Getting Organized Before Hiring Your First Contractor

Are you thinking about hiring your first contractor? First, congratulations - that’s an amazing step in your business and something to celebrate! Before you make your first hire, there are some things you should organize before you bring them onto your team. You want to make the transition to your company as seamless and easy as possible for you and the contractor. That will start your working relationship out on the right foot. 

Deciding the Right Time to Hire

How do you know it’s the right time to hire? These are some of the thoughts and feelings I had before I hired my first contractor - that’s how I knew it was time. 

You Can’t Scale Your Business

There comes a point when you simply can’t do everything yourself. There’s too much on your plate, and you constantly feel overwhelmed and stressed when you look at the never ending to-do list. Your business can’t grow more without someone helping you. That’s a great time to look into hiring help.

You’re Working Overtime

Hey, if you’re into working overtime, then go you. But most people don’t want to be working overtime (or all the time) for the sake of their business. If you…

• Are working too many hours for your liking

• Feel like there aren’t enough minutes in the day to get things done

• Are neglecting people or hobbies that are important to you because of work

• Aren’t taking time off

…it’s time to hire. There’s no shame in admitting you need some help. In fact, it’s a sign of growth! To build a stable business, you’ll need to hire. It’s not sustainable to do everything yourself. 

You’re Doing Tasks You Don’t Want to be Doing

As business owners, it feels like we need to be doing everything. But everyone has weak areas or things they dread doing. Those should be the first things you outsource. The work you do in your business should be something you enjoy. If you’re constantly doing things you hate, it can become draining, and you’ll get burned out very quickly. Prevent that from happening by hiring someone else to do those tasks for you.

Questions to Consider as You’re Getting Ready to Hire

Before you hire someone, consider these questions.

What are you willing and able to pay a contractor?

Consider the going rate for the tasks you’re looking for help with. If you want to hire a social media manager, for example, do some research on what quality social media managers are charging. That way, you can offer a fair rate and find someone who’s great at what they do. I also recommend meeting with your bookkeeper (if you have one) and deciding an appropriate hourly rate. 

What are the Tasks You Need Help With?

You probably have a list of a mile long of things you want to take off your plate (isn’t it fun to make a plan to actually get it off your plate?!). Start by grouping tasks that go together. For instance, if you have posting to social media, keeping up with algorithms, and creating graphics on your list, you could hire a social media manager. 

I recommend hiring someone who specializes in a specific area, such as a social media manager. You wouldn’t want someone who advertises their services simply as “marketing.” That’s extremely broad, maybe too broad. They probably are able to do many things within marketing, but since they don’t specialize in anything, they may not be amazing in the task you need help with.

When you hire a contractor, you want to find the best person with those skills within your budget. Hiring people who specialize or are actively working to specialize in something is the best way to go.

What Are You Willing and Able to Pass Off?

I think this is the scariest part for business owners. You’ve built this business from the ground up, and now you’re giving part of it away to someone else. If you’ve never done it before, it’s terrifying! You want things to go perfectly. Well, it’s a good thing you’re reading this blog. 

Look back at the list of tasks you don’t want to be doing. Are you willing to pass any of those tasks off to someone else? Even more so, are you able to? There are some tasks I wouldn’t hand off to a contractor because it’s either confidential information between myself and my client, or I simply don’t feel comfortable giving something over to a contractor. Think about some things that you’re willing and able to pass off.

Should you hire someone as a 1099 or W2?

A 1099 contractor is what most entrepreneurs hire. 1099 contractors work part-time and are responsible for their own insurance, taxes, etc. They typically work on a project basis and can have quite a few clients depending on their specialty. Many people who work as 1099 contractors consider themselves or are called freelancers in job postings. 

W-2 employees can be part- or full-time, and the business owner is responsible for paying extra employee benefits. They typically work for a designated hourly rate on an ongoing basis. They may or may not sign contracts designating how much work will be provided each month. Part-time W-2 employees are technically employees, but typically don’t report to a “boss” in the same way as full-time workers do. 

As a small company, I’ve always hired contractors/freelancers and have had great experiences by going that route. Either way, it’s a good ideas to talk to a lawyer to get proper contracts in place.

It’s an exciting time when you feel ready to hire.

It means you’ve reached a point in your business where you can’t do everything yourself any longer. Hopefully, you’ve realized this before you're burned out, but it’s never too late to bring on a contractor. 

Before you do so, you need to get organized. Decide what tasks you need help with, set a budget to pay the person or persons, and analyze whether you want to hire a 1099 contractor or W-2 employee. Good luck!

If you just realized you need help with blog and/or social media content creation (um, we totally get that), book a free call with me to chat! My "Make My Life Easy" package is perfect for business owners who are too busy or hate creating content for their business. Let it be easy, you deserve it. 

Free and Low-Cost Business Tools for Entrepreneurs

As business owners, we’re all looking for free or low-cost business tools to help us run our businesses more efficiently. I want to share some of the best free marketing tools I’ve found since starting my business. These tools are great for solopreneurs, small businesses, and online businesses. 

Keep in mind that all of these tools are free, but for some, I recommend upgrading to a paid plan. It’s totally worth it to upgrade, but don’t feel like you have to. The free versions of all of these tools will give you the basics of what you need. Let’s get into the best free and low-cost business tools for entrepreneurs!

10 Free Business Tools to Try

Canva

Canva is the best free graphic design tool out there. You can create unlimited designs, customize pre-made templates, and use free stock photos. Canva even allows you to create videos, presentations, and PDFs.

While the free version is amazing, I recommend you upgrade to the Pro plan. For only $13/month, you can add up to five people to your team, remove backgrounds on images, and have access to thousands of extra stock photos, videos, and audio clips.

My favorite thing about Canva Pro is brand kits. You can save hex codes and fonts to easily access when you’re designing graphics. This is the best when you have multiple clients because they can each have a brand kit, and you don’t have to go searching for hex codes every time you create graphics for them. What a lifesaver!

Unsplash & Pexels

Unsplash and Pexels are both stock photo sites that are free to use for commercial use. You don’t want to be hit with a copyright claim by stealing a photo off Google. (It’s the same thing as plagiarizing someone else’s words, and you know how we writers feel about that…) You can use photos from these two websites with confidence knowing that they’re approved for commercial use.

