Life on Avenue Z

Another lesson learned disguised as a post about my hair

I treated myself to an expensive haircut today, thanks to my generous mother's birthday check. I walked in and told the stylist that I really had no idea what I wanted.

"Fix it," I said. And boy did he.

I have thick hair, and now it's thin, thin. I had split ends that needed to go, and he took them off and ADDED split ends, calling it "shattering" the ends for volume. My hair is a thousand different lengths and will never look good in a ponytail at the gym. And the ends are dry as sticks and look dead.

My immediate thought: THIS GUY SUCKS! But then I thought for a minute about how he came to the conclusions he did about what would work.

Here are two places this relationship went bad...

One, as the customer, I didn't know what I wanted. I came in with a problem and said I'd like a solution. And he gave me the solution he thought was best.

Two, when I didn't know what I wanted, he didn't ask any questions that would perhaps help him to help me figure out what I wanted. "Are you looking for something more professional?" he could have asked. "Are there any people who come to mind with hair you like?" But he didn't ask any questions. He just went forward as an expert and assumed he was doing what I wanted.

This is what happens with professional service providers if we don't ask enough questions. "I have a problem" a client will say. As a professional writer, I need to help the client to define the problem, to identify what solutions would solve that problem, to recognize concepts that would solve the problem in a way that fits into their business. But sometimes I'm guilty of saying, "Right. You've got a problem. I'll give you my solution." And this doesn't work, which is why I was summarily dismissed by a recent client.

So, for now I'm going to wear a hat, and I'm going to use the lesson I learned to make my business thrive so I can afford to find a better stylist.

The "duh" of "duhs"

Yesterday I attended a free training from Constant Contact, the company I use for my eNewsletter and emails. I was excited about going for a couple of reasons: 1. I wanted to find ways to increase my eNewsletter open rate, and 2. I wanted to see how the company put on workshops to see if the concept would work for another of my clients.

Picture this: 75 or so small business owners looking to improve or start their own eNewsletters. What did they need more than anything? Guidance and content. What do I do for a living? Provide content and help for marketing efforts such as eNewsletters.

And what was I thinking about when I first got to the meeting? Whether or not I should have a muffin for breakfast.

(Please slap forehead here.)

As we were waiting for the session to start, the speaker greeted attendees. I introduced myself as a copywriter. The speaker turned to the other participants and announced, "Hey, people wanted to know where to get content... This woman has a company that produces content!" Within minutes three people came to introduce themselves. "Can you call me tomorrow?" one guy said. "We always need content!" another couple said. "Can you give me a price range..."

Holy smokes! How dumb could I be? I should have been networking from the get go.

The speaker really did all the wonderful things for me. When I raised my hand to respond to a question later, he said again, "And you're a writer, right? And you specialize in eNewsletters?" In a mock, cheesy voice, I announced, "Yes -- I am a WRITER WHO SPECIALIZES IN NEWSLETTERS." Everyone laughed, and the speaker said, "Make sure you get her card before you go.

I ended up with 10 leads and another half dozen people left with my card. And I was worried about muffins. Jeeze.

Don't count your success before the check is in

I just got this email in reference to the client who told me I was "back on track."

Dear Beth:

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.  I think there was a miscommunication between Bob and I . I Thought he had responded to you.

 Thank you for the information you have emailed. However we have decided to go a different route. At this time We will not be needing your services. Thank you for your effort. If our needs change we will contact you.

That, of course, brings me down to 1 of 3 successes from this post. I'm actually pretty stunned, since I talked to "Bob" yesterday, and he said he was happy.

May I have a glass of confidence, please? Shaken, not stirred.

Let he who is least anal among you cast the first stone

I'm finding it a little hard to believe how anal retentive I've become in the last month. When things in my personal life went askew, I surrounded myself with a rigid schedule to further my freelance copywriting business, and I'm afraid to admit it gives me comfort.

