Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What do you do?

I help Creatives (people whose creativity is the foundation of their businesses) build and improve their businesses, increasing their income while having more fun doing it.

I am a _ (your business here)___. Can you help my business?

While my methods and ideas are generally applicable to almost any small business, I focus on the businesses that are built around a creative owner - Creatives. Because I am a Creative myself who has studied and applied the principles and techniques I teach you, I guarantee that if we work together your business will improve.

I am a home-based business. Can you help me?

Yes. Since most of my strategies don't require large amounts of capital or expensive outlays, home-based businesses can especially benefit from our collaboration. I am a home-based business, myself, and understand the issues and the advantages of working from home.

My business is part-time. Can you help me? How do I take it full-time?

I can help you. It doesn't matter if your creative business is part-time or full-time. What is important is your willingness to have it pay. If you have a part-time business that you want to keep part-time but still increase your income from it and your enjoyment of it, I can help you do that.
 
If you want to take your business to full-time, we can do that. We will create a custom plan and strategy that will allow you to get from part-time to full-time in as short a time as you can go.

You keep saying that we should do what we love. What if I don't know what that is?

I do keep saying that. I say that because life is too short to be miserable earning a living. Part of my life's purpose (doing what I love) is to help others give their gifts and talents to the world, fulfilling their potential, and enjoying the success that comes with doing so.
 
I spent too many years of my life figuring out how to make a living doing what I loved… and settling for less while I was figuring it out. Now, I want to help others shorten their own cycles and get paid for doing what they love.
 
Depending on where you are in your own discovery process, I will either mentor you in your discovery or I will refer you to other professionals who are more specialized in helping you find out what it is you love to do.

Is it possible to make any money in this economy?

Yes it is! There are creative businesses that are thriving, even in this economy. Yours can be one of them. People continue to spend money on things (and services) that are important to them, on things (and services) that help them feel better, and on things (and services) that improve their lives. Your target market may be different than it was two or three years ago, but people are still spending money. And with the internet, your market may have expanded significantly.

Do I have to be on the internet? Even if I am locally-based?

You don't have to be on the internet for us to work together.  That being said, every business should have an internet presence. But even if you are "technology challenged", you can have a very nice looking website very cheap… in some cases, free. Since internet search engines have replaced the Yellow Pages for some segments of the population, even geographically-located businesses (the tech term for locally-based) benefit from an internet presence. 

Why is your site called Career and Business Mentor? Do you do career counseling?

I am not a career counselor. However, our working lives are more than our current job or the business we are in.  "Career" encompasses our entire working life. Most all of us will have more than one job or more than one business (or combination) in the course of our lives. Imagine if all of those jobs and businesses were working together to create a career that was fulfilling, sustaining, and life-giving.
 
Such a career doesn't happen by accident.  It requires insight, planning, effort, and mentoring. In career mentoring, we take a higher level view of your work life and begin to map out the steps that need to happen in order to achieve the long-terms goals you set for yourself. And then we create a plan to get there.

What do you charge?

That is a straight-forward question, but the answer is more complicated.

While my base rate is constant (and consistent with other professionals), help is available to you in both packaged and custom levels.  The custom levels provide considerable personal attention to you and to your business.

Further, I offer different levels of help that can help you move from one level to success to the next as you are ready.

Even more important than how much I charge is how much you will get out of mentoring with me.  How much is more revenue, more clients, and more fun worth to you?

However, because I have been where you are, I am sensitive to the fact that often the very things you need to move up are out of reach (in terms of price). As a result, I have created a limited program for those clients who meet the right criteria to be a showcase study in return for much lower rates for a limited time.

Please see the Work with the Mentor page for more details on all of these.

Do you offer a guarantee?

Absolutely.  I offer a complete money-back guarantee.  If I can't help you improve your business, I don't deserve your money. 

While I can't guarantee your performance (that is out of my control), I can guarantee your satisfaction. 

See the individual offerings and packages for details.

What if I have other questions?

Please contact me and ask. I will do my best to answer within 24 hours. If I am not in a session with someone, I may be able to answer right away.