The following reading is an article excerpt from the Amerikan Body Art newsletter written by Erika Harrison.
I happened to be on the Dave Ramsey website, watching a webcast for his “EntreLeadership” series and Dave mentioned that he always asks potential employees and consulting clients what they’re reading. If you’re a business owner, and you’re not reading material meant to teach and inspire you to do better in life and business, you don’t have your eye on the ball. I usually have at least 2 or 3 books sitting on my coffee table….and none of them are fiction. I’m not opposed to reading fiction, but if you’re not where you feel that you need to be, businesswise, and you’re not doing something about it….reading Girl with a …whatever, is not going to get you there.
I am a book junkie, and I prefer an actual book over an ebook, but for those of you on a budget, between free internet podcasts, internet business articles, libraries, thrift stores, and borrowing from friends….there really is no excuse to not be constantly absorbing new information about personal growth, business growth, marketing, finances, and new techniques. You could watch a new YouTube video on face painting every single day and never get through all of the videos that are available.
So, you might be wondering what I’m currently reading…. I have The Courage to Be Rich, by Suze Orman, on my coffee table, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John Maxwell, on my iPad, and I just finished Secrets of Six Figure Women, by Barbara Stanny. And in my spare time (lol) I’m listening to Dave Ramsey Entreleadership podcasts. I highly recommend his website if you have any personal finance issues or business finance issues. Using Dave’s methods and advice, our family eliminated all of our credit card debt and we’re well on our way to paying off our student loans and home way ahead of schedule.
The book that I just finished, Secrets of Six Figure Women, really had me a bit steamed when I read the first few chapters. I currently earn more than anyone in my family has every earned, and I’m even outpacing my husband who works for a major defense contractor and has been with the company for 20+ years. I would never in a million years consider myself an “under-earner.” But according to Barbara Stanny, I am indeed an under-earner. I have to concede that it’s not like I’m a complete slacker, since according to her definition; probably 99% of people are under-earners. An under-earner is simply someone who has settled for the status quo for the sake of comfort or due to other, often self-imposed, limitations. There are definitely areas that I need to work on.
One limitation that I’ve imposed on myself is the earning potential for my company. Comparing myself and what I do to the serious nature of my husband’s occupation, I have a hard time wrapping my head around a glitter peddler earning more than a defense contractor. Don’t get me wrong….Glitter rocks! But let’s face it; glitter is not exactly a priority in most people’s lives. I often find myself on the losing end of the profit equation because I give my staff raises, and offer new customer perks, but hesitate to raise prices even when I know that it’s needed.
How many of you are afraid to raise your prices because you feel that you would not be able to afford your prices if you were a customer? You have to realize that you don’t place as much value on something that you can easily do as someone who can’t or won’t do it themselves. I use coupons for grocery shopping, even though it takes me an hour or two each week to organize my trips, but then I’m willing to pay someone to clean my house, to mow my lawn, to clean my pool, and to tutor my kids. Sure I can do all of these things myself….but I am willing to pay whatever it takes to have someone else take care of a job that I would rather not do so that I can spend my time doing things that I would rather do. We only have so many hours available to us and we have to choose where our efforts will have the most impact. No matter how tough the economy looks, there will always be people who are willing to pay for your services. You just have to reach those people.
When I first entered the henna industry, henna artists were charging $25 – $35 per hour, while face painters were charging two to three times as much. Fortunately, henna artists have caught on and are not undercharging as much as they used to. For every henna artist in an area, you can bet there are at least a dozen face painters. So why would a henna artist…(Read the rest of the article via the bottom page of Amerikan Body Art’s Newsletter)
Confessions of an Under-Earner
Written by Erika Harrison.
Check out Amerikan Body Art and their newsletter for more of her articles!