My least favorite part of buying a car is when they "run the numbers." My least favorite part of buying a car is when they "run the numbers." Primarily because I always feel like I have NO IDEA what those numbers should be, and what they should include. Added on to …
I Drive A Tow Truck
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 …
Selling without the Squick
I went to see Oceans 8 last weekend and I loved it. Maybe a little too much. I was ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED to watch those 8 women problem solve, plan, and execute a massive heist at the Met Gala. A big time heist movie with diamonds and dresses. The setting was phenomenal. What really got me, …
Pricing: Setting a Minimum
It is SO VERY TEMPTING when you're a freelancer to take whatever job someone wants to give you or to start up a new client for a very small project. SOMEBODY WANTS TO PAAAAAYYYYYYY MEEEEEEE! (Oprah voice.) At the beginning that's cool because you gotta have jobs. I have spent TEN. LONG. …
Maybe It’s Me
I was sitting on the airplane banging my head against the window. The pilot had just come on the loudspeaker and said, "Well, we have to take a different flight path, so we need more fuel. Problem is, it's lightning. So the fuel trucks can't be out. BE NICE TO THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS. THIS ISN'T …
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 ice out of the …
