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.

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

“I want an on-line presence that is more than a blog. One that brings in additional revenues and builds my brand. Problem is… I don’t know where to begin – help!”

This is the frustration we hear regularly from small business entrepreneurs who sense it’s time to create an on-line presence that builds their credibility, grows their community, provides opportunities for online profits and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The good news is… it’s possible! Yes!
You can establish a powerful on-line presence with efficient forethought and good old-fashioned planning. True, there will be additional twists and turns along the way unique to your on-line presence, but that’s what makes the journey fun and so rewarding.

Consider these 10 steps to creating an online presence and remember we are here to help! Our expert web design team has been with us for 10 years and have mastered the web launch process – from simple cost-effective websites to full blown community web communities. We’ve got your back!

Step #1: Define Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

No matter how high tech and visually pleasing your site is, if you don’t have a compelling offer that’s unique and clearly defined; on-line success will likely elude you. The answer is to begin your on-line journey with a well-defined USP that speaks to the needs of the people you want to serve. By taking time to enhance your competitive position you will lay the foundation for a long and prosperous on-line career.

Read more…

Business Growth, Marketing Innovation, Website Essentials marketing, productivity, strategies

OK, it’s time for some true confessions. How many emails are in your Inbox right now? I don’t mean just the bolded emails that have not been looked at. I’m referring to all of them – opened and unopened. Over the years, I’ve heard it all, from a few dozen to over ten thousand! Yikes. Here are a few questions to see if you are suffering from inbox overwhelm.

• Are you keeping any emails in your inbox as a reminder of an action step you need to take?
• Do you have emails in your inbox simply because you don’t want to lose the information or forget a point?
• When you open your email do you have a “not-so-good” feeling when you see the mass of emails screaming for your attention?
• Have you ever felt like blocking the entire slew of emails and sending them off to the recycle bin?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you are not alone. Inbox Overwhelm seems to afflict even the most successful entrepreneurs. How about you?

Read more…

Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth, Uncategorized productivity, progress, strategies

I’ve been on a quest lately to seek out business thought leaders that I can learn from, connect with and possibly profile in my six month Business Mastery Program for small business owners; individuals whose work is born out of experience, rather than theory or hype and delivers comprehensive, practical advice on how to grow a small business.

Sure, there are legions of niche gurus whose wisdom is tried and true. Innovators like Seth Godan whose perspective of marketing is fresh and mind-shifting and Toney Shui who is creating a global paradigm around how we serve our customers. Then there are those that focus on the growth strategies of corporate America – Peter Druckers’ In Search of Excellence and Jim Collins’ Good To Great. While some growth strategies of these corporate giants hold wisdom for the little guy, they don’t always translate into practical, day-to-day steps on how to reach your first million and stay sane and solvent along the way.

Then there is the highly respected small biz guru of the 90s, Michael Gerber. He helped shaped the entrepreneurial experience  by pointing out the three-way battle between the Entrepreneur, the Manager and the Technician.  I myself was able to navigate the rocky terrain and take my first business venture to the 1 million mark in the late 90s, thanks to his advice. Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth business mastery program, exclusive

Have you ever noticed that as your business expands, you find more and more places where you need quality, convenient, on-the-fly support in order to keep things growing and still have a reasonably spacious personal life?  That’s how it is form me and so I am on a mission to find creative ways for managing a virtual team and staying connected with the fabulous, heart-centered and hard-working people to whom I am totally committed.

The challenge is to do this I have to fess up to the fact that there are two areas where (confession time) I’m not exactly at the level I need to be to create the results I want. Yep – I know. Shocker!

What two areas are my growing edge – places I need to be more effective?

They are 1) Effective Delegation and 2) Clear and Efficient Team Communication. Can anyone relate?

Knowing that a “system” is key to doing just about anything more effectively, I’ve created a really simple tool to help me improve communication with my virtual team. I’m sharing it here knowing that many of you are also facing the same dilemma of managing a virtual team. Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision productivity, progress

I’m asked this all the time…“Jane, how do you get so much done?”

The truth is, time management for Entrepreneurs is essential to success but not typically something that comes naturally.

So to keep myself on track and in service to my clients, I’ve actually made it a habit of tracking how I get so much done in a day.

