Episode #99 – Jeanne Yocum Tells All About Pricing for Freelancers and Consultants.

Description:

Jeanne Yocum presented this Webinar to the members of the CareerPivot online community and in this episode, Marc Miller shares her valuable insights with you, the Repurpose Your Career podcast listeners.

Key Takeaways:

[1:41] Marc welcomes you to Episode 99 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:54] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast, TuneIn, Spotify, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[2:16] We are rapidly approaching the magic Episode 100 of Repurpose Your Career. When Marc started this podcast in October 2016, he didn’t think he would get to 100. Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas, there has been an episode every week for the last two years.

[2:41] Next week, Marc will put together a special program, the key piece being, Marc will interview his wife, Lotus Miller, about her experiences around their move to Mexico! Mrs. Miller is a former Registered Nurse and massage therapist.

[3:01] This week, Marc presents a special episode, which is the audio from a webinar that Jeanne Yocum presented to the Career Pivot membership community, called “Pricing Your Services — How to Get it Right.”

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Podcast | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast

[3:14] Many of the Career Pivot membership community are becoming freelancers or consultants. Setting the right prices is one of the most difficult things for freelancers and consultants. Jeanne was on Episode 89 of the podcast talking about her book, The Self-Employment Survival Guide.

[3:32] There are quite a few community members who are realizing that they want to control their future and need to start their own business. It may be only something on the side but it is their business. They own it and no one can lay them off.

[3:51] This will give you a taste of what is available inside The Career Pivot Membership Community. Listen at the end of the podcast for how you can become involved in this community.

[4:04] You will find the slides for this presentation at CareerPivot.com/PricingSlides or CareerPivot.com/Episode-99

[4:27] Marc introduces the webinar, invites questions in the chat box, and welcomes Jeanne Yocum.

[4:46] Jeanne refers to her previous webinar, “The Thrills and Chills of Self-Employment” and presents the topic of the current webinar, “Pricing Your Services — How to Get it Right.” In Jeanne’s 30 years of experience, she has seen people struggle with this and make pricing mistakes.

[5:25] Over the years, Jeanne has gotten the impression from some freelancers that they pulled pricing numbers out of a hat instead of doing the research and calculations necessary to get this very important decision right.

[5:44] If you get your pricing wrong from the start, this is going to hinder your ability to succeed, over the long haul. Ironically, this is the case, both if you set your prices too low and if you set them too high.

[5:58] Jeanne will repeat some very important points because they are points to remember and they cover basic principles to follow and mistakes people make.

[6:19] Let’s look at the factors that affect pricing.

[6:33] Level of skill — People of age 50 and over have plenty of experience in your business field, but people venturing into something totally different that involves new skills need to take that into consideration when setting your rates.

[6:53] Amount of experience — more experience allows charging a higher rate. Jeanne tells an anecdote from her own life.

[7:47] What your competitors are charging for the same service or product — You can justify higher rates with more skills and experience but not if all things are equal.

[8:10] Your community. Jeanne shares a personal experience. Word can spread.

[8:34] The amount of competition in your field. The more people in your area that duplicate your offering, the less you can charge for it. Very specialized areas without much competition are different.

[9:02] If you’re offering something that companies around you aren’t used to buying, they’re going to be more price-sensitive than if you’re in an area where the service you’re offering is very common. Jeanne talks of why she lowered her rates in Western Massachusetts, after working in Boston.

[9:58] The nature of your clients — corporations vs. nonprofits, small businesses vs. large businesses. Jeanne often had to lower her rates a bit for smaller nonprofits. The same with family-owned or small businesses. You need to know to whom it is you’re going to market.

[10:35] Are you going after the businesses who are able to pay you more? If so, you will be likely facing more competition.

[10:49] What is your motivation? Many people work for nonprofits for their purposes. You won’t make a lot of money off of them but you may enjoy it.

[11:18] Jeanne says the biggest mistake people make starting up is overestimating the number of hours you can actually bill per week. If you worked in an agency, someone else was in the back office and in the field while you worked billable hours. In a startup, the sales and back-office tasks fall on you and your billable hours take a major hit.

[12:27] Overestimating your potential billable hours will cause you to charge a lower rate than you will actually need to survive and thrive. Nor will you get paid days off or vacations as you probably did working for your former employer. In your calculations, allow for these hours when you won’t be earning income.

[12:54] Another huge mistake beginners make is low-balling your hourly rate to get your foot in the door. If you charge too little, you can’t possibly survive.

[13:15] You can get pricing wrong by not doing your homework to understand what your skills and experience are worth in the marketplace. Different marketplaces bear different kinds of pricing. Jeanne is paying a graphic designer in Durham half of what she would have paid for the same services in Boston.

[14:07] In a rural area you just can’t charge the same kinds of rates as in a metropolitan area.

[14:13] Professional societies can help you find the information you need about your market area. Networking can help. Jeanne finds that recently, people are more open to sharing information about billing rates than they used to be. Tread carefully in this sensitive topic.

[14:32] Sites such as Glassdoor.com provide salary ranges for what somebody working in your job for an employer is making in your area. Then you have to add in things like paying your full self-employment tax and other overhead to come up with a billable rate.

[15:13] You need to understand that the same internet that gives you information about billing rates gives your prospects the availability to outsource work to labor markets that pay the worker less. You can also pick up clients from other parts of the country or the world, so long as you prove your value to them.

[15:58] In some fields there are potential customers looking for the lowest possible cost for services. Sites like Upwork.com and Freelance.com cater to them. These customers are often difficult and very hard to satisfy. Jeanne recommends her freelance clients not to use that type of site. Look for clients who will want a recurring relationship with you.

[17:01] How do you get your pricing right? Know how many hours you will be able to bill weekly. If you bill for 40 hours, that means you will be working nights and weekends doing the unbillable but very necessary work of running a company. That leads to burnout.

[17:41] Research what people with your skills make where you live. If you research thoroughly then you can be confident in telling a prospect your rate. Your confidence will help convince that person that the rate is reasonable and justified. If you are insecure about your rate, that will undermine your position. Don’t undersell yourself.

[18:40] Be prepared to respond when potential or existing clients push back. It’s inevitable that someone will push back about your proposed rate by quoting a lower rate from someone in India or Rumania.

[19:10] You have a load of good arguments to make is such cases. The time difference alone adds an unnecessary level of difficulty and definitely slows things down. Also, unless the person being hired overseas is a U.S. expat, there may be language and cultural differences that may impede client communications.

[19:39] Yes the overseas freelancer may speak English, but do they really understand all the American idioms that your client is apt to use. Will the client have to figure out new ways to explain things?

[20:03] Always be ready to talk about what backs up your proposed rates — your depth of experience and breadth of skills. This applies to overseas and local competition. Jeanne tells a case study from her own career as a ghost-writer.

[21:36] Never ‘buy the job.’ If you low-ball your rate to get in the door, you will almost always be sorry that you did that. If the hourly rate does not pay your bills, you’ve made a big mistake. You’ll have to work an unsustainable number of hours to make ends meet.

[22:15] Once you have set a rate, that will be the rate your clients will expect to pay you, at least for a year or two. If your goal is to form a long-term relationship, do you want it to be to your disadvantage? Existing clients will not like your raising your rates and they may go off in search of a less expensive provider.

[23:04] Be very careful how you communicate price increases. Sooner or later you are going to need to raise your rates, even if it’s just to keep up with the cost of living. Jeanne recommends being as formal as possible about communicating price hikes.

[23:31] Jeanne started sending out letters for a January 1st price hike in late November. She sends out letters on letterhead, not emails, because people are prone to reply and push back to an email message, but rarely write out a letter to push back.

