Ask Bernadette for tips and advice on your business or life!!!

Are you ready to create riches in your work and life? It's time for Shedding the Bitch Radio and TV, where you can discuss, debate, and get advice on how to discover and shed the bitches of fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and negativity so you can realize your dreams and life purpose and create and accelerate the riches in life you deserve. So let's welcome your ball of fire host, Bernadette Boas. Good day, good day, good day everyone, and welcome to our Ask Me Anything episode on Shedding the Bitch Radio and TV. We are coming live to you across multiple platforms: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, all of our Shedding the Bitch social platforms. And you still have an opportunity to even join me live right here in the studio if you can call 1-818-572-2910. And if you have a question or a challenge that you need to have addressed during the next 45 minutes to an hour, then feel free to do so, all right? I'm very excited that you are here. Our Ask Me Anything episode is the first Tuesday of every month. And to give you an idea what it's about, it's, I get a number of questions throughout the month, whether that's through LinkedIn, by people messaging me on Facebook, or on Twitter., and in our Powerhouse Mavericks group, and I answer them immediately and make sure that you have the tips and advice that you need to keep moving forward. But then what I do is I kind of gather them up together, well, along with Deborah and Alex, and we bring them right here into the program on the first Tuesday of each month. Because if you're dealing with this issue or have this question, most likely someone else does as well, and we want to be sure that we're helping as many people as possible. And you have an opportunity to even join me online at 1-818-572-2910. Even if you've already emailed me and I've already answered your question, you can still come on and elaborate more and further than what you might have shared in an email, or just simply to get additional tips and advice, because that's what this particular episode, as well as everything we do within the Shedding the Bits community, is all about. It's brought to you by Ball of Fire Coaching, which is my coaching, business coaching and leadership practice, and we are thrilled that our new and ongoing viewers and listeners are commenting, tweeting, sharing, rating, subscribing, and providing us ideas and topics of even guest experts as well as what is it that you want us discussing each and every week, whether it is during our Ask Me Anything episode, or it's just anytime on the Shedding the Bitch radio and TV broadcast. So continue doing that, please, as we love to bring you exactly what it is that you are seeking and are wanting to learn about. Now, we also need to thank our sponsors, the first one being NG Tax Solutions. Debbie Smelling and her team are providing unbelievable financial and tax services to small to corporate size clients. I've been working with her for probably 8 to 10 years, and she just does a fabulous job in really servicing her small to corporate size clients. As well, she handles both personal and business financial and tax services needs. So be sure to reach out to her at ng taxsolutions.com. And then I'm absolutely thrilled to have a more local Georgia sponsor, and that would be Up Top Roofing of Atlanta. Jay and his team have been also servicing my home for probably the last, uh, 6 years. And, uh, he, you know, came to me last fall and was like, I love what you're doing, I've been following your programs and everything you're doing within the Shed in the Bitch world. For the last 3 or 4 years and would love to, um, support you. So I am thrilled to have him and his team as a sponsor, and they provide home services and roofing needs to those, um, in the Georgia area. So, um, if you all happen to be in Atlanta, Georgia, or somewhere throughout the state, please feel free, uh, to reach out to Jay at up-toproofingofatl@yahoo.com. All right, we have a number a lot of questions that you sent in. At the same time, don't worry about that. We have plenty of time to also get any questions or challenges that you might be dealing with and you're just seeing the opportunity to reach out and share with me your information. So again, you can call 1-818-572-2910. I'm also watching Facebook and Twitter and making sure that if you do have any questions and you want to jump in, then please be sure to either post them out on our Shedding the Bitch Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter pages. But at the same time, you can call 1-8-1— I'm sorry, 1-818-572-2910 and talk to me directly. So I'm just gonna glance across them right now just to make sure I don't have anyone that is looking for me. Um, but let me also summarize what we're going to be talking about. And I had posted a few of them, but then a couple of more have come through. So let's, um, recap what we're going to be talking about. Uh, someone wanted to understand how to get on a podcast, and once they do— I love this because this is what you should be thinking about— Um, what are some tips for being a real— a guest podcast— a guest on a podcast? What are some tips for being a guest on a podcast? So how to get on a podcast, and then what are tips for being a guest on a podcast? Um, and then we are going to be talking about what to include in a coaching proposal to a client or a prospect, um, obviously if it's a proposal. So what to include in a coaching proposal So I'm reading into that, Tim. I'm reading into that to say that you're wanting to know kind of what is the content or categories of content. So that's what we'll be discussing. How do I ask for the rate I believe I deserve? And that's actually a common question that I get, and that goes to kind of our insecurities, our limiting beliefs, our bitches, as we call them in the Shedding the Bitch world. Uh, and then another one would be, what would you tell a new business owner just getting