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Portrait for January 2008

Nancy D. Waring
On Point Communications Solutions

www.onpointcommunicationsolutions.com

1min 38sec

Nancy D. Waring spent more than 20 years managing people in corporate America and started her entrepreneurial career as a freelance writer specializing in copy for the web. She found many of her clients didn’t know how to leverage their copy for maximum impact. As a result, she began coaching her copy clients on using their copy and web site to attract clients. Currently she helps service professionals and small business owners create and implement an internet marketing strategy that is simple but results in new prospects and additional revenue.

Become a Bronze Member of the Women’s Business Gallery and hear the complete interview. Below you’ll find highlights and pearls of wisdom Nancy shared during our conversation.

The Importance of Planning
“A lot of small business owners are tentative in using the Internet to market their business,” says Waring. “And right now, the Internet is the most inexpensive mode of communication for service professionals. But if you’re not really into technology and computers, it can be really intimidating.”

This is where Waring comes in. She teaches her clients the basics, giving them the knowledge they need, without bogging them down in unnecessary information. “And for those clients who really want a hands-off approach,” she adds, “I manage any Internet projects for them.”

Of the basics she teaches, Waring believes that planning is number one. “This is where I see a lot of entrepreneurs go wrong.” Before you act, you need to think through what you want to accomplish on the Internet. Depending on your purpose, the approach you use on the web may be different.

“It’s also helpful if you think a little bit longer term,” she says. “So, not just what you’re doing right now and this year, but what are you planning on doing in two or three years.” Taking your future plans into consideration can also affect the approach you use.

The second most important thing is to know at least the basics of Internet marketing, that way you’ll know if someone is trying to scam you out of your precious marketing dollars.

But Sometimes It Takes a Leap of Faith
As mentioned before, Waring worked in corporate America for 20 years. But at some point she lost the passion for it and felt the need to break out on her own. “I’d always had it at the back of my mind that I’d kind of like to [pursue the entrepreneurial path], but I didn’t have the nerve,” she says.

But then life pushed her out onto the path. “I had a family situation that I needed to take care of that either would have required a leave time from my W2 job, my corporate job, or to just leave.” So she took the leap. “This is the universe telling me it’s time to make a major change, and really, I just made the change.”

She says she didn’t think about it at the time. “I think if I had thought it all the way through, then I would have found a reason to wait.”

The Challenges of Business Ownership
The first challenge Waring encountered was not being clear about what she wanted to do with her business. “I knew I wanted to write, but there are plenty of ways you can write.”

About a year before, she had begun working on the Internet. She also had experience with technical training manuals and marketing writing. “At first a did a little bit of all kinds of writing and that was a challenge because what it means is that you’re kind of spread all over the place. You can’t really focus.” She felt a little bit scattered.

Again, providence stepped in. She started attracting clients that wanted similar things, thus helping her focus her business.

Another challenge she faced was managing money. “First of all, how do you know what to charge people? How do you price your services?” Determining the answers to those questions can be difficult at times. Do you base your fees on others doing similar work? Do you just choose a number out of the air? “That was a huge challenge for me,” she says. “And I’m not sure if I’m totally over it yet.”

One thing she is sure of is that it is not a good idea to compare yourself to others, especially if you can’t find anyone doing what you’re doing.

Secondly, how do you manage spending money? “How much money do you spend on marketing? How much money do you spend on workshops and personal development in order to grow your business? How do you set a budget for that?” In her corporate job, she’d always had some history to base budgets on. But this was new and different.

“If I had known then what I know now, I would have hired a business coach,” she says. Professional development is very important. “One of the things I learned early on is that you can’t afford not to [invest in your own professional development]. You have to continually learn… And the other thing is meeting people. Being a solo entrepreneur, you can really get kind of boxed into your own little world. So I found that it is very important to get out there and find out what’s going on with everybody else.”

The Silver Lining of Business Ownership
The biggest success she has encountered along her entrepreneurial journey, says Waring, is a change of mindset. “I have grown so much over the past couple of years that its amazing. The major change is in how I look at the world and how I approach things.”

For one, she is now much more focused on success and results based on what she wants. “I used to feel kind of guilty about making a lot of money or doing things that show that you are successful. And I don’t feel guilty about any of that any more, because it finally dawned on me that the more successful I am, the more I can help people.”

Waring’s Recommended Reading

“Both of those, although they sound like they are about money, they’re really not. They are about life principles that cause you to think differently. The richness isn’t just talking about money, its the richness of your life.”

Waring’s Best Advice

• “Be sure you have the right mindset. It’s very easy to get discouraged. Being out of your own is generally an up and down kind of thing. So find someone who can help you get to the right mindset.”
• “Focus, focus, focus. Early on when I first started, I had the entrepreneurial bright, shiny object syndrome. There were so many opportunities coming my way and they were all so exciting and so much fun. As a result, I wasn’t getting to the end of anything.”
• “Ask for help when you need it. Get involved with either networking groups, a coach or someone who can be an objective voice for you. Especially if you work alone or have a business with only a few people, you need to have someone objective who you can go to with your ideas.”

For more pearls of wisdom from our January 2008 Portrait, Nancy D. Waring, become a Bronze Member of the Women’s Business Gallery and listen to the entire interview. You can be a member for as little as $5.60 per month!