It’s 5am as I write this.  I’m no stranger to being up early.  In fact, a few years ago this would have been late for me.  I used to get out of bed around 2:45am when I had a career as an airline pilot.  I did that for seven years before becoming self-employed.  This is a picture of one of the planes I used to fly.

I remember the quietness in the mornings this early and kissing my girls on the cheek as I snuck out of the house, to return after they were back in bed for the night, a few days later.

Today, I’m headed to Charlotte, NC to meet some great friends.  We’re going to exchange some ideas to grow our businesses together.  I’ll be back home before dinner.

I don’t miss those days much.  Now, I’m in control.  It’s what happens when you decided to place the importance on what’s most significant to you in life.

What’s most significant to you?

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Too many people are afraid to be controversial these days.  I know “the customer is always right.”  Supposedly.

I love controversy though.  Bottom line – if some people don’t hate you, there aren’t many that love you.

It’s true, business owners.  If you’re not pushing people towards the edge, then they’re right in the middle.  They don’t hate you, but they also don’t love you.  They’re not talking about you and they’ll easily forget about you.

TV Shows are Controversial

Take a clue from TV shows.  Is there a political show you watch that’s not controversial?  Of course not.  No one would watch.

Derek did this great video a few months ago that brought a lot of controversy.  I doubt Dave Ramsey would disagree with anything he said, but there was still controversy there.

I titled a podcast My Business is a Scam because someone actually thought it was.  But I’ve won that person over (after a funny show) and they still listen.

Turn Controversy into Positive Attention

When you begin to view controversy as a positive occurrence in your business, you can use it as an opportunity to develop relationships that otherwise wouldn’t exist.  I actually disliked some of my now-best friends when I first met them.  If they were in the middle, they’d be like everyone else; someone I know, but someone I don’t interact with often.

How have you used controversy?

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054 Coach Radio – Writing Books, eBooks, Self-publishing

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Get Naked – Derek Sisterhen’s new book. 

What do you think of the cover? —————->

Justin Hughes starts us out with follow-up questions from last week’s show on shopping carts and accepting payment.

I really enjoyed your podcast on your setup for billing.

My brain is really strapped though right now with work, FAA, and trying to get my wife’s website set up for her book launch next month, and while I normally would do all the research work to identify the ideal solutions for us right now, I’m just too overwhelmed. So, I wonder if you could offer me some advice.

The book is being self-published using Lightning Source and we’ll have a .pdf, kindle, nook, and ibooks version, and while we plan on marketing this and pushing it, the various versions will be the only thing we’re selling right now.

Paypal is obviously necessary to accept, but is this the best solution for right now? Additionally, since we’re not sure how much we’re going to sell online, 1ShoppingCart seems an expensive solution for an unknown return.

So what would you do in my shoes?

Thank you for your help.

Ryan Brewer writes to ask about turning a blog into a book.

I write a daily personal finance blog and I had the idea not too long ago to turn my blog into an ebook.  How can I start?  How can I market it?  Is it even a good idea? I greatly appreciate your time.  Keep up the great work

Many authors have done this.  Social Media 101 and many of Seth Godin’s books came from blog posts. This tech tip highlights a website that will turn your blog into a book.

Keoni Kim asks about writing a book without rehashing the same info that’s already out there.

I’ve been on your list for a few months now and I want to thank you for your great information the you provide.  I am a big Dave Ramsey fan and have been actively paying down my debt for the past year. I wanted to write an ebook on finance like you have.  What advice can you give to me?  I don’t want to rehash what Dave and all the other Personal Finance guru’s have already done.  But it is a good way to get someone off the ground.  Any advice you can give is appreciated.

Chapter covered from Become a Coach – “What can I do to Learn More About the Business of Coaching?”

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There’s a myth running around out there in the self-employed world.  I was reminded about it again a few weeks ago when a client was running some projections.  He initially thought he could bill for 40 hours of work at a much higher hourly rate than he’s earning now in his traditional job.

It was a good idea, but billing for 40 hours of work is nearly impossible if you’re self-employed.

You Can’t Do It

Unless you have a large staff, billing for 40 hours of work leaves no time to do things like bookkeeping, marketing, following up with prospects, etc.  I’ve been there though and it’s a good thought to have.

You have to get beyond the hourly mentality if you’re self-employed.  You might bill by the hour, but there are many things to do in your business that you won’t get paid for.  I’m writing a blog that’s free to read for instance.  I don’t make money from it and I don’t plan to.

The Reality

In most cases, if you’re self-employed, expect to be able to spend 20-25 hours maximum working with clients.  Plan out what you enjoy doing in business and what you want to get paid for.  You can outsource almost everything else.

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053 Coach Radio – Your Story: Derek Sisterhen

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Derek Sisterhen is my guest today.  He’s the host of Past Due Radio and the Lead Financial Coach at Lukas Coaching.

Derek had aspirations of becoming an investment banker when he went to college.  He shares with me his transition from school, to banking, then to Lukas Coaching.  Listen to hear where he’s headed now.  Here’s more of his story.

“As soon as the laughter comes, there’s hope.” – Derek Sisterhen

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That’s exactly what Pat Cuartero has done.  Entrepreneur magazine reports he’s on track for record profits this year as well as opening his third office.  He has locations in the US, UK, and soon the Philippines.

Pat funded his business with $8,000 from a credit card and netted $32,000 in his first five months.

I often tell people you can monetize anything if you’re passionate about that.  Thanks Pat, for providing proof that it’s possible.

So, what’s holding you back from enjoying your work and profiting from your ideas?  It certainly can’t be a lack of ideas; here’s a list of 999 of them.

What is it then? Is it lack of support from your spouse?  Fear?  Anxiety?  Lack of money?

Let’s talk about it.

Sometimes a document, spreadsheet, or presentation just isn’t the right tool to help me wrap my mind around an idea or concept.  Introducing mind mapping.

Mind mapping isn’t new, but there have been a lot of free tools introduced lately to help make the process easier.  MindMeister (affiliate linke) is the tool I’ve been using a lot lately; both for my business as well as my clients.  Since I started using it about 12 months ago, I see that I’ve created 45 unique maps, mostly for clients.  That’s about four maps / month.

Before we pulled Past Due Radio off the air at the end of 2009, I created a map that allowed me to see all the uses a studio in my office would provide me.  That directly affected our marketing and our bottom line.

I use the service to map out directions for my clients businesses.  It’s easy to lay out ideas and then map out similarities to find the best fits.  Here’s a recent one for Ben.

I’m confident there’s 100 more uses for mind mapping.  Share your top use here with a comment.

More of the Best Business Tools

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052 Coach Radio – How to Charge Clients and Accept Payment

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West Conner called to tell me the strangest place he’s listened to the show. Call or email and let me know where you listen to the show.

Matt Wegner called to ask how I bill clients and how I accept payment.

Andy Traub and I had a discussion last week about the ethics of accepting credit.

Steven Moore asks, “You said the average is $800.00 for 6 months. Do you collect it up front or in installments? Also, how many times do you meet with the client?”

Cliff and Andy covered Checkwriter, a software tool I got them both using recently.  They spent an entire show talking about it in a humorous way.

1shoppingcart (affiliate link) is the best solution I know of (and use) for an online shopping cart.

Here is the guy you need to contact for a payment processing solution, Jim Minschew is who I use.  Be sure to tell him Justin sent you and he’ll take great care of you.

Chapter covered from Become a Coach – “Should I Compliment Coaching with other Services”?

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