Kimanzi Constable's Blog, page 40

10 Lies We Need to Stop Telling Ourselves

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For too many of us, we want to be the “rock”; we don’t want anyone to think we have any weakness. This means we keep our problems and struggles to ourselves, we even keep them from those we love.

We want to be strong, but at the end of the day we’re human. We go through highs and lows, and struggle with self-limiting beliefs. We tell ourselves things that hold us back from being the best men and women we could be.

These things may not be verbalized, we might not even be aware of them, but there are 10 things we have to stop telling ourselves if we want to live an amazing life.

These self-limiting beliefs are affecting us one way or another. They’re paralyzing us and keeping too many of us from even thinking about taking action on our dream lifestyle.

They’re keeping us in toxic relationships, they’re keeping us at a jobs we hate, they’re keeping us from moving to somewhere better, they’re keeping us from being the best us we can be.

We have listened to them for far too long. It’s time to get real with ourselves and stop settling in life. We only get one life to live and these self-limiting beliefs are keeping us from truly living it. Here are 10 lies that hold us back in life.

1. I’m not good-looking

You may not look like a celebrity, but you don’t have to. You’re good-looking, and you need to know that. Confidence is an attractive quality, and there is someone out there for all of us. Don’t listen to anyone that will tell you otherwise, they’re wrong.

2. I’m not smart enough

Sure, not all of us are Albert Einstein, but we don’t have to be. You may not be book smart, but you might be street smart. You may not have gone to Harvard, but you did get a degree from a state college.

You may not have even gone to college, but as long as you commit to always learn, you are as smart as you need to be. Brendon Burchard says, “An expert is a student first.” Always continue to learn and better educate yourself about the things that you need to know.

3. I can’t beat my fear

The fear of failure keeps too many of us feeling stuck. We’re afraid to even try because we think we’ll fail. Fear is a liar and a dream killer. You can’t let it win.

C JoyBell C made a great observation about fear: “Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.”

4. I live a good enough life

You could go through life taking the safe road every time, but how boring is that? Life is too short to settle, and you only get one chance to live it. Don’t let fear keep you from true freedom and living life on your terms.

I realize this is just a line from the movie Braveheart, but the words are true and powerful: “Why? Why is that impossible? You’re so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshanks’ table that you’ve missed your God-given right to something better.”

5. What other people are saying is true

There are negative people who will try to hold you back in life. They could be outright haters or just people who aren’t comfortable with their life. These people will point out the 100 reasons why you’ll never succeed. Don’t listen to them, cut them out of your life if you have to.

6. It’s too hard so I won’t try

Making big changes isn’t easy, but once you reach your goal, it will be totally worth the struggle. Change is hard, just like life, there’s no easy road for most of us, but that’s ok. The struggle teaches us to appreciate what we have once we get it. Even though it’s hard, try anyway, that’s how you learn and grow.

7. I don’t deserve happiness

Difficult life situations, or decisions we’ve made in the past may have planted the seed in our mind that we don’t deserve happiness. That is a straight up lie. No matter who you are, or where you’re at in life right now, you deserve to be happy. More than that, you can be happy if you choose to be.

8. It will never work out for me

It may seem like everyone around you has an amazing life with no problems, that’s just a front. We all have struggles, and it often feels like nothing will ever work out how we want it to. That’s just a feeling that can be overcome with a mindset shift.

9. No one understands what I’m going through

What you’re going through may be difficult, but I guarantee there’s some other person going through the same thing. It’s hard for us to open up and communicate, but keeping all those emotions bottled up inside could negatively affect your health. There is someone who understands, and there are great benefits in getting through it together.

10. This is as good as it gets

The quality of your life comes down to what you decide you want it to be. If you decide it will never get better, you won’t take the necessary steps to make it better. Stop letting self-limiting beliefs keep you stuck in a life you hate. Decide that today is the day you’re going to reclaim your life.

Don’t listen to doubt, fear, or the negative voices of others. Make the decision that even though it’s not easy, you’re going to do what it takes to create an amazing life. You’re going to live a life most people only dream of.

Don’t get me wrong, truly living an amazing life is hard work. It’s takes time and more perseverance than we think we have in us, but nothing is impossible.

Stop letting self-limiting beliefs keep you stuck in a life you hate. Decide that today is the day you’re going to reclaim your life. Make that decision, but do something different, take action.

