Boss Responses
I’m Treasa Edmond, and Boss Responses is my weekly newsletter about the decisions, problems, and occasional messes that come with running a freelance or consulting business. I’ve been running my own service business for more than 20 years, so I’ve dealt with a lot of those questions myself. Each week, I write about strategy, marketing, systems, clients, and how to build a business that supports the way you want to work and live.
What does it feel like to be your client?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader, I was talking to a friend at the end of last year, and we were talking about our end of the year assessments and business planning. I mentioned I regularly assess my client list and asked if she did hers. "Kind of. I mean I remember which clients I liked working with." I asked how many repeat clients she'd had that year, and she told me it wasn't as many as she'd like. Finding new clients was taking up too...
Are AI tools increasing your earning potential?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader, I was talking to one of my bootcamp participants last week, and they asked me a great question: "Do you use AI tools in your content strategy work, and are they increasing how much you make?" I do, and they are, so I explained a bit about how I use them, where they save me time and effort, and how that increases my profit margin. Then they asked a follow-up question: "But couldn't you just charge less...
Just how attractive are you (to clients)?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader, I held my first public workshop of the year earlier this week and I loved every minute of it. Even the 10 minutes at the start when no one could hear me because apparently Zoom went FUBAR on me. That workshop proved to me once again why I want to spend time with all of you and the freelancing/consulting community. You're supportive, kind, and excited about what we do. If you didn't get the chance to attend...
Is customer service going extinct?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! I've been thinking about customer service quite a bit lately. Mainly because it seems like it's going extinct. My mom and I drove to Oklahoma yesterday to get two guardian dog puppies who are going to join our current dog, Lucy, on the farm. Guardian dogs are important in our world. They protect the other animals and keep predators far away. It was a six-hour round trip to get the two pups, who are...
"Should you niche your business?" might be the wrong question.
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! Where do you stand on the topic of niching? One of my program participants told me he was considering hyper-niching his business. Almost everyone he'd talked to thought it was a great idea, and he mentioned I was the only one who'd advised him against it. I'm not against niches. A well-chosen niche can be great. I'm far less enthusiastic about hyper-niching, especially when someone takes every part of the...
Are you preparing, or are you hiding?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! I have a guilty secret I need to share with you. I have a folder full of projects that are sitting at 50% completed or more on my computer, even more in my Notion, and a couple buried in the pages of a stack of pretty notebooks I use for a few weeks and then forget about. I have five books completely outlined (just did a new one last weekend), two partially written (my Boss Responses book is one of them and...
The questions you need to answer to future-proof your business
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! Today's newsletter is a little different. Whenever I start working with a new VIP Business Accelerator client, our first session is an hour and a half stepping back and looking at the business as a whole. What's working? What's frustrating? Where are we trying to go? More importantly, is the business they're running today capable of getting them there? Those ninety minutes become the roadmap for everything...
Is freelancing dying? That's a question I think we all need to ask.
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! We seem to live in a world of extremes right now. Every idea, political ideal, and opinion is polarized. If someone disagrees with you, they don't try to find middle ground or even talk about it. They cancel you. Someone doesn't like some aspect of history? Erase it. I don't know about you, but I find it exhausting. I see this happening in our marketplace too. We have two groups of people out there shouting...
Is freelancing dying?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! We seem to live in a world of extremes right now. Every idea, political ideal, and opinion is polarized. If someone disagrees with you, they don't try to find middle ground or even talk about it. They cancel you. Someone doesn't like some aspect of history? Erase it. I don't know about you, but I find it exhausting. I see this happening in our marketplace too. We have two groups of people out there shouting...
Are you prioritizing success or freedom in your business?
Helping you build the business you need so you can live the life you want! Hi Reader! This time of year, freedom is always on my mind. I find myself thinking about whether my business is actually giving me the freedom I hoped it would when I started. It hasn’t always. Over the years, I’ve had to make changes, build systems, and rethink the way I work so my business could support my life instead of constantly competing with it. I’ve shared before about supporting my mom and dad (Bud) through...
I’m Treasa Edmond, and Boss Responses is my weekly newsletter about the decisions, problems, and occasional messes that come with running a freelance or consulting business. I’ve been running my own service business for more than 20 years, so I’ve dealt with a lot of those questions myself. Each week, I write about strategy, marketing, systems, clients, and how to build a business that supports the way you want to work and live.