Summer Time & The Living Is Busy

For an entrepreneurial mom Summer Time is anything by easy. For me it is a juggling act. I become torn with giving my boys the joy of a long, slow summer filled with fun and play as I had growing up. My dad was a college professor who took the Summers off. At the same time I am concerned and anxious about maintain the momentum of my business and a high level of customer service. If I could shut down for the summer and hang out at the pool I would, but that is not what I can do with the business that I have built. Hence the conundrum.

After much research, some soul searching and a lot of prayer I think I have come up with the best of both worlds -- my Summer Schedule. If everything works out as I have planned (she says with tongue in cheek) I will be mostly off on Mondays and Fridays and schedule my client meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. This gives me the flexibility to check in on work from home on M/F and be in the office all day on the other days. My clients get their needs met and I get my business satisfaction which is very important to me. But more important, my boys get three days of camp and fun and two days of uninterrupted mommy time. We all get to rest, work and play.

Being a business owner is all about choices and options. I hope you are enjoying exercising your business options and creating the lifestyle you want.

Networking - it works if you work it

It's funny how you do something for so long that you take it fore granted. There are times I feel I was born networking, but in reality I have been formally networking for about 17 years. Recently I have become very focused in my networking activities, and I have seen the fruits of my labor. At a recent meeting I was able to do a 10 minute presentation about my company and what I do; very relaxed gathering of women business owners. Just out of that 10 minute presentation I was able to fill a seminar for the following week. What is my point?

• Networking works if you work it,
• Have a plan and work the plan,
• Know what you want to accomplish at your networking event, and
• Follow up, follow up follow up.

I went to my meeting to share my story, tell what I do through stories and then I had a tangible offer that people could say yes to. Then I sent a follow up email thanking them for allowing me to share and repeating my offer. Three people signed up for my seminar. It works!

All a flutter for Twitter

Okay, I will admit I do not understand exactly how to use Twitter yet as a business tool to increase business, but I am enjoying the process of learning it. It is actually starting to grow on me. I have quickly gotten quite a few followers in a short time. I am also following quite a few myself. I love that it interfaces with Blogger and Facebook. Post once and distribute all over. Super idea! I like that I have to learn to be concise in my thoughts and judicious in my words. The more I spend on line trying to understand the cyber world, the more I realize just how small the world is and we truly are a global community. So why does there have to be so much war.

JV - Joint Ventures - A new beginning . . .

As I continue to grow, I continue to be amazed at all the awesome collaborations that are out there to be had. Today I started the process of a joint venture with a fellow business owner. We have similar backgrounds and passions. In just one hour at Paneras we realized we were onto something pretty special. I can't give you details right now, but it is going to be pretty awesome. What I can tell you is that it will change the lives of women everywhere that are trying to do the seemingly impossible - create a life of choice for themselves and their families. Stay tuned to hear more. . .

Lessons from my Launch

I have learned a lot about myself and how to launch a program. Mostly I learned that I can do it. Yeah!! I am enjoying the process as much as the outcome. My most recent discovery is that you need to have an enrollment form ready at the end of the introductory session to allow people to make a decision to buy. I had a flyer and then scheduled a follow up session. I realized that prolonged the process and was not a clear enough call to action. I love that I am not too old to learn and I that I am still enjoying the process.

Jim Rohn

Here is a classic quote from Mr. Rohn:

For things to change you've got to change. Otherwise, nothing much will change.

I am always working on improving myself. I do that by reading great books, listening to great books, watching great movies and spending time with people better than myself. I recommend you surround yourself with the best, read a lot and be open to becoming a better person.

Understanding and Harnessing Fear

Today I hit a brick wall. It was a small wall, but a wall none the less. As soon as I saw it, I got on the phone and called a trusted business colleague. I needed to be talked over the wall. She was amazing! Thank you Tammy!. Here is what she said in a capsule. She refined it down to this quote:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." The above speech by Nelson Mandela was originally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material."

Now I know what I must do. Even more important, I know what I must help my clients' do.

The Wall -- The Business Marketing Gym -- The Launch

I have been so proud of myself for pushing through some major fear. I know a lot of you may not experience this, but I must admit, every day I face a new and daunting task in building my business. In the past I never noticed the fear. But when it hit, I would find a way to stop what I was doing so the fear would go away. Then came the concept and potential launch of the Business Marketing Gym. Oh my! I had a knot in the pit of my stomach that felt like it was trying to come up my throat. I did not know what to do with the real physical pain. At first I thought I was getting sick and then it occurred to me that I felt it at certain times and they all related to the escalation of the realization of my Gym.

Here is the good news, I moved through it and got past it. I took some antacid to make sure I did not really get sick and to alleviate the pain and then I kept on pushing toward the goal. I have now had two introductory sessions. Both were well attended. I have had several follow ups after to discuss the Business Marketing Gym with my attendees. I am well on my way to filling a program. I have three slots filled and more introductory sessions in the works.

For me the launch was a success. Why? Because I did it even though every cell in my body was fighting me on it. It showed me that anything can be done with persistence. When I looked back at what was different this time from times in the past where I may not have succeeded, the answer was clear. I had created a support group of believers who have been checking in on me and working with me to help me realize my goals.

Lesson, even if you are alone in your business, you do not have to do it alone. Create a team, and advisory council to help you think bigger than yourself and to help you stay accountable to yourself. Powerful, powerful tool - I now know I never have to do this alone again.