There are so many issues that are “women’s” issues.  Not to say that men never feel similar ways, but they are – different. I am not an expert at men. They are often a mystery to me. However, I do understand women entrepreneurs.

At one time I thought all the issues I had were unique to me. I realized that many, many women felt the same way and they could understand and empathize as well. What a gift.

There are some common things that block women from being a strong leader of their businesses and as a result, being wildly successful! Have you ever felt any of these ways?

1. Self-doubt that makes you either freeze or make really poor decisions.

Not being sure about something is not the same as self-doubt, which is all about you and your ability, your skill or your basic worthiness.

2. Afraid to take risks in your business. You don’t want to get more into debt or are unsure of being able to handle whatever it is. Without taking risks you stay stagnant and then wonder why your business isn’t growing.

3. You become emotionally attached to doing what you love and your identity is tied up with your profession. Instead you need to identify as a business owner first and then do whatever it takes to get yourself and your business strong.

In order to feel highly confident, take risks to shift and change and to wear the hat of a leader of your business, you need to find those cool new boots and step into them with a strong purpose.

One thing that can help to do that is to amass a strong team of other women in business who understand and will challenge, support and celebrate you and your success. Women are community oriented and need to connect with other women. Women who will see the strong leader in you!

If you work alone this becomes even more essential.

Does this resonate with you? If it does you and I are on the same wave length!

Do you have a team of women on board to challenge and support you and to offer you really good feedback?

If you are searching and wanting to find that community with a group of other strong entrepreneurs then say YES and make it happen. Take the risk, listen to truth instead of self-doubt and decide you are worth it.

Awake Women Visionary Mastermind Program
If you feel a strong YES!

It leaves you feeling confused and off-track.  It is actually a perfect metaphor for Halloween week!

When I began my very first small business many moons ago, I was sure I was the only one who had such huge self-doubts that rumbled around in my head.

I questioned my ability and secretly thought I was a fraud.

At the same time I wanted people to buy my products. I wanted to be successful.  I was like a yoyo.

Some of the ways that self-doubt manifests include:

•  Not knowing how to charge the correct price.
•  Worried that people won’t like your work.
•  Afraid that clients will reject you.
•  Comparing yourself to others who you think are better.
•  Feeling guilty for investing in yourself.
•  Not knowing how to make good decisions.

The list can go on but you get the idea. If you feel even some of the things on this list, your business has got to be suffering. It’s like running a race with your shoe laces tied together. Self-doubt ties you up and then you have to spend all your energy to just not fall over.

Luckily there are cures for this ailment. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?  Are you desperate enough to get help?

1. Find a mastermind group of other small business owners. As you share, you will discover you are not alone. You will also realize that your assumptions are all wrong when you begin to hear from others.

2. Find someone who sees more in you than you see in yourself. That person will challenge you and get you to stop making decisions from your self-doubt. When you are in a low place it can feel very real. Someone else can shake you out of your trance.

3. Develop a business vision/plan based on what your confident-self feels is possible. It might look scary but the plan can over-ride some of the doubts.

4. Begin to notice the two parts of your psyche. One feels unsure and the other feels confident. Focus on doing things to make the confident part larger. This can include the way you dress, how your office feels,  the people you hang out with and more. Choose things that are positive and supportive.

5. Take a risk to do something to invest in yourself. Make it something big. The bigger the risk, the larger the pay off.

By the way, self-doubt is like an addiction. You can gain mastery over it and then you have to keep on doing these five things for the rest of your life.  Are you willing?

I thought if I had only been born into a family of successful people, those mindset values would have been passed down to me and I would automatically be able to make the right decisions, take the correct risks and turn mud into gold.

Maybe you’ve had similar thoughts.

I wondered if my fate was pre-determined by my genes. But there are people like Oprah, who are born into poverty and are able to develop those leadership and traits in themselves by pure determination and focus.

I do think there are some characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset. They can be developed! One of those is the ability to intuit or trust information or feelings that come to you even if you don’t see any visible truth.

I was moved by this quote by Steve Jobs and it reminded me one of the most important and essential entrepreneurial traits; that aptitude to trust your gut feeling and nurture the ability to listen on those deeper and less visible levels.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

I got a buzz when I read this because it gave validity to what I know I can do. When I began to trust that those dots would connect, it changed the whole way I ran my business.

