by Ann Evanston | Aug 6, 2011 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
So I have been working on this challenge 5 days now; thought I’d share what happened to me while in San Diego. The book concept is actually coming along!
Wednesday night I sat in the bar at the Hilton San Diego with the intent of having a drink and READING, yes reading, my book! I love to read; it relaxes me and usually takes my mind off all the responsibilities I have. I started to read but this challenge popped into my mind AGAIN! This time it wasn’t limiting beliefs though, it was ideas about the book! (happy dance!) So I took pen to pad and wrote a few ideas down as I did not want to lose them. Back to book, back to pad…
A man sat next to me (pretty much what is in hotel bars these days, that stereotype isn’t gone). He ordered food and a drink and left me alone. When his food arrived it smelled SO GOOD I had to say “that smells SO GOOD”. (Let the conversation begin!) As we spoke about work and travel and how good kids have it in this country, somehow this 30 day challenge came up. As we spoke I realized even further the power of what I started writing about yesterday –our voice and how our story creates it if we own it. Wow, maybe I am onto something.
I realize that leading people, growing a business, having the success you want in life comes from finding knowing and OWNING your voice. Many might know it but do they own it? Own it to a point where they realize that it’s not about what others think. See the right people will love and honor who you really are. It’s the cornerstone to consistent success,to creating a clan, to inspiring others to follow you.
If you’d like to read the earlier entries 30 day challenge part one and 30 day challenge part 2
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Aug 4, 2011 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
It’s day two. Have to say that I thought about this challenge most the night last night. First there was this energy with everyone that has joined in this challenge and agreed to hold each other accountable. That energy was palpable! Then I started to think: “what the HELL will I write!” I’d wake up thinking about it! Then I started thinking about my book series concept and I felt all the limiting beliefs come rushing forward. “I can’t possibly write 90-100 pages on those topics!” “I have nothing to say that hasn’t been said before.” “It’s really not original.”
OMG! I, the woman who has taught COUNTLESS other people to find their voice doesn’t have one!
Holy CRAP!
Ok, obviously this exercise is going to be great because my experience will help my clients as well. My own learning and journey in this process can be a model for others. I REALLY want to get past just writing blog posts though. I want to get to the BOOK. Barbara DeAngelis says EVERYONE has a story. I question whether that means they have a book!
Hmmm… Finding your VOICE is Sexy. Lol! NOW that could be the book! (By the way there is an LB, of course, so many people think they KNOW their voice when I meet them at first!) Maybe it’s knowing your TRUE voice. I think I need to focus on WHY I am the one to have a voice on this issue.
(Looking for part one in the series? 30 day writing challenge)
Read part 3
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Aug 2, 2011 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
What would I write if I gave myself 30 minutes EVERY morning without failing to write? Just grab the coffee and sit away from my computer and write. Recently one of my online friends, Gina Parrish, posed this question. I had all kinds of sorry excuses – all kinds. I’ve been told I have a book in me – well that just makes me laugh. Then in her comments she brought up someone I consider a mentor: Dan Kennedy. For those that do not know him he has written a “No BS” series of books that I recommend to entrepreneurs. HE writes every day, even on the day of his mother’s funeral. OK, he writes for an hour, but I bet I could find 30 minutes. I’m willing to commit myself to a 30 day challenge (lol, some of you know how I feel about 30 day challenges!) 30 days of 30 minutes every day before email, before online marketing. I can do that. Are you up to the challenge?
I have been thinking that I want to write a “Sexy” series. Taking things I have studied and taught over the years and write about them from this warrior’s perspective. Leadership is SEXY. Ownership is SEXY. Empowerment is SEXY. Self-Esteem is SEXY. Marketing is SEXY. Hmmm…what would happen in 30 minutes every day? Do you have an opinion on what I should write about? Something you would love for me to share? I have to get over my limiting belief (yes, like you I battle them on occasion!) that I cannot write. It’s really not that hard, I have been writing for 15 minutes right now!
MY new laptop will make this even easier. I can sit anywhere. Which honestly, I sit at my desk working so much that I often don’t FEEL the creative flow there. All my creative juice goes into what I currently do for my business. I also think that writing a thesis in undergrad created some writer’s block for me. That was one of the hardest things I EVER did! But I did it well. It was published 3 times in different journals. It was 60 8.5×11 single spaced pages (typed in WordPerfect, no such thing as MS Word!). I actually wrote on paper then went to “computer lab” to type it. I also have to STOP that. I love paper; I enjoy writing pen to pad. BUT they rarely make it to a place where they can be shared online or in a book, just notebooks full of scribe.
What would you write about if you challenged yourself to 30 minutes every day? I honestly think if I am going to do it I have to learn to type though, I suck since I never took a class. I think the free software that came with my laptop has a course on it! Hmmm…always something to learn huh?
Wow, ok I am doing this – that was 25 minutes. Today August 2, 2011 I am starting my 30 day challenge. Are you in? I am open to checking in everyday! I will even share my progress in the comments below.