started? So that was actually— someone reached out to me and wanted some insights, um, because they're just getting started, and she wanted to kind of get my, my take on what she should be focused on. Uh, and then if we have an opportunity, I want to definitely get to what to consider when pricing my services. "as I always go too low." And so I could possibly tie that into how do I ask for the rate I believe I deserve. So we'll see how that works out. Okay, so let's dive into each one of these. And again, I'm just going to— if you see me peering around, I'm just making sure that I'm not missing anybody that might also have a question or somebody that might join us. Online. No, I don't have my producer because that's a question I've received, um, that is available to support me today. So I am here all on my own and I'm here to serve all of you. So don't worry about me, just make sure you get the support that you need. Okay, so let's, um, address some of the, um, what I'll call not as deep questions first. So how to get on a podcast, and the first thing I would, um, have you do when you're wanting to be a guest on a podcast is first really kind of lay down— this isn't something you just kind of start doing without a lot of planning or a lot of forethought. You want to sit down and you want to lay out for yourself what are your goals and objectives for being on a podcast? What is the outcome you want from that? What are you going to contribute to it? What expertise, what topics, what tips and advice, what value will you be bringing to, to the podcast and to the host and their audience? And then what I want you to be thinking about is, all right, so what are those segments or industries or topical areas that shows are, you know, structured around, to where then you know you're just not going to go after just any podcast. You really want to understand what podcasts are the best podcasts based on what it is you want to share, what it is that you have, what expertise, what experience, What insights? What tips? So really be sure that before you kind of pull the trigger on doing anything, you're really laying out your, your kind of your business plan, your scope, your strategy for being a guest on a podcast. Now you can go as far as then ensuring that you have everything put together that when you do reach out for a— to a podcast host or their agency that you have all the information ready to go to send them the pitch, so to speak, which could include a number of elements. All right, so again, scope out your goals, your objectives, your desired outcomes, the value you're going to bring, the topics you're going to— you could discuss, the, the audience that best fits you, because not all audiences need to hear from you. So what are those audiences? Just like your ideal client, what are those audiences that are going to benefit, you know, greatly from you being a guest on someone's show? Now you'll note that I'm not saying necessarily, you know, what are those podcasts that you're going to be, you know, getting what you want out of that podcast. You know, you definitely want to always be thinking about what's what's in it for the host and what's in it for the audience. Because if you deliver on that, then you're going to achieve what it is that you ultimately want, what that outcome or goal is that you've laid out already as well. So, um, to get on a podcast, you have that very well laid out, very clear, and then you go researching. So that was really the, the reason why she asked me this question is kind of, okay, so what do I do now? I have all that, but what do I do now? So what I would suggest is you can do a number of things. Actually, there are online portals, businesses that specifically are for you to find podcasts that you could be a guest on. So one of those would be matchmaker.fm, and you'll, you'll go to that site and you'll see all of these categories or segments or industries of podcast topics, and you can go in there and search, you know, for the best ones that fit your, your expertise and your contribution. And then you can use your pitch, that short pitch that you've defined, to send a note to the host or to the management of the host. And with that pitch to say that you'd be a great guest and these are the reasons why, and this is what I can be talking about, and this is the value I'm going to bring to your show and to your audience. So matchmaker.fm, um, radiolist.com is also another one, uh, and that's for both finding podcasts for you to participate on as well as for podcast hosts. They can use it to find guests and experts. So, but we're talking about you being a guest, so you can go to Radiolist and there's some segments of Radiolist that are free and there's some that are not, but you can go there and you can search, you know, or, or actually you could put a profile up of the fact that you're, you're a potential, uh, guest expert, and then podcast hosts would reach out to you. Now you can also use that site as well as you can use BlogTalkRadio. You could use any one of the podcast streaming services to go out and do research in regards to what podcasts are out there in my category. And there— and make a list and make note of what, you know, what the objective of their show is and what they're all about. And then make a note of their audience segment, and then make a note of who to reach out to and how they want you to reach out to them. And, you know, get all those details, almost like as if you were, um, kind of doing prospecting work, because that's what you're doing. You're doing prospecting work. You're finding a prospect of a podcast that you could be a guest on. So consider all of those same data elements that you want to be capturing and tracking, because then you'll use that list to then reach out and send that short pitch, that short pitch, in order to, you know, get potentially on someone's podcast. Now, touching on that, the pitch is key. The pitch is really key. So, so many will tell you that, and many of these different sites where you