Business Ethics

I had an opportunity this week to work with a client of a client. At first I was excited at the prospect of a potentially new client with lots of work possibilities. I didn't think there was any conflict of interest as what I was asked to write was something I didn't think was supplied by my original client. I then learned that it WAS something they do, so I had to bow out.

Saying 'no' to any new business is extremely difficult for me. Not only does it limit my ability to grow my business, but it also deprives me of an opportunity to do what I love - write. But as I think about the situation, I knew there was a reason that I had a 'gut feeling' to turn down the new business. I have worked very hard to forge an excellent working relationship with the first client and it just didn't seem right not to be openly candid about business dealings relating to his client. In the long run, I know he appreciates my honesty and I can sleep well at night knowing that I did what I felt was right.

In the end, I believe good and bad comes back to you. Today I interviewed yet another new client due to a referral made by another associate. Open and honest communication have worked for me so far, so I think I'll stick with it.

Ezines and Newsletters

In developing my marketing strategies, I have decided that I would like to publish an ezine on a monthly basis. My objective is twofold: to help aspiring writers get their business jump-started and to get my name out there as someone who works extremely well with small to medium-size enterprises in perfecting their communications materials.

My research has brought me to ezEzine which is a terrific place to start. I decided that before I could sign up with them, I would come up with twelve ezine topic ideas so that I would know what I'd be writing about for the next year. Well, that didn't take much time at all as I seem to have MILLIONS of ideas. But I wanted to focus and make it clear what the objective was of the ezine. So I have entitled it "Real Writers Top Ten". The brief description is: 'A monthly ezine to give a leg up to aspiring writers and small businesses using the voice of experience lightly sprinkled with humour."

The newsletter will be small at first as it focuses on ten key points related to issues such as becoming a writer, marketing, researching, creating a website, and the business side of writing. As it develops, I hope to incorporate useful links to get the readers excited about making their business a success and appropriate affiliates to direct them to relevant products and services.

Now I'm off to figure out how this whole thing is going to work and how I'm going to get subscribers!