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Have you found that marketing your programs and content isn’t working as well as it used to? 

You’re marketing in the same ways that worked before.  Maybe you’ve improved your copy writing skills, launch tactics, and putting your offers together.

Yet – it just seems harder to get people to show up for your free offers and invest.

If you’ve been experiencing this for yourself know you’re not alone.  It is getting more challenging to get our prospective clients’ attention and have them buy our offerings.

It used to be I’d slap up an opt-in page, lead a preview teleseminar, enroll people into my programs, and easily generate a few thousand dollars.   This was before I even knew how to “do” an online launch.  I can tell you it’s just not that way any more.

This is a problem we need to get fixed fast – because if the marketing methods we’re using aren’t working, we aren’t generating our desired revenues.

Why is it harder to get people to invest in our content?

There’s actually many reasons why marketing in and of itself may not be working.  For it to even have a chance at working the basics have to be in place, such as:

• clear and differentiated positioning and messaging
• it is clear who the offer is meant to serve
• the offer solves one main problem your ideal clients will pay to get solved

Another reason has to do with current trends and what’s “hot” right now.

Our prospective clients want more on-demand and downloadable formats with lots of visual content.

They’re also dealing with content overload. 

Two to three years ago it was easier to market a free preview teleseminar and get lots of people signing up and showing up for the calls.  Today, there is a plethora of choices for our prospective clients to choose from because everyone seems to be offering them.

It was commonplace for free preview teleseminars to be up to 1.5 hours long and marketed as “content rich.”  Rich content is great!  However, too much is overwhelming.

The trend is now moving towards shorter length learning periods.  Our potential clients are tired of having a ton of content pushed at them to absorb quickly.

There’s the saying that “a confused mind always says no.”  We can expand that to say “an overwhelmed mind always says no,” too!

Content is still “Queen”, but…

It’s not enough nowadays to differentiate yourself with high quality content.  The reason is because there is so much content out there, and so many choices to choose where we get our content, that this has created content overload for our clients.

Consumption of content is moving quickly to more visual content.

That’s why Pinterest and Instagram have surged in popularity, Twitter has added the option to include pictures to tweets, and Facebook recently enhanced the size of picture posts.  You can transition your content to be more visually satisfying (to meet demand).

This is all good News!  You’ve just discovered why marketing your content may not be working as well as it used to.  This is the first step to making changes in your marketing and content delivery methods to get better marketing results.

Learning preferences have changed.

As for desired learning methods, our clients are seeking more on-demand and downloadable formats, such as eBooks, self-paced online learning programs, and streaming educational videos.

To transition to adding more visual components, take the content you already have and re-purpose into a visual media, such as videos, charts, infographics and interactive online charts, videos and pictures.

Our clients also prefer content to be delivered in smaller, more “digestible” chunks. 

All these reasons are why I’m reformatting my teleseminars and webinars to be 30 to 45 minutes in length, launching streaming video this summer, and sending quick email tips and ideas in bite-sized pieces, such as in my upcoming 21-Day Summer Freedom Project.

A picture is worth 1,000 words.  Our clients are moving toward a more visual learning experience.  Incorporate more of them into your programs and you’ll see the results of your marketing efforts improve.

Change happens and is inherently part of being in business.  Be flexible, adaptable and willing to make changes in your marketing and content delivery strategies.

To sum it up for you…

Here are my recommendations how to market your content and get more people buying:

• Add visual content into your programs – video tips, streaming video, webinars, downloadable formats, infographics
• Deliver content in ‘easy to digest’ smaller pieces – daily 1 action emails, 20′ learning segments
• Add self-paced study and online learning programs – so your clients can get the content when they want it

Keep on top of the trends, changes and embrace them!  When you do you’ll quickly begin to get better marketing results!

“If You Are Looking For A Way To Have More Time Off And Fun This Summer… Without Sacrificing Making Money… And You Want To Partner With Me In A Joint Venture Opportunity To Create Additional Income – JOIN ME in the 21-Day Summer Freedom Project!   When you enroll at the DELUXE level you’ll also get my personal help and advice about other ways to get better marketing results in today’s competitive environment.  We begin MONDAY, June 17, which is only a week away.  Register now so you don’t miss the deadline.   CLICK HERE to get the details.