Tailwind

I use Tailwind to schedule my Pinterest pins. The free version allows you to connect one Pinterest account, Instagram profile, and Facebook page. You get 20 posts per month across all three platforms, and you get one login. It’s great for someone just starting out with Pinterest. You can get a taste of the tool and how Pinterest can benefit your business. (Psst, if you aren’t using Pinterest, you may want to consider it! It’s a super effective way to drive traffic to your content.) I started on the free plan and eventually upgraded.

Now I have the Pro plan, which bumps up the posts per month to 100, and you get more advanced analytics reports. I have the Pro Exclusive plan, which means I get 400 posts per month. I have a ton of content, so I want the ability to pin several times a day. 

MailerLite

MailerLite is an email marketing software that allows you to build and grow your audience. With the free version, you can send emails, create signup forms, and build landing pages.. 

MailerLite requires you to upgrade when you hit 1,000 contacts. MailerLite is best for small businesses that are just starting to create an email marketing strategy and don’t have a large audience yet. It starts to get expensive the more subscribers you get.

Trello or Asana

Trello and Asana are both project management tools. They’re pretty similar, so I recommend trying them out and choosing one. The best news is that both of their free versions are perfect for solopreneurs or small teams. 

With the free Asana plan, you get three project views: list, board, and calendar. You also get 15 users, basic workflows, and unlimited projects, tasks, storage, and comments. It’s a highly capable tool, and I use it to manage client tasks.

Trello is very similar. With the free Trello plan, you get unlimited cards and storage space, ten boards per workspace, and the ability to assign tasks to team members and set due dates. I don’t see a need for a paid Trello plan unless you have a larger team, need more boards, or require custom fields. 

Slack

I love using Slack for client communication. It keeps everything organized and in one place, rather than searching through email for a conversation. We all know how messy that can get!

Several clients have added me to their existing Slack channels, which is normal when you join a team. You would need to create your own Slack account if you have a team of your own or if a client doesn’t currently have Slack. The free version of Slack allows up to ten integrations with other apps, 1:1 voice memos, and access to the most recent 10,000 messages. 

Google Drive

Google Drive is my saving grace for file storage and organization. I love that you can easily share files and collaborate on documents. It’s a great, free replacement for Microsoft Office Suite. As long as you have a Gmail account, you can create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and forms for free. 

I often organize my Google Drive by client, then share the folder with them. That way, they can see everything I’m working on and easily collaborate or leave comments with feedback. 

Google Meet

Another part of the Gmail family is Google Meet. Google Meet is a free meeting software that allows you to meet with up to 100 people for one hour per meeting. There isn’t a limit to the number of meetings you can schedule. It’s a great alternative to Zoom if you want a more integrated set of tools. Anyone can join regardless of if they have a Gmail account. Only the host needs to have a Gmail account to create the meeting.

Google Meet does have a paid plan with advanced features, but this would really only be applicable to large businesses or schools that regularly have over 100 participants in a meeting or need to live stream. 

Linktr.ee

Linktr.ee gives you a landing page with as many links as you want. It’s commonly used as a link in Instagram bios, so people only need to navigate there and find various links related to your business. You can also add QR codes, music links, music embeds, and social icons. The free version is perfect for small businesses and offers several kinds of customizations!

Toggl

Toggl is a great time tracking tool. If you’re working with hourly clients, you need to use Toggl! With the free version, you can add up to five people to your team, track time unlimitedly, create unlimited projects, clients, and tags, and export reports of your tracked time. The free version is highly capable for almost anything you might need. 

Even if you don’t have hourly clients, it’s helpful to track your time and see where it goes throughout the week. If you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, track your time and evaluate to see if you need to readjust your time allocations. You might be surprised how many tasks you’re doing and how long they’re taking. 

These ten free business tools are perfect for solopreneurs and small business owners. They’ll help you run your business more efficiently and give you excellent resources for you and your clients. I hope you take advantage of these. Leave a comment below with other free or low-cost business tools you utilize in your business!

How to Stick With Your Business Goals

It’s the month to make goals. And in another few weeks, to fall off of them. We know ‘em, we love ‘em: New Year's Resolutions. 

I’m all for people trying to improve themselves personally and professionally. I just think we need to be better about how we set goals and make sure we stick with them. 

It’s easy to say you’re going to do something…but life gets in the way and you forget about it or continue to push it off. 

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to you in 2022!

Why Business Goals are Important

According to Positive Psychology, “Setting goals helps trigger new behaviors, helps guide your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life. Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and you can’t improve upon something that you don’t properly manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.” 

You might have an idea of where you want to be in five or ten years, but how are you going to get there? Goals are meant to help you achieve your dream life. They’re small wins that add up to big wins. Goals motivate us and remind us what we’re working towards. Goal setting is important because it gives you the confidence you need to achieve success, whatever that looks like for you.

How to Stick with Your Business Goals/Accountability

So how do you stick with your goals once you set them? Here are a few of our favorite ways to help keep you moving forward. 

SMART Goals

We’ve all heard of SMART goals, right? If not, it means your goals are:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

SMART goals are the perfect way to stick to your business goals. The purpose is to get really specific about what you want to achieve. For example, you wouldn’t say, “I want to increase my revenue.” A SMART goal would be, “I’m going to increase my revenue by 10% by the end of Q1 by bringing on three new clients at $1,000/month.” 

You know your timeline (end of Q1), how to measure it, it’s super specific, and it’s attainable and realistic. Start making SMART goals, and you’ll reach your goals faster. 

SMART goals also work particularly well for writers, in case you’re a creative professional looking to get your writing on track this year, too.

Accountability Partner

Another way to stick to your business goals is to find an accountability partner. Someone to give you a kick in the ass when you need it (kindly, of course). This could be a business partner, friend, family member, significant other, or anyone else who you trust to keep you accountable. 

If you’d rather work with someone you don’t know as well, you can find accountability partners in Facebook groups. Find and join a few that relate to your business, and look for someone (or a few people!) who you can build a relationship with. Then you can be an accountability partner for them, too. We love a good, supportive community!

