Many of the self employed business owners I talk to are skeptical about when, how fast, or how prolonged any coming economic recovery will be.  That leaves them reluctant to spend money right now when they are unsure of how soon they’ll be getting a return on that marketing or expansion investment.

I talk to dozens of self employed and small business owners every week in my client meetings, networking groups, and chamber functions.  Since my passion in life is to make my self employed clients more successful, I pay attention to the trends of the moment so they’ll benefit quickly

Here are 5 real-time ways my savviest self employed clients, friends, and connections are getting ready to reap results from the coming economic recovery but not yet spending a dime.

1) Get out there and network.  Traditional old face-to-face networking is on the rise.  Our chamber has increased its number of events and attendance has also increased.  People are having conversations, handing out their cards and meeting new prospects.

2) Get quotes. Some self employed business owners are requesting proposals for new mailers, new promotional items, new brochures, or new Internet methods.  Although they are taking longer to pull the trigger on starting the projects, they are gathering information so they can make an informed decision to spend when the time is right.

3) Get Ideas.  In my networking meetings, several times weekly, I am hearing discussions about what’s working and how to get started.  Again, the dollars are not yet committed, but new ideas are being discussed, weighed, and considered. People are talking to new potential vendors as well as old favorites.  Also, they’re talking to other self employed small business owners who have the same target market to get different perspectives.  For example remodelers are talking to real estate agents.

4) Stage your implementation.  Some of my network of business owners and others are starting small.  Several have discussed how to start remodeling projects and do it in phases because they are tired of waiting and still want the work done.

5) Get educated on Social Media, Internet marketing and unfamiliar techniques.  I hear conversations on who is using LinkedIn and how, who is using Facebook and why, as well as what’s not working.  My Internet-related business owners are hosting educational seminars and fielding a lot of questions, both in and out of the classroom. Several business owners I deal with have started new email newsletters so their names will be top-of-mind when projects come up.  Such techniques are extremely inexpensive and perfect for business owners with time available but few marketing dollars.

So that’s it.  Even if you are not getting big orders, large sales, or copious numbers of new customers, there is lots of pre-buying activity going on right now.  Don’t let it pass you by; get out there and get ready.

Now stop reading about Recovery Without Committing Cash Today and start doing! Let’s create your personal profit strategies for growing profit. Call small business profitability coach Merra Lee Moffitt, CFP®. She can be reached at, 888-920-2030 or by email at merralee@captureprofits.com.

If you sell services, you only get paid for the time you are directly working for clients. The trouble is, there’s a lot of time the client doesn’t see you working on their behalf. When pricing your services, these “extra” hours need to be considered.

Time you need to average across all clients (Start keeping track of these so your estimates get more accurate):

• Emails on their behalf
• Invoicing, collecting payment, and answering billing questions
• Writing the proposal and closing the deal
• Waiting and checking to see if the client is ready for the next step

Time directly attributable to the client and billed correspondingly:

• Traveling to/from their location
• Researching something specifically for them
• Building/delivering/doing/fixing their stuff (sadly, this is the only part they really “see”)
• Revising (usually at the request of the client)

Time that is truly overhead, not attributable to specific clients:

• Marketing
• Selling (in general, not a specific client)
• Managing your business finances (banking, taxes, management)
• Hiring, managing, and training employees
• Training to advance your skills and certifications
• Vacation, sick time, holidays
• Opening the mail including junk mail and spam email (yes sadly it takes your time)
• Waiting for the phone to ring

For example, when we hire a plumber who charges us $75 an hour, we know he’s not really making $156,000 per year ($75 x 40 hours x 52 weeks). For every hour he works in someone’s house, he spends time getting supplies, invoicing, writing an estimate, and collecting the money.

So remember when you are figuring your rate per billable hour, there is a lot of effort the client doesn’t see but needs to be incorporated.  Let me know how your billable hours are calculated in the comments below.

Now stop reading about your billable hours and start doing! Let’s create your personal profit strategies for growing profit. Call small business profitability coach Merra Lee Moffitt, CFP®. She can be reached at, 888-920-2030 or by email at merralee@captureprofits.com.