can go and actually find podcasts that are looking for guests, they have their own kind of communication portal where they have specific information that they want from you. In order to become a guest. What you want to just keep in mind is the wisdom. Alright, so you want a great hook. That would be the subject line or the first line of your pitch that you're going to be sending someone in regards to why you would be a great guest. And then the— then you're going to have a brief description. So my description is probably, I don't know, 7 or 8 sentences. And I use the hook, you know, the fact that I talk to, you know, helping women around the world to shed their bitches of fear, insecurity, negativity so they can create riches in their life. And that's like the first thing I'll write, and then I'll include information about myself, and then I'll say, you know, what's, what's the best next step for your consideration, Bernadette? Or in my case, I send it out through Alex or Sam, um, you know, as, um, my support team. So you definitely want to ensure that to, you know, become a guest on a podcast, uh, you are communicating immediately the value because they're getting so many requests from people that you need to pay attention to, um, You know, and you need to keep it short and sweet and powerful because they're looking at them just like I do, just like my team does. Deborah, you know, goes out and looks for guests, but at the same time we get people reaching out to us saying, I'd make a great guest. And her job is to kind of look at that message and make a very quick assessment as to whether or not it fits into our, you know, into our talking points. That the person is going to be a great guest, meaning they're focused on telling us how they're going to provide value and how they're going to really inspire and motivate and educate our audience, and that it's about us, it's not about them. Okay, so that's key. That's the wisdom. You know, you want to present it as far as why are you a great, you know, individual expert in being able to provide great value to them. Not, well, I'd be great because of all these accolades and all these things that I've done, and you never mention how that's actually going to benefit the host and, and their audience. So you want to definitely keep in mind that— I'm just looking at my question queue here— you just want to keep in mind that because you you don't wanna get kind of stuck getting rejected, rejected, rejected, and not really understanding why. And if you're going to get rejected, it will be one of two things, 'cause trust me when I say, as many podcasts that are out there, just like dating, just like, you know, lead generation, as many podcasts that are out there, you know, many of them are booked out for 3, 6 months, the next year, and some of them you just won't be a good fit. For them. So, you know, of all the pitches that Alex sends out or Sam sends out, I would say we probably get maybe 10 to 20% of them responding saying, you know what, you know, the topic that Bernadette wants to discuss is not suitable or doesn't fit to what it is that our show is about. So don't, you know, don't take that personally. They don't know you. Don't take it personally, just understand that and move on. All right, so that is how you would get to be a guest on a podcast. Have all your information really tight. Understand who you would be a great guest for. So think of it like your ideal client or podcasts that, um, you know, are relevant to you and your content is relevant for them. Send them a small, short pitch with a strong hook, and then be sure, be sure to follow up. If they respond, get back to them. Don't just like, don't look at it like, you know, many of, many of the business owners I talk to on a daily basis, you know, they do all this work to, to go from cold to warm with a lead, and then the minute they go warm, they're like, oh my God, what am I going to do? And I don't know what to say, and how do you know, I don't know what to do next. And all of a sudden nothing's done. There's no follow-up. Make sure you follow up because you're not going to be given many chances. All right, you know, podcast hosts, um, especially the, the experienced long-termers, they keep track. They have, you know, their files. They know who has been a great guest. I probably have my files from back in 2000 2013, you know, who's been a great guest and yet who's no-shows or who's, you know, requiring a lot of hand-holding. You want to make it, you want to make it as easy as possible for the host, but we're going to talk about that when we get to the next question. So that's how you get to be a guest, is do the research, pull together a list, or use one of these aggregators that actually provide you, uh, the— a list of the podcast shows that are perfect for your segment. And then you just need to send your, your pitch to them and make it strong, and then follow up. All right, so research, research, research, submit, submit, submit, and follow up, follow up, follow up. All right, so then that segues nicely into— all right, so now that I'm going to be a guest. And a lot of them nowadays, um, are simply— well, there's two things that I've seen happening even in the last month, all right, with the explosion of podcasts. One is they are simply reading your pitch, seeing that you'd be a great guest, sending you like their calendar, their scheduler, to book a podcast slot, whether it's recorded or live, and then you just need to, you know, pick a date. And a lot of them ask for as much information as you can provide that would make their, their job in the interview as effective as possible. So that's the one thing. The other thing that I've seen more recently, and it's coming from both younger, meaning age, and newer podcast hosts, um, is they want to meet you even for a 5-minute, 10-minute phone call first, um, before they have you as a guest. And that's to make sure that, you know, you're going to have a, uh, an energy and an, and an appearance not physical, just