Write it Down

Writing down your goals makes them feel more real. They aren’t just a thought; you have them right in front of you. Better yet, put your goals in several areas of your office or workspace so you have a constant reminder of what you’re working towards. On mirrors, behind your computer, on your desk, and anywhere else where you’ll see them every day.

Have a Mix of Goals

It’s really helped me to have short-term goals and long-term goals. If you only have long-term goals, they don’t feel as attainable. Like, they’re so far away that you have time to procrastinate. On the other hand, if you only have short-term goals, you don’t have a clear vision for what you want to achieve in the long term. Have a mix of both. I like to scaffold my goals, which means that my short-term goals work toward the long-term goals.

Celebrate wins

Goal setting doesn’t have to be boring. Celebrate when you reach a goal! If you plan to reward yourself for hitting certain goals, you can post that next to the goals to keep you motivated, especially on days where it seems really hard to keep moving forward. Celebrate all wins - big and small. Everything you did to achieve your goal is worthy of celebrating. 

Business Goal Ideas

Sometimes it’s hard to think of goals - I struggle with it sometimes myself. Maybe you have a goal in mind (or too many), but you’re not sure how to get there. 

Here are a few templates you can customize to your goals: 

• I’m going to increase my revenue by % in [timeframe]

• I’m going to grow my [social media platform] following by # in [timeframe]

• I’m going to book # new clients at $X/month in [timeframe]

• I’m going to create # lead magnets per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

• I’m going to post on [social media platform] X times per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

• I’m going to send # emails per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

Which goal are you going to set and achieve first? 

I’ll share a few of my goals for 2022.

• I’m going to post on Instagram at least once a week by the end of Q1. 

• I’m going to increase my revenue by at least $30K by the end of the year. 

• I’m going to hire a VA to help with admin tasks by the end of the year.

I hope this blog has inspired you to create a few smart, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound goals (see what I did there?) I want to support you along your journey! Make a post sharing your 2022 business goals on LinkedIn and tag me!

Boundaries for Business During the Holidays

Ah, the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and the most stressful. You’re getting pulled in all sorts of directions from family, friends, clients, employees, and contractors that you barely have an hour to yourself in December. Sound familiar?

This is the time of year to set boundaries, if you haven’t already. You need to set boundaries with clients and people in your personal life. It’s challenging enough to balance everything that’s asked of you this time of year. Let’s make sure you're set up to be a ray of sunshine this holiday season.

What Does it Mean to Set Boundaries?

Boundaries allow you to set expectations with people in your life. You should always set boundaries so you can maintain a healthy work-life balance, and not be put in uncomfortable or frustrating situations.

The word ‘boundary’ can come off a little harsh, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can set boundaries in a respectful, kind, and subtle way. In other words, you don’t have to say, “You’re breaking my boundaries!” Calmly let someone know how their actions make you feel. (We’ll get into the “how” of this more in a minute.)

Why it’s Important to Set Boundaries

Work boundaries are especially important during the holidays. Your time is stretched by more people, activities, and things to do… It can get stressful if you don’t have boundaries set in place!

In business, setting boundaries will allow you to show up as your best self. You won’t come to work run ragged or angry or frustrated or sleep-deprived. It’s up to you to take care of yourself so you can perform your best work. When you set boundaries (and stick to them), you and your clients will benefit. 

The question is: what boundaries do you need to put in place to help you do that? 

It’s much harder to set boundaries in your personal life. Saying no to mom or dad is different than saying no to a client. But it’s how you show up as your best self. You have to do what’s best for you, even if it means disappointing people you care about. 

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be respectful and explain why you’re making the choices with your boundaries. Your loved ones care about you and want the best for you. If that means you have to set a boundary with them, they’ll learn to work within it or around it. 

3 Steps to Set Boundaries in Your Business

So we know we need boundaries, but how do we establish them? Let me let you in on a little secret: it’s not actually that complicated. Notice I didn’t say “easy” - it can be hard to maintain boundaries, especially for small businesses, during the holidays. 

That being said, these 3 simple steps will make a world of difference! 

1. Inform Clients of Time Off

It’s okay to take time off, especially during the holidays! A lot of people are taking time off, and no one will blame you for doing the same. It’s a much-needed break that we encourage you to take!

But, be clear about when you will be unavailable. Give your clients time to accommodate your absence. You don’t want to leave them high and dry, so give them plenty of notice about your time off and what you can do for them before taking vacation time. 

Setting an out-of-office reminder is also a must-do. Just because you inform your clients of your time off doesn’t mean they’ll remember. They have enough on their plate (which is probably why they hired you). They don’t have time to remember your schedule. Set an automated out-of-office email as a gentle reminder that you’re not available. Don’t forget to mention when you’ll be back online and include a way to contact you if it’s an emergency.

2. How to Communicate with you

How do you prefer to communicate with your clients? Personally, I don’t mind texting and phone calls, but some people don’t like that. With so many means of communicating nowadays, you need to make it clear what you prefer. 

When you tell clients your preferences up front, you won’t be stuck in an awkward situation of a client messaging you on Facebook Messenger (and missing the message entirely) when you prefer email or texting. It sets a clear boundary between your work and personal life.

3. Say No

Everyone understands that the holidays are ultra-busy. If you say no to a project or extra meeting because you don’t have the time or energy to do it, it’s okay! Let your client know, respectfully, that you would prefer to push it back to the new year because you don’t have the capacity to take on anything more. If they need something done quickly, they may have to find someone else to complete the project. That’s okay, too!

I learned this lesson the hard way, and in fact still sometimes have the urge to take on more than I can really accomplish. I said yes to too many clients at once, because I wanted to grow my business and income faster. But as soon as I turned to examine what was actually on my plate, it immediately became overwhelming. I was working all the time, feeling the constant presence of burnout. It honestly sucked. So when I was able to finally say “no” to a stressful client that wasn’t a good fit for my business, it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. It’s hard, but saying no is a good thing.

3 Ways to Set Boundaries in Your Personal Life

Setting boundaries with family and friends is one of the hardest things to do. Especially around the holidays, your time and attention are requested more than usual. You might be seeing family you only see once a year. Maybe friends are flying in for the holidays and want to hang out. It’s generally just a hectic time of year. 

