Tag: business success secrets

8 Ways to Keep Inspired in Your Business

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fireworks
Is the fireworks still going off for you in your business?

What if that “fire in your belly” goes out in your business? What if you lose your passion and you find it hard to keep going?

Here’s some suggestions to help you get that fire back!

1) Assess if you are really following your passions in your business. Does your business authentically reflect your values, your vision for your life, your skills and talents? Or are you in it just for the money? Remember WHY you are in business in the first place.

2) Get around other business owners. Attend a networking group. Become a member of a mastermind. Form an accountability relationship with another business owner. Meetup.com is a great resource for finding like-minded business owners who can help motivate and inspire you.

3) Hire a business or life coach. Find a mentor. Sometimes we can achieve more with one-on-one guidance than we ever could by “just going it alone.”

4) Take an online course or get some continuing education in your local community. Staying fresh in your skills is important and will keep you “in the game.”

5) Re-think your marketing. In your marketing, are you doing what you love to do or is your marketing plan a chore that you dread? Choose a select few methods that you absolutely look forward to working on and master those. Do what excites you, whether it’s blogging, video marketing, podcasts, etc.

6) Outsource. Are there tasks that are bogging you down and preventing you from moving forward? Work on your strengths and hire out your weaknesses. In other words, outsource those tasks that you are not good at and concentrate on those areas in which you shine. For instance, if you hate designing Websites, find a qualified professional and use that time to work at what excites you.

7) Stretch yourself. Is there something that frightens you? Do it! Are you afraid of getting up in front of a group and speaking? Try it! You might find you really love it! Are you afraid of making videos? Just give it a shot. You might find it’s just what you needed to feel that “edge” again. Are you afraid of being interviewed on the radio? Put aside the fear and do it anyway. It just might be that you are a natural!

8) Remember it’s all about relationships. People do business with people they like, know, and trust. Never forget that your business is all about building relationships and making an impact, not just “selling stuff.”

“Fire in the belly” does not automatically stay in the belly! It’s something you need to work on daily. And when you do, your brand will sizzle and your future will dazzle.

Want more ways to be inspired for your business? Take my free mini course that will help you create a wildly successful one by clicking here now!

Bright Red Fireworks © Mike Watson | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Believing in YOU—Essential to Your Branding Success

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What makes or breaks your success? What one false belief could derail your future? What mindset could kill your dreams?

A lack of self confidence. A lack of believing what you have to offer has value. Not believing in YOU!

Not long ago, I sat down with a potential client in a strategy session. I could tell that lack of self confidence was causing her business to stifle. I told her this message, and it came from my heart, because it’s an issue I also struggle with:

“God does not make junk. You are a treasure.”

It took me years to come to that conclusion about myself. I’ve always thought there was something “different” about me, that people didn’t like me, that I was not valued and that I didn’t matter or that I didn’t count.

These attitudes stalled my business endeavors. These attitudes almost ruined my marriage. These attitudes threatened to keep me from reaching my dearly held dreams.

At some point through all my searching for answers, I realized this: God made me. He gave me the talents and gifts and dreams I have. If I believe that what He gave me is garbage, than I am dishonoring God.

No, I realized. God does not make junk. I am His treasure.

And so are you. He gifts each and every person with a unique calling in this world. You have an important job to do because people need your gift. But the question remains, do you believe in YOU?

Without this belief in yourself, why would potential customers believe in you? Why would they trust you if you don’t even trust yourself? Why would they value what you offer if you don’t value what you have to offer?

How can people tell? It might be in your speech, the way you put yourself down, it could be in your appearance, that you don’t take enough care to look professional, it may be in your branding, that your logo image is amateur looking.

Whatever the case, your first step is to identify the fact that you lack self confidence, and then start identifying why. Take these blocks away and start building confidence. I like to think of it in even stronger terms: Develop GOD confidence!

Then correct those avenues where you are communicating a lack of self confidence, whether it’s in your speech, your appearance, or brand!

Do that and you will have a brand that sizzles and future that dazzles!

Want to learn more about mindset issues and how you can overcome them, resulting in a more profitable business? Listen to my FREE podcast by clicking here now.

Treasure In Hand © Jyothi | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Do You Love What You Do?

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Let me ask you a question. When Sunday night comes and you think about the work week ahead, what is your response: 1) dread or 2) excitement?

If you answered dread, then I suggest to you that your work and your passions are not aligned.

Why is that important? Don’t we after all have to just make a living and grin and bear a job we don’t like to do because, well, that’s just the way the world works?

Absolutely no, that’s not how it has to be. You can actually find that thing, that passion, that driving ambition that will make you a living. When you find that passion and turn it into a successful brand and then a successful business, it will do more than make you a living. It will give you a life.

I think of my husband, who used to get stressed every Sunday night when he was working in a J.O.B. (Just Over Broke, a term Robert Kawasaki coined). He dreaded Monday mornings when he would have to go back into the office and perform duties that had become boring to him. He knew that he had reached the “glass ceiling,” He wanted something more.