I scheduled an hour or so in the morning to rise, shower, dress, talk to family, shuffle around (yep, that's how it reads on the schedule) and the like. The next thing on my daily list is to post a blog entry. After that I'm scheduled to spend several minutes rewriting my to do list from the day before. I keep two types of notepads -- one for to dos, and a spiral one for notes from projects (see the picture). In the project notepad, I've even taken to color coding and paper clipping the various notes together to keep things organized.

I'm scheduled to spend 4-5 hours on billable projects each day, but many days I switch those hours with marketing/follow-time, for which I had scheduled 1-2 hours daily.

I spend another two hours each night at they gym, with an hour for a workout and an hour luxuriating in the saunas and hot tub.

I scheduled time to work on a book I want to write, but I haven't delved in 100 percent yet. I keep flipping back and forth between fiction ideas and a couple of nonfiction projects. And I haven't started anything.

Right now I keep to the schedule at least 6 if not 7 days a week, since every day is Tuesday. The strict schedule gives me comfort and helps me continue to make a living while filling the hours that might be spent having a personal life.

An update on some recent setbacks

A few weeks ago I posted about the horrible thoughts that come to me when people stop returning my calls. Most of my entry was based on one company that hired me for one project, and I never heard from them again.

I was very worried that they hated me, and my skin is not thick enough yet. They hadn't paid me for the project I did do for them either, so I just called to see where my check was.

Turns out they've just been swamped. "I've still got you here on my list," my contact said. They made a last-minute change in strategy and have been running in a new direction.

In addition, another recent post talked about a false start I had with another client. I had totally missed the boat in my first draft, and I received a very harsh note. The second draft was "back on track," they said. So I'm doing fine again.

Oh, and the whole "I got dumped" thing that I referred to? Well, I'm still dumped.

Guess two out of three ain't bad?

The good and the bad of marketing efforts

As a new freelance writer, I've been making a strong effort to do a large marketing push at least once a week. Here's a summary of what's been working and what hasn't.

• Success: I sent a series of letters to vendors who sell goods and services to the professional association industry. I worked as an association director of education for many years before becoming a sales and marketing professional for a company who sold webcasting services to the association industry.
  
  These letters were fairly personalized, and I got a great response rate. I've picked up at least 3 jobs with this technique, and I've got more meetings scheduled.
• Success: Although I haven't gotten any specific jobs from my eNewsletter yet, I've gotten a lot of exposure. Each week I add probably 10-20 names to my list, and once a month nearly 2000 people get a reminder that I'm here and ready when they are.
• Success: I'm an active member of a listserv in the association community, and I regularly offer resources and ideas to the group. I've gotten quite a bit of exposure this way, including requests for articles and speaking engagements.
• Not So Good: I spent another $300 yesterday buying a list of top companies here in San Diego to send them a direct mail postcard with my services. I've sent several of these out, but I don't seem to get many calls back. The most effective postcard campaign came when I sent out the postcard then sent emails to the people who were going to be getting them (when I had the emails, of course). I met with a designer last week who will probably send me something to spec out soon.
  
  What I really need to do is to add cold calling to these direct mail efforts. Perhaps I'll make some calls today. Ugh.
• Not So Good: I had high hopes that my column on small business issues in a local monthly newspaper would drive traffic to my blog and my site. I haven't even been able to find a copy of the newspaper myself, and I haven't seen a kabillion people stop by.
• Not So Good: I've been leaving piles of my postcard in public places here in San Diego: coffee shops, mailbox office counters, etc. I got a call from one guy who wants to market a product to prisoners, and another guy called me looking for someone who could put together a marketing plan to sell products to Hispanics who visited lunch trucks. Neither of these were really up my alley.

Funny how a synonym to "getting tough" is "growing ba(double L)s"

It's been an interesting week here on Avenue Z. I've had to turn to legal counsel to make a stand against a company that is refusing to pay me monies due. This has nothing to do with my freelance writing business but stems from LBAZ (Life Before Avenue Z).

As a business owner, it's important for me to protect myself and my business from injuries to both my finances and my reputation. As a woman from a primarily Southern culture, these actions completely and utterly contradict my nature and nurture. I can't describe how many times I've written off sums of money, outright slights, complete insults and more. "It's not worth the trouble," I'd think. Or, "I shouldn't move forward because I might be wrong." If I'm totally honest, I'll admit that what I'm really thinking is, "I don't want anyone mad at me."

