1.  I have a business that  I love!

2.  All the amazing people I have helped. What a gift!

3.  My community of creative, inspiring people all doing their own business ventures.

4.  My sharp, creative mind that can write things of value.

5.  My husband and son who both support and believe in me and what I am doing.

6.  My little dog, Poppet who lets me work even though she wants to play.

7.  My business team who have helped me grow my business. ( you know who you are)

8.  My health, vitality and energy.

9.  Mark, who has left me his cubbies and desk and is still helping me to be organized.

10. My ability to make money doing what I love.

Last  weekend, I was in Eugene, Oregon visiting family and I went to the wonderful  Holiday Market, filled with very high quality handmade pottery, fiber art, jewelry, woodwork, glass art and more.  Excellent artists and  a lovely event.

When I first arrived I spied a booth that had some stunning earrings that caught my eye. I loved them immediately. Since I was just visiting for the weekend and with my husband who isn’t much of a shopper,  I asked for her card, thinking I might look on her website and buy later. Earrings for me are like shoes for some “girls.” I love gorgeous earrings.

So I asked for her card and she said she wasn’t even sure she had any cards. She finally dug around and found one. She handed it to me,  and I was surprised to see that it was very homemade, poor quality and not a very professional presentation. I would have expected any artist to have an attractive. artsy card. It immediately made me wonder if she was a fly by night business.

Next, I noticed there was no website on her card. When asked, she admitted that she in fact, didn’t have one. I didn’t hide my surprise, and handed her the card back, as the only reason I wanted it was for her web address. I told her I loved her work and wandered off.

Her last mistake was in letting me walk away.  I wanted her to stop me  but she didn’t ask me for my contact information. If  she had done so she could have contacted me later when she got her website up, or sent me an e-mail, anything rather than let a potential customer just walk away. I didn’t feel important to her.

She was like many, many talented people who begin to make a business out of their art or skill. They focus entirely on their products and miss the boat on marketing. You don’t need customers to create beautiful art, but without customers you won’t have a business.

A successful entrepreneur knows to focus on marketing as much as products, learns the correct strategies to connect with their potential customers and follows a marketing plan that allows their business to grow and flourish. Don’t make the same mistake she did!

If you are frustrated that your business is  just not growing  as fast as you want it to,  you might be ready for a Business Breakthrough!

When people ask you, “What do you do?,” are you confident  because you clearly know  what to say and how to say it, or do you freeze up or get nauseous,  talk too much or too little, and then walk away feeling bad, having made no progress toward getting new clients?

I used to talk way too much as a cover up for my insecurity. I fumbled around and people looked uncomfortable and I ended up feeling  horrible.

But then I figured out the secret, and learned to be confident and empowered in those situations and people would say, “Gosh, I want to work with you and you are just what I need.” It was like magic- the change. a huge ah ha moment.

I can teach you the exact formula so you can have your Breakthrough as well,  and this will affect every part of your business marketing, not just your “commercial.”

Here is a sneak preview that I freely share with you. You need to be able to answer these four questions. Simple, not so easy, but so important.

1. Who is your favorite client to work with?
2. What is their problem and how does it make them feel?
3. What is your specialty that helps them?
4. What benefits do they receive?

Follow this formula for your business and try it out. Notice how people respond. This is the first step to a huge positive change in getting more clients.

I attend lots of networking groups and have observed how people act and present themselves. Always, at the beginning, people are invited to give their elevator speech and introduce themselves and their business.

I often cringe or get embarrassed when people begin, because I see every mistake in the book. In an effort to be helpful I have shared a few things not to do and also what you can do instead.

1. Don’t stay seated when it’s your turn to speak.
When you stay seated you present yourself as  small and less empowered.  If other people are short or sitting further down the row from you, they won’t be able to see you at all. It’s so important to be seen as well as heard. Stand up and take ownership of  the space for that moment. When you stand. you command more empowerment and people feel that energy.

2. Don’t blab on on on.
Often people speak too long and try to say everything they can think of about their business and products. It begins to sound like a used car salesman pitch rather than an introduction. Instead say WHO your ideal clients is,  WHAT their problem or issue is, and  HOW they might benefit from your service or product. No more. It’s all about your clients, not about you.

3. Don’t use your cell phone.
You might think you can multi-task and text while you listen, but in fact it doesn’t work. The most important part of networking is listening to the other people, smiling and showing interest. If you are busy sending text messages it’s actually rude and people will feel that you really are not present. Turn off your phone so you won’t be disturbed by a call coming in. Unless your child is in the hospital, you don’t need your phone on and in that case you would likely not even be at the meeting!

When you really begin to understand how marketing works, you can build strategies that work for your business and learn the skills to  implement those strategies. It’s not hard and can make a huge difference in your business. Can you relate to any of the issues I shared?

Last week I  talked with to two different solo business owners who said they had lost the passion for their business.

In both cases they had worked hard for many years, put in blood sweat and tears and in the end,  the poor  financial return had affected their motivation to keep going. It reminded me of the job putting a big garden, doing the hard physical work and then seeing the crop yield poor. Very discouraging!

What was similar about both of these women is that they had a home based business,  not enough support and  felt a sense of isolation.

Passion and life force is something that needs to be “tended,”  It needs good soil , sunshine and love. Here are a five essential supports to help grow your business garden.

1. Mentor
A mentor is someone who listens and supports you, is positive, encouraging and can help you sort out issues and make decisions. Successful business owners have many mentors throughout their business life.

2. Mastermind group
This is a small group of five-six business owners who meet regularly and support each other, share their goals, learn from each other and build on each person’s strengths.

3. Community
All business owners need community in their local area. This often comes in the form of networking groups that meet regularly. as that offers the ability to build strong relationships. Online is good but nothing is a substitute for face-to-face meeting.

4. Inspiration
Everyone needs inspiration and this can come in the form of books, tapes, classes, webinars, videos and anything that brings you inspiration.

5. Spirit
This will take a different form for each person but it includes meditation, yoga, church, chanting. It can also include  anything that lifts your spirit and makes you feel connected to a greater purpose.

These five supports are good for everyone, but especially important for people who are running their own business. They will help you to keep your passion intact and your business life force strong.