I met with a small group of entrepreneurs last week and as people shared about their business, one thing everyone had in common was a feeling of overwhelm when it came to business planning. Each person could easily state some goals they wanted to accomplish, but the next part got foggy.

One thing I noticed was that the goals were usually big and very general, and therefore overwhelming. It’s one thing to have a goal and quite another thing to know how to reach that goal and make it real. Here is a simple three step process that will help you to make it more manageable and therefore attainable.

1. Vision
Create a crystal clear vision of what you want to attain. The more details the better. The process of making a vivid vision will force you to work out the unclear parts. If you were building a house, you would need to have detailed blueprints to follow. Your goal needs to be just like that; a blueprint of where you want to be and what you want to develop.

2. Plan
Once you have the vision, the next part is to write out a step-by-step plan of what needs to happen. “I need to call this person, get this information, complete this project, hire this person etc.” This is sort of a to do list of everything you can think of that would help to bring this vision into completion.

3. Action
It is one thing to have a goal and vision with the knowledge of what you need to do, and quite another thing to actually take action and do it. The first thing is to identify the obstacles in yourself  that are keeping you from taking action. How will you face these obstacles and what is the first action you will take. That first action will begin a domino effect and get you going.

You can use this simple formula for anything you want to accomplish.

Facing mental blocks is part of the process of being an entrepreneur. You feel stuck, confused, frustrated, blocked or any other descriptive word; it still boils down to a mental block. It’s the apparent inability to move from point A to point B.

This week I spoke to two business owners who were dealing with this issue. One person said her business was ticking along just fine and now she wants to grow to the next level but doesn’t know how. She feels frozen and not clear where to go or how to get there.

Another business owner says he seems to be stuck at a certain level of income.  No matter how much marketing he does he can’t seem to make more money. He asked what he is missing?

One mark of a strong entrepreneur is to be able to boldly confront these mental constructs and find new creative ways to break through.

Here are 5 actions that can help.

1. Acknowledge that you are in fact, missing something. You are used to seeing things in a certain way, so you need to see from a new vantage point.

2. Do a mind-mapping of your issue. Take a large sheet of paper and write down your issue in the center in a circle and then fill the page with every possible solution you can think of,  even if it seems stupid. So called stupid ideas are often a doorway out of your box.

3. Sign-up for a class or a seminar that is interactive and will give you a new perspective and help you to learn some new strategies.

4. Figure out what you are afraid of that may be holding you back. Fear can be sneaky. Acknowledge the fear and look for what you need to get past it.

5. Acknowledge your strengths and look at how you can use those strengths to grow in your weaker areas.

Know you are not alone. If you never experience mental blocks you are not growing. You do have a choice in what you do. Taking action can be your first step to clear your focus.

It’s  about  impossible to run a business without regularly experiencing mental blocks. It’s just part of the deal.

A mental block is like it sounds; a blocked mind. You know you need to do something but your mind says, no and you feel tangled or stuck.  Sometimes you can feel just like a frustrated child who feels unable to do whatever needs to be done.

Other times you just feel unequipped, stupid, afraid, out of your depth or blocked. This happens regularly for me in my business. If something feels hard I just want to ignore it and do something else. Why not? Who wants to struggle if you  don’t have to?

Some typical mental blocks business people experience:

Can’t think of how to write my web content.
Don’t know how to organize my files.
Quickbooks seems too hard.
How to tell people about a new product.
Schedule is a mess and am forgetting things.
Need to write a good sales page
Computer isn’t working right.
Software won’t install correctly.

The list goes on but I think you get the idea. It’s important to know how to overcome obstacles and mental blocks so you can keep moving forward in spite of  being challenged.  Here are a few things to help.

1. Get up and move.  Go for a walk or change your environment. This will shift your energy and break up the ice berg.

2. Start the process even if you  think you don’t know how. Sometimes just beginning will open the floodgates and new inspiration will float in.

3. Talk to someone you trust and share how you are feeling.  If someone can just listen, just the process of talking can move you through feeling stuck.

4. Play baroque music in that it helps your mind to let go and feel energized and more open and creative.

5. Get help. Sometimes it’s good to ask someone to do it for you. A good business person knows when to hire a professional to help.

So, the issues aren’t the problem. All business people experience these challenges. The important thing is to not get upset, know what to do and be willing to do whatever it takes.

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.