Marilyn Ferguson, author of the global bestseller “The Aquarian Conspiracy,” sums up letting go of the fear of change:

“It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but its that place in between that we fear…It’s like being between trapezes. It’s Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There’s nothing to hold on to.”

As I thought about the Power of Letting Go, I thought back to my own major professional transitions. I was very successful in the corporate world but wanted to make a life-altering career change to become an entrepreneur and small business owner. The transition was a time between trapezes, letting go of who I was, living in the unknown, and trusting that I wouldn’t spiral downward without the safety net of my tried-and-true identity and proven success. Only when it was over, when I grabbed hold of that second trapeze, did I fully realize that my fears were all that had made the journey difficult.

Living in the gap, between two trapezes, is the chance to find out who we truly are and who we can be. How many of us are willing to let go of one trapeze, experience that place of uncertainty, and really find out what is possible for us before we actually grasp the second one?

Coaching is about that gap, the place where change occurs, where we can discover and explore who we have to become to reach our most cherished desires and dreams. It is the place where we ask the question:

What do we want in life and how important is it to get what we want?

It’s a powerful question that we’re not likely to ask when we’re holding onto that one trapeze for dear life. As human beings, we always believe we need to hold onto something, no matter how unhappy it makes us: the job we want to leave, the relationship that has lost its way, the dreams that we’ve shelved for yet another year. The fear of letting go keeps us from moving forward.

What has holding on to that one trapeze cost you in your life? Try to answer the question above, and then follow up with these two simple questions:

What will your life be like if you get what you want?

What will your life be like if you don’t?

Can you afford to continue holding onto that one trapeze? Or are you willing to let go and live in the gap until you can reach up and grasp that second trapeze to begin living the life that calls you? Consider the power of letting go.

Procrastination has only four causes:

* Bad timing: Trying to accomplish a certain task at the end of the day, when your energy is depleted and all you can think of is getting home. Or focusing on a complex report at a time of low energy, such as right after lunch.
* Fear: The most common example of this type of procrastination in business is cold calling. Most people hate it, not because it’s difficult in itself, but because people tend to take rejection personally. So we postpone it until the next day, and the next day, and the next day…
* Overwhelm: The task seems like it will take a long time, or the sheer size of it is intimidating. We also sometimes don’t know where or how to start.
* Dislike: This is procrastination from hate. We keep postponing a task because we don’t like it and/or aren’t good at it.

Dealing with it amounts to applying one of the following options:

Identify where your procrastination comes, and the issue resolves itself:
Sometimes, the mere fact of identifying the cause of procrastination gives you the answer as to what to do. If it’s bad timing, for instance, the solution is easy – just postpone the activity until a time where you have more energy, such as the next morning. If you procrastinate because you don’t know where to start, it probably means that you have a piece of information missing for you to be able to get started, then go ahead and find it. If there are so many pieces that you don’t know where to start, the easiest is to write down everything you know about the task or project, then start to fill in the gaps, until you have a fully defined project, that you know how to handle.

Eliminate your procrastination:
Another option is to simply drop the task from your to-do list. Ask yourself what are the consequences if this task stays undone. If you can live with them, the task can be dropped, thereby freeing up your mind and your time.

Delegate your procrastination:
Another possibility to get rid of the activity you procrastinate on is to delegate the task. It often is the best choice if the activity in question is one you don’t like or aren’t good at. It will save you time, and you will often get better results than if you did it on your own.

Cut the procrastination-causing activity to bite-size pieces:
When delegating or eliminating isn’t an option, decomposing the activity in bite-size pieces usually is the solution. For instance, let’s assume that you need to write an article. Your bite-sized list might look something like this:
- Search for information on topic “prrocrastination”
- Print all interesting information found – Read article A
- Read article B
- Read article C
- Create outline
- Write causes of procrastination
Etc.

If you decompose your task or project enough that none of the individual steps outlined seems too big or threatening, you have a list that resolves your procrastination issue: Nothing feels overwhelming or threatening and, even if you positively hate a task, my guess is that you can force yourself to work on it for 5-15 minutes. If you schedule this list in your calendar, everything will get done without you even paying attention to it, and procrastination is gone for good.

