as he thought.

If you have that moment of inspiration – do these 5 things in order:

1. WRITE IT DOWN.
2. Capture the feeling of the inspiration – describe what it is that you see in your mind – and write down the details too.  (See the Killer iPad App for how to do this.)
3. Revisit your idea no less than 12 hours later.  If it’s good you’ll feel it.  Don’t let it linger – recapture the feeling quickly!
4. If it’s still powerful, within 3 days take one hour to expand on your idea.  Write more about it, flesh it out further.
5. No less than a week later, you should be taking action on your idea.  If it’s a good idea, why wouldn’t you? If you can’t do it, who can?  If it’s worth doing, who can do it with you (or for you)?

Essential tools for capturing your inspiration – a portable notebook and pen or a voice recorder – it’s faster than writing and you can do it while driving. Do whatever is going to be the most fluid for you to do it.  Recording a video might be the best!  Give that a try (if it’s easy and quick for you).

I’m practicing what I preach – and I’m actually attempting to write down or record each great piece of inspiration I have.

You’ll discover that doing this (capturing your inspiration) will actually cause you to have MORE inspiration.  The brain LOVES this stuff!

A virus is, by definition, ‘something that poisons one’s soul or mind’.  Hesitation, when given into at every potential occasion, is exactly that.

When it’s time to make a decision on where you want to eat with a group, do you find it hard to pinpoint what it is you want? Does the group as a whole stand around humming and hawing – not a single person willing to take action?  Finally, someone says ‘Let’s just go to Subway’ and then someone else says ‘No, I had Subway yesterday’… more time passes, someone tries to decide again, someone turns it down.  You and everyone else is scared to make that decision.  It’s okay to be scared – just know how to get over being scared.

When you hesitate in making a decision, it’s like letting the gas overflow at the gas station.  It’s a waste of energy, and you can’t get that energy back once it’s gone.

Hesitation will slowly eat away at your willpower.  It will find it’s way into your most positive self and it will bring you down.  Hesitation will kill everything you’ve worked hard for your entire life.  Every time you give into that faltering nature – that pause in thinking – your self-motivation will slowly wither and die.  And you NEED that self-motivation in your business.

When it comes to making money in your business, you need to make decisions and you need to make them concise.  Taking action is a lot better than hesitating when it comes to making money.

Indecision cannot be fixed, but you can fix a wrong decision.

Grab a pen and paper, and write down 5 things that you need to make a decision on.  You are bound to have 5 things in your head that you have to decide on (What’s for dinner tonight? When should I make a follow-up Call to my Client?).

Now, take 5 minutes and make a decision on each one.  60 seconds each.  Write your decision down, and put the paper where you can see it.

You didn’t do it, did you? You likely decided you would do it later.  You have things to do right now (You do? Why are you reading this then?).

Don’t tell yourself there is still time, and you can do it later.  That’s a killer.  If you like the idea, if you thought ‘That’s a good idea, I will do that’ – then do it RIGHT now.  If you didn’t , that’s okay too.  That means you have time to write a comment about the biggest step YOU took towards taking action today.

LUCK plays a BIG role in your success.

Have you ever listened to a Self-Help Guru or a Internet Marketing Guru?  Listen to their start?  Almost each one has some sort of LUCK that factors into their success.  Some thing they stumbled upon or some thing that happened at the right time.  Or even just – they came along with a product or book that hit the right nerve at that period in time.

It’s not ALL about luck – it takes a lot of hard work and discipline (say what?).  However – oftentimes – that hard work and discipline ends up paying off because they got lucky somewhere along the way.

A Niche with No Market Value Makes me $60 a Day

I have my own ‘luck’ story.  I’ve worked on so many different projects.  Projects for myself and ones for clients.  I’ve done JV’s on products like you wouldn’t believe.  And out of nowhere, came the little engine that could.  I gave someone a free copy of a book, just because they were intelligent and asked smart questions.  8 months later, this person writes me to thank me and gives me a little idea, as their ‘Thank You’.  Well – the little idea was indeed little.  But I followed through on it.  I did some research into it as a possible ‘niche’ and decided it had no market value.

I released this idea for free.  2 weeks later I saw it had been downloaded 2000 times.  I was shocked, and immediately realized I should make people give me their email address for the download.  After 6 months of that, I had 8,000 people on this list.  I decided to charge $2.95 for it.  I was making about $9 a day, which was awesome to me.  I changed it to $4.95 – $15 a day.  $9.95 – $30 a day.  At this point I felt it deserved it’s own website.

Once I did that – well I’ve consistently done $60 a day from that site, for 7 months straight. And I did NO SEO, NO Backlinking, NO Article Marketing, NO Video Marketing.

And I just lucked out, into a ‘niche’ that if anyone ever researched this ‘niche’ for profitability would have decided was not worth any effort whatsoever.  I decided to give it a shot, I followed through on it, and I waited.

