Infinite Possibilities Coaching

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Angela_Mattson]Angela Mattson

I recently had a conversation with a woman who is interested in doing what I do…working as a mobile administrative assistant. She has all the skills, knowledge and smarts to do it and I know she will be successful. The challenge for her was figuring out how to make the transition from a 9-to-5 job (or in her case a 7-to-7 job some days) and turn it into a viable business.

We started to play the “What If…?” game:

What if your current employer would let you drop back to 30 hours a week? Then you would have 10 hours a week to grow your new business. What if you quit right now and launched the new business tomorrow?

What if you planned a strategy that included growing your business on nights and weekends for the next six months? What if you sent out an email to everyone you knew telling them of your intent and desire to start a specific business, asked them if they had a need for your services and asked them to pass your name along to others?

What if you called a dozen small business owners in your area that might benefit from your services and outright asked them for work? Cold calling can be scary — but with the right script (i.e. sales pitch), product or service, and desire, it DOES work.

What if you decided to attend a dozen of the local business professionals’ networking organizations found in every decent sized city? You could pass out business cards (easily made on your home computer or through www.VistaPrint.com) to start advertising your services. Sometimes there is a small fee to attend. Most are scheduled before or after normal working hours.

What if you asked your current employer if you could become a contract worker for them? There are some employment laws in effect that could make this tricky, but I’ve seen it done by several of my business associates.

What if you kept your current job, started squirreling away money, and began writing your business and marketing plan with the intention of starting your business three months, six months, or a year from today?

How would your days change if you picked any of the above suggestions and just got started? Would your attitude improve at work? Would you find a little extra kick in your step — even if your boss was asking you to do that same annoying task you hate –just because you knew you wouldn’t be stuck in that job forever?

If you really desire to take the self-employment route and want to be your own boss, the time is now to ask, “What if…?” What if you just started PLANNING? And what if the planning turned into action steps? And what if the action steps turned into business?

And what if the business turned into success?

Solopreneur Angela J. Mattson publishes “Supporting Solopreneurs” an online e-zine that teaches women the art of self-employment. She focuses on small business soloprenueurs like mobile and virtual administrative assistants, project assistants and bookkeepers. Sign up today at http://www.defineyourday.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angela_Mattson http://EzineArticles.com/?What-If—Making-the-Transition-to-Self-Employment&id=1099441

Solopreneurs sometimes find it difficult to sell themselves.  There can be a fear associated with being rejected and taking that “NO” personally.  In reality that “NO” is more about the prospect and much less about us.  You must have enough faith in yourself to know that you bring incredible value to those you service. When you develop that belief in yourself everything else becomes easier.  Take advantage of these seven steps to marketing yourself shamelessly.

1. Know exactly what you provide to others. Here is a great exercise: explain the essence of what you do in two or three words. You will use those words to express to everyone what it is you can do for them, your “verbal business card.”

2. Are you proud of what you do? If you do not love what you do, are not proud of how you do it, or don’t feel good enough about it to tell the world, it will be difficult to be very attractive to others. Others will be attracted to you if you express true passion about what you do.

3. You must become a model of what you’re selling. You’ve heard the sayings “practice what you preach” or “lead by example.” Become the walking brochure for what you do. This will allow you to tell and not sell your product or service. Customize what you are selling so that it fits you perfectly.

4. Have something to offer every potential buyer who has an interest in what you offer. You will not sell your top of the line product or service to everyone. So be sure to have different levels of service at different price points, including free. Be sure everyone walks away with something of value. As they gain confidence in you and your service, they will be more likely to return for the next level.

5. Tell clients what you want them to do and how they should do it. We are faced with hundreds of choices daily. Help them to make those decisions by completely telling them what the benefits are of what you are offering. They need direction on how to fully utilize and benefit from your product or service, educate them along the way. Either during the selling, using or receiving of service, continue to provide direction.

6. You must tell clients all the value they are receiving. Be sure to express the value that is not apparent. What is it bringing to their lives that they did not previously have? Remind them often. If you tell your story well, they will begin repeating it, thereby bringing you more referrals.

7. Develop a system of various ways to help people learn about you, what you offer and the benefits they will receive. Then make it easy for them to receive additional information if they want to learn more. A good system will allow you to spend about 10 percent of your time telling your story and not spend your time selling. The bottom line is that if you truly believe what you have to offer, then others will also believe. Be shameless in your marketing, informing not boasting to everyone.

Need help putting these seven strategies in place contact me for a one on one coaching session.