[24:08] The first time Jeanne sent out some price hike letters she could barely breathe until she knew the people had received them. She was positive that the phone would ring like crazy but it didn’t. When she was talking to customers a couple said they had gotten her letter but nobody pushed back. It depends on how you do it and how often.

[24:44] You gradually need to cull out low-paying clients from your roster or get them up to the rate you are currently charging. If a client really can’t pay a higher rate, bid them a fond adieu and recommend them to somebody just starting out, with a lower rate. The client will be happy, and your competitor may refer larger clients back to you.

[26:06] If your low-paying client is really a favored client, and you believe they could pay even just a little bit more, have a serious chat with them about this. If you can gradually move them in the right direction it’s worth a try before you write them off as clients.

[26:28] There are various ways to price. You can charge by the hour or you can charge a flat project fee. To charge a flat fee you need to be accurate about the time it will take to do the various tasks associated with the project. This can take a while to master when you get into a new field.

[27:16] When you have built up trust with a client, it is possible to get away from the flat-fee method. Once people know you’re going to deliver good work and on a timely basis, they aren’t as demanding about having you commit to a specific project fee up front.

[27:37] Jeanne has also had clients where there is a limit of how many hours she will put in during a month, and when that limit is hit, additional work is pushed off until the next month. This differs from a retainer agreement, as clients are not paying up front, so they are not getting a discount.

[28:02] With retainers, the benefits are that you get paid up front and you get paid regularly. The downside is that you generally have to give a discount on your hourly rate to retainer clients. Jeanne shares an example from her past.

[28:40] You need to have other options available in your head because you’re going to be asked. Some clients wanted a day rate, for attending conferences for them. Jeanne generally gave a day rate discount for a large chunk of time.

[29:15] Jeanne always required a 20% deposit from every new client before she started work on any project. Until she had that check in her hand, she wouldn’t do anything for anybody. Just be clear with them about that.

[29:50] 70% to 80% of Jeanne’s business came to her through referrals from her clients but she still kept to that deposit policy. People don’t know their associates’ payment habits. Once payment for the first project went smoothly, Jeanne dropped the deposit requirement for future projects. If the client was a slow payer, the deposits continued.

[30:54] If a client did not pay or was very slow in paying, then for any future work, full payment was required up front, before any work was done. Jeanne only ever had to do that with one client, but they understood that because they had messed up so badly. The other option is to drop the slow paying client entirely from your client roster.

[31:31] Offer a menu of services in your proposal. Offer separate pricing for each element of the project. This is helpful in introducing your services to a new client and facilitating the sales process.

[32:32] Jeanne covers common issues that come up regarding pricing and project costs.

[32:40] Mission creep occurs when a client adds “little tasks” to the project beyond what has been agreed. Get that under control ASAP. You should have already provided the client with a thorough list of action steps you’ve agreed upon, and who is responsible for what and what the deadlines are.

[33:12] Mission creep can get ugly fast, in terms of hours you will burn. Revisit the action list with the client, and explain what the additional tasks will add to the price of the project. Do not let someone expect a Mercedes when they’re paying for a Chevy.

[33:48] Slow payers can impact you. Never be afraid to fire a client, particularly one you have to fight to get your money or who argue over your fees. This type of person is a huge drain on your energy. Jeanne has a whole chapter in her book on strategies for getting your money from slow payers.

[34:47] Cashflow ebbs happen to everybody, so get used to it. Do what you can to protect yourself, like asking for deposits and getting clients on retainers, setting your prices right, to begin with, and most of all, never letting up on your marketing and networking. You’ve got to devote some time to generating business each week.

[35:28] If you ever decide your dance card is full and you no longer need to do any marketing or any networking, shortly down the road something will happen that will cause a client to fall off your dance card and leave a big hole in your cash flow. Jeanne tells of an unexpected client defection worth over $8K a year in her book.

[36:35] Jeanne invites listeners to write to her with questions.

[37:19] Marc reads a question for Jeanne from the chat box. “What percentage of time do you spend on marketing vs. product delivery of services you get paid for?” Jeanne never charted that. Her goal, when she was working full-time, was to bill at least 20 hours a week. Marc says he spends three-quarters of his time in marketing.

[38:27] Jeanne says it would vary by profession. Jeanne recommends at least one hour a day into marketing, networking, proposals, and prospect meetings.

[39:06] Marc asks Jeanne to talk more about billing by the value you deliver. She goes back to her client that tried to talk down her pricing, and how she defended against that by the value she brought to the table and her familiarity with the client’s work. Marc notes the value Susan Lahey brings to him when she helps him write a book.

[42:09] Jeanne talks about how all her experience with clients in the financial and insurance fields gives her expertise for financial services clients. You have to figure why your prospect would find value in you.

[43:14] Another chat box question for Jeanne: “Please elaborate on how to propose a retainer agreement and why a discount is needed.” People expect a discount if they are agreeing to write a check every 30 days. Retainer clients are not that easy to find and Jeanne was willing to accommodate them.

[43:53] It depends on the field. If projects are few and far between it is a hard sell. But you can guarantee a certain availability and readiness to a client with a retainer. Jeanne had few retainer clients but they were all clients she had for a long time. Pam, a listener explains her retainer experience at PR agencies.

[46:05] Jeanne explains how she worked the retainer with a big non-profit with a tight budget. If there were under the hours they evened it up in another month.

[47:58] Jeanne charged travel time at half of her regular rate (or one-way at the full rate). People in general understand they will pay for travel, but not at the full hourly rate.

[49:03] Roberta asks if it’s better to charge a straight per hour rate or a rate tiered by the task performed. Jeanne has never tiered her rates. Whatever she does is at the same rate. But she does have a “friends and family” rate, different from somebody she knows is going to be a long-term client.

[51:12] Martha asks Jeanne how often did she say to herself it would be so much easier just to get a job. Jeanne never said that in 30 years, after all of her experience in corporate America. It took Jeanne about a year to get things rolling — during a recession — and she never looked for an easier way.

[52:18] Marc thanks Jeanne for the webinar and for her giving attitude. Jeanne says she knows how hard it is to start over again after 50.

[53:15] Marc says Jeanne has been a real resource to the CareerPivot community. You can reach out to Jeanne at Jeanne_Yocum@Yahoo.com.

[54:29] If you are interested in learning more about the CareerPivot.com community go to CareerPivot.com/Community and sign up for the waiting list.

[55:11] Check back next week for Episode 100! This will be a special episode where Marc brings his wife to the microphone!

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Episode #98 – Marc works with “Sara,” (not her real name) to pivot her career, in the fourth and last of a series of episodes featuring “Sara.”

Description:

In Part 4 of this series, Marc covers the third feedback session with Sara for her personality assessment.

Key Takeaways:

[1:12] Marc welcomes you to Episode 98 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:24] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast, TuneIn, Spotify, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[1:45] Marc thanks everyone who has rated or reviewed the show on iTunes. Repurpose Your Career has 25 ratings and 17 customer reviews. Marc would be most appreciative if you chose to write a review.

[2:02] We are rapidly approaching Episode 100 of Repurpose Your Career. Marc is thinking of interviewing his wife, Lotus Miller, about her experiences around their move to Mexico! Mrs. Miller is a former Registered Nurse and massage therapist.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Podcast | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast

[2:26] Next week, Marc will have a special episode — the audio from the webinar that Jeanne Yocum presented to the Career Pivot membership community, called “Pricing Your Services — How to Get it Right.” Setting the right prices is difficult for freelancers and consultants. Jeanne was on Episode 89 of the podcast talking about her book.

