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Marketing. Not usually the favourite subject for entrepreneurs and other creative types. But it’s the lifeblood of your business, your career and essentially, your livelihood. Marketing is what draws people to you, gets the word out, brings in contacts and possible partners, and is largely responsible for your income. So why do we tend to resist it so much?
This is the woe of every new entrepreneur or small business, “How do I get more clients?” When I first started out in business this was really all that was on my mind. I knew that I was doing something incredible, I just needed people to share it with! I did a ton of networking, some internet advertising, and a lot of praying and hoping that somehow people would “find me”. What I didn’t have was a reliable plan of action for how to go about this easily and effectively. This left me feeling constantly uncertain and needy and out of control.
With Labor Day passed and September into full swing, many of us are once again busier than ever! When time is so precious, one of the biggest culprits and thieves seems always to be email. Do you remember when you first started using email….roughly. Or more to the point, do you remember a time when you didn't use it? Most of us can answer yes to both of those questions. There was no email or internet when we were kids – at least not in the form that we use it today. So is it any wonder that so many of us are on email overload?
When financial planner and motivational speaker Suze Orman talks, people listen. Orman says we all need to get our financial priorities straight. "The correct order is people, money and things. You have to care about yourself and others [first]. And you can't go from people to things; you need the money. You can't jump a chasm in two leaps. And that's exactly what we tried to do and look what happened." Time and again, clients have come to me with financial worries, and inevitably the order of their priorities is reversed; they are surrounded with things.
Business cards are underestimated as a marketing tool, yet it’s one of the things that we use most often in promoting our businesses. Your business card should be given careful consideration; something that someone will look at and get a very good idea not only of what you do, but what you can do for them.
It seems that lately you can’t turn on the TV or the radio, or even much talk to anyone without hearing about the recession, financial hardships or general economic disaster. We all seem to know someone, who knows someone who has been devastated by the recent turn of events in our financial markets. But historically, every downtu has eventually been followed by an upturn. This certainly holds true in financial markets, and in my experience, also in our personal lives. The key is to weather life’s storms gracefully, keeping a positive and realistic perspective.
Any of you who know me, have heard me say this dozens of times,”businesses run on cash, not just hard work and enthusiasm.” But as an entrepreneur, it’s easy to forget that. You get pulled in so many different directions; newsletters, blogs, videos, new marketing gimmicks, fancy new products … well, you get the idea. So if cash is King or Queen in business-land, you need to be crystal clear on where you’re spending your time and your energy to maximize your impact so you can bring in more of that all important life-blood. In business speak this is known as “profit clarity”.
Escaping the Credit Epidemicr Rebuilding Reserves for a Healthier Future We don’t need to look too far to see signs of mounting credit problems in our society today. Not only is it the focus of every newscast and headline, it has impacted our families, our friends, our communities, and for many, our personal lives. We are constantly reminded of the “credit crunch” and the heavy mountains of debt that so many find themselves struggling under. But what has led us to such a point, and more importantly how do we regain our strength and recover?
A funny thing seems to happen around this time of year; I've seen it again and again. At a time when we all should be enjoying beaches and barbeques, sunshine and surf, many people's moods seem to turn a bit blue. The summer romance hasn't panned out the way you thought it would, friends are all busy doing their own thing, the kids are a handful, and soo September will roll around and what has changed from last year? These are the words I hear echoed from clients everywhere.
”Stress, in addition to being itself and the result of itself,is also the cause of itself.” –Hans Selye
We’ve all experienced this at some point in our lives. We set a goal, we make big plans to achieve it, work really hard and still don’t get the results we’ve been hoping for and desire! Maybe it’s loosing weight, growing our business, changing jobs or creating that perfect romantic relationship. Whatever it is that you’re longing to accomplish or create, continually exerting the efforts without realizing the ideal results, can leave you feel exhausted, frustrated and deeply disappointed.
Fragmented Souls Not much seems to be said about fragmented souls, but I quite often find that the minute the subject is explained, people seem to identify with it right away. A soul fragment is that part of you that you are always looking for, that part that will make you whole again, and quite often, the wound that never heals. We most often seek to solve this through others, particularly our partners, because that’s what we’ve been taught and we don’t know where else too look. Soul fragments can also be somebody else’s.
We all do it. We put it off. Push it back. Wait. Hope. Agonize. And in the eleventh hour, at the last moment, or when we just can't stand to live with it any longer, we finally get it done! This is the anatomy of procrastination. Procrastination is one of the biggest dream killers out there. It diminishes opportunities, thwarts our progress, keeps us stuck in the past and sets us up for failure. I recently came across a great quote from the author William James, "Nothing is so fatiguing as the ete al hanging on of an uncompleted task." Oh so true.
The first step towards change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do. Change is not something you do. It's something you allow.rn–Will Garcia What is it that you just don’t have enough of? Is it time? Money? Happiness? Success? Love? Fulfillment? Joy? Space? Sex? Most of us want more of something. As a matter of fact, most of us want more of a lot of things. We live in a society where more is always better, and better usually means more. Yet no matter how much we get, we continually seem to be starving.
We’re all trying to squeeze more into, and get more out of our days. With overflowing inboxes, and schedules that are packed tight, making the best use of our precious hours is becoming increasingly important. While we can’t actually manage time itself, we can exercise some control over how we use it. Time is a unique resource, because we all get exactly the same amount of time to utilize everyday. When today runs out, I get a brand new 24 hours to spend tomorrow! But be wary of “spending” your time.