Are you letting self-limiting beliefs hold you back?

This article originally appeared on the Good Men Project.

Photo: Flickr/ Ed Schipul

How to Book Paid Speaking and Consulting at Companies (Podcast)

I’ve written about paid speaking, and booking consulting at companies a bunch in the last month. But today I have a twist, you get to hear me walk you through this on the podcast that I co-host.

What’s more, you get to hear questions from someone just like you that wants to know how to do this. This episode was supposed to be us talking about why we teamed up, but it took a pleasant side tour to paid speaking. It’s only 25 minutes, so give it a listen!

 

Live your list

Do you have a bucket list? Ryan Eller is the host of the Live Your List podcast. He’s a TEDx speaker, and international consultant. In the episode he has a hilarious story about an experience in China. Ryan gives practical advice and tips on how to chase your dreams, goal setting, and the power of self-discipline. I really enjoyed this one!

 

I hope you’re enjoying these podcast episodes, but more than that, I hope you take massive action in 2015! What is one major goal for 2015?

This week’s articles

7 Things No One Told Me About Being an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Magazine

My Grandfather Died Today and My Heart is Broken

The Good Men Project

The One Thing We Need to Do Differently in 2015

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I was at the end of my rope in February of 2012. I stopped listening to my doubt and fear, I took action on my dream by self-publishing my first book. I thought if I put it out there people would buy it. They didn’t.

I wanted to quit. I wanted to forget about writing, blogging, social media, and this whole online world. I wanted all the problems to be worked out of my bread business so I could get back to what I knew and was comfortable with. This dream chasing stuff was too hard!

When I thought about my journey up to that point, I realized how much information I had taken in. I read dozens of blogs; I had over 30 podcasts on my iPhone. I watched hours of videos. The problem wasn’t a lack of information; the problem was a lack of focus and implementation.

The one thing we (myself included) need to do differently in 2015 is take action.

There will always be a new and better way to do something. There will always be a new hot-shot who seems like they came out of nowhere, using a strategy that we, “just have to adopt” in our business. If we get on this merry-go-round we’ll pass out from dizziness or never get off the ride.

We know so much, more than we realize. It’s not enough to know. Focus and implementation are what builds a business that supports your family. 2015 has to be the year that we take more focused action than we ever have before! It has to start right now.

January first is going to be here soon. Every year we wait until January first to start making resolutions. What if we didn’t wait? What if we made our plans now, and then hit the ground running on January first?

2015 has to be the year we focus on what’s important to where we are at in the process. We have to stop chasing what other people are doing. If you’re building your email list, stop learning about SEO. If you’re writing for other websites, the SEO will work itself out.

Right now, after you get done reading this, look at where you’re at and figure out what YOU should be working on.

Don’t let the bright shiny lights of our Internet world distract you from your goal. It’s going to take incredible focus, unwavering perseverance, and a commitment to never quit to make your dream a reality in 2015. It’s going to take consistent action. Action everyday, and more and more as you see progress.

You have to implement what you already know. Information overload is a real problem and keeps too many of us stuck. We don’t implement what we already know, but we continue to take in more information. This has to stop in 2015. This has to be a year of action!

I have set some major goals for 2015. One of which is helping 5,000 people transition out of their day job. If you’re reading this, and have a day job, my goal is to help you. If we’re both committed to our goals, we’ll come to the end of 2015 having accomplished some amazing things together.

Are you with me? Will you commit to focus on taking action in 2015? Yes or no in the comments.

Photo: Flickr/ Aristocrats-hat

10 Truths About Self-Publishing

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Research shows that 81 percent of people say they have at least one book in them, according to the New York Times. As an entrepreneur, a book is a great way to establish authority in your industry.

It’s estimated that Amazon has earned $5.25 billion from eBooks so far this year, according to George Parker in The New Yorker. For entrepreneurs, this is an opportunity to add income to your business.

The problem is that there are 600,000 to one million books self-published every year in the U. S. alone, according to Nick Morgan. This has spawned an entire industry aimed at those wanting to self-publish a book. It’s also made it very difficult for your book to stand out and sell copies.

When I started my online business in 2011, I started with a self-published book. Self-publishing was becoming popular and stories like Amanda Hocking and John Locke convinced me a self-published book would be a great first product.

That book completely flopped. It sold five copies in the first six months. It’s estimated that the average book will sell fewer than 250 copies, according to Nick Morgan. It’s hard to sell books. Here are 10 hard-earned bits of advice that will help you sell your book.