[3:03] Last week in Episode 97, Marc covered Part 3 of the “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?” series. This week, Marc will play Part 4 of the series. If you have not listened to Episodes 93, 94 and 97, Marc suggests you stop here and go listen to all episodes, first. You will find the reports for these episodes at Careerpivot.com/sara.

[3:48] Marc welcomes Sara back to the podcast. Sara has done her homework. She tells how she makes decisions using her intellect and her intuition. She has her head and her heart involved.

[4:50] Marc looks at the homework. Sara was once told by a manager that she is a results-oriented decision maker. She wondered how an employee could not be results-oriented. She has learned that not everyone sees things the same way.

[5:56] When Sara has a problem to solve, she asks as many questions as she needs to get all the facts and then she takes the ball and runs with it to get those results. She likes being able to point to the results of her problem-solving.

[6:36] Marc reminds Sara that everyone does not think the same and he hopes that she will take time to explain to others how she thinks and decides, so there are no misunderstandings. Marc talks about teaching in mainland China and how differently the Chinese think.

[7:49] Sara looks at her Stress Report. There are three sections. They are Interpersonal Relationships, Schedules and Details, and Decision Making. Each section has two pages. The first covers what happens when you go into stress. The second covers what you can do to get out of stress. Sara will explore the second pages on her own.

[8:24] Activities to stay out of stress include things you are already doing, things you used to do but stopped doing, and eight choices of things you should try.

[9:16] Sara looks at Self-consciousness and Social Energy in dealing one-on-one and dealing in groups. Sara’s social needs are low, meaning she doesn’t want to be around people all day; her self-consciousness is also low, meaning she wants people to deal with her very directly. That is an unusual combination.

[9:59] Sara reads her results. It is likely that Sara needs straightforward instruction, praise that is free of sentiment, associates who speak up easily, people who get to the point, direct questions or corrections, freedom from group pressures, special time to be alone, time to be quiet and think, individualized benefits, and a few one-on-one friends.

[10:31] Sara says that what resonates with her are straightforward instructions, praise that is free of sentiment, associates who speak up easily, and the rest, except that she is not sure what is meant by individualized benefits.

[10:53] Marc explains individualized benefits as meaning, ‘You want to get stroked the way that you want to get stroked.’

[10:58] Sara reflects on what makes her feel valued (from the Career Reflection worksheet). She feels valued when she fills a need. She likes to be needed, personally and professionally. She likes to be depended on. It feels great when someone thanks her for a significant accomplishment, not just for the day-to-day minutia.

[12:01] Marc summarizes that Sara wants a level of importance and she wants people to recognize her importance. Sara agrees. She doesn’t want to be relied on for the smaller tasks.

[12:46] Marc wants Sara to have ingrained within her the knowledge of what makes her feel valued at work, and to be able to communicate that to others. Marc always loved getting recognition from his clients. Developing software that he never saw anyone use was meaningless to him and didn’t give him ‘strokes.’

[13:46] In Sara’s three pages of needs, there are 30 needs. There will be overlap. Marc will ask Sara to synthesize her 30 needs down to 10 needs and to write an open-ended question for each and what she is listening for.

[14:11] Marc cites Jim Camp’s Start with NO, a negotiation book. The art and science of questioning is to get the other side to ‘spill the beans.’ Marc asks Sara to do the same thing, based on her own needs.

[14:34] Sara’s things she can do to build resistance: Identify a person or group that interacts with her in an objective manner and spend more time with that person or group. Build a hit list of things she knows have gone well and use it to help gauge her success.

[15:00] Sara can find opportunities to assess real signs of success and identify areas that she needs to improve upon. Build a relationship with a coach who, without being shy about it, can help her evaluate how well she has done in a situation. Set aside quiet time for herself every day. She needs solitude to recharge

[15:22] Sara can take active steps to protect herself from interruptions when she is working on an important or stressful task. Allocate at least one weekend a month just to be alone with that one person who is most important to her. The more difficult this is to do, the more important it is.

[15:39] Sara can prepare herself for big holidays or hectic social periods by spending more time being quiet and alone.

[15:47] Sara is already setting aside quiet time for herself every day to recharge and taking active steps to protect herself from interruptions during important or stressful tasks. She has also learned to manage the interruptions. She prepares herself for holidays by spending more time by herself. Marc also avoids holiday parties.

[16:56] Sara knows when it’s time to find her happy place in a corner of a room away from other people. Marc talks about the difficulty introverts have in being social.

[17:42] On page 5, Sara reads about managing her needs for insistence and restlessness. Sara is low insistence, which means she does not like rules imposed on her. Sara’s restlessness rating shows she does not like to be interrupted.

[18:15] Sara may need freedom from close controls, a minimum of structured routine, direct access to everyone, unusual and stimulating tasks, flexible rules and policies, a minimum of abrupt changes in routine, consistently applied policies or rules, only one or two tasks at a time, protection from interruptions, and predictable schedules and tasks.

[18:45] Sara disagrees with the minimum of structured routine. She seeks it out and makes it for herself. Marc reminds her that she is a structured anarchist. She would very much prefer the structure to be her own. Sara agrees. She does not want others to impose it. Direct access means she does not do well with a bunch of gatekeepers.

[19:51] Unusual and stimulating tasks and flexible rules and policies, and consistently applied policies or rules also resonate with Sara. Sara likes consistency, in general.

[20:17] Marc also considers it to be a need for fairness and Sara agrees. Regarding working on one or two tasks at a time, Sara is not a believer in multi-tasking. Marc also has a low restlessness score and he does his best work when he is not interrupted.

[20:56] Marc keeps his phone away from himself when he needs to concentrate. He turns the automatic download in Outlook off. People with low restlessness scores tend to have ‘bright, shiny object syndrome’ and their productivity goes way down.

[21:27] It can be very stress-reducing for Sara to protect herself from interruptions, and she can boost her productivity be avoiding interruptions. Sara also is happiest when her tasks are not tightly controlled by others. She would much rather be asked than told to do a task.

[22:34] Sara reads some things she can do to stay out of stress. Sara can set aside time each week to follow some new interest or satisfy new curiosity, indulge her sense of adventure whenever possible, and use vacations or hobbies to try new activities.

[22:54] Sara can create frequent opportunities to discuss future goals, plans and activities with her family and/or coworkers; make schedules that allow her flexibility in executing tasks and plans; and develop work schedules that allow her to spend significant periods of time on one project, without interruption.

[23:14] Sara can use time management skills, gatekeepers, and any other means to protect herself from distractions and obstructions from working on tedious tasks and arrange major work schedules in such a manner that she can fit in a few interruptions without getting behind.

[23:37] Sara can establish routines for the beginning or end of the day to provide background structure when life gets busy.

[23:50] Sara is already doing the last activity. She has established alone thinking time for every morning getting ready for the day and in the evening getting ready for bed. She follows them even if she goes traveling. Marc wants Sara to be very aware of keeping those patterns as habits.

[25:35] Sara has not yet regularly set aside weekly time to follow new interests or satisfy curiosity but she has tried it from time to time. She indulges her sense of adventure whenever possible and tries new activities on vacations or as hobbies. She sees that finding the time to do more of that would bring her greater satisfaction.

[26:15] Marc reminds Sara to take time out during the day to do something creative. So far, she is not taking enough time to do that. She is very task-oriented which keeps her from taking breaks. That frustrates her. Having a creative streak and being so orderly is an unusual combination.

[27:02] Sara looks at managing needs for physical energy and thought. Sara is rated moderately on physical energy — she’s not inactive and not extremely active. Sara is rated moderately low on thought. Sara reads her 10 likely needs.