I know that what I am doing now and how I do it, will make a difference in the my future and what I did in the past  has helped me to be where I am now. Steve reminded me to strengthen my commitment is to listen more and take heed to what I hear.

Move past your self doubt and begin to trust yourself!

How much do you look connect your dots?
Are you able to trust that those dots will appear in your future?

I would love to hear from you.

It was a huge endeavor. I compare it to remodeling a house. I’ve done that as well, and although it wasn’t fun, the end result was so worth it.

I feel the same about this process. I am thrilled with my new site and new look!  It feels great and the fact that it is done and live is the best part!

In the world of the internet, my site was old and out-dated. It was built five years ago and although I updated content and did some other adjustments along the way, the basic look was “old.”  I wanted a more contemporary site and one that reflected my business more authentically.

This new site does all of these things. The good content hasn’t changed but the presentation is now so lovely, the navigation works better, plus lots of new bells and whistles. I would love to have all of your kudos.  Please share anything with me in the comments below. I would so appreciate it!

I am going to share a few things I learned through this process that might help you if you embark on the same journey.

1. Hire the right web developer to make it happen. Don’t pick someone because they are cheaper. Pick someone because they get it, communicate easily,  keep deadlines and will be calm when you are flipping out.

2. Expect to pay more than you planned. An estimate  will state very clearly what it includes, but in truth, you may not  actually understand what that all means that point. (I didn’t, and I am somewhat smart . Until you are immersed in the project, you may not realize you need some extras beyond that estimate. It is just the way it is. It was like that when I built my house too. You have to look at it as an investment in your business that will have a return later.

3. Hire the right person for each part of the job. I wanted to change my site presentation and also improve my logo. Most of the time web developers are not also graphic artists. I hired both and as a result my site is top quality. Don’t skimp as this is such an important investment. The colors on my site were taken from the adobe photo above. It communicates “inspiration,” to me and the hues on my site reflect this energy.

4. Use the process as an opportunity to offer even more wonderful content and help to your niche clients. It’s important to provide ways for people to get involved and find help on every page!

5. I Love some of the new options like the big footer with up-coming events listed and my new blog posts. Things like this were not available five years ago. Check out the cool Facebook updates in the side bar here! Look at other websites and see what works. Think expansively. This is a new opportunity.

I especially give thanks to Jocelyn Mozak who built this site and was so  easy to work with, and Kathleen Krushas who was a master at designing the presentation. What a powerful team! Let me know if I can help any of you through this process. I have learned so much in this experience.  I invite you to look at every page and  thanks so much for leaving your comments below.

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Having a service that you love and you know helps people, is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. In fact, it is even smaller than tiny.

A strong business requires good products and services but that alone won’t create a lucrative business.

Do these three things and watch what happens!

1. Plant seeds. Make sure you have seeds that are healthy, perfect for your climate and will grow easily in abundance. Do you want to have a bigger, more lucrative business?. Make sure you plant seeds that are the best ones, perfect for your garden and will grow easily in abundance.

Plant a variety of seeds so you have many beautiful plants that work together to grow a large, prosperous garden. Some may not work out, but others will take off. Your seeds are your products and services and fulfill a burning need for your customers.Your seeds are also your business systems that once are in place will have strong roots and provide stability.

2. Weed your garden. Let go of plants that are using up all the energy and nutrients but not providing the garden you want. Pull them out by the roots and let go of your attachment to them. Throw them in the compost and allow them to transform and leave your garden space open for the seeds you really want to grow.

Weeds will strangle your business if you don’t keep them pulled out. They can  be clutter, poor money management, attachment to services that don’t work, and poor habits.

3. Fertilize and water. Nurture your garden with loving help and focused decisions. Use the best fertilizers and remember to water them as needed. If you don’t have time, hire a gardener to help.

In your business this can involved investing in support services, a bookkeeper, coach, assistant or mastermind group. It can mean taking the time to do the tasks that are important but not urgent, like creating your marketing plan and following it, doing strategic planning and keeping things in order.

If you do all three of these things, your garden will grow abundantly and you will have prosperity plants and provide beautiful help to many, many people.

You have probably found yourself spending most of your time trying to figure out how to run your business and get more of those wonderful clients to help. It has probably pushed you right to your edge and more than once you have wondered if you should just quit!

I just watched this wonderful video of Bene Brown. Although she is a social worker and not talking about small business at all, some of her ideas totally relate!