an appearance that really works for them as a host as well as their audience. As well as they want to really nail down whether or not your topic and what you're bringing to the table is viable for them. So that's— those are the two modes that I've been seeing over the last couple of— couple— like 3 or 4 weeks now. Now to be a Tips for being a guest. The word I would want you to include there is how do you— how are you a great guest? Like a great guest to where then that person wants you back, that person wants to refer you, that person, you know, puts a lot of effort into marketing and promoting it. And at the same time, you did such a great job that it it, you know, it— the stickiness to it is that much better. Um, so how to be a great guest is one, be sure that you don't only have the hook, you know, a great hook, but you provide the content that they don't need to do anything. You've, you've provided the content because maybe you have a podcast guest profile form, which I would recommend, to where you're providing them everything that they need to know. You're providing them a potential episode topic and the title that you— that they could use in their marketing, that you give a brief description of what it's all about. You are providing them kind of things that you're going to discuss, talking points that you're going to discuss. They can use that in their marketing or even in the intro. And then at the same time, and then you're providing a bio and any major takeaways. Even, um, that, uh, the, the audience will walk away with. Um, so you want to make sure that you're providing all the content that you would want used to market your episode. Okay, then you definitely want to make sure that all your social media handles are included. Um, so that could be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, whatever the case might be. Make sure you provide them all the handles and/or the links to your, to your social media platforms, because again, they shouldn't have to do that research. Nothing, nothing just gets me more angry and frustrated with someone than to have to do, you know, all that upfront work. You know, that's just not— that should not be in the hands of the podcast host or their team. It's your responsibility to make sure they have all that information. And then you also want to have an image ready, you know, ready and even sent along with all your content, and then 5 to 8 questions that would be relevant. So let me give you a for instance as to what not to do. I didn't mean to point, but what not to do, uh, and that would be, um, I had a guest and, um, I looked at the form and the guest form that I require them to fill out and, um, everything was filled out other than the questions. Now the questions are not meant to be a script. The questions are just a guideline. Now some hosts and guests, they like to use a script. Just so happens I don't, many people don't, but they're a guideline, they're kind of a springboard of how do we get this conversation started, what do you want to initially talk about, and then however it goes from there it goes. You know, this, this individual just didn't want to provide it, um, and this is going back a while, but, and had I caught it early on versus my team, I would have canceled or postponed until it was provided. Because again, it's not my job to research this person, even my team to research, to research the guest and kind of start from scratch. Yes, I do homework and the host might do homework, dig into maybe the book you wrote or the work that you do to kind of get some angles of the conversation. But if you want to be a really great guest, help them, give that to them. Don't make them do all the work. All right, so that's going into being on the show. And then definitely be on time, be early, um, because there's nothing more frustrating than if you were to show up just like a minute or two beforehand on someone's podcast and then all of a sudden there's technical issues. And trust me when I say it happens. So, you know, get on early, 5 minutes early, uh, and give them the time and the opportunity to jump on as well. And/or to, um, you know, just ensure that even if they don't jump on until it's time to go, um, that, well, that's their issue, not yours. Okay, so because we're talking about how do you Tips for you being a great guest. All right, so then in the show, you're very engaging, you're very conversational. That's why, you know, I prefer no one brings me a script. And trust me when I say they have, you know. And I, and I would say over the 12 years I've been doing it, I've only probably had 2 or 3 people that on their guest form, they were like, I want these questions asked in a certain specific order. And I'll send them a note saying, well, that's not necessarily how it's going to happen. We're just going to see how it goes. And they've gotten onto the show and forced as hard as they could, um, you know, the sequential order that made it very robotic, that made it very inauthentic, um, and did not make it fun. And I'm sure my audience didn't appreciate it as well. So be sure that, again, you're using your profile and your list of questions as a guide. You don't feel like you have to be scripted. Pretend you're, you know, sitting across the table having coffee with your, with your host and just have a conversation. All right, and make it as lively and as engaging as possible. Now that said, ensure that there's a lot of value, there's a lot of tips, there's a lot of insights, there's a lot of strategies, there's a lot of takeaways for the audience. Again, it's great to have a conversation with someone and even pretend— even to, you know, have a conversation to where you're not worried about the audience because you know in that conversation you're still going to be, you know, providing engaging, transformative, if you want to use that word, information that the audience can walk away with.. But you also want to stay conscious to the fact that, yes, I want to ensure that they're also able to walk