7 Low-Cost and No-Cost Tactics to Market Your Business

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The Shift 1It was my absolute joy to share some of my hard-won knowledge about low-cost and no-cost marketing strategies with fellow business bootstrappers at The Shift coworking space in Chicago last Thursday.

I realize that I don’t cover small business topics that much on this blog. (I usually do it on Carol Roth’s blog, Business Unplugged.)

But I LOVE helping small business owners. And I have learned a lot over the past five years.

What a great group we had! Everyone participated and seemed to get a lot out of it. Here’s what we talked about:

Marketing Your Biz on a Bootstrapper’s Budget.
(A Big Bang for Small Bucks.)

Tactic 1: Blogging Strategies

Why you should have a blog

Continue reading →

Nominated for Rule Breaker Award 2016

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Rule Breaker 2016I was excited about being nominated for a Rule Breaker Award last year, but THIS year, I am a shoe-in because I have turned the revenue model for career transition coaching on its head.

I am the only person I know who works primarily on contingency. Here’s how it works: I get a $100/month retainer (because I deserve a few bottles of wine), and when my client lands a great opportunity, I get a bonus of 5% of their first year’s gross salary.

I love this because there is no doubt that my goals and my client’s are aligned. We are in a true win-win partnership.

When I tell this to prospective clients, they get it immediately. My sales process has become incredibly easy. Now, I just need to ensure that the clients I take on are willing to do the work.

The voting hasn’t started yet. I’ll let you know when it does. I truly am breaking the rules.

I can almost taste the fried catfish in New Orleans this summer when the awards are given out 🙂

My First Blab: Disrupting Your Job Search

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2016-03-03 3dSummit Blab Banner - Job HuntI’m doing my first Blab on Wednesday, March 2. (They’re dragging me kicking and screaming into new technology.) Following my own advice, I am telling myself to just get over it.

Actually, I have watched a Blab or two and they are pretty fun. Are you in job search and over 50? You might want to join us! ‪#‎3DSummit‬ Blab: Disrupting Your Job Search While Female http://3-d-summit.com/our-blabs at 12:30 pm CST / 1:30 pm EST.

Here’s how it went.

From Entrepreneur to Employee: Interviewed for Entrepreneur.com

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Catherine Morgan speakingCarol Roth interviewed me for Entrepreneur Magazine’s blog about how to transition from entrepreneur to employee. I have had a lot of success getting professionals back to corporate after being business owners. I’m getting great feedback on this article!

You can check out “How to Transition Back to Employee After Being an Entrepreneur” here.

From CarolRoth.com – Does Your Pricing Reflect Your True Value

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Boosting Bottom LineMy recent post on Carol Roth’s blog, Business Unplugged, is on a subject near and dear to the hearts of most service providers – and something most of us struggle with – pricing. The question you want to ask yourself is, “How can I structure my pricing so that it accurately reflects the value I bring to my customers?” I begin: Continue reading →

2015: Year in Review

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Palm Springs snowy mountainsHow can I summarize 2015? I really struggled with this and put off writing this post for as long as I could. Some great things happened, and I had some major frustrations.

It was definitely a year of transition, and while those are fascinating in retrospect, they’re not that fun to go through.

I often joke that I prefer to coach my clients through transitions than to go through my own. But seriously, don’t most of us? Continue reading →

“Catherine Morgan” Named a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer

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"Catherine Morgan" Named A Top 100 Champion

“Catherine Morgan” Named A Top 100 Champion

I am SO excited to report that I was included in the list of Top 100 Small Business Influencers. It truly is an honor being on the same list with highly respected companies and small business experts. Woot!

Can you hear me belting out, “We are the champions, my friends. And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end…”? (Freddie Mercury did it better.)

Here’s some information about the award:

“The Awards, now in their fifth year and produced by Small Business Trends and Small Biz Technology, honor the companies, organizations, vendors, apps and people who have made a significant impact on the North American small business market.”

We’re So Confident We’ll Work on Contingency

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Finishing FirstThis post was published initially on LinkedIn Pulse.

Sometimes one conversation changes everything. When a prospect told me that they had signed an exclusivity agreement with their executive coach, I felt very uncomfortable. Why did their coach feel the need to handcuff clients like that? Didn’t the coach’s results keep clients?

And then I wondered if I should consider having a clause like that. Had clients left me to work with other coaches? In five years, I don’t know of one. So, no, I probably don’t need a clause like that.

And then I had a series of other conversations with prospective clients who told me about writing B I G checks to their coaches, and not getting one inquiry or lead from all that investment.

It made my heart hurt. Continue reading →