Here’s a simple mnemonic system that I like to use to get unstuck – GET AROUND IT:

Get around it, over it, under it or through it any way you can
Elaborate on key concepts
Take a broader look

Approach it from a different angle
Replace one part with another
Other styles
Unique attributes
New spin
Discard old habits

Ideas for improvement
Take a closer look

Get around it, over it, under it or through it any way you can
Truly getting unstuck means setting your ego aside. I try not to be a know it all and ask for help. Admitting that you need assistance and may lack knowledge in some areas is not an easy task, but the rewards are great. One of the ways I do this is to network with everyone from other entrepreneurs to my hair stylist to children (who often have the most insight). The breakthrough usually comes from some small comment made that resonates with me, but if I stay in my own world and don’t venture out and ask for help, I stay stuck.

Who can you ask for help? Who can you network with who can help you accomplish your goal?

Elaborate on key concepts
When I initially start creating something new, there are inevitably elements I like and elements I know I need to change. Recently, I took an idea I liked and made it into a series, divided it up, split it in three and now I have three pieces of artwork I like that I can either sell individually or as a unit.

Towards the end of a project, I do the same. I create energy around the work by finding the elements that also get other people excited and then motivating everyone else to talk about it. Once a few people start talking about it, a chain reaction happens and everyone starts talking about the project.

What can you do to get others to start spreading the news about your project? How can you add something to enhance your idea?

Take a broader look
I’m a big picture person and I usually leave the details for those better at the steps it takes to define the broader vision. Because I already see the bigger picture, I really have to exaggerate to make something outrageous, but I do this to get unstuck. I buy a huge canvas, step so far back that I can barely see what I’ve created, climb up high and look down at what I’ve created or lay on the floor and look up at what I’ve created. This broader look always shifts my perspective, which brings me to the next topic.

Where can you go to see your project from a bigger angle? What can you do to really see the big picture?

Approach from a different angle
In order to look at a creation from all angles, imagination must be employed. Here are some methods I use to enhance my perspective. I paint with my eyes closed or put the brush in my non-dominant hand. I rearrange the three-dimensional elements to create opposites. I use other mediums like clay or gels or writing to enhance the work. I combine different materials or colors or add new features.

How can you approach your project from a different perspective? Can you look at it upside down or backwards or inside out?

Replace one part with another
My entire collection of work is based on recycling broken instrument parts (or ‘injured instruments’ as some of my collectors call them) into new, beautiful and spiritual works of art. I turn violin bows into Cupid’s bow and arrow. I turn saxophone bells into fountains. If I’m completely stuck, I just start over and paint over. Some of my paintings become three-dimensional due to the fact that I’ve painted over them so much that there are layers and layers of work underneath.

True entrepreneurs often start many businesses before they hit it big and fail at many projects before they succeed. Successful entrepreneurs often start several businesses over the course of their lifetime.

What failures can you take and turn into lessons? What projects can you start completely over and make them better? What part can you replace with another?

Other styles
Perhaps my favorite technique is to put myself in someone else’s shoes. I pretend I’m Basquiat or Georgia O’Keefe or Jackson Pollock and try to approach my work as they would from what I’ve read about them or seen in their work.

Storytelling can be another great style of getting to the heart of the matter. Everyone has unique stories to tell that can spark an idea and pave a new way. Listen to the stories of others or share your stories with someone new.

Finally, I think of possible other uses and markets. Would my work look good in a café or at a train station? As a result, I’ve made sales in every venue from theatre lobbies to wine stores to flower stores and used bookstores and corporate offices.

Whose style would fit your project? Is there an entrepreneur you admire whose shoes you would like to walk in for a day? Where could you sell where you are not currently selling?

Unique attributes
I never worry about the competition thanks to a manager I had once who said to me “it’s YOU who makes this project unique not the material”. I am not the best or the brightest artist, however, what I write about my artwork moves people emotionally. It is original. It is uniquely my experience.

I also think of how the senses can affect the work…can I add sound, feel, smells, etc.

What makes you unique? What makes people buy from you and not someone else?

New spin
Sometimes you just can’t easily change your project or your path. When this happens, I look for a new spin on an old idea. I turn the painting upside down to give it a whole new feel or I change where I do the work. I take the painting out into nature or onto a busy street. I might frame the painting in a new way or paint the frame a different color or remove the frame altogether.

How can you give your business a new spin? How can you frame your project a different way?

