Your values are who you are and the ideas you represent, and your priorities are the things that are most important to you. Being able to identify what these are for your business will help you be profitable and successful. Trying to build a business that does not take your values and priorities into account will end up making you miserable in the long run. It’s much easier to achieve success if you build on a solid foundation.
Working on a business that is aligned with your values is a rewarding experience, in more ways than one. The actions you need to take for success feel easy, and you feel inspired every day. For instance, if you value helping others, every time you solve a problem you’re going to feel great and energized. Success becomes easier to achieve.
Your personal image speaks volumes about you before you ever utter a word. What is yours saying about you? Watch as Laurie talks about finding an authentic image to match your message.
The most successful entrepreneurs are always capable of getting clients, making money, and building their businesses. What qualities do most successful entrepreneurs have in common?
They have clear visions. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re not going to get there.
They have faith in themselves. In the words of Henry Ford: “Whether You Think You Can or Can’t, You’re Right”.
They plan. All successful entrepreneurs need a plan. Plan your daily activities, your marketing strategies, and your short- and long-term business success.
Have you seen the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles? Mark, my husband, had a similar experience on his flight home from getting certified as a business and marketing coach in Tucson, Arizona. He had decided to take an overnight flight to get back sooner…well, let’s just say things didn’t go as planned.
He left Tucson at 7 pm and rather than arriving at 9 am, he arrived at 10 pm the next day. A snowstorm arrived in Atlanta. You can imagine what followed when thousands of flights were canceled- people freaking out, car rentals sold out, and the scrambling to locate a car he could share with a couple of new-found friends to get to Durham.
My business is going through lots of growing pains right now, which means that I’m going through lots of growing pains right now. Our businesses mirror our lives, and vice versa.
If your business isn’t where you want it to be, then you’ve got to take a hard look at who you’re being and how you’re showing up. The answer always lies within.
Last week, after some intense masterminding, I chose to give myself permission to do nothing. I needed to decompress and internally process all that I’d absorbed. That’s a real challenge for a Type A do-er like me. I don’t sit still well, meditating doesn’t come easily, and I don’t sleep enough. My brain and body are always on the go.
If you want to experience Brilliant Success in your business you must be willing to do “Whatever it Takes” (legally of course!) to grow your business. This means stretching yourself and doing some things you might not feel like doing at the time. This is something my Dad taught me early on in my marketing and sales career when I was a rookie Marketing Representative for USA TODAY selling the newspapers in bulk to hotels, school districts and corporations for .25 each.
I was promoted only after 7 months to Regional Marketing Manager in charge of marketing USA TODAY in 4 states because of my willingness to do “Whatever it Took” to sell as many USA TODAY’s as I could in my junior marketing and sales role. I phoned prospective clients when others would not. I worked long hours in those first 7 months because I was new to sales and business (having been a Ninth Grade English teacher previously) and I wanted to succeed. I booked out of town trips to cover my territory when I’d much rather have stayed home. I made the extra visit to the hotel in my territory when I had already more than reached my goal for the day.
The dictionary defines entrepreneur as: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. It’s not surprising to find out that successful entrepreneurs all share some common traits.
Entrepreneurs always believe in success. They know that failure is just part of eventual success.
Entrepreneurs have a roadmap that shows them how to get to success.
Entrepreneurs know that failing to plan is planning to fail. They plan everything from the next day to marketing.
Entrepreneurs have a passion for success that keeps them going forward. Airplanes are off of their route 90% of the time. Through pilot correction they make it to their destination. As an entrepreneur you need to keep attention on that final goal and know that you’ll be off target a lot. Passion helps you.
The new year is off and running already! Is your business off and running, too? I don’t know many business owners who would say no to making more income right now – before the end of this month. Here are three ways to boost your income, and if you implement even one of them, you’ll have extra money to show for it.
1. Increase the number of clients or customers you have. This means letting folks who are new to you and your business know about you and the problems you solve. How can you do this quickly and efficiently?
Ask existing customers for referrals
Find a business networking group you’ve not been to before and attend
Send out an e-newsletter and ask recipients to forward it to one person who might benefit from your services
Ask friends and family to specifically mention your business to one person this week
Post helpful resources and advice to your social media accounts
Revamp any existing paid advertising and look for a higher return on investment
Partner with an aligned business to advertise or do a quick special promotion
Spring is a great antidote to long cold winters. It’s the same with action and inaction. Action is a powerful antidote to the stagnation of inactivity. Being creatively alive involves abandoning a position of inaction in circumstances which have traditionally immobilized you. The name of the game is action. Doing. Overcoming your inertia and acting will give you a whole new lease on being creatively alive.
Action is the single most effective antidote to depression, anxiety, stress, fear, worry, guilt, and of course, immobility. It is virtually impossible to be depressed and active at the same time. Even if you wanted to, it is difficult to keep on moping, complaining, lolling around and wallowing in self-pity if you get active and do something. Anything! Just doing is such an important part of being a fully functioning person.
Last week, I shared the second of five tips, and I hope you’re really thinking about what you need to do to set aside time to plan your business. (Tip #1: schedule a creative planning day. Tip #2: Get out of your home office.)
Tip #3: Bring creative supplies
You don’t want to develop your marketing strategies, creative ideas, and inspiration with a boring yellow legal pad. Pack your favorite markers, pens, or pencils, add some colorful, fun sticky notes to capture spontaneous free flowing ideas, bring paper or a tablet for making mind maps of ideas (a great way to access your right-brain creative thinking before your left-brain logic kicks in).
Do you have stickers or a favorite pen that you love writing with? Do you have cool big planning calendars or pads that you can’t wait to dive into?
I find that the more I can support my creativity around planning for making more money, rolling out big marketing campaigns, or committing to a big project or that new platinum program – then the more tapped in I am to my creative flow, ideas, inspiration… And it’s so much easier this way!
So – whatever makes you giggle with delight – bring with you on your creative planning day.
