A thought as you consider your goals for 2008.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me.” - Ayn Rand
I’ll take the newsletter, hold the guilt please
And now it’s time for a vent… this is my open letter to the marketers out there, especially the four from this morning who nearly induced a panic attack with some particularly poorly choosen subject lines designed to scare me into opening their emails.
I admit it. I’m subscribed to more newsletters and autoresponders than I can count. And at least 75% of the time it gets deleted before I read it. It’s my “quick scan filter.” You can get past my quick scan filter if I “know” you and know your content is valuable, or if the subject line really catches my eye.
But please, catch my eye with something that creates positive emotions! If you lead me to feel angry, sad, hurt, afraid, worried, or just plain cranky, sure I might read that email but there’s a 99% chance I will immediately then unsubscribe from your list and no longer consider purchasing your product or services.
Why? Because real life is tough enough. I do not need emails with subject lines like “Is something wrong?” or “What happened to you?!” coming into my inbox simply because I wasn’t ready to purchase the product you promoted to me last week. Maybe I’m still considering it. Maybe I am not sure I need it yet. Maybe I want to know more first. Or maybe I just can’t afford it at the present time.
But regardless of my reason, choosing to “sell” me with this type of psychological tactic isn’t going to work. Really, do you want me to buy from a place of negative emotion?
Consider that if a subscriber buys from negative emotion (fear, stress, concern) that negative emotion is going to stay powerfully connected to your product or service in the buyer’s mind. I don’t want to remember every time I pick up a great book that I only bought it because I felt guilty!
So stop trying to catch my attention with panic-inducing subject lines, please.
And don’t try to sell me with a scarcity perspective. If your product is going up 50 cents an hour, I’m not going to purchase it. Please, stop the gimmicks. I understand a pre-sale, that’s cool. But come on, you really want to charge your customers more as a punishment for not checking their email and being online every moment of the day?
Yeah, these things might work. I’ll give you that. But I hope that your concern for building a relationship with your potential customers and existing customers is worth more than a single sale. I hope it’s worth enough that you care about us and want to sell from a positive place.
Come from a place of inspiration, of positivity, and of genuine concern for me, my business, my family, and then we can build a relationship where you don’t just get a one -time sale, you get my respect and in turn my attention and referrals for the future. Wouldn’t you rather have that?
Tackling Procrastination: Six Ways to Overcome It
Do you find yourself procrastinating? Putting off tasks that truly need done? Here are some of the main reasons for procrastination and ways to overcome them.
1) You just don’t want to do it.
Sometimes there are tasks we just don’t want to do. There are three ways to overcome this: do it, hire someone else to do it, remove it from your list.
First, decide if it’s something that really has to be done. If it’s your monthly book-keeping, it’s essential. If it’s cold calling it may not be essential. Can you cross it off your list?
Next, if it does have to be done, can you hire it out? Get a virtual assistant, intern, or other helper to finish the task for you.
If you can’t hire it out and you can’t cross it off your list, you’re going to have to take a lesson from Nike and “just do it.” Try one of these methods:
- Make it your first task of the day and work at it until it’s done.
- Break it up into manageable pieces.
- Reward yourself when it’s complete.
2) You haven’t found the right solution yet.
If a task on your list is getting done because you’re not sure how to do it, here are three ideas:
- Start at Google and do your research.
- Purchase an info product to help you (this may be a good idea to help you get it done more quickly and make fewer mistakes if you find a quality info product).
- Ask your mastermind group, peers, or other resource people for their suggestions. It only takes a minute to post online or send out an email.
3) You don’t have the expertise to finish the project.
When a task you begin morphs into something much bigger or more involved than you expected it’s okay to find help. Go ahead and find someone who can assist you. It’ll be easier than dealing with yet more frustration, the job will be done quicker, and you’ll be able to focus on your business again.
4) It’s overwhelming and you aren’t sure where to begin.
This is actually one of the easiest procrastination reasons to overcome. You just need a plan! Break up that task into smaller tasks that you can spread out. How do you climb a mountain? One step at a time. So split the task into steps.
When I write an info product I start with the outline. I write down all the areas I want to cover. Then I look at what areas I already know well and where I might want to do some research. I research what I need to and then start writing.
Another idea that you may find helpful is to start by setting a deadline and then working backwards from that deadline.
5) It requires an action step you aren’t ready for.
Get clear about why you aren’t ready. You need to either cross it off your list for now so it’s not looming over you and discouraging you when it’s not complete, or you need to figure out why you aren’t moving forward on it so that you can deal with whatever is stopping you and move past it.
6) Distractions surround you.
For women working from home this is often a real challenge that results in procrastination. I can get more done in one hour of peace than in four hours of distracted work time. If distraction is a problem you need to find a way to work around it.
If you have very young children at home with you, plan your work time during nap time, late night, or early morning. Or find a trustworthy mother’s helper.
