Expected Outcomes

Archive for the ‘Consulting’ Category

About three years ago I met a lovely person who was changing employers and potentially even her career.  She had had a similar career path and interests that at one point I had had.  There were enough similar events & interests that caused us to form a  reasonable bond quickly.  My path at the time was completely different than hers but we were both wondering if where we were was where we should be.

The divergence of our paths led to only occasional contact but social media allowed us to observe our individual progression through our jobs/careers. Recently I saw that her career has taken a u-turn back to the job that is really the passion of her professional life.  I was so delighted that I sent her an email and said let’s get together to talk.

After I meet with her, I am going to tell you about her business.  I think it could help many people I know who are small business owners, especially women small business owners.  So stayed tuned.  we should be meeting within a week’s time so I will profile her business here as soon as we have talked.

Is there someone you admire or think has a business that could change someone’s business/life?  Make a comment below about what you admire about that person/business.

We all would like to have friends do business with us.  They are the easiest (or are they really?) to garner as clients because they already know and trust us.  But the question begs to be asked:  How do you charge a friend?  Do you charge the going rate, a discounted rate, or do it for free? 

My first answer is “Never do it for free! ”  Invoice even your sister/brother/mother/father for your services rendered.  You may choose to give them a discount for the project, but let your invoice show your real rates and real time it took to complete the project.  Then show the discount and present them with a net invoice.  This is important because when they refer you (and let’s hope they liked your product or service enough to refer your), they need to be able to say what their experience was worth.

An old adage is to never do business with family.  There are instances where I might have to agree with that, but let’s face it, getting started in business is not always magic.  Sometimes you need that first sale and it has to come from a family member.  Just remember to charge them.  You both deserve it!

This could be considered an odd question for a blog like expected outcomes  but it is really apropo. 

So, in your mind, if your business is something your friends and acquaintances can use, whether it be a service or a product, would you expect them to buy from you? Or do you expect them to find it cheaper, or for free, or maybe even pay more than you may be charging, but buy it elsewhere? Will they tell you about their search and results even as they are doing i t?

Here is a poll – you can choose mutiple answers – and see the results.  Then, in a few days, check back because there is going to be more to this story…..

I did a search on Amazon.com, my favorite bookstore since I purchased a Kindle a few months ago — sadly, just before they dropped the price on the 2nd generation Kindle

I wanted to see if there were books I could recommend to my clients on Social Media Marketing.  I did all my homework – checking the “Look inside” and reading as much as I could tolerate of every book that had a title that sounded like my clients could take advantage of.  I would love to be the consummate pro, the complete answer to my clients’ needs, but the truth of the matter is, no one can be that for anyone.  People have to do some research on their own or pay an employee to do that.  Then they have to use that knowledge to advance their business marketing strategy. 

I am going to be reviewing, recommending and saying what I think of these books over the coming weeks and months.  Here are some social media marketing books I have checked into.  I have already done my preliminary analyzing. I will be offering reviews in the future. (I might add that I have added some business books and business-person products in a carousel in the sidebar that might be of interest as well)

A great way to get into your computer and the technology of today is to write a blog.  Some people view it as a chore, a terrible thing they have to do every day or several times a week – kind of like housekeeping , ironing or washing windows.  Other people are concerned about their writing abilities – maybe they did not develop the skills to make sentences sound and read quite right when they were in gradeschool.  There are plenty of solutions to these challenges.  The first and best solution is to just do it!

Much like any other skill or even talent, if you do something long enough, you get better and better at it.  Forming the habit of writing something when you first start your day – even if it is less than 100 words (what you have just read is already over 100 words).  A brief statement about your favorite subject (afterall, that is why you have a blog) can lighten your day and make you feel productive when you may, in fact, be sipping that first cup of coffee or green tea and feeling a tad sluggish from the late night before.

One of  my favorite subject happens to be social media and the technologies surrounding it.  I love to watch other people blossom with confidence as they start blogging and realize that they have something to say about their favorite subject and are recognized for what they have said.

If you are grammar challenged, there are several solutions, as well as tools for you.  Dictionary.com is a great way to check your spelling.  You can also write your entries in Word which has a spell-checker and grammar checker built in that you can run your entries through.  Just remember that you must either use the “Word” tool (if your blog platform has one) to paste in your entry or copy and paste it into Notepad, then copy and paste that into your blog.  Word has a nasty habit of putting a lot of formatting your blog platform may not like.  The entry does not look right when you save it if you do not strip away the formatting by pasting it into Notepad (which has no inherent formatting).

You can also contract with a ghost-writer if you truly feel you cannot write.  You can tell a ghost-writer what you want to say and they will do your blogging for you.    There is also contracting with a copy-writer – someone who will edit your entries and check them over for spelling and grammar.  Less expensive than a ghost-writer, but gets your blogs out looking professional and competent.  Expected Outcomes offers both such services.

So get that blog started, write at least three times a week and enjoy that sense of accomplishment.