Day 11: Planning Your Product

This chapter was all about planning the product you would create. Since I've already created two products for my target audience (The Write Time: How to find all the time you need to write a book and How to Write an eBook in 40 Days (or less)), I didn't have a lot of work to do on this. I spent my day, instead, on creating the white paper I will use to attract my target audience and develop my email list.

I called it Building a Business with a Book.  It covers how to create 10 additional products from the book that you eventually write, generating additional revenue streams with only a moderate level of additional work required to get there. I'm hoping this offering will be appealing to my target audience of people considering building a work-from-home business with very little start-up capital as it shows them how writing one book can be the basis of so much more.

I really like the product I created, but I must confess I'm not utterly sold on how it wraps up. It seems lame. I may go ahead and do some research into recommendations for ending a white paper in a way that makes it a truly effective sales tool.  The next item I plan to work on finishing up is the rewrite of my How to Write an eBook in 40 Days or less so that I can have it out and available for sale in time. I have it set for release on October 1st, but given all the changes that I'm making on my business model, I think I may just delay it a few more months and time it for release on December 12th, the 2nd anniversary of its first release.  That will put it square in the center of the Christmas buying season and give me plenty of time to market it.

It will also give me 90 days to build the writer's platform to support it, as recommended by the other book that I'm reading. I hate to push it back on its publication date yet again, but I do have a method to the madness and it's important that I get this done but done right. As the other book told me, it's important not to rush your book to market but to make sure it is the best it can be. I want time to test the contents on many victims (cough), I mean subjects, so that I can be sure it works and works well.

Day 9: What Drives Your Client

Yesterday, I talked about my ideal client and who she is. Today, the instructions are to focus on what my ideal client wants.  Why is she interested in working with me? What leads her to reach out and respond to my books, videos, seminars, etc.?

What My Client Wants

Cammy wants to have more time to spend with her husband and children. She wants less stress about the bills and the money. She wants to feel that her life is meaningful and that she has made a positive contribution to the world around her. She wants to help make the world a better place by bringing the love of Christ to others because she knows what a difference it has made in her own life and she knows it can make that same difference in the lives of others. She wants to create a product, an income, and a legacy that her children can inherit.

Cammy wants a book that will teach her how to write a book in 40 days so that she can start her business sooner rather than later. She wants blog articles that will teach her how to transform that book into a business. She wants videos that will help her get past the trouble spots as she encounters them. She wants software that will automate some of the writing process so that it's less tedious. She wants private coaching that will guide her in finding her own personal message and targeting the audience that needs that message most. She wants to join a group of writers who will help her to stay motivated and provide her feedback on her writing when she needs it. She wants to attend writer's retreats that will give her a chance to step away from her family life for a short time to focus on the writing of her book and get it done on time.  She wants to attend conferences that will help her to network with other writers, publishers, agents, and editors. She wants classes that will help guide her through the writing process from beginning to ending.

Where do your clients find you?

Clients usually find me through social groups both on and offline and through personal connections. They have usually followed my work for a while before they decide to hop on board and become clients. They are confident of my work, confident I know what I am doing, and that I can help them do what they need to do. What is important is that my clients need to feel like they know me and can trust me before they are ready to buy from me. They have to be sure that I can deliver.

When do they look for you?

My clients look for me when they are serious about taking action on making a change. Sometimes they are absolutely sick of their job and need an exit strategy in place first. Sometimes they have a business but it isn't working the way they want it to work. Sometimes they have a book they've finished but they feel like its missing something. Sometimes they have a book they've worked on but they're stalled out and don't know where to take it next. Sometimes they are tired of having their dream but never doing anything about it.

The tipping point is always different. Maybe it is a mid-life crisis moment where they realize that time is short and life will not last forever, so the time to act is now. Maybe it comes from a layoff that compels them to find a better and more stable financial model. Maybe it comes when their boss has passed them over for a promotion one too many times in favor of people who are less competent and less capable.  Maybe it is a child's need that drives them to seek out the extra income.

Why does my client choose me?

I have proven experience getting a book written. I am likeable, personable, and nurturing. I am patient with the questions that she has, and good at explaining things to her. Being around me makes her feel more confident in her abilities and secure that she can accomplish her goals. I respond quickly to her needs and am thorough in the help that I provide.  When she tells me things in confidence, she knows that she can trust me not to share it with the world. 

She knows that I won't steal her work or her ideas. She knows that I will put her needs ahead of my own and go out of my way to support her in the work that she is trying to accomplish. She also knows that if I recommend something to her or suggest that she buy something, it's not because I am looking to make a quick buck but because it will really help her. I have used it myself and I know that it works. She knows that she will not only get something out of it, but will get far more out of it than she pays to receive it.