Ahh, the lazy laid-back days of summer.  Lounging pool-side with a fruit smoothie.  Long weekends.  Special vacation travel and memories with family…

All this sounds like a dream that too many entrepreneurs feel they can’t experience.  They’re working so hard to create income, spending 24/7 behind their computers, that they feel they can’t take a couple days off for vacation, let alone enjoy summer like they really want to.

So why is it that so many business owners work hard all summer and never take a vacation?

Plain and simple – it’s the fear of not making enough money.

Fear is not the truth.  Fear is simply an emotion that is keeping you stuck behind your computer, and prevents you from thinking objectively and strategically about how to design your business in a way that gives you the income, time, freedom, and joy you crave and deserve.

You are the leader of your business, and have the power to create your own reality, and how you live your life.

By not living your life as you desire you are missing out on all the experiences and memories you could create – if you consciously choose to create them – rather than letting the face of fear (and untruth) guide you.

Yes, I understand we need to create income.  That’s why I want to suggest that entrepreneurs intentionally plan for a lighter summer schedule that allows them to generate income, while still having time to enjoy the summer.

Why?  The reality is that business activity typically does slow down in the summer. 

For entrepreneurs who have not planned how they’re going to create income during the lazy, hazy days of summer, they’re revenue and income levels are at risk of being lower.

However, by planning ahead of time how many clients you want, and what you’ll offer and market during these slower times, you’ll create the revenue and income you want – and you’ll be able to work a lighter summer schedule and take some time off!

If you want more time for yourself this summer, while making money, here are six tips how to do that:

1. Plan your business and marketing calendar in advance. 

This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many business owners don’t do this level of planning … they don’t even plan at all.

Not having a plan means that generating revenue and income are at risk, and probably won’t happen to the desired level.

Here’s what you can do to create your summer business and marketing plan:

2. Decide when you will take vacation June through August.

Vacation won’t happen if you don’t plan for it.  Decide now when you are taking your summer vacation.

I will take vacation during these dates: ______________________________

3. Decide how many hours you want to work each week.

Are you working 40+ hours per week, but want to cut back to 20 or 30 hours in the summer so you can enjoy time with family, travel, or lounge pool-side?  Decide on your desired hours to work each week number so it happens.

I want to work this many hours during my work weeks: ______________________________

Plug your days off and vacation dates into your calendar.

Go to your calendar right now and mark this time off.  This will ensure you actually take the time off, rather than just “plan” for it – but, then it never happens because you didn’t earmark the time in your calendar.

Do it now!

4. Decide on your revenue goal June through August.

How much revenue do you want to create?  Being intentional about this number will help you create the plan, and action steps to achieve it.

My revenue goal for June 1 through August 31 is: $______________________________

5. What will you offer to meet your income goal?

Now, come up with creative ideas about what you can deliver can boost your revenue in a short period of time.  Think about:

• Do you want to work 1:1 with clients, such as in a VIP day?  How many clients do you want?
• Will you offer a short-term 30-day (or less) “light version” coaching or consulting program?
• How about a summer sale of some of your information products?

These are a few easy-to-launch ideas how to quickly generate revenue.

6. Implement a marketing plan.

Take action by creating a step-by-step marketing launch plan to fill your programs!

Proactively planning your summer vacation time off and revenue-generation plans will increase the likelihood that both will happen!

With a little strategic planning and creative thinking, you can design your business to be whatever you want it to be.  To make it happen be sure to Plan, Plan, Plan!

Then, you don’t have to worry about money because it’s all in the plan.  And, you get to work the days You want to work this summer!

How many weeks vacation are you taking off this summer?  Post your number and comments on my blog in the boxes below!

I will be announcing a “light”, fun and low-cost way to create your own Summer Days revenue generation plan!  Create income, relax, and enjoy the summer!  Stay tuned…

I just listened to Lisa Michaels’ audio article, How a Bargain Basement Mentality Can Weaken Your Business Growth.  This audio caught my attention because everyone loves getting a good bargain.  But, having this mentality will hurt a business long-term.

Lisa says she pays attention to make sure she’s getting a bargain on the right types of things.  Getting bargains on things you use up, and not ongoing resources.  This may be your hair shampoo, food, clothing, and other disposable items are desirable.  Ongoing resources are things you will use over and over again, they last virtually forever.

