August Goals

Here are my goals for August. This month I decided to go with a theme. Theme for month: Strategize. Last month’s theme ended up being consistency. My theme for the year is transparency and authenticity. Do you have themes for the year/month? They’re helpful in living a purpose filled life.

Business

Activate your Amazing Scavenger Hunt

Scholarship for Monthly Program

Werk Wednesday Series

Start on Biz Guide

Blog 2-3 times a week on both sites

Send out newsletter 1-2 times per week

Complete interviews for Dreamers Paradise

Prepare Yearly Contest for BGEC

Back to School Activities for Divas, Inc.

 

Personal

Workout 3-4 times a week

Make time for those that matter

Enjoy the babes before school starts back

Girl talk with diva for 30 minutes each day

Vacation

Live. Love. Action

1. What are your goals for this month? Let me know in the comments or over at Facebook. 

2. Need help setting goals? Check this article out. 

Monday Motivation: You are enough!

Oprah on believing in yourself. 

What's your worth

What's your worth?!? 

Priceless?

Or some amount no one could ever afford?

Society has implanted those responses into many of us. However, our actions deduct and deduct from this imaginary number that we hold ourselves to. 

Sometimes we accept things we truly don't deserve because we don't want others to be hurt (upset) *insert any rationalization that works* 

When I started doing online coaching my rates were low. Reasonable but low. These rates weren't tied to my self-esteem self-love or self-worth. Nope. They were just prices. 

I didn't think people would pay any more than that. Want to know why I thought that?!? 

Because I wouldn't pay any more than that. At that time anyway. Plus others charged similar. 

“The rules in life and business aren’t applicable to all. One does not fit all”

— Kimber Lee

My time and my knowledge were extremely discounted. 

The clients I attracted were okay. Some were awesome and others I dreaded the day and the times of our appointments. 

Cheap prices attract cheap people. 

People who weren't willing to do the work. 

Of course they didn't outright say it, but week after week it was another excuse. 

 For the record: I don't do well with excuses. Let's just be honest. I rather you tell me, "I thought it was dumb and I didn't do it." We can work through that. But excuses...nope..I don't have time. 

 Have you ever lowered your expectations for someone or something?!? How was the experience?!? Did you regret it? 

We have all settled. Don't even fix your pretty face to shake your head "not me," we all have.

I used to date this guy. Let's call him Ray. We met through mutual friends. Initially, I ignored him and played on my phone or talked to everyone but him. I wasn’t interested. I knew his type: charismatic, funny, but always had a new piece of eye candy (beautiful breathtaking women) on his arm. Women loved Ray and his charisma. He got along really well with everyone. Ray was okay, he was cute, but not fine. Everyone loved Ray.

You know the checklist women have of all the things they want a man to have?

Ray may have had 0.002 qualities on my list.

He was charming, funny, and nice.

Some where along the line I settled and gave him my number. I continually told him we couldn't date. I don't remember how long I kept telling him this because we clearly were dating. We were always spending time together.

He was nice & fun.

This man drove me crazy. He was clingy and annoying. When I couldn’t deal anymore I broke things off.

It was bad, like stalkerish always looking over my shoulder police protective order bad.

But Ray was nice and fun...he just didn’t respect my values. And somewhere along the line, I gave him the silent authority by settling.

I settled and had to deal with unnecessary drama.

Moving forward.

Earlier this year I worked with a branding coach and I paid her $250 for 30 minutes. Let me type that again...$250 for 30 minutes. I know you're thinking girl it wouldn't be me. I was thinking that too.

 When I tell you those 30 minutes made a dynamic shift in my business, that $250 was nothing. Now I do 15 minute free sessions and I know many women receive extreme value from them, but it's free so any value will be received. 

I had anxiety before meeting with this coach. And when I say anxiety, I mean I wanted to email her and cancel every day until my appointment that was scheduled two weeks out because she only did her laser sessions on Mondays.

Our session came and in 30 minutes as expected she rocked my world. 

I was already in the process of rebranding (from general life coaching to biz coaching & lifestyle design). So her process and insight were icing on the cake. 

 Even with all that, I still paid $250 for 30 minutes. 

Not even an hour. 

I thought who did she think she was?!?

Then I realized..she knows exactly who she is. She knows how long she wants to work with a client, she knows how much her time and value are worth, and she knows she can deliver on the value.

I started offering 15 min free sessions. (Remember I didn't want to work with just anyone that hit that paypal link anymore). 

I'm not for everyone. And Neither are you. So don't take things so personal some times. You know the times when you feel rejected. Be thankful in advance. 

“Rejection is God’s protection.”

Those 15 minute sessions changed everything. No more emails asking about my services (& all the info was already on the work with me page). People had me on the phone and the chemistry was there or it wasn't. Those sessions leveraged who I worked with and how I worked. 

Every month I set how many free sessions I would offer and had people to complete an application to be considered. 15 minutes we talked and we worked through whatever they wanted based upon the application. No strings attached. I didn't even pitch. 

Wanna know why?!?

I knew my worth and then they did too. I gave them my all in 15 minutes.

Those free sessions turned into client after client. 

