Managing Client Disputes for Service Providers | Fixing Burnout, Scope Creep, Contract Issues

Today, we're talking about SIMPLICITY, your SECOND best friend. Y'all already know what your first best friend is, but if you're not sure, listen in and find out!  Before we dive in, I just want to remind y'all that I have something that is going to make your life soooo much easier, and yes, SIMPLER and more STREAMLINED, and those are the strategies, the EMAIL AND TEXT SCRIPTS that I've been using...

Today, we are revisiting what it means to have a reputation, what it means to have a brand, and what it means to have communications and clear expectations with people. And fun, fun - this is the start of four episodes about getting work and getting clients! I wanted to start with your brand and your reputation because I think a lot of people think, "oh, I wanna go get all these clients and I need...

In today's Episode (42), we are wrapping up the initial series on property and intellectual property, and I am really excited about helping you understand local, state, federal, and international a bit better, and how each plays an important role in protecting yourself, your property, and particularly, your intellectual property.  I'm going to walk you through where to find each of these kinds of...

In today's Episode (41), we're continuing the discussion about intellectual property, and particularly, intellectual property rights related to PATENTS. This is the last major type of intellectual property that we'll discuss for now, so let's dig in! If you're new to the series, you might pop back a couple of episodes to listen after today's episode. As I've said before - this is not legal advice,...

© 👉🏽  If you're not sure whether you have a copyright, whether you can use someone else's work, and if so, how much, then you're in the right place! We're continuing the discussion about intellectual property, and particularly, intellectual property rights related to copyrights.  This is not legal advice and this is NOT exhaustive. This is just a starter kit of sorts to help you start to get you...

Today's episode is all about what it means to set your business apart from your competition, and we're coming at it from the context of a Trade Name and then a category of Intellectual Property called Marks (which includes Trademarks, Service Marks, and Sound Marks). I'm going to explain the difference between each of these, how they fit into the puzzle piece of your brand (like a dba) and when yo...

Today is Episode 38, and it's a continuation of our discussion about property. In our last episode, I introduced the concept of property to you - how you own it, how you get it, how you get rid of it, how to share it. Today, and over the next few episodes, we're going to go deeper into intellectual property, which is a type of property.  Where property is a tangible or an intangible thing we can o...

Today's episode is meant to help you get a handle on what it means to own something - at work, at home, in your business. I want you to understand what can be owned (and not) - and why. The WHY is so important, y'all, because if you don't know, you could inadvertently lose rights to something and I don't want that for you. (And for those of you who have never seen or heard these terms before: usus...

Today, we're finalizing our starter / intro discussion about contracts and what you need to know and include when you're drafting your contracts. Today's topic: The top 5 things you need to be on the lookout for in international contract work!  At the end, as always, I leave you with a bit of homework to start taking action today. Y'all ready? Let's do this! >>>  My mission is to help service-base...

Today, we're continuing our discussion about contracts and what you need to do when you're drafting your first contract.  In this episode, which is Part 4 of the Contracts Series, we'll be revisiting a handful of foundational considerations you need to remember when you're building your contractual relationships with others. In addition, we're: Exploring the most important factors of what the IRS...

Today we're talking about all the things you need to know to resolve a dispute - especially when you have a contract. I want you to feel confident from the courtroom to the board room, and I want you to understand that what you choose and the way that you work with people truly does matter. In this episode, which is Part 3 of the Contracts Series, we're: Exploring the different ways a dispute can...

Today is Part 2 of the contracts series, where we talk about all the things you need to know before you sign, before you negotiate, before you start work. I want you to focus on the important steps BEFORE you sign, but in the event you've got an agreement or contract already, or you're in the middle of working one with your team as an employee, you're going to want to tune in today! In this episod...

In today's episode - the first of five episodes in this contracts series - I'm going to introduce you to the basics of a contract. And y'all: contracts are my favorite! Contracts are the one thing you can do and always be happy with the outcome. Contracts are the law of the relationship between you and your client. Because no matter what you discussed on the phone, in that email or text message, w...

Want to know how to get amazing clients and have them refer more just like them? Then you're not going to want to miss this episode! Today, we're expanding on the idea of planning a bit - we'll be talking about what it means to create FLOW - PROCESSES - a WORK/FLOW - one that ensures that you and the person you're potentially going to serve, or currently serve, as a client, a guest, a customer, wh...

Hey, hey! Today, we have a SPECIAL episode - my very first guest 😍 - Erin McGhee of The E Money Method™ aka #THEemoneymethod Erin will be talking to us about what it means to understand your numbers and your finances - and to have sustainable financial goals that work for you personally, and if you have a business, in your business, too.  She's going to share: why she believes people should be in...

Do you ever wonder why you made a plan and didn't get the results you wanted?  This episode is all about understanding what you're working towards and why it's not working out the way you planned. Ultimately, after our show today, I want you to walk away with a better idea of what it means to EXECUTE your plans and not simply have them for show. In this episode, we're covering: What a plan really...

What does it mean to create a SMART Goal? We talked about this early on, maybe in the first 5 or 10 episodes, but I thought it would be a good idea for us to revisit this idea of SMART Goals, especially as we're in the last half of 2022 already (gulp). I want you to be thinking about what it means to plan. To create a goal. To reach a goal. And to remind yourself of all the things that must be don...

We've been having a lot of high level conversations about what it means to start up a business, and I would be remiss if we did not discuss this really important topic of what it means to shut down your business.  Here's the thing: just because you are *done* with your business, doesn't mean that you can just *stop* your business. And, if you don't think you want to shut down your business - that'...

Today's episode is all about what it means to make decisions about who you help and what you do. Yes, we're talking about all that "advice" we get to NICHE DOWN.  And I have thoughts. And feelings. 🤣 And so, I will share those with you today. In this episode, we're covering: Why you feel that urge to throw it all up in the air and run away Why misaligned clients might seem like they're aliens fro...

Today, we're talking about PRICING.  The first step to figuring out your prices is NOT about numbers.  It's not about expenses. It's not even about how much money you need to survive. Listen in for what it takes. And, at the end of today's episode, I leave you with a bit of FUN homework, as always, because I want you to start implementing this today! In this episode, we're covering: What pricing i...

Have you ever considered whether your services might be destroying your business? My guess is probably not; it's easy to ignore. I started this podcast because I wanted business owners, entrepreneurs, and those who are making decisions inside of other people's businesses - managers, leaders, partners - and those striving to be promoted into those positions - to understand what it actually takes to...

If I asked you what your values were, could you answer right away? Probably not.  In today's episode, we're pulling it all together - your mission, your vision - and we're integrating them with your values! I'm super stoked, because I've got 13, count them, 13 different ways to help you define your values and start living them today.  I'll leave you with a bit of homework, as always, because I wan...

A Vision Statement is not just a lofty bunch of words that make people feel good about you. Your Vision Statement is a direct result of your Mission, and more than that, a Vision Statement is about your driving force.  Today's episode takes you one step closer to clarity, and I will walk you through a mini-exercise at the end for how you can start to implement this stuff today! In this episode, we...

A mission statement is not simply an "I help" statement or something you throw on your website or LinkedIn profile. It's way more than that.  A mission statement feeds into your Vision, which we'll talk about in the next episode. But for now, first, you have to get back to the basics and today's episode is going to walk you through that.  In this episode, we're covering: What it means when we make...

I know you've heard the stats about small businesses - around 20% close in the first year, 50% close after five years, and a mere 30% make it to 10 years or longer. These numbers are staggering, yet we seem to take the reasons they end at face value. We've been told the reason they don't make it is because of funding, marketing, leadership, planning. But I think the real reason is something much s...