You began your business of helping people for connection and wanting purpose and meaning. You wanted to make a difference.

When your business has struggled and not enough clients come through your door, you began to feel shame and not worthy. ( at least I did!)

A natural reaction to shame is to wanting to hide and not be seen. If you do that your business won’t grow and you will stay small and constricted. ( I could get an award for shame!)

In order to develop worthiness, it is necessary to be vulnerable, and know that being vulnerable is real and authentic! It takes courage to do that, but from that place, you will be able to stay tapped into to your original purpose of wanting to connect and help people. If you are busy hiding, that’s where your energy will be- hidden.

Once you are ok with being vulnerable it is way easier to be seen. And you know what? People trust people way more when they are real, authentic and vulnerable.

A very important part of marketing is “telling your own story.” If you stay hidden  no one can connect with you and you separate yourself from your clients. Your own story of struggle, pain and overcoming obstacles will allow people to see you.

Special- for women entrepreneurs- connect with other women, overcome your own tendency to want to  hide and learn how to tell your story and lead your business from that strong place.

I love my friend Michael Beck’s quote “People are attracted to you by who you are, rather than what you do…”

So, be real, authentic, vulnerable and make your business decisions from that place!

Without wearing the leader hat, many solo business owners never get around to developing a vision or plan. They just hang out a shingle and start right out  trying to get clients, then  get upset and frustrated when no new clients show up right away.  In fact, instead of being a leader, they are operating from their money stress and self-doubt.

Leaders know that it takes months to envision, research and plan a business and can take even longer to begin making money. Without that plan, you will:

• Make bigger decisions off the cuff without the foundation plan to support them.

• Operate from self-doubt and avoid taking too big of risks in order to  stay in your comfort zone.

• Make decisions based on the desperate need to have cash flow and will jump around trying this and that and not give anything enough time to grow.

The leader looks at all parts of the whole business and keeps a check in each area. Part of being a leader is getting  help from experts and learning to act from a larger perspective, rather than a momentary reaction.

Leaders stretch and grow, they look at their business from a wide overview. In order to be a strong leader of your business,  it is important to find a mastermind group or a coach, do strategic planning sessions with your team and develop new goals and time lines. Without being a leader your business will never move out of the struggle mode and you will never be able to take calculated risks for growth.

What do you need to do to develop yourself into the leader you want and need to be?

In fact, this issue throws most solo-business owners into a tail spin. As your business grows, you become busier and often unprepared.

•  The work piles up and you begin working more and more hours.
•  Some things fall through the cracks and don’t get done or you forget to do them.
•  Your office becomes an organizational nightmare.

If this sounds familiar you are needing to develop new systems to support your growth.  I’ve worked with many clients who unconsciously keep themselves small in order to stay in control. It is not uncommon for people to feel that:

•  No one else can do the work as well as they can.
• They have no time to train someone else.
• They don’t have the money to pay someone else.
• There are no written systems – it’s all in their head.
• They feel unsure how to manage someone else.

If you can relate to the above lists then you need to make a big change in your business structure in order to pave the way for your business to grow.

Here are a few suggestions.

1.  Isolate one or two jobs that you would like to be able to give to someone else.
2. Begin to keep a running list of all the tasks associated with this job.
3. Notice how much time you spend on these tasks each week.  Add those times to your list.
4. Look for someone who you can hire for just a few hours per week to do this one job.
5. Look at this as a learning in how to manage someone.
6. Hire an intern who is willing to work in exchange for your help. Your intern can also learn about management in the process.

When you change your focus from, ” I can’t,” to “I must find a way,” the opportunities will appear and you will make time to grow your business, not just run it.

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.

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.

As a business owner, your mental and/or emotional state can have a huge effect on your productivity, your relationships and your business as a whole.

It could be that you wake up one Monday morning and just feel depressed. You don’t want to get out of bed, you don’t want to be creative, deal with employees or face the tasks that need to be done.

Owning a business is similar to being married. When things are sunny and happy, you love each other and it feels great,  you are energized and passionate. But sometimes things feel blah and the passion has gone out the window. Everything your partner does irritates you and you just want to be left alone. The choice you make at this moment is pivotal.

You can choose to stay in the dark place and be grumpy or you can choose to do whatever it takes to change your state of mind. The first step is to be aware of the fact that you have this choice.  You are not at the mercy of your emotions. You can choose what you want and how you want to be.

