Or, “What are you asking for?” Now, those of you that know me well may have read that last question with a New Yawk accent, and a slightly obnoxious attitude. Like, “Whaddya askin’ for?” And expecting it to be followed closely by, “Who wants to know?” You would be wrong.

I simply mean to get you to think about exactly what you are asking for. Especially when you’re asking for money.

There are lots of words for money. Here in the US, we sometimes call it “moolah”, “Benjamins”, “bucks”, and “greenbacks”. We also know that when we hear those words, the speaker is referring to a pile of paper legal tender. Too often, we are way less clear when we are actually asking for some of the stuff.

We ask for “support”. We ask for “resources”. We ask for “assistance”. If we’re being slightly less nebulous, we ask for “funding”. Or we ask for “investment”. When was the last time you actually used the word “money” when you were asking for money?

Much of this obliqueness (is that even a word?) comes from our fears and discomfort around money. We’re not supposed to talk about money. We’re not supposed to ask other people about their money. We’re not supposed to volunteer how much money we make or have in our bank accounts. Why do we have these fears? Too many hypotheses to put into this post. Suffice it to say that most of us have some fear or discomfort around talking about money.

Well, here’s a new hypothesis for you. How about asking for exactly what you want?

I just heard all of you gasp.

What, you don’t want to ask that investor to actually write a check? You don’t want to tell the potential donor you need her to give you money? You’re uncomfortable asking a client to pay you dollars commensurate with the value you provide?

Look at the flip side. Should you be frustrated when the investor wants to trade stock in her company for stock in yours? Would you happy if the potential donor gave you her nasty old office furniture instead of cash? Does your work suffer if you’re secretly thinking, “they aren’t paying me enough”?

Be clear about what you want. It makes it much easier for people to give it to you.

If you’re still uncomfortable using words like money, cash, dollars, income, revenue and profit, you might want to check out my special report: 10 Biggest Fears Professional Women Have Around Asking for Money…and How to Conquer Them! You can get it by filling out the form on the right.

Or, get yourself the  How to Ask for Money Quickstart Program. Three powerful tools to help you overcome your fears, embrace your leadership qualities and ask for—and get—the money you deserve.

Do you see yourself in this piece from ForbesWoman?

Why American Women Lose At Negotiating

Check out this piece from Jezebel:  “Working in Groups Makes Women Feel Dumb”.  Does it make you feel dumb, or just lose patience because others can’t keep up? I’d love to hear more about how you feel about working in groups.

The Year End Quickstart Sale is on!

I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t ask for anyone to help me kick off a year-end sale of the “How to Ask for Money Quickstart Program”. But it happened.

Today in ForbesWoman, Erica Nicole writes a nice piece called “How to Ask for What You Want–And Get It All“. It includes some great advice around making a list of what your business needs, a list of experts who can help you get it and asking for 5-minute  phone calls from each. A pretty cool strategy. And fine, if you are completely over your fears of asking.

Which is where I come in.

Starting today you can get 50% off the How to Ask for Money Quickstart Program, the quickest way to start banishing your asking-for-money fears, and to grab a whole pile of tools to give you the confidence to get your business growing. Head on over to the Year End Sale page for all the scoop.

If you’re  serious about getting it all this year, you need to crank up your courage to ask for it. The Year End Quickstart Sale is the perfect time to get everything you need to start doing just that. But hurry…this great offer will go away soon.

How can you bring it home if you don't ask for it?

Here in San Francisco, there is an awesome food truck called Bacon Bacon. I have been obsessed lately, as those of you who are my Facebook friends can attest. Bacon grilled cheese, bacon jam, bacon log of bacon bacon…which got me thinking about bringing home bacon…

How can you bring it home if you can’t/don’t/won’t ask for it?

We’re coming up on the end of the year, and I’m wondering if you’ve gotten everything you’ve asked for. Did you move that courage-cranking needle at all? There’s still time to get those year-end asks in, as well as to get ready to make 2012 your most courageous year yet. And to give you a little nudge, here’s a tip for today:

Practice on yourself.

I don’t care how you do it. In a mirror, on paper, into a tape/digital recorder, whatever. Ask yourself for something and see what happens. Did you immediately say “no way”? Probably not. Did you waffle over saying “yes”? Possibly. If so, practice convincing yourself. Did you reply with a resounding “YES!”? Well done.

