August 25th, 2010
I have the privilege of working with a wonderful Egoscue practitioner in Chapel Hill NC. She’s wonderfully talented and building her business. (If you are interested in improving your athletic performance or relieving aches and pains contact me and I’ll pass along her information.)
We’ve started using the Energy Leadership Assessment to drive our discussions. As an Energy Leadership Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) I know how powerful the tool can be. It is always beautiful to see a client experience the power of a tool and embrace the change the tool can move them toward.
If you receive my newsletter you know I encourage everyone to learn something every week. That may mean you take a class, capitalize on a coaching session or read an industry magazine; learning is what keeps us fresh and provides ideas for your growing business. Perhaps the most challenging learning you can do is about YOU.
Self-awareness is the gift that keeps on giving- the more self aware you are the more you realize you have areas of challenge and areas you are truly proud of. Developing both of those areas will propel you forward. The Energy Leadership Assessment is a wonderful way to get a brand new perspective on the areas impacting your life.
Some of us embrace changes we would like to make and some of us choose to ignore them. Or we simply are not self-aware. Being self-aware is a choice you make. It’s the first choice you need to make when exploring change. Self-awareness allows you to consciously ‘see’ how you act and react. Whether those actions are internal- your self-talk and internal monologue- or external- the information you share with individuals and your actions toward them- becoming aware of those actions and WHY you take those actions can change your life.
Does it help to have a coach, or at least a good friend, help you through those changes- sure. And if you have the right information and are willing to look honestly at who you are today and how you got there you can make some of those changes on your own.
My client made shifts on her own after taking the Energy Leadership Assessment and there are areas that go much deeper we are working on together. Yes, those areas impact her business and personal life. You would be surprised how many seemingly ‘personal’ issues impact your business.
Growth and change go together- people can change. It’s a choice. Make the choice.
Click here to learn more about the Energy Leadership Assessment.
Tags: breakthrough action, business, business consultant, coach, Egoscue, Energy Leadership Assessment, independent professional, leadership, self awareness, self employed professional, small business
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August 23rd, 2010
This weekend I read a whitepaper by a very successful consultant. Over and over and over and over again he said that being a business owner was hard work and requires that you work long, long hours.
Every time I read that statement I winced. I choose not to live by that mantra. One of the reasons I work for myself is so I can work the hours I choose. Whether that is 10 hours a week or 70, every evening or 1 evening a week or every weekend- I want to decide how ‘hard’ I work.
I believe that we create our reality. Our choices, attitude, and actions all determine how our life will look. I know lots of business owners that are constantly working all hours of the day and night. They rarely take time to play or spend time with friends and family, if they do it is at the expense of work time. I constantly hear them complain about how much time they work I never hear them talk about what they want.
The more we focus on something the more likely it is to come about. Constantly complaining about your schedule will simply allow that schedule to continue. Instead try focusing on what you would like to happen. For those of you familiar with The Law of Attraction or The Secret, you are probably thinking this is where it gets really airy-fairy.
Not so. All I’m suggesting is that you focus on what you WANT. Imagine if every time you felt like complaining about your long hours you stopped the thought and said instead- I’m only working 50 hours a week. (Instead of 70 or 80 or until midnight- insert whatever works for you.) Think about the freedom, time with your family, time to go mountain biking if you just had a 50 hour week. Now, DO something about it.
Spending too much time filing? Hire a college student to do it for you. Can’t afford to hire someone- you need to look at your rates and determine if you are undervaluing your work. (That is an entire discussion all it’s own.)
Determine what you are spending time on that is useless or non-productive work. I know some people that work from a home office and include in the time they spend working the 20 minutes they spent watering the lawn. That is not work time! You might think you are in front of your desk for 12 hours but if you keep walking away to do anything else your not really working, are you? If you focused and eliminated the side items you may only be working 8 hours.
I don’t work crazy hours; my business isn’t a drudgery of long hours and constant struggle. I have the time in my day to mountain bike a few days a week; I have the time to take a sick friend to the doctor.
What do I believe? Clients come easily to me, referrals feed my business, every day my cash flow increases and my schedule is easy to manage.
