- Photo credit: flickr user CarbonNYC
Last week’s Friday Five featured 5 wise & powerful women talking about everything from true freedom to stealing copy without making people hate you. Today I’m bringing you a list of articles that teach strategies for tackling a range of classic entrepreneur challenges–from taking a professional photo you actually like to getting your company featured in a national magazine. Because each of today’s featured articles has helped me with something in my business recently, I’m also going to give you a little behind-the-scenes look at what’s shaking over here at Olivia Bowen Communications.
1. 6 Tips for Better Portraits
I’m long overdue for some professional new headshots, so I’ve arranged to meet with a photographer when I’m visiting family back east in April. While finding a great photographer is half the battle, I also want to show up knowing what I can do to make the most of our session. Thanks to these six tips from the super talented Peter Hurley (@Peter_Hurley), compiled by NYT columnist Roy Furchgott (@royfurchgott), I now know which is my “good side” (my right) and why I should channel E.T. and Clint Eastwood when I’m in front of the camera.
{People have a tendency to tuck their chins in photos, creating an unflattering neck wattle. The simple way to fix it, said Mr. Hurley, is “bring your forehead toward the camera.” From the side it looks like they are doing an E.T. imitation, but from the front it cleans up the neck and jaw line.}
2. How Much Should I Charge? Here’s How to Figure It Out.
Oh, Marie Forleo (@MarieForleo), your business wisdom astounds me. Because I try not to feature the same author repeatedly, I get a little reluctant to feature the likes of Marie because what if she puts together something even more awesome next week? I had the same hesitation when I featured Derek Halpern a few weeks ago, but just like I decided everyone needed to know what Derek had to say about font size, I think everyone needs to hear what Marie has to say about determining your rates.
{As you know, it’s really important to price your products and services right, for obvious reasons like sales, cash flow and profit margins.
But it’s even more important for nuanced reasons like brand positioning and helping customers understand and appreciate the value of their purchase.
Today, I’m going to walk you through a pricing strategy I call the “mattress method”- a simple, yet unusual way to get a fresh perspective on the value you provide to your customers.}
3. The Freelancer/Independent Consultant/Work-From-Homer’s Guide to Tax Write-Offs
Growing up, long before I had to file taxes myself, I had amorphous dread about April 15th. Why? Because my birthday is the day before, and I feared I would be forever doomed to spend my birthday working on my taxes. When I got older, I realized the enormous value of finding a talented, savvy CPA to do that for me. (My guy’s phenomenal; get in touch if you need a recommendation.) That said, I like to know the law and how to make it work for me. That’s why Kevin Purdy’s (@kevinpurdy) roundup of tax tips for freelancers is so valuable.
{If you use a section of your house or apartment for business, and only for business, then it’s the easiest tax math that exists. Figure out the square footage of the entire apartment or house, figure out the percentage that work space takes up, then use that to determine how much of your electricity, heat, water, and other household bills can be deducted. But that’s just one method for the math, and not the only way.
“You don’t have to use square footage,” wrote Jacoba Urist, a tax lawyer, family finance expert, and frequent blogger, in an email exchange. “If you’ve turned your garage into a home office and have a separate heating unit or meter, you can use the entire separate bill.”}
4. Why You Shouldn’t Do “Just One More Project”
Charlie Gilkey (@CharlieGilkey), of Productive Flourishing, recently wrote an article that spoke to my inner overachiever. While I like to let her out to play, sometimes she needs to relax so I can accomplish more by doing less. Gilkey gets to the heart of it by pointing out that time is just one of the limiting factors for how much we can get done. Other resources are finite, too, and we’d be wise to portion them out for the most significant projects.
{Every project, to be successful, requires some time, energy, and attention. It requires planning and metrics of success. It requires decision-making juice when it stacks up to other projects that need to get done. Completing stuff inevitably takes longer than we originally estimate, even when we know that it’ll take longer than we originally estimate. In short, it’s one more ball to juggle.}
5. How to Read a Magazine Like a Publicist
How on earth did I not know about Brigitte Lyons (@BrigitteLyons) until now? This PR beauty has been the answer to my “How do I get press for this project?” prayers. I’ve been volunteering my time as the lead on copy and marketing for One Darshana, an amazing cause that inspires people to commit to 30 Days of Living Yoga and raise sponsorships to fund non-profits doing incredible work for the environment and children around the world. This role means I’m stretching far beyond my comfort zone and trying my hand at some PR. Lyons breaks down how to read a target magazine to get all the information you need to pitch a story for coverage. This is gold.
If you found these articles useful, please share them with other small business owners and entrepreneurs. I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, let me know if you’ve written a piece you think would be a good Friday Five feature. I just might spread the word about your brilliance.