During this hectic time, your boundaries will be your besties. Here are a few ways you can set boundaries with people in your personal life.

1. Say No

Yes, I’m saying it again! It’s okay to say no to things you don’t want to do or simply don’t have the time to do. It does you more harm than good to squeeze in another lunch date with a friend or spend five hours shopping for the perfect gift at the mall with your aunt. You get to decide what’s most important to you. 

2. Explain Your Boundary

Establishing new boundaries isn’t easy. People may not understand why you suddenly stop doing something you used to do. While you don’t owe anyone an explanation, it’s a good idea to let people know the basics of why you’re making the change. 

You can say something like, “I’m going to stop doing XYZ because it makes me uncomfortable.” Or, “I’m going to start doing XYZ so I can have better balance in my life.” Inform people of your boundary and kindly remind them if they accidentally break them. Eventually, your boundaries will become a habit for them, too.

3. Don’t Accept Less

How often do we accept someone being 10 minutes late, breaking something they borrowed from you, bailing on plans, or not following up on a promise? I’ve been burned many times, and it stings each time. I know things happen, but it feels like “things happen” with certain people. Every. Single. Time. 

Eventually enough has to be enough. It’s okay to make less time for people who flake out on you at the last minute every time you get together, and it’s okay to express disappointment when someone breaks a promise. That doesn’t mean you have to cut them out of your life (unless that’s the boundary you want to draw), but it should make you evaluate what you want and expect from the relationship. 

Start to set boundaries with those around you. It’s okay to let people know your expectations. PsychCentral suggests, “If you’re dealing with someone who is perpetually late, communicate this to them ahead of time — let them know you will be leaving after a certain amount of time has passed. Still, try not to sound accusatory. Consider acknowledging that you two have different personalities. You’re not trying to change them, but you need to set time boundaries for yourself because you can’t afford or don’t want to wait any longer.” 

If  there’s a main takeaway here (or if you’ve scrolled to the bottom - hi, friend!), know that it’s good to set boundaries for yourself. You need them to have a happy, healthy, and balanced life. No one will set them for you. It’s up to you to decide what boundaries to set, who to set them with, and how to enforce them. You’ve got this! 

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday!

How to Show Gratitude in Business

It’s the time of year to reflect on what we’re grateful for. Although we often focus on gratitude for the holidays, we should practice gratitude more than once a year because it will help our businesses grow. 

Yes, showing gratitude can help your business grow.

It’s one of the easiest things to do but somehow always gets forgotten. People start to feel resentful, unvalued, disrespected, and unappreciated, which leads to an unhappy workplace with high turnover - unappreciated customers who don’t return to purchase from your business. 

Establishing a culture of gratitude is an easy way to set yourself up for success.

Why Gratitude is Important for Business

Are you more likely to do business with someone who takes your money and runs, or someone who shows genuine appreciation for your business? I’m guessing the latter (let’s face it, we all want to be appreciated). Showing appreciation for “your people” greatly improves the amount of business you receive and builds your loyal customer base. People will keep coming back to you when they feel truly appreciated and valued. 

On the other hand, employees and employers need to feel appreciated, too. An excerpt from Intelligent Change reveals something interesting about U.S. workplaces: 

“Recent research conducted by the John Templeton Foundation revealed that for Americans, the workplace is the least likely place to express gratitude. Although as many as 93% of the respondents agreed that a grateful boss is more likely to succeed, and almost all of them agreed that a simple ‘thank you’ at work made them feel valued and respected, only 10% were actually prone to express gratefulness. The majority, or 60% of the respondents, have never expressed gratitude at work, or have only done so once a year!”

That’s pretty sad! How does showing gratitude once a year foster a positive work environment? It doesn’t. Employees and bosses need positive affirmation, encouragement, and to feel respected and appreciated to be their best selves in the workplace. It will make work more enjoyable for everyone, which is important since we spend so much of our one life doing it. 

How to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

It takes a conscious effort to choose an attitude of gratitude. It’s not something that happens overnight, and even for those who practice gratitude regularly, it can be harder on difficult days. Adopting a gratitude mindset and intentionally practicing gratitude every day will get you there, though. And it’s definitely worth it.

Mindset

I like this definition of a gratitude mindset from Lucemi Consulting: 

“When you have a gratitude mindset, you focus on the limitless opportunities available in business and life because you already appreciate what you have. When you are grateful, you choose to focus on the positive things rather than the negative things.”

Mindset is key when adopting an attitude of gratitude. You can see opportunity everywhere, but you’re aware of and thankful for where you are and what you have today. No one can take away your choice to be grateful for the life you have or the opportunities you’ve been given.

Attract What You Put Out in the World

You attract what you put out in the world. (Yes, it’s the law of attraction - you knew it was coming.) If you’re constantly throwing negativity into the world, you’re going to get negativity back. If you switch that mindset and start putting positivity into the world, you will attract it back to you. If you constantly show gratitude to people, they will return the favor. 

Another aspect of this is that whatever you’re putting out in the world, you notice more in your own life. In the case of gratitude, when you constantly praise people for the work they’ve done, you notice when people do the same in return. Sometimes small notes of praise can go unnoticed, but when you make that a core value of your business, you notice when people are expressing gratitude towards yourself and others. 

4 Ideas for Showing Gratitude in Your Business

Obviously showing gratitude is important to growing your business, but how do you go about actually doing that? Here are a few ideas of how to start.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

I like to practice gratitude journaling in the morning. It sets me on the right foot for the day. I make a list of 10-15 things that I’m grateful for. I try to be really specific, too. Not just “food” (which, of course, I am grateful for). Instead, I would write something like, “I am grateful that I have the means to purchase food I want.” Be specific when you fill out a gratitude journal. It will be fun to look back after a few months or even years to see how much you’ve grown and developed as a human. 

Be Grateful for Small Things that Happen Every Day

Do you know how many small things happening every day that you can be grateful for? Probably hundreds. During your gratitude journaling, identify small things that have happened to you in the last day or two that you can be grateful for. In addition (or alternatively), you can log your gratitude each night in a journal or app like Pixels. 

