I will be sharing what I learned in the breakout session/expert workshop that was led by Carolyn Herfurth before I share a final recap in this 10-part “Rock the World” series. Carolyn’s topic was “Dare To Live Your Truth: 4 Radical Shifts to Package, Price & Sell Your Services”.
Carolyn was very dynamic. She started off by sharing 20 things that make her sick about what she sees happening with entrepreneurs. One of my favorites was “people are trying to make money in their sleep when they aren’t even making money when they are awake”. (True!) During the rest of the workshop, Carolyn shared 4 Shifts in a Business Vision Builder Framework.
1. Declare
You deserve to have a great life and get what you want. (Say it out loud!) Declare your truth. What do you want your business to do for you?
The “WILL” Formula:
Why (Why do you do what you do? What is your passion, your purpose?)
Income (Be clear on the income that you want at three levels – 1. Need to make in order to cover basics so that you feel taken care of/safe/secure 2. Want to make factoring in splurges 3. Fantasy number – what do you fantasize about making in order to get that private island, jet, etc.?)
Lifestyle (What does your ideal lifestyle look like?)
Legacy (What do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered?)
2. Define
What do you want your business to do for others? Define your ideal clients and what they want. (What is their own “declare”?) Know and stand strong on your point of view on their behalf. Your value is tied to how you are creating transformation in the lives of your clients. Be able to articulate that in a way that resonates with them. Search for the real meaning behind what you offer. (i.e. Starbucks isn’t just a coffee. It’s a lifestyle.)
3. Design
Package and price your service-based services.
In the traditional model, you start with a free offer, move to a low-priced option and then later help the client become a higher priced customer. However, Carolyn likes to flip this model on its head and start with a higher touch item. In order to figure out where you should start financially, ask yourself “Where am I? Am I getting my needs meet? Do I just want more? If so, how can I step it up incrementally?”
Various offerings:
-Low (to No) Touch: What can you put on your website that doesn’t require your time after the initial investment of time during the creation process (i.e. books, ebooks, membership sites, online courses, etc.)?
-Medium Touch: What can you leverage one to many (virtually or in-person)?
-High Touch: What higher priced service can you trade hours for dollars?
You have to figure out your strategy regarding where to start. Don’t focus so much on tactics/following a “guru’s” exact blueprint. Find your happiness. Live your truth.
4. Do
This involves doing the work. (It includes things like where to network, who to have collaborative sales conversations with and such.)
Carolyn ended her session by emphasizing that this is about self-trust. It’s about knowing that you are worthy and deserving of having the business that you want and making decisions based on what you want and what you know that you do for others. It is not based on what other people tell you that you should want and that this is how you should do it. It’s about that self-trust to build a sustainable business that gives you the freedoms that you want – that allows you to spend time with the people that you want doing the things that you want. That’s what it is about.
Face your fears. Face the overwhelm. Embrace that you are worthy and deserving of what you want. You deserve a great life. I dare you to live your truth. – Carolyn Herfurth
Bonus
Here’s the super-cool bonus(for me) that I get to share with you. I won, one (of the 2) THE BIZ REVEAL private session giveaways with Carolyn! REVEAL stood for the following:
R – We review your REFLECT inventory and current packages and pricing
E – We celebrate where you are in the Entrepreneurial Evolution (because it’s only gonna get better!)
V – We ooh and aah over your tremendous vision
E – We pinpoint where you want to put your energy now!
A – We stir it all together, add a pinch of turmeric (I hear it’s good for you) and develop your custom action plan
L – And we launch you fantastically into action!
More than anything, my session with Carolyn helped me to gain clarity regarding where I should focus my energy (business-wise) in the near future. Initially, I was torn between two different business paths. After listening to me share the various reasons why I was contemplating each path, Carolyn suggested the path that she intuitively felt was closer to my personal vision. I appreciated that Carolyn noted that it was ultimately my choice. (Mentors are important but ultimately we have to take ownership of any decisions that we make in our own lives!)
It just so happened that Carolyn’s intuition was in tune with the desires of my heart. She basically confirmed what my husband, mom and hairdresser (3 of my top confidantes!) have been encouraging me to do business-wise for the last couple of years – to teach other work at home moms. One of the greatest joys of my life for the last decade has been to be able to work from home around my family’s schedule. This lifestyle is definitely not for everyone BUT so many women have told me that they “wish that they could do it too”. Now that my sons are a little older and I have a bit more “space” in my schedule, I will be combining my blogging, social media and web development skills to help make some of those moms’ wishes a reality in 2016 (God-willing).
Along with clarity, Carolyn also helped me to come up with a practical action plan. I was so impressed with her guidance that I will be investing in working with her on a quarterly basis. If you own a service business and are looking for a high-energy business coach who can help you gain clarity and an action plan, then I definitely recommend considering Carolyn Herfuth!
