2021 has started off being a tough year. We thought we'd left behind some of the woes of 2020, but unfortunately, that's not the case. And lots of small businesses are struggling.

If you are struggling with managing homeschooling, your business and all the other demands at home, you are not alone. The uncertainty can make it very difficult to plan anything and balancing your energy can be really important.

Also, if you are just working all the time (maybe you don't have kids but are stuck on your own at home), there is a temptation to just work all the time, and never have a break.

Look at what brings in the most money with the most ease in your business. If you offer a 1:1 service, could you do more, rather than sell something like a course, which won't get you much, but a 1:1 would net you more.

Do short term things if you need the money right now. Go out to your "hot" leads - these are mostly existing or previous clients or ex-colleagues. Ask them if they know anyone who needs...

So today I want to talk to you about five ways to avoid discounting when talking to a client. 

Picture the scenario, you send a proposal to a client and the client says they can't afford that. And the And you immediately offer to discount with no reason to do so.  Instead, take a deep breath and do one of the following 5 things:

1. Ask the client what the most critical thing that they need doing is.  If they are a new client, it might be that they haven't seen what you can do yet, they might be worried that they're spending money they won't get back. And so ask them what their most critical items are, and which ones you can start with. You could also start with what the budget is, and this would guide you as to what to start with and how they can get a result with a smaller budget.
2. Packaging your services.  I believe this gives people more options, plus makes it clearer.  It avoids awkward pricing conversations before they even start, so having conversations...

Black Friday sales have been around since the 1960s. But it wasn’t until Amazon bought it to the UK in 2010, that it really took off. Although Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) sales do lead to an upsurge in sales, many online business owners are asking if they should run Black Friday discounts too.

Because a lot of smaller businesses tend to only take part in Black Friday, through a fear of missing out.

And personally, I don’t think you should run Black Friday discounts.

As a business owner, you’re not going to lose out on anything, by not having a Black Friday discount. And let’s face it, there’s no need to discount for the sake of it. 

Know when Black Friday discounts work for your business

Black Friday discounts can work if you have something specific to promote. Your customers are primed to go shopping during Black Friday, and many will hold off until this day, to ensure they get the best deal.

And this is good news for you if you want to...

Which of your products and services make the most money? Is it the one you love to sell? Or is it the one that is really low priced but you sell loads of?

In a business where you offer several different streams of income, you need to know which ones make you money. The ones that take a lot of effort might be making you no money and you need to think about how to generate more money from those that are bestsellers.

To do this, you need to know your cost per product or service.

Service businesses 

In your business, you maybe offer a course, 1:1 coaching, workshops and an ebook as an example. There will be some direct costs (you only incur if you do the work), such as the hire of a venue, or paying a speaker, plus affiliates and associates.

Then there are the indirect costs (overheads). These include, your website charges, social media, VA and so on plus paying yourself. This is everything else, basically, in your business. You need to work out how much this is per hour by taking...