Now fast forward to today. It’s a Monday. I never heard anything from him last night about dreading the week. This morning he spoke with a client and received great feedback from the house design he had done. He has the satisfaction of providing his expertise and skill to an appreciative client who is paying him well. The rest of the week until Thanksgiving he is working for his former boss, on his own terms and doing tasks that he enjoys. He’s earning more than he could ever do for his former job. And he is making time to do some fun projects, like designing tiny houses, that he can eventually sell online so he can create another source of income, one that is not based on chasing hours for dollars.

You have a unique talent. There are so many opportunities to develop new skills, especially with the Internet. You have unique life experiences. What matters to you is different than what matters to another person. All these factors can be turned into a business that reflects who you are and what you love to do.

I love a meme that I recently came across. It urged parents to ask their children, “What problem do you want to solve?” rather than “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

How about you? What problem do YOU want to solve? What is it that you love to do that could solve a problem? How can you make an impact? What do you have or what could you produce or sell that could provide what someone else desperately needs or wants?

The intersection between your passion and what another person desperately wants is where branding success happens. That’s what makes a stable business on the trajectory for growth.

So find out what your passions are. Pursue what you love to do. You will find that you are not only making a living, but you are making a life. And that life will dazzle!

Would you like to find out step by step how you can turn your passions into profits? Take my systemized branding business building course that can help you get out of a J.O.B. and into a heart-centered business that gives you the life you’ve been dreaming about!

Inflight © Adrian Jones | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Momentum—A Necessary Ingredient for Branding Success

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We all know (or should know) the scientific definition of inertia. Basically, a body at rest stays at rest.

This tendency to remain unchanged does nothing for our businesses! We encounter resistance to change and our sales stagnate. Not a good situation.

So what can be done?

Gain momentum!

Momentum as defined in the dictionary is “the impetus gained by a moving object, the impetus and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events.”

So what does this mean for your business? For your brand?

Performing the essential functions of business—marketing, product development, sales, and administration—is a process. It requires daily habits. It requires consistency. This discipline creates a snowball effect, one that results in change. It results in increased exposure of your brand. It ultimately leads to increased sales.

For instance, a year ago my husband and I had not implemented a marketing strategy for his business. We resisted change. We were comfortable with the two clients we had. But the lack of momentum almost destroyed us by Christmas. We could not rely on just two clients and my husband’s business stagnated.

In January, we became determined to reach out to three people per day. It was a very simple plan. It could be through online means, to an individual, a mailing, or a phone call. We did this consistently. And we started to see results. His brand awareness increased. He built momentum.

Now it’s easy to slack on these kinds of commitments and become complacent when times are well. We get comfortable. I’m reminded as I write this that I need to go back to this principle. It’s disastrous to only market AFTER you have finished work for all your clients and they have no more work for you!

It’s the same with blogging. It’s something that I have not been consistent at. But last week I joined a 30 day blogging challenge, which is the reason why I’m writing this article today. I don’t know the results yet. But what I do know is that by creating this habit, I will be increased momentum, and that will result in increased brand awareness, which will result in increased sales!

So build some momentum in your business today! Make a simple commitment, like reach out to three people per day or write one blog post per day. And join a group to keep you accountable.

When you are faithful to follow through on a consistent basis, your brand will sizzle and your future dazzle!

Would you like to find out how to make a sizzling brand? Sign up for my free mini-video series by clicking here!

Rocks On The Beach © Rebecca Abell | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Crippled by Fear. What are You Going to Do With It?

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As an entrepreneur and small business owner, fear can paralyze you. It can stop you in your tracks. Will you let it? Or will you find a way to leverage that fear, resulting in more success and bigger impact?

Sure, I get it. We’ve been there, believe me. Sometimes the uncertainty of owning your own business can eat you alive. This was especially hard for my husband, who had just started an architectural business with my help. His perception of a steady paycheck vis a vis erratic payments from clients resulted in half-hearted attempts to grow his business.

Because the fear ruled him. He was not committed to success. He was committed to safety.

One night I helped him make the decision once and for all. I created a chart on a blank piece of paper. One side it said “owning your own business” with pros and cons below it. The next column said “being an employee” with pros and cons below it.

He started brainstorming the pros and cons of both scenarios. We laid it all out, he looked at the chart, and then I asked him, what side do you want to be on?

He chose to keep owning his own business.

From that time on, he worked on his fear. He stopped letting it control him. He stretched himself. When new and strange projects came up, he worked on them anyway, even though his inclination was not to try because he was afraid he’d fail.

As time has gone by, he stretches himself more and more. He has grown in confidence and now he is productive full-time. We are actively seeking new clients, new opportunities. Every once in awhile he looks back wistfully to when he had a job, but then I remind him that he is earning more money on his own than he could ever be paid as an employee.

He made a choice to use that fear to reach for his dreams. It’s not easy and sometimes he slips back into the afraid mode. But he keeps going.

