[This was originally an email to my list (Subject: About that 1M…). Shrimpers get my best stuff. Are you one of them yet? C’mon, get on the list!] At dinner the other night, my friend Avo told my husband, Steven, “You better install Ring [security system] on your door and put cameras everywhere, because this […]
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How To Charge What You’re Worth
I see a lot of blogs and Facebook conversations about “earning the income you deserve” and “charging what you’re worth.”
Blog post vs. email — the death match
What should go in my emails and what should go on the blog? Can they overlap? Should they be the same, or different? I struggled with this one for a long time. Here’s what I used to do:
KEEP READINGHow to sell art, photography, jewelry, luxury goods, entertainment, cupcakes, and anything else that doesn’t "solve a problem."
Have you noticed this? Entrepreneurs* love to get on the digital soapbox and yell, “YOU HAVE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM! IF YOU DON’T SOLVE A PROBLEM, YOU DON’T HAVE A BUSINESS.”
KEEP READINGThe F-word I don’t use (and maybe you shouldn’t, either)
“Are you a freelancer?” When someone asks that, I nod yes-ish and answer, “I have a copywriting business.” I’ll call myself a consultant, a professional copywriter, an independent contractor. I’ll say I’m for hire. A free agent. Available for projects. A business owner. But I don’t say “freelancer.” Why? Because it sounds poor. Poor, and […]
KEEP READINGNot every entrepreneur wants to change the world. Some of us just want to love what we do and never fly coach.
Should I be ashamed? Am I a freak? A grinch, a soulless beast, a Kardashian-hearted money grubber? I wonder that sometimes. Because here’s what I see: People in the online business world (life coaches, business coaches, healers, private chefs, virtual assistants, copywriters, dog psychics) who cater to other people in the online business world (other […]
KEEP READINGThe Cab Driver Who Convinced Me to Have Kids
No, a cab driver didn’t really convince me to have kids. But he sure did try. As soon as I got in, I knew he was was going to be one of “those” drivers. You know: the talkative kind. My first clue was that he asked, “How was your day?” instead of asking where I […]
KEEP READINGThe Sample Whore gets burned
You know I’m a self-loathing sample whore. I wrote a whole post about it here. I become extra self-loathing when my sample whoring backfires on me. Like at the farmer’s market, when the jam turns out to be garlic chutney. Or when I pop a piece of cut-up nectarine in my mouth, and either it’s rotten or, just as […]
KEEP READINGA business lesson from being dissed and then eating sand-covered ribs in practically a hurricane
That day at the Sunshine Shack, we’d done everything right. Our friends Dan and Jess* had scored us beach chairs early. Dan had put in our order as soon as the owner showed up to start basting his meat. And yet, after watching everyone on the beach but us get their delicious-smelling ribs, Dan went to check on our lunch […]
KEEP READINGMy feet are sore and my tongue is all weird.
PART ONE The feet thing might be my fault. I hoard a certain model of Nike sneaker. It came out a couple of years ago, and I should’ve bought a million pairs. I should’ve known they’d be discontinued, because every sneaker and bra I love gets discontinued. I wear both into the ground. Till the […]
KEEP READINGHow To Prep Your Home For Nosy-Ass Strangers: 7 Key Steps
If you’ve been following my real estate adventures here, you know that we’re selling our apartment. Selling means having open houses, which means leaving your home for an hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon while groups of strangers troop through and touch your stuff. But before they come, how do you make sure […]
KEEP READINGLuxury Crack Den Oasis! A guide to real-estate speak.
My husband and I are looking for a new apartment. No, that’s not ours in the pic above. But we could still use an upgrade. We want a real kitchen, a second bathroom, and a second bedroom for my office. (For some reason, Steven doesn’t love having my piles of papers and DVDs in the […]
KEEP READINGYou look great. Have you gained chutzpah?
This is on the back of my Special K box. They want you to fill it in with your answer to “WHAT WILL YOU GAIN WHEN YOU LOSE [WEIGHT?]” Notice they give two little examples in the top right corner in case you can’t think of anything yourself. I like their suggestion of “chutzpah”. I […]
KEEP READINGPass the pretzels. And by pretzels, I mean gorillas.
It’s a slow news week here at Talking Shrimp. Or, I should say, a slow think week. I never have much in the way of news, but I often have thoughts. This week, not many. I just realized why: It’s because I’m so busy rethinking my pretzel.
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