What is the one big thing you want to accomplish by the end of next week?

I like to begin each week with this question because I know the week will get busy with all kinds of demands, but if I am able to focus on one main goal I will feel successful when Friday rolls around.

Especially for solo business owners this  focus is essential. The reason most people struggle is the lack of focus. It’s easy to feel pulled in a million directions, have too much information swimming around in your in your head and lose track of your purpose.

Lack of focus can cause small business owners to lose momentum.
Having a clear focus can increase productivity in these five ways.

1. It will decrease the chances of mistakes. Having a clearer mental focus will help you to slow down and do each job well.

2.  Focusing will help you to overcome obstacles that might seem impossible to deal with. There is always a solution if you have the ability to clearly focus.  This will allow the solution to appear.

3. It will keep you on track with your overall plan instead of feeling like a leaf in the wind. It can be fun to be a leaf sometimes, but in order to accomplish a goal, focus is essential.

4. Focusing allows you to move from the superficial to going deeper into a project. This deeper process is not only more stimulating, but will give you much more quality results.

5. You will have that sweet sense of accomplishment of putting out an intention and then actually meeting that goal.

At the beginning of each week, put forth one clear focus intention that you want to accomplish by Friday. Allow the magic to happen.

Today is Winter Solstice and the darkest, shortest day of the year. The energy of the darkness is a perfect time to let go of what you no longer need and and any attachments that are no longer supporting your success.

Here are a few good questions to ask yourself. These questions can help you to move your business forward.

1. What is holding you back from your greatness?
2. What obstacle can you dissolve?
3. What is one thing that you are ready to let go of?

When you get your answer ask yourself if you are ready to let this go. If you are, the next part is to write it clearly on a sheet of paper, read it aloud and then light a match to it. Watch it burn away into the darkness and the light of the fire will transform it into the success you want in the new year.

This may seem a bit airy-fairy to some of you, but these rituals do help you to move past your own limitations so you can accomplish all that you desire and empower yourself to develop the successful business you are meant to have.  I had a group of corporate executives do this exact ritual ( we called it a process) and the mental shifts in the group were phenomenal.

Find a couple people to do it with. You can each read your “letting go” piece and the group energy can add to the power of the ritual. Have fun bringing your greatness into the new light.

This morning I received a lovely e-mail from my friend Stacy and she shared  four ways to deal with her own personal challenges. These came from  Sally Conway.  I loved what she wrote and decided to share them with all of you. They can be used in any situation that challenges your sense of power and inner balance.

You’ve probably heard me say this before, “Owning a business is like a constant personal growth process.”

I remember attending an “est” training in the 1975. For those of you born later, it was an intense  personal transformation training offered by Werner H. Erhard,  It was all about learning personal empowerment in a very charged and challenged situation. It wasn’t fun, but growthful and I came out feeling I had been rung through a ringer.

Some weeks of being a business owner can feel just like this. Certainly, most of the time I love what I do and feel grateful for what I  have accomplished.

However, other times there are inner conflicts that come up and challenges that will stretch my own sense of inner power. There are times I want to just cry and other times I feel angry or hopeless as I have to stretch beyond my own comfort zone. One thing I learned way back in 1975 is that my comfort zone can transform if I allow it to.

Stacy’s 4 part Practice

1. Remain neutral (the space within you where emotion ceases).
2. Follow the thoughts that bring you peace.
3. Remain steadfast in your faith of the highest and best outcome.
4. Disregard any and all external distractions and fear based realities.

These 4 principles to follow can be a Practice all on their own. When things are going well, they are not really an issue, but when you are challenged it is a good time to practice these four ways and make them a part of your natural way of being. It is possible to overcome any obstacle as long as you have a plan, determination and support.

Running a business is hard work, with many challenges around all kinds of stuff, but the biggest challenge is with your own state of mind.

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.

You help people everyday. You know you make a difference in their lives. You love that good feeling you have when you provide quality service. But sometimes things feel out of control and you are the one who needs help. Your client flow has slowed to a trickle and you don’t know what to do!

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?