What are you going to choose to do? Will you let fear overcome you or will you use that fear to make a final commitment to making your business wildly successful? Will you decide today to create a sizzling brand and dazzling future?

If you are ready, please take my free course that will get you started in creating a wildly successful business. Click here now to take it. What do you have to lose? Fear itself?

Picture credit: Ball And Chain© Johanna Goodyear | Dreamstime Stock Photos

What Do You Do When You’re in a Valley?

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So if we could, we all would live on a mountaintop, right? We would always have enough. Actually, more than enough. More clients. More products sold. More services sold. More revenues.

But life is full of ups and downs. And business is no exception. What can we do when we experience valleys in our business?

Here’s a few ideas to help:

1) Adjust your mindset

A scarcity mindset will trip you up. It will lead you to be not only in a valley, but in an endless sink hole. Get rid of those poverty emotions!

For instance, the other day I found that my husband was wearing a ragged shirt. I made him get rid of it. Hanging on to rags just perpetuates the cycle. I’m going through my clothes item by item and when I find a whole or tear I am throwing it away. I do this in full confidence that God is going to provide. I rely on Matthew 6 that says that He clothes the lilies of the field. He will clothe me, too! He will take my rags and turn them into riches! So I act in faith and let broken things go.

2) Discipline yourself to not spend

I can’t tell you how many times we ran out of money before the month was over. We would wonder how we were going to make it. Whether or not the lights would be on. Whether we would have the money for groceries or gas.

But each time, God provided. Sure, we had to “tighten our belts” but this discipline was actually good for us. We learned that, like Paul in the Bible, we could be content whether we had much or little. I became very adept at not spending unless I absolutely had to.

3) Move forward in faith

Sometimes the stress of being in a valley is so overwhelming that you don’t know what to do. Just do the next thing. One little step at a time.

Is there a thought nagging you that you need to do? Just do it! Are you procrastinating on something because you are afraid you will fail or that it’s too difficult? Just set a timer for 15 minutes and work on it!

Make that phone call, send that email, or write that article that will move you forward.

Being in this valley is not forever. You will climb out. It may be the climb of your life. But in the process, you are exercising your faith. Faith is what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. You are becoming more strong. You are becoming mature.

And that will empower you to help more people. To make a bigger impact.

4) Work toward having multiple streams of income

Think about different ways you can bring in money. For instance, if you sell a health product, think about how you can become a coach. Develop informational products.

For my husband’s architectural business, he is working on blueprint plans he can sell so he is not trading hours for dollars and this will be another stream of income for us, especially in those times when the construction business goes through dry times. My business is crucial, too, in this so we have several income streams.

5) Create a savings account for the valley times

This seems obvious but if you are living payment to payment like we did for a long time, this is often hard to do. Start saving up until you have at least one month’s expenses set aside.

And that will mean your brand sizzles and your future dazzles!

Photo by Sam Beasley

Business Success Secrets–Your Second Way to Soar Like Never Before!

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Business Success Secrets.

Everyone wants to know that magic formula that will propel them to a six figure income. Or even better yet, a seven figure one!

But how do you get there?

In the next few posts, I will be describing ways you can gain clarity for your business and experience amazing success!

In the last post, I talked about letting go of the expectation that all it takes is a magic pill, that perfect program, that system, or that formula that will skyrocket you to wealth beyond your wildest dreams.

Today, I will talk about what you need to replace that expectation with. You need to shift your mindset to one of a magic pill to realizing that being an entrepreneur is a journey of faith.

Because that’s what Business Success Secrets is. It’s a journey of faith.

You see, even last fall I was not confident enough to call myself an entrepreneur. I didn’t think that I was worthy of the title. How could God use me? After all, I’m just a homeschooling mother!

But something changed inside me. I began to cast aside the lies that were holding me back. I began to step out in faith like never before. I embraced God’s calling on my life, to be an entrepreneur. I have something of value to share with the world and what I do can make a real difference in the lives of thousands of families. I am invigorated by that vision!

And I discovered that what God’s really after is a change of my heart before He will change my pocketbook!

It is not an easy process. I have had to face deep-seated fears. Fears that I don’t matter, that God is going to abandon me, that nothing will ever change.

While all around me, needs scream out to me in desperation. I am forced to be utterly, completely, absolutely dependent on Him.

I have to come to a place where I am an entrepreneur so I can serve others, not out of desperation. My efforts always fall flat when this is my primary motivation. It is hard, especially when finances get tight. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Because when you see your prospects not as dollar signs but as people who could truly benefit from what you have to offer, it’s not about what you can get, but about what you can give. And because you value yourself more with this mindset, you will charge what you are worth.

And that will help your success soar! And you will have a sizzling brand and dazzling future!

Are you ready to take that next step? Are you ready to soar? Then take my 3-month Brand Identity Quest course. You will learn step by step guidance on how to build your brand as you build your business in weekly downloadable lessons and actionable assignments. Get started right away by clicking here.

Photograph © Sam Beasley