How do I want my client to connect with me?

I prefer that she contact me first for a consultation on her book or book idea so that I can get a feel for where she is at in the process and how committed she is to her dreams. I know that, until they are ready to commit, most people who visit a website will not reach out for human interaction. If she reaches out and asks for it, it is because I have won her over and earned a place as a trusted advisor. This will make it easier for me to guide her through the journey up ahead of her because she's willing to listen to what I have to say.

Day 8: Describing my target client

Name: Camille (Cammy) Lawrence
Age: 36
Marital Status: Married with children
Number and ages of children: 9, 6, and 3
Religion: Catholic
Goal: To work from home
Motivation: To spend more time with her children and family
Conflict: She doesn't have a huge amount of money to invest
Epiphany: She has the talent for writing, and writing a book is a way to start a business with minimal investment
Story: Cammy discovers that she is expecting baby number 4, and suddenly her dream of working from home becomes a lot more urgent. She doesn't want to miss out on this baby's milestones the way she had to with the other three. However, the family needs her income so she can't afford to abandon her job without replacing the money.  She does some research on home based businesses, and decides that dusting off her minor in English literature and combining that with her major in Business Administration is probably the best way to go. She decides to write a book as her first product in a business she can run out of her home. She contacts me for her free consultation, we brainstorm ideas together, and she signs up for my class.  40 Days later she has the rough draft of her book in hand and we then work together to polish, edit, proof-read, put a cover on it, and publish it.

Cammy has been married for 12 years. She and her husband live in the suburbs. They own a 3 bedroom home and have 2 cats, a dog, and a hamster.  Cammy's faith is a huge part of her life, but it wasn't always. She'd like to be more active in her church, but her job demands curtail that possibility. She wants to help share the beauty of the Catholic faith with others. A tall, green-eyed brunette, she is friendly, outgoing, and usually has a big smile on her face. She tends to encourage the people around her and is the first to offer help to those she sees in need.

She is motivated and knows what she wants, but she's open to suggestions when she sees the merit of them. She lives an active life, is involved in her community, and is always reading, learning, and growing.  She is passionate about life and is a very vibrant, uplifting person to be around.  She's playful and fun-loving but intense in the pursuit of her passions.

What I like most about working with Cammy is that she and I can talk about the deeper things of life. We may not always agree on them, but we value each other's point of view. She understands that there is a benefit to collaborating with others on a project. She values my input and experience, but she's not interested in having me do the work for her. She's also not the kind of person to quit on a dream just because things get tough, or to make excuses for why she can't.  She'll ask for help when she really needs it, but she approaches her work with a "how can I" rather than "I don't think I can" attitude. Cammy's as much a friend as she is a client. We respect one another's gifts and talents and time.

Day 2: Choosing a Direction

Day 1 felt good. It told me who I do want to work with and who isn't on that list. I don't know that I'm much closer to having a solid business plan, but I'm a step closer.  Today's topic in the Book Yourself Solid playbook is choosing a target market. This is the group of people where your ideal clients are most likely to be found. Your target market must be specific enough and it must be the right one for you.

I have decided that I want to help writers, and not just any writers but writers at that crucial beginning stage of the process when they are still developing their ideas. My friends who are writers have told me I'm kind of a "book muse" - I am good at helping them to develop concepts and brainstorm ideas. I'm especially good at helping fiction writers, although I'm good with non-fiction writers, too. Concept development assistance for writers is too wordy, but it's the service I provide.  I am a book muse and I provide concept development assistance for writers. I could see introducing myself that way. The Book Muse: Providing concept development assistance for writers.

Question is - would anyone pay me for that service and how much should I charge? Is there a way to automate such a service?

1.2.4 What are five of your clients' urgent needs?
- To find an idea for a direction to head with a story
- To finish their book on time
- To come up with an idea for a story
- To overcome writer's block
- To clarify their ideas and select the one that works best

After looking over this list, I wonder if perhaps there are editors who would appreciate having someone they can call to help inspire authors that are struggling. I think it would be a valuable service to book companies and might well be a way to earn income while getting to work with the very people I enjoy working with most.  Oh, and agents. That's another possibility.

1.2.5 What are five of your clients' compelling desires
 - To support their families with their writing
 - To achieve success
 - To keep their fan base happy and growing
 - To get their message out there
 - To be able to write full-time

1.2.6 What is the biggest result I provide?
- Get your book finished! (for authors)
- Your client's book finished (for agents)
- The book finished on time (for editors)

The Financial, Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Rewards.  These must be evident before clients will purchase and the minimum they should receive in terms of return on investment is 20 times what you are asking them to pay.  People aren't buying what you do, they are buying the solutions you provide.