With older children you can often barter. Have a meeting and explain that for the next hour Mommy will need quiet time to work, and then when that hour is finished you’ll all do some fun project together. Make it something your kids enjoy doing (craft project, building legos, whatever they love to do with you) so that they’ll look forward to it. When your hour is up, stay true to your word and give your kids that time completely focused on them.
If the distractions come in the form of a spouse… you’ll need to have a family meeting to address your work time, come up with some boundaries that feel fair to everyone.
Other distractions can be eliminated. Close your email. Put the phone on silent and let it go to voicemail. Focus exclusively on the project you’ve been putting off.
I hope these 6 strategies help you to overcome whatever you’ve been procrastinating!
Michelle Shaeffer, The Small Business Muse, can be found online at www.michelleshaeffer.com where you’ll find great newsletters, helpful free articles and worksheets and much more for women working from home.
Quick, Simple Ways to Recharge
With juggling kids, homeschooling, home, business, everything that we as Mothers have in our hands, it can really get tough sometimes. Especially around the busy holiday season.
So, what do you do to recharge? What helps you make it through and feel creative or inspired or just able to face things again?
Here are some things that work for me.
Meditating: Check out this post for some great thoughts on it — http://createathrivingbusiness.com/business-meditation/2007/11/16/
Journaling: I also journal, not every day, but as many days as I can remember to, even if it’s only for a few minutes. I write down my visualization exercises and then I write down at least 5 things that I am thankful for right then.
Thank Someone: If you’re one of my clients you may know this one but a few times a week I randomly pick someone who I am thankful for and/or inspired by and just send a little note or email. I find that my effort to lift someone else’s spirits lifts mine too.
Movement: Yoga, pilates, or just dancing. I turn on iTunes or a movie with good music and just work out or dance. It can really relieve stress. The days when I most DON’T feel like doing this are the days when I need to the most. And if I can just make myself exercise I find I feel tons better the rest of the day.
Quiet Time: Sometimes I light a candle and just sit and read quietly from my Bible or an inspirational book.
Bubbles: Yes, I know this is a stereotype, but I don’t care, it works. If I’m lucky and the kids are all asleep I’ll give myself 5 or 10 minutes in the bath to relax with bubbles and just try to clear my mind of all the stress.
Coffee (aka Reward Yourself): I buy the frappucino mix and make these at home as a treat when I’m particularly stressed (I’ve given myself three today, is that perhaps too many? *smiles*).
Foot Massage or Reflexology: Giving yourself a foot massage or doing reflexology on your feet can really boost your energy level.
Energize with your Nose: I find certain essential oils to be energizing as well — peppermint, lemon, orange, those work for me. Some people like pine or rosemary or thyme to energize.
Identify and Attack: A few days ago I was really stressed and I cleaned out a closet. As strange as that sounds, I identified that I was feeling “out of control” about a particular situation, and so by doing something that helped me feel organized and in control I resolved that feeling, and then was able to focus on work.
Write it Down: Making a “to do” list before bed helps me sleep better because I don’t worry that I’ll forget something that way. It also lets me easily rank what’s important, and what I can let go of, and that helps me feel more focused and energized.
Support Group or Coach: Sometimes we all need a little support and encouragement. One of the things that helps me tremendously is when I have a session with my business coach. Just the listening ear, outside perspective, and relentless positivity is so inspiring. I really questioned it before I gave it a try, but I can say that this is one of the best business decisions I’ve made. The accountability doesn’t hurt either when I need to motivate myself to action. Knowing someone else is going to ask if I make positive steps is a good motivator. But more than that it’s really recharging to get out what’s going on, what’s going wrong, what’s going right and have someone there to help you through it. So get a coach! Or find a sounding board. Talk to a friend or colleague about being accountability partners. Surround yourself with support and you’ll find comfort and inspiration.
If you’ve got ideas to share that work for you, please feel free to post a comment and share your ideas!
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Inspiration Can Come from Unexpected Sources
I’ve got two boys. They’ve been anxiously awaiting the DVD release of Transformers so we picked up a copy over the weekend. The first time they put it on I was suprised to find myself interested, it didn’t quite seem like my type of movie. But I had to sit down and watch it the second time they did.
Talk about finding inspiration in unexpected places… at one point in the movie, after the main two characters have been chased by robots and attacked by a mini decepticon (I may have to check with the boys to be sure I’m referring to the right robot 
) the good robot who’s assigned to protect the boy transforms back into a car and opens the door, showing that the robot wants them to get in the car. At that point the young man says to the young lady, who hesitates to move, “50 years from now when you’re looking back at your life, don’t you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?”
That’s a powerful thought, isn’t it? 50 years from now when you are looking back at your life, what do YOU want to be able to say you had the guts to do?