Tags: author, business, coach, hard work, healthy business, independent professional, law of attraction, leadership, long hours, self employed professional, small business, the secret, time management
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August 19th, 2010
I just read a great blog about pricing your services by Dave Navarro One Big Mistake That Keeps Prices Low. I encourage you to read the article. That article sent me off in a slightly different direction. I’ll get back to under pricing in another blog but today I want to address barter.
I live in a great area and lots of people in this area think barter is the way to go with their business. Barter will not get you where you want to go. I’ll qualify that statement, if you want to bring in enough money to pay for food, housing, utilities, great vacations etc. barter will NOT get you there.
Bartering within your business is based on a thought process around lack. There isn’t enough money to pay for what your business needs so you barter. For those of you who don’t have this issue bartering is where you trade for services from someone else. No money is exchanged.
There are a few issues with bartering-
First- the assumption is that you not only don’t have the money to pay for something but that you won’t have it later either. If that is the basis you work from you will never have the money. It’s tough to attract clients when you don’t think you have any money which (last time I checked) comes from clients. If you believe you will never have money why would you ever have clients? You must change that mindset.
Second- money illustrates flow in the business. You need flow to do things like pay yourself a salary and disbursements. If you have no intention of paying yourself stop reading and ask yourself if you are running a business or have a hobby? When you figure that out take a hard look at your business.
If your business doesn’t have flow you can’t pay yourself a salary or pay anyone else for that matter. Flow is the lifeblood- no flow, no viable business.
Third- whether people admit it or not they look at bartered services as free. Generally people don’t value free. If you feel someone must ‘experience’ your service before they can work with you either pay them for the time you spend or offer a complimentary session. Trust me when I say I don’t need to experience every service to be able to help them. I have never experienced many of my clients’ services and they love me (Yea, I said it!)
While you may be glad you are getting copywriting for free you may not be willing to refer that person or use them after the barter experience because well- their service was ‘free’ so it must not be worth much.
Fourth- you must be responsible and live up to all of your agreements and some vendors do that veeery sloooowly if they are bartering with you. It’s not nice but it happens all of the time. The project that should have taken 2 weeks takes 10 and the common denominator is that you were in a barter situation.
When do I barter? Rarely and there are guidelines around my barter-
First- I must absolutely need what the other business offers right now for my business. If I need copywriting today I might talk barter. I do not barter for things like house cleaning, dog walking, lawn services- they aren’t business expenses. My business should be making enough money that I can pay myself enough to pay for those home services. If my business doesn’t need or won’t need a service in the next few days I don’t barter.
Second- In any barter there is an exchange of money. It might only be a partial fee but the exchange happens. Why? Flow. You must keep the flow moving. Remember, no flow, no business.
Do I sound a bit tweaked by the whole barter mindset? You bet! I’m tired of hearing people whine about not having any business then asking me to barter. If you feel like you have to barter you can’t afford me and I’m ok with that. There are people who will barter with you. When you have altered your mindset let me know- we’ll talk then.
Tags: author, barter, coach, Dave Navarro, healthy business, income generation, independent professional, leadership, mindset, opportunities, self awareness, self employed professional, small business, under earning, under pricing, value, worth
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August 13th, 2010
I had a great week! I was reminded how important it is to ask for the business.
For some people this is very easy to do, for others there are all kinds of feelings and beliefs that get in the way. You will find that if you consistently confidently ask for the business more often than not you will walk away with the signature or, at least, a request for proposal.
Let’s take a look at 2 beliefs or feelings that hold you back from asking for the business.
1. Fear- it is a big one and you might not want to admit that you are afraid to ask for the business. I have a client who was afraid to call warm referrals and I’ll share the same information with you that I shared with her. It works for either situation. When you ask for the business there are only a few outcomes:
The prospect says No.
The prospect says maybe, or let me think about it (Your response is then “I’ll contact you in 2 days to answer any additional questions….”).
The prospect hesitates and gives you an opportunity to address some of their concerns.
The prospect asks for a proposal!
The prospect signs the contract and you start right away!
Any of the above are fine and it doesn’t matter what the prospect says no one died! I know that sounds extreme but that’s how many people seem to view asking for the business- as if someone will die if they ask. All of the responses allow you to take forward action- either to another client, on to the proposal or to the first meeting. (The client I mentioned called 2 warm referrals after we discussed the issue and walked away with 2 new clients!)
