Define Your Work

My Blog Has a New Home

2010-12-08T21:10:00.000-06:00

I have started a new blog, called Liberating Choices. I use my life and work as a counselor to show how taking small steps can create big change. Come check it out!

Define Your Work or Someone Else Will

2010-04-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

I have heard it described several times. In a relationship, one is either trying to change someone or get someone to change them. One borrows self, and one gives up self. I think this can also be true in business relationships. But, wouldn't it be great to have more equal relationships? To hold onto more of one's "self."

I think we let others define us when we are unsure or unaware. Giving up you can be unintentional. Or, you can cave when faced with pressure and anxiety. The pressure to conform to others definition of your work can be subtle or intense. Anxiety can leak on you from organizations or individuals. Or, you may have your own anxiety. I define anxiety here as a perception that there is a threat to oneself. Anxiety will reduce when you are clearer about how and when you work.

As an employee, you have less financial risk. Leaders of the company are defining more of your work. Making the transition to self employment can be hard. You want to define your work, but you are out of practice and short on time. With more increased financial risk in your work, you have increased responsibility to define your work.

"Are you the creator of your business or are you just reacting to events and people?" (Karyn Greenstreet)

For self-employed people, it's important to develop your own thoughts and boundaries about how you work. Courageously take the time to bring the way you want to work into awareness:

When You Work: No one is telling you what time to come into the office. What times are convenient for you? How many hours a day are realistic for you? How much time do you want off? I currently offer a variety of hours. It is a blend of offering convenient times to those 9 to 5ers, as well as preserving my own family time. Work when you are most productive, yet don't deprive yourself of down time. Entrepreneurs have a lot of ideas about their business, so there is a tendency to let their business take all of their energy. I find having set work hours, helps me set boundaries with myself and with others.

What You Charge: Know why you charge your fee. Be comfortable saying your fee. And, ask for your fee. Decide whether your fee is negotiable before you start working with a client. I accept a lower fee because I'm currently accepting insurance reimbursement for counseling services. This is my "sliding scale." If you know how much you need to collect to make a profit, you will more confidently present and ask for your fee.

Who Are Your Clients: A common anxiety for self employed people is having enough clients to pay the bills. Everyone wants to have a good income stream. At the beginning of my practice, I think I worked with almost anyone that called my office. I learned that it's not just how many clients I have, but also which clients best fit the way I practice. When you work with clients that are looking for the kind of service you offer, you will find your energy multiplies instead of depletes.

In my field, many people want to define how I work - courts, school, insurance companies, families, and individuals. I want to practice in a way that is true to me. This is when I do my best work.

What about you? Where do you want to better define your work? Carve out the time to decide who, what, and when of your business.

Free Website Marketing Tools

2010-03-30T16:10:00.001-05:00

I launched my small business website 2 years ago. I continue to be amazed by how many people find me via my website. This seems to be a growing way to search for a counselor. For me, I get as many referrals from my website as I do insurance plans. It is a treat not to be as dependent on insurance referrals.

Being a full time mom and part time small business woman, I didn't have a budget to hire a web designer. Instead, I found a great web hosting comany (http://www.homestead.com/ ). Their templates are very easy to use and the monthly fee is right for my budget. This company stays current and continuously adds features to meet the changing environment of internet marketing.

I enjoy learning, however I never took a class on building a website. I've learned a lot by looking at other websites related to my field and reading blogs like mine. Here's a list of free website marketing tools I have found along the way:

1. Add this button: Add this on any page of your website. It enables visitors to easily share your website with various social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Everyone seems to be on at least one social media site, so it's important to make it easy for them to share your site once they've found it.

2. Extreme Tracker: Use this to find out what search words people are using to find your website, blog, etc. Your web hosting company probably offers statistics, but mine doesn't show the keywords people used to find my site. For a detailed comparison on 3 popular website statistics, visit: http://www.mywebsite.force9.co.uk/

3. Submit Express: You can submit your website (or blog) for free to 40 search engines by simply entering your address. This website is also full of free tools from meta tag generators to keyword suggestions. This is the behind-the-scenes marketing of your website.

Having cool tools and great website content is just part of web designing for small business. You also need to make sure people can find you using search engines. For more information, read my previous blog: free ways to increase your google ranking.

5 Ways to Prepare for Sleep

2010-03-09T14:20:00.000-06:00

What a glorious gift a good night sleep can be! I think anyone can go through times where they are overworking and having a hard time unwinding at the end of the day. Even if you love your work, I bet you love your sleep too. The frustrating thing about sleep is you cannot force it to happen, but can invite it. Here are some practical ideas for preparing to be sleepy:

1. Establish regular sleep and wake patterns. Try to get up and go to bed around the same time each night. This helps set your internal clock.