I want to be able to say I had the guts to give life everything I’ve got — in my family and in my business. So I’m going to continue to push myself and to take one step at a time towards my goals. And I’m going to continue to believe that it’s okay to dream big.
Admittedly, my mindset has been very focused this week on growing personally and applying that to my business, and that could be why messages of courage seem to be coming at me from every direction. I found the movie very inspiring!
So, Moms, take a few minutes, sit down and watch “Transformers” (or whatever movie your children enjoy) and just enjoy it. You might be surprised at what inspires, motivates, or encourages you.
How One of the Most Basic Principles of Physics Can Transform Your Business
By Helen Graves, Reprinted from Helen’s Upbeat Action Marketing Tools
OK, it’s time for a little Tough Love here, people.
I keep hearing and seeing evidence from my clients and colleagues (and even myself, on occasion) that we’re playing small in the entrepreneurial game of business.
We want (or at least we say we do) to be successful, to grow our businesses, to serve lots of people and make lots of money. And yet we hold back when it comes to stepping forward into the actions that will actually make that happen.
I think you know what I mean, but let me give you a couple of examples just so we’re crystal clear.
“I can’t afford to hire a professional [business coach, web designer, copywriter, fill in your favorite specialist here]. I have to do it myself.” “I can’t raise my fees. No one would pay that much for what I do.” “I can’t take on an assistant. They’re too expensive.”
This is a Catch-22 way of thinking.
At the risk of repeating myself -yet again- let me say that your business will only grow as fast and as far as you do. The thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that got you to where you are today are NOT the same ones that will carry you on to greater success.
There is one common denominator running through every success story you ever see, read or hear about. It’s not hard work (though that can play a part), it’s not a big bank roll (though that would be nice), it’s not even good connections (though that never hurts).
The single most important element that will make -or break- your chances for success is changing your habits of thinking.
Change your thinking, change your results.
Yes, it’s really that simple.
And I offer you one word as the cornerstone on which to change your thinking.
That word is LEVERAGE.
This simple principle from the field of physics is one that will have the greatest impact on your income:hard work ratio. Because success isn’t just measured in amounts of money. It’s really more about how much freedom you have to enjoy the fruits of your income. And you can’t do much of that when you’re slaving away in the salt mine you call your business.
So what do I mean by leverage? Here are 3 extremely impactful ways to employ the concept of leverage so you can dramatically increase your output/income without increasing your efforts.
1. Leverage your skills by outsourcing whatever you can
Hiring a professional marketer, copywriter, graphic designer, business coach, or assistant is one of the best returns you can get for your money. It’s an investment, not an expense.
Here’s an example: You can hire a VA (virtual assistant) for about $25-40 per hour to do administrative, technical or marketing tasks (or just about anything you hate spending time on). So let’s say you’re making a modest $50 per hour. You give your VA the task of creating and uploading a new Services page on your website. It takes her/him 1.5 hours to complete the task (since it’s within her area of expertise) for a cost of $45 to you. With that same 1.5 hours you can now serve a client or two and earn $75 income. So even with the outsourcing, you still brought in $35 that you wouldn’t have if you’d been stuck doing the web maintenance. (And realistically, it probably would have taken you more than 1.5 hours to do what your VA did, right?)
2. Leverage your time by transforming your one-on-one services into group programs
I was just talking with a client about this yesterday. She wanted to get away from only doing 1-on-1 work, but felt with her particular service she needed more personal interaction than she could have with a large group. She was lamenting that this meant she could only do private training for individuals. I asked if there might be a happy medium -training classes of 3 or 4- so she still had the personal contact, but was not duplicating her efforts. She immediately saw the value of that for herself, as well as for her clients since they have opportunities for learning from each other in a group that aren’t available in one-on-one training.
3. Leverage your growth by finding a personal mentor, coach or teacher
As I mentioned earlier, your business will grow as fast and as far as you do. Stagnant thinking brings stagnant results. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel in your business just to prove you can (or even worse, just because you’re afraid to ask for help.)
Whatever business you’re in, someone out there is already doing it successfully. Or at least they have skills/information that will be useful to you. Take classes, read books, ask questions. Most people, particularly service-based entrepreneurs like us, like to help others. So find them, and learn from them.
I’ll leave you with one last thought - if you want real success, you’re going to need to start working smarter, not harder. I know you can do it; I’ve got faith in your creativity. So stop thinking small and get out there and win one for the Gipper. (Somebody stop her before she “clichés” again!)
Until next time, here’s to your success…
Helen Graves is an expert at showing independent entrepreneurs how to get more clients with less stress. Tune into her free audio course on how to “Simplify Your Marketing in 6 Easy Steps” at www.helengraves.com
Comments, questions and your esteemed opinions may be sent to helen@helengraves.com
Through her business, Seeds for Success, Helen Graves loves showing solo entrepreneurs how to speak from the heart and turn their marketing into a series of simple conversations so they can grow their business simply and easily.