I completely changed my monthly program. Where I used to work with people for 3 months to where they wanted to be. Now it's an Action Jackson packed month of WORK! I increased my monthly rate. If anyone tried to haggle me and they took advantage of the 15 minute call I'd take $100 off.  

Magic happened. 

I filled every spot that I had one month. Cool. Then another month. And then I had an overflow. 

It actually scared me. Like what the?!?

Mindset is something else.

I am booked through September (registration for October will be up mid September) for my unadvertised monthly program and at the new monthly rate. Less time, more money, and more fun. Magical. 

Pricing is something that will always be something personal, just as our worth. I can see you being mistreated and I can KNOW you deserve more and better. It means nothing, if you don’t agree & act on it. 

I stopped just accepting crumbs because I wanted to help everyone. I can't help everyone even though I always try. 

So as I've been doing the werk weds series. I've seen so many women that I want to win! I'm silently screaming BOO you got this!!! I got your back! Yet I see flaws in their branding, strategies, websites, and pricing. I want to email them and say hey boo fix XYZ and watch the transition. But I can't.

So what I did decide to do is: 

Offer a scholarship to work with me for $5 in August for one person. And that $5 will be donated to Divas, Inc. #payingitforward. The scholarship will be live August 5th and will continue each month until 2014 expires. 

Live. Love. Action

1. Regardless if you’re in biz or just wanting the best life…where are you giving discounts to others?

2. How do you feel afterwards?

3.  Do something this week for yourself to make a deposit into you. 

Werk Wednesdays Series: Instagram Hashtags

Hashtags are awesome for growing your Instagram account. Hashtags only work if your account is public. 

Hashtags are associated with spammers. 

Aka #followforfollow or come to my site for XYZ

Use hashtags to find dope accounts and for even doper people to find all your awesomeness.

Use relative hashtags to what you're posting.

Some people use popular & unrelated hashtags thinking that will work. That usually just annoys people. Rule #1 online: don't be anonying yo!

Instagram will allow you to use 30 hashtags. That's a lot so get creative so your ideal person can find you.

There's a science to selecting hashtags. It can be time consuming but the rewards are worth it.

Hashtag # needs to be in the range xxx,xxx. You want to choose a hashtag that people are interested in and searching on a regular basis, but it isn't overly saturated. Popular hashtags are usually in the range xxx,xxx,xxx and above. Your picture will be lost in seconds. 60 million photos are uploaded to instagram daily.  

Look below to see how to select a hashtag based upon the numbers:

See how many people are using happy

changing the wording the numbers are decreasing but still too large

And even though the spelling is way off this hashtag would be perfect for happy posts. 

I used to use #kimberleeonline but no one cares about that tag. Let's be real. However on my other account: #blackgirlseatclean is a tag I created and others contribute. So think about that too when creating hashtags.

I save my hashtags centered around what I'm posting in my iphone’s notepad app. I mainly post inspirational posts surrounding going after your dreams and how to be the best person you can be. However, I also use fun hashtags like #hashtagkilla or #lameiknow If I have a local event, I'll use my area code as a hashtag and local cities. 

You can type http://instagram.com/yourscreenname [enter your screen name though] into a computer browser (mobile doesn't allow for copy + paste) and just copy hashtags that you’ve used before. You can paste on the new post if you want to use the same hashtags. Note: add some variety as you want to increase your reach so not the same people who searched the same hashtags earlier or yesterday…

Instagram also allows you to delete old hashtags and enter new ones on older posts. I'm not sure how effective this is or how many times it can be done. Test it and let me know. :) 

Hashtags aren’t the holy grail of instagram, but they definitely help. A like means nothing, you want to engage with your community. Ultimately you want the people you follow and those that follow you to essentially be a community.

Search hashtags and like pictures and comment. Commenting goes further than just liking. Remember some spammers just go through certain hashtags double tapping. Lames. Don't comment just for the sake of it. Comment if the pic resonated with you.

Post regularly (1-3 times a day) so they can continue to consume your content. Post things relevant to your biz or account. Review your stats with Iconosquare to track when the best times are for posting and engagements. 

Werk Wednesday Series: Fiverr

Fiverr is an amazing gem. Fiverr is a site where freelancers start their projects at five dollars. 

Now depending on the freelancer the price can go up. I've never paid more than $20 for a project. 

I've had logos, flyers, business cards, photoshop work on pictures, video editing, and an Ebook cover created. 

Tips to have an awesome experience with Fiverr: 

1. Use high rated sellers, not just recommended sellers. 
2. Check their reviews
3. Does their sample work look like your desired end product?!? 
4. Read everything that's printed prior to hitting purchase.

The starting price is $5, so some sellers will have limited revisions. Be very clear with giving the directions for your project. 

5. Pay it forward- if someone did an excellent job, don't forget to rate them. That helps them and the rest of us knowing who to choose. I always rate and leave a nice review. 

One last thing look to see how long it will take to compete task and how many jobs in queue. You might not want to wait 11 days.

Please note: you pay through paypal and if your paypal is connected to a credit/debit card, your bank will charge you a fee for using an international merchant. However, if your paypal account is linked to a bank account, there will be no additional fee. At least this is what Bank of America does. 