away with things that they can apply in their work or life by the time you're done your conversation. Okay, so just do that, because if you do all those things and then you even follow up— now I have to admit, I don't necessarily do this 100% of the time, but even if then you follow up and you thank the host for being a guest and for them having you. Uh, you know, all of those things add up to you being a great guest for a podcast. Okay, all right, um, so that would handle those first two questions. And let me just take a look around and make sure that there is, um, no other additional questions before I continue with our list, because we have a number of questions to get through. Um, okay. So the next question— where are we? Okay, the next question is, uh, what to include in a coaching proposal to a client. Um, or actually, I, I corrected Tim because it's actually a prospect. Um, it wasn't a client. All right, so this is a common question, especially for those that are just getting into, uh, working for themselves., as to what should be included into a coaching proposal. And trust me when I say, not much different, Tim, than what we just talked about, because a proposal, uh, is really about the client and what value you're gonna bring and deliver before, during, and after that engagement that you're proposing. All right, and the more, uh, I don't want to say just thorough, but the more you kind of create, create a, um, create a scope that again makes it easy for the client. Like you're taking everything off of them and really, you know, kind of putting it into your proposal to let them know that you've got this. You know, from start to finish. Now, before you sit down and write a proposal, even if you've had a conversation with someone and they said, yeah, I would love for you to, to come in and, you know, talk about— or, or I would love you to come, yeah, come in and talk about communications with our team and have a workshop. And you might have even gone as far as saying, you know, it's going to be half a day, a full day, an hour and a half, whatever the case might be. Well, that could be enough for you to scope and to present a proposal, but what you really need, and you really are going to want to make that proposal as powerful as possible, is you want to get with them and get what's in it for them from it. All right, because it's not just a tactical scope that you're— that you want to deliver. You want to deliver kind of the convincing position that you have on making this the most effective workshop or experience for them as possible, and is even efficient and productive. Because again, you want to kind of make them understand that you're going to take on the work, they're not going to have to do a lot of work. So you want to get with them and you want to talk about what are their goals and objectives for this activity, for this work that you're— that they're asking you to make a proposal on? What, what are their— what are their challenges that they're having that they need your work? What do they see as the outcome for the people participating, or the audience, as a result of you doing this work with them? What would make their job and the workshop or the activity successful in their view? Because all of that information you would then build into your coaching proposal. What are some gotchas? What are some of the challenges that your people are dealing with? What, again, what, you know, what would be a, what would make this a successful engagement? So you wanna get all of that prep content first before you sit down and write a proposal, 'cause then what the proposal should include, it's almost like a business case that I discuss a lot with my clients, is you wanna present the proposal in such a way that it's all initially strategic. It's all what's in it for them. So it's all about what are their goals and objectives? What is the desired outcome that they have for this? What are the challenges that they're dealing with that they see that this is a solution to? So all of that is going to position you as, wow, they've listened to me, they understand my challenges, they understand the opportunities we see that we have, and they're— they know what kind of outcome we want for this and what's going to make it successful. Then you get into the scope of what it is that you're presenting, you know, that it's a 3-hour, a 6-hour, an all-day, maybe it's multiple days. And you can even include options to them. So I recently, about a couple months ago, presented a proposal to a client, and they were a client and this was just a new project. But, and I, you know, presented options such as, well, we could do a full day and this is what it's going to, you know, entail and require, and these are the subjects we're going to discuss. This is the takeaways they're going to have. This is the materials we're going to use. This is the, literally, the timeline of that agenda, you know, when breaks are, when lunch is, you know, what the duration of each subject is going to be. So you get into all of that in that kind of middle piece.. But then the second option could be, well, we're going to do 3 or 4 hour-and-a-half workshops over a period of 30 days, 1 workshop a week. And again, this is the scope of each. This is the time, time duration of each. These are the takeaways. These are materials. This is how we're going to do it in person, virtually. So all that detail. Um, and then the third could be, well, we're only going to do 2 that are 3 hours. So you— the middle part basically is all your, your, um, your scope of what it is that you're going to be doing for them. And then the third segment is really what, um, the investment is, what your, uh, fee structure is, meaning, you know, 50% upfront, 50% when it's finished. 