However – want to know how many other Ideas I’ve followed through on online, and waited… and waited… and waited on?  Probably more than 20.  And this one – well I was lucky I found it.

So – be ready to put in the time to make your desires a reality.  And know that part of your success is just going to come down to luck.  Seriously!

“A true friend will tell you the truth to your face – not behind your back.”
- Sasha Azevedo

Imagine knowing someone for years – and slowly realizing that everyone else they know has a major flaw.  A flaw they have informed you about.  It slowly starts to click that every single person this friend knows is a loser.  I am sure you know someone who talks about others behind their back. Telling everyone they talk to, about the negative aspects of everyone else they know. These people can’t help themselves.

I have people like this in my circle. I can’t help but think “So… What is it this person has to say to others about me?” Let’s be honest, they’ve got to have something negative to say about you if they do about everyone else they know.  You can’t be the only squeaky clean person in the wide array of people they know.  It’s just not possible.  You know you’re not perfect, so this person obviously doesn’t think so either.

Here’s my suggestion. Pull up your pants, take a deep breath and ask these people, right tot heir face “I notced that you have something to say about almost everyone you know. I’d really like to know what you say  to others about me. I’d like to know so I can make myself a better person from it.”

If the person has any balls, they’ll tell you exactly what they say. It’s more likely they’ll hide behind a veiled kindness and say that they don’t really say anythig about. They could go so far as to do a weird compliment where they’ll say “oh This persons biggest weakness is being a perfectionist.”

Whichever way your question is answered, you’ve learned something valuable.

“Remember if people talk behind your back, it only means you’re two steps ahead!”
- Fannie Flagg

You either find out exactly what others think about you or you at least let this negative coward know that you know they’re talking about you behind yor back.

I’ve done this with with exactly 2 people.  Sadly, the person I thought would have the integrity to be honest with me couldn’t even do it. It’s hard to point out someones faults to their face. As it should be.  I don’t want to hear someone else’s opinion of me unless I actually care about that persons opinion.  It shouldn’t be easy to tell someone what you think of them.  It takes more integrity to keep your mouth shut and not badmouth someone behind their back OR to their face, unless they’ve requested it.

Stop lying to yourself. Making money is something you want to do.

You want to make enough to cover your bills. You want to make MORE than that! Admit it and move on.

GOOD People make money doing what they love. And they know, as a business, they need to be making money to operate.

I have a close friend – who spent 2 years on a website/product that he got into for the money. He was attracted to it because of the huge potential and opportunity he had to market it.

Soon that huge potential market fell apart before his eyes, and he stayed the course with the product.

Keep on Keeping On

So now he had this great product without the avenue to sell it to. But he persevered, he was in it for the money.

Except after a year of pushing so hard on it, and not seeing what he’d expected – he wasn’t talking about the cash anymore. Not if anyone ever asked him about the product anyway.

Now it was about the community, it was about everything he’d learned about the people. He was doing it for it’s people.

If you’re doing something that isn’t paying those bills, eventually you need to stop doing it.

It took my friend awhile before he finally pulled the plug. He did it when he absolutely HAD to, just to keep his head above water. But when he did, he felt light as a feather. His entire outlook on life changed and he was the most dedicated business person I’d ever seen.

Why? He didn’t have this thing eating at him anymore. Eating his desire to work, eating his finances – eating all of his dedication to build his own business.  He figured out The Dip.

He was back to knowing what the point was – TO MAKE MONEY!

Just Tell The Truth

Here’s the thing – if you’re doing something that isn’t making you anything yet, it’s okay to say so. It’s okay to tell me it’s not making any money yet.

It’s so much better to just tell me the truth than to lie and say it’s making you thousands. It’s so much better to tell me the truth than to stutter and skip around the subject rather than just say “It’s not making me any cash yet”.

Why is it so important to tell me that truth? It’s not about telling ME the truth – it’s about telling yourself the truth. If you make it okay to sidestep the subject with me, or to lie to me about it – then it’s okay to lie to yourself. And eventually, you’ll be telling yourself it’s not about the money, it’s about something else. And the moment THAT happens, is the moment your product definitely will NOT be making money.

Of course the argument against me here is “do what you love to do and the money will follow.”

So long as you’re doing what you love to do, and you recognize you’re in it for the financial benefits, it will. Don’t tell yourself you’re teaching people how to Surf with your online course because you want everyone with the desire to learn to Surf to have that ability.

No - you’re teaching people how to Surf with your online course because you want to make money doing what you love, which is surfing. That’s what you’re an expert at, and that’s what you love – so why shouldn’t you get some moolah doing it?

It really IS about making money – and that’s not only OK, it’s REQUIRED if you want to get anywhere with your own business.

Photo Courtesy Yomanimus