1. Don’t make your book free through Amazon’s KDP select program. Amazon has a program called KDP Select. When you enroll in the program you have to make your book exclusive to Amazon. You can’t even sell it on your own website. In exchange for exclusivity, Amazon will give you a small portion of their lending program (about $2 per book).

They will also let you offer your book for free for five days every 90 days. The free promotion was a popular strategy in 2011 and it’s still widely used today. The goal is to get more reviews for your book and your book in more readers hands. Amazon estimates you’ll get one review for every 1,000 books downloaded during a free promotion. Not a very good return on investment.

The biggest problem is you can’t sell your book on your own website. That costs you the opportunity to connect with your customers directly. You can’t add their name to your email list, you can’t tell them about your other products or services. Amazon gets to do that.

People don’t respect something they get for free and, since there are millions of other free books, chances are they won’t even read yours. The former publisher of Writers Digest, Jane Friedman, has an excellent article about whom this program works best for. It’s not the average author.

2. You need to hire an editor. When all the big self-published authors are asked what was their biggest mistake, the overwhelming answer is not getting their book edited. Readers notice when your book isn’t edited. They will leave negative reviews about the grammar. That affects your book sales because reviews are the first thing a book buyer looks at.

3. Self-publishing is not easy. Self-publishing has opened many doors and taken away the gate keepers, but don’t think it is easy. With a major publisher you write the book and the publisher handles the ins and outs of creating the book. With self-publishing, that all falls on you.

4. You don’t need a physical version of your book. CreateSpace is an amazing company that can print your book on demand. You can have a physical copy of your book but that doesn’t mean you need one. If you speak at conferences and want to sell your book in the back of the room, that’s one thing. If you just want to sell your book, an ebook works just as good.

5. It’s tough getting your self-published book into book stores. As someone who has a publisher, I can tell you that getting placement for your book in a bookstore is hard. Bookstores only want to give space to proven authors. There’s a self-publishing company called Lightning Source, which has a relationship with Ingram books, the world’s largest book distributor. Ingram distributes books to all the major bookstores. Yes, Ingram can get your book in the bookstores catalog but not in the actual bookstore.

6. You have to market your book. It doesn’t matter how good your book is, your book will sell or languish depending on the marketing. Remember the (at least) 600,000 books published every year? Many good books go unnoticed. Writing a good book is just the start. Marketing gets the book noticed and persuades people to buy it.

7. Don’t put your picture on the cover. Authors enjoy seeing their smiling face on the cover of their book but book buyers don’t. Your photo on the cover is a great strategy if you are Brad Pitt or someone with name recognition but seeing the picture of some random person pushes people away from buying your book.

8. Your book is worth more than 99 cents. With all the competition, you’re told you have to price your book at 99 cents to sell it. As an entrepreneur, you goal is not to be priced at the bottom of the market. Understand the value you provide and price your book accordingly. Books are greatly underpriced for the value they provide. Let everyone else chase the bottom while you enjoy more profit on the top.

9. One book will not make you rich. Successful self-published authors have multiple books. It’s possible for one book to take off but that’s the rare exception, not the rule. Multiple books, especially series, give your other books a better chance to sell. If someone buys one of your books and likes it, they’re likely to buy your other books.

10. You need to launch your book. A book lives and dies by the marketing. To get the maximum exposure for your book, you should do a full-blown book launch. What does this mean? You should form a launch team of about 100 people.

These 100 people are bloggers and website owners who will help you promote the book during the launch week. Your goal is to get concentrated sales during a specific week to drive the book to best-seller status and help it in Amazon’s algorithm rankings. These 100 people will leave reviews for your book on Amazon and anywhere else your book is sold. They’ll promote your book on their social media pages and on their website and email list.

You walk away with 100 reviews and your book exposed on a larger network than you could have reached on your own. During this launch week, you should also offer a few freebies to entice people to buy your book. The freebies are what you will give your launch team as a thank you for their help promoting your book. The former CEO of Thomas Nelson Books, Michael Hyatt, did a great job proving this strategy. I have also used it with tremendous results.

Have a clear plan for your book. As an entrepreneur, a book should definitely be a part of your strategy for business growth. Establish your authority and earn some passive income through your book sales. Follow this advice and your book will thrive. Take full advantage of the amazing opportunity self-publishing can provide every entrepreneur.

