In the last post I shared how to assess the value that you bring.  And if you need even more convincing, here is the magical question that should really drive home what exactly you do that should justify your value in the lives of your clients.

What’s the lifetime (or long term) value of the work I do for a client? This one single question can very often light a fire under that part of you that is sick and tired of giving away your precious time for so little money. Again, we break away from the hourly or the monthly charges here and discover what happens in our clients lives when we are with them for an extended period of time. Some of the magic will happen during the course of our working relationship, but much of it will happen after the fact.

Let’s take a website designer. Yes, your client will get a great site, but imagine in three years when it’s had loads of great SEO and has reflected really well the branding and essence of the business owner. What’s the value of positive and powerful branding? How do we commoditize a marketing message that stands out? Those things are what you will want to look at when you ask yourself this question because once you know the effect that your work has on the clients in the long haul, you are golden!  You can do this two ways…Fist, ask yourself what will happen if your client doesn’t hire you.  In the case of the web designer, imagine a business owner that moves along for three years with a crappy site that isn’t capturing email information, has no clear “how to take the next steps to hire me” mode, and does nothing to increase your expert status.  What does that cost in terms of lost opportunity over the course of three years?  If you ask that question, it’s easy to do the next step and ask yourself if they do hire you, what’s possible.

Now is this all just about getting more money in your pocket? That’s part of my wish, but more importantly, it’s in seeing you stand really firmly in knowing the value you bring. The more you can take a stand for your value, the more you can do that for your clients. It’s truly a win-win that way. If you give up on yourself by charging less than you are worth, you are at risk of letting your clients not have the experience of playing the biggest game possible for them as well. And isn’t that what we all want?

And the final step in declaring your value?  CLAIM it!  So go ahead right now and share with us on the blog what your magic is and what that’s worth!  Be bold!!!

If you liked these concepts and want even more, join my free call on Thursday, April 29th at 1pm PT/4pmET where Molly Luffy and I will be sharing How to Discover Your Revenue Breakdowns. We will show you all the places where you are losing money in your business and why that’s happening.  Some of these may surprise you, so grab your spot quickly by signing up here. (And if you can’t make that time just register anyway because we’ll email you the replay.)

I’d encourage you to make the decision that you will no longer devalue yourself and being on that call with Molly and I is just the jump start you need!  What do you have to lose….  Oh, maybe some of the bad habits that are costing you thousands of dollars a year!

Here’s to your peace and prosperity!

Part two – Finding the Tools to Prevent the Freak Out!

I’ll tell you the business application in tomorrow’s post, but I want you to hear the story of how this all came to be, because it’s pretty funny. Pathetic perhaps, but funny.

A friend and I decided to take our kids to the water park.  To tell you the truth, I was really cranky because it was about a hundred million degrees and I’d rather be anywhere but outside. But I said yes because the boys were super excited to go.

When we got there, we first went to more of the ‘kid-friendly’ area where there were a few teenagers, but mostly people under four feet tall. It was here that I finally decided to just go for it, so I think I did one 20 feet high open slide.  That open piece is the key because being in an enclosed tube in the black was more than my little psyche could handle. Me and the toddlers were content to stay on the baby-ish slides, but my boys wanted to head over to where the real action was.

Now that my kids were on the big slides, my only choice was to stand at the bottom, realizing what I was missing, mad at myself for having these stupid fears, and feeling pretty ridiculous that at age 50, I have this huge limiting thing. That’s where I began to make the decision that I was not leaving until I conquered my fear and did one of the slides, because I just knew that if I could do it, it would lead to a breakthrough somehow.

I found my boys and told them that I needed their help in getting over this fear. Having done most of the slides by now, they decided that I’d do the tubes that were only half way enclosed, but not pitch black. Let the journey begin!  Once decided on the slide, we began to scale what felt like five stories, and the closer I got, the more anxious I became. So anxious in fact, that I was almost hyperventilating! (But thankfully having done the Inner Guru Experience with Molly Luffy, I learned how to use EFT for just those situations!) It actually worked, and I was able to calm myself down enough to get up the stairs.

My ten year old was the one really leading the charge to get me to do this, and his famous coaching command to me (as I was doing EFT tapping like a fool and praying) was to say, “Come on mom, sack up!” Guess that’s boy love or something. Between that, the prayers, the tapping, and mostly my decision that I would not turn back, I did it!

One slide down! I did it and it was absolutely exhilarating. I had been able to conquer all my thoughts and calm myself down.

Now the boys decided to throw me into the black tube of death. (OK, it wasn’t really called that, but felt like it at the time!)

This slide was completely enclosed and totally black except for the last third. There was about a ten foot open space, and then it was enclosed again.

Being in this tube was where it all came clear to me. As I popped onto the inner tube and pushed myself into the water, it was pitch black. And the water was in control. Not me. Then and there I had the ‘a ha’ that this is the very place that business owners fear. Very often we hit places in our businesses where it almost exactly mirrors my experience here.

Tomorrow’s article will share with you the connection with the water slide, business breakthrough’s, and how to set yourself up to have one in any environment.