Get Unstuck and Out of that Rut!

I’m taking a little break today to get caught up on some work, so I asked my good friends and business coaches, Jennifer Lee & Leah Turner of Creating Your Masterpiece to sit in today and share some words of wisdom about getting prepared for 2010.  Enjoy!

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Have you ever been working on something – a project or goal – and for some reason you get to a point where you just feel STUCK? You don’t know what to do next, your enthusiasm for the project wanes, or you feel overwhelmed by it all?

Well, if you have….you are not alone! This happens to most of us! The key is realizing why you are stuck, and then making the necessary adjustments to Get Unstuck and Out of that Rut!

The first step is to identify WHY you are stuck. We have found that with most clients, there are typically three primary reasons we get stuck.

• Fear – It can stop you dead in your tracks! Is there a fear that is holding you back from achieving your goals? Ladies – you might be surprised to hear this, but one of the biggest fears that many women have is the fear of success…..not failure, but success! Or, maybe you are afraid of confrontation, getting rejected, being assertive, making cold calls, new technology, public speaking….the list goes on and on. The important thing to do is identify the fear. Because unless you identify the fear, you won’t be able to work through it.
• Not having the right Strategies to meet your goal. A goal without a strategy is just a wish. Strategies are the invisible tools in your tool box! Do you have the tools you need to achieve your goals? It is your Action Plan! Start by determining what you want that end result to look like, and then come up with the steps needed to get there.
• Obstacles – these obstacles can be physical (like trying to start your own business from home and not having adequate office space) or emotional (not having a supportive husband or partner who understands how important your goal is).

A final word on goal setting- often times we get stuck because our goals are unclear or too vague. We are big fans of using the SMART Goals system, which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding and Timely. For example, let’s say your goal is to grow your business this year…..now let’s make it a SMART goal!

Specific – Instead of being vague, get specific. I want to increase my gross sales by $12,000 this year.

Measurable – Will you be able to tell when you have met the goal?

Attainable – Is it realistic to make $12,000 more this year? That equates to increasing your income by $1,000 per month, or $250 per week.

Rewarding – How will you reward yourself for meeting the goal? Write it down! You have to have an incentive for meeting the goal.

Timely – Do you have adequate time to achieve this goal? If this is the year you are going through a divorce, selling your home, sending your child off to college, and caring for an elderly parent, your goal may not be timely.

Leah Turner and Jennifer Lee, Creating Your Masterpiece http://www.creatingyourmasterpiece.com

Giving Thanks

In honor of Thanksgiving Day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have helped me get my copywriting business off the ground this year.

I’d like to thank AWAI and all its staff, for providing fantastic training materials and support for anyone with a desire to learn how to be a copywriter, whether for the direct mail, online or B2B markets.

A big thank you to Monica Day of Copy Protege, who mentored me this summer and helped me hone my skills and gave me confidence to pursue this business.

I’d like to offer my gratitude to all of my clients who put their faith in me, especially Kathleen Hawkins of WOAMTEC, and Jennifer Lee & Leah Turner of Creating Your Masterpiece.   These wonderful women have been among my strongest supporters, repeatedly taking the time to refer my services to other people.  You are the best!

Finally, I’d like to thank my family for putting up with my long hours at the computer and at networking events, and for taking good care of our pets while I was away at AWAI’s Bootcamp a few weeks ago.

I hope everyone can spend time with the people they love today, giving thanks for all the blessings God has given us.

It Pays to be Persistent and…. Patient!

For anyone starting a business, landing that first client can be challenging, frustrating, and ultimately, rewarding.

It takes guts, persistence and, as I learned, patience.  Instant gratification is overrated.  It’s much better to wait for something.  Think back to your childhood. Waiting for Christmas morning to arrive.  The presents always seemed sweeter, if you had to wait for them.

So it is in business.  You may be impatient to get that first sale. I was… at first. But I also knew that all good things come to those who wait.  I decided to be patient, especially since my potential clients were a pair of awesome life coaches, who took a chance on a fledgling SEO copywriter.

I had finished the copywriting course and was half-way through the SEO copywriting course when Jennifer Lee and Leah Turner of Creating Your Masterpiece came into my life.  They came to speak at a meeting of Mothers and More, a non-profit support group I belong to.  They talked about the importance of setting goals and taking action. The message came through loud and clear to me.

The next morning, I decided to put into practice what I had learned so far about SEO and checked their website to see if it was optimized.  It wasn’t.  They needed help. I swallowed my nerves and sent an email thanking them for the great presentation.  I explained that I was starting my own freelance business as an SEO copywriter and could help get their website to move higher up the search engine ranks.

Leah and Jen knew SEO was important; they just hadn’t had a chance to do anything about it yet.  I submitted a proposal to them, but they rejected it – saying it was too expensive.  I could have given up right then, but I knew they needed the help and I knew I could do the work. So, heeding the advice of other copywriters I’ve studied, including Heather Lloyd-Martin, Ed Gandia, etc., I offered to scale back the project for less money.

They agreed, but couldn’t commit right then because taxes were due, etc. The coaches encouraged me to stay in touch, because they wanted to get their site optimized.  I emailed them periodically and sent them a sample of my work to show what I could do for their site.  That did the trick, because two months later, they agreed to my original proposal for the full amount!

FYI – I’m currently putting the final touches on a new revision of Creating Your Masterpiece’s home page since they have changed the focus of their business and are updating their site. It should be uploaded soon. Watch for it! www.creatingyourmasterpiece.com

July 26 update – I uploaded the new home page  today. It was a long time coming, but I think the results are well worth it.