Send Gifts to Clients or Customers

Client gifts aren’t just for the holidays. You can send thank you letters when they sign with you, a quick birthday message, or a small gift of congratulations when they hit a milestone in their business. It’s always nice to receive “fun mail,” as I like to call it. It makes clients feel special and appreciated. 

Show appreciation to employees

We’ve all been part of the corporate world and felt unappreciated. If you haven’t, you’re one of the lucky few. It makes you dread work every day, resentful toward the company, and often straight-up miserable. Create a culture of gratitude and appreciation among employees. Give them positive affirmations, small gifts or thank you cards, and encourage employees to show gratitude among themselves, too. An appreciated employee is happier and has a higher job performance. Who doesn’t want that for the people who work with them?

P.S. Freelancers and contractors who do work for you count, too! 

I encourage you to practice showing gratitude daily. Start a daily gratitude journal, send gifts to clients or customers, and create a culture of gratitude by regularly showing employee appreciation. Not only will your business flourish, but you and everyone around you will be happier and more grateful people. We need more of those people in the world, don’t you agree?

Why We’re All a Little Scared of Success (But Need to Act Anyway)

We’ve all felt the fear of failure at some point. It can hang over any task no matter how small or seemingly mundane. 

But, have you ever been afraid of what might happen if you succeed? It raises bigger questions like: What would I do if I got the promotion? What would I do if I wasn’t drowning in debt? How would I feel if my book did get published?

If you’ve thought about these things (or something like them), you’re not alone. It’s okay to worry about what might come with success, or the burdens that would bring. It’s okay to want to be successful, but also be scared of success. That doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t still succeed.

Why Success is Scary as Hell

No matter what you’re doing, new things can be scary. No matter how many times you’ve succeeded in other areas of your life, each success brings about tasks and feelings you’ve never encountered before. Let’s be honest, newness and change aren’t always exciting, even when we desperately want them to be. 

And even when changes bring great new things into your life, there’s still the fear of the unknown. You don't necessarily know how success will look until you get there. It could look like opportunities beyond your wildest dreams. But it could also look like hardships and stress you don’t yet know how to handle. Sometimes it’s the not knowing that’s the scary part. 

Success also creates a new normal. You’ll probably see and feel a lot of changes as you grow (we sometimes lovingly call these growing pains). The reality is that your life will be different. That’s the goal, though, right? Leaving our current routine and comfort zone so we can get to somewhere better. Not that saying it out loud makes it less terrifying, but it’s real. 

Scary, But Important

Success brings a lot of amazing opportunities into our lives. As you work toward your goals, you gain knowledge of what leads to success and how to do it again. More specifically, you learn about yourself and what you can do. As you make leaps and bounds past your goals, you learn what works and what doesn’t, what keeps you motivated, and what brings you to a screeching halt. 

With the inevitable trial and error it takes to succeed, you’re also gaining experience. Experience helps you to feel more confident in yourself and your skills, and showcase that to others. When you’re trying to find a job or, as a writer, find someone to support your writing, people want to know about your “experience.” We’ve all had that interview question that went something like this: Tell me about yourself and what experience you would bring to the role. With each new goal you reach and success you achieve, you’re building this much sought after experience. 

Experience and knowledge are great, but what’s most important isa actually growth and personal development. Every time you learn something new, develop a new skill, fine tune an old skill, make an error, correct yourself, or reach a goal, you grow as a person. You’re becoming a better version of yourself, which, really, is the ultimate success. 

Do the Thing that Scares You, Even When You’re Terrified (You Won’t Regret It)

If you stay in your comfort zone forever, you won’t succeed. At least not as much as you dream of because you don’t grow without fear. And if you’re not growing at least a little, you’re probably not succeeding in the way you want. 

When you can take even tiny steps outside of your comfort zone, you get experience. For writers, this might look like finding a trusted friend to read a little of your writing even though the thought makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up like you’re in a scary movie. It might not seem like a big deal, and once you send the writing, it might even seem like a small step. But every step forward is progress, no matter how small. It’s one step closer toward your goals, and success. 

If you don’t take these steps, you’ll never know how far you could've gone. Would you rather spend your one and only life stuck in your comfort zone wondering what could have been? Or take small steps that scare the living bejeezus out of you and actually find out? Give yourself the chance to find out how you can become a published author or the CEO of your dream business, or whatever dream you’ve been holding onto. 

4 Ways to Conquer Your Fear

We here at Capturing Your confidence (all of us) have been afraid, especially in our writing lives. We’ve been the ones who had to close our eyes before pressing send on an email with our beloved book attached on its way to get feedback. We’ve been the ones who were afraid people wouldn’t like our writing, so we kept our most exciting projects to ourselves. We’ve even been the ones who’ve contemplated throwing drafts away or redoing them because we felt like they just weren’t good enough. 

The only difference between us and anyone else (because ultimately we’re all humans) is that we didn’t let those fears hold us back. And you don’t have to either! We’re not promising that fear will go away - it won’t. But, we are promising that you can handle it. You can move forward anyway, and that’s what it’s all about.

Write down your worries & fears.

Writing down what’s weighing you down is a great start to understanding how to overcome your fears. Writing them down is helpful to pinpointing what’s causing the fears, why they’re happening, and how to deal with it. Sometimes they’re irrational, or sometimes they’re extremely real. Either way, you have to have a space to think about it in order to work through them.  

Talk to someone. 

Getting your fears out in the open and out of your own head helps as well. Sometimes we just need a listening ear and we can solve our problems mid-talk. Sometimes we need an objective outside opinion to remind us that we’re not crazy for being scared of these big goals and dreams. Often, the act of talking to someone we trust is soothing, and even if you don’t “solve” the fear, you can figure out ways to better manage it. 

Focus on your goals.

Let your motivation drive you, not your fear. Remind yourself regularly why you want this and focus on the goal. This alone can sometimes be enough to get through momentary fears that feel paralyzing. This is probably the most difficult, and most effective way to get through your fears.

This is HARD. It’s not something you’ll want to jump out of bed and do (at least not right away - it’ll get easier as you practice). But it’s okay. It’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay if you can only take the tiniest steps in the world. These tiny steps are still progress, and you can do this.  

Break down your goals.