However, Lisa contends that having a bargain basement mentality when investing in long-term and ongoing resources can weaken business growth.

Here are two reasons why entrepreneurs need to adopt a mindset of investment rather than a bargain basement or “freebie” attitude:

1. Free training gives you a nibble – but not a meal

When an entrepreneur has a bargain hunter mentality to business, how this shows up is they engage in getting a lot of free or low-cost business training.  They “hunt and peck” for the lowest cost training they can find.

It’s kind of like going to Costco and eating the samples of food to feed yourself dinner.  Doing this you never feel fully nourished; you haven’t filled yourself up because all you’ve had are little nibbles of food – some of which probably isn’t very nourishing to you.

When you Invest in higher quality training in your business, this is an asset you are acquiring.  The reason this is so is because what you learn you will keep forever.  The business skills you are learning and developing will always be with you.

When you invest in training and coaching programs that develop your skills, you transform and strengthen your business-building ability.

Free is fantastic.  But, in order to experience a deeper level of transformation you have to invest money, time and energy.  You can’t do this by flitting across the top layer of the “what” and “why” information free training delivers.  You need the “how” which is delivered by investing appropriately.

2. “Like” attracts “Like”

There are certain things I hear time-and-time again from entrepreneurs that without fail point to trouble.  One of those things is hearing someone say, “I’m not making any money.”

Upon closer inquiry, it becomes very clear that this person is not investing in coaching or business development programs to help them get to the next level.  They are the freebie program seekers and DIY-ers.

The writing on the wall is these people are not doing what needs to be done in order to develop themselves.

Because they’re not willing to invest in anything – guess what type of clients they’re attracting. 

You’ve got it!  They’re attracting the types of clients who don’t want to invest in themselves, either, the ones who always want something for free.

Our businesses are always reflecting back to us how we are showing up.  If an entrepreneur is attracting clients who aren’t willing to pay – the first place to look is to honestly ask themselves if they are willing to invest and pay.

How we’re investing is being reflected back to us in the amount of income we are receiving. {tweet it}

Investing in training and coaching that shows us the “how” is what we need to up-level our business growth.

My coach’s request of you this week is to review what type of training you’ve invested in the last six months.  Was it all or mostly free?  Was it paid for?  For either, what are the results you got?  Which type of training had the better return on investment?  Free or for-fee?

My guess is training you invested money for paid you back many times over if you implemented what you learned.  Go out and find the next awesome training to invest in to build your business!

What do you think?  Post your comments below.  I’d love to read them. ~B

Invest TIME, ENERGY and a small amount of MONEY and join me for a LIVE training event – Make More Money: “5 Essential Strategies to Get Your Business to the Next Level and Increase the Amount of Money You Make This Year”.  CLICK HERE to register for this live event.  ONLY 5 seats left!

In my business, I strive to offer my clients and followers programs that will solve their most urgent problems growing their businesses.

A few weeks ago I surveyed my email list and asked the question—

“What’s Your Biggest Challenge Getting Enough Clients And Earning The Income You Want?”

Here are the responses.  Do any of them resonate with you?  If so, tell me about them by posting a comment below.

Biggest Challenges

• Pricing offers
• Branding business so my ideal clients know how I’m unique
• Confidently charging my worth
• Using the best marketing methods
• Getting more clients, making more income – and not running out of time
• Crafting a story to convey my message and attracting an audience
• Creating create consistent income
• Keeping clients committed and enrolled
• Closing the sale / handling objections
• Generating enough leads
• Being able to afford to hire a coach or VA
• Managing my time , prioritizing, doing work that really matters
• Avoiding overwhelm
• Getting to the next level – I’m stuck at a certain income ceiling
• Finding ideal, paying clients
• Packaging my knowledge
• Creating information products
• Addressing fear, doubt, and increasing my confidence I can “do it”
• Creating an action plan and implementing it
• Questioning if I can do it all – I only have 24 hours

Erasing Obstacles

Surely, these are many obstacles  that can stand in our path on the way to success.  No adventure is worth taking if there aren’t any dragons standing in your way!  Overcoming and “erasing” these obstacles takes knowledge, mentoring, and persistent action to overcome them.

Which of these challenges in getting clients and increasing your income resonate with you?  Do you have any to add to the list?