Do you plan on self-publishing a book in 2015?

P.S. You can self-publish and sell books. My friend Jimmy and I want to help you. We just launched a four-week class specifically for self-published authors. This class walks you through the ins and outs of self-publishing, and you will leave a best-selling author. More than that, you’ll have a blueprint for every book you publish in the future. There is early bird pricing of $97 just for the first class. Details here.

This week’s articles

3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Find Paid Public Speaking Engagements

Entrepreneur Magazine

5 Decisions To Avoid For A Regret-Free Life

Mind Body Green

An Open Letter to My Wife on Our Anniversary

The Good Men Project

5 Things I Hated About Being Overweight

The Huffington Post

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This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur Magazine

 

An Interview with New York Times Best-selling Author Guy Kawasaki

A few months ago Jared Easley asked me to co-host his popular podcast, Starve the Doubts. We’ve had a blast recording the episodes, and I’ve learned a ton. I want to start sharing these episodes with you. Today I’m happy to bring you two interviews with some amazing and inspiring people.

Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

You may know Guy Kawasaki from his work as the chief evangelist for Apple. He is the New York Times best-selling author of three books, and has authored nine total books. He is now the chief evangelist of Canva. He has co-authored one of the best books about self-publishing, APE.

Peg Fitzpatrick is a social media miracle worker! You’re probably familiar with my thoughts on social media, so for me to closely follow Peg means I believe in what she’s teaching. She is a writer and editor.

In this interview we talk about what works with social media today. Guy did not hold back at ALL! We also talked about connecting with influencers like him and building your online presence. Listen to the interview here:

 

Abbie Unger

Abbie is a mother, wife, and entrepreneur. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Abbie these last six-months. In that time her business has exploded. She has a business that helps people get jobs as flight attendants. She’s helped over 60 people land jobs. Side note: statistics show it’s easier to get into Harvard than to get a job as a flight attendant.

She also has a business that helps stay-at-home moms build businesses while balancing family life. Abbie has been featured in the Huffington Post, Mashable, Yahoo Travel, TV, and Facebook itself sent a camera crew to her house. Her husband Jason joined us for the interview. Listen to it here:

 

Hope you enjoy these and many more we have coming up! Based off of Guy and Peg’s advice, I’m going to pay a little more attention to social media in 2015. I will, of course, keep you updated with what’s working. Tomorrow we talk about self-publishing!

The Ins and Outs of the Coaching Business- Part Three

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If you missed part one or part two, check them out and get up to date!

There are many ways to monetize an online business, and coaching can be a lucrative one. In 2012 when my business started to take off, I got multiple requests for one on one coaching. For a long time I resisted because I’m an introvert.

I can clearly remember the day someone bought my $1197.00 package when I did launch my coaching business. I couldn’t believe someone would pay me that much to coach them. Me, former bread guy from Wisconsin. Since then, I’ve had a few $10,000 months. Not telling you to brag, but to show you that you too can make significant income with your coaching business.

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These days I’m not taking any one on one coaching clients because of the different group programs I offer. Teaming up with Jared Easley, Dixie Gillaspie, and Jimmy Burgess for these programs has been amazing! We’re having a blast and those in the programs are accomplishing so much. You can decide to go one on one or a group; either way has amazing opportunities for your business.

Marketing

The success of your coaching program will live and die by the marketing. Two of the best ways to market are word of mouth and your email list. If you have helped someone, or coached him or her for free, ask them to refer someone who’s looking for coaching your way. You’d be surprised by all the opportunities that are in your sphere of influence. By simply looking around I’m guessing you’ll find your first or a new client.

The next place is your email list. Many of you know how big of a fan I am of email lists. The best way to sell to your email list is with the soft sell. You’re not trying to overwhelm your list with an over-the-top Internet marketer sales pitch. The best way is to give them value, and simple mention that you have coaching for sale. Tell them if they’re getting value from the free stuff, imagine how good the paid stuff will be.

If your email list has been consistently getting value, this will be a no brainer for a few of those people on the list. The way you can give them extra value is by offering exclusive content. People on my email list they have told me they get value from my exclusive content on Saturday’s. This softens the sell.

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There are many ways you can market your coaching business. You can take out a Craigslist ad. When I started my coaching business I took out a few Craigslist ads and got four clients in Milwaukee (where I used to live). On the same token, you can take out in ad in your local paper or on your local news affiliate website. These are great for local clients.

