You probably get tons of offers for amazing seminars, workshops and other cool learning opportunities. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend the day just leaning great new stuff, if you had the time and money.

If you’re running a business there are two kinds of  workshops you could take. One type is aimed at work-life balance,  like a yoga or art class. It’s fun, healthy and gives you a break from work.

The second type is focused on offering you help for your business. This kind of seminar is essential if it will help you to overcome obstacles or learn something new that will help your business to be more successful. These kinds of seminars are investments in your business.

You may feel like you don’t have the time or money but you know you need it and the benefits make it worth doing. It should pay for itself with results.

Solo-business owners are usually overly busy and it’s important to make good choices in regards to what you commit to. When is a seminar not the right thing to do? When is it a waste of time or money?

1.  When you sense it isn’t the right time. Maybe later. For example, I want to take a workshop on book promotion but right now I need to focus on completing the writing. Once that’s done, I’ll have the ability to focus on promotional tools.

2. When your  self-doubt says you need more credentials. In fact you have plenty of experience in this area and you could teach the class yourself. Self-doubt can  sabotage you and pull your energy away from where it needs to be. For example, I’ve been tempted to take a seminar on office organizing but in fact I am doing ok with it now. Being organizationally disabled is my old story.

3. When you are intrigued with the seminar topic and want to learn about it, but in fact, it would take a lot of energy and it would be a better investment to hire a professional. For example, I have resisted taking a seminar in website optimization for just this reason. I could learn it, but I’d rather hire someone to optimize my website for me.

4. When you just can’t be bothered to learn one more thing. You know you need it, it would be good for you but you just don’t feel like it.  Sometimes your attitude is more important than the benefits. It’s fun being a teenager again.:)

5.  When you hear about a good seminar but decide you don’t need it. For example, I’m offering a really stellar seminar on marketing and how to get more clients. It could be an excellent seminar but you already have heaps of clients coming your way so you don’t need these amazing tools.

Only take a seminar if:

•  You know it’s  the right time.

• You know you need the help.

• You want to learn these skills.

•  You have an attitude that says, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

•  You know you would benefit.

If all these things are true, the seminar would be an investment in yourself, your business and it would pay for itself over and over.

If you’re like many solo-business owners you started your business because you are enthusiastically passionate about your product or service. You love it, and you know that if people understood they would love it too. How could they not?

So why is it so hard to get people to make the decision to buy from you? You are truly puzzled because you know your stuff is good. You know they need your help and you know that they would benefit greatly. So what’s the problem? You are smart, out-going and committed and yet you still struggle to have enough money to buy food!

It could be just a simple adjustment you need to make in your pitch. Simple isn’t always easy because old habits die hard. If you ever tried to quit smoking or go on a diet you know what I’m talking about.

It may be that you are desperate to quit smoking and you know all the reasons you should, and yet you keep lighting up. A quit smoking expert corners you and starts to tell you all the facts about how bad smoking is and how he can help you with his wonderful program.

You listen and begin to fade into the wallpaper. You feel insulted because you already know all this. In fact, you could teach the class! He blabs on and on and you feel irritated because not once did he ask you about your situation, your awareness or your feelings.

Rule number one! Forget your pitch. Listen instead. Ask questions and determine what they already know, how they feel and what they need.

Never even invite them to work with you.  Maybe you are thinking, “right, I’ll never get anymore clients this way!” Wrong. Once you listen and care about them, you are building a relationship. You may even find out some information about this person you didn’t know and discover they are not a good a match for you. Maybe they will like you then and refer others.

Forget your pitch and LISTEN instead.  It’s amazing what will happen!

Do you want to learn rules two through seven as well? There are seven powerful steps to effective selling. When you learn them all, you will be unstoppable and people will love you, refer people to you and want to stay connected.

You help people everyday. You know you make a difference in their lives. You love that good feeling you have when you provide quality service. But sometimes things feel out of control and you are the one who needs help. Your client flow has slowed to a trickle and you don’t know what to do!

Why keep struggling in your business when the helping hand is there? All you have to do is grab it.  There is an easy to follow formula for developing a steady stream of new clients, people who want your help and are ready to take your hand.  What goes around comes around.

