Do you ever worry about being exposed as a “fraud?” You’re not alone. It’s actually quite common for people to feel like imposters. In fact, approximately 70 percent of people admit to having experienced impostor syndrome at some point in their lives — a Twitter poll found that 87 percent of people have experienced this. Even successful and famous people like Tom Hanks, Howard Schultz, and Natalie Portman suffer from imposter syndrome.
But, what exactly is imposter syndrome. And, more importantly, how can you silence it?
Originally coined in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP, and Suzanne Imes, Ph.D., the term “impostor syndrome” describes symptoms that include being unable to internalize accomplishments and being afraid of being exposed as a fraud.
The individual may also be plagued by chronic self-doubt and believe that they’re unqualified for success despite evidence to the contrary. Inadequacies, fears of failure, and disbelief that success is a matter of luck or timing are also common.
If you don’t address this phenomenon, feeling like an impostor…
There are all types of writers nowadays — content writers, marketing copywriters, novelists, bloggers and more. Any one of these writing professions can also involve ghostwriting, which simply means your name is not on anything you do but someone else’s name is on this work instead. Think about it. Songwriters write the words and music, and the artist performs the music in their own flavor of presentation. Well, that is how it is with most writing, as well. While you may have visions of grandeur of having your name on everything you do, the fact remains that working as a ghostwriter is a very lucrative career that is just as fulfilling.
It’s not really about your name but it is actually about the fact that you have access to a lot of interesting and satisfying work. Don’t be worried about your portfolio though because you can still build a body of work by listing the people and companies you have worked for that can validate your experience, expertise, and talent.
This article provides information that can help grow your ghostwriting business by deciding what to charge, how to create long-lasting working relationships, and putting new online invoicing tools for Ghostwriters to work to get paid faster.
Deciding What to Charge and How
Small businesses often feel at a disadvantage when it comes to creating an effortless social media and PR plan that engages with the audience and has an actual ROI. It’s a daunting task, and most small businesses end up throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
However, it can be done well with some simple best practices and some strategic planning. Here are some tips from the pros so that your small business can automate social:
Step 1: Audience
Think about your target audience very carefully and who you want to target for the next three months. Be incredibly specific on the segment you want to target: CMO’s at medium-sized companies in the fashion industry. Or: stay at home moms who homeschool.
Step 2: Listen
If you know your target segments you should be somewhat aware of what’s going in their life. Know what problems their facing, what goals they want to…
The insurance industry is currently in the midst of a transformation in terms of changing claims management models, the introduction of more outsourced positions, and the need to reduce paper-intensive processes.
Insurance Industry Challenges & Opportunities
When listing the key issues for the insurance industry back in 2015, PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that there are many challenges to over come. These include:
- More analytics will be necessary to modernize insurance business models in order to increase efficiency, enhance personal service, and drive lower costs. This is part of the Big Data movement, which can help industries like insurance better understand the motivations, behaviors, decisions, and actions of its customers and potential customers.
- Along with this increased focus on data and how it can help the insurance industry do a better job, information governance also takes center stage. As…
While the quote above applies to almost any situation in life, I’ve found it to be most useful when it comes to money. For example, if you want to buy a new car, you will need a strategy for the down payment. Want to avoid falling into a retirement trap. You guessed it. You need to have a long-term strategy.
But, how exactly can you develop a winning strategy for your money? Well, here are seven ways to get you on your way.
1. Don’t invest in anything you don’t understand.
“I’ve worked super hard for my money and don’t gamble it on investments I don’t understand,” says Grant Sabatier, founder of Millennial Money. “So many people, especially now that they know I have some money, try to sell me stupid investments. I don’t listen to pitches unless I solicit them.”
“An investment has to be really compelling for me to go beyond my core investing strategy,” he adds. …
According to a Wall Street Journal survey, 64% of small businesses had unpaid invoices that were more than 60 days old while 20% said the problem was getting worse. I get asked all the time what helps a company get paid. For this reason I have looked at and analyzed over 250,000 invoices. I’ve found that most business owners make the same mistakes when trying to get paid.
Here are some of the most common errors that I have found:
- There are too many human errors with missing or inaccurate information.
- The invoices look unprofessional and don’t reflect your company’s brand image.
- The invoices have no numbering system so the numbers are duplicated or missing.
- The invoicing system uses a lot of paper, which is adding to the overhead expenses.
- And, most importantly, the invoices are not getting paid on time.
It kind of makes a lot of sense that, if you could fix these irritating conundrums, then you would get paid faster, on time, and maybe even…
Are you sitting down? I hope so. As someone who considers themself an annuity champion, I’m going to be 100% honest with you all. Not everyone should invest in annuities.
For starters, it can cost an arm and a leg if you want to opt-out of the annuity. This is most true in the first few years — especially if you paid a hefty sales commission. If so, you may incur punitive surrender charges.
Additionally, when all expenses and earnings are calculated, annuities may offer lower average returns than mutual funds or CDs. However, if the company you purchased the annuity from goes belly up, you’re out-of-luck. And, annuity contracts can be downright complex and confusing, what with the various payout terms and tax structures.
But, instead of running away…
Are you interested in joining one of the 53 million freelancers who want to break free from the daily 9-to-5 grind? Make sure that you possess the following qualities that successful freelancers share before making the leap.
Self-Motivated
Freelancers will proudly tell you that they love the freedom and flexibility of their work. We can work whenever we want, whenever we want, and even accept or reject the projects that we chose. With that freedom through, comes great responsibility.
The most successful freelancers are extremely self-motivated and are able to wake-up in the morning and start getting to work. They focus on long-term goals and consistently work on being self-motivated in their life, and not just work. …
It’s a simple rule of business- when making a purchase; a customer will always look for the cheaper option, right?
Wrong.
Here are 25 reasons how you can get your customer to pay you more for your service or product…
1. Quality
You get what you pay for; highlight with examples the higher quality of your product/ service. Example:Burger King’s successful, “60% more beef than them,” campaign, pitching themselves head to head with McDonalds.
2. Speed of delivery
As the old saying goes “good, cheap, fast — pick two.” Need your product the next day? You’ll pay more. Deliver your product faster than your competitors, they’ll pay the extra.
3. Customer convenience
No one wants to waste a whole morning buying a pair of swim shorts. Make the process…
Do you have what it takes to be an freelancer? Psychologists may be able to answer that question for you, as they have identified four key traits that are commonly found in successful freelancers. Here is what several psychologists reveal as the top personality traits of great freelancers.
In a study that included Swiss and German researchers, scientists discovered freelancers are generalists, have a ton of confidence, have no problem disagreeing, and are conscientious.
You don’t have to have all — or any! — of these traits to be a good freelancers. However, it doesn’t hurt.
The “generalist” aspect is simply a matter of logistics. Founders need to be a jack of all trades, master of none in order to tackle the many diverse challenges involved with starting businesses. Specialists, on the other hand, are the experts that entrepreneurs hire to take care of each aspect of the…
