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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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  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.

However there is always a positive side of every difficult situation.

I met a wonderful new Mac technician named Gene who I spent the day with as he slowly repaired my computer. During that time we chatted about one of my favorite topics, business and marketing.

He commented that for the first time in seven years in business, his sales are way down. I asked him how he markets himself and he admitted that he always had a steady flow of customers so marketing wasn’t important.

He was guilty of the number one cardinal thinking error in business, “I’m doing well, so I’ll keep doing well without needing to do marketing.”

Wrong! Look at Pepsi Cola and how much they advertise and market themselves. They never quit and in fact they look for new and cutting edge tactics.

Here are a few truisms about marketing, regardless if you are a computer techie or selling soda pop.

1. Never quit marketing.

2. Keep assessing who are your target clients and what motivates them.

3. Look for new and creative ways to reach those people.

4. Give away something of value in order to build the relationship.

5. Go where they are as well as inviting them to come to you.

Have you ever gone into your favorite shop and they have moved around all the departments and displays?  It gives a fresh new look even if the merchandise is the same.

So change your website regularly, re-arrange your office, put out new materials. Gene suggested he might send out postcards to his data base announcing a new product line.  Nice idea but  those kind of postcards get dropped in the recycling bin almost immediately.  It’s a waste of postage.

It’s only worthwhile to mail a postcard if there is a call to action that makes people hang it on their fridge; a free seminar, open house etc. You have to think like your potential customers and imagine what they will do. Make sure you learn about the seven steps to an impeccable marketing plan and get help so you will follow it!

The thing about appointments is that they take way longer than just the time of the meeting so it can feel like the day gets sucked up with even one appointment away from my office.

I’m sure many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Like yesterday, I met two people at a cafe at 1:30. It was an excellent meeting and I left the location at 3:45 and then stopped at the grocery store on the way back. When I arrived at my home office,  I checked my messages and e-mails and before I knew it the work day was over.

Another day with important stuff that didn’t get done. The solution: Schedule days with no appointments. Zero.  Today is one of those days.  It feels like my energy field is huge and expansive. I have managed to complete tasks that should have been done 30 days ago. it feels great.  I do one day per week like this. One day each week with no appointments.

The challenge is to stick to your commitment. It requires you to draw a line through that day in your book because otherwise, you’ll see the blank space and think you can fill it up. Try it and let me know how it feels.

Free is a four-letter word. It’s bold. It’s catchy. It’s memorable.
Free snags attention and helps us remember your offer.

Our ears perk up when we hear the announcer shout, “It’s Free!”
And so do our eyes: We want free gifts. Free time. A life free of hardship.

Free is also statistically proven to drive action.
That’s why the word gets used time and time again.

Free is not a silly, low-brow word…so how come it falls prey to “complimentary?”

The Case Against Complimentary:
It has 13 characters and five syllables. That makes it one of the longer words in everyday language. Swap it out for its synonym (free!) and your writing will flow smoothly.

It doesn’t pass the say it/write it test: We don’t go around telling potential customers that we offer a complimentary consultation – we tell them it’s FREE.  Rhythmic writing reads like the spoken word.

It’s easy to misspell: Swap the “i” out for an “e” and you could be talking about contrasting colors that, when blended, become neutral. Spell-check won’t catch that error, but your reader might.

Complimentary is a visual mouthful. You’ll never, ever see it in a headline…so why use it at all?

Not convinced? Check out the definition of the word:
Complimentary: Given free as a courtesy or favor.

More Tips for reluctant writers

You might be so used to going for it, and making decisions yourself, that when you’re faced with a larger challenge you just step on the gas and do more of what you’ve already been doing. More isn’t always better, and in fact,  it can sometimes be worse.

Let’s say you’ve spent a wad of money on advertising and get no results, so you decide to spend another wad and then another. Still no results. You begin to get a clue that there’s a problem. By now you’ve spent way too much money, so you’re also feeling a bit stressed and worried.

