As a mentor and trainer, I help entrepreneurs to overcome the hurdles that keep them from success. One of these challenges is getting stuck – finding yourself in a place of inaction despite wanting to keep growing. You may have thoughts like, “I want my business to grow so badly. But for some reason, I just can’t get myself to make the phone calls. I can’t get myself to get on the phone, I can’t get myself out the door to network.”

If you’re finding yourself in a place of inaction–if you’re feeling stuck–sometimes it’s because the vision isn’t exciting enough, or as I say, juicy enough. Maybe you feel like you need permission to have a bigger vision for yourself. Trust me – you are permitted! Make it juicy, make it fun, make it a kind of vision that inspires you to jump out of bed in the morning to get to work.

Other times, we’re inactive because the vision is someone else’s. We’re living someone else’s dream, moving towards a vision that someone else said was a vision that we should have. If this is the case, you need to take a step back and think about what led you to enter this business in the first place. From there, you can redefine your vision and move ahead with clear motivation.

Inaction can also result when you’ve been in business for a awhile and achieved success. If you’ve met your goals, you need to make new ones! Perhaps you need to bring in an element of contribution and take your success out into the world. Making a difference in others’ lives is a key value for me, and knowing that other people rely on me keeps me from getting stuck.

Periods of inaction are common in direct selling, but they don’t have to keep you from growing. Examine the reason you are stuck, make the necessary changes and get back into the game!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Masterminding business growth, business owner, direct selling, entrepreneur, vision

When you are the CEO of your own business, you have the potential to be pulled in ten different directions at once. It’s essential that you find some way to structure your time so that all areas of your life receive the attention they need. My method of time blocking involves choosing a primary focus or theme for each day of the week. This way, I know which hat I’m wearing each day! And this way of planning allows me to focus on one of the five archetypes of entrepreneurship each day. You will develop a time blocking strategy that’s unique to you and your business, but here’s what a typical week looks like for me.

On Mondays, I focus on meetings, planning, and directing my team. The theme of the day is to keep the business moving forward and make sure everyone has what they need to succeed.

Tuesdays are my creative days. I get to access my knowledge and put it to work in new and exciting ways. It’s amazing how rejuvenating it can be to focus on your core strengths and messages!

Wednesdays are more open, flexible days. I can continue working on content creation from Tuesday, or I can catch up in another area.

Thursdays are my business coaching days – my opportunity to be a cheerleader, strategist, mentor, and whatever else is needed.

On Fridays, I focus on outreach. This is the day when I schedule meetings and phone calls and make a point to try to connect with people. It’s really nice to be able to tell someone, “I’d really like to get to know you better” and know that I have dedicated time for that purpose.

Whatever the elements of your schedule, setting up a daily theme will tell you who to be each day and help you to give the best of yourself in any situation.

As you look at the week ahead, look for 30 minute time blocks during which you will commit to making progress in a particular area of your business. It might be marketing, lead follow-up, connect calls, personal growth or answering emails – just to name a few. The key is to block off a particular chunk of time during which you will make progress on an important aspect of your business. I think you will find that time blocking helps you to be more focused, more creative and more satisfied in your work!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Masterminding business management, entrepreneur, scheduling, time blocking

Having participated in the human potential movement for two decades, as an audience member and professional speaker, it has become clear to me that the true mark of a successful speaker lies not just in what happens on stage, but more importantly, how participants are changed as they head for home. How are their lives impacted? What are they inspired to do? What positive change were you a catalyst in creating?

But here’s the rub: inspiring life-long change is a tall order when your time on stage is so fleeting. Even when your content flows perfectly and your story hits home, you still need a way to create lasting change after the lights are turned off and the attendees go home.

It may seem obvious that product sales are the way to keep your message in people’s minds after you’ve left the stage, and this is true. But not just any product will do. You need a product that:

• Brings in immediate cash.
• Warmly welcomes new clients to your “tribe.”
• Inspires clients to take action on your strategies.
• Creates a life-long connection between you and the client.
• Avoids adding to our planet’s landfill problem by offering a “green” learning alternative.
• Delivers on your promise of helping them experience more success, happiness, and so on.

So how can we accomplish these objectives easily, cost effectively and without headaches? The answer is a multimedia, e-learning platform that:

• Brings your content to life in a meaningful and inspiring way
• Encourages clients to take actions on the strategies you offer
• Holds them accountable and rewards them for every step they take
• Is a LOW overhead and HIGH return product for you

All this can be created through the power of an E-learning Program – an online, modular learning experience that walks participants through your content, offers simple yet specific action steps, and rewards them for staying in the game. Not sure if your content is ready to go virtual? Take our Virtual Viability Survey and see how close you are to making this life-changing opportunity a reality.

