Sometimes I know I sound like a broken record when I talk to my clients, but I can’t help myself!

I know what it’s like to not be able to sleep due to fear and panic around money.  It’s not fun.

I guess I’ve become somewhat of an expert at beginning a small solo business, now that I have made every mistake in the book! I know how important it is to build a strong foundation first.

Do you freeze when someone asks you what you do?

One foundation piece involves developing a strong core marketing message and to know your niche clients inside and out. It doesn’t work well to only know them, sort of.  Sort of doesn’t pay the bills.

However, there is a process for figuring this out and it’s important to stick with it until you get that gut feeling that you’ve nailed it.

If your core marketing message isn’t quite there, it will affect your cash flow. You will get some business coming in without it just from your passion, but your passion will only go so far. You need passion and clear steps.

So why is your core marketing message so important and why is it one of the foundation pieces of your business?

•  You can’t build a good marketing plan without it.
•  You will confuse people and a confused person goes away.
•  You will end up offering the wrong products or services.

A core marketing messages has three components.

1. The strong but narrow niche group of people who you are speaking to.
2. Their problem, issue or strong desire that is a burning need for them.
3. The benefits they want and how it will make a huge difference to them.

You might be wondering, where you come in? What about your expertise?”

You are the specialist at helping the above people with their problem and the benefits they want.

Simple yes? Easy, not so much. Important? Absolutely.

What can make it easier?
Learn the steps and process instead of going around in circles.
Work on this with people who don’t have your blind spots.
Join the Leap Forward Program which includes tools, steps, process and huge support.

Take the free business self-assessment and learn more.

How confident are you with your core marketing message?

There’s tons of hype out there about how to build a six figure business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having this as a goal!

If you are going to work so hard, why not make “real” money?

You have likely heard of those success stories of people who went from zero to six figures in seven months. It is mouth watering and it makes you think anyone can do it.

Well, in theory anyone “could” do it that quick, but there are a ton of things that would need to be lined up for that to happen.

I know a woman who spent $20,000 she didn’t have, to attend a program that promised this outcome; plus the cost to fly there and stay in a fancy hotel.

However, at the end of the year she was still at the starting gate and felt discouraged.

A very small percentage meet that goal, and yet she ended up comparing herself to them and felt even worse.

I have to admit, at one time those programs grabbed my attention, but something always held me back. I have invested at least that much money in my business, so that’s not the issue. What I do know is that there are steps to building a business and it takes time to do it correctly.

If you are new in business- you might be thrilled to get to the first income level $50,000 a year. You wouldn’t be rich yet, but you would be building the foundation to grow from.

If you compare your business to building a house from scratch, the foundation level is the beginning. The six figure income  lives on the second floor.

The foundation is the most important piece.
• The foundation is the blueprint for the rest of the building.
• If you make big mistakes there, you will be having to deal with them constantly as you build higher.
• The mistakes have more  impact the taller the house gets.
• When the foundation is solid, it is much easier to add the next floors.

My advice to you, is to get it right at the beginning!

• Slow down and let go of your hurry to make money so fast.
• Make sure you don’t skip essential pieces in the foundation.
• Go for quality and value when you make decisions.
• Face your inner self-worth issues.
• Acknowledge your blind spots.

Do you want to know more about how to develop your  business blueprint in a step-by-step format?  Check out the Leap Forward Program.

Is your foundation blueprint built correctly? Take my free Business Self-Assessment to find out.

There’s tons of information and help out there about business planning, marketing and more, but still, people who are starting a new venture can get overwhelmed very quickly.

You have a great service to offer.
You help people to solve their problems.
And yet your challenge is to get your own business activated.

Maybe for some months you’ve been trying to do it all yourself, and yet you are aware of blind spots and it can feel discouraging.

It’s a smart to get help right away, otherwise it can feel confusing about where to focus your energy.

•  There is an actual proven system to follow where one action builds on the other.
•  It is important to be crystal clear on your intentions and goals for your business.
•  You can create a map, plan and set benchmarks to see and know you are on track.

If you are a therapist, designer, coach, writer, educator or a health and wellness practitioner, you probably have had very little business training and even if you have had some, when you begin your own business, it is another story.

• You own emotions will derail you.
• You feel desperate to make money and that can affect your decisions.
• You aren’t sure where to focus first.

If this sounds like you, the “Leap Forward Program” is perfect. We focus on helping you build your business with the core components that need to be put into place.