Is this a time to get help? Yes, but it would have been even better to get help before you spent the second wad of dough. However the very best time would have been at the beginning.  With the right support you could have analyzed your business and developed a marketing plan based on  logic with a system that works.

Why do entrepreneurs not get help at the beginning? They’re independent types and think they can do it themselves. The truth is that:

1. Most successful business owners ask for help.

2. Someone you trust will get you to think past your own limiting thoughts.

3. Operating from a plan is way better than throwing darts.

4. Every obstacle has a solution.

5. The most successful entrepreneurs will do whatever it takes!

My business has been like a full-time professional growth seminar. I am forced to look at my fears and insecurities everyday and face the demons inside. It would be so much easier to just have a job and collect a pay check, however we are a different stock of people. We thrive on the challenge of solving problems. A really successful entrepreneur says, “Bring them on!”

When a particularly hard problem comes up sometimes it can feel like just too much to deal with. Money stress is my biggest demon. I can handle everything else much easier. When that one hits I feel like I’m being pulled into a vortex and can lose my equilibrium.  There are actually three choices when faced with this level of challenge.

1. You can quit. No one says you have to stay in business. You have free choice to sell out or close up shop and get a job.

2. Climb in bed and pull down the shades.  Do nothing and avoid the issue. Not a great choice but we all do this every so often.

3. Take action and do whatever it takes to face the challenge, overcome the problem and be the success you are meant to be.

Remembering these three choices makes it easier. My committment is to choose number three and do whatever it takes, get up, make a plan and overcoming whatever obstacle seems to be in my way.

The truth is that some business owners are doing very well these days. What makes one business do well and another go belly up? There can be many reasons but here are a few thoughts on this mysterious question.

1.  Some businesses get attached to their products or services  and keep trying to figure out how to sell them even when it seems apparent that people don’t want them. They may be really good and amazing but that doesn’t mean people will reach their hand into their wallet and buy. The key is to have a variety of wares and not put all your eggs in one basket. Be willing to change your offering and/or add embellishments to attract more attention.

2.  Investing in your own business will keep it fresh and alive. I read an article recently about a woman who owns a little bookshop and made herself distinctive by having live music on Saturday nights. As soon as her sales began to drop she cut out the Saturday night music. This was a mistake because it was one thing that was working. Constricting and cutting too much can cut the heart out of your business. Investing in getting help, re-freshing and taking risks in  your own behalf is one thing that can make your business do well even in so called hard times.

3. Strengthen the weakest part of your business. It could be that you are focusing all your attention on  the areas you feel comfortable with and you are ignoring the areas you don’t enjoy. A web builder I worked with recently was spending all of her time on learning new skills and polishing her technical expertise. Her office was a mess, however, and her invoices were scattered. Once she tidied her office and put in organizational systems  that she could follow, her whole business began to pick up and she got so busy she had to hire an assistant.

Those are a few of my ideas.  All good businesses have strong vision and goals but it also is important to know how to overcome obstacles.  Maybe you have some of your own ideas that you could share.

Those piles of business cards you collected from networking events, miscellaneous papers that need filing, etc.  I suppose if you are an anal organizing type this won’t be your picture, but  I think most of you can relate.

You can imagine that good feeling of having everything wrapped up, tidied and completed before the new week begins. And then a wrench gets thrown in.

You wake up and just don’t feel inspired. You end up on your computer checking Facebook updates, reading Tweets, checking Craigslist for that perfect condo at the beach and your mess is still there. You look out the window and see a small square of sun and you think, “ok, as soon as I get everything done I’ll go out.” It reminds me a bit of being a kid and wanting to go out and play and mom saying, “after you clean your room.”  You try to convince her that you’ll clean it later after playing but she’s not convinced.

Ah, but you are the grown-up now and this means you can make your own rules. If you want to eat apple pie for dinner you can. So here are a few tips for breaking out of the Saturday morning slump.

1. First recognize that it is Saturday and if you’ve worked hard all week so give yourself a break.

2. Go out and do something fun first. When you come back you will feel much more energized.

3. Make a list of everything that you want to accomplish before Monday. Don’t make it too big as this is the weekend remember!