[27:26] Sara may need a minimum of prolonged activity, stimulation of new ideas, friendly low-key surroundings, time for reflective thought, unhurried work conditions, quick decisions from others, forceful and definite bosses or peers, and a minimum of ambiguity in situations.

[27:59] Sara may also need thoughtful suggestions from others and opportunities to take action quickly.

[28:03] Being moderately low in thought means Sara likes to make big decisions in a fairly matter-of-fact basis but if there is no right answer, or there is a lot of ambiguity, it is likely to cause Sara stress. Marc relates a client example.

[30:24] Sara lists the needs that resonate with her: stimulation of new ideas, friendly, low-key surroundings, time for reflective thought, unhurried work conditions, quick decisions from others, thoughtful suggestions from others, and opportunities to take actions quickly.

[30:50] The ‘thoughtful suggestions from others’ need is in the same vein as the preference to be asked and not told. Fairness plays into this. The cohesiveness of the team is really important.

[31:25] To avoid stress, Sara can plan schedules and projects so she can stop and think about where she has been and where she is going, give more time to abstract or philosophical thought and activities, and avoid taking on too many projects or social obligations when things are getting hectic at work.

[31:50] Sara can develop a relaxing, low-key hobby or recreation and make use of the curative powers of this activity often, and build family plans and goals, carefully using a thorough planning procedure so that she looks at all the factors and options for important decisions.

[32:11] Sara can develop contacts with aggressive but careful thinkers who can help her think things through carefully without holding her back unnecessarily, work out rules with those close to her that allow her to move quickly on little issues but help her to be cautious on important ones.

[32:33] Sara can remind family and co-workers that she needs fast-paced action when decisions are required and ask them to push options aggressively while helping her avoid black-and-white thinking.

[32:46] Sara tells which activities resonate with her: getting fast-paced action when decisions are required and help to avoid black-and-white thinking is important to Sara. Marc encourages Sara to develop a relaxing, low-key hobby or recreation and make use of the curative powers of this activity.

[33:22] Marc asks Sara to use her creative streak to figure out the activity and to give herself permission to take the time to go off and do it, understanding that she will be a better person for it. Sara just finished an assignment of making a personal video that related to work, to be used at work. She was very excited to have that creative outlet.

[34:57] Marc asks Sara to give herself permission to sit with that feeling — the combination of knowing her project was wanted and being able to be creative with it. Marc asks her to bookmark it mentally so that when something else comes up, she can bring this feeling back. Sometimes she may need to go ask for similar projects.

[36:25] Sara compares her work role to being typecast as an actress. Marc explains as we hit our 50s and 60s, staying in our role becomes exhausting to us. The stamina of our 30s and 40s is no longer there.

[37:17] Marc gives Sara homework. Synthesize the 30 needs down into about 10. Then write an open-ended question about each need, and know what to listen for when she asks these questions — if the answer feels right to her, or if she should run away as fast as she can go. She needs to know her red flags and pay attention to them in interviews.

[38:08] Sara also needs to take her assignment of usual behavior, strength phrases that she translated into her own words and turn them into a narrative. This will be her story to share about herself. The key piece is to write it the way she talks, not the way she writes. Marc suggests saying it into her phone then transcribing it.

[38:47] Sara’s third assignment for this session will be to talk to three people at work she knows and trusts and three people from her personal life and ask them each for three to five phrases that describe her.

[39:10] We behave a certain way at work and another way in our personal life. Marc wants Sara to note the words both sets of three people use, and look for overlap.

[39:37] Marc will do one feedback session more with Sara that will not be recorded for the podcast, so this podcast series is completed.

[39:49] Sara says she has learned from the experience so far that she is a lot more comfortable with what she is seeking. She has been aware of a lot of what was discussed for a while but she is now more comfortable in articulating it and leveraging it for a future job search.

[40:28] Sara synopsizes what she learned about herself, that now she feels like she has the understanding to rebuild her LinkedIn profile and the words and phrases to tell her interesting story in a professional setting.

[42:42] Check back next week when we will hear Jeanne Yocum discuss pricing your services — how to get it right.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

CareerPivot.com/Episode-89 Jeanne Yocum

The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, by Jeanne Yocum

Start with NO: The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don’t Want You to Know,
by Jim Camp

CareerPivot.com/Episode-93 Sara Part 1

CareerPivot.com/Episode-94 Sara Part 2

CareerPivot.com/Episode-97 Sara Part 3

Sara’s Reports

Outlook

LinkedIn

Birkman Assessments

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has six initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort and receive more information about the community as it evolves. Those in the initial cohorts are setting the direction of this endeavor. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and, more importantly, a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-98 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast. Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and on the Google Podcast app, Podbean, TuneIn, Overcast through the Overcast app, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

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Episode #97 – Marc works with “Sara,” (not her real name) to pivot her career, in the third of a series of four episodes featuring “Sara.”

Description

In Part 3 of this series, Marc covers the second feedback session with Sara for her personality assessment.

Key Takeaways:

[1:11] Marc welcomes you to Episode 97 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:23] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast, TuneIn, Spotify, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[1:49] We are rapidly approaching Episode 100 of Repurpose Your Career. Marc is thinking of producing a special episode when he decides what to do! If you have any ideas or can help Marc get unstuck, please email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

[2:12] Last week in Episode 96, Marc discussed a variety of issues around how they pulled the plug and moved to Mexico.

[2:19] This week and next week, Marc will play Parts 3 and 4 of the series “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?” If you have not listened to Episode 93 and 94, Marc suggests you stop here and go listen to both episodes, first. You will find the reports for these episodes at Careerpivot.com/sara.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Podcast | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast

[3:01] Marc welcomes Sara back to the podcast. Marc notes that Sara is very creative and very orderly — an odd combination. Sara has creative traits and also likes rules. She thinks people see her more as orderly than creative.

[4:11] Marc compares Sara with Elizabeth Rabaey from Episode 20. Marc had assigned Elizabeth to start randomly taking art classes and jewelry classes. This allowed her to try things she wouldn’t have thought of. Elizabeth is also highly creative and orderly.

[4:49] Marc suggests that Sara should consider taking classes in creative arts. Sara believes she should take creative breaks at work just as she has been taking reading breaks.

[5:51] Creatives in the business environment forget about their creativity. Marc encourages Sara to see where she can insert creativity first into her life and then into her job.

[6:25] Sara looks at the PWS (workstyles) document. It covers natural management styles, work motivation, self-development, corporate adaptability, and how Sara fits into society. There is also a section on how Sara makes decisions. Sara is a linear concrete thinker, which is not typical for an artistic person. This is probably a superpower.

[7:50] It appears that Sara is a fact-based decision maker and process-oriented, yet creative. That is unusual. Marc recalls a client who was artistic and musical but unemotional. Her superpower was the ability to get a quick decision from a group. With her creativity and interpersonal skills, she knew how to get stuff done.

[8:45] Marc recalls another interview, Camille Knight, a creative, logical thinker. She now creates Tableau dashboards, using creativity and data analysis. Sara relates to that.

[9:33] Sara’s natural management style is knowledge specialist, directive management, delegative management. Sara likes a collaborative relationship with those she manages. Sara refers to the reports from the previous session with Marc. Sara explains her preferred management behaviors.

[11:08] Sara is ranked 4/10 in Knowledge Specialist. Knowledge specialists contribute and lead by utilizing personal expertise and knowledge to find solutions. They lead by example. Marc says the vast majority of his clients are ranked much higher as knowledge specialists. They are individual contributors and are paid for what they know.