Discard old habits
I embrace mistakes, flaws, and errors. I always look for new and improved so I’m not someone who hangs onto old habits very tightly. I’ve learned that the one constant in life is change and that’s what I thrive on. Luckily, I’m someone who never take myself seriously. The Japanese have a concept called “Wabi Sabi” or the art of imperfection. Not one piece of my artwork is ‘perfect’ and that is exactly what I want.

Is there something you’ve been hanging onto that you could let go of? Is there a routine that you go through that you could change right now? Could you take a different path to work or stop a different place for coffee on the way to your office? Could you call a different vendor that might add something different to your work? Could you dress differently or speak more slowly just for today? Can you let go of perfection?

Ideas for improvement
One of the best ways for me to improve my work is to tinker. I believe that great geniuses have made wonderful discoveries by tinkering with and tweaking an old idea. Most times I make improvements this way but sometimes I discover something completely new that takes me in a whole new direction.

What part can you tinker with to make subtle improvements in the way you do business? What small change can you make that could take you to a new level?

Take a closer look
Just as I try to look at the big picture, when I take a closer look, I also find intriguing opportunities in the details. I become a spy, a sleuth, a researcher by looking at everything from nature to sheet music to the way a chef creates my meal.

What do you see when you take a closer look at the minute details? What can you learn by digging a little deeper?

Needless to say, with all of these options, I don’t get stuck very often anymore. I hope by using a few of these techniques that you will no longer be stuck, either!

“I think that the first and most important change was in my attitude! I had made the decision to take the business to the next level and that decision was actually the first step (of getting unstuck), says New Jersey based LisaMarie Dias, head designer and founder of the six year old jewelry firm, LisaMarie Dias Designs.

LisaMarie took her business to the next level last year, increasing her sales by 60%, so that “attitude adjustment” must have something to it! According to LisaMarie, once that decision was made, she started working with a coach. The eight sessions “were amazing” because LisaMarie got an outside perspective, which helped her “see” her business from new angles, and enabled her to take on tasks that she had been avoiding because she had previously envisioned them to be insurmountable.

She explains:” When we started, I saw my role as making and selling jewelry – I was focused on getting out and doing more shows. My coach suggested ‘attracting customers’ and more networking. While it was not directly leading to sales, I was able to extend my brand awareness and indirectly, increase sales as more people knew of and became interested in my work. “

So as a result of her coaching LisaMarie got some very specific direction. More than that she implemented, she took action. She began to go to networking functions more. “I attended meetings, joined groups – getting my name and products (I always have a box of jewels with me!) out there.

Another thing that she started to do was to read. “I read all I could about business – not just small businesses but also about how larger ones are structured and work. This was tremendously eye opening. As an artist, I have a large number of educational hours under my belt, but I was never taught accounting or took even basic business classes. So now, I take classes thru NJAWBO (New Jersey Association of Woman Business Owners), SCORE and any other organizations I can find offering business, accounting or marketing seminars. I learn a lot AND meet others that are in similar circumstances – it is definitely a great way to move forward. “

In Charleston, SC, Sherrie Bakshi felt she needed to “get unstuck” from very first steps of launching her business, due to culturally-based issues.

“One of the first challenges my business partner Vladia Jurcova and I faced had to do with our names,” says Sherrie Bakshi, an Indian-American woman and co-founder of Stylee PR & Marketing. “With both our last names being somewhat unfamiliar to the everyday American, especially in South Carolina, we had to come up with something that people would remember and connect with us. “

Her challenges to start a PR and marketing business in an area of the country where most Indians were in the medical or engineering professions, included overcoming her own personal challenges; growing up in a culture where risks were not taken very often. “Indians tend to follow a specific path created by their parents and for the sake of security. “

So Sherrie had to get “culturally unstuck” and that meant taking risks and pushing her own personal “envelope”. According to Sherrie, she made a concerted effort of securing her position within the community by affiliating herself with recognized community relations, including Darkness to Light and the Center For Women. She participated in speaking engagements, served on committees, and worked on building bonds with members of her own field.

Sherrie and Vladia’s grass roots efforts with Stylee PR reflected their approach in the public relations field. Says Sherrie, in a city full of publicists, we had to stick out. We knew the first impression would be the last impression so we had to do it right.

While her company is doing well, Sherrie did face several challenges in the company’s early stages. StyleePR had to get their clients and prospects “unstuck” from thinking that their rates were too high for a start-up firm, a common demon for many business newbies. Sherrie and her partner has years of expertise, so their approach was to follow their gut instinct, despite possible setbacks.