2. Do something relaxing before going to bed. Turn down the lights, read a good book, take a bath, watch a funny movie, etc. Avoid stimulating activities and substances, such as exercise and homework right before bed.

3. Don’t worry or work in bed. If you don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and find a quiet, relaxing activity to do in a dimly lit room. The more time you spend in bed, the more likely your sleep will be disruptive.

4. Take a break. Whether you stay home or work out of the home, down time for both mind and body can improve your ability to relax and let go at bedtime.

5. Get some exercise. Whether you prefer yoga, walking, swimming, dancing, running, or aerobics, it doesn't matter. Your body will be tired and invite the still and heavy feeling that comes with sleep. Remember exercising to close to your regular bedtime can be too energizing, so find the best time for you to move your body.

"Burnout comes from trying to give what I do not possess." (Parker Palmer)

Click here to view complete article and relevant sleep resouces: http://www.marcipayne.com/Newsletter.html

Introduce Yourself

2010-02-23T14:32:00.001-06:00

Thank you for my visiting my blog. I am a self-employed counselor in the Kansas City, Missouri area (USA). I offer individual, marriage, and family consultation as well as small business coaching for self-employed people. I blog on topics relevant to creating a successful and fullfilling business. I'm passionate about coaching people to reach their potential in both life and work.

It's your turn now. I want to hear from you. Tell me about yourself. Who are you? Where are you? What do you do? And, what do you want to read about on this blog?

This will encourage me to post more frequently, and include content that you want to read! Make sure to include a link to your site and/or blog. This will give you a few hits to your site, while assisting me in helping you.

(Note: If you are reading this via Facebook, please post your introduction on my blogger page. I've made it easier to comment and connect to your site, as you no longer need to be registered to comment.)

Breaking Writers' Block

2010-02-16T13:51:00.002-06:00

Writing is one of the best ways I integrate my thinking and communicate information from a lot of different sources. Yet, my mind works faster than my fingers. The topics are plentiful, but sometimes the content is labor some.

I've found it is much different to write for oneself, as in journaling, then it is to publish your writing to a larger audience. Most prolific writers have reminded me that thinking about writing is as important as actually writing. That is, letting the ideas "marinate" in your mind and developing them in an outline. Here are a few other things I've learned from others on beating writer's block:

1. Write when inspired (by quotes, etc.).
2. Write on topics you enjoy writing about
3. Keep a running list of topics/themes for future articles, blogs, newsletters
4. Eliminate ideas that you aren't truly knowledgeable
5. Identify the audience and purpose for your writing

For me, setting time aside for writing helps me have uninterrupted time to develop my ideas. Prior to the set time, I will marinate, think, and sketch out my ideas on the particular topic. I've also found that I have to cross out some topics when I wouldn't enjoy writing about the topic. Even if a wide audience may be interested in the topic, if I don't enjoy writing about the topic it won't bring interest in my services. What works for you?

For a great article on choosing a topic for your newsletter: http://www.freenewsletterideas.com/create-free-newsletter.htm

Top 3 Benefits of Self-Employment

2010-01-19T13:53:00.000-06:00

While being self-employed is not for everyone - I think it is a perfect fit for me. I've known that I wanted to provide psychological services in a private practice setting since I was a Senior in High School. Instead of telling you how old I am, just know that almost 2 decades have past since I had that dream. Although the journey to self-employment has been gradual, I am here and I love it. Why do I love being self-employed? Here's the upside...

Autonomy: I enjoy being my own boss. There is some financial risk with being self-employed, yet with increased financial commitment comes increased voting power in making decisions. I like making all the decisions, including how much I want to pay myself, when I want to work, how much time I want to take off. It took me many years to become this decisive; as knowing what I want, don't want, what works, doesn't work takes time to learn and define.

Creativity: There is always something to learn. While it's nice to have quiet time, I do love learning. It fuels my creativity to design the vision and plan for my business. I don't perform as well when others define my work for me. My creativity multiplies when I answer the questions myself. For instance, I may decide to learn a new way or marketing, and I can carve out time to learn everything I want to know and still provide an income for my family.

Flexibility : Again, I can work when I want, including flexing my schedule when unexpected absences due to work/weather arise. If I want to lower childcare expenses, be around when my kids aren't in school, I can. And, once your business is thriving, it opens up more financial flexibility. I get to decide what I need to do to give myself a raise. I even have the flexibility to decide which clients I accept and which I don't think are a good fit for my approach.