Online, you can pay for social media ads; I have also landed clients using Facebook ads. For a time, this was how I got all my coaching clients. Social media sites have a vast amount of information about their users. When you pay for an ad, you can target those who see the ad. Facebook has options for you to target someone down to the cereal they eat. If you create an appealing ad, and target the right person, they will click-through to your website and check out the offer. If you make it appealing enough, they will buy without knowing you. Remember, these are people who are looking for what you offer.

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Another way to market is through webinars. You offer a free webinar teaching something specific, and then offer your coaching services at the end of the webinar. If you create a compelling webinar, people will come. If they get value from the teaching, they will buy your coaching program.

To get even more bang for you buck, partner on a webinar with someone who has a bigger email list. If you’re in the online space, you’ve seen this happening. One person has a program or service and does a webinar with another person who has an email list. Both parties split the profits.

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Here’s the thing, you don’t need to partner with someone who has a big email list. If you have an email list of 100 people, and someone you partner with has an email list of 200 people, that’s 300 people that could see your webinar. If you get 40 people on the webinar, all you need is one person to buy.

That’s all you’re shooting for, just one person. Once you land one, then you focus on two and so on. Too often we think we need to have ten people sign up for our program. If you get one person that buys your $1197.00 program, that’s a good chunk of money in your pocket. When you land a few of those each month, the income starts to overtake your day job. Focus on one person at a time, not trying to land everyone!

This is the end of our series on coaching. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and got value! Use what we’ve talked about to create a profitable stream of income for your business in 2015!

What did you take away from this series that you’ll apply to your business?

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The registration for Jared Easley and my new course closes for good tomorrow (Wednesday). We’d love to have you join the 15 other people who have signed up! Details here

Photo: Flickr/TranceMist

 

The Ins and Outs of the Coaching Business- Part Two

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We’re in a series right now giving you everything you need to know to start or grow your coaching business. If you missed part one, check it out here.

The thing that I hear constantly, and what I know some reading this are thinking is, “why would anyone listen to me?” We live in a time when there’s a lot of information. However, you would be surprised by what people know. The topic that you think has been covered enough hasn’t. If you are in this online space there are a lot of things we all know and get tired of hearing. People that aren’t in this online space don’t know what we see everyday.

We know things because we read the same blogs, listen to the same podcasts, and watch the same videos. We’re used to what we see everyday, but the non-online world person has NO clue about these topics. You can still teach your topic to a HUGE audience that hasn’t heard it, or hasn’t heard it in the way you teach it. This is why, with the right training, anyone can become a coach.

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Pricing

Ok, so we’ve established that you can coach, and that coaching can be a profitable revenue stream for you. Let’s talk about the money part. Pricing for coaching can be handled in two ways.

Per month pricing

In this model you charge a monthly fee and for a certain period of time. The standard period is three months. In that month you have to decide how many “calls” or “sessions” you will offer. I have seen this vary from one call a month to one a week.

The frequency of the calls determines how much you’ll charge. When in doubt, I tell my clients to charge at least $97 an hour. That number is worth your time and not out of reach for your potential clients. I’m not a fan of the per month model because people tend to shy away from something that feels like the expense won’t stop.

Flat rate pricing

In this model you charge a flat rate for your calls/sessions. This is the model I use for my coaching program. My customers have told me they like this model because they can come and go as they please. Again, you decide what to charge per session. If you broke down my rate hourly, it’s $250 an hour.

What should you charge? I’m always going to tell you to test things out for yourself. What works for me, or someone else, might not work for you. I would tell you to try both systems and see what your customers respond best to. Testing is the key to success in any business.

The structure

Ok, so how the heck do you actually coach? Like pricing, coaching can be done in many ways, too many to list in this series. You can start simple through a Google Hangout. Here you have a video call with your client.

You can step it up and use a private video service like Go to Meeting, or one I’ve used called Any Time Meeting. Each of these services has a free version. To record your sessions you will have to upgrade to the paid version. With the paid versions, you can record the sessions, share your screen, and take notes that will be automatically emailed to your client after the session. If you are going to use the free versions of these, or a Google Hangout, you can use a Google Doc for notes between you and your client.

These days I use Free Conference Call for my private and group coaching sessions. The service is FREE, but you can still record calls, share your screen, and do everything else you need to coach. They even offer a transcription of your call for free. If you’re looking for a cost-effective option, check it out.

