SoloSavvy Blog for Solo Entrepreneurs

It’s Time to Get Creative

Stacey Mayo — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:00:12 +0000

Creativity comes in many shapes and sizes – from creative problem solving to visual arts to writing your thoughts to generating new ideas or a new spin on an existing idea.

I believe that we all have the innate ability and were put here on this planet to create. What we create and how we do it looks different for each of us.

To access our creativity, it helps to get quiet and allow what wants to emerge to come forth. From that inspired place it is important to act on it without concern for other’s or self judgment. Unfortunately, it is that last piece, that keeps so much of our creativity under wraps.

I believe that accessing creativity is especially important right now for several reasons:

1) The same old, same old is not going to have you stand out and be heard in a world that is overloaded with people vying for our attention and information – much of which is the same old, same old.

2) Creativity is the way out of problems. If you focus on the problem – whether it is mone-y, relationships, health, peace of mind, career, etc – then you feel stuck, weighted down, and burdened. It seems like there is no choice and no way out.

3) If you get curious about possible solutions, from a place of wonder, then ideas will come. Some will be better than others. Some will work and some won’t and some will lead you to other solutions. But it will get you moving in the right direction.

4) A true space of creativity, without pressure or judgment, is fun. It therefore, lightens your mood and raises your energy.

5) Creativity is not about asking for a handout, it is about being responsible for your life and tapping into your talents and resourcefulness to creatively produce the desired outcome.

6) Those areas where we feel like we have the least control such as illness, economy, relationship with others, are the areas that require the most creativity. Unfortunately, this is where we tend to turn over our power and feel at the mercy of the situation.

Brainstorming creative ideas with one or more creative people who “get you”, increases the possibilities, allowing even more ideas to flow. If the creative idea that emerges takes you outside your comfort zone, getting support from your coach to get you past the judgers and self-doubters in your mind and into action that feels doable is important.
Think about what it is you really want? How committed are you to having it?

See yourself having it . . feel it . . . taste it … touch it. Use all your senses. Notice how you feel when you can imagine yourself having it.

Bring that emotion – that sense of joy, confidence, or relief and connect in with your creativity from that space. Put the pen to paper and allow the ideas to come forth without judgment.

Then set it all aside and go have fun and allow the ideas to percolate.

It is time to be responsible for every aspect of our lives. But responsibility does not have to feel like a burden. Rather it can be joyfully creative.

Do You Have a Question on Product Launches?

Michele Pariza Wacek — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:00:45 +0000

Are you planning on doing a product launch in 2010? I’d love to get your biggest question about how to create and/or execute a successful product launch. Here’s the link to give me your question:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VT2QGQX

I’m going to be hosting a preview call on Feb. 18 where I’ll be answering all your questions about product launches. Stay tuned for more details!

Joint Venture – 4 Important Steps to Starting a Successful Partnership

Kim DeYoung — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:00:08 +0000

Every once in awhile a joint venture partner will just fall in your lap. But, that’s not the norm. More often it requires a little more effort if you’re looking to find the “right” partner.

My first suggestion is to get out there and connect. It’s extremely critical to become more visible. You need to grow your network among like-minded people. To create a successful joint venture, you want to connect with people who are moving in a similar direction, share a similar goal and common interests.

I’m really happy to say that quite a few joint venture partnerships have blossomed among Metromom members and from entrepreneurs that have participated in my interactive coaching programs. These partnerships work because not only do they have a lot in common, but they’re working towards similar goals.

The next step is building your credibility and trust. You can build credibility by following up with your promises. You build trust by having the intention of giving and serving others. Your intention is, “How can I help you?” rather than “What can I get from you?”

Building trust and credibility takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. My friend Gina Bell shared that, “If you’re trying to go straight to profitability, it’s like proposing marriage on the first date. It just doesn’t work.”

Next, your joint venture need to be a win-win-win, which means it’s good for you, your partner, AND your clients and prospects. Often the missing piece is knowing how it’s going to benefit the customers and new clients you want to serve. However, if you’re clear on the benefits for everyone involved, the odds are very high that you’re going to have a profitable outcome for your joint venture.