I’ll bet that if you practice asking yourself, you’ll get a little more courageous asking others. Which will make it easier to bring home more bacon.

From "The Craftsmen Series" by Stacey Lee Webber

The seventh annual UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders finds that not much has changed in the executive suites and board rooms of California’s corporations. And it may take 100 years for things to get better.

If you don’t want to wait 100 years, then start asking for what you deserve right now. I’m kicking off a year-end sale on the How to Ask for Money Quickstart Program to make things easier for you.

We hear it every day.

“Buy this product/blueprint/system/whatever, and simplify your life!”

Now really, how can buying and having more stuff make your life simpler and easier? I hear it from women all the time, “I have everything I’ve ever wanted, but…

“I don’t have time to enjoy it.”

“I’m more stressed out than ever.”

“I’m still not happy.”

What I’ve discovered is the common misconception that we need more—things, tools, gadgets—to make our lives less complicated. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

I suggest that the road to simplicity is lined with what we cast off or stop doing. And I’d love to see the biggest pile be those items/concepts that enable us to “work more efficiently”. Have you noticed that “work more efficiently” just means “work more”?

Anything that makes your life simpler should pass the following test:

1. What is my initial gut reaction?
2. Does it allow me to do more of what I want to do vs. just do more?
3. Can I afford it? Not only in terms of money, but in terms of time, efficiency and stress?

If the latest gadget, service, consultant, whatever doesn’t pass all three tests—it’s not worth it!

Here’s a way to start simplifying your life TODAY.

Cross one item off your to-do list.

Go ahead, right now. Just cross something off and not think of it again. You can do it. You probably already have at least one item on there that you know you’ll never do anyway. So rather than subject yourself to the daily guilty of carrying it over, get rid of it!

Do this once a week (or once a month, if that’s more comfortable for you), and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much simpler your life becomes. Without buying one more thing.

If you haven’t yet voted for me in the Best Coaching Blogs 2011 contest, please head on over and cast your vote. Thanks!

Can I get your vote for Best Coaching Blog 2011? Yep, I’m in the running over at the School of Coaching Mastery’s Best Coaching Blog contest.

In order to make it to the next stage of the contest, I need as many votes as possible by July 9th. You can only vote once, so please head on over and vote now!

P.S.  If you don’t see me on the first page, please scroll to the next and vote…

Here’s a question for you:

What do you think it takes to succeed?

Or more to the point, what does success even look like?

You’d be surprised how many women can’t answer that for themselves. Which is scary, since you can’t create a successful, happy life and business, if you can’t identify the target.

Because of this, I’m thrilled to invite you to join me June 20-24, in a powerful freebie telesummit for women, by women called:

The Emergency Mindset Makeover

and it’s the brainchild of my friend, Kimberly Englot.

(Know you want in already? Register here )

It’s urgent that you identify the self sabotage and limiting beliefs holding you  back BEFORE you try to ‘fix’ your marketing. This is so beyond a marketing issue.

The fear, it’s paralyzing.

• “What if…?”
• “I’ll fail.”
• “What will people think?”

Trust me, I get it. I’ve been there…along with every other woman speaking at this event. And we are banding together to show you behind the scenes and demonstrate that you’re not alone.

Because of this, I think it’s BRILLIANT (and something I can get 100% behind!) that Kimberly created a place where we can all get real and share our fears AND (most importantly) HOW we get past them.

If you’re struggling, paralyzed with fear and wondering why business feel so hard, THIS is the place for you. You will get so many Aha’s out of this…unless you’ve NEVER been afraid.

Kimberly is the founder of The Center for Authentic Self Development and I think you’ll love her energy. You can check her out here.

In this series, you’ll discover:

• The mindset shifts to make so you can create a biz that makes you happy AND makes you money
• What really goes on behind the scenes…’Overnight Success’ doesn’t really happen overnight
• How to overcome the paralysis of making mistakes

And so much more.

Click here to learn more and find out how to join us at NO CHARGE.

I invite you to learn what it really takes to create success in business, and in life!

Join the group!

PS:  It’s June 20-24 and you will kick yourself if you miss out! Register now!

PPS:  This telesummit costs exactly $0.00 and there is no obligation to buy ever, but if you ever do, know that I’m an affiliate of this event — which means I believe in the value of what we’re creating together — and I may receive commission from any sales generated. Just so you know…

Check out this post on the importance of asking…

http://www.humbledmba.com/you-dont-get-shit-you-dont-ask-for