You have picked your product and or service to sell. You just know that everyone will want and benefit from what you have to offer. You open for business and what happens? Many times, the phone doesn't ring off the hook and your website that you are proud of isn't drawing visitors. You realize you are invisible to the very people you want to serve. The challenge may be your marketing plan. I would like to give you three suggestions to have your perfect client see you.

This is not an exhaustive list; add your own questions and you'll see your client appear.

Second, you have to elevate and separate yourself from all of what I call "white noise". White noise is all of the information bombardment we have from our surroundings. How can you be seen and heard above the crowd?

Third, choose how you will actively market yourself.  I teach in my workshop, Maximize Your Business Now "LIVE", to choose five marketing areas that you will commit to consistently doing. Some of your choices are:

By becoming clear with yourself, your perfect client will start to appear as if by magic.  Next, enjoy the ride with more fun and profit!

by Jill Ater, 10 til 2

It is subtle, but it's there. My left hand shakes. Most people don't even notice, but the small spasms feel like earthquakes to me. When the doctors diagnosed me with Parkinson's disease three years ago, I was put on some strong medications, which wasn't an easy as I have never been an "open a bottle to fix the problem" kind of gal. But when I was forced to accept the meds, I also decided to accept my diagnosis as a challenge and develop my own way in dealing with it. Life is full of challenges. Everyone has their own. For me, this challenge needed solutions.

Solutions are what get us through life and keep us moving forward. But nobody hands them to you on a silver platter. They involve a little soul-searching. So what was I missing? Beyond my diagnosis, what would I change about my life?

I had a wonderful husband, great kids, a thriving business and a lovely home. But like many women who balance family and career, I realized I had been giving myself the short end of the stick. And it showed in my emerging waistline, my sagging triceps and my double chin. Sure I had gone through phases of life when I exercised regularly, but in the past decade my physical activity had gradually diminished to the point of non-existent. Owning my business became an excuse not to work out. My kids' baseball games became an excuse not to work out. A trip to Costco became an excuse not to work out. You get it.

While the doctors never mentioned that fitness was a factor and I was far from being truly overweight, I yearned for the strength I once had and the ability to control at least this part of my being. My solution was starting to take shape.

In January, I joined a gym and scheduled an appointment with a personal trainer. Exercise steadfastly became a lifeline to my sense of empowerment and control over Parkinson's. I got thinner. I got stronger. I got clarity. And most importantly, the shaking lessened. I had found a solution that worked for me.

During one of my workouts, I watched in awe as a woman did pull-ups. Real ones. Marine Corps ones. My trainer noted my fascination and challenged me to do a single pull-up by the Fourth of July. Challenge? I lifted my chin, flexed my muscles and pulled myself up just in time for Independence Day.

I am now doing seven consecutive pull-ups and working my way towards ten. Whenever I face a new challenge, I simply grab that bar and pull myself up. With each flex of my biceps I become stronger, more resolved and better in control of life's obstacles. Then I do another pull-up.


Jill Ater is Founder and COO of 10 til 2, the Part-Time Placement Service, a staffing agency that provides businesses with college-educated professionals looking for work/life flexibility.