Feb 25

The Evolving Entrepreneur

English: Gandhi during the Salt March, March 1...

Gandhi during the Salt March, March 1930. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my mentors once said that if you really want to experience fast spiritual growth, become an entrepreneur. Just like being in any long-term relationship, as an entrepreneur, all of your issues will come up to be dealt with.

One common issue is your relationship with money…how much you deserve, how much you can ask for, how much you can keep, and how you treat money in your personal life.

Another issue that comes up is how you show up. For example, if your clients don’t show up on time or aren’t fully prepared for your coaching sessions, are you late to meetings, events, etc. or not always fully prepared? What kind of clients are you attracting? Do they have qualities that you don’t like? Are they also qualities that you have and don’t like?

A third issues that can come up is in how you handle stress. Do you stay calm and strong when a client is venting on a stressful experience or do you get caught up in their drama? Do you leave the office and your business behind you at the end of the day and relax with family/friends, or do you “take your business with you” and think and strategize on your off time?

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Feb 18

Do you have an operations manual?

The best businesses run well because of systems. How do they get their systems? They document daily procedures and update them as needed. The documentation can be called an operations manual.

Even a solopreneur uses systems and if you ever want to go on vacation, hire a VA, or sell your business, an operations manual is essential.  I started mine when I hired my first VA. I wrote down exactly what I wanted her to do, just in case she didn’t work out and I had to hire someone else. That did eventually happen and the second time around, I didn’t have to start all over. I already had my documents of what to do. It saved me a lot of valuable time.

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Feb 13

NYC 2013 Planning Workshop

Sheri&me2

Sheri and me

Last week I attended a live 2013 planning workshop with coach Heather Dominick and Sheri Mortko in Manhattan of New York City.  We started by talking about marketing consistently and then how to plan that marketing.  By planning out your marketing activities, you make it easier to market consistently because you just follow the plan.

A marketing plan can include activities you do daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annually.  Defining the marketing activities by the calendar timing helps you to see the overall picture of your marketing plan.  Then you can take the year calendar and sketch in your launches, JV programs, email campaigns, etc.  By having them all on one yearly calendar, it’s easier to schedule everything and avoid scheduling conflicts.

Part of planning your year is about setting up a system to track the money coming in and the money going out.  Then you can see the connection between the inflow and outflow in relation to your overall yearly goal.  It’s good to include money in your plans, especially if you intend to make money!

bowling3aWe finished the day with a cocktail party at a spiffy bowling alley and then a few of us had a delicious dinner around the corner at a very fine Ethiopian restaurant.

The best part of attending a live, all-day workshop is the energy I get from being in the same room with 2 powerful coaches and over 20 other amazing men and women who have come here for the day to get energized for the coming year.  There’s really nothing else like it.  Connecting with other like-minded individuals who are on the same business-success path is an incredible experience that every business owner should have.

 

Feb 01

Benefits Of Guest Blogging by Lynn Jordan

BLOG IDEAS

BLOG IDEAS (Photo credit: owenwbrown)

What exactly is guest blogging and why should you care? Don’t confuse guest blogging with posting comments on blogs. Posting comments is good to establish your authority in your field. It’s also a good way to create a relationship with blog owners in your niche.

Guest blogging is when you actually write a blog post specifically for a blog that owned by someone else. This post is an example of a guest blog post. It is a great way for businesses to reach an audience they wouldn’t normally reach. Continue reading

Jan 28

Heart’s Desire Goals Can Be Realistic Too

It signifies the analysis of a possible goal f...

It signifies the analysis of a possible goal for for further description (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goal-setting seems to be a hot topic right now, especially at the beginning of the year. Recently I posted a blog about choosing heart’s desires goals versus realistic goals and received over 100 responses on LinkedIn regarding that subject.

The main consensus was that they need to be a little of both. When you are setting a goal you start with the true heart’s desire. It’s the big picture goal. As one coach said, “…setting goals that are founded on my core values have proven to have a longer shelf-life within my motivation because they support what I believe is primary to who I am as a person. These “core values” are truths and beliefs that I would defend vigorously…”

Another coach agrees, “…goals which are aligned with our core values even though they require effort, flow far more easily.”

