I procrastinated on this article for too long but today is the day where I need to write it. Why? Because I almost fell into the trap, the trap of self-exploitation, self-damage and nearly ruined myself in the process. I was wondering for a while why many female entrepreneurs and freelancers allow themselves to work for little money or even free. I came across seven reasons that I want to share with you. I’m hoping for a discussion on how we can avoid exploiting ourselves as female entrepreneurs

If you are the partner or husband of a female entrepreneur maybe you also want to know how you can support her.

Here are seven reasons why you are not making enough money

1) Your basic needs are met

Guess what, if you are having a roof above your head and food on the table you are privileged. If you can openly express your concerns you live in a great country. Still, how will you pay for your old-age pension? What if something happens to your partner and your savings are eaten up too quickly?

2) You are wealthy

You were born with a silver spoon or your parents already gave you an inheritance that won’t make you worry about your bank account anymore. You can actually work for free and volunteer for good causes because you are a princess. Well, congratulations! Maybe you could consider helping other women get their business off the ground.

3) Imposture Syndrome

You think deep down inside that you do not deserve to be paid adequately for your work and that everything you have achieved so far happened by luck or by an alignment of the stars. You are worried that one day you will be called out an imposture.

4) Fear of Competition

You keep your prices low, because you feel that there are hundreds of other women in the canton of Zurich or around the globe with a similar skill set and with similar profiles. You are working in a space where competition is high because you have not found your niche. Your brand is not recognizable and you are not even proud of yourself.

5) You are not clear about your potential clients

You have not defined your client group narrow enough and you think you can work for everyone and with everyone. Potential clients don’t feel that they are in the right place because they are not sure you can cater to their specific issues.

6) You lack tech skills

You don’t understand digital and social media marketing and you are worried about putting yourself out there because it could create actual work for you. You are afraid of using the Internet, your name and photo because of scammers, stalkers and robots.

7) You don’t have a network

You rely too much on tech, digital and social media marketing and potential clients are used to freebies and free-everything. You cannot get out of a place where everything is thrown at potential clients for free into a space where clients are prepared to pay for your products and services. You lack a good offline network and former clients who are willing to give a reference for you.

How can you solve this issue for yourself? As a first step, I would suggest to have a chat with me so we can discuss what is really blocking you from success.

Cheers

Angie Weinberger

So you got the job as the new manager. Congratulations! Scared? Of course, you are.

Entering a new company in a senior role is one of the most daunting experiences you can undergo during your career. You may experience feelings of intimidation and apprehension due to the heavy duties and relationship building coming your way. Knowing how to behave and getting your team on your side is one of the most crucial elements to surviving as the new manager in a new job. You also want to prove your skills in your chosen field. With our comprehensive guide – we’ll show you the skills and attributes you need to make joining as the new manager a breeze.

Common new manager mistakes

Making the leap to a managerial position (whether as a new employee at a firm or through progression) takes a whole new skill set to ensure your team and seniors trust you. Whilst most managers grasp not bragging about their skills quite easily there are still some subtle mistakes most new managers make which can lead you off to a bad start.

Here are the common mistakes a new manager needs to be aware of:

Leading from a position of power or ego

A new manager who feels the need to dominate all decision making and fellow employees is a manager who feels the need to lead by fear. This can encourage bad practice such as micromanagement – a management style that is often very autocratic and decreases morale. By constantly being the dominant character, especially in a self-promoting manner can come across arrogantly. You might be giving your team the impression you lack the ability to recognize the achievements of other people or let them make decisions of their own.

Not listening to your team and others

Listening isn’t just about hearing what others have to say, it’s being able to respond in the best way possible that takes their ideas into account. By not actively listening to your employees you encourage a lack of respect, which can come back around two-fold. By not listening to your team you decrease your approachability – which increases the likelihood of miscommunication amongst your team.

Not providing feedback

Feedback should be constant with every project you work on. Waiting for a bi-annual review can leave your team in the dark and discourage them if they’re told to improve in areas they assumed they were excelling at. It’s also worth noting that there’s a very fine line between criticism and actionable feedback. By telling your team what’s not working as opposed to how you can fix it is highly discouraging – the last thing you want your team to feel at the workplace.