[11:50] Marc has the impression Sara is not expert in what she does but Sara says she is an expert. Sara describes how she leads different team members. In some areas, she is not the knowledge specialist so she leaves it to the team member with guidance.

[12:35] Sara is ranked 5/10 in Directive Management. Directive managers have personal, direct involvement in problem-solving, controlling, and implementing. They lead from the front in exercising authority.

[13:00] Most of Marc’s clients with high directive management have been in IT. Sara does not see her role as directing people.

[13:29] Sara is ranked 4/10 in Delegative Management. Delegative managers utilize plans and strategies, arrange resources and assist coworkers and teams in dealing with resources and implementation issues.

[13:48] Sara has never aspired to be a VP. People who are high in delegative management are very comfortable with their hands off the work. Sara’s current role does not call for much delegation and she does not aspire to such a role.
[14:32] Sara is Marc’s first client who has had equal values in each of the three management styles. This tells Marc that Sara is very adaptable in her management. Marc wants Sara to consider that this may be a selling point for her.

[15:03] Sara looks at the Corporate Styles page in the Preferred Workstyles document. The first area is Work Motivation. Sara is ranked 8/10. Work motivation describes your attitude towards work, what motivates you to work.

[15:28] People who score 7 or above seem to enjoy work for its own sake and have a tendency to work well for others, exhibiting responsible attitudes toward work rules and assigned functions. People with lower scores need to have an interest or a buy-in in their work, in order to get motivated. They need to see the value in their assigned work.

[15:52] It is important to note that good managers score low, as well as high, on work motivation.

[15:59] Marc says people with a 10/10 rank are excited to do any task they are assigned. People with a 1/10 rank always ask why, when they are assigned a task. Marc compares 10s with dogs and 1s with cats. Sara is more ‘dog’ than ‘cat.’ Marc surmises from Sara’s scores that the most important thing at work is the team around her.

[17:08] Sara hired her team. When she worked with a team she inherited, things did not go as smoothly as with the team she hired.

[18:15] Sara is ranked 10/10 in Corporate Adaptability. Corporate adaptability refers to how a person responds to and level of commitment to the organization. Someone with a 7 or above understands and is prepared to participate in corporate politics. This person is able to identify with the organization as an entity.

[18:45] Someone with a score of 3 or lower does not like or choose to participate in the politics of an organization. This person will identify with the people or an individual within the organization, rather than with the organization, itself.

[19:08] Marc discusses pride in the corporate mission. A person with high corporate adaptability feels it very important that the corporate mission aligns with their own values. Marc talks about his unhappy experience consulting with EZCorp for IBM Corporate Services.

[20:12] Sara is very mission-driven. Marc says that is very common among creatives because they are emotional. Creative people tend to believe in causes. Being very organized, like Sara is, is very unusual for a creative.

[20:58] Sara plays corporate politics to some extent when she has to. It is a fact of corporate life in America. She doesn’t like it when it “smacks of” something unethical.

[21:56] Sara ranks 9/10 in Self-Development. Self-development measures how much you prefer to learn, advance and develop. A score of 7 or above shows a strong desire to learn skills in classroom settings. A score of 3 or lower suggests a person will learn new skills best through practical hands-on experience.

[22:24] Marc substitutes ‘some structure’ for the term ‘classroom settings.’ People who score high should ask about the onboarding process at the organization. Sara will want some kind of structure in her onboarding. Marc gives a client example.

[24:39] Sara is ranked 8/10 in Social Adaptability. Social styles describe basic opinions concerning other people in general. A high-scoring individual is generally trusting of other people, as well as being open to new ideas. A low-scoring individual generally feels that trust must be earned and is most cautious in trusting others.

[25:27] Low-trust people are stressed in new situations. High-trust people get burned easily. Marc always recommends finding a method for people to earn your trust. Observe how they follow through on commitments.

[26:41] Sara is ranked 9/10 in Social Responsibility. Social responsibility describes the tolerance a person has for following social and organizational rules and procedures. A 5 and above indicates a willingness to go along with the rules and a willingness to conform to various expectations society places on us.

[27:04] A person with a score lower than 5 will sometimes question the expectations that are put on society. This individual will likely choose to do something only if it is believed to be the right thing to do.

[27:23] Marc sees two pieces to this: social rules and organizational rules. Marc makes a guess that from the organizational side, Sara is a pretty good soldier. Sara agrees she is a rule-follower. Sometimes, Sara wishes she would question the rules more.

[27:58] Sara has studied music, playing the flute, oboe, and piano. Marc notes that there are two types of musical people, those who play rock and those who play classical. There is only one way to play Mozart. The musicians who play classical music follow the rules to the letter of the law. Marc refers to a client’s case.

[30:08] Sara had to take an art class in college. Her final project, while following the rules, turned out wildly different from everyone else’s.

[31:20] Sara follows social rules but she questions them more than work rules.

[32:50] In the Workstyles document, Sara is ranked 3/10 in Public Contact and 8/10 in Detail. A person high in public contact prefers activities involving social contact, seeks solutions for people and focuses on people being central to organizational effectiveness.

[33:31] A person high in detail is concerned for the procedural and detailed aspects of work and is focused on processes as central to organizational effectiveness.

[33:42] Marc translates these rankings. Sara shouldn’t be around people all the time. She would be just as comfortable working from home some days.

[34:05] Sara is ranked 2/10 in Global and 9/10 in Linear. Global means problem solving that involves a relational and holistic process. Thinking and actions need not follow a sequential pattern. Linear means a preference for activities and tasks that follow a logical, sequential analysis and process.

[34:32] Sara likes following and setting processes. Marc tells how one of his clients, an interior designer, created one linear process to follow for all design assignments. Creatives can be linear.

[35:14] Sara is ranked 3/10 Conceptual and 8/10 Concrete. A person ranked high in conceptual utilizes abstract information, experience, intuition, and knowledge to find fresh and imaginative solutions. A person ranked high in concrete uses analysis and facts to solve problems.

[35:40] Sara likes to use the facts.

[35:48] Marc brings up Combinations of Problem Solving. Individuals scoring high on both concrete and linear are practical and action-oriented. Their credo is “Give us the facts and get out of the way.”

[36:15] These individuals see the use of logic and hard analysis as valuable and necessary. On the other hand, they are impatient with the planning process and often question its value. They are at their best when the problem to be fixed can be readily analyzed and contains an element of urgency.

[36:35] Objective and pragmatic, these individuals are not drawn to problems just because they are problems. The problems need to have practical results if solved.

[36:46] This resonates with Sara, especially about problems that can be readily analyzed and contain an element of urgency. Sara needs to have a purpose to the problem-solving.

[37:10] Marc gives Sara an assignment to look at three problems she has solved in her personal life and three problems she solved in her work life, write them up, and ask herself how she approached and solved them. Marc guarantees Sara will see a pattern. Marc wants Sara to be able to explain the pattern she finds.

[38:12] Marc tells Sara the more she understands how she thinks, the more she will see how differently others think. Global conceptual thinkers come at problems by seeing the big picture and peeling it back in a nonlinear fashion to come to the ‘obvious’ solution.

[38:49] Linear concrete thinkers and global conceptual thinkers can be quite complementary, but more likely will “kill” one another. They are polar opposites. It helps to understand your own process in relation to how others think. This will help Sara understand her employees.

[40:09] Marc goes over the Birkman map with Sara. The blue asterisks mark the things that give Sara energy when she does them. Sara’s blue asterisks show that she might like to innovate or create, plan how to do things, consider the future, create new approaches, and look at things theoretically. Sara agrees.

