When the entrepreneur is ready . . .

The client will come. Yes, that may sound strange, but I must stay it is so true. I have been in a holding pattern for business for about two years. Before that I was busy, running my business, juggling lots of clients and building a plan to automate my business. Then the fateful day came when we realized we were being called to homeschool our boys. This was not a bad thing, just a big change and one that truly changed how our business was going to move forward.

Due to the major change for me, I literally stopped my business. It was like a gear grinding to a complete stop, or someone slamming on their brakes. I knew I had to put all my eggs in the one basket and then watch that basket. Fast forward two years and now we are in a groove with homeschool, we have a better handle on how long everything takes and honestly I am relaxing more as a mom and an entrepreneur. Thus I find myself ready, I have a window for clients and energy to service them. Low and behold the emails are coming in, and I am making appointments to meet with clients.

So what changed? Well, I did. Once I found my groove in homeschooling I realized I had a few more grooves left or bandwidth for a little bit more. Then without even realizing it I put the intention out there that I was open to work with someone and then and only then did the opportunity arise. At present that has allowed me to secure two clients which is such a blessing. Both fit my profile and understand my world. I am eternally grateful for my presence of mind, my mindfulness to my life so that I could make good decisions when the time was right.

Are you ready and don't know it? Are you being intentional about your life and business? Are you creating room for your success? If you think that may not be the case, take some time to think about how you can be ready for the next opportunity. Think about how you can be intentional about creating that success and present to grab it when it arrives.

Facing My Giants

Whenever I am having a day that feels less than perfect, I think about what can I do to turn it around. Today I felt emotional about all the tornadoes in the country, even here in our neck of the woods. I also received some bad news about my family members. Life is hard. I did not want to let those feelings overtake me. What did I do to help me stay focused?

• I took a shower, that always helps me to feel better. It is like starting my day over.
• Reached out to my community, I visited with my entrepreneurial sister and we talked some shop and enjoyed each others company.
• Got busy, I am here now updating my blog (I have been known to not do this on as regular of a schedule as I like).

The result was I am in a better frame of mind and able to now start planning again for making phone calls, setting appointments and doing some business. In stead of being derailed I became focused. So glad I can do that, and I remind myself all the time this has been a learned behavior. If I can do this you can too. Do not let the road blocks in life derail your business or dreams.

End Your Year on A High Note

It is hard to believe it is December 1st. Thoughts of the holidays start to flood my head; baking cookies, buying and making gifts as well as time with family. It also reminds me that there is less time to accomplish all that we may have put on our list in the remaining time left. I wanted to share with you an article I found that may be an encouragement to you if you still feel like there is so much to do and so little time to do it in. It is called Seven Ways to End Your Year on a High Note by Leslie Cardinal.

In the meantime, do not fret. Even if you do not get it all done. Rejoice in what you have accomplished. And start to plan for next year. It is going to be great!

Where in the world . . .

It's been over three months since I posted. What' up with that? Well to be honest with you life got in the way. I am sure that happens to a lot of people who have great intentions of blogging on a regular basis.

So here I am in September, and I am getting the itch again. Yes I must post! First, let me share that the beauty of being a business owner is the flexibility it offers you. I have spent the summer taking care of my kids which included spending the summer dealing with specialists and labs to help deal with some medical issues. Why share that here? Because I was still able to maintain some business and take care of my family.

Second, being a business owner lends itself to the fast pace of life. After David was diagnosed, it became apparent to me that school this year was not an option. Hence, I will now be a business owner who homeschools her boys. They are thrilled, and I must admit, it is a blast. We are finding a grove, and I am planning my meetings around our family schedule.

So the moral for my post, if there is one, is stay flexible and be open. I am working on rearranging my business to fit my life, not trying to have my life fit my business.

When is it time to document?

I have had the pleasure of working with a great client recently that has been very successful. He's the ultimate entrepreneur who flies by the seat of his pants. It suddenly became apparent that he could not translate how he did what he did in a way that someone else could duplicate. Also, not everyone liked that approach. They were looking for a little bit more direction. It is really neat to be able to help his company not only reign in the vision, articulate it and then share it with the group. We are also documenting the process so it is no longer subjective or in the head of just one person. This will be something anyone can plug into.

So the question becomes "when is it time to document?" My answer is now and always. Even when it's just you, if you think you ever want to grow your business or more importantly, some day sell the business, it has to be documented. If it is not documented, you do not have a business with out the source, the owner. If you don't document, and the source is not available, the business stops. So by all means document the process.

Nuggets To Share

I am an avid reader, in fact, my goal is to read one book a week. I just wanted to share a few nuggets I have come across in the latest readings:

"You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will have, be and do in the tomorrow of your life." Zig Ziglar

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." Harvey S. Firestone

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." John Wooden

"Have you ever said: 'I'll be happy when . . . I lose 20 pounds, live in a bigger house . . . get a new boyfriend/girlfriend . . . make more money, etc.?' You get the picture. Someday Isle is not a dream vacation spot. It's an imaginary destination to which you will never arrive. It is the carrot on the stick perpetually in front of you. So close you can see it, yet you will never reach it. Don't vacation on Someday Isle." Frank F. Lunn, Author of Stack the Logs!

It's not a Fad

Entrepreneurs are here to stay. Check out this recent blog post based on an entrepreneurial study done by the SBA:

Growing Firms in the Entrepreneurial Economy
Recent reports from the SBA find that entrepreneurial firms are now over 50% of the GDP, and have created about 78% of all new jobs every single year for the past twenty years. (To read the rest follow the link.)

The point is not only are entrepreneurs responsible for job growth, but their businesses are sustainable. I say that is good new!