Uncategorized | Words on the Page

Four Ways to Find Your Business Voice

Posted on August 28, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: I’m Shakin’ by Jack White Yesterday wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped. Too many phone conferences. I would love to bottle the time wasted in phoned meetings. While the ones I was part of yesterday were productive (and well run), most are a huge waste of time. I’ve actually worked with…

Down Under Up Above

Posted on August 27, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Super Bass by Nicki Manaj No, that’s not adverb/preposition overload. We had our Aussies over for a four-day visit. We’d met them and instantly clicked at the clan gathering in Inverness (Scotland) three years ago, and when they mentioned they were thinking of planning a trip to the US, we were quick to…

What Clients Can’t Do

Posted on August 23, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Spun by Grouplove The Aussies are here! I’m writing this ahead of time because I expect to be either on my way to Manhattan or to the mountains and some hiking today. I was thinking about the conversation around client expectations during projects or contract negotiations. Any client relationship is one…

Get in Line

Posted on August 22, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Ten Thousand Words by The Avett Brothers It’s quite a coincidence that this song comes up on my iPod right about the time I’m nuts with work. Yesterday was no exception. I worked on four projects, some at the same time, and fielded a phone call on yet another project. I’m…

Five Things That Could Be Killing Your Business

Posted on August 21, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Right in Time by Lucinda Williams I had a productive day yesterday despite a bit of a headache lingering. I finished eight projects for a client and got some preliminary work on another project. Then out of the blue, the big-assed project showed up once again, after much delay. Naturally. As…

Therapeutic Weekends

Posted on August 20, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Innocence by The Airborne Toxic Event “Thanks for making me go, Mom.” Music to my ears, for I drove daughter to work on Friday as she sobbed, apologized, and sobbed some more all the way. Just like the kid on the first day of kindergarten, she was fine when she went…

Guest Post: Why You Can’t Find Higher Paying Work

Posted on August 17, 2012 by lwidmer

Amen for friends. As I was busy dealing with my daughter’s illness, a note came in from Samar Owais. She and I had talked about her writing a guest post for a while, and there it was when I needed it most. Thank you, Samar. Your timing is excellent. I swear I didn’t ask Samar…

Watching

Posted on August 16, 2012 by lwidmer

It’s going to be a long day. I don’t have a ton of work, and maybe that’s for the best right now. My youngest is going through some pretty crippling anxiety, and I’m loathe to help her. It’s different when it’s physical. You get to a doctor, you get a diagnosis, meds, and hopefully things…

Webinar Wednesday

Posted on August 15, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: The Rifle’s Spiral by The Shins Busy morning, slower afternoon. I finished some revisions on a product flyer, revised some of the content at the About Writing Squared home page, and conducted an interview for a newsletter piece. By then it was 11 am. Good thing – personal errands had me…

How To Sabotage Your Image

Posted on August 14, 2012 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Numb by The Airborne Toxic Event A busy day yesterday, but I finished drafts of both the white paper and release. Now on to revisions on a previous project before continuing on with yet another project. Things aren’t so quiet around here as I thought they’d be this week. And yes,…

Sharon Hurley Hall

August 14, 2012

Totally agree with these, Lori. Any of these will damage your professional reputation and badmouthing clients in public will significantly reduce the number of people willing to work with you. Excellent advice.

Cathy Miller

August 14, 2012

When I first started visiting Groups in LinkedIn, I was dumbfounded by some of the responses participants let fly in discussions.

I mean nasty, rude, and definitely lacking any social graces.

I understand when you're in your niche (such as a writing group) where you might slip up-although I definitely don't recommend it. It's a false sense of security that it's not your client base. You never know where a potential client might hang out.

But, what blew me away was what some wrote in a Group where clients/potential clients definitely hung out. Did they honestly think that attitude would be viewed as a good thing?

Devon Ellington

August 14, 2012

I think sometimes if something strikes us the wrong way or we're tired or whatever, we're reactive. When we do that, we have to remember to step back and take a breath, and perhaps, phrase it more diplomatically, rather than just hitting "send".

And sometimes, what feels like a funny, off-the-cuff remark when we write it doesn't read that way on the screen, because it's missing intonation, gesture, facial expression. There's a lot of room for misinterpretation.

We're human, we all slip up, but we should be valued on having a good, positive body of work out there, not just remembered for one or two comments.

Paula

August 14, 2012

Diplomacy. Tact. Class. Whatever you want to call it, handling yourself with decorum is never a bad idea.

I've never been terribly reactionary, but occasionally I'll be tempted to overstep the bounds of propriety, but I try to reign the emotions in before hitting "send."

(I knows this entire comment reads as if I'm a Southern belle discussing the importance cordiality. Read it as you will, but rest assured I am not typing with a Southern accent. Okay, maybe a slight one.)

Lori

August 14, 2012

Sharon, it's amazing how many people fail to recognize how giving someone hell online will reverberate throughout their careers.

Cathy, that's just nuts, isn't it? I'd think even in a writing group they're going to leave a stench acting like that!

Devon, that is true. However, clients don't have the same level of tolerance all the time. I know I've had to step away from the keyboard a few times (and a few times I didn't, and I regret that). What astounds me is how many people openly lament their chosen profession. How the hell do you attract business by doing that? Sheesh!

Paula, I bet you'd look good in a hoop skirt. 😉 It's tough. I've been drawn into debates before and I felt like in the end, I just wasted a lot of time and left a bad impression. But like Devon says, we're human. The problem comes to a head when a client decides not to hire you based on comments.