It was close to the last day at my first job out of school and I had to tell my staff I was leaving. It was so hard to do that because I loved them and I loved that garden. I explained where I was going and what I hoped to do at the new place. One of my ladies, the one who was most …
Where’s The Bar?
I spent my whole life planning to manage botanical gardens. I was a 17 year old going on vacation with my parents taking pictures of interpretative signage at Disney World. So when, at age 27 or so I had an abrupt career change, I felt like my whole life went up in flames. For a …
Pricing: Setting your Maximum
What is the maximum amount of money you'll let a new client spend with you? "Oh, but there IS no maximum," you might say. "I'll take all $20,000 from someone if they offer it." For me, the maximum is different. Book projects start between $4500-$6500 with me. I will take a new client on and do …
I Saw The Sign
We pulled up to the hotel in downtown Miami after dark. The hotel was recommended by the standup paddle race we were attending the next day. The sign was spray painted on the side of the painted concrete wall. Spray. Painted. There's a first time for everything, I guess. Perhaps …
Min And Max
There are two numbers I didn't spend much time thinking about until I starter working on my pricing. Those two numbers are: The minimum amount of money a new client can spend with me, andThe maximum amount of money a new client can spend with me. But shouldn't we take any amount of money …
Brought To You By
The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports happens every year on the first Saturday in May. I went to watch the ponies run at Churchill Downs when I was 14 or 15, the trip a birthday gift from my parents to their horse-crazy daughter. Because I was underage, my dad only let me eat …
The Chattajack
It's really 32. The year I did it we had the "Hell Fog." That's what happens when the water is maybe 60 or 70 degrees and the air is more like 30 degrees. One year it was kind of warm and there was no current on the river because that's what happens when the good people of Chattanooga don't need …
The Ad Blocker & Modern Marketing
I've been legitimately obsessed with Seth Godin's Akimbo podcast. Seth is the real deal. He has been around forever. Written tons of books. Created and sold companies. He is amazingly perceptive about culture, media, and marketing, and he's capitalized on it. He is also amazingly …
What if you do?
What if you don't? I focus a lot on the "What if you do?" If you do XXX, then YYY will happen. It's REALLY easy to let my thoughts go to the negative when I think of "well what if I do this?" If I raise my prices, my clients will fire me. If I pitch myself or …
People Like Us
Sunday I went for a run, and because I was by myself I got to listen to podcasts. Until October I NEVER listened to podcasts. I don't even know what happened to me. I must have gotten tired of my running playlist. I started listening to Seth Godin's new Akimbo podcast, and my favorite …