It's Negotiable

Negotiating confidently takes practice and confidence. It's often a weak point for small business owners and the self-employed, who give away too much, too soon.

Recently, a self-employed friend got caught off-guard with a request for her hourly rate. Flustered, she blurted out a price $10/hour lower than her already-undervalued compensation rate.

She needs the work and is happy to have a new contract. But a deep breath and a dose of nerve could have made the job far more worthwhile.

Here's a book that might have helped: The Pocket Small Business Owner’s Guide to Negotiating (Allworth Press, June 2012).

I haven't read it, so can't vouch for it, but I'm encouraged to learn that the author is a long-time small business owner himself. And I like the idea that it includes some sample negotiation scenarios, because I learn best by observing a process rather than studying it academically (and I bet a lot of self-employed/small biz owners feel the same!).

Check it out and let me know what you think.