If you are considering becoming self-employed know there is risk with success. Building a business takes time. Know what's realistic. Interview or shadow people who have made it happen in your area of interest. Start small and dream big.

"The poor man is not he who is without a cent, but who is without a dream." (Harry Kemp)

Making Business Goals a Reality

2009-12-21T14:25:00.001-06:00

The end of the year seems like a natural time to reflect on where I've been and where I want to go. Every year on New Years Day, I write down my goals for the year. I link my goals to my values, such as relationships, finances, health, spirituality, etc. I make them realistic and measurable, such as doing yoga once a week. The following year I can evaluate how I did reaching the goals. This is not a time of self-criticism but of learning. I may drop the goal, mark off as accomplished, or refine it to make it more attainable.

Now that I'm self-employed, it seems only natural that I would also set realistic goals for my business. These goals may include finances, marketing, learning, organizational systems, services offered, etc. One goal I have for my business is to develop more focus in my newsletter writing. To help make my goals more specific, I may ask myself: How will I accomplish this? How much time do I want to devote to this? What research will I need to do? Answering these questions helps me make my goal realistic and tangible.

I typically have lots of goals, interests, and topics I want to learn more about. If I don't set realistic and concrete goals, I try to accomplish too much at once. If it is a complex and long-term goal, I want to have time to apply what I have learned before immersing myself into something new. Just as "Rome wasn't built in a day;" the business of your dreams isn't built in a day.

Are we drowning or thriving in technology?

2009-12-09T13:56:00.001-06:00

Have you ever stopped to count how many ways someone can send you a message? We got rid of our house phone, but I still have a cell phone, work voicemail, work fax, work email, personal email, facebook email, facebook wall, linked in email, etc. I think the technology we have today is amazing. In my lifetime, we have come a long way from digital clocks and microwaves! But, who would have thought we could communicate with each other in this many ways. Sometimes I think I am drowning in technology, and other times I think how great that I can communicate quickly with so many people! What helps you thrive in the technology era with your business?

When it comes to owning your own business, it helps to have a system to manage the inflow of all of your messages and papers. What system works for you? I do the "paper two step," which is something I read about in The House that Cleans Itself (by Mindy Starns Clark). I sort through my mail, leaving out on my desk only what needs immediate attention. Then, I sort the additional mail into into file folders marked "to complete, to fax, to copy, to file, to shred." The important part is to empty these file folders at least once a week, which sometimes may mean scheduled paper management time!

I can manage and prioritize the paper flow and the phone messages in my solo practice. However, I cannot keep up with email! I try the email two step, leaving in my inbox only what needs immediate attention or reply. Then, the remaining email messages are filed in my work email folder. I don't think I am ever caught up on email. Even if I could keep up with all the great mailing lists I am on, it would only take a day to fill it back up! I'm thinking about removing my address from any mailing list that I don't read in a week. What works for you to manage your inbox?

May not be duplicated or reprinted without permission.

http://privatepracticeconnection.blogspot.com

Strivinvg for Work-Life Balance

2009-11-03T14:24:00.000-06:00

I used to think that balance was something one could attain. Yet, I am learning that my life is either moving toward or away from balance. "Balance is a fluid state, always in motion, because life itself is dynamic" (Co-Active Coaching, p. 8). Balance like energy comes and goes. The good news is we can get better at predicting what helps us move toward more balanced living.

Adults feel pulled in many directions. The pull comes from wanting our children to learn, succeed, and be entertained. It also comes from wanting to be the best at our jobs as well as having fulfilling family roles, friendships, and community contributions. What is really realistic to accomplish in a lifetime? in a day?

Although there is no formula for always being in balance between work and family, I do think we can look for markers to remind us that we are getting out of balance. For instance, maybe it's thinking negatively about a spouse or developing a tension headache. What are your markers that you are out of balance?

Being self employed and mother of two young children is hard yet rewarding work. One thing that helps me move toward balance is having set work hours. Recognizing when work ends and life/family begins is important for me to define. I can easily become engrossed in my work. Like my kids, I need routines and structures to help me set boundaries.

Lastly, learning that saying yes to something means saying no to something else. Remembering that I can't do it all, and my kids don't have to be exposed to every opportunity. And, slowing down to experience quiet, rest, and relaxation are necessary nutrients in my desire to move toward more balanced living. What works for you?

May not be duplicated or reprinted without permission

http://privatepracticeconnection.blogspot.com

Free Ways to Increase Your Google Ranking

2009-10-20T14:41:00.001-05:00

How many ways do you use the internet to gather information? As our world becomes more tech-savvy and time becomes more strained, many people are using the internet to search for service providers, from auto repair to tutoring. If you have a website for your business, how do you compete with all of these service providers in your industry?

