Shaun NestorContent Marketing Advisor & Agency Consultant
Bio

Hello! My name is Shaun Nestor. I help smart leaders and entrepreneurs who feel lost, overwhelmed, or frustrated by all of the challenges of running a business.

I bring clarity and organization to leaders who want to position their companies for success in the future.

Are you struggling with how to prove the value of your service? Are you getting paid what you're worth? Are you pitching your products in a way that makes the client beg to sign on the dotted line?

I know where you are coming from! I have operated my own agency for over 15 years and have experienced the same pains. Let me encourage you: there is a way to reach your goals and have peace of mind to grow your brand.

I train multi-person agencies, freelancers, and independent consultants who want more and are willing to work to achieve it.

If you don't have a clear process for setting client expectations early, getting paid what you're worth, or proving your value, I want to help you.

Drop me a note today: hello@shaunnestor.com


Recent Answers


The experts on this site would love to help you, but your question is devoid of details that would help us help you.

If you want an expert opinion, please provide more details or book a paid call with someone who can help you navigate your needs.

All the best,
-Shaun


I think you asked a similar question already. My advice is the same:

Use a service like https://www.canva.com/ If you find that it doesn't suit your needs, consider a more powerful application like the Adobe suite.

Good luck,
-Shaun


I would take the path of least resistance and use a tool like https://www.canva.com/ to get started.

If you outgrow the capabilities of that service, then consider purchasing a more powerful app.

All the best,
-Shaun


Hello! I think Clarity is best for the consulting portion of your business.

I have not seen much demand for folks looking for the service-side, most often, they are seeking advice.

Position yourself as an expert partner, share your expertise, and I'm confident the trust built on those calls will result in service work.

All the best,
-Shaun


Hello - this is a classic Chicken-Egg question.

First, you need to identify the specific need that the buyers and sellers are facing. Are there already marketplaces that do what you're suggesting? Do those marketplaces have weaknesses? Do they have massive brand awareness that would make it difficult to overthrow?

If you have solutions to these questions or challenges, I suggest first targeting the creatives. Make it dead simple for them to create a profile and explain that you're building your marketplace. Perhaps you can incentivize them with waived fees, exclusive options, or "Founding Member" benefits.

Once you have the community of creatives, start matching the specific needs of the client with the creative, perhaps running Facebook ads to new founders advertising branding services (which in turn takes them to the "Branding" category of your marketplace).

Then, start building your content library to attract organic traffic. Focus solely on the specific needs of the client in one blog and the specific needs of the creative on another. Position yourself as a partner, not a vendor. You are there to support their success.

Good luck,
-Shaun


There are so many ideas.

What skills do you have? Can you sell them at an hourly or weekly rate? Do you have an asset (pickup truck, empty bedroom, etc) that you can rent out? Can you mow lawns? Trim trees? Clean debris? Take trash to the dump or transfer station? Can you walk dogs?

Can you pickup and deliver groceries for your neighbors? Can you upcycle "junk"? (think furniture like dressers, armoires, night stands, etc)

Remember, there are two sides to accounting: make more money (see above) or reduce expenses.

What costs can you cut from your current budget? Can you sell/sublease/rent out your current living quarters? Can you sell your vehicle? Extra items? Can you cut cable TV? Stop dining out? Cancel Spotify/Netflix/Amazon Prime?

In my experience, the issue is not a lack of money-making opportunities, it is that people often don't want to do the work or make the sacrifice.

All the best,
-Shaun


They did many years ago. The app was not updated for some time after purchased by Startups.com. As a result, Apple flagged it and removed it from the App Store.

It was convenient and much easier to stay connected with callers, experts, and incoming messages.


I would start with some simple questions:

- Who are you trying to reach? Why?
- What are their needs?
- How would they describe their needs?
- How can you position yourself as a partner with them to solve their needs?
- How can you use their language to explain what you do?
- Where are they most likely to go seek information to solve their need? Can you meet them there and position yourself as an expert?
- What are their hesitations or reservations in choosing someone like you?
- How can you assure them you are the right person for the job?
- How can you use your current client list to get new clients?

This is just the starting point, but I hope it gives you some ideas to break through your writer's block.

Feel free to reach out.

All the best,
-Shaun


I wish you had included more details in your question.

There are a lot of experts on the site that would be happy to contribute their knowledge and wisdom to help you outline your business plan, but you've left a lot to be desired in what you're trying to learn.

A basic business plan would include the following components:

1. Executive summary
Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

2. Company description
Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.

3. Market analysis
You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

4. Organization and management
Tell your reader how your company will be structured and who will run it.

Describe the legal structure of your business. State whether you have or intend to incorporate your business as a C or an S corporation, form a general or limited partnership, or if you're a sole proprietor or LLC.

Use an organizational chart to lay out who's in charge of what in your company. Show how each person's unique experience will contribute to the success of your venture. Consider including resumes and CVs of key members of your team.

5. Service or product line
Describe what you sell or what service you offer. Explain how it benefits your customers and what the product lifecycle looks like. Share your plans for intellectual property, like copyright or patent filings. If you're doing research and development for your service or product, explain it in detail.

6. Marketing and sales
There's no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales strategies.

7. Funding request
If you're asking for funding, this is where you'll outline your funding requirements. Your goal is to clearly explain how much funding you’ll need over the next five years and what you'll use it for.

Specify whether you want debt or equity, the terms you'd like applied, and the length of time your request will cover. Give a detailed description of how you'll use your funds. Specify if you need funds to buy equipment or materials, pay salaries, or cover specific bills until revenue increases. Always include a description of your future strategic financial plans, like paying off debt or selling your business.

8. Financial projections
Supplement your funding request with financial projections. Your goal is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have other collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

Provide a prospective financial outlook for the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections. Make sure to clearly explain your projections, and match them to your funding requests.

This is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.

A. Appendix
Use your appendix to provide supporting documents or other materials were specially requested. Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, or patents, legal documents, permits, and other contracts.

All the best,
-Shaun


I am a bit confused why you are starting a business, but asking how to best monetize it. That is a red flag, at the start.

In my experience, when you are starting (or looking to gain more clients), defining a niche is a far better strategy than being a generalist. That said, once you are established, you can expand your service offerings. But at the start, you must be known for something (a niche), otherwise, you’ll be known for nothing.

By choosing a niche, you can position yourself as a true expert and give your clients the assurance that you understand their needs, speak their language, and know how to solve their problems.

As a generalist, you are likely to be seen as a “Me too!” A widget who can be replaced at any time. Further, a widget often relies on competing on price, as there is no differentiator between you and the next widget. You are interchangeable. Therefore, you must be cheaper than the next widget and a race to the bottom ensues.

And be careful, because a race to the bottom is not one you want to win.


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