Finally, don’t be afraid to lead and motivate your partners. People are busy. So don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and make some reminders. This can be the difference between a joint venture being spectacular and failing. Don’t be afraid to give your joint venture partners a gentle nudge.

Bottom line? The key to being successful in a joint venture partnership is having faith, being of service to others, being of value to others in your network and finding ways for everybody to win.

Action vs. Inaction

Kerri Salls — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:00:09 +0000

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.

In fact, that lack of action is not a result of depression; it is the cause. Don’t be paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. Taking action, gives you momentum. Initiating the effort attracts opportunities and synergistic things happen.

Inactivity, on one hand, is most often a choice rather than an inescapable fact of life, while action is a definite way to avoid being victimized by yourself or others. If you decide to do something about your problem or challenge, rather than grumble about it, you’ll be on the road to changing things around for yourself. When you take action, you also take control. Thinking keeps you a prisoner of the past. Action puts you in control of the future.
If you find yourself asking, “Yes, but what can I do” the answer is very, very simple. Anything is a lot more effective than nothing.

This old proverb has a lot of truth in it: Even when you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

5 Essential Steps to Reduce Stress During Time Crunches

Paula Eder — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:00:54 +0000

Time management tips really help you manage yourself when you are stressed, rushed, and caught in a time crunch. Those are, after all, the times when it’s hardest to make your best time choices.

Here are 5 Stress-Reduction Steps to Take the Crunch Out of Your Time

Work Within Your Limits. It sounds easy. It is not so easy. Take a deep breath. Recognize the reality that you don’t have time to get everything done that you might have hoped to. Straightforward as it sounds, it requires truly relinquishing options you might value highly! In Scott Peck’s classic, The Road Less Traveled, he lists “balancing” as one of the four essential disciplines to solve all life’s problems. At the heart of balancing is letting go. You assume more positive control by reducing demands on yourself to a workable level. Having simplified your demands, you can succeed!

Prioritize Decisively. Quickly make or revise your to do list (on paper) with “must do” items at the top and things that you can let go of at the bottom. This assures that you don’t miss a key task. In fact, recent studies show that your brain is simply not engineered to store lists. Translating your plans into written, easily implemented “next action” steps is a priceless stress reduction tactic.
Assertively Ask for Assistance.It’s OK to ask for help, and it’s important to be calm and clear when requesting it. Being firm and friendly, not frenzied, keeps the stress level at a minimum for everyone (yourself included). If help can’t be obtained, return to step one and reduce your list further.
Give Thanks. Fourth, once everything is done that can be done in the time span available, be sure to thank everyone who pitched in – and if it was just you, be sure to thank yourself and validate the effort that carried you through! Expressing appreciation provides an opportunity for gratitude to restore balance and perspective, and it helps consolidate good will.
Review and Revise. This step, often overlooked, pays rich dividends. When you have a moment to catch up with yourself, review what happened that left you in a situation with too much to do in too little time. Ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Was procrastination involved?
- Were there unexpected changes in your day that threw a wrench in the works?
- What can you do to avoid a situation like this in the future?

Time management skills can’t address every eventuality, and there will be times when you have to squeeze too much activity into too little time. However, doing what you can to forestall stressful crises, minimize their impact, and learn from them is a great gift to yourself.

Now, what is your next move towards stress-free effectiveness?

Are You Ready To Step Up and Stand Out in 2010

Hazel Palache — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:00:16 +0000

How will you create the financial success you want in 2010 if you don’t have the necessary processes in place?

In teaching a new Say Yes to You Coaching series that started in October 2009 it came to my attention just how many entrepreneurs don’t realize how important it is to have written goals, a vision board, written marketing plans as well as written action plans in place so they know exactly where they are going and what they need to do to get there!

If you didn’t set your goals or write your marketing plan with weekly actions I highly encourage you to do this before January 8th 2010 so that you are ready to “Step Up and Stand out in 2010.”

