As business owners, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to target our ideal clients, what messages to use to get them to buy, and how to close the deal. But what happens after the sale? Sometimes, we’re so focused on making the sale, we don’t stop to think about whether we want to work with an individual after they’ve purchased our products and services. Case in point: I was recently working with … Read more
What’s a job-by? It’s what I call a hobby business or a lifestyle business. A job-by is a business that let’s you do something you love and make a little (emphasis on little) money doing it. I was recently involved in a discussion with a group of women and I asked, are you running a serious business or do you have a job-by? And, boy-oh-boy did I get an earful! “It can be both!” they … Read more
If you know me, odds are you’ve heard me say “every minute we take away from our business is an investment, so spend it wisely.” As I’ve been speaking with groups about my book, “Lunching with Lions: Strategies for the Networking-Averse” there’s one part of my presentation that creates an interesting deer-in-the-headlights look from audience members. It’s the part of my talk where I ask them how much their time is worth. See, when we … Read more
This week, I presented my talk “Lunching with Lions: How to Survive and Thrive at Networking” (based on my new book) to one of my favorite women’s groups. Before I took the stage, everyone was asked what their greatest networking challenge happened to be. Out of nearly 100 responses, two things stuck out as common conundrums: Dislike/discomfort of small talk and the desire to connect more deeply from the get-go; and The question of what … Read more
Have you ever heard of Dunbar’s Number? It’s the number of people with whom we (as humans) can maintain “stable social relationships”. Relationships in which we know who each person is and how they relate to every other person. That number is 150. How many LinkedIn contacts do you have? Facebook friends? Names on your oh-so-important email list? I’m going to bet it’s way beyond Dunbar’s 150. As business owners, we are challenged to maintain … Read more
What are you celebrating this week? These posts show up in my social media feeds every Friday, and I usually toss out something good that happened – I signed a new client, I scheduled a trip, I finished a big project – and then continue scrolling. Like many entrepreneurs, no sooner do I achieve something I’ve worked a long time for than I check it off the list, wipe the imaginary sweat from my brow, … Read more
I’ve spent the last month steeped in visioning. Visioning for me. Visioning for my clients. Dreaming and scheming and creating bold, exciting visions for what we want to be, have, and achieve in our businesses. Now what? While vision boards and vision exercises help us unconsciously align our activities to achieve our goals, success also takes purposeful and seven (plus) things you can do to move vision from the realm of imagination to reality: Identify … Read more
You had a vision for yourself when you started your business. Can you remember what it was? I only ask because I work with clients all the time who have become so subsumed the everyday tasks of running their business, that they’ve lost sight of why they started in the first place. They’re feeling overwhelmed, fragmented, and unsure of their next steps. If you’ve every heard me talk about vision, you’ll know I compare it … Read more
I recently held my annual vision board party, one of my most favorite events of the year. Vision boards hold real power, I always tell my guests, because they give us a picture of what we could be and what we could achieve, and help us to align our actions in order to become or achieve that state of being. Listen, I am a linear, logical thinker. I like to joke that there are many … Read more
Take a deep breath. I’m going to say something now that might freak you out a bit. You need a marketing plan. If you know me, you know I preach the holy trifecta of AWARENESS, PURPOSE, and INTENT in running your business. You must be AWARE of what you are doing in order to align your activities and actions with PURPOSE and INTENT to achieve that end goal. Like this: When you’re aware of your … Read more