So, what is solicitation, and why do we have a whole page on our website dedicated to it?
To solicit means “to ask for or try to obtain something from someone,” and we have a whole page dedicated to it because we want to keep Femworking a safe, solicitation-free zone.
We want you to be able to grow your business without having to worry about being sold to. We want to protect our community from being solicited. We never want you to feel like if you go to a Femworking meeting, or if you post a call-out, that you’re going to be solicited.
This topic can be tricky – because sometimes people have a hard time knowing if they’re soliciting or not – so we’ve dedicated a whole page to helping our members understand solicitation and what is okay and is not okay in Femworking.
It can be a pretty gray area, so I’ll paint a picture of what’s cool and what’s not cool in Femworking:
Cool:
Letting members know you have a sale on your product, or adding a deal to your profile at femworking.com.
Not cool:
Pressuring members into buying your product or trying to enroll them in your programs 1-on-1. If someone comes to you and wants to buy from you, it is definitely okay to serve them.
The question is intent.
Cool:
Being in Femworking to grow your business.
Not cool:
Being in Femworking to get new clients from Femworking. We want to help you grow and get more clients, not necessarily BE your clients.
So what happens if you’re an entrepreneur who also serves the same audience as Femworking? Is that okay? Of COURSE it is!
We have lots of entrepreneurs who serve the same audience as Femworking. From legal experts to social media masters nearly everyone could probably find someone in the Femworking audience who could be their potential client.
And often times Femworkers do end up hiring each other – and we love that!
But is it done by one Femworker soliciting another? No!
So, then, you’re probably wondering, how do Femworkers end up working together? How does it happen, and what is okay?
The Femworkers who have ended up getting business from other Femworkers have one thing in common:
They added value! They showed who they really are as people. They helped when they could. They gave advice freely.
And when Femworkers needed someone to hire that did what they do – they hired THESE women, because through their interactions with Femworking, they were able to know, like, and trust them.
So, if you’re looking to hire a photographer, real estate agent, social media expert, lawyer, or whatever else you might need, it is more than okay to ask in our group if someone provides those services. And those who are interested and available will be happy to respond!
What wouldn’t be okay is if that same person approached you trying to sell to you without you first asking for their service!
It’s also okay to have a callout asking anyone who might be interested to share your course/book/product/webinar. These shouldn’t be the majority of your callouts, but it’s okay every now and then.
For example, a Femworker was recently promoting a free class for Postpartum Core Strengthening. She posted it in the group and asked if anyone would be willing to share it with their audiences if it made sense for them. Those who were interested and had audiences who might be interested in that shared it, and the Femworker was happy. Everybody wins.