Post your thoughts, ideas, and challenges in the form below.

I can help you with ALL these challenges!  Join me for a LIVE event – Make More Money: “3 Essential Strategies to Get Your Business to the Next Level and Increase the Amount of Money You Make This Year”.  CLICK HERE to register for this live event.  ONLY 6 bonus gifts left!

I’m also leading a FREE training call on May 14, “10 Blind Spots Holding You Back from Leaping to Your Next Level of Income and How To Break Through Them”.  CLICK HERE to register for this free training call.

Are you investing enough time doing enough marketing activities to create income?  Or, does your marketing plan need a makeover?

Take the quiz and find out. Answer each question honestly.  Your answers will shed a light on gaps in your marketing plan and help you identify areas for improvement.

For each statement below, choose the best answer.

1. One of the first things I have scheduled to do each day on my calendar is:

A. Call to follow-up with prospective clients or connect with joint venture partners

B. Check my Twitter, Facebook and other social media feeds and post or comment on others’ updates

C. Check my email – or go through the cards of people I met the last few weeks and send them an email to see if they need my services

D. Do the laundry, clean the house or do whatever needs to be done before I start work

2. The number of times per week I get out to meet new people is:

A. 2 to 3 times per week – I am focused on meeting new people, as well as people I already know to foster deeper relationships

B. I rarely get out to live events because I’m focused on building an online business

C. I may get out 1 time per week, but sometimes I don’t

D. I rarely get out

3. If I were to estimate the amount of time I spend on Facebook, Twitter and other social media DAILY – for work – I would say that I am online for:

A. 30′ – 1 hour total

B. 2 – 4 hours total

C. I do social media daily maybe 1 or 2 times per week

D. I rarely do social media for business purposes

4. In an average week, I spend this much time doing marketing and sales activities:

A. 8 hours – or even more if I am delivering discovery sessions to prospective clients

B. If social media counts as marketing, about 15-20 hours per week

C. 1 – 3 hours per week

D. I am not sure how much time I do marketing or sales, it varies from week – to -week

5. When it comes to launching new programs and making offers, it can be described as:

A. ”Planned” – I know what my next three launches and offers are going to be

B. “Connected” – I listen to what people want and then offer something according to what I hear

C. “As Needed” – When I need cash flow I decide then what to offer.  I generally don’t have things planned out in advance

D. “Hopeful” – I don’t have any offers planned, because I plan on getting most of my business by referral and word-of-mouth

6. For the most part, I feel this way about my marketing plan:

A. ”Optimistic” – I have a plan to market my business and I work it, and course-correct as needed

B. “Raring to Go” – I’m spending a lot of time on social media and have a lot of friends and likes on Facebook and a lot of Twitter followers – but it has not converted to sales – yet

C. ”Anxious” – I am not sure what is working, and what isn’t working, so I keep trying a lot of different things

D. ”Okay” – I’m sure business will start coming in soon

7. In a typical week I have this many conversations with potential clients:

A. 3 – I have a steady flow of people interested in working with me

B. Hard to say – when I email my list and offer sessions I get some takers, but this doesn’t happen every week

C. 1 to 2 – the weeks after I network and meet new people

D. 0 to 1, but usually none – since I don’t network or speak much – I am waiting for referrals and word-of-mouth to take off!

8. When it comes to marketing I generally use these tactics on a weekly basis:

A. A mix of offline (networking, speaking, attending live events, leading workshops) and online (teleseminars, online joint ventures, article distribution, social media) –  I invest time doing both both

B. Mostly online.  I do a lot of social media, and offer teleseminars or am part of a joint venture – I network or speak here-and-there, but don’t have a networking or speaking plan – except online

C. I do both offline and online activities, but only do one or the other a few times per week

D. I don’t have a weekly marketing plan, because I do things as I need to do them

Mostly As = “Superstar!”

Congratulations!  You have a great understanding that marketing is one of the most important activities to do in your business.  You also regularly implement a mix of online and offline tactics which increases your visibility and expands your reach.  You are goal-oriented and have a plan.  There’s a great chance you will meet your goals.  To supercharge your marketing, continue to refine your market, message, and offerings.