Make your big goals and dreams more manageable. It’s hard as heck to publish a book or start a business! But you know what those things start with? Small steps like deciding on a main theme or idea. Deciding what you like and feel passionate about, and then putting your ass in the seat and writing it down. 100 words is more than none - it doesn’t even have to be a good 100 words.

A list of people doing what you dream of doing is one step closer to being your own boss because you can start learning what’s possible. Breaking down your goals makes them less daunting and wears down your fear of the unknown and newness. Anyone who’s worn patent leather shoes knows: those damn things are painful (but pretty) when you start, but they become more comfortable as you break them in! You can do the same with your fears and successes. 

Remind yourself of your goals & start taking control of your fears. 

If you need help, reach out. We’re here to help.

Have you ever been afraid of success? What fear is holding you back right now? What’s one way you overcome your fear of the unknown? We’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media, drop a comment below.

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing.

6 Steps for Growing Your Business Using LinkedIn

I’ll be the first one to say: I’m not super into social media. 

I definitely like seeing friends and family updates, and I like being able to share things with more than one person at a time (particularly with photos), but most times I find social media overwhelming...even for business. 

And look - there are a lot of ways to have a successful business, I’m sure without social media. But using the tools almost everyone is using online is, well, kind of important. Even though I sometimes find myself anxiety-ridden after spending too much time scrolling, social media can be fabulous for business both for networking and finding clients.

My *favorite* social media, if you can even call it that - in fact, let’s just say the least overwhelming social media (and one I don’t click on ads to buy random junk that’s adorable but I definitely don’t need) - is LinkedIn. 

You might be surprised that more than 75% of Capturing Your Confidence clients come from LinkedIn! So when I say it’s helpful, I mean you can make connections AND money, which is kind of the ideal for business, right?

What is LinkedIn & How Does it Work?

LinkedIn is a social media platform meant for business and professional networking. Similar to Facebook, the posts are text-driven, although there are also interactive ways to connect with your audience, like polls. 

As a user, you create a profile and posts. In your Home feed, you can see posts from people you follow and posts the people you’re connected to have interacted with. For instance, if you connect with a co-worker or friend, you can see posts they’ve liked, shared, or commented on even if you aren’t connected to the original poster. It’s a great way to meet new people and see posts from companies and professionals you admire.

The primary difference between LinkedIn and other social networking sites is the professional aspect. People typically use LinkedIn to:

• Find jobs

• Hire and/or recruit for their company

• Grow their professional network

• Meet people doing what they want to do
  Contribute their expertise

• Learn from others 

The atmosphere is different from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (and any others I may have missed). People are generally positive, share employment and education milestones, and ask for help to get jobs or clients or whatever professional advice they need. There are personal stories, but on the whole, they’re framed within the work and business environment - not for drama’s sake. 

Why LinkedIn Works for Business

LinkedIn is a good place to grow professionally, but it’s also a pretty nifty business tool! For business owners, consultants, and freelancers, LinkedIn can help you find clients and grow your business without some of the busywork it takes on other forms of social media. 

For starters, LinkedIn is more professional. There will always be people who want to interact with their professional network in unprofessional ways, but in general, people on LinkedIn are there to do business.

They expect to connect with people, potentially do some job recruiting, and learn about business topics like marketing and copywriting from their network. The goals and audience expectations are different from Facebook, even for businesses using Facebook for business. 

Knowing the intention is to connect with people for business purposes, it feels less weird to connect with people you don’t know - especially when they’re doing something really cool you might also like to do. For instance, I love connecting with other writers and creative business owners because they offer a lot of interesting and creative ideas!

LinkedIn is a great place to learn what’s possible because there are others doing almost anything you can imagine. And, as long as you’re not connecting to someone and immediately selling to them in their DMs (don’t do this on ANY platform - it’s irritating!), people are usually happy to connect, which means it’s pretty simple to grow your network. 

Probably the best thing about LinkedIn for business is that you can get your name and business in front of A LOT of people fairly easily because of how the connection network works. You have people you know and are “connected with” - like Facebook or Instagram “friends.” Easy peasy. Search for them, connect with them, and once they accept, they’re in your network! 

The cool thing is that the more people you connect with, the more posts you see from outside of these connections. How it works is that your connection, say your work best friend, likes a post from someone she follows and/or is networked with. Because of your connection with your friend, you can see the posts she likes (or comments on). Because you can see the posts, you can interact with them as well, even if you’re not connected with the original poster. 

This is a fantastic way to meet smart people you want to connect with! You get a preview of their content, and when you interact with it, they can also come and see your profile and content, depending on how you set up your privacy settings. It’s a low stakes, organic way to grow your network of professional contacts - with the added bonus that there’s not usually an expectation of “follow for follow” like there is on other sites, especially Facebook groups. 

People on LinkedIn will connect with you and you can connect with them, but it’s not one of those things where you’ll see a ton of posts about “let’s all follow each other!” 

6 Steps for Growing Your Business with LinkedIn

If you’re sold on LinkedIn (heck yeah!) as a less stressful way to grow your business, especially for you creatives, I’ve got good news for you: It’s not hard. 

In fact, there’s really only 6 steps you need to take to start growing your LinkedIn presence (and therefore your business):

1. Make sure your profile is filled out all the way. Take the time to write a good headline, add a nice photo of yourself (NOT the bathroom selfie you took yesterday), and write an engaging bio. Remember, if you’re using LinkedIn for your business, you need to be clear about what it is you do and what you’re good at. 

2. Make sure your work history is up to date. Fill in your recent job history to the best of your ability and showcase the skills you want people to know about. You don’t need to include every job you’ve ever had, or old jobs that aren’t relevant to what you’re doing or want to be doing. For instance, jobs you had in high school probably aren’t doing you any professional favors.

3. Make sure you have a business page for your business. This is important, although can be easily forgotten! Create a business page for your business and then in your Work History section, make sure that your “job” is tied to the business page. This will help you gain credibility - and show your future network and clients exactly what you offer. 

4. Participate & comment thoughtfully. Think about what would happen if you walked into an interview and just sat there and said nothing. Or showed up at a work event and stood in the corner on your phone the whole time instead of interacting with others. It’s kind of a waste of time, right? That’s because you need to interact with people for networking to work. On LinkedIn that means commenting thoughtful and participating with your network. Get into real discussions and engage with people! Spend some time thinking about what your connections are posting - you never know who you might meet, or what clients might come of these kinds of interactions. (You’d be surprised by how often this actually happens!)

