A Different Kind of Success

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill

Sometimes success arrives in a different form than we expect.

I had an opportunity to practice my pitch the other day, and although my services were not needed, I was glad to A) practice talking with prospective clients and B) think through the range of services I offer.

As I consider billing options, I've been percolating on how to account for the valuable consultation portion of my service.  It just wouldn't do to walk a client through a tailor-made needs assessment, only to have them decide they're now ready to write the tribute themselves.

In preparing my pitch for this specific client - and without thinking about it too much - I developed a structure that helped clarify the three levels of service I offer:

1) Getting started - the needs assessment: if they want, a client can take the notes from this session and write the tribute themselves from here.  This is for clients who just need help getting going, and protects me from the clients who don't realize that til we've already spoken.

2) Organizing rough notes and identifying themes: for clients who have started and gotten stuck. I get it!  It's harder than it looks.

3) The full package: start to finish.  Presumably this is the service most people want.

All services include a light word massage as needed.

 I'm now one step closer!  Now that I know what I'm offering, I can start tackling what to charge. And just this morning, an article showed up in my inbox talking about freelance fees.  Everything's happening right on schedule!

* * *

Celebrating Actual Success: This post marks my tenth blog in ten weeks!  I've made a lot of progress in the last two months, and the thinking I've been able to do through my writing has solidified a lot of the advance planning required for success.   

Thanks so much to all of you for reading and cheering me on through the process!  Your steady stream of interest and kind words keep me afloat.

You may notice a content lightness in the next couple of weeks as I take some personal development time and regroup for the next round.  Stay tuned!
 

Photo courtesy of Josh Sorenson @ Pexels.