“A company’s reputation can be hindered very quickly with a bad client experience, which we did have. “ Another challenge; getting clients unstuck from their perceptions of what PR really is.

“Some clients initially foresee PR as something they can do. It’s easy. They don’t understand the skills required, such as effective communication, writing and marketing skills.” According to Sherrie, PR requires a type a personality, maintaining one’s cool and bringing the best results forward. Education has been key component in their approach. Per Sherrie, the results have been fantastic with their clients receiving “the biggest bang for their bucks.”

As they enter their third year in business, Stylee PR’s “getting-unstuck-from-the- get-go” mentality has resulted in more clients, and expanded services that now includes account service, branding, and copy writing,

Whether getting unstuck includes cultural or geographic challenges, or getting your business ratcheted up to the next level, it’s clear that defining your specific challenges, taking risks, seeking options to help you reach specific goals and taking action – can help you achieve new professional and personal heights. Go for it ladies – the sky’s the limit!

What can you do?

1. Take a break. This isn’t always easy to do but is often exactly what you need to break out of your rut. I know individuals who have gone to the movies, signed up for dance classes, taken up painting, and even trained for a marathon when they thought they “should” be working on their career change. In all cases, they found something they needed to take their career change to the next level.

2. Shake things up. You want to make a career change but you’re still doing everything else the same. Switch up your familiar routine to break the monotony and give yourself a fresh perspective. Take a different route to work, buy your morning coffee close to home rather than at the office, move your furniture around, get a new hairstyle, paint your walls, etc. Change one thing each day and see what new ideas flow your way.

3. Stop Worrying. Ok, I know…easier said than done! The reality is, anytime you spend worrying “if this change will ever happen”, “how you’ll make any money”, “if you really have a passion in the first place”, etc. you’re taking one step away from making your transition happen. Worrying about these things is a waste of time and can block any creative thoughts that might be germinating. If you were supposed to have the answers to these questions, you wouldn’t be in a position of changing careers in the first place! Refocus your attention and stop letting worries keep you from making progress.

Trust yourself. Trust the process. You were born knowing your passion and have simply forgotten what it is. Give yourself the time it takes to rediscover your calling.

No one would disagree that recent statistics about growth in female-owned businesses are encouraging. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, “nationally, women-owned firms continue to grow at twice the rate of all firms. Between 1997 and 2006, the number of majority women-owned firms grew 42% to 7.7 million from 5.4 million, compared to all firms, which grew 23%.” The best part of it all is that 2007 predictions indicate that this trend shows no signs of slowing.

I worked for public relations firms in the heart of Manhattan for a long time amongst all of the hungry corporate executives who inhabit the island. It was when I moved to Pittsburgh that I made the decision to start my own company, Pascale Communications, a healthcare public relations firm. This was the boldest and riskiest move I have made in my professional career.

It was in Manhattan when I first learnt that the industry was so cutthroat where keen businessmen and women constantly battle to get to the top. I loved that about the industry, but I, as I’m sure many women feel in any city across the nation, definitely felt an added challenge in my workplace to rise to the top over male professionals. Most of this pressure, like many other women, I am sure I put on myself. However, I found that some clients (male and female) would gravitate to the male employees to ask questions and give the credit.

It always pleased me to see such a high population of women walking the streets of Manhattan in their tailored suits and on their blackberries. It is empowering as a female that throughout these added challenges, there is still this constant rise in the number of women reaching management positions, like Indra K. Nooyi who was recently named CEO of Pepsi, Co.

Challenges Starting Out

I went into my endeavor realistically knowing that I would still be working long, if not longer, hours to get the business up and running; knowing the struggle it would take to be successful as a female business owner; and quite frankly knowing that the business could fail.

Starting out was challenging for me, which is no surprise to anyone who has started their own company. I was extremely determined and hungry for business, which meant that nothing would stand in my way; especially being a female. Like all business owners first staring out, I worked harder than ever, which required countless “all nighters” to put together outstanding proposals for prospective clients. My hard work and determination garnered me enough accounts to put Pascale Communications in business.