Business Growth, Business Vision, Marketing Innovation entrepreneur, online course, virtual training

One of the most important reasons to be comfortable with the numbers aspect of your business is the scientific truth that states “that which is measured, expands.” And isn’t that the goal? I have experienced this phenomenon time and time again in my own business; when I focus on the numbers, I automatically sell more.

One of my clients had a failing business and partners who wanted to throw in the towel. She asked for one more month to turn things around and committed to spending 15 minutes each day looking at the numbers (number of sales calls, sales averages, closing ratios, etc.). The results were, in her words, “like magic.” The moment she began to track the numbers, she saw an upturn in results. So do yourself a favor – invest some time in tracking and measuring bot efforts and results. Then reap the rewards as your efforts create the results you’ve been wanting!

For more business management advice from seasoned professionals, why not set up a free strategy session with one of my business mastery coaches? Click here to get started!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Sales business management, business owner, entrepreneur, growth, profitability

While focusing on where future business will come from is essential for long-term success, the “right-now money,” or low-hanging fruit, is also important to your success and sanity. To mentally prepare for this effort, think about your raving fans, previous successes and the difference you’ve made in your clients’ lives. Then jump in with confidence!

A few examples of gathering low-hanging fruit include: collecting on outstanding receivables, being proactive in your billing, making a compelling offer to the top 20% of your clients, offering prospects something that’s easy to say Yes to, looping back to previous prospects and sweeten the offer, and finally – charging more for your services! No matter which of these ideas you implement, it’s important to come from a place of abundance! Remind yourself that opportunity is everywhere and you need only make the choice to take action.

To further evaluate the state of your business and set yourself up for success, take my business innovation quiz. You may find even more low-hanging fruit within your grasp!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Sales business owner, entrepreneur, management

From fine-tuning your message to amping up your marketing efforts, there will always be things you can do to enhance your success. But how can you tell the difference between action steps that create marginal results and those that create breakthroughs? This is an important skill to develop because your business success comes from focusing on the high-payoff tasks.

As you consider where you want to invest your time for the greatest return, look for these common characteristics. First, high pay-off tasks usually fall way outside your comfort zone. The make your heart race and cause you to draw upon a part of you that may have been dormant, waiting in the wings. Second, reach for a higher-caliber of prospect—the most influential people in your community or field who may have intimidated you in the past. Often these prospects have the budget and the influence that can quicken your success. Finally, high pay-off tasks often involve an element of risk. Playing it safe and sitting on the sidelines never won the game, so look for ways to take calculated risk in your business.

Finally, befitting their name, high-payoff tasks have the potential to lead to high or leveraged sales. So, if you’re looking for a way to kick-start your success, consider making high-payoff tasks a priority this coming week. For assistance in determining your high-payoff tasks, schedule a complimentary session with one of my business mastery coaches. Get started here!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Masterminding, Sales business breakthroughs, business owners, entrepreneurs, high-payoff tasks

Coaching skills profit all aspects of your life. Whether you want to increase sales, build a team or engage someone in a compelling vision, one skill set enables us to show up more powerfully, and that’s coaching. Applying coaching skills creates deeper connections with others, makes people feel valued and heard, and gives others the space to be resourceful and empowered. In business, you can take these skills into your marketing efforts, sales conversations, team building and, of course, client relationships. But these skills also can prove crucial in other aspects of your life.

My father recently underwent heart surgery and has experienced complications in his recovery. After a rough night of delirium and discomfort, he decided he was done with life. He subsequently refused treatment, medication, and any form of nutrients. In this tense and emotional situation, I drew upon my coaching skills as I never had before. I sat with him, asked powerful questions and listened with my whole being. I empathized and reflected back to him what I was hearing, affirming his feelings of hopelessness and discomfort. Then I used the art of vision crafting by talking about what lies ahead for him if he could find the strength to pull through. Finally, I asked, “Daddy, if I could make a promise that with time this pain and sadness would go away and you could live out the rest of your days comfortably with the people who love you, would it be worth the fight?” He nodded yes, took a bite of his food, and allowed the hospital staff to resume their job of bringing him back to health. I can’t say that this one single conversation re-engaged him in the fight for his life, but I’m very grateful that I could lean on my coaching skills to help him regain his fight.

