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By Elaine, March 23, 2010 9:32 am

It’s not that people won’t pay you for your product-service-widget…the truth is that people you KNOW won’t pay you!

I encountered this limiting belief this past week…it was brought to my attention by some gals that are participating in a mentoring program I am facilitating.

Not only was this revelation a huge AHA moment for the participants it was a big AHA for me. Seriously if you look through your portfolio of clients you may find a few acquaintances but seriously…most of the people who are hiring you are people that you have probably met recently. Now some of them may become friends after they have hired you and you have created a relationship, but you were not close to them before they paid for your product-service-widget.

Now I am not saying to exclude everyone you know from being a potential client…but there are people that  you know that will never pull out their wallet for what you are offering….so seriously…stop expecting them to do so and move on.

Imagine preparing your sales pitch…pulling the words together that explain what you do, how you do it and lastly the price you charge for that thing you do….then heading over to visit your friend who has known you forever and knows everything about you and  pitching it to them….I can hear the words now…”You charge that for what you do-sell-etc…are you crazy”!

Now imagine taking that same professional presentation to your Ideal client, that person who you know needs the product-service-widget and will benefit from what you have to offer. They are interested right from the get go…they ask questions and are genuinely interested in what you have to say…and do they question the fact that you would charge what you charge for the thing you are offering…I think not!

Let’s get this elephant out of the room right now so your friends won’t feel like they are going to get your next sales pitch and you won’t feel disappointed that they did not  purchase.

A limiting belief is just that…a belief that limits you. Sometimes we can’t eliminate the belief but perhaps we can find a way around it!

I may be totally off base on this…please share your thoughts and opinions.

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By Elaine, March 11, 2010 9:13 am

So what does one do when the economy is scraping its belly on the floor of a recession?

You go back to the business basics….the thing that you did when you started…the thing that required your expertise…the thing that started it all.

Over the past month I have been working with 6 amazing women who want to start their own businesses. Now in this economic climate you might think they are a bit bonkers but I am an optimistic.

I think that setting up the foundation of their companies when times are tough will position them for the time when the economy is healthy once again.

While going through the process I have been revisiting all the things that I did 7 years ago when I started my business and I forgot how much fun some of those things can be.

Here are some of the back to business basics I am soooo excited about revisiting:

• Networking with local business owners at events like the International Women’s day event I attended this week.
• Creating attractive flyers to post on local bulletin boards to promote my business.
• Renting a booth at a local market to sell my Home Organizing Videos ,we usually sell these as a download but I think making hard copies and getting out and chatting with people and selling copies locally will be a blast.
• Hands on organizing with people who need to clear the clutter to make way for future possibilities.
• Lunch and learns…these are so much fun, and with small groups of 10 or less you can really get into it.

I hope that I have given you some food for thought and provided some inspiration to get your business flowing in this tough economy.