5. Post meaningful stuff & testimonials. When you make posts on LinkedIn, consider what’s relevant to your business and what people might want to know about your areas of expertise. For instance, tips and strategies for things that you’re really good at that other people aren’t. And when you do get awesome clients, share what they’re saying about you! There’s nothing more effective for drumming up business than a solid review or testimonial from someone who worked with you. 

6. Tag people, even if you don’t really “know” them. When you start tagging people in your network, it can feel awkward. It can sometimes feel like “I don’t really know them, so will they really care?” Tagging people is a great way to interact with your network and meet new people, though. And honestly? If you’re tagging someone in a post that’s relevant to what they do, they’re likely to respond in some way or another. It’s a thoughtful interaction - not that you want to be picking 5 random people who won’t get value from what you’re saying - and often leads to good conversations. 

My challenge to you is to get on LinkedIn (if you’re not already) & start using it for your business! 

Are you on LinkedIn? How have you used LinkedIn for business? (If you want to connect, find me here). I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing - and business.

Self-Publishing My Book Was Easy. Here’s Why You Should Try It, Too.

Opinion by Holly Huntress

The wonderful world of publishing is growing and changing all the time. With the ease of access to technology and everyone's growing presence online, it only makes sense that self-publishing is also on the rise. These days, there are many ways to self-publish. 

I’ve tried the Barnes and Noble publishing service, which is called Barnes and Noble Press, and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), which is Amazon’s publishing service. KDP has been easier to work with, so I switched all of my books from Barnes and Noble to KDP. 

There are also other ways to self-publish, like with IngramSpark and BookBaby, which both allow you to self-publish to channels other than just B&N or Amazon. But, I haven’t tried those services yet.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a great service for anyone who wants to publish a book and either doesn’t want to go the traditional route, or isn’t having luck with it. People who may have never been able to publish a book before now have the opportunity because of these amazing services, and you can do it, too!

Why Publish on Amazon?

A lot of authors choose the self-publishing route over traditional publishing because they want more control over the whole process. Often when you are picked up by a traditional publisher, you have to change things in your book that you may not want to change. You are beholden to your contract and that can be a daunting thought for a lot of people. When you’re self-publishing, you choose your own editor, book cover, and pricing. You have complete control over every step of the process.

Self-publishing through KDP can also be a great choice if you’re on a budget. If you don’t want to spend any money, you don’t have to. You can spend as much (or little) as you want! I choose to spend more in certain areas, like book cover design and editing, rather than marketing. I do marketing through social media while I save up enough to start doing ads. This way you don’t have to invest a large sum of money up front. 

When using KDP you get to keep more of the profits. KDP does take a percentage to cover the costs of supplying your book, and printing costs if you sell hard copies, but there’s no other company standing behind you taking a percentage of what you earn. 

When you’re setting the price for your book, KDP makes it clear how much you will actually earn from each sale. Offering ebooks is a great way to get a following because you can charge much less for the ebook versus the paperback since there are no printing costs. 

Using KDP also eliminates the search for an agent. You don’t have to do any more querying! I know how much I dislike querying agents, and I assume many people feel the same way. You’re putting yourself out there over and over again, only to be rejected or ignored. By using KDP, you don’t have to deal with that anymore. For that reason alone KDP is worth it to me.

How to Self-Publish on Amazon: The Basics

What can you expect?

When publishing on KDP, there are instructions every step of the way. First, you create an account, and then you start uploading your books. KDP makes it super easy. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but if you do have any questions, there are a lot of guides and tips to help, or you can always reach out to customer service. 

KDP has a downloadable program called Kindle Create that allows you to format your book as an eBook. This is also fairly simple to use, though it can take some playing around with to really understand all the options and tricks.

What do you need?

All you really need is a finished book! There are a few other things you should have as well, like a title, a blurb for the back of the book, and an author bio and picture. You don’t necessarily need a premade book cover, but I would recommend having one. 

There are some book cover templates that KDP offers that all you need is a picture, so if that’s all you have, it can work. KDP will provide you with an ISBN if you don’t have one (that’s something I never would have thought of needing before I self-published for the first time!).

Where can you find help if you need it?

There is some formatting that goes into preparing your book for publishing, which can be tricky if you don’t know how to do it on your own. But, there are always people willing to help. You can find book formatters on websites like Fiverr, or KDP does have some resources and templates you can use if you’re tech savvy. 

Don’t let the formatting piece of it all scare you away if you’re not tech savvy! You can always reach out to others who have self-published to ask how they formatted their books, or who they used to help them. You’re not alone! Most indie authors I know love to help and give other authors advice. 

Plus, you can always reach out to KDP’s customer service if you need more help.

Self-publishing is a lot of fun and so worth it if you choose to go that route! There’s no right or wrong way to publish your work, so don’t stress over that too much. All that matters is that your writing is being shared with the world, whether that’s through a traditional publisher or by yourself on a site like KDP - it’s up to you!

My challenge to you is to check out Kindle Direct Publishing. 

Have you thought about self-publishing? Have you used KDP or another self-publishing service? How‘d you like it? I’d love to hear about your experiences and recommendations! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing.

The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About Coaching Sessions

The other day I was nervously awaiting a meeting with a new client and I was trying to figure out why I was so nervous. I mean, it wasn’t my meeting - I wasn’t going to be running it at least, and the whole purpose of my being there was to get information so I could work on a new project. Exciting! 

After the meeting was over, I wasn’t nervous anymore. So, clearly, the nerves were about the meeting. I went on about my day, tooling around the house doing the dishes, working on some other writing projects - a pretty average day. 

As I stood washing the pots and pans (one of the most common places for big realizations in my world), I managed to figure out what was going on. I was nervous about what I didn’t know. It wasn’t the work, or the scope of the project, or even meeting new people (although 8 people in a Zoom meeting with a new client is kind of a lot, even for me). It was the fact that I didn’t know what would happen or what was expected of me. 

