As your business grows, so do the requests from people. The problem you can have as a service-based business owner is that you genuinely want to help, and sometimes, that can mean you give away way too much of your free time.
At first, it might involve giving away free sessions of one type or another. Over time, because of your generosity, you can become the go-to person for free support and guidance—as one of my business coach friends would put it—free consultancy.
Consider this: If you’re being asked a lot about the same things, you might find it a good area to focus on in your business. You’re already becoming known for it!
In this three-part mini-series, we will explore three ways this might show up in what people say to you and how you can deal with it.
Scenario 1
Can you share some wisdom on (topic) with me?
If I send this to you, would you please look it over for me?
Here’s what to say:
“I’m more than happy to share a couple of gems of wisdom, but if you want real gems, then let’s talk about how we can work together. You’ll only get a teeny tiny bit of my support by doing it this way. We can get transformational results when we work together 1:1.”
Or for the ”Can you just look at this one” message, you could say…
“Sure, just send it over. From what you tell me, working through it shouldn’t take too long. I’ll invoice you for an hour. Before taking it any further, I’ll let you know if we need more. What’s the best email address to send the invoice to?”
Next, we will discuss people who want 20 minutes of your time for free.
What do you say when people want to ask you questions for free? We’d love to know.