Mostly Bs = “Social Butterfly”

You are no doubt busy every day.  The problem is spending too much time on social media may seem like a good investment in marketing time, but it probably won’t pay off in the way you’re hoping.

Social media is great for building community and conversations.  But, it takes a very long time to convert social media followers’ into paying clients.  You will grow your business faster by incorporating some offline marketing activities into your marketing mix.  By decreasing the amount of time you spend on social media each day, this will be easy to fit into your schedule.

Mostly Cs = “Invisible”

You’re doing some marketing, so good for you,  But, you’re not doing enough, and enough people aren’t “seeing” you.  Include some more offline marketing activities, such as networking, speaking, or becoming part of joint ventures.

Also, be aware of how much time you’re spending doing things like refining your website, re-doing your business card or logo – i.e. what’s called “hiding out”  You’re busy, but no one is seeing this work.  To get client now you’ve got to get yourself out there and become visible.

Mostly Ds = “Hobbyist”

Chances are you’re treating your business more like a hobby, and aren’t taking it seriously enough to grow a viable business.  This isn’t a bad thing if having a hobby business is your intention or if paying the household bills and funding a future is not dependent on your business or income.

Referral and word-of-mouth marketing doesn’t work until you’ve built up visibility and credibility.  Get out there!  Work with mentor who knows about marketing and will help you create a plan.

QUESTION: What did the quiz reveal about YOUR marketing savvy?  Share your results and “a-ha”s in the comment box below.

Plan to attend the Make More Money Event: “A Surprisingly Clear Approach for Women Entrepreneurs How to Accelerate Business Growth!”  Click here to get the details!

At the start of our coaching call my client’s voice broke as she said to me, “I have only 3 people signed up for my program.  I was hoping to get 10 people, but it won’t happen.  My marketing strategy isn’t working.” 

This was my client’s first group program she was enrolling.  I knew this was new territory to her and was stretching the limits of her comfort zone.

As her coach, my request was, “Tell me what you’ve already done to market your program”.  She voiced off an inventory of activities that took her a mere 5 seconds to list.

The problems with her marketing immediately became clear to me.  She -

• wasn’t marketing enough
• was giving up too early

As entrepreneurs we are responsible for creating money in our businesses.  With that comes the objective of remaining as emotionally neutral as possible so that we can make the best decisions in our businesses.  When we let emotions rule, we lose objectivity and the ability to “think straight”.

I totally understand that when we get disappointed in our marketing results we feel all hope is lost and we want to give up.  I’ve been there.  But, when we start thinking things like, “I shouldn’t be doing this,” “I’m not good enough,” “I should  just go get a job,” this is a sure sign we are letting our emotions rule, and these thoughts simply aren’t true.

Think about it this way…

If you’re watching the Kentucky Derby and you have three horses approaching the finish line neck-and-neck, would you expect any of the jockeys to ease up on the home stretch because they thought they were going to lose?

Of course not!  The same is true for you.  Keep driving and marketing until you cross the finish line!

Here are common ways entrepreneurs “pull up the reins” before they cross the finish line – so you don’t do the same!

Pulling up before the finish line: A potential client says “no”

An entrepreneur  calls a potential client and gets a “no”.  They figure the person is not interested in ever working with them so they throw away their business card.

Driving to the finish line:

A “no” now is not a “no” forever.  Just because the timing is not right now doesn’t mean in the future this person won’t be interested.

Note in your marketing and sales calendar a future date to follow up.  Invite this person into another program and make an offer.

Pulling up before the finish line: Changing your mind and backing out of a launch

You want to put on a live workshop.  You get excited about it.  But, when it comes time to launch it you change your mind because you’re not sure how many (if any) people will register.

Driving to the finish line:

You plan a marketing strategy that includes offline and online marketing activities.  You ask friends, joint venture partners or affiliates to help you promote and fill seats.  You plan well and “work your plan”.

Pulling up before the finish line: You stop marketing even though you didn’t fill your program

You launch your group program and only 3 people register.  Your goal was 10 people.  But, you start your program.

Driving to the finish line:

You keep marketing with the goal of filling those seven seats.  You keep marketing and enrolling people into your program, letting people know, “There’s still time,” “It’s not too late to get in” for the next two weeks to two months (depending on the term of the program).

