time to get activated, catalyzed, and just plain excited: interview with Ashley Sinclair

Oh boy! Do I have some big news for you?!

In a few short weeks, I’ll be speaking at a fab event hosted by the fab Ashley Sinclair, of Self-Activator. I’ve been watching Sinclair’s business explode for a while. If you dig my vision of a world led by passionate, creative entrepreneurs, her vision is going to rock your socks too.

You can find out more about the event – Profit Catalyst – and how to participate (including a sweet deal from me!) at the end of the post. But please take a minute to read through this brief interview with Sinclair where I dispense with the niceties and cut right to the quick.

You have experience working with large corporations & organizations. Why work with individual entrepreneurs?

Two very important reasons:

• I love business
• but I speak entrepreneur.

I come from a family of them. So I’ve been learning the ups and downs, the risks and rewards, of running your own business my whole life long. From tiny cottage businesses to multinational corporations, I’ve seen it all, but I’m most interested in the entrepreneur’s experience.

I want to be on the leading edge of culture and innovation, helping change agents push things forward. I may be biased, but I believe individual entrepreneurs are in this incredible, unique position to do just that – and I love to help them get there.

Well, we certainly have that in common!

You run a BIG business with a highly individual touch. Your tribe feels like they are connected to your personally (and I suspect that they are!). But in order to achieve this big business, you’ve got a team working behind you and supporting you.

Did you build your business with a team in mind? And how would your business be different if you didn’t have a team?

This is such a great question. I built my business with my personal strengths in mind – so yes, I planned on a team from the beginning, even though it was just me for the first 6 months. I know that I’m at my best when I’m leading a group of people, and helping each team member contribute what they are really best at.

I just don’t show up in the biggest way until I’ve got people to lead, so I make sure that I do. My own business would be much smaller in scope if I was still a solopreneur. I’d be much farther removed from my audience, since I’d be focusing solely on automated income streams to maximize my leverage on my own. And I think I’d simply be less creative, because I know that I build things best when working with a team.

You approach business creatively, holistically, and strategically. How do you envision business changing for creative entrepreneurs over the next 5 years? What strengths will be most valued?

I think we’ll continue to see a proliferation of boutique creative industries pop up, as the way we digest content and info matures in the marketplace. I would not be surprised if this proliferation required all entrepreneurs to become branding and positioning experts – I think we’ll see less hangups about that as people get more comfortable with the self-publishing model of sharing free content to attract business.

I believe Individualization will increase in perceived value, big time. Authenticity will be at a premium, because nothing else will get through the noise of the marketplace.

Many start-up entrepreneurs have major difficulty getting past the PROFIT part of business. Their heart & souls are invested in what they’re doing and that’s just hard to price. What is ONE thing you wish entrepreneurs knew about themselves & they’re inherent ability to command a good price for their work?

Oooh, this is so tough to share just one thing. I’m going to with what I think you need to know first:

Pricing has nothing to do with your worth as a person, or the worthiness of the client. It’s not the time to get squeamish, that’s for sure.

If you’re struggling to make a good living, you’re absolutely useless to those outside of yourself.

Price accordingly – the world needs your gifts, and needs you at your best, so you’ve gotta take great care of yourself to begin with by charging well for your work. I mean it – this is non-negotiable for passionate entrepreneurs who want to make a contribution.

Making this higher pricing understandable and desirable to your customers is the art of packaging and positioning. Don’t worry, it’s a skill set, and it can be learned. Hallelujah!

In my experience, coaching crafters and Fortune 500′s alike, I’ve found that if you give the customer the right info to make a great decision about your product, they are more than happy to pay a premium, every time.

Connect with Sinclair on her website or on Twitter.