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I’m going to end part two here. When I come back on Tuesday, I’ll be talking about marketing your coaching business. I have some interesting ideas that can help you fill up your program!

2015 can be your year. You can build a profitable business that supports your family. If you need help with implementing, and getting your questions answered, check out a new program I’m offering. Registration closes December 2nd. Details here.

What area are you coaching or will coach on?

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Photo: Flickr/ Darren Kuropatwa

This week’s articles

3 Reasons Why Relying on Social-Media Marketing Is a Losing Strategy

Entrepreneur Magazine

3 Reasons Why Focusing on Impact Instead of Income Makes You More Money Sooner

The Good Men Project

How To Create Real Freedom In Your Life

Mind Body Green

You’re Not Getting Paid Enough

The Good Men Project

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Moving to Hawaii

The Huffington Post

 

The Ins and Outs of the Coaching Business- Part One

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The School of Coaching Mastery estimates that the average executive coach makes $325 per hour, the average business coach makes $235 an hour, and the average life coach makes $160 per hour. I charge around $250 per hour. With over 2.5 billion people online daily, the amount of revenue made through coaching can be significant, and enough to quit your day job.

The money’s there, but coaching isn’t for everyone. More than that, most people have questions about how to start or grow a coaching business. We are in a series about practical strategies you can use to build a business that supports your family, and do it by the end of 2015. We’ve talked about hosting your own conference for little or no money, and getting booked on TV. Let’s talk about how you can build a profitable coaching business as a part of your arsenal.

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You can coach  

One of the biggest objections I hear from people who want to start a coaching business is the question of their credentials. We question our self at one point or another as to whether anyone should or will listen to us.

First, realize that the best “training” you can get is experience. If you have experienced something and triumphed through it, you’ve been trained on the most important part of coaching. Learning something in a book or course is not the same as going through that situation in real life. If you have the experience, you can learn how to help people in the most effective way. You have what it takes to be a coach. Don’t let haters keep you from making an impact in someone’s life.

The “free” consultation call

Since August of 2011 I have given away 127 hours of free coaching. Yes, that’s an accurate number because I keep track. One could look at all those hours as a lost opportunity, but I view it as my training on how to coach. I am a better coach because of that on the job training. I don’t however, recommend you do the same.

People *generally* (I don’t like to make generalizations) don’t respect something as much when they get it for free. My tip this is don’t give away free coaching. It’s a strong statement, but I stand behind it.

I’m not telling you to charge $200 an hour. I’m saying that when someone has skin in the game, they’re invested and are likely to take action on what you teach them. You can use a service like Clarity and charge a small amount, or tell people it costs $5 for a 30-minute consultation session. The point of this isn’t to make money.

You want to qualify your calls because those calls take up a valuable resource: your time. Qualifying these calls separates those who are serious from those who aren’t. Out of those 127 calls about half of them were with people who were serious. Out of 127 hours of free coaching, seven became paid coaching clients…

A lot of experts will tell you to offer a free coaching consultation call. The premise being if someone wants to hire you, that call will give him or her the assurance they need. I can see their point, but I disagree. These calls are usually given to someone who’s not in the financial position to afford coaching right now, but would love the free advice. In the end it’s not the best use of your time. If you have a podcast or blog, I’m guessing you have tons of free content that you could direct them to answer their questions.

Charging a small amount for these calls is not unreasonable, and not out of most people’s budget. You can record these calls through a service like Free Conference call, and send the recording to them afterword so they can work on what you talked about. Everyone wins in that scenario.

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Besides the money, there’s an important psychological principle happening. If someone is going to chase a dream, or make a big change, they have to change their mindset. When they get a free session and “possibly” do something with the info, that doesn’t help change their mindset.

When someone– who doesn’t have disposable income– musters up a few bucks to learn something important to their dream, they will take action, but it does something significant in their mind. In their mind they’ve “earned this” and get committed to the process of not giving up.

We get free content everyday in the form of blogs, podcasts, and videos. If you want to know how to build a business, the information is all around. Yet, many are stuck right now. Why is that? A small investment of money helps us focus since we’re invested. If you have ever paid for coaching, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Again, don’t be offended if you’ve had free coaching. Read through what I’m saying and use it in your business. Your time is worth something, and when someone pays (even a small amount), they will respect you and their dream a lot more. If you operate a non-profit or a ministry, ignore this advice completely.