Goals need to be specific and very concise, timed forward and also realistic. So an ideal goal would read: It is now December 31st 2010, I have earned $xxxx each month this year and I’m excited and ready for 2011. (remember to be realistic. If you earned $75,000 in 2009 don’t write $500,000 for 2010 or you may be disappointed)

A vision board is great fun to create. Tools you’ll need are scissors, glue stick and a big piece of white poster board. Go through any old magazines and catalogues cut out anything that is relevant to the vision you want created by December 2010. Use words as well as numbers and pictures. I typed into the search engine what I was looking for and lots of great photo’s came up. I cut out lots of photo’s from magazines as well as typed out specific wording I wanted on the board and even a check with the amount I want to have earned by the end of the year. When the board is finished hang it somewhere you can constantly see it. Mine is above my desk so I see it every day.

Wishing you a joyful and very successful 2010
Joy and Blessings
Hazel
www.sayyestoyoucoaching.com

The Gift of Receiving

Kendall Summerhawk — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:18 +0000

The ability to receive has been really up for me lately. Everywhere I turn is an example of someone receiving in a beautiful way.

One of the most touching examples I’ve witnessed so far in the new year was last week, at my Platinum Inner Circle retreat. At the end of the retreat, one of the participants stood up and shared how, when she heard about the program she made a decision right then and there to be in it.

Only thing was, she didn’t have the money. But she didn’t allow that to change her decision. Instead, she kept holding her intention with faith and power, knowing that she was going to be in this program.

Lo and behold, someone who so believes in her and the importance of her work (which is to end child abuse by focusing her counseling on young families) stepped up and sponsored her in the program. Full pay, no strings attached.

When I heard her story I burst into tears. I was so struck by the generosity of her benefactor, and the clarity of this woman’s conviction that it instantly turned me into a puddle.

What about you? What is one thing you want to do, that you are so convinced you are supposed to do, with such unshakable conviction that nothing will move you off of your belief that it will materialize for you?

Would you have been willing to accept such a generous gift from someone? If not, why not? And how is that reason limiting you in your business?

I suggest opening your heart to the passion of conviction and to the gift of receiving.

Small Business Coaching: 60 client-magnetic seconds

Allison Babb — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:00:08 +0000

http://www.greatsmallbusinessadvice.com/: Got 60 seconds? Here’s how to powerfully market yourself and have clients magnetically coming after you in 60 seconds or less http://tinyurl.com/y9mk7xv

Are Your Dreams On Hold Until You Get Your Finances Right?

Marnie Pehrson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:00:14 +0000

I have noticed as I go about my mission of lighting the world by helping gifted people get their messages out, that many abandon their desires to make a difference for one simple reason. They’re just trying to survive. They’re so busy trying to make this month’s bills that they feel like they can’t possibly focus on what brings them joy — especially if they can’t directly see how that’s going to make them money.

I know how this feels — been there, done that — for a lot of years. But, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. The year I started SheLovesGod.com (2000) is the year things started turning around for us financially. I put my heart, time and effort into making a positive impact on the world and God repaid me handsomely and exponentially over time. In Luke 10:7 Jesus told His disciples as he sent them out without purse or script that they would have food and drink, “for the labourer is worthy of his hire.” God takes care of His own.

Luke 6:38 assures us:
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

The more good you put out, the more good that returns to you. It’s a universal law. The thing is, you don’t control from where it will come. A lot of people have desires to serve, but they can’t figure out how they can make money from that area of service. While many times gifts can be monetized, there are other times, that income doesn’t come directly from our area of service. For example my effort to support and encourage Christians does not generate the income that supports our family. But God blesses the other business ventures I have as I serve Him. Miracles happen that I cannot explain. Ideas drop from heaven. The perfect people enter my life. Everything I need to support me in my mission is provided.

So if you’re one of those people who would like to impact the world for good, but you’ve put it on hold until you “get out of debt” or until you have your finanances in order, flip it around. Serve God FIRST with your own unique, skills and talents. Open yourself up to possibilities. Follow the Spirit, and God will provide for you. It may take some education about how the laws of abundance work. It will take a lot of work to control your thoughts, but God will lead you to your own promised land if you serve Him.

