Slay Your Productivity Dragons
They lie in wait for you when you least expect them -- the productivity dragons of fear, resistance and procrastination. Just when you think you've defeated them at last, they rear their ugly heads again. What's a self-employed professional or creative to do? First of...
Feeling Stopped? Spend Just Five Minutes
Do you ever find yourself feeling afraid, resistant, or just plain stuck about getting started on something you need to do? Of course you do. We all do. Whether it's not knowing how to begin, going out for a walk on a freezing morning, filing your income taxes, or...
In Marketing, Work is Necessary; Struggle is Optional
Self-employed professionals and creatives often tell me that they find marketing to be a struggle. They can't seem to get enough clients to pay the bills, or they're spending more money to land each client than the sale is worth. Too many of their efforts seem to...
Prolific Writers and Creators Ask Questions
We self-employed professionals and creatives are always generating new stuff. We write blog posts, develop courses, and generate copy for our websites and emails. Some of us create unique work on behalf of our clients. To become prolific at this constant stream of...
Don’t Wait for Tax Time to Look at the Bottom Line
A curious thing happens to self-employed professionals and creatives in the spring of every year. They wake up one day and realize they'd better figure out how much money they made last year so they can file and pay their taxes. But wait, shouldn't a business owner...
Do You Ever Think Your Work Isn’t Good Enough?
As a self-employed professional or creative, you're creating new stuff all the time. You may write blog posts, design courses, produce marketing copy, craft speeches, create designs for clients, devise strategic plans, or dozens of other possibilities. It's a good bet...
Have You Created an Impossible Business?
It's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough, but there are many situations where this just isn't so. Consultants, coaches, and other self-employed professionals often start a business believing that all they need to do is charge a...
Finding It Hard to Begin a Project? Start in the Middle.
One of the most painful moments for any self-employed professional or creative is staring at a blank page or screen, trying to figure out where to begin a project. Robert M. Pirsig, in his classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, gave practical advice about...
Follow-Up Is Simple — So Why Isn’t It Easy?
Doing a good job at follow-up is a piece of cake. You just capture every lead or potential referral partner you run across, then place a call, send an email, or both. If you don't make a sale right away, you calendar them for the next follow-up and do the same thing...
Can Good Writing Happen on a Timetable?
When you hear the advice to set aside time to write, do you worry about whether you'll be able to produce quality writing on a set schedule? What if you didn't get enough sleep the night before, or you're worried about another priority at the time, or you're just not...
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