When you’re constantly giving away your time for free, no one will want to pay for that time. Why would they when they can get it for free? The way you make sales with your business is to “show” people that what you’re selling is valuable. Constantly giving away your time isn’t showing your value. Charge a small amount of money for your time, and to help the mindset of those you’re talking to.

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Remember, you might not be an A-lister (yet), but that doesn’t mean your time should be free. If you have experienced something, and now teach that topic, your time is valuable and your audience should realize that. You’re not teaching them theories; you’re teaching what will help.

This is the end of part one, come back Monday and we’ll get into the how to behind a profitable coaching business.

Are you a coach? Do you want to start coaching?

P.S. Just a reminder that Wednesday is the last day to get Jared and my new course at the early bird price. Will this be worth it? One thing I’m doing is giving you all the numbers. What income looked like and from where. How it added up and at what point did I pull the trigger to quit my day job. We’re not holding back in this one. Details here

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Photo: Flickr/ Celestine Chua

 

How to Get Booked on TV- Part Two

Jared, Donald, Laura, and John. Picture used with permission.

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Aloha and welcome back! If you missed part one of this series, head back and check it out here. In part one we talked about getting booked locally, and targeting the weekend morning shows. We also talked about the three types of approaches.

I always try to give you more than my opinion. In my research, I found some stats on what a TV appearance has done for some restaurants. They all experienced their businesses doubling. Ok, let’s talk about where we are. Tim Ferriss credits his TV appearances as a big part of why his books hit the New York Times bestsellers list. Personally, after one appearance on a morning show, I added $4,000 in revenue. I’m guessing I don’t need to convince you of the value of a TV appearance. So let’s continue.

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Third, contact the “associate producer”. The associate producer is the person in charge of finding content. They have the authority to book you. The best time to reach the associate producer is between 10:30 pm and 2 am. They are starting their shift at that time and aren’t as busy. If you wait, they’ll be doing a thousand things and won’t have time to talk.

Call them. Like on the phone. They get hundreds of emails, so your pitch will get lost in the chaos if you try to email. Since they don’t want to miss stories that could be huge later, they always answer the news line. I mean always. Get the number from that stations website and give them a call during those hours.

Be BRIEF! They are super busy and don’t have time to hear a long story. You have five minutes max to pitch them. Give them the pitch about the topic, and then tell them why you’re the right person to talk about this topic. Leverage everything you have in your arsenal.

DON’T tell them you’re “launching a book” or something like that. If they feel this is self-promotional, they’ll hang up. Show them you’re going to add value and have clear takeaways, and when you get on the show, do. You have five minutes to convince that producer that your topic is relevant, and that you’re the right person to talk about it. If you want to be successful, you have to believe it!

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Fourth, leverage that appearance. You’re on TV! How many people can make that claim? Be sure to dress nice and smell good. Talk clearly. You only have a short amount of time, but don’t talk so fast people can’t understand you. The goal of your appearance is to teach the viewers something; it’s your job to be convincing.

People who see you on TV will contact you, and even businesses will reach out. You can also take the video and plaster it everywhere! When you’re submitting to speak at a conference, show them the video. When you’re trying to book consulting at a company, show them the video. Leverage is what leads to income.

Before you launch your next book, product or service, think about how a TV appearance can help. Leverage an event where you live and get yourself booked. Once you get one appearance, they will view you as the expert and keep reaching out.

Does this really work?

This is the question I always ask myself when I read something like this. This DOES work, and I have proof with some people who I’m guessing you know. I talked about leverage, and especially writing from any larger publications. I wrote an article for Entrepreneur Magazine about up and coming podcasts.

Donald Kelly, from the Sales Evangelist podcast, and one of the podcasters in that article, went to his local CBS morning show and pitched a segment on why podcasting can benefit small business owners. He showed them the article I wrote to show that national media organizations are writing about this. CBS said yes, and brought on four of the podcasters from the article! The picture in this article is of those four podcasters after the TV interview on the morning show. They were also able to leverage that article to get into their local paper.

You can do this too!

Remember, 2015 is going to be your year. My goal is to help you build something that gives you freedom in every area of your life. Last series we talked about hosting your own event. A TV appearance can fill that event pretty quickly. Use this strategy for success! Next week we start a series on the ins and outs of the coaching business!