I have created 30 days of inspiration for you, to write and connect! Sign up for free!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
![Know Your Value part 3: Where does it come from?]()
by Ann Evanston | Jul 26, 2011 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
I have been writing a series on knowing your value and owning your worth. Honestly, this was the BEST piece of advice ever given to me, but the road to doing it was not easy. I can, if interested, talk about the market, your product or service, your target market and pricing based on those things, but I think many of us have heard that before. Here are three things I had to really work on to know and charge my worth.
1-my self esteem. Self-esteem, simply put, is the relationship you have with YOURSELF. It is how you think and FEEL about the things you say and do. What you charge is based on this. What I realized early on was I did not have SELF-esteem and had OTHER esteem. I depended on others to tell me if what I was doing was good; I needed their opinions, and most devastating to knowing my worth, I needed their approval.
2-my values: Looking at my values was incredibly important to knowing my worth. Without critically looking at my values about relationships, helping others, being in business, service, etc. I really struggled with what I charged. We often think we know what we value, but without a clear VISION of our lives and success it is difficult to measure if your values align or need to change.
3-the stories of my past that impacted my present: I realized that I grew up trained to “love a sale”, that “everything goes on sale”, that if it’s “meant to be it will be discounted”, or “it’s just too expensive”. Changing that story was critical. I had to literally take the time to rewrite it.
Now I still believe as a business woman that there are ways and price points to introduce people to what you have to offer, BUT (and yes this is a big BUT!) you have to be strategic about HOW you are doing that, and have a plan for the increases/special offers/discounts/sales. If you are just starting at a lower price point because you told yourself you are “new in the market” you probably need to work on the three things above. If you constantly set a price and did not plan to discount or sale in the price setting session you planned, then you also probably need to work on the three things above.
Ok, I could go on and on! Work on knowing your worth. You are worth it.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Jul 11, 2011 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
Recently, I wrote a post after being interviewed for a book: “The Fortune is in the Follow Up” by Heidi Sloss. It inspired this mini series on knowing your worth.
Last year I had the honor of speaking on stage at Rick Frishman’s Author 101 University with the likes of: Dr. Barbara De Angelis, Tom Antion, Craig Duswalt, and Loral Langemeier. I watched 200 published and desired to be published people FLOCK to the stage time and stage to buy their $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 even $10,000 and $20,000 packages. I sat with many of these authors/inspired authors during the event, at breaks at the bar. Many of them (easily about 70%) spoke about how broke they were. But of those 70% over 90% of them invested in one of the speakers packages. Packages that were SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Two things struck me:
1-When someone sees VALUE in what you offer, they figure out the money. Let me say that again, because some of you right now, have some self talk that is getting in the way: When someone sees VALUE in what you offer, they figure out the money. Stop telling yourself they were “caught in the moment” or they were somehow brainwashed to buy. No, they made a grown up decision about what would help them achieve their goals.
2-None of those speakers question their value. They know their worth, they stand in confidence. and people buy. I know what some of you are saying right now too! “But I’m not Barbara De Angelis, Ann!” Guess what? Once, neither was she. (lol, yes she was but you get my point) She made up her mind at one point that she was WORTH what she had to offer.
See, it starts with us, not them. You can help people that cannot “afford” you (although sales people will argue that when someone gives that objection, they still don’t understand the value of the purchase yet), in many ways, your blog, your newsletter, your facebook and twitter pages.
Next I am going to write about where my struggles came from in knowing my value!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
by Ann Evanston | Jun 30, 2011 | Influence Factor, Mental Mind Shifts
In a recent interview I was asked a great question: What was the best advice that you’ve ever been given that you’ve taken to heart? I knew my answer immediately: Know your value.
Stop devaluing yourself. Stop charging less than you’re worth. Stop taking less pay, fewer benefits and bad leadership. OWN your worth. I think that is the biggest lesson, the biggest. And I think it’s a big lesson for a lot of people. And once that finally clicked for me, which trust me, it took me a long time! When I was finally able to say no, it is worth this much money and that is my fee, new, different clients stepped into my world. I am often questioned about me fee, it was interesting because I just went through it. You might have heard I closed BMW as a client here a couple of weeks ago.
BMW approached me to work with their team over a year. I actually had discounted it because they were agreeing to a year because if I can get a client to commit to a year of business, that’s very different than a client that just commits to a month, or one day right? And at one point, the decision maker said to me, “Would you be willing to come down on this price? You’re pretty pricey based on what we’ve looked at out there.” And I said, “I’m the BMW of what I do. Are you willing to sell me a $70,000 BMW for $50,000?” Then he laughed. He said “no”. I said, “There you go.” The next day, he accepted the contract.
Knowing your value and the value of what you offer is one of the biggest and best pieces of advice I have ever been given. I will write more on this topic and HOW to determine it and get over the mental crap that might be stopping you as it did me.
Do you know your value?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