As I was standing there, I thought to myself that new coaching clients probably feel a lot like this, too. After all, you’re making an investment in yourself & your dreams, which is already kind of nerve-wracking, especially if it’s your first time. 

I know I get nervous the first time talking to a new coach! Even when I love the work they do and they’re obviously a great fit for what I need. So I thought maybe if I demystified what a coaching session looks like, or at least what’s involved, it might allay some fears and get you excited instead of nervous - because the excited part of you is the one who should be making the decision, and the one who’s ready to get your book written!

The Gist

What we do in coaching is have conversations. Before we dive into strategy and working together on your writing, we first set goals. These goals are what help me create the best & most helpful sessions for YOU, because you’re what it’s all about. 

Knowing that everything is centered around your personalized goals, there are several things we’ll talk about each time we meet. They vary in proportions depending on the day and what you need or ask to focus on.

We’ll talk about your project & your writing. I’ll ask how it’s going, what progress you’ve made, what questions you have - all the stuff that’s going on with you right now (even if you didn’t quite live up to your own high expectations - don’t worry, we’ve all been there). This sets a conversational tone for the session, which is how it works best so our time together stays relaxed and productive.

We’ll talk about where you’re stuck or what your blocks are. We all get stuck sometimes. It’s a when, not an if. Part of what makes this frustrating is that many times the reason is different each time! It’s not always easy to figure out why you were feeling extra creative on Thursday and completely blocked on Friday.

So we’ll talk about it - maybe it’s about what’s going on in your life or your business. Maybe it’s the part of the novel or book you’re working on. Maybe it’s that you’re kind of freaked out because you had a super powerful thought you’ve never had before (which is awesome, by the way). Whatever it is, we’ll find it. 

We’ll talk about ways to get unstuck. I’m here to help you bust through your blocks like a writing ninja. Well, I’m really more like Bob Ross: paint your way out of your writing blocks with a happy little cloud (because let’s be honest, I’m definitely not a ninja). 

Either way, once we figure out where you’re stuck, we’ll talk about ways to work through it. I’ll recommend some strategies for you to try between sessions - some of them (like having a conversation with the main character in your novel) might seem funky, but they work. 

We’ll talk about your goals. Goal-setting and progress, no matter how small, is always top of mind. We’ll check in and see how your goals feel and your progress toward them. We don’t want goals that don’t feel good or don’t feel aligned with what you want to do. 

If we need to adjust goals, we will. If you’re still feeling good about them (woohoo!), we’ll talk about the next steps you can take to achieve them - always keeping things doable, of course. 

I’ll give you tasks to work on between sessions. Some people call this “homework.” As a teacher, I can tell you from experience that giving homework to an adult, especially a professional, doesn’t always sit well. After all, coaching isn’t school. I'm not your teacher, and I’m not there to grade you on how thoroughly you completed an assignment. During coaching, I’ll guide & mentor you (hopefully inspiring you to keep going!), but it’s collaborative, not a teacher/student relationship.

Everything we do is designed to help you based on your goals and what you’ve shared with me. I do give tasks between sessions to remind you of what you’re working toward when we’re not together, and to help you make progress. If you decide not to do them, that’s your choice; but, I think you’ll be intrigued enough to try them out (and you’ll be amazed when the weird stuff works).

The Most Important Thing

No matter what we do, or where the conversation leads, the 3 most important things that will happen in each session are that:

• You’ll feel good about your project.

• You’ll have action steps to take to move forward. 

• You’ll be more confident than when we started (even if it’s just a little). 

Strategy does matter. Logistics and goals and all the things that you do to write your book - fiction or non - are important. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can already do those things. Sure, they might be a little less targeted or take longer. But you don’t need me to write your book - your brilliant ideas and your words will do that for you. 

What you do need is to feel confident about being able to write that book. You need to believe in yourself enough to start even when you’re hesitant (or full out terrified) and work through it when you’re stuck. You need the best you to write your book, and that’s what I’m here to help show you. 

Yes, I give you strategies because there are plenty of things you learn as a professional writer & writing teacher that might not occur to you to try if you're working in a different industry. But the best thing I can do for you is encourage you and show you how awesome you are so you can continue on your way. THAT’S what coaching sessions are really all about. 

My challenge to you is book a session and see the amazing things we can do in just one hour. 

Have you done a writing coaching session? How did it go? What would make you ecstatic to book a session TODAY? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing.

How to Choose the Right Coach

Wondering how to choose the right coach when there are so many to choose from?

It doesn’t have to be that complicated!

Notes on Choosing a Coach

• Choosing a coach doesn’t have to be that complicated, but make sure you do your due diligence to know as much as you can about who you’d be working with.

• It’s okay to “pick” someone and wait to work with them. Get involved with their content & community! Use it as an opportunity to learn from them before you work with them.

• If you get any vibes that something isn’t right, whether that’s from copy, content, video, etc., choose another coach.

• If you’re not sure about your first impression, read more about them. Interact with their content, wherever that is (blog, podcast, etc.)

• Budget is important (obviously), but it shouldn’t be your only consideration.

• More experience doesn’t always mean “better.” You need to be comfortable with their experience, whether than means education, years experience, or a specific kind of knowledge that you don’t have yet. Figure out what you will be comfortable with (whether they’re a few steps ahead of you or already doing your dream job) and remember that as you’re reading their copy.

4 Simple Steps to Choosing the Right Coach

Before you look for a coach:

Decide your main goal/purpose for getting a coach

When you’ve identified a possible coach:

Step 1: Read some of their recent content to see if it resonates with you.

Step 2: Find them on social media and see what they’re saying. Look at what others are saying about them & how they interact with their audience. Watch videos if they have any to see what they’re passionate about and how they speak to people.

Step 3: Look at their website and look further into their personality, experience, and prices. What are they promising? And how long will you work with the to see these results?

Step 4: If available, book a complimentary session with them to see how they converse with you. If they don’t have a free call, reach out to them or apply to coaching. NOTE: Only take this step when you’re ready to get started - you probably don’t want to get on a ton of calls with people if you already know they’re not a good fit.

Interested in Writing Coaching with Me?

Visit the coaching page to read more about how my coaching works (my promises & timeline from step 3).