As many of you know, this month I was on the cover of Seattle Woman Magazine in January. (If you want to see the cover and the related article, it is under the PR link on my website.) It was quite an honor, and I was very excited! I wrote a feature article entitled Make More Money! Why women undersell themselves and what to do about it. Since then, many business owners have asked me, “Did you get a lot of clients from that?” Yes and no. I certainly have had some phone calls (and many congratulatory emails from my colleagues and clients!) but the real value lies in how I leverage it in the future. Nancy Juetten, a fabulous PR women and “corporate story teller” tries to teach this to all her clients. She says that the true value lies in what you do with an article after it is published. How can you re-use it? For example, this magazine will be the corner-stone of my PR packets for this year. I’ve already sent some out to various schools where I would like to be invited to speak. (I guess you could say that I am inviting them to invite me to speak!) And I have already booked other speaking gigs as a result of being on the cover. That is the real power. Once people hear me present in person, they are far more likely to book me as their business coach or trainer, then merely reading an article I wrote. Everything works together. I’ll keep you posted as things pan out!
Mikelann

January 23, 2006
Well, I cleaned the house, hid the toys and make a huge pork-roast for the informal networking dinner I hosted on Thursday- the Seven Fabulous Women. I was deeply struck by how honest we all were. I belong to formal networking groups as well (the monthly luncheon and keynote speaker type of event) but having an informal group is different. In formal networking, it feels like I have to wear a certain “face”- I project confidence and success, even if I don’t feel it. But in an informal group we can all let our hair down. One of our group shared how much more money she made this year than last. Yeah! And then someone shared how frustrated she was with not making enough money. In the course of the evening there were genuine tears of joy and tears of sadness and frustration. Women feel deeply, and being in business for yourself doesn’t change that. It is important to have a place where you can share what is really happening in your business and get honest support and feedback. Business has ups and downs, and to pretend otherwise is a set-up. We all supported what was going on for each other (which is not all business-related!) and swapped ideas and resources. By the end of the evening I felt full and was excited to move forward.
Mikelann Valterra
http://www.womenearning.com

January 16, 2006
Am I worth charging more money?
In the course of coaching, I teach women how to set and raise their rates. I know the theories, the exercises, the philosophy etc behind how to raise your fees, and have done a lot of speaking on this very topic. So it was time to put it to the test. It was time again to raise my own rates! I did the research on what other coaches charged and thought deeply about what I would need to charge to continue enjoying my work and living my life. I went through all the exercises. It was difficult. There was fear. What if I raised my rates and some of my clients left? What if the new fee kept new clients from hiring me? Was I WORTH charging that much money? These questions kept me up a few nights, and I went back and forth. I talked to my husband and close friends about it. (Of course they think I am priceless, which is nice to hear, but not necessarily helpful.) The research I had done helped me considerably, since I knew logically that the fees I charged where not out-of-line, and could even be considered a good deal. It also helped that I was willing to lose some clients in the rate adjustment. (You need to create room for higher-paying clients on top.) But it still came down to worth. Luckily, I’ve sent a lot of time this past year collecting testimonials, and re-reading these helped me tremendously. Hearing the wonderful things that happened in my clients lives helped me believe I was worth the money. And so in January, I raised my rates. I’ll keep you posted on what happens. In the mean time, I have to cook a huge pork roast for my “seven fabulous women” dinner that I am hosting this Thursday! It will help to talk about this with other business women who go through this as well.

The Seven Fabulous Women
If you want to build a successful business, it’s imperative to surround yourself with great role models. While I belong to some great networking organizations filled with powerful women, one of my favorite groups is completely informal. We call ourselves “The Seven Fabulous Women”. The only thing we have in common is that we are all self-employed, enjoy what we do, and are successful. Once a quarter, we get together for a big potluck dinner at one of our houses. We share what’s going on in our business, laugh a lot, drink a little, and enjoy the company of women who really “get it”. One of us is a successful psychotherapist with a thriving practice One is an interior designer who utilizes “feng shui”. The variety is great. We share marketing ideas, successes, frustrations, and our lives. We end each dinner by picking the next date and location. Would having a group like that help you? Think about it. Women thrive in community, and business is no different. Start your own dinner group!

Well, it’s that time to start setting goals for the year. But before you start thinking about your business goals, I want you to think about the following question: how many ways can you measure your business? Before you set goals, it helps to know what the different goals are! Do you want to make more money per hour or increase your number of clients? What are your “measurables”? How many ways can you measure your business? Here are some of mine:

• My hourly rate
• The average number of hours I bill each week
• The number of clients I have
• The number of people subscribed to my electronic mailing list
• The average number of people who attend my monthly classes
• Etc.

What about you? What are your measurables? Thinking about this automatically puts you in the frame of mind to consider changing these numbers. Hot Tip: Make sure you write down your current measurables, to track your progress!

Mikelann Valterra

The Women’s Earning Institute

http://www.womenearning.com

Welcome to the Women’s Earning Institute! I’m Mikelann Valterra, and the Institute is my baby. I’ve worked for years with people on their money issues. And while debt is obviously a huge issue for many, I’ve also come to realize that many women are simply not making enough money. This contributes to leading a depressed lifestyle and not having enough for the future. The good news is that I believe it is possible to “earn your worth”. My passion is working with self-employed women who desire to earn their worth. Each week I will post a personal tip on how to do this, from marketing ideas to how to feel you are truly worthy of more money. As always, I balance the psychological along with the practical. I hope you enjoy these weekly tips. Here is to earning what you are truly worth!
Mikelann
http://www.womenearning.com