2. Your sense of worth or value- Do you truly know the value of your work or your value to the client? If you don’t it can be almost impossible to confidently ask for the business. Take some time to really think about why it is you hesitate to ask for the business. If you are concerned about being able to live up to your sales pitch, or failing, or someone not being happy with your work you need to do some of your own work on your value. You may need more training to feel confident or you may have an internal voice that says you are not good enough. Either way, you need to address the core issue.
You can continue to hesitate and spend time with a prospect then wondering why you never seem to close a deal. Or you can do what my clients and I do. I asked for the business this week and have 2 new proposals in prospects hands because of it. Do I think I will get the business? Of course!
If you need to some asking for the business contact me Jennifer@JenniferConaway.com
Tags: author, breakthrough action, business, coach, healthy business, independent professional, leader, leadership, opportunities, self awareness, self employed professional, self worth, small business, value
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August 9th, 2010
One of my clients has asked his Office Manager to take on more responsibility. As part of that process he has realized he needs to let go of the ownership he feels of the projects he turns over to his Office Manager.
He’s not letting go of the ownership of the outcome or the responsibility to provide the Office Manager with all of the information she needs to adequately meet the need. He’s letting go of ownership of every little tiny piece of what happens between turning it over to her and the completed product.
He trusts the project will move along without him. Perhaps more importantly, he has let go of the idea that every step must be handled exactly as he would have done it. He is allowing his Office Manage to put her skills to greater use and to expand them by managing every piece of the project her way. Only if she comes up against a wall she simply cannot collapse does she ask for some assistance.
Business ownership is not about getting everything done yourself, it is not about doing everything your way, it is not about control over every aspect of everything that is going on. It is about your vision and knowing that you have shared that vision with every employee or contractor so that they can implement your vision. Whether that is in a greeting to a customer, an email response to a purchase or completion of a major project you want the employee/contractor to implement in a way that shares your vision and upholds the integrity of the business.
Imagine how it would feel to simply turn something over to an employee, not worry about the details and just look forward to the outcome. That is what the business owner in this blog did. Two weeks after turning a few projects over to his Office Manager he commented that he felt better than he had in years. He was not worrying about the details and knew his Office Manager was taking care of everything.
The Office Manager has more than met the business owners’ challenge. The projects were completed to everyone’s satisfaction. The Office Manager has since started taken initiative on items she normally would not have and the business owner is pleased to have such an important part of the team stepping up every time.
Tags: breakthrough action, healthy business, independent professional, leadership, office manager, opportunities, self awareness, self employed professional, small business, time management
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August 6th, 2010
Afraid of losing a client or (horrors!) firing a client? You might want to shift your mindset around this area.
Losing a client is certainly not the end of the world. Losing the client for the right reasons can be a great thing. If you have a client that demands huge levels of attention, never pays their invoice on time and is disruptive to you or your employees allowing them to move on to someone else is a great idea. Is the amount of aggravation and the time they demand worth the income that is coming in late?
Imagine the client that could fill that vacancy- a client that is pleasant, happy to work with you and your employees and pays happily and on time. Until you let the disruptive client go there is a good chance the ‘good’ client will not show up.
It is true that it is less expensive to keep an existing client happy than it is to bring in a new client and that ‘truism’ has limits. I’m sure you understand the obvious benefits of bringing in a client that makes you happy over keeping one that creates constant aggravation.
Firing a client may cause even more anxiety than losing one. And it is one of the most liberating things you can do! I know! I’ve fired more than one. Before you get the impression that I love to fire my clients allow me to explain.
As a coach and a business consultant I have a responsibility to know when I have done as much work as I can with a client. I recently had a client I have worked with for more than 8 months. Lately we have been addressing the same issue with the client refusing to take steps to resolve the issue. We were at a point where I was not providing value anymore because they were not willing to move forward.
After 8 months I was pretty comfortable with the income coming from the client, but the bottom line is I was no longer providing value. I truly believe that remaining true to myself means working with clients I can assist. Based on that I fired my client- I suggested they would be better served working with someone else, provided some suggestions and removed them from my schedule. Within the same week a potential client signed with me at my new rate and we are making great progress. The new client has recommended me to 2 other potential clients. The firing paid off!