Service providers often have trouble getting help themselves. Why? Here are a few thinking errors.

1. I can figure it out myself. You know your clients benefit when they get your professional help. It’s no different for you. Why struggle alone when you can shift and learn faster with support.

2. It’s too expensive. “I can’t afford it,” is a deadly phrase for a business owner. There needs to be priorities for sure, but getting help in your business is an investment and will pay for itself.

3. I tried once before and it didn’t work so this will likely be the same. This is a discouraging attitude. It could be that was a wrong match, the wrong timing. Who knows but don’t give up on yourself. Successful entrepreneurs get help over and over.

4. I don’t have time. All business owners are overly busy, however the stress from not having enough clients eats up time and energy as well. It’s all about prioritizing and making the time to work on your business.

5. Things aren’t that bad. It could be that you are in denial of how bad it is. If you are struggling, stressed and worried about money, you need help. Why suffer if you don’t have to.

Whether you assist people with their websites, bookkeeping, health, finances or business,  you can be a model for them as someone who gets professional help when needed. There are 7 easy steps to putting together a marketing plan that will end your struggles so you will be able to continue to provide excellent service to a steady  stream of new clients. Does that sound good?

You didn’t begin a business in order to learn about how to struggle. You deserve to be happy and in fact joyful about your work. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to take a day off and feel relaxed?

You  want more clients. In fact you need more clients in order to keep things going, pay the mortgage and hopefully have the abundant lifestyle you want and so deserve.

Marketing. You know what that is. It’s what you need to do to get yourself out there so people will notice you. However, marketing is also one of those activities that, if you do it poorly, it can have a negative response and be almost worse than doing none at all.

A marketing plan actually takes you through a process so you can consciously and strategically know what to do and how to do it, in order to get really good results.  It’s a system.

A good example that comes to  mind. You’ve all bought a piece of furniture that comes in pieces in a flat box with directions written by a tech person from China. If you were Chinese, the directions might make sense, but translated into English and written by someone who is not thinking about who you are and what you need, they  don’t work and you get totally frustrated. At least I do!

Those directions are a plan for assembling a table. If they are written with me in mind and with a clear message, I’ll feel supported and be able to build my table. I  might even buy other products by this company because I know I can trust the service.

So- a  Marketing plan helps you to develop directions to connect with your potential clients with them in mind. It’s easy to do and when it’s done right it works and will bring scads of clients through your door.  There are seven easy steps and when you follow them accurately your potential clients will feel heard and they will want to work with you. Check out my 7-Steps to an Impeccable Marketing Plan to see the steps.

My vulnerable area is my organizational systems. I put things away and forget where I put them. I file papers and then go to look and they are not there.

It is very frustrating because it breaks up my work flow, causes anxiety and disrupts creativity.

Wikipedia says, “An Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall. ”

Okay- to be kind to myself, the issue is much more in control than it was a year ago. I hired an organizer to help me look at the paper flow in my office. I put in new systems and now things do work well  when I focus.

The big word is “Control.”  Good systems and organization equal control. Without control you can’t grow your business past a certain point. You need to be able to handle more information, more files easily and quickly.

Some people love organizing and they would rather do that than eat ice cream or take a nap. Not me.  Having to stop everything and “organize” makes me sigh heavy,  as I would rather be doing creative things.  I haven’t yet figured out how to make organizing be creative but I know it’s possible.  What I do know is that when everything is neat and the systems are working, it feels good and  I like being in my office.

Here are a few tips I have learned. Maybe you organizational people can add a few more.

1. Get a large white board and put it on your wall where you can see it from your desk. Use it for to-do lists, reminders, etc.  Erase things when they are completed as it will give you a good feeling

2. Determine 4-5 categories that work for  your business.  Every paper needs to fit into one of these categories. Mine are marketing, products, money, customer service and research and development. I have five rows of paper trays and everything goes into it’s correct area. This has really worked for me.

3. Clean your office on the same day every week. I have chosen Sundays. I tidy up and it feels good to get ready for the week.

4. Keep a running list of tasks that someone else could do. Eventually you’ll have enough to hire an assistant and your job description will be done!

5. Develop strategies to overcome obstacles that get in your way. No matter how big the mountain there is always a way over the top.