Are you going to try to get on TV?

P.S. Just a reminder that early bird pricing for the new class I’m doing with Jared Easley (one of the people in the picture) ends Tuesday. Details here. We are also having a free call this Tuesday. Details here.

This week’s articles

3 Reasons Why Focusing on Impact Instead of Income Makes You More Money Sooner

Entrepreneur Magazine

The People I Work With Are Driving Me Nuts!

The Good Men Project



An Open Letter to My Grandfather

The Huffington Post

What Will You Do With the Rest of This Year?

The Good Men Project

 

How to Get Booked on TV- Part One

Me speaking to the Kenyan media at a press conference for an event I spoke at last year.

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The New York Times estimates that the average American watches five-hour a day of TV. It’s also estimated that the morning shows of TV stations get 13 million daily viewers. Although 2.5 billion people will be online today, people still watch, and give weight to TV. It’s the equivalent of having a traditionally published book.

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At the end of 2012, my business had taken off. It was generating income, but I was looking for ways to put a cherry on top of the cake. A friend suggested I book an appearance on some of our local morning shows. He taught me the strategy I’m going to teach you about in this series.

Here’s what you should understand. It’s not easy to get on TV, but these shows have to air a wealth of good content, and do it everyday. They are always looking for interesting pitches, and they don’t want to miss a story.

When I did finally get on some morning shows in late 2012, my local business exploded. I got consulting work, coaching clients (I didn’t really think of it as coaching because I had no clue what I was doing), and people at my live events. TV also helped me get better placement for my book in bookstores when it came out in May of 2013.

Writing for large websites, getting booked on podcasts, and social media marketing are great ways to build an audience, and promote a product that you’re selling. TV however, is an incredible way to get exposure in front of millions of people. I will also say it’s a original way of marketing because how many people do you know that get booked on TV? I don’t think I need to convince you of the value of this strategy, so lets talk about how to do it!

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First, you should start by targeting the weekend morning shows on your local TV stations (your local ABC, NBS, CBS, Fox affiliates and so on).  Always start local. I prefer local because that’s where you know what’s going on and probably have a connection.

I would start by targeting the weekend shows. They aren’t watched as much as the weekday morning shows, so they’re always willing to experiment. They also have an excessive amount of time to fill, so they’re always looking. The thing to understand is that they fill slots, and a normal slot is three to five minutes. That’s not a lot of time for you, but it’s enough to make a good impression, and have something to leverage the heck out of.

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Second, identify what you’re going to talk about on the show. You have three choices here. It can be a current event going on where you live, a problem that has been going on for a while, or a general problem in our society. I’ll give you an example from something that happened here in Maui.

Current event: The GMO moratorium initiative that voters decided on. I could contact a morning show and pitch why I would be a good guest to talk about this. That link above is to an article I wrote for the Huffington Post about the debate. That would be my leverage to get on the show.
Ongoing event:The homeless problem here in Hawaii. Hawaii has a huge homeless problem, and I could pitch an appearance by taking an opposing view. Everybody talks about the problem, but I could offer a realistic and unique solution.
General problem: Homelessness in America. Given that we just had an election where nearly $4 billion dollars was spent in campaign contributions, I could pitch that we spent that much on the election while 3.5 million people are homeless.

Before you read this, and get on edge about the politics, look at the point I’m making. I have learned the hard way not to talk about politics, so please don’t have that be the takeaway from this article. I only bring it up because it would be a powerful pitch. TV shows like airing a segment that would get people talking, positive or negative. Where you live there are all kinds of things going on that you could pitch to a show, and things going on in America in general. Use those events as your gateway to getting on TV.

I’m going to end part one here. On Friday I’ll get into specifics about the pitch, and how to leverage TV for your business. I hope you’ve been enjoying these series and use them to create a profitable business in 2015. I don’t want to write about the fluff on my blog, I want to give you strategies that are unique and you can use.

A little more help

Before you go, I want to tell you about a new class I’m doing with Jared Easley, from the Starve the Doubts podcast and co-founder of the Podcast Movement conference. It’s called Stop Chasing Influencers and is a three-week class that teaches you how to build a profitable business on your own. It teaches the strategies that work today and goes in-depth on the things I have been, and will be talking about. There is an early bird price of $97 through November 25th. We won’t be offering this price the next go around. Details here.

Would you like to get booked on TV? Off the top of your head, what would you take about?