I learnt many first hand struggles that I realize many women in my same position must face. While I had an unbelievable amount of support, there were still people (both men and women) who would comment on my endeavor saying things such as “that is a cute idea” or “try not to get eaten alive”. To me, comments such as those are insinuations that I was going to fail. In fact, I have even turned down business from a potential client who scrutinized me as a female business owner and said they would hire me as a ”favor” thinking I desperately needed the help. I was strong enough to say that I did not need their business that bad and had other clients that hired me because of my professional capabilities. I believe that was my biggest struggle starting off (and sometimes still come across), but have been overcoming these insinuations with my success.

One of the biggest situations in running my business where I find myself getting “stuck” continually as a small business owner is the process of hiring, training and managing employees. Like almost every other small business owner, I am very protective of my company and want employees who feel as passionate about the work and company as I do. This is one of the ways to attain employees who will want to create a long career with us and stay interested in Pascale Communications. I never want the ‘perfect’ employee; I have become realistic to the fact that there is no such thing and that people are ultimately going to do whatever they want no matter what benefits/perks that are provided to them. In addition, I have also learned that the imperfections in employees (and me for that matter) can be some of the best qualities to help keep my company moving in a positive direction and keep me on my toes. As a result, I am continually reinventing the managing and training processes and am also always open to taking resumes to have on hand because of the realistic fact that employees can come and go with no warning or reason. My biggest advice to those in my same position is to keep realistic expectations and to never stop thinking of ways to reinvent and improve the hiring, training and managing process.

Creative ways for business development

When deciding how I would run my company, I thought about what made me happy at work so I could strategize ways to parlay that into how I would run my business. I also wanted to think of a way to minimize costs, maximize outreach to accommodate clients and stand out from competing PR firms. As a result, I could not think of any other way except starting a completely virtual company. Luckily for me, my staff, and the industry I am in, this vision works extremely well.

As a female business owner, I also wanted to create an environment that was conducive to working mothers. Working from home offers flexibility in working hours and spending less money on suits! Finally, I loved the idea that my employees would also save time and money by not having to commute. With rising gas prices and the extra time it takes to sit in rush hour traffic, I hoped this would help avoid added stress and increase productivity in my employees. All in all, I felt this met my main goal of setting my firm apart from most others. I think it is invaluable for the client to know that their PR firm is nimble and accessible, and being virtual achieves those traits.

I believe the way I run my company is equivalent to any other company run by a male or female. Knowing the rising number in female-run businesses makes me feel not only empowered as a woman, but gives me stronger drive to work hard to succeed and continue growing my company. There is room for everyone to do this; male and female. In fact, I am sure men face certain challenges that I do not.

Pascale Communications is now over two years old with quadruple the client base, and quadruple in size. My success has been attributed to my determination and the people I surround myself with. It’s as easy as that.

By the middle of the week I was in the emergency room at a hospital in lower Manhattan. When I left the hospital I knew my left leg was injured but the hospital couldn’t provide details. I needed to see a specialist. I was still calm. By the following week, I was in an orthopaedic surgeon’s office listening to what was to come. I needed two surgeries with a 12 to 18 month rehabilitation period for the second surgery. Walking would be regulated to the distant future. My calmness exchanged itself for sheer shock. It’s not what I wanted to hear. I had plans. I’m directing a film, I own a company, my work requires me to stand 14 hours a day, I have investors…I just stared because I couldn’t make any of this go away.

This was definitely as unforeseen as events come. The impact it was going to have on the growth of the company was totally up to me. As a business owner one of the key things you will begin to ask yourself is “how do I find a way to keep going?”

1) Give yourself some space.

This will allow you to do a self- assessment of the business and of you the individual. After finding out I was going to be non-ambulatory for a period, my priority was to figure out what my needs were going to be. This way, I could assess the needs of the company.

2) Don’t beat up on yourself.

Life happens to all of us. One of the best preparations for a business owner and entrepreneur is to have your insurance in place. This includes health, disability and life insurance.

3) Who/What is your support system?

Having a business support system is just as important as a personal support system. Can you call on a mentor? A colleague? Another business?

4) Create around all the things you can do?

In my case, my injury caused a physical limitation so the type of work I focused on changed. I could not be on the film set or even walk down the block. I transferred my focus to creating content. This was something I could do with a pen and piece of paper.

5) What are the areas in the business that need strengthening?

Take a look at your marketing, sales, development and production. Is there any area that you need to gain more knowledge in? Reading can give you an edge. This is also a perfect time to do a SWOT analysis based on the current situation.