What making a Pink Lemonade Stand taught me

Last weekend my dad, Huni, and my little boo created the lemonade stand. 

This was our inspiration:

via

I found the picture via Pinterest and I thought it would be difficult. I text my dad the picture and asked if we could make it. His response, "anything for baby girl!" Gotta love my daddy. 

So I told Huni who is not handy at all, that he was going to have to help. He replied okay, not knowing what help actually meant. 

Saturday comes and I start getting nervous. Can we actually carry it out?

I show daddy the picture again and he starts figuring our the measurements of the boards we'll need. We head to the hardware store and get the materials. At the register daddy offers to pay for everything. He said "consider it a donation." I was ecstatic and put my wallet down. 

It's real in these non-profit organization streets. 

Those bugs were eating my skin!!

A few hours and 235,578 mosquito bites later it was done. 

It looks so much better than the inspiration. 

I couldn't believe I had so much doubt before we started. 

The three things I took away from the experience: 

1. Don't let self-doubt keep you from going forward.

I initially doubted we could pull it off and ours turned out even better. Inspiration can easily turn into comparison; so be careful! 

2. Collobarate! Collaborate! Collaborate!

A lot of times it's easier to just do things yourself and not have to deal with other people's excuses and drama.  However, I knew I could not pull this off without daddy. I didn't have the tools, skill, or eye to complete it. Always keep people around that are smarter than you. Plus I solicited Huni's help because I knew he's stronger than I am, and would be able to complete the delegated tasks that daddy would give him. 

3. Stay true to your visions. 

Last summer I was inspired to have the lemonade stand and I knew exactly how I wanted everything to be. Giving up on the lemonade stand would have been settling. 

Werk Wednesdays Series: Email Marketing

Last week I talked about the importance of an online business having their own website. Today, let's talk about mailing lists. Not mailing lists with addresses although if you want to send me something pretty or a sweet note, here's my PO box: Kimber Lee 1384 Norfolk, VA, 23501. 

Mailing lists for email marketing.

Marketing?!? Yep, you have to market your biz. Simply posting links and pictures on social media isn't enough, and honestly, that gets annoying.

Read Jab Jab Jab Right Hook for more on that.   

Every business should have the email addresses of their potential customers and previous customers. 

Why?!?

So you can communicate with them consistently and provide them with quality content. You know helpful blog posts, coupon codes and alerts on upcoming sales if you have products. 

Remember if the social media platform that you love disappears so will all those loyal fans/followers. 

Out of site out of mind. 

But when you have their email addresses, you can email them and let them know you're still around. 

I use mailchimp. I love the monkey. It has free and paid options. 

Then there’s  Aweber and GetResponse. Check the reviews. 

In the next few weeks, I'll talk more about email marketing, newsletters and opt-ins. But for now-go & get that email marketing tool!

Self Care

Naturally women are nurturers. We're always giving so much of ourselves to others. We're there for our loved ones when they need us. And if we're mothers then we truly put the needs of others before our own.

And we do this with grace and minimal complaints. 

What do you to take care of yourself? 

For some it's getting their hair done.

Others a fresh manicure and pedicure.

I count those as lady maintenance. 

Each week I reserve two hours for myself. Whatever I want to do, I do.

I know two hours seems so minuscule in the scheme of all the hours we have in a week. However, those two hours keep me sane and super focused. 

Some weeks I go and have a me day. I unplug from all social media and texts notifications and truly am present with what I'm doing. 

Being still & emerging the white space is therapeutic. 

Other weeks I may plan a day [2-3 hours] with one of my girls, my mama, or daughter and I enjoy their company. No distractions of the phone or social media, just them and me. 

I'm not thinking about work I have to do, or chores, or what I'm doing later. I truly enjoy the moment with who and where I am.

Then there's days where I just watch tv and laugh at my favorite show. 

Your self care hours could simply be going out and buying the house pretty flowers because you love how they smell and transcend into you having an amazing week. Pulling over at a park to enjoy the breeze and calling a good friend end laughing about good times or reading a new book or magazine. 

Do what makes you happy. Be still. [even if your still is running or even rock climbing for the adventurous]. Enjoy the moment. 

Take care of yourself. We only get one life and you better live every day as if it's your last! 

Werk Wednesdays Series: Websites

I know this isn't rocket science, but I PROMISE I see this mistake daily. You are NOT an online business, if you don't have a website. Listen to the audio below for the importance of owning your own website. 

Let me know what tips or topics you would like to hear next week. Comment below or email me. 

Werk Wednesdays Series

Working online you learn the ins and outs of online business. That and the fact that I adore online biz. I read books, articles, listen to podcasts, and attend webinars all on business. Alot of people say the same things, but with their own spin. That's the beauty of the internets-adding your own spin. However, there are some things that are just classic and must have's/must do! 

On social media I see soooo many "no's" and "hunay who told you..." So instead of shaking my head at these occurences, I am offering some advice to the new online female entrepreneur. Audio + images + blog posts all designed to teach. It will be very simple things, that it would be assumed people know. However, post after post confirms...not everyone knows.