Have been working with a client over the last nine months or so. Farming tourist attraction owned by a wealthy couple and run as a separate concern from more established Mayfair based business in another sector. Lots of carpentry, generally I am asked a question, given a brief which generally consists of “we need to build X by such a date or meet a need of the developing business”. Seldom asked for quotes and they pay me when I ask for it. This week it has been -4deg C at 0700hrs and has not gone above zero during the day. 30+ picnic tables to pressure wash, dry, sand and coat with two coats of oil. All work outside on a windy hilltop. The work is non-technical and could be carried out by a labourer but they have asked a £40/hr carpenter/joiner to do it and it will take a hundred hours at least. Money good Terms good Client good Having work also good The work required is shit! When do you draw a line under right money, right people and only if you want to do it? Do I accept that I have been chosen for my expertise, and that this is the clients way of ensuring I do not drift away before this years big projects commence? This client is good for projects and their business is striking new ground and far reaches rapidly. They have not given me any examples of backing out of projects or questioning my invoices.

I've recently listened to EP84 of the podcast about the Five Ones method for marketing. If you haven't listened to it yet here is what I have understood it to be: One offer or product, sold to One type of person/avatar, using One conversion tool/message, through One medium, for One year As someone who has never really marketed it seems like a great place to start. By using this method it's clear to see whether or not it's working and fine-tune the message to convert more. I know what my most profitable product is and what type of person I like doing business with so now I just need to work on the message and find the best medium. Anyone else trying this?

How true this is, and I found out firsthand as a potential prospect myself. Last week I attended two business shows rolled into one. Walked around all day, talked to businesses and individuals, gave out my lovely card, the usual. I was even interested in some of the services. Bt I noted that their reps were so eager to sell that they just talked... AT...me. They didn't even find out about what I was dying to tell them. I couldn't get a word in edgeways. When I did manage to get a question in they talked over the end of it. It was offputting and I wanted to get away fast. So it reminded me of how careful I need to be in speaking to my own prospects. Not a huge problem as I tend to be more a listener than a talker, but when I get enthusiastic I tend to talk more.

Currently packing for a few days away next week and couldn’t decide what reading material to take. A few minutes later the postie has arrived and dropped this bad boy through my door. Going to read through this when I’m away next week and start implementing the moment I’m back

I've just listened to EP.84 of the podcast and have a couple of questions on the triage process. I heard you mention that you talk to leads on email, social media, chat etc to see if they are a fit. Do you get answers to the three most important questions during those chats, and on the triage call or do you have different questions you ask? I am going to (finally) setup a calendly page to point my leads at when I receive an enquiry. What I didn't want to do was ask a few questions first, then have a triage call to answer similar questions if I don't need to. Another thing I learned from the podcast was that i'm not just in the fitted furniture business, it's luxury remodelling. I now feel that i've been selling myself short all these years as just a wardrobe fitter!