[41:02] The yellow diamonds indicate how Sara self-describes. Sara’s yellow diamonds show that she is probably careful, focused, low-key, team-minded, and detached. Sara agrees.

[41:21] The yellow circles indicate how Sara wants to be treated. Sara’s yellow circles show that she is most comfortable when people around her tell her the rules but invite her input and don’t interrupt her unnecessarily.

[41:44] She also responds well to people who give her time alone or with one or two others, don’t overschedule her, and show they appreciate her. This resonates with Sara.

[41:57] The yellow squares indicate Sara’s primary stress behaviors. Sara’s yellow squares show that when Sara is stressed she is quietly resistant and impractical. She may also become unsociable, critical, indecisive, and protective. Sara agrees.

[42:31] Marc gives Sara the assignment to cut out this section and put it somewhere she will see it frequently. Marc wants Sara to be able to start spotting her primary stress behaviors. If she can spot them early, she can do something about them.

[43:25] In the next session, Marc will lead Sara through her Birkman Stress Report that will show her top 30 needs, divided into three sections. With each, there will be eight things she can do to stay out of stress. Marc gives an example from his own stress report. Marc wants to help Sara not to go into stress by doing behaviors good for her.

[44:53] Marc describes the homework he will send her. First to turn her usual behaviors into ‘Sara talk,’ and later, into a narrative. This will give Sara a way to quickly tell people about herself based on who she is, not what she does at work.

[45:33] The second assignment will be to look at three problems she solved in her personal life and three problems she solved at work. The third assignment will be the career reflection worksheet to tell about her best boss ever, a team she adored, and when she felt the most valued, and explain why. What was the right level of activity?

[46:21] Marc wants Sara to think of when things were really good, so she can frame up what she wants for work conditions. Sara wants an orderly, cooperative team, that plays by the rules and plays well together. She likes when people take a risk for the good of the team.

[48:34] Marc hopes you can hear the insights Sara is gaining, and how to apply them.

[49:42] Check back next week, when Marc will present Part 4 of “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?” and complete the series.

[49:48] Please send in your ideas for special topics for Episode 100 of Repurpose Your Career at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

CareerPivot.com/Episode-93 Sara Part 1

CareerPivot.com/Episode-94 Sara Part 2

Sara’s Reports

CareerPivot.com/Episode-20 Elizabeth Rabaey

CareerPivot.com/Episode-64 Camille Knight

Tableau

Birkman Assessments

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has six initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort and receive more information about the community as it evolves. Those in the initial cohorts are setting the direction of this endeavor. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and, more importantly, a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-97 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast. Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and on the Google Podcast app, Podbean, TuneIn, Overcast through the Overcast app, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

 

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Like What You Read? Join Career Pivot

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

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Episode #96 – Marc Miller Explains Why He Has Pulled the Plug and Made the Move.

Description:

In this episode, Marc explores healthcare, insurance, automobiles, shipping food supplements, house rentals, the internet, visas, public transportation, and downsizing. He explains his plans for the next year while continuing to run his businesses from Ajijic.

Key Takeaways:

[1:22] Marc welcomes you to Episode 96 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:34] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. The more people you share it with, the more he can help. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, Overcast, TuneIn, Spotify, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[2:03] Last week, Marc answered LinkedIn questions with his ‘partner-in-crime,’ Mark Anthony Dyson.

[2:10] Next week Marc will return to the career pivot evaluation series “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?” for Part 3 of four parts.

[2:16] In this podcast episode, Marc will be discussing a variety of issues around their final decision to make the move to Mexico. This will include things like healthcare, health insurance, automobile insurance, automobiles, shipping food supplements and medications from the U.S. to Mexico. You can’t get everything in Mexico.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Podcast | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast

[2:38] Marc will talk about leasing property in Mexico, and their move. Finally, Marc will talk about shopping to set up their house. Don’t plan on bringing your “stuff” from the U.S. Just get rid of it and buy used or new stuff in Mexico.

[2:58] Marc and his wife made the decision in the last two weeks to “push the button” and sign a lease on a two-bedroom, two-bath Casita in central Ajijic, Mexico. The number one factor in making this move is the absurd behavior of the U.S. Government and the healthcare and health insurance industries.

[3:18] Marc wrote about this in a post called “The Looming Healthcare Insurance Catastrophe for Baby Boomers.” Marc’s prediction about rates has come true. Marc’s health insurance provider has asked the Texas Insurance Board for a 34% rate increase in 2019. Marc already pays $1,358 per month premium for a $10,000 deductible policy.

[3:50] In two-and-a-half months in Mexico, Marc’s wife has seen an endocrinologist, a hematologist, a dermatologist, had blood work done and had her teeth cleaned. Overall they have paid about $150 in fees. She has been treated by doctors with credentials from top universities. The three doctors spent a total of four hours with Marc’s wife.

[4:19] Mrs. Miller’s blood was drawn at a local clinic but for about 200 pesos ($10.00) more, the nurse would have come to their house. The Millers have researched a variety of health insurance policies and a worldwide policy, excluding the U.S., with a $2,500 individual deductible, will cost them a little less than $2,000 per year.

[4:43] If Marc stayed in the U.S., health insurance for him and his wife would have cost $2,000 per month. They could take a worldwide policy that includes the U.S., with a $5,000 individual deductible for something less than $4,000 per year.

[5:01] The world-wide policies don’t cover pre-existing conditions but Marc’s wife’s out-of-pocket expenses have been very low.

[5:15] Marc talks about a couple near them in Mexico who are both enrolled in Medicare. They don’t carry coverage in Mexico, and for anything major they go to the U.S. Another senior covered by Medicare returned to the U.S. when he had a heart attack.

[5:43] Another senior in their Introduction to Spanish class came down with pneumonia. She was admitted to the top cardiac hospital in Guadalajara and for two nights her total cost was $1,500. She was thrilled with the treatment and the care. The doctor even made a house call to check in on her.

[6:14] Marc and his wife are in Mexico for the health insurance and healthcare. Then they had to face questions about bringing their car into Mexico. Mexico does not want your American car there. Marc put up a blog post about it last week and talked about Visa levels. On a temporary visa, you can bring a U.S.-plated care into Mexico temporarily.

[7:04] You cannot sell your American car in Mexico. After four years you have to take it back to the U.S. and dispose of it. Mexico wants residents to buy Mexican cars. With duties and taxes, cars are more expensive in Mexico.

[7:21] Marc has not investigated all the aspects of car insurance in Mexico. In an accident, you need to call your insurance agent first, and then the police.

[7:40] Mrs. Miller takes certain food supplements and a thyroid medication that she cannot get in Mexico. She is a Genesis Pure distributor and uses the products. Genesis Pure does not ship to Mexico. There are shipping companies in Mexico to facilitate that with an address in Laredo, Texas where you ship your products.

[8:16] The products are taken through customs by the company, duty is paid, the products are taken out of the box, reboxed and shipped to the company’s address in Ajijic. Where it is picked up and the customer pays for the shipping and the duty on the products. Just ship small amounts at a time, as the reboxing is not careful or gentle.

[9:36] When the Millers go back to the U.S. in October, they will bring as much of the supplements with them as they can when they drive back. On every trip back to the States, they will bring more.

[9:52] The next issue is renting property in Mexico. Many people just buy. Marc is not planning to do that. You pay cash to buy property in Mexico. There are no mortgages. Everyone has recommended to the Millers to rent. They are in their fourth location in the area. They decided they wanted to be in the center of Ajijic.

[10:33] Marc’s original plans were to come down in June for three months, then again in September, for three months, and arrange for a long-term rental property in January. That would not work. The rental market in Ajijic is so tight that rental agents are asking people for more properties to rent. People are moving from both Canada and the U.S.

