Hey mama!
I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently that I have to share with you. My friend, Steph, works in an actual office for a large company — she’s the boss there, she loves her job, and about 30 people work under her.
The company is going through some big changes, and they need to cut some costs. Steph had to call in each employee individually and say to them:
“Tell me why you’re valuable.”
Steph knew that she had to streamline her team and cut at least five people — and she wound up finding eight people who couldn’t answer her question.
They said things like:
I’m always willing to help out if you have a task for me.
You can ask me for help when you need it.
If you need [task done], you can let me know.
Bottom line: Steph found eight people who were showing up to work and waiting for someone to give them something to do.
Mama. Do NOT be this person. Not at your 9-5, and definitely not in your freelance business.
Do not sit around waiting for someone to come to you and say, “Here, I need you to do this specific task.”
If I ask Daphne to hang up her backpack when she gets home from school, she’ll do it. She may leave her shoes and coat on the floor, because I didn’t specify those. Daphne is SIX. You are NOT SIX. So don’t behave like a six-year-old.
Be proactive. Go to people — your boss, your potential clients — and say, “Hey, I can do this thing, and you can have this result.”
At your 9-5, this could be the difference between being one of the Dead Weight Eight — and being the superstar who gets to work from home two days a week, and ultimately turns her boss into her first freelance client.
In your freelance business, this is absolutely the difference between having clients — and cash — and NOT having clients.
If you’re sitting behind your computer waiting for someone to come to you and say, “Hey, mama, I would like to pay you to do this task,” you WILL be disappointed. Life doesn’t work like that.
Yes, it may be hard to know exactly how you can help a prospect early on in the process. But think about anyone you know with a business. Where are you seeing that person struggle? How can you help?
Maybe you’ve emailed a business owner as a customer and waited a week for a reply. Maybe that business owner needs help with email management. How could you help? Why not present that package?
Perhaps you’ve come across a website that’s hard to navigate, or that looks outdated, or that’s full of broken links, despite having stellar content. Is there some sort of opportunity there? (Spoiler: YES. THERE IS.)
Do you want to have your own business? Then you need to get used to looking for opportunities. Seek them out. Create them for yourself.
When you work as a service provider, you have to bring your A game every time you show up to play. Always go above and beyond. Always wrap up that present and put a bow on it.
I’d love to hear from you, Mama. Jump on over to the Facebook group, and tell us one opportunity you’ve found or created, and HOW you’re going to take action. Let’s get inspired and GET THE WORK!