So bad you should STAB them with a wooden stake!
Willow: That's a work ethic! Buffy, you're developing a work ethic! Buffy: Do they make an ointment for that?
'Beneath You'
Buffista Business Talk: I wanted simple, I wanted in-and-out, I wanted easy money.
A virtual watercooler where Buffistas in business can talk, share, exchange, bemoan, exult and assorted other power verbs associated with all areas of running/starting up a business. For existing or potential Buffista business owners of all types. Spamming is NOT ON. A list of our Buffista owned businesses is on our links page.
Pix - Jun 22, 2011 4:41:55 pm PDT #102 of 1416
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
Typo Boy - Jun 22, 2011 9:15:17 pm PDT #103 of 1416
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
So bad you should make them into furniture. (I always kind of wince when someone does that with good or ok books. Furniture made from books is kinda of cool looking, but I'm only OK with it if it is made from really bad books.)
Strix - Jun 23, 2011 9:02:22 am PDT #104 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Dear god, promoting myself is making my brain hurt.
It's good; I'm getting a lot of help, but I feel like someone beat me upside the head all morning!
I'm also trying to conquer the asking for people to say nice shit about me squick, and the telling the world how awesome I am squick.
Whew. I need a shower and food. And to get up off my ass for the first time since 8 am. This is like running a marathon, and I still need to write about 10 pages today. Good thing I have tea.
NoiseDesign - Jun 23, 2011 9:06:29 am PDT #105 of 1416
Our wings are not tired
Doing the promotion and the networking can be very exhausting. One thing I've found is that the passive promotion isn't as strong in getting new clients as the active networking. Talking directly to people, getting a card into their hands, or having a current client recommend in person is golden. Always make sure your happy clients have a handful of your business cards so that they can hand one to a new interested party when they are busy talking about the great job you've done.
Ginger - Jun 23, 2011 9:32:11 am PDT #106 of 1416
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I still suck at promoting myself.
amych - Jun 23, 2011 9:38:57 am PDT #107 of 1416
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
I'm also trying to conquer the asking for people to say nice shit about me squick, and the telling the world how awesome I am squick.
OH HAI I HAVE THOSE!!
Liese S. - Jun 23, 2011 10:09:07 am PDT #108 of 1416
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
Yeah, I can relate. Today I hit the regularly scheduled complete misanthropic portion of my fundraising summer. I'll get over it. But right now I'm only in week two, and I never want to talk about what I do or solicit money from anyone ever again. Right now I am just one burning wish to go home. But I recognize it for what it is, i.e., regularly scheduled, and it's culture shock as well, and it'll pass and I'll raise the necessary funds and I'll go home. Eventually.
Strix - Jun 23, 2011 10:23:31 am PDT #109 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
One thing I've found is that the passive promotion isn't as strong in getting new clients as the active networking. Talking directly to people, getting a card into their hands, or having a current client recommend in person is golden.
Yeah, I'm STILL working on finishing up the website, but I have this silly idea I should complete the project I have going first. I've been working on it, but I had to address some time-sensitive stuff today that was active networking.
It's going really well (THANKS, BUFFISTAS!) but I am about wiped, mentally, right now.
I'm going to take a couple of hours to tweak some more networking stuff, and run errands (get milk, cat food and Tylenol) and then i will be just plain writing on this project tonight.
After the promoing stuff, it will be easy and peaceful.
amych, Ginger, I know! We'll have to work through this together. I could never be a hooker; pimping myself is too damned hard. "Please sleep with me! I have no fleas and I hardly smell! I take checks!"
Liese, that sounds like a total (but necessary) PITA. It's got be weird, as you are asking for money for an organization...but the organization is basically YOU, so there would be a strange thing. I would have no prob asking people to donate to an organization, but it would be more difficult if I were intimately connected to it fiscal responsibility.
Huh. But that's what I'm doing, I guess. But your org is altruistic; I mean, yes, it pays your bills, but you are helping the world. Sure, I'm offering services people want/need, but I'm...well, damn, I guess I'm changing people's worlds, on a small scale.
My mental processes, let me show you them...
JenP - Jun 24, 2011 6:21:17 am PDT #110 of 1416
So... here's the deal. I'm having confidence issues with going out and getting leads for my business. I need to get over myself. Many people out there are not like me, in that they actually enjoy talking to random strangers who are nice.
I don't mind making calls to leads (I don't cold call), and don't mind the 1 in 5 odds of getting someone booked. I love running a class/party, I love the product and really have fun doing the meat of the business, but...
What have you all done/read/practiced to get yourself comfortable with trolling for leads (as I call it, which, as I think about it, I may need to reframe. Ahem)?
I haven't even gotten bad reactions when I've done it, and sometimes even good ones, but I just need to get over myself and depersonalize the whole process. I can read pretty quickly whether someone is interested, or at least willing to listen, and if I sense someone is annoyed, I can deftly get out of their hair. So why so stressy??
Strix - Jun 24, 2011 6:35:05 am PDT #111 of 1416
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
What're you selling, Jen?
I think you're getting stressy because you're conflating selling yourself with your product. And it's is a product, right, not a service.
Also, you're nice and polite and I'm betting, like me, you have a slight horror of putting people out or inconveniencing them.
I'm still working on this myself, but basically, I remind myself that people are grown and can make their own decisions regarding whether or not to hire me or offer assistance, and I just work on being polite and courteous.
I think you have to trust in people's ability to say No, or I don't have time or an interest, and then move on. It's not personal, and if you are polite, most people are going to be just fine with hearing from you, even if they don't buy.