Women & Self-Promotion: A Post for The Work at Home Woman

Do you find it hard to pat yourself on the back? When you see other women do it, do you label them brag-queens?

Take a look at my recent post for The Work at Home Woman for more:

Women, Lies & Self-Promotion

Self-Discipline, Accountability & Green Smoothies

For the past week, I've been making and drinking green smoothies. I didn't invest in a fancy juicer, just pulled out my five year old blender and put it to use for something other than margaritas.

Is this something I'd been planning to do? Absoultely not. But when I saw my friend's Facebook post about it, it made me want to try it. That combined with Dr. Oz telling me I needed to get about seven servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Throwing my fresh veggies in a blender with a cup of ice is much easier than cooking them.

WORK IS A KEY INGREDIENT

Stesha had an overwhelming response from her Facebook community when she started sharing her green smoothie journey with us. We asked all kinds of questions and that led her to write this blog post. I went to the store on February 1st (stocking up for our annual snow day here) and loaded my basket with a good mix of smoothie ingredients and comfort food staples. Somehow, I thought buying the kale, broccoli, kiwi, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and spinach was enough. I got home, put the groceries away, and checked in on my other website...Facebook. Within minutes, Marlo asked if I'd made my smoothie. I stopped dead in my tracks and went to work creating the masterpiece pictured above.

Would I have settled for just buying the ingredients and not doing anything with them had she not asked me that question? Not likely, but I probably would've procrastinated a bit longer.


DO THE MATH

Think for a minute about the people around you. Who do you have in your life, on your team to make sure you're going to do what it is you say you're going to do? Who's there to impart good habits and introduce you to new things? Who can you count on to push you outside of your comfort zone?

If you're only spending time with folks who help you make excuses and contribute to your complacency, it's not doing you a bit of good. I'm a firm believer in holding yourself accountable as an individual, but you're more likely to succeed if you're in the company of other people striving for the same thing.

Conduct an accountability audit. Figure out who deserves to stay and who earned the right to go. But don't stop there - take the next step and actually do something about it.

Fearless Fee Setting



I've been told by three different people over the past week that they couldn't afford my services. One person told me my hourly coaching rate was, "a little much", and two others said my speaking workshop was too expensive.

My response to all three: Ok!

Will the two ladies who emailed me join my group? I doubt it.

Am I bothered by it? Nope.

Am I going to change anything? Absolutely not. My rates are my rates and they're non-negotiable.



In the past, fear would've made me react differently. I would've immediately tried to figure something out so I could get the client. I would've told the ladies they could attend the first meeting for free.

But here's what I had to realize: Everyone won't be able to afford me. As a matter of fact, I want to weed out the people who can't, freeing me up to focus on those who can.

I know what it's like to want to work with someone and not have the money to hire them. This is not the same as having the money, but choosing to spend it otherwise. You know - like going shoe shopping and then saying you can't afford personal/professional development.

People pay for the things they want to pay for. If someone truly wants to buy your product or service, they'll figure out a way to do it. But what they won't do is complain that you're too expensive.

Photo credit: Coastline Windows

TEACHER FRAUD

The idea for this post came to me a couple of days ago, but I have to thank Tawana Necole (@CorporateChic on twitter) for sharing this quote:

"One of the prerequisites for being a teacher is having to live the experiences you teach..." ~Maya Angelou

I don't know your interpretation of it, but for me it means if you haven't done it - you aren't qualified to teach it. Not everyone feels the same way and it's evident by the number of people I see misrepresenting and overstating their expertise.

Why do I have my nose in other people's business? Simply because I'm in the business of helping other people, personally and professionally.

When it's time for you to decide who you'll choose to help you along your journey, I want you to be the most educated and informed consumer you can be. Doesn't matter if you choose to do business with me or not. 

Would you go to a doctor who has "doctor friends", but doesn't have a license to practice medicine?

Would you hire an attorney who sits at home watching Judge Judy and has never passed the bar exam?

Would you let the lego champion of the world build your dream home?

  

When it comes to major life-decisions like these, you wouldn't give these self-proclaimed experts the time of day. Now think for a minute about other decisions you make. How quick are you to sign on with someone without checking to make sure they're on the up-and-up?

As much as I love the internet and the convenience and opportunities it affords me, it's also a breeding ground for unethical predators. With just a few keystrokes and a domain name, someone can hang their virtual shingle and conjure up whatever it is they want to be.

Do your homework. Ask questions. Validate credibility and make an informed decision.

If the bestseller book coach has never written a bestselling book, how can he/she teach you to do it?

If the media maven only has a YouTube channel, can she really help with your publicity campaign and land you on the local news?

If the brand strategist is re-emerging with a new identity a couple of times a year, should you really trust them with defining your personal brand?

As Nikki and I were putting together the content for our class she said, "Donna, you can talk about making money with your blog." Sorry, but no I can't. Well I could, but it would be a total lie. Yeah, I could've easily done a few internet searches on the topic and threw together a few bullet points of bullsh** and you probably wouldn't have been none the wiser. Unless you - the educated and  informed consumer - would've done your homework and asked questions.

There's no dollar amount worth risking my reputation. I want people to work with me based on my merits. That's the same reason why people want to work with you.

Skip the lies and fluff. Stick to what you know - whatever it is - do it to the best of your abilities and don't compromise on integrity. This is how you become the cream of the crop.

Photo credit: sskbmorgan

Today's Video: Forbes Contributing Writer How-To

People have landed here on my blog by searching some variation of 'How to Become a Contributing Writer to Forbes/ForbesWoman'. Watch the video to see how it happened for me:

If you can't see the video CLICK HERE.

Video is for highlighting, not for details. After shooting this, I went back to confirm the dates to give you a timeline as to how long it actually took. By no means am I implying this was an overnight process.

2008 - Started blogging and submitting articles to an online article directory

12/7/2009 - Mailed Personal Branding Article

1/13/2010 - Contacted by Forbes to contribute to 12 Things Every Business Professional Should Know

3/8/2010 -   Received invitation from Forbes to become a regular contributing writer

Do you have specific questions? Leave a comment and let me know...I'll do my best to help you.