Pulling up before the finish line: You are short of your monthly income goal and stop

It’s the 25th of the month and you are short $5,000 from your monthly income goal.  You think it’s too late to generate any more sales this month, and you’ll wait until next month.

Driving to the finish line:

You still have 5 days to generate income.  You call people and invite them into a discovery session.  You don’t discount those remaining five days of the month as lost.  You keep offering to be of service and selling.

I’m sure by now you get my point: keep driving until you cross the finish line.  More races are won or lost in the last few feet of the race.  Keep striving to win, and you will!

Let me know how you will keep “driving” to the finish line by posting your comments below.

Marketing and sales are critical to business success.  Join me in the Make More Money Event to learn how to market your business in a high-impact way to generate more clients and income.  Register now because there is limited seating!  Get all the details here: http://bonitarichter.com/makemoremoneyworkshop/.

“5 Essential Strategies to Plug Your Money Leaks and Double the Amount of Money You Make This Year”

Join me for this brand-new high-content LIVE session.

You’ll be stretched personally by me as you begin to learn the exact business and marketing principles I used to grow my own multiple 7-figure and 6-figure businesses.

Then, you can immediately start using them yourself to upgrade your entire life—both personally and professionally.

This is also your opportunity to win a Complete Business Makeover (at no charge) as well as witness others experiencing breakthrough and “aha” moments while in the “hot seat” with me.

Barrington, IL • Friday, May 24, 8 am – 12 pm

Get the details by clicking here.

Announcing Bonita’s Marketing, Money and Sales Intensive for women entrepreneurs looking for HOW to earn more money and work SMARTER in their business.

Here’s how to tell if you’re ready to be a ROCK STAR at growing a business and what you’ll learn in this LIVE 4-hour event with me…

• You want clarity on the future “long-view” and where you are going…AND you want to know how to make it happen doing the day-to-day activities.
• You’re already doing okay in your business BUT you’ve hit a plateau and are ready to leap into the NEXT LEVEL.
• You want to learn from someone who actually has business experience and is an experienced teacher, adviser and business mentor. (me)

Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. Gain Clarity & Focus: Master Planning

2. Make More Money: Profit & “The Numbers”

3. Charge Higher Fees: Offers & Pricing

4. Be Seen: Promotion & Sales

5. Get Help: Collaborations, Partnerships & Advisers

Join me in the Make More Money Event to experience a level of business wisdom and training event unlike any other.

* The first 25 23 women who register will receive this valuable BONUS gift *

3 Steps to Authentically Price Your Programs for Profit! ($97 value)

Get the details by clicking here.

See you there!

~Bonita

The ground is shifting very quickly when it comes to generating clients and growing your business in today’s fast-changing business environment.

That’s why I am delighted to team up with other top coaches in the “Fire Up! Your  Business for Growth Giveaway” to give entrepreneurs resources to help them create a 1-of-a-kind, profitable and sustainable business.

We are offering 8 free, practical, helpful free business-building resources.  All you have to do is visit the link below to gain immediate access to the free gifts of your choice:

You can get your 8 FREE gifts by clicking here.

Get these gifts now, because this is a limited time offer and they’ll disappear soon.  Topics include:

• Creating a magnetic brand that’ll attract ideal clients
• An insider’s guide how to write your first book (and get it DONE)Ways to increase your energy and motivation everyday
• How to “claim your worth” doing what you love
• Meditation practice for success mindset
• How to create a “killer” elevator speech
• 10 truths to save your life (inspirational writing for life)
• How to get along with anyone

These gifts are available for a limited time.

Click here to get your free gifts.

Enjoy!

~Bonita

This past week I was in Phoenix, AZ at Kendall Summerhawk’s LeapLIVE 2013 event. 

This is the sixth “Kendall event” I’ve attended.  As usual, she delivered awesome mindset and income breakthrough content.  As much as I know, I always gain clarity and am inspired to take my business to the next level!

Here are five mindset breakthrough “a-ha’s” I want to share with you that became more firmly imbedded in my DNA this past weekend.

1. If you don’t live within your own Possibility Paradigm you are living someone else’s.

The Possibility Paradigm is the way we view reality and what we believe we are capable of achieving.  Our mindset and beliefs dictate the decisions we make and the actions we take.

We must become aware if we believe limitations imposed upon us by others – this is living someone else’s limiting, fear-based paradigm.