Not making time for employees

You’ll be stretched thin trying to learn the ropes as the new manager, however, if one of your employees requires help then schedule a date and time you’re free to train them as opposed to refusing the offer to help. In terms of being approached for personal issues – it can be hard to relate to every single situation going on in someone’s personal life, but simply being there to listen and offering your time can help an employee feel listened to and will increase your approachability.

Skills and attributes needed to survive as a new manager

Build decent relationships with your seniors

Like any job you pursue – having a good relationship with your seniors is important for relationship building, career development, and job satisfaction. By setting a good impression earlier on you’ll be highly remembered for being a positive, hard worker and inspire trust amongst people within your workplace.

Get to know your team on a personal level

Dismantle the wall between employee and boss by asking your employees about their day, exciting things outside of work, friends, and family. When new managers take the time to do this it eliminates the strict persona that comes with being a manager and helps people feel at ease.

Clarify your expectations from your team (and your boss)

By setting expectations of your role and what you aim to achieve – you give your boss an idea of how to direct you and go about progressing in your new role. Your boss will understand how daunting managing people can be and can help diffuse your worries.

Adam Chapman is a Marketing Executive for Armstrong Appointments – a leading South African recruitment agency with over 10 years in the field. They recruit for roles ranging from Engineering to Mining and are passionate about placing the right talent with the right companies.

PS. Editor’s Note: If you are a new manager and struggle with your international team talk to us.

I sat on the train from Switzerland to France and my stomach gave me a signal. The four border officers who checked passports and went through passenger’s luggage seemed odd. I was on a different continent. In a different setting. I was in a novel. I wondered if I could explain myself in French. But no one wanted to know about my travel habits. I look white. I look the part even though I travel like a bag packer sometimes.

What was going on? I did not want to turn around. Probably this was an uncomfortable situation for the person who was questioned. I assumed it was a refugee or someone who looked like one.

When I go to “Europe” now, there is often a slight anxiety and feeling of worry when I am traveling on public transportation. Switzerland is not part of the European Union even though it is in the middle of Europe. Many people travel through Switzerland to get to Italy for example. In Switzerland, public transportation is clean and effective. Everyone uses it. We don’t really need cars. In other European countries, public transportation is for the underprivileged and the regular commuters.

The grass seems greener in France

Early February I thought that the grass looked greener in France than in Switzerland. In the literal sense. It was an observation. In Switzerland, I felt a few small signs that spring was approaching but in hindsight, this was an illusion created by flower shops around Valentine’s day. Spring was in the air but we were still not there yet. One reason why I could have perceived the grass greener in France was that I did not have WiFi and in Switzerland, I tend to read emails or check my social media on the train. I am usually too busy to see the grass outside. Has that occurred to you lately? And it is such a shame that we run on our robotic mode, are in our head most of our days and do not see the beauty of the nature around us anymore. This morning I sat on lake Zurich, watched the mountains and a Swan family. It was magic. And even though I could go to the lake every day I hardly take the time to actually see.

Perception versus Reality

On another trip to Munich I saw police officers circling a man. I thought that maybe he was a refugee without papers but when I observed the scene a bit longer I noticed that he got up with the help of the policemen. They held him so he could walk properly. Maybe he attempted suicide or maybe he was just dizzy and unwell. What this experience reminded me of was that we tend to make fast judgment calls. We don’t take time to observe. We prepare to run. We are on hyper-alert most of the time. Like / Don’t like / Comment / Don’t comment / Buy / Don’t buy.

This is a sign of the times. And it is a trap. Be mindful when you notice it.

Constructivism and Confirmation Bias

Our perception is influenced by our inner landscape. If you are already alerted and if you are expecting a terrorist around the corner everything your experience will be tainted by this idea. You will suffer from confirmation bias.