6) What type of business do you have? What can you delegate?

Look at the size of your company, your staff and how it functions. What tasks can be handed over to someone else? In the first few weeks of my injury, I brought an assistant on board to handle phone calls, meetings and coordinate the space I needed. If you’re a one person business, can you recruit an intern?

7) Take stock of your business and your resources.

What do you have access to? Whether its books, a laptop or a home office, these are all resources which can keep you motivated. One of the things I did was build a digital production system with donated computer parts.

Write, Write, Write!

The ideas you have, your feelings, your views, they all need expression. Journaling brings clarity. Once we transfer our thoughts down on paper, a cathartic process happens.

Understand where you are at and what you can do now. When an unforeseen event happens, there are no losses, it’s all about learning. Learning how to handle the new circumstances and growing with them. My focus on content began with writing. I outlined screenplays and wrote them. Now I have product that I can sell, market or produce. I took my company from being production oriented to research and development oriented.

There are two main categories of describing your customer base. One is looking at your customer base from a demographic prospective, and the second is looking at the benefit variables. So what does this mean in plain English?

Demographic variables lump your customers together, often by physical and statistical characteristics. This is sometimes called “population segmentation” because it looks at statistical information based upon a population and then divides people into groups. For example, what is the age range of your customer base? Are they mostly male or female? Are people of a particular ethnicity and/or religion particularly attracted to your business? What kind of household income do they have? In what zip code do they live? Do they own or rent their apartments? Do they live by themselves, have roommates and/or families? Are they married, single or divorced? Do they have kids? What kind of jobs do they have? Do they own cars? What is their educational level? A great free source of demographic information is the US Census, conducted every 4 years: http://www.census.gov/. The “American Factfinder” section presents the information in an accessible manner.

Demographic data can become particularly helpful if you have a location-oriented business. For example, you want to open a restaurant, bookstore or clothing store in a specific neighborhood. By checking out the neighborhood demographics you should have a better sense of who is actually living in the neighborhood. For example, if you want to open up a daycare facility in a particular neighborhood, it would be helpful to find out what percentage of the local residents has children. If it’s only 2% of the population, perhaps there is not enough demand for your business to be profitable. Or if you want to open an upscale clothing boutique where a dress retails for a minimum of $200, you want to make sure the population has enough money to afford the clothing.

Demographic information only tells part of the picture. As you know from experience, not everyone who has a household income of $250,000 feels the need to purchase a $200 dress. This is where describing your target market according to benefit variables becomes useful.

Describing your customer according to benefit variables looks at what are the needs or benefits that your customer seeks.

There is a music educational program for babies and toddlers in my community. The business has been operating for about a year and the owner is in the process of developing a marketing plan. She researched the demographic information, but found that it was a bit broad for her needs. She wanted to start analyzing her current customer base. So we discussed benefit variables for the types of customers. To develop a list of benefit variables, we asked, “why are people purchasing my services?” or “why does a parent enroll his/her child in my class?” Here are some of the reasons:

* Parent thinks music education is important
* Have a fun time doing the classes
* Want a place where the young child can socialize with other children
* Classes are at a reasonable price
* Location is convenient
* Class times are convenient
* Like the instructors
* Want something to do
* Doing it because a friend is also enrolled

So you can see that even though 95% of the participants might share the same zipcode and other demographic information, what compels the individual to make a business purchase can significantly vary.

A third way to describe your target market combines demographic information along with consumer spending patterns and behaviors is “psychodemographics”. Basically select market research companies have analyzed not only a population’s demographic information, but also looked at what they have spent their money on as well as their socio-economic status. They’ve developed a series of categories that describe different types of people, such as “Bohemian Mix”, “Urban Achievers” and “Landed Gentry”. To get a free taste of what this is, visit MyBestSegments.com. You usually need to purchase psychodemographic information.

Ultimately, when developing your business plan, your goal is for the reader to have a clear picture of who exactly is your customer. So in reality, most customers are described by using benefit, demographic and psychodemographic variables.

Developing a customer analysis is often a lot of work and requires a combination of market research, intuition, common sense and risk! I’ve found many business owners, especially of new businesses, find the process intimidating. To get started, I suggest just brainstorming 5 different types of customers. Use whatever variables come to mind, whether they are demographic or benefit. Try to add as much detail to your description as possible and don’t worry about it being correct – you’ll make sure it is later on. The main thing is to get this process going.