I can't back down this time. Through my mind is running the self-admonition, "Ziesenis, For God's Sake -- GROW A PAIR." My legal guide told me, "Don't puss out now."

I write this blog from the point of view of a small business owner, not from the point of view of a female small business owner. But my testicular mantra coupled with my advisor's advice to "not puss out" have really brought to mind the characteristics and vernacular that are typically associated with tough business people. If someone backs down, he (she) is a puss, but those who step up have cojones. Interesting, isn't it, that people who don't step up are given female characteristics, and people who fight have male characteristics.

I have been preparing to take this action since the company starting making noises like they were not going to pay me. I had a very tough time committing to making the move I made, but now that I have, I'm prepared to amplify this far beyond the amount of money due. I am not naive enough to think that an idle threat would be enough. But the fact that I'm committed to following through on my plan doesn't mean I don't wish this would all dissolve and get back to normal. I am learning the painful way that it may be possible for me to stay the woman I like to be and to add a significant amount of testosterone to my position as a strong, independent business owner.

What are these things called taxes anyway?

I posted this question to a listserv for consultants to which I belong. I asked about how to get a handle on what to do for my taxes. As a freelance copywriter, this issue continues to perplex me, even though I wrote about it a couple of months ago and got other advice.

Here's a summary of the advice I received...

1. Keep track of all your expenses and income and everything else using small business financial software.
2. Make sure you've got all your licenses.
3. Find an accountant. They're not as expensive as you think, and they'll help you more than you realize. Use a CPA.
4. To find an accountant, talk to similarly sized organizations to find a recommendation.
5. Pay your quarterly tax estimates. Now. No, really.
6. Use free small business resources such as the SBA to make sure I'm on track.

Changing lonely for ambitious

As I've posted before, one of the tough things about branching off on your own is that, well, you're on your own. As a new freelance copywriter working out of my home, I spend at least 12-16 hours a day completely alone. I strive to drink coffee with friends a couple of days a week, and sometimes I take a day off, but for the most part, I'm here in front of my computer, alone.

This working situation is tough on my personal relationships. I keep my poor sister on the phone way too often, and my past boyfriends have had to deal with my incessant babbling when we were in the same room because I had been starving for human contact. (Note that I'm very single now).

The other day I had a revelation. What if every time the phrase, "I feel lonely" passed through my head, I stopped myself and replaced it with, "I feel ambitious"? I truly am ambitious these days.... I want to make a living -- a real living, not just staying out of debtors' prison, as a writer. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of writing, not of a husband and a nice house and well-behaved kids. In my English classes, I imagined kids 40 years in the future struggling to pronounce my name as they studied my short story collections. So I'm living the dream I always wanted to live (although right now they only way kids are going to see my name in English class is if I ghost write their textbook or something).

Thus, each time I think lonely thoughts, I start thinking ambitious thoughts. I decided to try it with this phrase first, and then perhaps I'll work on other phrases. So far it's giving me real energy to keep going.

 

Dead Headshot

Ugh. I STILL don't have a headshot for the article I wrote. It was due Friday, I think, and I know they're going to call and yell soon.

A freelance copywriter should have a professional headshot, in my humble opinion.

I guess I know why this is so hard....

1. I didn't budget to pay $70 to get it done at a studio.
2. The email I wrote to my very recent ex-boyfriend asking for his help in taking this photo was apparently the straw that broke the relationship's back. (I think it sounded too "relationshippy" for him, and he wanted to stop being in a relationship. Or something. Beats me.)
3. I really, really, really hate to be photographed.

 

Here are few of the disasters. Tell me the truth... they are horrible, aren't they?? My bra strap is showing! And others were taken in one of those photo booths at the mall while teenage BFFs waited for the old chick to get out of the booth. And then I decided to put a blanket over the door to get a backdrop, and it looks like a blanket over a door. Holy smokes.