If you’re stuck in a financial muck like I was 10 years ago, I recommend you go to the person who helped me. Go to Leslie Householder’s sites – www.ThoughtsAlive.com and get as much of her material as you can. Read her blogs. You can even get her book The Jackrabbit Factor for free at www.JackRabbitFactor.com . You can even read the first few chapters of its sequel at www.PortaltoGenius.com.

Also, I have an overview of the 7 Laws of Abundant Living here. These are the laws Leslie taught me. They changed my life AFTER I had committed myself to be a disciple of Christ. I think that committment is critical. The riches of eternity are in God’s hands and they are His to give. Of course He wants to share them with you so you can fulfill your mission! On the other hand, if it’s all about glutteny, pride or vanity, those will be stumbling blocks along your way.

God promises great things to His disciples:

Matthew 6:26-33
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles [unbelievers] seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

What, if anything, is holding you back from making a positive impact on the world? I’d love to hear from you.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Nina East — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:00:28 +0000

Blogging is fun, but it’s also for business. Obviously.

And to be a successful blogger, you need to get noticed. No one will read or buy from you if they can’t find you. True? The question is…how do you get yourself out there – in a way that is easy, natural, and fun for you – so people CAN find you? That is where search engine optimization, more commonly known as SEO, comes into play.

This post is about what SEO is, and how you are going to use it. If you want to know more about why blogging gives you such a search engine advantage, you can read this post.

SEO What?

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is a series of tools, or thought processes and tasks completed on your web pages, that help your website or blog to get noticed by the search engines. Notice that both your “thought processes” and your “tasks” are part of your toolbox. Having a good “system” for how you think about and implement your SEO strategy is as important as the actual work itself.

Search engines use clever things called bots and spiders to crawl sites for anything that makes them relevant to search parameters entered by Internet visitors.

Most people either don’t know what they are looking for or they don’t know where to find it on the Internet. They rely on the search engines to do the work for them. (Think: Google)

The words that visitors use in the search boxes are termed “keywords” by Internet marketers. (Read this article for more detailed information about what keywords are.) When you use the same words in various places on your site, search engines will rank your web pages in relation to others using the same keywords. The websites that use research and optimization techniques the best, will end up on top of the list.

Why does being at the top of search engines matter?

Research has found that 60% of all web searchers will click on one of the top 3 sites they are presented with. The majority of those will choose the number 1 ranked spot.

That means if your site doesn’t appear in the top 3 sites, your chances of having someone visit your site have just dropped dramatically. Having one of the top three positions can result in a much greater amount of traffic. It’s not just the amount of traffic that’s important to note, though. You also want to have the right traffic. After the 3rd spot, the response from search engine users diminishes greatly. This means that the visitors that you get from position 4 and below are less likely to become paying customers.

How to Use It

So, how exactly do you get to the top spots in the search engines? There are several tools and resources that can help with creating top notch SEO for your websites. They revolve around keywords and keyword phrases but the problem is what words to use for your particular business niche.

Think like a customer. After all, you own a business but at times you are also a customer. If it were you, looking for what you have to offer, what words would you enter to find the information on your site? Chances are that you also represent your ideal customer, so your habits and intuition will tell you about those of your potential customers. This will be a short list but one that you can start with.

From there, use some online keyword software to get more ideas. There are programs like Overture that can take one keyword and return a hundred more for you to look at using in your content and elsewhere on your website. Many marketers also use WordTracker’s Free Keyword Tool to help them determine which keywords are hot. www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com These keyword programs get their results from various search engines so you can be assured that your keywords represent current parameters.

You can read about additional keyword tools here.

Search engine optimization is useful for content you create, but that is not the only place. Use keywords to get ranked through other places on your site and other sites, too. Here are just a few of the other places you’ll want to consider using keywords:

Headlines (for each web page and article)

Anchor text (for links within articles and elsewhere on the page)

Picture tags

Tabs (pulldown menus)

Search engine optimization helps you to create a relevant website for the search engines. After you take the time to set up your website with all the information customers will want to see when they visit, use your keywords. This gives the search engines what they need to rank you well so that those customers can find your products or services when it’s most important – when it’s time to buy!