After you have this list, then start using some of the above sources to start checking out whether your gut and intuition matches reality.

More tips and techniques on marketing next issue!

Then “Alice” called. The wife of a client I had served in a small matter several years earlier, she had an urgent situation: she needed to sell her business. By Monday. Forget the fact that there would be all manner of due diligence, getting familiar with the transaction, creating the sales documents, complying with the Bulk Sales Law…and sacrificing the weekend. She grumbled at the rates I quoted. She couldn’t understand why I would insist on a written engagement letter (a/k/a a contract) – don’t I trust her? And when she got the letter, which specified a partial up-front payment, she went ballistic. “I do business with some of the largest law firms in the city and they don’t treat me like this. The only reason I’m using you is because my husband used you several years ago. I could go anywhere!” I paused, calmly took a deep breath, and said, “Frankly, I think you should.” She uttered an expletive, demanded that I do something physically impossible with myself, and hung up the phone.

“Alice” was instructive for me because I clearly saw the signs of how this relationship could be rife with problems. And difficult relationships often manifest in deadbeat behavior.

Seeing the Signs
Alice had several behavior patterns that made my “deadbeat meter” (my gut) go off the charts. First, she acted the tyrant by trying to demean me (“The only reason I’m using you…”). Bullying has no place between people who intend to do business honorably. Also, her demands made no (common) sense: who wakes up on a Thursday and needs to sell a business by Monday? The timeframe alone made me suspicious that there might be something underhanded going on, in which case, I wanted no part of it. Her grumbling about my rates made the relationship start on a note of dissatisfaction – hers. I would have constantly had to prove my worth to her (with only dim hopes of success). All the manipulation would do is add tension to the client relationship. And finally, she bristled at my wanting terms in writing, which indicated that she did not want to be held accountable. Which is precisely what I needed her to be, given that we had had no prior relationship, and in light of the urgency of the work she needed.

Prevention
Obviously, the best way to deal with deadbeats is “abstinence” – don’t take them on in the first place. Your productivity and success will depend on your ability to pre-screen them. Trying to collect on a delinquent debt is rarely profitable- in any sense. Financial exigencies can, however, get the better of us, or something happens during the course of the relationship, and we find ourselves facing nonpayment. What steps can we take, short of taking them to Court?

1. Don’t let outstanding invoices fester. If a client has an outstanding invoice, don’t wait before trying to sort out the situation. Act immediately. The sooner you address the situation, the less it will loom – in your mind or your client’s – as a major problem (from which people either run or stick their heads in the sand).
2. Keep communication open. Many non-payment situations arise because there was “a failure to communicate.” Maybe you didn’t understand what the client needed and, therefore, the client is unhappy with your service. Perhaps you weren’t clear on how and when you needed to be paid. Be open to the possibility that you failed to meet expectations.
3. Keep working toward a solution. The saying goes, “The customer is always right.” Which is not to say that the customer is always in the right. Hear them out. Arrange for face-to-face meetings with clients, when you can. And don’t fight what they say. Try to move the process toward resolution by asking, “What might help you to feel satisfied?”
4. Have options ready. Keep your mind open and nimble by thinking of options other than “full payment of the outstanding balance all at once.” Maybe a payment plan would help. Maybe you need to reduce the amount of the invoice. Maybe you need to redo the work first. Your goal is to get paid and, ideally, to preserve the relationship.
5. Put it in writing. You should document whatever arrangement you and the client agree to, so that you can avoid misunderstandings going forward. And don’t let a client’s verbal promises of payment deter you from sending out follow-up collection letters. Keep a record of all payment reminders – letters, faxes, e-mails – that you have sent. These will provide an invaluable “paper trail” in the event that you need to take more drastic measures, such as bringing in a collection agency or a lawyer.

Finally, once the client has paid the outstanding amount, the matter – and the headache – has come to an end. Take the high road. Say “thank you” and send a note to that effect. Even something as simple as “Thank you for your payment of $___. Our invoice is now paid in full. We appreciate the opportunity to be of service.” You may screen this client differently next time, raise your fees, have different payment terms, or refuse to perform any more work for this client, but it doesn’t hurt to act graciously now. Doing so – despite the bother you encountered – will be a sure way to earn your clients’ appreciation and to turn future deadbeats into doves.