When I was out of Zurich I experimented with perception. In Munich, I was nice to everyone I met and people were nice to me. They were supportive and understood my requests and wishes. Or I was under pressure and apologized for being pushy explaining that I was delayed and would get nervous around presenting. I noticed first resistance and I could have been in an egotistical complaint mode but then the receptionist softened when I explained that I tend to get nervous before a talk if I don’t have enough mental space.

Training my observation skills changed my perception over the last 10 years. Being able to communicate my needs and wants (and a fair bit of self-discovery, progressive muscle relaxation, and meditation) helped me to stay calm and friendly in formerly stressful situations. I learned those skills and methods during my coaching education and working with many clients over the last years.

Now, I would like to teach you those skills and methods in our RockMe! program and especially in the RockMe! Retreat.

The RockMe! Retreat 2018

The RockMe! Retreat helps to change your inner landscape. I will work with you towards broadening your perspective. I will teach you practices and methods to move out of the reactive mode. This will improve your leadership capability and also your relationships at work and at home.

Sign up here for receiving more insights about the RockMe! Retreat.

I know that this sounds so 1980 in the digital age but I rediscovered my love for real, bound books. Even pocketbooks. They have a special energy and this energy is not comparable to a document I read on a Kindle.

Once we published and printed my books, I always made an effort and treated them like little treasure of gold. Even though sometimes a book can be misplaced it actually always “works”. You don’t have to charge it and you don’t need WiFi to use it. When you see a book in another person’s hand it triggers curiosity.

As a coach and lecturer, I love it when clients and students hold my books in their hands. It’s almost as if they cherish the fruit of my labor. It strikes my ego and makes me very proud, especially since I find all of my past book projects were almost aborted in the process (for different reasons: criticism, lack of funds, change of editors, lack of professionalism on the team).

I started to autograph my own books before I give them away and my colleagues, clients, and friends seem to appreciate a few handwritten words. We think that digitalization has magically improved our lives for the better and yes, we can name the successes and we can list easily how we now have access to encyclopedias of knowledge, free online management courses that would normally be only accessible by the privileged and we see the rise of the “common man” (and woman).

But is this really what our soul cherishes? Don’t you know the feeling of emptiness when you try not to look at your phone for an hour or even a whole day?

Don’t you feel a little lost when you are in another country and you don’t have access to WiFi? And then don’t your eyes enjoy the beauty of the written word in black and white?

The energy of my printed words came with me to a conference in Germany and I noticed that participants were curious. I actually sold a few books there. It felt great, that I could show some of the highlights, explain why I wrote them and see people’s reactions right away.

It felt weird to see a lot of books at the book table that I normally would buy in English in the German translation and I felt like a global nomad on home leave. I can understand expats, who have lived abroad for a while. It’s nice to dwell in the homeland, to walk along the river Rhine, watch the remainders of the “Bundesrepublik”, the stately home of the German President and other federal buildings.

I was also so happy to see the names of all those famous, humanistic Germans who contributed to society. It was especially suitable as I have just started to read a novel (in pocketbook format) that starts after the first world war. Still, you feel like the words that you are using sound a bit different, that you don’t know all the buzzwords and that you look a bit funny and out of place.

Another reason why I really like the energy of the printed book is that as an author you worry a lot about making a living. With a .pdf or even an online magazine, your work can be easily copied. In print, it takes a bit more effort. I also believe that the topics I write about fit an online audience to a certain extent only. They grow and become clearer and bigger with the interaction between the reader and the coach or the student and the teacher, depending on how the books are used.

My final word is about how you interact with a workbook. Maybe it sounds old-fashioned but a lot of my work is about helping my readers, clients, and students to inner clarity. In my experience handwriting is helpful in psychological processes and the more regularly I write, the clearer my thoughts are. So, it might be useful to consider paper books as a strategy for focus and clarity in times of distraction, vagueness, and shallowness.

Maybe a book is the new deep relationship in our life when we notice that Siri does not understand us (“I have connectivity issues” he told me today) or when Alexa continues to order stuff we don’t need just because it is convenient. A book promises a good time for little money and an encounter with people you might not normally meet. And with that, I say goodbye for this week so a part of the train ride is left for continuing the current novel.

Angie