I challenge everyone to think like a coach in your business and personal life. Ask more questions and listen more deeply. Trust that you will find the answers you need–to engage someone in your offer, to inspire someone to take action or to take a step toward a better life. Need a little more guidance? Sign up for a complimentary strategy session with one of my business mastery coaches. Get started here.

Business Growth, Business Vision, Uncategorized business growth, business leadership, coaching, entrepreneurship

In the course of growing my businesses, I have found that pursuing perfection can derail a project or drive me bonkers if I allow that mindset to take over. When you care so much about a project, you want everything to be just right. But this way of thinking is not only unrealistic – it also keeps you from the single most important element of business success…inspired action!

Executing a big project isn’t always pretty. It can be messy, cumbersome, and a bit chaotic at times…and that’s OK as long as it gets you into action. So as you tackle your next project, banish your inner perfectionist and allow the learning to come from your mistakes. This is how you get better each time around.

A recent launch I conducted was anything but perfect. But the good news is we made a profit, expanded our reach, and learned so much that we will take forward to the next launch. That’s what business-building is all about! So this week, I challenge you to quiet your inner perfectionist. Get messy, make mistakes, try something you’ve been meaning to try…and see how accepting the imperfection can open you up to new successes.

One of my favorite sayings is… “anything worth doing well, is worth doing poorly at first.” Need a little help envisioning your life without perfectionism? Schedule a strategy session with one of my business mastery coaches. Get started here!

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth, Sales

The truth is…no matter how good you are, and no matter how carefully you plan, things will go wrong in your business! There will be times when people aren’t entirely thrilled with you!

Here’s what inspired today’s message. Our tech team recently took on the huge task of upgrading our servers. One client came up against a hiccup during the upgrade and lashed out with a pretty scathing email that was both accusatory and tough to receive. In this case, despite our best efforts, I realized we just couldn’t appease this particular customer.

I wanted to share with you how I worked through it because what came out of it is actually something really beautiful, something valuable for the team, and something we’re going to use going forward.

I wrote down and answered five powerful questions.

1.  What’s true about this?
   When you’re triggered and feeling defensive, you can’t always see what’s true.  But, there were things that were accurate in what she said.
2. What’s not true?
   There was a lot that was unfounded.
3. What am I willing to own?
   What will I take responsibility for in order to make the most of this situation?
4. What can I do to remedy this?
   How can I mend this client connection and what can we do to prevent it from happening again?
5. What am I going to take from this going forward?
   While we all get triggered when we’re feeling wrongly accused, if you access the truth about something and you access your desire to serve and make a difference in the lives of your clients, you can respond powerfully and purposely.  Good things can come from any situation.

So, while it was not an easy morning for us, our team walked away with more clarity about what we can do in the future in similar situations.

We also came away feeling as though no matter what, we can manage.  We can go through this journey because our vision for our business is so much more important than any triggered state. And as long as we come from a place of service and we’re willing to take responsibility and make changes going forward, it’s all good.  It’s all good.

So that’s my message to you, straight out of the life of Jane Deuber and her amazing team, growing this amazing business.

Take responsibility for what you should own.  Practice self-love and let go of what you shouldn’t own. I’m wired to be a pleaser.  This sets me up to take “client dissatisfactions’ pretty hard.  My guess is that is true for you as well.

So, next time you’re triggered by something that has gone wrong, write out and answer the five questions. You’ll find that it will center you and allow you to respond from a place of power and clarity…and you will then uncover the beautiful take-aways from the experience.

For further advice on managing difficult moments in the life of your business, schedule a strategy session with one of my business mastery coaches. Get started here.

Personal Growth inspiration, strategies

The other day I asked myself… “What are the common threads among those who succeed in business?”

I looked at my own experience of growing five businesses.
I looked at my friends & colleagues who are also building successful business.
I looked at my clients who are making great progress – taking huge leaps.

And then it hit me… while there were many similarities and best practices among all of them – one totally stood out for me.

A common thread among all my successful, entrepreneurial friends is that they are all…
genuinely grateful, joy-filled HAPPY people!

So then I asked another question… “What do successful entrepreneurs do to stay happy?”

Following are my discoveries as I went on a HUNT for the strategies, perspectives and SECRETS of the HAPPY entrepreneur.  While the list was long, I’m sharing SEVEN that you can apply to your life and business TODAY to increase your level of HAPPINESS and become a magnet for success!

Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision, Masterminding, Networking, Personal Growth business mastery program, marketing, progress, strategies