Money. It’s never a neutral topic, whether you have a lot of it, or a little. Whether you have healthy investments, or are heavily in debt, money, in our society holds an emotional charge. The reason isn’t really money itself, it’s what it means to the quality of our lives. As the saying goes, “money can’t buy you love”, but it touches everything you do love. It affects where you and your family live, what kind of car you drive, what kind of clothing you wear, where your kids go to school, the quality of the food you eat, where and how often you vacation, and even more.
When I first started coaching, I was working with my own coach - a sharp smart lady who had a few simple rules for running her life; rules that I learned to love and quickly adopted as my own: "Work Hard, Have Fun, No Drama." But being human, every once in a while I slip, and last week I broke rule # 3 - “No Drama”. What ensued was, life became less fun, and I got less work done, and all because of a little drama! Read on, and discover what I learned about dealing with drama. Drama comes in many forms.
For most creative types and spiritual entrepreneurs, “sell” is the really dirty four-letter word. Nobody wants to do it, talk about it or even think about it! But without a little self-promotion, you, your services and your talents end up becoming the best-kept-secret in the biz! So how do you get in front of people and tout your brilliance without feeling pushy, arrogant, or salesy? To help you with this I’m sharing my top 6 Secrets for Truly Shameless Self-Promotion.
One of the best pieces of advice that a coach ever gave me was "Never begin your day before it's finished on paper." Over the years, this has served me extremely well. Whenever my day is not flowing smoothly, or I'm generally unproductive or "feeling a little lost" chances are it is due to poor preparation. This is equally common with the hundreds of clients I've worked with. But I've also discovered that preparing for stellar days goes way beyond the to-do list. There are also mental and physical components. A few small, minor modifications can yield outstanding results.
One of the biggest issues I've seen over the years working with clients is that of communications. So often, situations can go array simply for lack of crystal clear communications. Part of the problem is also part of the beauty; we all have different communication styles. And as much as this ads to the inherent complexity and fascination of life, it can also be frustrating when we are "speaking different languages" and not even aware of it. One of my favorite example is of a couple who would continually get into fights over playing tennis.
Habits. We’ve all got some great ones and some really bad one. The ability to quickly and consistently create new habits is a major factor in anyone’s success. Studies and research has found that it takes us 21-40 days of consistent, daily action to create a new habit, and a little longer if we are not taking daily action. When setting a new goal or target, personally or professionally, one of the easiest ways to reach it, is to set a new habit. Here are some examples: Goal: Pay off a credit card debt
Sometimes, “life just happens” (and I know a thing or two about life happening!) And when it does, there are days when everything can just feel overwhelming.Your energy level drops, apathy sets in and you’re just ready to throw in the towel, back down, or just plain quit. This can show up in many forms. It may look like settling for something that we don’t really want, but fear that we can do no better, pretending that our goal or desire was never really that important, or simply and quietly burying a dream. Often times what you need most is a little retreat to rest, recuperate and regroup.
Did you set any goals for this year? Are you well on your way to reaching them? One of the most common stumbling blocks I see as a coach is the culprit of clutter! So much time is spent on getting more; more stuff, more money, more time, more happiness. Yet seldom do we look at what we need to get rid of in our lives to make space for the new to come in. We literally pack on the pounds in every area of our lives! We weigh down our consciousness’ with heavy thoughts and impossible “to do” lists. We weigh down our desks with papers that need filing.
Two of the problems that I see many entrepreneurs facing is how to set their prices, and how to convey to potential clients or customers what is the value in working with you, buying your product, or using your services. This is most often because you’re not clear on it, or 100% convinced of it yourself. This lack of clarity undermines your confidence and can lead to behaviors that sabotage your business instead of building it if you try to compensate by over delivering.
Stress. It happens to everyone at some time or another. We get stressed about our work, our relationships, our finances, kids, health and homes. I’ve yet to meet anyone who leads a completely charmed life and never experiences any stress. However, in the last six months, I’ve seen the stress levels in clients, friends and business associates escalate to new heights. I don’t need to point at the troubled global economy or job losses as a common denominator; this is not “news” to so many who have experienced the direct effects first hand. But the question is, what do we do about it?
In Chinese philosophy, there is the concept we know as yin and yang. Very simply put, it’s the idea that opposites only exist in relation to each other. The outer circle represents “everything”, while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two energies. Notice, they are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other. Here in the West we often think of Yin and Yang as being dualistic, masculine and feminine, but in the Tao they are seen as complementary and interdependent.r
For most of us as children, the word “forgiveness” was a daily part of our upbringing. We were told to turn the other cheek, and to forgive and forget. But more often than not, those instructions only applied to other people – many of whom wanted forgiving! I don’t often recall being told to forgive myself, or even being presented with the idea that it was okay to do so. For most of us, we were constantly reminded of our mistakes, by people who were constantly reminded of theirs; being told that it was the only way to learn from them.
Finishes “It’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts.” I can’t remember when I first heard that saying, but it is one that has given me great cause to stop and ponder lately. I’m getting older. Not “really old”, but hey, I’m not thirty anymore either! I am at a certain age, where I can’t help but wonder how I will “finish”. What will people remember most about me, my life? Will I ever make it big? Become famous? Do something incredible for mankind? Is it too late? What about all of those stupid, impulsive, ill thought out acts of my youth?