So you start by identifying the dream and the “why” behind it. The “why” is directly related to your core values and your life purpose. Sometimes you discover these things by the very act of identifying the dream. As one of my colleagues suggests, “Suppose your dream is to be a pitcher for the NY Yankees. But you are over 40 and haven’t played baseball since college, so the dream isn’t “practical.” HOWEVER, let’s explore WHY that is the dream. What is appealing about being a pitcher for the NY Yankees? It is the love of baseball? Is it the fame and glory of being on a winning team? Is it the physical challenge? It is the WHY that is your heart’s desire.”

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Jan 17

Can you hear me now? by Debra Gilroy

be seenTry this: cover your mouth and talk.  That’s what most marketing sounds like.  Chatter.  Noise pollution.

Combine that with the competition – all those emails, ezines, audios, haranguing us from all directions.  More chatter.  Louder, but not better, noise.

Does it frequently feel that despite your meaningful message and mission, your productive services, all those trainings you’ve invested in, your generosity of spirit and passion for your business, few hear you or really see you?  Are your messages perceived as marketing chatter?

Maybe your client funnel is a trickle.  Perhaps you’re working too hard for too little money.  Or your results are mediocre.  You feel frustrated and maybe even burnt out. 

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Dec 23

Should Goals Be Realistic Or Your Heart’s Desire?

Joy is Measurable

Joy is Measurable (Photo credit: Funkybug)

The New Year is coming up and we’re supposed to be setting goals…30-day goals; 90-day goals; one-year goals.  But as I ponder what I want to write down for my goals some questions arise that I can’t answer.

For instance, do I write down what I really want, or what I think is realistic?  By what criteria do I determine what is realistic?  Is it based on past experience? (I hope not.)  Is it based on other’s achievements? (Shouldn’t be.)  Is it based on what I think I can do? (This would just be a guess.)

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Dec 13

Learning Your Beauty Type Can Boost Your Self-Confidence

Type 4-this and more before-and-afters at DressingYourTruth.com

One of the biggest challenges of professional life coaches is lack of self-confidence. Self-confidence is something that ultimately can only come with experience and even then it can sometimes falter. Of course, it’s to be expected when you’re just starting out, but I have talked with many seasoned coaches who are still struggling with self-confidence.

Besides experience, there are other things you can do to gain more self-confidence and one way is to understand your nature and energy movement and then learn how to express that as well as your natural beauty in how you dress.

Recently, I came across a brilliant system for this while researching resources for my clients. It’s called Energy Profiling developed by Carol Tuttle, and it deals with aspects of your personality in relationship to the flow of nature. The system divides us into 4 types and shows how our energy flows in basically 4 different ways. The 4 types are also connected to the 4 elements of air, water, fire, and earth, as well as 4 natural elements, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.

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Nov 28

Do you have a marketing plan in place for 2013?

Do you have a marketing plan in place for 2013?  That’s a tough question!

But do you at least know what marketing techniques will you be employing next year? Do you know your specific niche? Have you scheduled your launches and joint venture promotions? Have you lined up the topics for your teleclasses, blog posts, and newsletters? Have you considered adopting new methods to engage with your customers and drive more business outcomes?  Have you set firm income goals for 2013?

Well, if not, you’re not alone. Most entrepreneurs do not plan ahead of time, and most entrepreneurs also don’t stay in business very long either. However, successful business owners implement the right marketing strategies at the right time. 

The International Association of Professional Life Coaches™ has taken up the task of supporting your life coaching needs with a virtual 2-hr workshop on Dec. 4th, that will help you plan out all of these things for 2013.

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Nov 20

It happened again—maybe there’s something to this!

the law of attraction

the law of attraction (Photo credit: Brenda Cooper)

It happened again. I spent money on something I really wanted even though I was nervous about the expense. Using a credit card would allow me to pay for the product later on, meaning that I wouldn’t have to spend my money right there and then. That’s the good thing about credit cards, however, I recently started considering the Laws of Attraction when purchasing expensive items.

Weirdly, after I purchased that item, I received unexpected money afterward. This has been happening ever since I started practicing the principles from the Laws of Attraction. They are really about trusting the Universe/Source/God to give you what you need, understanding how money flows, and your attitude.

Do you tend to cringe when you spend money? I did. Before my study of the Laws of Attraction, I would deliberate on expenditure, then feel bad after I purchased it, especially if it was for myself. Then I would worry if I made the right decision and how I was going to justify and pay for the expense. Going shopping was a painful experience, a struggle of emotions, and my attitude really took the fun out of it. Continue reading