What happened to the old client? I understand they are working with someone else. I have no idea what kind of progress they are making and hope they get what they are looking for.
I opened up the space for a new client and it was filled almost immediately. Don’t be afraid to open the door to something better. Provide great service until you can’t anymore then create space for the next great client.
Tags: business, coach, fired client, healthy business, independent professional, opportunities, self employed professional, small business, speaker
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July 31st, 2010
Freedom is a beautiful thing. It’s one of the reasons I have my own business. I can create my own schedule, spend time with friends and family when I want to or do nothing if I feel like it. That didn’t happen immediately; first I had to take ownership of that freedom.
After working for 15 years for someone else it can take some time to take ownership and advantage of the gifts business ownership can provide. Since I have taken ownership amazing things happen. Just as I want to spend large chunks of time regularly with a friend beating breast cancer my schedule opens up a few hours at a time. I have the freedom to go to the hospital and spend time with her without thinking about meetings I have to rush off to or feeling like I am missing out on some business opportunity.
If I decide I want to spend a day at the beach time just opens up. My income is not impacted and the opportunities are still there when I return. What did I do to take ownership of my freedom?
First I truly embraced that I am responsible to no one but myself. I have a responsibility to my clients and by living my life to the fullest, embracing who I am and what I want I put myself into a position to provide them with the best possible parts of me.
It’s not necessarily easy to shift your mindset from employee to owner but doing this can make a huge difference. You stop looking at your business as a hobby, take responsibility for building the business, own your time and the freedom the business provides and every other benefit (and challenge!) that comes with business ownership.
If your not sure if you completely own the ‘business’ of your business ask yourself what your driver is to complete a project, write a blog or create new marketing material. If the driver is that feeling that someone is looking over your should you probably haven’t taken ownership of your business mindset yet. Stop and really think about what is driving you, how old behavior may be impacting you and find a way to own the benefits and challenges of business ownership.
Tags: breakthrough action, business ownership, healthy business, independent professional, leadership, mindset, opportunities, self awareness, self employed professional, speaker
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July 29th, 2010
Energy Leadership™ is a unique form of leadership. The basic premise is that everyone is a leader and that you can lead using energy to your advantage rather than allowing it to work against you.
As an ELI-MP (Energy Leadership™ Index Master Practitioner) I see businesses that have great energy working for them and businesses that aren’t doing quite as well.
What exactly do I mean by energy? I’m referring to your level of consciousness, your level of awareness, of your actions and reactions, your perceptions, the sum total of all of the experiences you have ever had and how that information creates your realities. Your reality is based on your perceptions. Your perceptions create your energy level and that creates the world you know- your reality.
Your level of consciousness or energy level influences everything you do. Your energy draws to you similar energies. Within Energy Leadership™ there are 7 levels of energy. Each level has specific properties. We all operate from an ARL- Average Resonating Level.
Your ARL is your baseline. In any situation your natural tendency will be to view it from your ARL. The important question is: how does that ARL affect my business, clients and employees?
Your level of energy attracts like levels of energy. The 7 levels of energy vary from interacting with your world from a place of being the victim to interacting with anger, interacting with a focus on opportunity to interacting from a place of total non-judgement and simply enjoying the ride.
If you tend to work from a place of anger you will attract people and situations in to your life that validate and enhance those feelings. If you work from a place of wanting to help others you will attract those that want help and that have a similar focus.
Like the stock market your energy level goes up and down during the day depending on how you perceive and respond to what is going on around you. Learning to change your energy level will change your personal relationships, your business relationships and impact every area of your life.
The Energy Leadership™ Assessment identifies your ARL and pinpoints areas you can choose to change.
Click here to learn more about Energy Leadership™ and the Energy Leadership™ Assessment.
Blog readers have the opportunity to take the Energy Leadership™ Assessment and receive a 1 hour debrief for only $247*!
This is a $397 value!
Tags: author, coach, ELI-MP, Energy Leadership Index Assessment, Energy Leadership Master Practitioner, healthy business, independent professional, iPEC, leader, leadership, opportunities, self employed professional, small business, speaker
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