100% upfront, whatever the case might be, is the second part. And then you, you might even reiterate, and I would suggest you do, how this investment is going to deliver on the desired outcomes that they have. How is it going to address the challenges, achieve the goals, and then, you know, get to the desired outcomes., and then you finish it off. So that's basically what you want to include in a coaching proposal. All right, uh, so let's see. So, Tim, if you have any questions, or anybody else beyond that, uh, let me know. I'm trying to get to, and I don't know why I can't. Let me just take a look at Uh, for those of you listening, I'm just kind of going back and forth. I really do need to have my producer here, um, during these particular days. Uh, let's see. Okay, so, um, we will move to the next question, which is, how do I ask for the rate I believe I deserve? All right, um, Carla, was this Carla? Yes, Carla. All right, Carla, and anybody else actually, because I already spoke to Carla, but, um, how do you ask for the rate you believe you deserve? Uh, first off, that really requires confidence. That really— that's all internal. I mean, how you ask You just ask. But, you know, but the depths of what that actually means to that, to Carla and anyone else, is, you know, obviously they're struggling with being asked for the rate they feel that they deserve. Okay, they, you know, Carla said, I believe I deserve, but that causes me to say, okay, well, she doesn't trust in believe fully, or she'd be asking, right? So that requires you to do some, you know, self-discovery work. Why is it you feel you don't deserve it? What is coming up for you? What are those fears and emotions that are coming up when it— when you consider asking for the rate you feel that you deserve versus maybe what you're putting out there? Uh, so, you know, ask yourself a whole bunch of questions as to, as far as, why do I fear asking for what I deserve? Um, why do, why do I, um, uh, hesitate to, um, ask for what I deserve? Uh, and then look into your, not your beliefs, then look into your evidence as to why you should ask for the rate you, you deserve. So what I mean by that is 99% of the clients that I have, um, and this is more so— well, it does pertain to career professionals who aren't willing to ask for their salary increase or their bonus or whatever the case might be. But, um, what I mostly deal with when it comes to this is entrepreneurs who need to go out and sell themselves, and they are fearful of asking for what they truly believe they deserve. Um, so what I say to them is, look, sit down and find the evidence to show that you deserve the rate that you're asking for, you want to be asking for. So write— sit down and kind of lay out, all right, I have these skills and experiences and expertise and These contributions that I've made over the years, and these are the results that I've gotten for other companies or other people. This— these are the projects and initiatives and companies that I've worked with. Um, you know, this is what I've made before, and therefore I should be able to make it now. Um, so forth and so on. So you actually just unemotionally look at your history and find the evidence to show that you justify your rate. Now, there's been cases where I've sent my client through this and then they realize, hmm, I might not have, I might not have the skills and the expertise and the experience that I should have to ask for the rate. Some, you know, people go two ways. They either think they're more than they are or majority think that they're less than they are. And what you want to do is find your reality, find, you know, what the, what the reality is. So then you're not setting yourself up for disappointment, or you're not scaring yourself to where you don't believe in yourself enough to ask for what it is that you truly deserve. So I'll give you— I'll use myself as an example. When I went— when I came and started out on my own having left corporate back in 2008, I leaned on my— I leaned on what my consultancy rate was when I was in corporate. Now, mind you, corporate consultancy rates are— well, they're inflated. I'll just use that word. They're inflated to consider, you know, cost of doing business. So all the cost infrastructure of working in a corporate organization versus yourself. But when I left corporate and I said to myself, well, you know what, I have those same cost elements that corporate does, although they might not be as high as corporate. My infrastructure, especially if you're a consultant or a coach on your own, you don't have the amount of hard costs versus soft costs that corporate does. So, but I use that rate as kind of my foundation to say if I was getting billed out at, you know, $300, $500, whatever the case might be for my expertise and my experience, and there are certainly people that were billed out at $100 and then more than the $500. So if I, you know, if they saw that I was valued at anywhere from $350 to $500 for my, for my expertise, then it doesn't really differ when I'm out on my own, other than the fact that there, like I said, there's hard costs that I may not have, like facility costs, um, the extent of marketing costs. Yes, I have marketing costs, and you do too, but not to the extent. So you just want to consider all of that as well. Um, so you just first, you know, kind of find the evidence that you deserve to ask for the rate that you believe you deserve, and just ensure from that evidence that you're realistic to the rate that you're putting on— putting, putting out there. Because like I said, majority of you are undervaluing yourself, but there have been, you know, people and even clients that I've had that definitely inflated or had a grander idea of what they were worth. And then I would just have, I would point them to look at those other coaches or consultants that were charging those rates and, you know, kind of look, you know, not comparing, I don't want to use that word, but assessing whether or not, you know, they have that same you know, experience, expertise, skill level, certification, whatever the case might be, to justify their price. So now you're asking, well, how do you find out, you know, how much someone makes? Well, there are some sites that— and some businesses that