1.2.7. What are the deep-rooted benefits clients will experience as a result of your services?
 - Relief from the stress of worrying about finishing your book
 - Confidence in the direction your book is heading
 - Pleasing fans without selling out
 - Connect more powerfully with the message that you want to share and the people who need it most
 - Have more time doing the writing you love and less time worrying about moving past writer's block

Day 1: Rebooting the Business

I've struggled to put together a successful business for as long as I can remember. My first "business" was picking weeds for neighbors at age 4. My first "business plan" I came up with at age 5. It was simple, elegant, inventive, and imaginative. My plan was to pick blackberries, because they grew for free, smoosh them up, allow the juices to dry out, scrape up the residue and package it as my own kool-aid packets for 10 cents per packet. Naturally, this plan did not work. I had failed to calculate the cost of labor and the sheer volume of berries required to produce much money.

For the last three years, I had a business that wasn't successful but it was supporting us. That collapsed in on itself in July and my husband and I have been scrambling to figure out an alternative.  I decided to do two things: Take a class in evaluating entrepreneurial ideas from Coursera and read through the entirety of Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid and blog the results of the exercises.

I have a lot of skills and talents, just haven't really been able to put together a solid plan to market those and attract clients. I'm hoping that between the two classes, I can figure it out. It at least may give me an idea for a direction to head and an honest assessment of what I need to do to make things work more long-term this time.

One of the first things he says that I really, really like is this, "When I began my business, I would work with anyone who had a pulse and a checkbook. Then I began to consider what it would mean to choose my clients. What it would mean to work only with clients that were ideal for me."

When we were running Creative Technology Services, that's where we were. We would accept whatever work came our way out of desperation, fearing that nothing else would. As a result, we often wound up working on projects that didn't really fit us and our abilities very well.  We didn't enjoy the work and we weren't doing our best work because of it.  That's one thing I want to change this time. I want to work with people who motivate and inspire me to want to work with them.  I want to know that helping them means making a positive difference in the world around me.

Exercise 1.1.1. Name the characteristics or behaviors you refuse to tolerate because they shut you down or turn you off?

I can't stand working with clients who are bullies, who think that they need to harass or badger people to get things done faster. I don't want to work with clients who look down on me or think I'm just another servant at their command. I won't work with clients who want me to do everything for them. I can't read minds, so I don't want clients who expect me to do that. I hate working with clients who don't take themselves or my time seriously. I don't want to work with clients who aren't sure where they are going or who change directions constantly.  I can't work with clients who won't listen or take advice.  I need to be sure that the clients I work with know how to communicate their ideas and expectations clearly.

Exercise 1.1.2. Of your past/current clients who should not have gotten past the red velvet rope protecting you and your business?

Looking at the past, most of the clients we took on should not have gotten past the red velvet rope. Of course, we didn't really have a rope. We had an open gate, and that was part of the problem.

Exercise 1.1.3. Dump the dud clients

This one isn't hard to do. It's pretty much happened on its own, which is why our business isn't functioning right now. Lesson learned from this experience: Dumping them before you get involved preserves your sanity and the reputation of your business.  As he says in the book, "You owe it to these clients to refer them to someone who can, and will, do their best work with them."

Exercise 1.1.4 Define Your Ideal Client

My ideal client has a specific goal they want to achieve and they have a plan in place to achieve that goal.  They know what they want, but are open to suggestions and input. They recognize that working with me will be a collaborative effort and they are prepared to provide feedback on what they like and don't like in a constructive manner. They are pleasant, even-tempered, and ask questions rather than make assumptions. They understand that I have bills to pay just as they do and are as prompt as possible in payment when the terms of service are met.  They believe in themselves and are generally optimistic.

Exercise 1.1.5 Who Among Your Current Clients Fits This?

Since I am reinventing my business and may not be doing the same things I have been doing in the past, I think I will approach this from an "I don't have clients yet" standpoint.  I know I have absolutely loved working with my developing writers in writer's group, and I seem to have a special gift for helping them to find and develop ideas for their writing.

Exercise 1.1.6 Why Do You Enjoy Working with Them?

I enjoy seeing them go from having this seed of a dream to fulfilling it for the first time. I love being part of that process for them, of watching them come alive as they realize for the first time - maybe in their whole lives - that they can write and that what they write is worth something. That's what gets me going about the whole process of working with writers.

Exercise 1.1.7. What Would Your Ideal Clients Absolutely Need to Possess in order to work for them?

I need them to be committed to writing, to have a strong message they want to share, a recognition that they don't have all the answers, and an ability to take constructive criticism. They need to be people of strong faith, and people who hold themselves accountable for the results rather than blaming others. They also need to be willing and able to pay, because I have to pay my bills in order to be available to help them.