[11:12] At least a third of the expats are Canadian. The high season is October through March.

[11:27] There are two ways to acquire rental property. One is through a rental agency and the other is from an individual. Individuals rent by word of mouth. Marc didn’t have the connections, so they contacted a couple of Realtors® and with their direction, connected to three or four services. They ended up choosing Access Lake Chapala.

[12:41] Julio was their agent. It is important to understand what comes with the rental, and what the costs are. Some expats want to rent a property that is fully furnished and where everything is paid for.

[13:17] Water is included in the rental. It is usually paid annually. The water flows from the city to an underground cistern on the property. Then a pump moves it to a rooftop cistern. This provides the water pressure to the home. No one drinks the water, though it is potable. Marc gets a 5-gallon jug of drinking water delivered for 20 pesos.

[14:24] Taxes are also included in the rental. Then there are the internet, gas, and electricity. A poll and air conditioning take a lot of electricity so it can run high. April and May are the hottest months. Otherwise, you don’t use air conditioning.

[14:56] Marc looked at several places where the internet was not installed. The incumbent carrier is TelMex. It is ADSL. There is no guarantee you can get a line at a specific property. Marc turned down a property because the internet was not installed.

[15:34] Marc was advised over and over again, if the internet was not installed and where you could test it, not to rent that property.

[15:46] The lease looks very different from a lease in the U.S. It is in Spanish. An unofficial English translation is provided on the back, but Marc found a local expat attorney, Spencer McMullen, to go over the lease for him. In Mexico, the landlord does not have to fix any problems on the property if they don’t affect health and safety.

[16:44] Most Gringo landlords don’t play those games. Written into Marc’s lease is a clause that if the repair costs less than 900 pesos ($45-$50), Marc is responsible, and if it costs more, the landlord is responsible. The landlord is Mexican and has a very good reputation. He manufactures furniture and fully furnished the casita with nice furniture.

[17:28] The Millers found the casita right in the center of Ajijic. It is going to be noisy, particularly around the holidays. Some of the expats head to Puerto Vallarta for the holiday season. The Millers will head back to Austin in early October and not return to Mexico until mid-November, so they will miss the Day of the Dead, November 2nd.

[18:05] Marc will empty their condo, saving only a few keepsake pieces from his parents. You don’t want to ship furniture to Mexico. As it goes through customs it is not treated with care. Also, American appliances do not fare well with Mexican power surges.

[19:14] Appliances in Mexico are really cheap and don’t last through too many power surges. Marc will bring a VitaMix with him and leave it unplugged most of the time.

[19:38] Ajijic is a very transient community. There are a lot of second-hand stores where items are inexpensive. Juan, the landlord gave some basic Kitchen cookware. They are buying utensils, a cutting board, and large knives for fruits and vegetables. They picked up coat racks and hat racks and custom cat trees at bazaars.

[21:03] People find it hard to give up their stuff when they move but it is best. The Millers only live in a 1,000 sq. ft. condo in Austin, so they’ve already downsized once. They are not attached to a lot of their stuff. Marc has his mother’s urn. They don’t have a place to bury her. Marc does not know if he will bring the urn to Mexico.

[21:36] Marc wrote in the recent blog post about the visa needed to bring a car to Mexico. Marc will get a permanent visa so he can get a bank account. Mrs. Miller will get either a tourist or a temporary visa so she can keep the car. Marc is thinking about getting rid of the car on the next trip back to the U.S. and not have a car in Ajijic.

[22:43] Public transportation on the north shore of Lake Chapala is very inexpensive. It’s very easy to get around. Buses run all the time for seven to nine pesos (35 to 50 cents).

[23:15] The point is to live like a local and not like a tourist. There are a lot of gringos who don’t assimilate. They drive everywhere and keep to themselves. Marc has a 71-year-old neighbor from Dallas who has no car and walks everywhere. He has lost five inches in 18 months! It is also easy to eat healthy in Ajijic.

[24:08] Marc has been getting lots of positive feedback about both the blog posts and podcast episodes. Reach out to Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com, or leave a comment at CareerPivot.com/Episode-96/ with any questions.

[25:56] Click back next week, when Marc will continue with “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?”

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

“The Looming Healthcare and Insurance Catastrophe for Baby Boomers.”

“How to Move Abroad and Take Your Job With You – Part V”

Genesis Pure

Access Lake Chapala

TelMex

Spencer McMullen Chapala Law

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. Those in the initial cohorts are guiding the direction of this endeavor. Marc is in the middle of recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and, more importantly, a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-96 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast. Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Podbean, TuneIn, Overcast through the Overcast app, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

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Episode #95 – Marc Miller welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast to help answer job search LinkedIn questions from listeners in the 2nd half of life.

Description

In this episode, Marc and Mark address questions about network size, how to use LinkedIn to get your best results, how to grow your LinkedIn network productively, and upgrading to the premium version of LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways:

[1:14] Marc welcomes you to Episode 95 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:27] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, Overcast, TuneIn, Spotify, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[1:50] Last week, Marc presented Part 2 of the career pivot evaluation series “Can Sara Repurpose Her Career?” Marc is taking a two-week break from the Sara series.

[1:59] Next week Marc will report in after having made his final decision for the next year on staying in Mexico.

[2:08] When this episode airs, this week’s blog post will be about the business side of moving to Mexico. Next week’s podcast will be about navigating the move. Marc has already moved into a two-bedroom, two-bath Casita in the heart of Ajijic, Mexico. He will be talking about the issues of the move, the visas, and much more.

[2:30] The move was really not that complicated but there are a lot of details.

[2:36] This week, Marc will be answering LinkedIn questions with his ‘partner-in-crime,’ Mark Anthony Dyson.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast 

[2:43] Related to moving to Mexico, the power went out in the entire area around the house Marc and his wife have been staying in. Marc had to go to a local coffee house where he had better cell service to record this audio Skype call. It was pretty noisy but Marc edited the sound somewhat to make the episode easy to listen to.

[3:07] One of the things Marc discusses in this week’s blog post is issues with telecommunication. You always have to have a backup plan. The intros and outros of this episode are being recorded in a makeshift studio in the casita that Marc and his wife just moved into. Marc uses padding to cover hard-surfaced walls in a closet.

[3:58] Marc welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson to help answer listener questions.

[4:35] Mark sent Marc a question about LinkedIn, leading Marc to chose to do a Q&A session on LinkedIn questions.

[4:49] Q1: My title is Senior Project Manager but I am also a business analyst and provide data analysis for a variety of projects. I get calls from recruiters for Project Management positions. I would rather do the business and data analysis work. What should I do to make myself a magnet for the kinds of opportunities I would prefer?

[5:24] A1: Job titles are nebulous and many people wear multiple hats. There are two ways to handle this in LinkedIn. The first option is, in your current job title, put your official job title. Then put a vertical bar and start listing out all the job titles that are valid for what you do today, each separated by a vertical bar.

[6:28] The second way to handle this is the way Marc handles his current job titles. Marc has three jobs: CareerPivot, The Repurpose Your Career podcast, and his volunteer position on the board at LaunchPad Job Club. All have a current job title, and so all the titles he lists there go up to the present.

[7:03] Recruiters search primarily on the current job title and on keywords. If you want to be found as a business analyst, you need to have business analyst in your current job title, otherwise, no one is going to find you for that.

[7:28] Mark was talking to Bob McIntosh of LinkedIn about algorithms. Getting engagement regarding the things you want to do is a great way to get someone to look at your profile. For business analysts and data analysts, join groups and discussions in those areas to show your interest and expertise so people will go to your profile.

