Sharon’s Daily Updates
Sharon sends out daily updates via email so you can stay on top of her latest news, blog posts and more. What follows is one of her daily updates.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Daily Update
I wrote and shared a post yesterday “7 Reasons Why I Can’t Do Free.” I’ve been touched, overwhelmed and surprised by the response it generated. I’ve been tagged on several dozen shares through social media. I’ve received several dozen private messages thanking me. I’ve heard countless stories of frustration being expressed. Some of them came from surprising quarters – including a veterinarian, a photographer, a jewelry maker and even a lawyer.
Apparently I touched a nerve. I expressed some things that others had been feeling but couldn’t verbalize themselves.
The thing is – when I wrote the post, I genuinely thought from my perspective it was about practicality. It was written from a logical viewpoint. I talked time, numbers, and other things that impact our bottom line. But through the comments I’ve received from others, I realized that there’s more to the issue of “free” than just the impact it has on our businesses; there’s this huge emotional component to it.
For many people who are brand new to business, saying no can be incredibly difficult too. You think – “If I don’t have customers knocking at my day with their wallets open – what’s the harm in helping others?”
I had promised I’d write a follow-up blog post about ways to you can tackle the whole issue of drawing the line between free and paid. I’ve furiously taking notes from the exchanges and comments received with others and I realized there’s no way I can reasonably tackle everything I want to in one or even a few blog posts. For many, the issues to be dealt with are too complex to read several hundred or a thousand words and be able to run off and see major changes.
Several years ago, I had a group coaching program for people who offered professional services as their business. An entire module of this program was dedicated to drawing the line between free help and paid work. Another module dealt with creating products based on requests for free help. A lot has changed since I offered this program. Social media, the growth of free resources online and the easy online searching capabilities have resulted in significant changes.
I went through the material I have, saw there was some good but also there is a lot that needs to get reworked to take into account how different things are. I’m repackaging this into a live webinar series I’ll be giving starting on July 11, 2012. There will be 3 webinars, a Facebook support group and materials. I’ve tried to make the program as affordable as possible so that it is possible for anyone who needs this information to be able to attend.
If you’re struggling with drawing the line between free and paid, if you’re looking for ways to increase your income, if you need some guidance on how to use free to get more business – this webinar program may be for you. Pricing will be going up for every 10 participants, so if you feel this will benefit you, I recommend signing up immediately to lock in the lowest pricing. Also note, I will never be repeating this program “as is” again. My schedule for the next year is jam-packed and I won’t have the time to provide the personal attention offered through the Facebook group.
You can read the details about Converting Free to Paid here. I look forward to having the chance to work with you!
Have a fabulous day friends!
xoxo