What are your answers to these questions?

Do you know exactly where you want to go?
What it will take for to get there?  Can you answer with a huge YES?

I hear people excitedly sharing about what they want to accomplish in the next year. Its an opportunity to reach new goals and push through barriers to success.

When asked what you want, it’s easy to state your dreams of more money, more clients and a freer lifestyle. That question is not so difficult to answer in general. It can be harder to be more specific and say exactly how much money, where it will come from and how many more clients.

The best question to ask is, “What is holding you back?”  What is going on inside of yourself that keeps you stuck in your familiar habits or ways of being? There is something comfortable and safe in just staying right where you are.

What you want often lives just outside of your comfort zone!

If you truly plan to double your income this year or triple it- what will it require? It can feel scary and overwhelming to shift into a new mindset. But that’s what it takes in order to make this jump.

Whatever it is you want to accomplish in your business has been done before by many, many people. So, it is not impossible. Everyone faces internal demons that want to hold you back. You are not alone. In fact, you already have overcome many, or you wouldn’t be where you are now!

The good news is that there is a formula for figuring out that “Right Question,” and then creating easy steps to get there. Here is the order:

1. Know specifically what you want.
2. Identify what fears or self-doubt hold you back.
3. Look at what you need to get past those feelings.
4. Begin mapping out simple steps.
5. Start with step one.
6. Breath.

If you follow these steps, before you know it, you will be moving forward. I am following my own advice and am working on the next piece of my own business plan. Let me know if you want to chat about it. My wish is that in 2012, we all leap forward together. Are you in?

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Build on your strengths.” It’s good, solid advice, but so easy to forget or ignore because you don’t quite know how to do it.

Here is a simple process for overcoming this common obstacle; how to shift your mind-set to do what feels hard.

I tend to vacillate between my two extremes. I focus on doing the things I am good at, and then I worry and stress about the stuff that’s a challenge.

In my case, the easy parts are marketing, customer service and anything creative, like writing or product development. I love doing things that involve directly communicating with and helping my clients. As a result, I have developed mastery in these areas.

All the back end parts like organization systems, live in the other end of the polarity. It took me awhile to figure this out I  love having everything neat and put away. I get a warm feeling when I walk into my office and the desk is clear and I know where everything thing is. However, this has happened maybe five times in the last five years

My solution is to over-compensate with tons of filing cabinets and I actually have it under control, but this isn’t the issue. I don’t do it easily and stuff piles up because I put it off.

Back to the question; how do I use my strengths to get me to be more excited about organizational tasks ?

On the surface it looks like my strengths are creativity and relationships. It can feel like a huge jump to marry this to cleaning my office and I have to really stretch to see any relationship connection to organizational tasks. However, I decided to dig deeper into my own psyche because I know the secret lives there.

It’s really about motivation. I have read tons of books on how to be organized but they are all written by people who are good at it and don’t have my issues. One book I do love is “The Color Code,”  by Taylor Hartman. Great book that helps you understand yourself and your motivations. He has an online personality test. I have done the long book version of this test multiple times and no matter how I answer the questions, I come out a Yellow.

Yellows are people who are motivated by fun. Organizing my office doesn’t feel fun to me. It feels tedious. The obvious question is, “How can I make this process fun?” When I look at my strengths, I have to ask what makes those  things fun?  The common denominator is communication. Marketing, customer fulfillment and product development are all about communication. I love any form of communication. It’s in my genes. It gives me a buzz. Organizing feels like work.

From that place it is easier to see a way to make that jump. It is about bringing the process of communication into organizational systems. It immediately feels more creative  Re-framing this transforms the whole process.

My example:  Motivated by  fun. Communication is my key. Marketing, customer service and writing are all about communication = fun. Organizational tasks = responsibility, tasks. work = not fun.  Shift: Organizational tasks = communication processes = more fun.

Your story will be different from mine but the process will work regardless. Here are the steps I followed to get from A to B.

1. Figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. You can use my nifty Whole Business pie chart process to help.
2. Make a short list of what you like  about your strengths.
3. Figure out what motivates you forward. Take The Color Code assessment to get help and find out your key.
4. Determine how your motivation operates in your strength and weakness areas.
5. What is one way you can bring that key that motivates you, into your challenged place?

This takes a bit of a focus to get your head around this. If you are a blue, you might feel confused but just breath! It works. Please come back and tell us what color you are and how this has made a difference.