Shifting our Possibility Paradigm will change our mindset and the results we experience.

2. Opportunities have expiration dates.

Waiting is a death sentence for our business.  More opportunities will come along, but they always go away.

One opportunity leads directly to another.  Get in the habit of recognizing them and acting upon them when they show up if you want to grow your business.  Don’t miss out on an opportunity, because you are afraid of stepping into it.

3. Fear, we can’t stop it.  But, we can change how we respond to it.

We must recognize fear when it arises and know it is not our truth.  Truth is what is in our hearts.  If we can’t be committed to living our truth and move beyond fear, then don’t be in business, because being in business demands much from us, and it will be too hard.

Be wise to mindset and patterns that are disempowering.  Create new patterns and ways of being.  See what you can do that is different to get different results.

4. A one degree change in direction means we end up here rather than there.

One degree is small, and may seem minor.  But even small changes make a dramatic difference in our lives over time.  Here’s how this principle works.

Suppose we were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circle the globe, but we were flying off-course by just one degree.

By the time we returned to the same longitude from where we started, how far off course would we be?

An error of being off only one tiny degree would put us almost 500 miles off course.  We can see over time how not taking the right, smallest actions will make a massive difference in the results we achieve.

Make small changes.  They make a big difference in results, over time.

5. Trusted advisers are people who hold you higher than you hold yourself. 

We can’t succeed alone. We can’t do it all ourselves.  We need trusted advisers because we can’t be experts in everything.

A trusted adviser will help with these key tasks:

• Educate with relevant and timely information
• Provide objectivity in evaluating our current situation
• Suggest several possible strategies for achieving our goals
• Use their expertise to help us accomplish our goals in the quickest, most economical way possible

We all need multiple trusted and qualified advisers.  Make sure your trusted advisers meet these four qualifications:

• Shared values
• Professional acumen – hire an adviser who has broad, deep, current information and make sure they’ve made a lot of mistakes so they can help you avoid them
• Proven track record -work with someone who can point to consistent results, and has achieved the type of results you want
• Good references -hire an adviser after you thoroughly check their references, endorsements, testimonials

I love learning and experiencing mindset breakthroughs that will have a positive effect growing my business and income, so I can fulfill my purpose and mission on earth. 

I’m not playing small.  What about you?

If you want to play a bigger game I’m launching a money, mindset and marketing program. The outcome of this program is about creating awesome income, and how to do it.  Stay tuned for details!!!

Over the last ten years, I’ve looked into the eyes of thousands of women entrepreneurs and have seem them struggle in their businesses.  The struggles most commonly point to:

• not having enough leads
• not having enough clients
• not having enough cash flow and income

There are many reasons why a woman entrepreneur does not have enough clients or cash flow in her business.  Many times it boils down to her having some blind spots she’s unaware about.

Until she gets clear about how she’s stuck, it’s almost impossible for her to successfully attract enough clients and generate enough cash flow in her business to create the lifestyle and freedom she wants.

How can a woman entrepreneur tell if she has blind spots blocking her way?  Here are some common tell-tale signs.  She -

• knows the marketing she needs to be doing to attract new clients and generate cash flow, but can’t seem to do it on a consistent basis (or get results)
• is plagued by cash flow and money issues and feels trapped in “survival mode” financially
• procrastinates putting herself ‘out there’ in the market – she’s “idling” and doesn’t know why (or knows but doesn’t know how to fix it)
• needs a business coach but can’t ever seem to find the money
• is stuck at that 5-figure place of $30,40,or 50K – just enough income, but can’t seem to get to that place of having enough money for the home she wants, to save for retirement, or to support someone else

Blind Spot #1. Knowing she needs to build a list but she’s not doing enough about it.

Here is how not paying enough attention to growing her list shows up. A woman entrepreneur does not-

• see her list size grow by at least 100 people per month
• have a strategy in place for doing online marketing activities (ezine, social media, teleseminars/webinars, SEO, driving traffic to her website, etc)
• have a steady stream of new client prospects entering her sales funnel

The limiting beliefs at work here are - 

• if she sticks up a free offer on her website people will gladly get on her list
• she doesn’t like email marketing and to become a “Spammer”

The TRUTH: Every small business owner needs an audience of prospects to make offers to so they can generate cash flow and income.  If a list does not exist to market to she doesn’t have a business.

