guest post | Should you list your prices on your website?

today we have a guest post from Alli Price of motivatingmum.com answering a question i get asked often by little biz builders: Should you list your prices on your website?

An interesting discussion came up at a recent Businessmums’ Club in Melbourne. Interesting because it pretty much split the room and there seemed to be no agreement as to what was the right thing to do.

The question? Should you list your prices on your website?

The answer? It seemed there was no answer. And the reason was that every mum in that room had a different income, a different attitude to what they would pay for services for themselves and their families.

The only thing everyone could agree on was that listing your prices on your website is as dependant on your target market, your business vision and you as every other decision you make for your business. However, there are a few points that can be considered to help you make the decision that’s right for you:

1. What are your personal views on whether prices should be listed? Does it drive you crazy if they’re not there or do you expect not to see them?
2. What are your target markets personal views? What would they expect to see on a website offering the service you do?
3. What are your target markets presumptions on viewing a site without prices? i.e. too expensive, I won’t call or a quality service
4. Is your service priceable? Can you price even a basic service or package and invite contact for more involved work?

So, the answer for me is yes.

• Personally, I hate when prices aren’t listed on a site and am loathe to call as am expecting the pitch,
• My target market like to see prices as many can’t afford the high price of business services
• My services are priceable – pricing a mentoring session or an event is not as tough as putting a price on developing a website.

So what about you? Do you list your prices? Do you like to see them listed? 

a not from karen: the answer for me is yes too. i will often not bother contacting the biz owner for prices if they are not listed - i will just go with the biz that has listed prices. and for my photography biz i feel like listing my prices helps to narrow in on my target - i weed out all of those people who i am not the right fit for and save myself time answering inquiries that won't go anywhere. what do you think? add your comments below, we would love to hear from you!

guest post | And Hubby Makes Three…

today we have a guest post from alli price of www.motivatingmum.com. thanks alli! this post really hits home for me, hubby makes three at my house too! sorry hubby...

I don’t know about you but I neglect my hubby, a lot!

First there are the kids, then there is the business and hubby makes three.

Unfortunately, because he is an adult and of the age of understanding, he is often relegated last in line for my attentions because he is big enough and ugly enough to look after himself. Actually…he’s quite cute, but that’s getting off topic.

The point is, I can have the best of intentions but it’s all too easy to push back time with hubby as I have to answer a quick email, tend to a crying child or get the dishes done before he heads off to work – as I hate having to do housework when I have kids hanging off me.

So what’s to be done? I know the age-old remedy is date night. Once a week or once a month but who really does that? I know of a few people who have tried but before you know it you can’t get a sitter or it’s just too expensive or (my usual) I am just too damn tired to go out and stay awake in a restaurant or cinema. It isn’t fun and feels more like a chore than a special time.

So, what do I do keep hubby happy?

• When he talks, I move away from the computer and twitter and FB, sit in front of him and actually listen. Crazy, I know.

• Date night for us is more of a pizza and movie on the couch thing. I know it’s not getting out as much but, you know what, it means I can have a cuddle and be in my trackies!

• I plan when in the week to get jiggy with it! I don’t know about you but at the end of a long day spontaneity isn’t going to cut it for me – sleep is. But if I’ve planned when I think will be good night then I’m mentally prepared and will make sure to head to bed early. Not sexy, I know but the alternative is a barren love life and that isn’t an option.

• A kiss and cuddle at least once a day.

It’s not rocket science but sometimes when we’re so caught up in things you just need that little reminder to go and give your hubby a kiss. So, this is it…now go off and give your hubby a kiss.

Cheers! Alli x

Alli Price runs Motivating Mum, a website and events service offering support and advice to Mumpreneurs (or those wanting to be).  She provides networking events, brainstorm sessions and Businessmums Clubs in Melb, Geelong and Perth (with Sydney, Bendigo and Gold Coast coming), phone mentoring with established mums in biz, articles and features, an online forum and more.  She also runs the Biz Mums Blogging Carnival. W: www.motivatingmum.com T: @motivatingmum F: MotivatingMumOz

guest post | What to do when you want to keep all the good content for yourself!

today we have a guest post from alli price of motivatingmum.com.

this is a great post for anyone who has a blog and is considering doing guest posts, is thinking of starting a blog, or is thinking of submitting articles to other blogs or publications.

I don’t know about you but all this constant thinking of new ideas required for writing for business is a huge strain. If it’s not articles, then it’s guest blogs, press releases, manuals and more. And that’s just for your business. What do you do when you want to try and gain exposure through writing for others?

This is the difficulty I encountered when considering what to write for Build a Little Biz. Every topic that excited me, I then promptly added to the list of things I wanted to cover on my blog or articles and features page.

A full list of topics for me, and not a single written word for Build A Little Biz later, I had to ask myself what was going on? I realised that I was acting this way because it’s scary giving away great blogs and articles when there’s a pressure on you to create these things for your site on a weekly basis. Not to mention the time and energy it takes to craft these written pieces for others when you have your own work to do.

So how did I get to a place where I was able to start typing? I made it more compelling for myself to do it than not. This included:

• Reminding myself that a blog on Build a Little Biz was going to be seen and read by mums that maybe weren’t aware of Motivating Mum, and now would be
• Reminding myself that I always manage to find different topics to write on and this won’t change just because I write once or twice a month for others
• Implementing a plan to get guest bloggers for my site, that way the impetus wasn’t always on me to come up with new stuff
• Deciding that I will only write blogs for others as articles tend to be longer and be more formal, and
• Determining that the pay-off of increased exposure was definitely worth the time and energy it took to write this blog.

And so here I am. At the end of my first blog for someone else and you know what, I’m sure it’ll be worth it.

Cheers! Alli x

Motivating Mum is a website and events service offering support and advice to mums in business, or those wanting to be. Phone mentoring, networking and brainstorm events in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth (with the Gold Coast and Bendigo to come), online forum for asking your biz questions, articles and features, Biz Mums Blogging Carnival and much more. www.motivatingmum.com

note from karen:

i struggle with this too! i write a guest posts/articles just about every week and i used to want to keep all of the ‘good stuff’ for my own readers. then i realized that sharing my best content with other sites was actually the most beneficial thing i could do to establish myself as a leader in my niche. plus i still do get to share that content with my readers, and share new fabulous sites with them as well! i believe that the more you put out into the world the more you get back in return.

for those of you who don’t have a blog or haven’t been sharing content yet, a common fear is that you are just giving away your best expertise. the stuff you want people to pay you for! remember, sharing content is marketing, it is letting people know about what you do. you want to share your best stuff, you want people to know how awesome you are. establish your expertise, demonstrate how you can help people; your right people will stick around and buy from you. don’t be afraid of sharing the good stuff!