4. Visualize your office tidied up and all the little jobs done. Breath in that feeling and smile.

5. Have a nice cup of your favorite hot drink and write down everything you are grateful for. Feeling grateful will help you to change your attitude faster than anything.

I especially can see the change in my business (lower center) and it is a big awareness to see that all the business development work, marketing and organization I did last year, has paid off.

For my business, I realized that 2009, the inner or yin part is all about re-energizing my office, making space, changing the physical work space and allowing for business expansion and growth.

After completing my board, I stayed up until midnight remodeling my office, moving desks, wires, cleaning and creating a whole new energy of openness. That was all catalyzed by putting “new office” pictures on my board. It wasn’t until I began to build the board that I realized I even needed office pictures.

This is often how the process works.The experience of doing the board helps you to align what needs to happen.

On the yang side of my business, (upper center) it is all about productivity ( my word for the year) and circulation. The world is calling for my books and products to be more available as they are developed to help people to overcome obstacles in their own business. My first e-book will be in print this year.( watch this space).

With my past vision boards, I have always crammed the space full of pictures and words. This time there are open spaces. It might stay that way to allow for expansion or maybe something else needs to be added later. This is another difference and change that intrigues me.

Although my main focus is growing my business and helping other small business owners to grow theirs, using the Ba-gua as a guide for my board has helped me to see that all my life areas work together to bring balance and harmony in my life. My business is here to support my life, not the other way around.

If you have never done a vision board here is an easy step-by-step process.

1. Gather materials: lots of magazines, old calendars, greeting cards, photos,foam board, glue stick, scissors. Do it with a friend or two if you can.

2. Following your own process, get centered and make an intention, say your word for the year or just meditate for a few moments. You can pick a tarot card, sing, listen to music. Whatever works for you.

3. Begin to go through your magazines and cut out any pictures or words that jump out at you. Make a big pile. You won’t necessarily use them all but you won’t know until you get started. I think it works better to not try to control the process but allow the pictures and words to choose themselves.

4. Begin to arrange the pictures and words on your board. When it feels right, glue them down. Look for more pictures or words as needed. There is no right way to do this, only your way.

5. Share your completed board with your friend, mentor or mastermind buddies.

6. Hang it on the wall of your office where you will see it all year.

I used the Ba-gua as a guide for my vision board this year. I loved this process as it feels complete and harmonious, as each area of my life is represented with the appropriate colors and location.

Have you done your board? Take a picture of it and include it hear with your comments. I’d love to see it.

Anxiety, worry and stress are the common culprits. Often it’s around money but can also be a myriad of other issues that trigger these reactions.  They can side-track you from having a sharp and clear focus. When those feelings surface it’s very easy to get thrown off track and begin to make decisions from those places. Stress decisions will often be poor decisions and could cause more problems. Likewise, when you are anxious your anxiety will cause you to constrict and close off access to solutions.

I tend to be a worrier and it’s usually around money. Even when I have enough I can worry that I might not have enough next month. It is beyond logic but it will totally throw me of balance. For you. it might be something else, but remember being an entrepreneur does not mean you don’t have moments of  getting off track.

The important thing is to know what to do when this happens.  What you want it to keep your focus sharp and on task so you can take steps to fill in the puzzle pieces  easily and keep your business whole and complete.

Here are a three key things you can do when those emotions pop up.

1. Get out of your office and walk somewhere in nature. Breathing in fresh air and moving your body will allow you to come back into a place of calmness where your intuition and clarity will re-surface.

2. Find someone you trust to talk to. This needs to be someone who is positive and someone who believes in you. Someone whose presence will make you feel calm and empowered.

3. Look at your vision board, your mission statement or whatever you have that will remind you why you are doing your business. Remembering can bring you back to that place and put you back on track.

Part of being an entrepreneur is staying at the helm, being a leader and being able to calmly overcome obstacles when they arise. What are some other strategies that you use that have helped you when you really needed it?