actually provide that information, um, or you just do a lot of, you know, Googling, and you use market research. You know, if you were to market research or Google you know, what is the average hourly rate for coaching in 2022? And they'll, and they'll, you know, give you a, give you a range, and then you dig deeper to find out, you know, if the lower ones is based on this criteria and the higher ones are based on, on these criteria to come up with your rate. But going— so that's all the technical, tactical elements of, you know, ensuring that the rate that you're asking for is realistic. But when it does come down to the belief— how do I ask for the rate I believe I deserve— again, that's, that's inward, that's internal work that you need to do to ask yourself, why do I believe I don't I deserve it? Or why am I scared to ask for what I believe I deserve? What is holding me back? What are those limiting beliefs? What am I telling myself that is causing me to question the rate that I'm, you know, wanting to ask and, and I'm not asking because I'm questioning it, I'm doubting it, I'm feeling like an imposter, or whatever the case might be. Find evidence to prove it differently and then change your story. If you're telling yourself you deserve it but yet you're not asking for it, lean on why you're not asking. Well, I don't want to be rejected. I don't want to be, you know, kind of ridiculed or judged that I don't deserve it. Um, but I do want to add something, and then we're going to move on. I do want to add one thing though. You could put a rate out there and a client will, you know, a prospect or a client could challenge it. All right, so you could put out there that, you know, this hourly rate is $250 or the project is valued at $5,000, and yet the client is automatically going to try to negotiate that down. All right, um, so I even, you know, kind of share with my, my clients that one, you need to find those those possible objections, which could be, you know, I want to, I want a lower rate, I want a lower project fee. And then you need to provide and have already planned out how you'd respond to that without kind of faking your pricing. So some people might say, well, raise your price because you know they're going to negotiate down. You, you shouldn't have to do that. You should have your rate, and if they you know, start to want to negotiate it down, you need to have the argument— or not the argument, but you need to have the response to that objection, uh, in such a way that you're defending and supporting why you're pricing things the way you're pricing it. And then if you should decide to, um, give a discount or reduce it or whatever the case might be, that's up to you. However, at the same time, if they all of a sudden say, well, the price is not the price is too high. One, you don't walk away from that. You ask, so what is it that you think is missing, or why is it you think that this price is high based on all the value and the outcomes and the benefits that your proposal, you know, even presented itself? So you don't want to automatically drop and discount. You want to ask questions to really understand why is it they think that, um, they needed to be lower. All right, because you know, 9 out of 10 prospects will say, I don't have the money, I can't afford it, that rate is higher than I was expecting, um, you know, I can't, I can't pay that amount. You have to be willing to, you know, scope out how you would respond to that without diminishing your value. All right, so I just needed to add that. Now there was a question, what to consider when pricing my services as I always go low. All right, well, I'm gonna— that I'm gonna use that as a segue from this last question, um, that was Carla, right? Yes, um, that Carla had asked. And while I'm doing that, I'm just going to take a peek over into one place. Um, so we'll segue into that question: what to consider when pricing my services, as I always go low. Again, use everything that we just talked about from that previous question as far as how to assess whether or not your rate is appropriate. All right, your skills, your talent, your expertise, your experiences, uh, the contributions you've made, uh, the reviews or testimonials or recommendations that you've received, the companies you've worked for, market market analysis shows that, you know, anyone with your skill level, this is the rate. Um, so you, you know, you kind of apply all of that when it comes into pricing. And again, you could use, like I did, um, you know, your previous experience in, you know, whatever shape or form. Let's say you've never been a consultant before, you've never been a coach, which many of you haven't and now you are. And so I would definitely do market research as far as, um, the type of coaching or consulting you do, the type of work, the type of deliverables, um, the value, the, the season— seasonability, meaning, you know, your season, your how seasoned you are and what it is that you do. And use all that data to then say, all right, so my services, um, based on my experience to this type of organization or industry segment, um, typically goes for $100 an hour, and therefore I'm going to go out at $100 an hour, as opposed to maybe $75 that you're going out at. Um, so you just use a lot of market research or your own to, um, identify where you should price yourself. Keep in mind one thing when it comes to this question or the previous question about how do I ask for the rate I deserve. Keep in mind something: you can always go up— wait, let me make sure I get that. No, I'm sorry, you can always come down in your rate, but once you lower it, it's gonna be almost impossible to go up, okay? Because all of a sudden someone's not gonna want to pay more for what it is that they've been getting from you at a lower rate. So be, you know, be very cautious that you don't price yourself low against what the market is bearing, because it's going to be that much harder for you to go up. But you can go up and have a high price and then