To resolve this blind spot, a woman entrepreneur must realize that it is crucial to consistently do list-building activities to being new people into her sales funnel.

There are over 50+ authentic list-building strategies a small business owner can do.  Many of them are free and can be easily implemented immediately.

An entrepreneur who commits to building a list of highly qualified prospects and develops a relationship with their list, based on trust, will consistently acquire new clients and cash flow.

Blind Spot #2. No formal business training or experience.

This is a blind spot we don’t hear enough about. For many entrepreneurs, they struggle and struggle to grow their businesses, and no matter what they do, things just don’t work out well for them.

If this speaks to you, dear reader, know that if you do not have business experience or training, and you are struggling and feeling bad about it, that maybe you’ve been mislead by all the programs promising quick and easy results, and fast money.  These promises are myths in the ‘Land of Easy Money’.

Starting a business is easy. All someone has to do is tack up a shingle next to their door, register their business, get some business cards, and start attending networking events.

But, growing a successful, sustainable business is not easy.  It’s hard. All we have to do is look at the business shutdown statistics and the median income of a coach being $29,100 to know this is true. (Source: 2012 ICF Global Coaching Study.)

These statistics are heartbreaking.

My experience is many of those coaches earning $29,100 are working very hard for that amount of income.

The good news is circumstances can be improved with the right training, coaching, and experience (which just takes time to acquire).  But - every small business owner who is struggling has to recognize, 1) it’s not easy, and 2) they really need to get professional help.

Here is how a lack of business training and experience shows up. A woman entrepreneur -

• is a DIY-er and is trying to build her business by doing everything herself (or only invests in “free” or low-cost trainings under the guise she’s “saving money”)
• is working hard, long hours and doing the best she can, but she’s still not making enough money
• has been in business 2, 3, 5 or even 10 years, but her business is not where she thought it would be by now in terms of cash flow, income, clients
• saw her business fall apart after the recession because she didn’t have a strong business foundation
• loves what she does but dislikes having to manage her business – the money/budgets, sales, marketing, measure business performance, etc

The limiting beliefs that are causing this to happen are she -

• knows she’s really good at what she does so the “clients will come”
• doesn’t need to learn about sales because people will refer her
• thinks by researching and “piecing together” all she reads about business, marketing and sales topics she is saving money
• knows “ultra-successful business owner A” who grew a successful business, generated lots of cash flow, and didn’t have a business background
• believes (naively) that anyone can grow a successful business

The TRUTH: No one has a successful business without having some sales, marketing and business experience themselves – or they’ve hired expert help.

If we study any successful entrepreneurs, whether they’re guru coaches in the industry or Bill Gates of Microsoft, a common thread we’ll see is that they got business training, coaching or hired the right help. This is true in every success story.

Also, by trying to learn how to do everything yourself, it takes a lot of time. It is almost impossible to gather all the pieces you need; there are knowledge gaps that occur simply because business, marketing and sales are massive topics to learn.

This represents a huge opportunity cost in terms of unrealized sales. Working with a mentor or coach will massively shorten your learning curve, and accelerate getting clients and cash flow.

And – if growing and managing a business is so easy, why are MBAs and finance professionals some of the highest paid professions in the marketplace?  The reason is because business development and management are complex, technical topics that the best business leaders learn over many years of training and practical experience.

Growing a successful business that generates the desired amount of cash flow is not easy, and it’s not enough to be good at what we do. To be successful in business, every woman entrepreneur needs sales, marketing, and business management skills – and help from someone experienced in business to navigate the right path for her.

To resolve this blind spot a woman entrepreneur can:

• hire a business coach or mentor who has real-world business training and experience (and runs a successful business – they are an entrepreneur)
• take key business courses, like financial and managerial accounting, budgeting, economics, marketing, and sales
• continually invest in acquiring business knowledge

Next week, I’ll share more blind spots that are holding women entrepreneurs back from creating consistent cash flow.

I am very excited about a new program I’ll be announcing soon which is about how to create consistent cash flow in your business, using PROVEN business growth strategies.  If you want to be put on a Priority Notification List – contact us by clicking here.  You’ll get the chance to attend this program FREE - our compliments.