After moving my practice this spring, I found myself asking myself this question. With a new address and contact information, my website could no longer be found using Google's search engine. I had dropped to page five on Google maps for counselors in my area. I was used to getting referrals from my website, and began working on bringing my ranking back to the first page. Not only did I bring it to the first page, but now you can find my website in the top position in my area for the service that I offer. Here are 5 free ways to increae your Google ranking:

1. Use Keywords Wisely: Identify which keywords are used most frequently by people searching for the services you offer. Use a keyword tool to get ideas https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. Make sure this keyword appears on your website. Use it in the content and titles as much as relevant, being careful not to overuse it. Then, pick 7 keywords from your page to list in the meta-tags section of your web page.

2. Link to Popular Websites: List your website on directories or websites that are frequently visited. This will give your website relevance. Places to list your website may include professional organizations, social and business networking sites, and other search engines.

3. Write Online Articles: Submit articles, newsletters, and blogs to online article publishing sites. Many are initially free, offer statistics, post an author profile, and provide training. One of my favorites is http://ezinearticles.com/

4. Use Relevant Image & File Titles: File names are another place to include your top keywords. And, make sure your images are named in relationship to your site. For instance, instead of useing File 001.jpg, rename the image with your name and/or company.

5. Use Relevant Page Titles: Although I focused on my home page in my prepartion for increasing my ranking, remember that each web page and file may be found as a separate website. The description and title should be somewhat different for each page. Keep it relevant, short, and again include those keywords that people will use when searching for services in your industry and/or area.

It took about a month for my ranking to increase to it's current position. This list is not exhaustive, as there are many more tools and services to help businesses optimize their website for search engines. And, most website hosting sites offer search engine optimization programs. If you decide to try it yourself, I hope investing your time and hard work will pay off for your business!

May not be duplicated or reprinted without written permission.

http://privatepracticeconnection.blogspot.com/

Being Present

2009-09-24T19:42:00.001-05:00

"Systems thinking is neutral, nonblaming, nonreactive, and nontrianglne; it seeks to see things the way they are, not the way they should be." (by Peter Titelman)

How present are you in your consultation sessions with your clients? Being present is more than one's ability to focus. It's more than a focus on time. It is also about how much one can sit and discover what is, instead of jumping to what should be.

When do you notice that you aren't being present with your clients? It may be conflict at home that you are having trouble containing. It may be the desire to alleviate the client's sadness with some advice. By jumping to give advice, I think we miss out on helping clients discover what is contributing to their problems.

I am a future focused thinker, so I am always planning, brainstorming, dreaming. I have to consciously force myself to get out of the future and be in the present. When I work on being more present at home, I see opportunities for connection with others. And, when I am truly present in the consultation session, client's are freer to make their own discoveries, building their confidence and trust in themselves. How long can anyone maintain this level of presence? What helps one be present while another is struggling?

Marketing Your Business Online

2009-09-09T14:56:00.002-05:00

I think most helping professionals don't think about marketing. Many aren't comfortable promoting themselves. I think of marketing as a reflection of your ideas and thoughts to others that may be able to use the information. Market by giving something away - your ideas on certain issues, symptoms, problems, etc.

One of the ways I have used to market is by creating a website a year ago. I have been surprised how many people are starting to use the internet to find counselors. People have liked reading my bio, seeing my picture, and reading my articles. I am finding that there is a lot that contributes to being found in a Google search (but that I will leave to the experts).

However, you don't have to have a website to be found on the internet. Do you have a business that your potential clients will search for online? If so, here are several places to list your business for FREE:

1. Google maps
2. Smart pages
3. Yellow pages
4. Yahoo
5. Merchant Circle

Being self-employed is a big commitment, and I imagine you have a valuable service that could benefit people. Once you realize you have something valuable to offer others, wouldn't you want people to be able to find it?

Being Self-employed during economic changes

2009-08-25T14:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the first posting of my blog! It is intended for anyone interested in starting or growing their practice, both practically and clinically. Even though economic changes are occurring in our country and community, I think it is time to keep growing your small business! There will always be slow times, and business will ebb and flow. And, sometimes family and/or personal emergencies will take you away from your business. My sanity saver is having 3 months of business expenses saved (thank you Dave Ramsey).

What do you do when your business slows down? The possibilities are endless: marketing, training, organizing, evaluating, dreaming, and even relaxing! Are you do for a break from the time management pressures of being self-employed? Or, do you take the opportunity to enjoy some down time, get out of the office, and do something for yourself? Use the time to return yourself to balance. Or, do something for your business that you've been wanting to do, but haven't had the time to do.