Here are a few tips that can help any business owner to move into a more empowered place and choose how to begin your day and how to relate to your business.

1. Remember your business vision. If you have done a vision board, take a few moments to look at it. It will remind you who you really are and what you are creating.  My own vision board has words like, “clear vision, lose yourself in the magic, be lifted to your higher self and we hear you”. When I read those words it reminds me of how I felt when I wrote them.

2. Energize your physical space. Clean your office, get fresh flowers, move furniture, light a candle, play uplifting music or anything that will help to change the energy on the physical level. Just the act of doing this will affect your state of mind and will help you to move out of a doldrum.

3. Contact your mentor or a close friend and share. Just talking to someone who is a good listener can make a huge difference. Depression lives inside and when you begin to talk,  it moves the energy outward and brings you back in touch with your life force.

4. Make a list of what you want to accomplish this week. Write it on a white board so you can easily erase things as you complete them. Creating your list is good because it is concrete and will get you thinking about what you need to do.  Right action is energizing and can get you moving.

5. Acknowledge all you are grateful for in your life and business. Give appreciation to people who have supported you and cared about you. Give thanks to everything good that has come your way.

Now breath, smile and move forward in your day and week with a positive state of mind.

When I first heard this I felt like I wanted to crawl into a cave because my money management was atrocious. I never really knew how much I had (or didn’t have was more accurate). I just checked my bank balance every so often  and made sure I was still in the black.

My mental space was filled with creative and visionary ideas.  Money management seemed boring and a sure way to pop my helium balloon. Harv also said, “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.” I woke up and I realized that ¨until I began to clear out the money cobwebs I would stay in a place of struggle.

Here are a few typical types of money clutter and how to clear them out permanently.

1. Fear of really looking at your accounts and knowing what’s going in and out. This is an irrational fear that once you know it will be horrible. Avoiders  want to steer clear of fear at all cost because it is uncomfortable.  As a result, bills stack up, mail is left unopened or not dealt with properly and you never have an accurate picture of your money.

Solution: Become an excellent money manager. Check your accounts regularly and deal with stuff immediately. Get a good bookkeeper and put systems in place.

2. Spending money on impulse. As soon as you get some money coming in you think of ways to spend it on “stuff.” Some of the stuff could be useful but mainly it’s fun to spend it and it makes you feel prosperous.

Solution: Create a special account for play money and put 5-10% of your earnings in there each month. Spend that on fun stuff. Before you buy something you need for your business ask yourself, “Do I really need this?”

3. Worry that the money flow will dry up. When you are in business you depend on a stream of new business and your customers to pay you on time. Worry can clutter your mind and stop your creative process.

Solution:  Substitute worry thoughts for positive thoughts and keep your attention focused on what you need to do to provide excellent customer service and good value. Develop a solid marketing plan.

4. Unrealistic money goals. You know you want to earn more money but you never have actually sat down and did a strategic plan of how to get there. There are holes in your plan and you keep doing the same mistakes over and over.

Solution: Develop a business plan that gives you a clear map to how to reach your money goals. Get help if you don’t know how to do this.

5. Poverty consciousness. You feel unworthy and disabled. Maybe you are uncomfortable asking for money and receiving it. You don’t know how to close sales. Your clients sense your discomfort and don’t want to be around you. You feel small and make decisions from that place.

Solution:  Begin to hang around prosperous people and change your behaviors. Let go of staying small. Stretch out of your comfort zone as this is the only way you will grow.

Follow these five things are you will begin to  eliminate your money clutter and open the space for prosperity.

This intense desire is what allows you to break out of  your strictly structured pattern  in order to reach a new goal.

It’s this quality that is present when you initiate a new direction in your life, a new business. It’s exciting and passionate and will over-ride your fears and self-doubt. Many solo-business owners begin their business from this place. Without the burning desire it would be way too scary.

However, sometime down the road, things can feel too hard and you forget the intensity of your original desire. When you are off guard, the fears and self-doubts can begin to creep in and sabotage your energy. It can feel like you are crashing head-on into a wall.

At this point, your attitude becomes paramount in importance. When faced with this kind of crisis, small business owners have three choices.

1. Avoid  Stay in bed and under the covers. Although this might feel safe temporarily, it is deadly to do this more than a day, as the longer you hide away, the stronger becomes your fears.

