“Too many professionals try to protect themselves against failure, but never plan to exploit success!” ​I’m doing my daily lunch-time reading and that sentence by author Alan Weiss jumped off of the page. As a single mom, I’ve lately been wrapped up answering all of the “what if disaster strikes” scenarios demanded by insurance planners, […]

The creative entrepreneurs I work with who run the biggest businesses tend to be a good blend of what until recently, science has called being left- and right-brained. They can toggle easily between an analytical approach and a more creative and emotional one to solve problems. I operate that way too. When we’re collaborating to […]

In my work with designers, I’ve seen all sorts of tangled beliefs when it comes to money.

Designers who are so worried about the “tax man” that they stop themselves from earning more.

Designers who are so afraid to ask for the client’s budget—everybody has a number—that they cheat themselves out of appropriate fees.

Designers who know they need help, that getting help will bring results but who are afraid to commit to the investment in getting help for themselves and their business because it’s expensive. So they end up spending infinitely more time and even more money, ultimately earning less.

I was flying back from an event my coach hosted in Arizona when I noticed. Among the people sitting in the nine, first-class seats, I was the only woman.

It’s not the first time I’ve noticed the disparity between men and women in the front half of the plane but today it was particularly meaningful. I had just seen Cindy Eckert speak about founding a pharmaceutical company, selling that company for one billion dollars and then suing the buyer to get it back when they failed to bring the product she fought so hard to create to market, Addyi.

Happy International Women’s Day!

On this day that celebrates the working woman, I’d like to offer some blunt advice.
 
Don’t let people pick your brain.
 
Don’t barter in unequal measure.
 
Don’t work for free.

I feel like I just wrote about this but it begs repeating, everybody has a number. Everybody has a number. That potential interior design client who doesn’t know what their budget is? They have a number. Why do I know this? Because the minute you exceed it, they will tell you you’re too expensive. This […]

Earlier this week one of my interior design clients, who recently went through a massive brand transformation, including a name change, told me she was feeling worried because business seemed a slower than it was last year at this time. “I’m busy”, she said.  “But not busy like I’m normally busy.” Although the feedback on […]

With the rise of the Internet and designers’ increasing savvy to opportunities for licensing and information products, the phrase passive income has created a new sense of urgency. Everybody wants to start earning some, now. I get it. Earning money on the work you’ve already done, in perpetuity, sounds pretty good but unless you get […]

Recently a client of mine was going through the hiring process for her team. She had narrowed it down to the final two and told me she was going to check references. I suggested that she pay each of the gals to come in for a day, or even two, to get a sense of […]

Join me at the Laguna Design Center on October 30, 2013 for my 1-hr CEU Image 360°: Branding, Visibility And Money For The Design Industry. Ideal clients, consistent income and seemingly miraculous opportunities show up when you get the story of your business right.  But it’s not just what you say, it’s who you tell that […]