Ever wake up to “one of those days”?
I’ll admit it. It’s taking serious effort to refocus my thoughts this morning. Started with waking up a little late, two sick kids, a husband rushing out the door to work, and a billing system upgrade gone on the fritz. Not the best recipe for a positive, peaceful day.
But today will be a wonderful day. I have so many things to be thankful for and in the grand scheme of things, these are only small bumps on the road and they won’t last long.
The best I can do is to deal gracefully with everything that comes my way and focus on the positive.
So, this morning I challenge you, no matter what kind of day you’re having, list 10 things you are thankful for right now. Then do it again. Keep listing until it makes you smile. And then focus on those things. Turn your day around. It’s up to you.
A thought on Value…
This quote was shared on the Powerful Business yahoo group this morning and made me stop and think:
“If you really do put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.” -Anonymous
How true that is. As women in business, we often struggle with self-esteem issues and it reflects in the way we price out products and services. I challenge you to take some time out and consider what you are worth.
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, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were 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.
-Marianne Williamson
Break Out Of Business Paralysis
By Jenn Givler
Business paralysis occurs when we know what we have to do in our business - we can see the results we want, but we just can’t bring ourselves to take the steps toward it. Either we make up excuses, or we just procrastinate. Sometimes, the reason for feeling paralyzed is clear, and other times, it’s a subtle subconscious block causing the problem.
Business paralysis can happen because you’re lacking the confidence to complete the task, you need more information to finish the task, or you’re comparing yourself to other businesses and feeling like you just don’t measure up. Another cause of business paralysis can be unwelcome negative comments from someone else. Sometimes we have a friend or family member who tells us the exact opposite of what we need to hear. Negativity from other people can undermine your confidence and your efforts, and can keep you stuck.
Here are four ways to banish business paralysis. Sometimes, you’ll be able to banish the paralysis with just one technique. Other times, you may need to employ more than one, or all of the techniques, depending on your reason for being stuck. It’s ok if you can’t break through it right away. Don’t feel pressured to get through it quickly - it can take time.
1. Journaling is a great way to help you look at yourself, the situation, and yourself in the situation. If you’re feeling stuck journal around these questions: what am I trying to accomplish? Why do I want so badly to accomplish this? Am I making excuses, and if so, what are my reasons for not moving forward? Is my confidence feeling low, and if so, what is at the root of that feeling? Can I pin-point how and when my paralysis started? By answering these questions and then taking some time to free-write, you can gain new perspective on your situation.
2. Talking about the situation with someone is another excellent way to break through business paralysis. When you approach someone about the issue, be clear about whether you just want to vent, or if you want their opinion on a solution. It can be frustrating when someone offers solutions or opinions when you don’t necessarily need them. Sometimes, talking about your situation out loud can give you a new perspective.
3. Walking away from the activity that you’re procrastinating can help you gain fresh perspective. Sometimes, taking a walk, going shopping, or just reading for pleasure are great ways to open your mind. When you step away from the task, be sure and stay focused on the present moment - take your mind completely off the situation. Giving your mind a break will help you open up to new ideas, or, it will help you see a new way of proceeding. Also, trying to stick with the situation when you’re feeling stressed or pressured may make the feeling of stress worse. The less pressure you feel, the quicker you’ll become unstuck.
4. If your stuck because your confidence is wavering, or because you’re comparing yourself to someone else, take some time to write down all of the wonderful things you’ve already created in your life. Or, take some time to think about the wonderful things that you’ve already accomplished. You can simply write a list of the great things in your life and your accomplishments, or pick 2 or 3 of them and take some time to relive the memories of those events. If someone close to you is talking to you in a negative way, it’s time to put a stop to it. Tell them that you will no longer engage in negative conversations with them. Remember, they are being negative because they feel they don’t measure up somehow - it actually has nothing to do with you.
Business paralysis happens to all of us from time to time, and it’s not always easy to work through. If you need extra help breaking through business paralysis, check out my Intuitive Business Readings.
Jenn Givler is the Catalyst for Thriving Businesses. She shows entrepreneurs the subconscious, invisible barriers that might be holding them back from success. She teaches them how to break through those barriers and step into success. Through group coaching, intuitive readings, and e-books, Jenn motivates, inspires and empowers entrepreneurs to listen to their inner voice, stand in their power and create a thriving business.
If you’ve ever been afraid to market your business, procrastinated taking a step in your business for a reason you just can’t put your finger on, have ever downplayed your abilities for fear of making someone else feel inferior, or have ever changed your work because of something your inner critic said, you may be standing behind an invisible barrier in your business. To find out, download Jenn’s f*ree report: The 5 Reasons Your Business Is Still Stuck - Even Though You’re Doing Everything Right by sending an e-mail here: 5-reasons@aweber.com