2. Run away.  Decide to quit. You feel like a small child and you just want to go back to your old life where it felt predictable and there is less chance of failure. It is never a good idea to make a decision to quit when you are in the middle of a crisis.

3. Do whatever it takes. Take action. Get off your behind and get help. Make yourself remember your original desire and make decisions from that place. All successful entrepreneurs make this choice. They choose life over death.

Which of the three choices do you want to make? Don’t wait until you are in a crisis. Nurture the attitude of number three all the time, everyday. Make that your mantra and part of your operating manual. Once that attitude takes hold, it will be a guiding star in the face of any crisis.

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.

I remember my first year in business when  the flow had slowed down to a trickle and then almost stopped at one point. I  felt  hopeless, fearful and anxious. When I added a bit of self-judgment to that mix it was a sad sight.

What do you do when this happens? Quit, get a job, go into a cave?

Nothing is wrong or bad about quitting but that decision needs to be made in a place of empowerment and not in the face of fear.   It’s actually an excellent time to re-prioritize your business plan of action and goals.

1. Are you 100% commited to your business?  If your answer is anything less than 100% it’s important to look at what is making it less and what you need to do to bring it back to 100%.

2. Re-do your marketing plan so it is clear and targeted to exactly who you want to work with. Come up with ways to communicate with them that get’s their attention. Offer something of value for free to get them through the door.

3. Review your whole business plan and make sure you are on track of where you are now and where you are wating to go.

4. If you are in a funk make sure you get help. When you make important decisions from a place of fear they are never good. A good mentor will help you to stay objective and make decisions from a place of empowerment.

5. Do one positive thing for your business today and another one tomorrow. Keep watering and weeding your garden and it will flourish before your eyes.

Adam@home, by Brian Basset, is one of them. I certainly can relate to the challenges of running a business from home.

Whether you are operating a lemonade stand like these kids, or a retail store it’s important to understand the principle of adaptation and flexibility. You may have a really good quality product and give great service but if  your customers can’t find you, you have to find them. Here are a few good tips to remember.

1. Don’t  get too attached to anything in your business. Things change and you have to be willing to change as well. Business that stay stagnant are the ones that disappear.

2. Remember the message of  the “Survival of the Species.” The businesses who let go and adapt are the ones who stay in business. When the health food fad started, McDonald’s put in a salad bar.

3. Look outside of your own office or shop. Notice what’s happening around you and offer products that speak to that pulse or need.

When the recession hit, I realized that small businesses would be in a great position as long as they could adjust their business plan and be willing to invest in their business. As a business owner, you have control over your job security.  Adaptation and flexibility need to be your best friends.

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.

“We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We’re the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their ‘shock and awe’ campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.”

How does this translate to running a business? If you are always pushing to make your pitch, get a sale or trying to convince people to work with you, you are missing the opportunity to build relationships and learn more about who they are and what they can teach you.  In this way, your clients and employees are your teachers.

1. Find out what makes them tic.

2. Discover what they desire and need.

3. Learn about how you can help them.

4. Notice how they interact.

5. Ask to be taken into their world.

Strong relationships are the cornerstone of business. Without  doing that part first, not only will you get less done but you won’t build a strong team to move forward with you. The very first step of a good marketing plan is to know your customers first.  The same goes for employees. It’s all about focus and clarity.  If you want loyal people who are invested in your business, you have to begin with three cups of tea.

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!

You’re at a networking group and people are doing their 60 second elevator speeches. Laurie begins by saying, “Hi, I’m Laurie and I ‘m a graphic artist and I can design your marketing materials.

A few minutes later Jennifer introduces herself and says, “Hi I’m Jennifer and I own ABC graphic arts and we provide for all of your marketing needs”.

What’s the biggest difference you notice between these two speeches? One person is a graphic artist and the other owns a graphic arts business.  How does it feel different when someone says “I,” as opposed to “we”? It feels like Laurie does everything herself  whereas it sounds like Jennifer has a staff and a team.

Laurie is likely to accept jobs based on what she can do herself; her skill level and her time. Jennifer may not even be an artist herself. Maybe she is a manager and hires people to do all the work. Who is likely to say  yes more often?  Jennifer will,  because she’ll find someone who knows how to do the job even if she can’t herself.

I order to move from self-employment to business you need to let go of the idea that you do everything yourself. You can hire someone, contract with someone or develop an allaince with somone, but whatever your choice, say yes whenever you can and then find a way to meet the needs of your clients.