Archives for January 2011

Is Your Business Flailing? Your Rates Aren’t The Problem

January 27, 2011 by 3 Comments

I'm so awesome they're throwing money at me.

Is business so slow you’ve considered lowering your rates?

I’ve considered taking similar measures in the past but, chances are, your rates ain’t the problem.

(And pushing non-stop contests and discount coupons will only cheapen your business, and make you seem desperate, so why don’t you dial that down, too?)

When I first launched my coaching business, I struggled with setting my rates.  Why? I was afraid. Would coaching rates turn off those who were used to consulting rates? Would my target client have the money to hire me? And if they did have the money, would they want to pay professional rates for someone who was such a n00b? Would I pay that much for me?

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Filed Under: finances/income, writing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why I Turned Up My Nose At The Kindle

January 25, 2011 by 9 Comments

A dramatic reenactment of my childhood...

Back in October and November, family members started fishing for Christmas gift ideas, despite the fact that I already had an Amazon Wish List that was four pages long.

“Are you still against getting an e-reader?” asked my sister-in-law, as she showed off her Kindle in its pretty pink case with the built-in book light. “What do you think about the Nook versus the Kindle?” asked my brother, later admitting that he was trying to get a feel for whether or not he should buy me one or the other.

I fiddled with my SIL’s Kindle, admitting that it was pretty neat… yet not for me. I told my brother about what I’d read on sites like Gizmodo and Engadget, and then declared my intention to avoid e-readers altogether. I tried to explain why I wanted to keep buying books, despite the fact that I was struggling with a lack of shelf space. I waved my hands around, trying to convey something indefinable, mentioning things like smell and wraparound bookshelves.

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Filed Under: career path, writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Reason To Write: To Save My Life

January 21, 2011 by 8 Comments

Amy Gesenhues

For the latest entry in our Reason To Write series, I present Amy Gesenhues, a marketing director, wildly prolific blogger, columnist… and the newest addition to my LoveMom family! That’s right. Starting… now-ish… Amy will be reporting to me! Muah-ha-ha! I’m excited about this because I love Amy’s voice, and I feel as if she has so many fantastic stories to tell. That and she obviously gets the LoveMom ethos.

The following is not at all mom-related. Rather, it speaks to the reason that Amy writes in the first place: to save her life. I feel grateful that Amy was willing to share her incredibly personal story here. Without further ado…

From the day I could spell my last name (which was quite an accomplishment for a kindergartener—Gesenhues is a doozy), I was a writer.

I wrote poems about Holly Hobbie and pretended that I was Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I wrote diary entries about my heartbreak over Jeff Libs not loving me like I loved him. (Is there anything more crushing than unreturned grade school love? Oh right, high school breakups.)

I wrote short stories in college about bulimic 20-year-olds who suffered through tragedies of suicidal boyfriends and drug-addicted fathers.

And then, I got paid to write.

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Filed Under: reason to write, writing Tagged With: , ,

Reason To Write: To Find My Voice

January 14, 2011 by 8 Comments

Lori Widmer: Writer and Editor Extraordinaire

In a continuation of Freelancedom’s Reason To Write series, I introduce to you veteran writer and editor Lori Widmer. I love her story because it reminds me of my own… the story of a young girl who barely spoke, yet found her voice in the writing of poetry. I’m sure many of you will be able to relate to it as well. Thanks, Lori, for sharing your story!

If you knew me, you’d be shocked to learn that I spent the first three decades of my life as a shy introvert who couldn’t seem to find a way into conversations. Until I was about 10, you probably wouldn’t remember a conversation with me at all. I wouldn’t talk. At home my parents wished to God I’d shut up, but once you got me in school, at a relative’s house, or even at the neighbor’s house next door, I would clam up. In school I wouldn’t talk above a whisper unless the teacher called on me because, in my pint-sized mind, I thought my voice sounded different, weird.  I was afraid of being heard.

Maybe that’s why I wrote when I was young. When we were 8 and 10 respectively, my sister and I had a “newspaper” we’d sell to the neighbors for five cents. The news consisted of battles we’d had with our brother, cats’ birthdays, and happenings in our little neighborhood (like someone getting a new bike).  We had a subscriber base of two — the next-door neighbor and my mother.

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Filed Under: reason to write, writing Tagged With: , ,

I’m Hiring Bloggers For YourTango’s LoveMom Blog!

January 12, 2011 by 1 Comment

Most of you already know that I work part-time at YourTango, editing blog posts, putting together the daily newsletter, handling freelancer contracts and invoice, steering the company’s Twitter strategy, and acting as intern coordinator. (Yup! All that just three days a week!)

I also manage the site’s parenting blog: LoveMom. Not offering up your typical parenting advice, LoveMom instead presents personal narratives on how having children can affect our love relationships, and our sense of self.

At the moment, I have three regular bloggers. And I’m looking for more. If LoveMom sounds right up your writing alley — and if you think you could commit to writing one post a week — do e-mail me. I’d love to see some writing samples, and learn more about your parenting journey… your attempts to get preggers… your thoughts on moms in the news…

Want to familiarize yourself with LoveMom first? Here are some of my favorite posts (I’ve included many of my own because I am conceited):

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Filed Under: PSA, writing Tagged With: , , ,