recognize that you're getting rejection after rejection or requests for lower price, lower price, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, I must be overpriced, and I'll come down in price. You're not discounting, you're adjusting because your original price wasn't even appropriate for what it is that you're doing. So you can always come down, but once you're down, it's going to be very hard to come up. Um, wait, I, I might have said that wrong again. Um, yeah, you want to be careful that you don't price yourself to a point where all— with a client, like I have clients on average for 3 years, even longer, but for 3 years. And if all of a sudden I'm really low, it's going to be very difficult for me to bring it back up to the price that I know I deserve. But if I go in high and they bring me down, and I choose to because of discount or whatever the case might be, that's fine. But I also have to recognize there, because I've gotten burned there too, that even with a discount, the And next thing you know, they want to keep that discount, and I'm, you know, and I have to sit there and justify why no, we need to go to the regular, regular price. So be sure you are pricing yourself appropriately, even on the high side, because you can always work it down, but it's going to be very difficult if you're low to bring it up. Does that make sense? All right. Okay, so that's what we'll touch on when it comes to that question. All right, and then let me see, did I get those? Yes, yes, yes. All right, so then I do have another question, so we'll get to that. What would you— oh, what would you tell a new business owner just getting started? I love this question. Well, first off, because it— I was very honored and humbled to to have been asked that. I get asked a lot of questions, you know, as a radio guest or whatnot, or as a speaker, whatnot. But I love it when it comes from someone who's new and they want some advice or thought leadership or guidance or mentoring from, from someone. So I was very appreciative of the question. So what would I tell someone just getting started as a business owner? Hold on tight. That's what I would tell you. But in all seriousness, I would tell them straight out that it is an amazing journey. It is not an easy or a fast journey, and you just really want to surround yourself from the start you want to surround yourself with people who are kind of even further ahead in their own journey, whether that be professional or personal, whether that be entrepreneurial or corporate. You always want to uplevel when you're looking for and looking to create your network. Because you want to be learning on a regular basis from those that have already been there and done that and learned the lessons and have the best practices and, and experienced what you haven't gotten to yet. And then therefore you could be asking questions and you could be getting guidance and, and those type of things. So that's what I would, you know, first tell someone just getting started is hold on tight, You know, be okay with the fact that it's going to be hard. It's going to be challenging. It's going to be uncomfortable. It's going to be frustrating and new. And with all of that, if you're surrounded and you work on building that network to surround you for accountability, for support, for mentorship, for guidance, for example, then you have, you know, kind of a cushion to fall back on, meaning, you know, when you do fall, and you will, when you do get rejected, and you will, when you do sit at your, you know, your desk and you're just unsure what the heck to do because you're stuck or you're overwhelmed or unsure, and you will, you know, this network of people that you're surrounding yourself with are there for you to reach out to. So then you don't even have any excuse or reason to sit there kind of feeling alone and, you know, the only person on the island. You have— you've surrounded yourself with people that can get you out of whatever it is that you're dealing with, as well as you can celebrate the small or big wins that you're making as you are, as you are growing. And this also pertains to those of you career professionals. We should always have a circle, a circle of influence, many, many will call it, a mastermind, many will call it, just a simple, a tribe, many will call it, of people that can surround you and provide you what you need as you go. 'Cause you don't wanna be alone. And that was something that I learned in an, you know, from an early age, and I've always surrounded myself and always sought out mentors and professional coaches and as well as peer coaches to ensure that if I needed something, I can always feel comfortable to go and lean on someone. And nothing is more confidence building than knowing that yes, you're starting this journey in this adventure on your own, but you're not alone. Does that make sense? You're doing it, you know, on your own, but you're not alone. And that's going to be critical in your journey. So you definitely want to be sure that you have that support and that backup. Okay. All right. Well, that was a very, very busy Ask Me Anything episode, which I'm so grateful that many of you— Tim, Carla— that many of you reached out to get those questions addressed. And just know that we're here every Tuesday at noon Eastern time, and the first Tuesday of the month is Ask Me Anything. And you can be posting your questions or your challenges at any time through LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, especially on our Shedding the Bits pages, and I'll reach out to you immediately, but at the same time bring them here on that first Tuesday. All right, if you have any questions following this, and maybe you're watching this as a download and a replay, then don't hesitate reaching out. And for everybody here in the Shedding the Bits community, we are so grateful to you, and we'll look forward to having you right back here next Tuesday for another episode of Shedding the Bits Radio. All right, take care everybody. Bye.