I offer 10 tips here. Let me know which tip is your favorite!

1. Perhaps first is, I’ve got good at saying NO. No to tasks that don’t light me up, projects that aren’t aligned with my goals, clients that aren’t in sync with what I offer. “No” is the best efficiency tool you will ever have.
2. I know my “power rhythms” and I work them to my advantage. I know myself – how I’m wired and I design my day around that. I know when I’m best at writing, networking, closing deals, leading my team or creating a strategy. Different tasks require different parts of me and I’ve learned to move with my natural rhythms. Read more…

Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration, progress

One of the greatest gifts (and challenges) that business owners face is the juggling of the many roles of the entrepreneur. On a daily – even hourly – basis we are called to shift gears and perform tasks that are as varied as the items on our “to do” list. It’s the source of entrepreneurial stress that sends some into overwhelm and others to the sofa in an effort to shut out the demands of business ownership.

Knowing that not a lot gets done eating Bon Bons on the sofa, I’ve honed a strategy that supports me in moving through my day with greater ease and effectiveness. It’s my way of calling forth the traits and skills that are required for the myriad of tasks on my plate. Call them roles, archetypes or alter egos, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they help me experience my days with more joy and effectiveness and that’s pretty cool. Meet the many parts of me…

The Visionary is the Dreamer with their eye on the future and their feet firmly planted on the ground. When we step into the role of Visionary, we stand in possibility and see trends and opportunities that the other parts of us can’t see. It’s the Visionary that can champion a cause, align the team with what needs to get done and rally the masses around one unifying vision. The Visionary measures the short and long term strategy against the core values of the company, making sure the team never loses sight of their overriding purpose. It’s also the Visionary that inspires others, stimulates collaboration and ultimately understands that the vision only happens when the right team is aligned. Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration, productivity, strategies

One of the things that continually astounds me is how the simple act of “getting clear and focused” can literally transform the experience of my days and the results I get to enjoy.

I’m inspired to share this on the heels of a full day of planning yesterday, during which I brought together various team members (live and virtually) to discuss our shared vision, define our key strategies, establish our priorities and get clear about where each of us will be “working our magic” to make it all come together over the next two months. Were there other things I needed to be doing? From phone calls and emails to our next program launch, there were lots of things I could have been doing for that 7 hour stretch of time. But the reason I make time for these strategic Planning days is that I know that for every hour I not only save 4 hours in productivity, I also give my team the gift of clarity, contribution and collaboration – all of which keep them productive, fulfilled members of my team.

With clarity about where I should be investing my time each day and our priorities clearly laid out for the rest of my team, we can ward of overwhelm and step into that sweet space of confidence, joy and purposeful action.

Purposeful Planning…

• Gives you a sense of direction, meaning, and purpose
• Reduces uncertainty, anxiety, doubt and fear Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration, progress

Having delivered fourteen virtual courses to more than 4000 students, I’ve learned a few insider secrets that can make or break your virtual training success.

I offer them here in the interest of shortening your learning curve as you join the virtual training movement.

1. Give Them Your Best – Your first E-Learning Platform should be based on your most popular program – your signature content upon which your brand is built. By transforming your content into an ongoing, step-by-step experience we allow participants to settle into our message and gradually weave our strategies and the principles into their lives.

2. Begin With the End In Mind – As the saying goes, you can’t hit a target you can’t see.  So no matter what your topic, begin the program with a pre-course exercise that helps participants create a clear vision of where they want to end up after experiencing your course. From hitting a financial goal, defining their ideal weight, or indentifying a personal dream they truly desire, you want participants to see and feel the results before they begin.  This keeps them focused on the end goal and inspires them to take the action steps you’ve outlined for them.

3. Give Them A Starting Point To Measure From – One important way to keep participants engaged in your e-course is to help them recognize and measure their progress along the way.  I recommend you start with a series of pre-course assessment questions that provide a numerical representation of where they are with regard to your topic. This assessment provides motivation to keep taking the steps you suggest and provides evidence of their progress. Clients who can measure progress are more likely to stay in the game and tell others about their experience. Read more…

Business Growth, Business Vision, Marketing Innovation, Sales marketing, progress, strategies