[8:32] Mark says people will put things in their profile but get no attention because they don’t engage or are not active in in some way. Another things to do to get more attention from the LinkedIn algorithms is to endorse people in your area of expertise. Also, you can ask people to give you a recommendation.

[9:19] Look at the panel where it says “People also viewed,” to get an idea of if you are listed with the people who have those same job titles.

[9:38] Mark suggests Googling the job title you want to be known for is an updated, current title that people are actually looking for. Do a search in quotes, “LinkedIn.com job title” to see what comes up.

[11:13] You can use keywords in your summary associated with quantifiable results.

[11:36] Marc says job titles people search on aren’t necessarily the titles you are using. Marc used to be a training manager, but now people search for learning & development instead, for that job. Make sure you are using the job titles people are looking for.

[12:17] If you want to get more visibility, go look at the LinkedIn profiles of people who are doing the job you want to do. See if they look back at your profile. Also, look at the profiles of recruiters at companies where you might want to work and see if they look back.

[12:55] Once someone has looked at your LinkedIn profile, send them a connection request. You will be a known quantity to them as they’ve already looked at your profile.

[13:15] LinkedIn shows you who has viewed your profile. You can see how you were found. You can tweak the keywords to influence how you get found. You can also do things external to LinkedIn by writing blogs and content you can then insert into your feed and share them for people to connect to you. You can put them under publications.

[15:55] Q2: I am trying to understand if my network of 8,000 on LinkedIn is any better than someone that has 500. I know you use the networking science in your profile and I want to connect and follow you to see what you think and what I can learn.

[16:16] A2: This is obviously a connection request for Mark Anthony Dyson. Mark says he doesn’t know where the networking science thing came from but he has written articles and had podcast episodes regarding networking.

[16:38] For some jobs with really unique niches, you might need less than 500 connections to have an impact on your career and to have it impact on others, depending on your other activity.

[17:00] The more connections you have, the more visibility you have. When you share an article, whether your own content or content from others, you will get more likes with 8,000 connections than with 500. What really matters to you is if you’re having career connections. Those 500 may be very concentrated and strategic connections.

[17:52] If your goal is visibility, the 8000 is definitely better than 500. If you are looking to advance your career or have many more engaging conversations about your career, then the 500 might be even better. It depends what your goal is.

[18:34] Marc write a blog post on how many connects is enough connections. Marc has a client who wanted to get into pharmacogenomics — a very small niche. When they took the keywords associated with that, there were only about 1,000 on LinkedIn who had those terms in their profile. Connecting to 200 of the key people would be enough.

[19:26] If you were a general Java programmer who just wanted to focus on the Chicago market, probably a network of 500 to 1,000 would be enough, as long as you have the right people.

[19:50] If you are like Mark or Marc, a consultant dealing with a broad market of a lot of people, then the more, the merrier. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. A large network of people outside your niche doesn’t get you a job in your niche field. Mark advises you to be active and engaged, whatever size of network fits you.

[22:41] When Mark gets a connection request with no note on it, he wonders how he can teach them the right protocol if they are connected to him. There are some who don’t know the best way to connect. Mark doesn’t connect with people looking to sell to him.

[24:07] Marc also says it depends. First he looks at the profile. If there is no picture or very few connections, the answer is no. He ignores it. If it’s a Russian model, he ignores it. Marc gets a lot of young people from India and Pakistan. He tries to determine validity through the profile.

[24:55] If Marc accepts, he immediately responds with a LinkedIn message, “I just accepted your LinkedIn connection request. How did you find me?” The idea is to find out how people learn about him, but also to get people to engage with him.

[25:32] Some will say LinkedIn recommended Marc, others will say they found him in an article. 70 to 80% will respond. Marc gets 30 to 50 requests a week so he waits until he has 10 to 15 connection requests, then he can copy and paste his message.

[26:06] If people respond, they usually respond within a couple of hours.

[26:21] Mark is fascinated by the amount of people who work in the career space who say that they’re LinkedIn trainers and gurus, who don’t write a note with a connection request. They are teaching people their behavior. Writing a note is elementary. They should practice that courtesy and promote it.

[27:26] Marc has been getting requests from folks selling leads systems to coaches. He ignores those requests. Marc gets approached 30 to 40 times a week by people who want to write blog posts for him. All the emails look alike.

[28:07] Mark says if the message starts with the generic ‘Hi,’ and no name, he will answer back, “Hi, you wouldn’t be a fit. Good luck in finding an opportunity.” He has that in Evernote so he can just copy and paste it.

[28:37] Those who talk about Mark’s specific podcast episodes, or comment on an article Mark wrote, get his attention. Most people who don’t include a note are looking for Mark to do something for them, such as having them on the podcast. Mark does not connect with them.

[29:24] Marc just received a pitch to be on the podcast from someone who listened to the last podcast and wrote an iTunes review about what he heard on the podcast. Marc responded back and asked if he could have a copy of the author’s last book.

[30:02] There is no one set rule how to approach someone, but you do have to have some discernment whether somebody’s going to be a good or fruitful connection. Mark is not impressed by numbers. He is impressed by someone who engages and uses their network to provide value as well as to ask for help once in a while.

[31:07] Mark says, think about how you want to be contacted and be engaged with, and that’s it.

[31:22] Q3: I’m looking for a job and have the free version of LinkedIn. Is it worth the money for me to upgrade?

[31:30] A3: Marc and Mark both get this question a lot. Marc’s version is a base business premium membership he bought in 2015. That version is no longer available. For Marc, it is $250 a year. He sees who looked at his profile. He gets worthwhile business insights.

[32:16] Where Marc sees people running into trouble with the free version is the limited number of searches they can do. However, searching in Google is a workaround. The hidden gem in LinkedIn Premium is in having access to LinkedIn Learning. There is a lot of good valuable content in LinkedIn Learning. Usually they will give you 30 days free.

[33:32] Mark was never interested in the business account. You don’t need a Premium Account to get a job using LinkedIn. Once you have a job, there is content available with a Premium Account that is nowhere else, such as LinkedIn Learning. However, you could find certain YouTube videos that are just as valuable.

[34:21] Mark tried the Premium and really didn’t see, as far as finding a job goes, that you need more than a free version. If you are running a business, there is some value to getting the LinkedIn Premium. For sales there is some value in the Premium. For Mark’s own business, he does not see the business case for that fee, yet.

[35:08] Nobody is saying, unless they engage with me on LinkedIn, I won’t talk to them. At the same time, there may be ways to have a larger reach with other people who are on LinkedIn Premium. Some may be having their company pay for their LinkedIn Premium Account. The free is enough to find a job in most cases.

[35:58] Marc keeps getting invited to Sales Navigator and other offers, but for what he is paying he has all he needs now. The packages can be thousands of dollars a year. Marc is not interested. Marc comments on LinkedIn operating under Microsoft.

[38:56] Click back next week, when Marc will be telling the story of moving into a new casita in the heart of Ajijic, Mexico.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

LinkedIn

Bob McIntosh on LinkedIn

Evernote

Microsoft

The Voice of Jobseekers

The Voice of Jobseekers on iTunes, Stitcher, and most of the podcatchers, even
the Spotify app and iHeartradio.

 

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

 

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. Those in the initial cohorts are guiding the direction of this endeavor. Marc has started recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and, more importantly, a community where you can seek help.

 

CareerPivot.com/Episode-95 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast. Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Podbean, TuneIn, Overcast through the Overcast app, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Like What You Read? Join Career Pivot

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship