OK… so I did it. I’ve started writing my book. I wrote the first pages last weekend and umm… gulp.

While I’ve been sitting with the desire to write another book for some time – it’s been a recent series of nudges that pushed me into action. That and the inner voice saying… it’s time Jane, it’s time!

So I’ll be using my occasional blog posts as a place to share the evolution of what I’m anticipating will be some pretty cool and innovative thoughts around helping solo entrepreneurs experience more joy, more fun and oh yes… higher revenues along the way.

So in an effort to keep the Inner Critic at bay I’ll begin with WHY. Why embark upon this journey of putting my thoughts about growing a successful business in a book?

First – not only are entrepreneurs my favorite people on the planet, I am also one of you. Having founded four successful businesses over the last 24 years, I know the feelings of excitement when you reach a milestone, close a deal or make a difference while making a profit. It’s sweet.

Second – I believe that there is a deeper conversation that needs to be had around this journey of building a business. Through my own experience and now my work with clients I see the light side as well as the dark side of entrepreneurship.  I know how it feels when it gets lonely, uncomfortable and downright scary. I get it.

So let’s start to have an honest conversation about how you can step into your role as an entrepreneur with more joy, greater commitment and better results.

A few things I want you to know about your journey as an entrepreneur.

• I want you to know you are not alone on your journey as an entrepreneur. You are accompanied by a band of courageous brother and sister entrepreneurs who are also striving to make a difference in the world. They share your desire for the journey to building a business to be more profitable and peaceful.
• I want you to know there are new enlightened answers to the challenges you face in growing your business. New ways of seeing your business, new ways of being in business and perhaps more important –new methods for expanding your business that are in alignment with your values and the way you are uniquely wired.
• I want you to know you’re off the hook. No longer do you have to force yourself to take steps to grow your business that are so out of alignment with your character that it causes unrest.  This is not to say that you won’t have to take steps beyond your comfort zone, sorry, that’s still part of the process. What it does mean is that in building your business you never have to compromise your integrity or do something that goes against the person you are meant to be.
• I want you to know that when you attempt to grow your business using methods that are out of alignment with your values and personality, not only will you fail, you will also repel the very results you are seeking because the vibration you are moving in is out of alignment with who you want to be.
• I want you to know that only when your business is built on a foundation of your personal values and the principles of service and contribution will you remain connected to your higher self and thereby be empowered to attract the people and opportunities that will bring your business into your reality.

So that’s what I want you to know today. Let me know how this lands – let’s have a dialogue about how these thoughts resonate with what you are feeling about your journey of growing your business. It will be fun.

Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration, productivity, progress

If this is your first visit with me I’ll begin with a nudge to begin not with this entry, but with my last entry – Journey to Wholeness.  Starting there will add depth to what I’m about to share – a background if you will to why Making Choices is a personal celebration of what happens when you take a stance to live the wholeness of your life.

It’s been two weeks since my re-commitment to design my “Work Life” first to serve my personal and spiritual evolution and secondly to meet my financial needs. I’ve spent the better part of those two weeks stepping back and looking at the options before me. Imagine standing on a country road in the middle of nowhere with three possible roads calling out.

There’s the road I’ve recently traveled. That one holds big adventures, personal affirmation and oh yes… lots of doing. I can already feel the adrenalin kick in as I contemplate this road. I feel my heart race and my stomach tighten as I think of big goals, long to-do lists and… the absence of ME. Been there, done that. While this road holds many rewards it also requires a pace so fast that I miss out on the scenery, the simple moments and a connection to myself. No thanks.

This second road beckons to me from a world I’ve moved in for 24 years yet recently stepped away from. It’s a world filled with positive people – each one on a quest to achieve their deepest desires. Curious about what this world still holds for me, I stepped back in just last week.  While certain elements felt familiar and fun, it provided a mirror for me to see just how much I’ve changed in just one year. I may venture down this path now and then for the right client or project, but this road is not the path that honors my promise to do the work that deeply supports my personal and spiritual evolution.

The funny thing I notice about this third road is that I’ve been on it since the first of the year when the profile of my ideal client or project moved into alignment with who I was attracting. The people I am serving are playing a significant role in bringing the planet back to its natural state of contribution, collaboration and abundance. It’s my client Jennifer Hoffman whose book, 30 Days to Everyday Miracles, is changing lives all over the world. It’s Pat Pearson, who has been bringing her psychologically based, life-management strategies to direct selling women for more than 30 years. It’s Carolyn Cooper, a gifted energy intuitive whose heart is as expansive as the impact of her work. It’s Peggy O’Neill, a professional speaker  who has the heart of an angle, the courage of Goliath and stands tall at 3’ 8”. These clients are perfect for me.  As I help them grow their business, my life is changed – nudging me further down my personal path of transformation. Cool… Fun… I love it!

So my nudge to you dear reader is to simply TRUST. To step toward what you want by saying NO more often – no to the project, the job, the client or the request.  Because in the place of letting go of what doesn’t serve you, you are simultaneously moving toward your heart’s desire.

Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration

It’s May 28, 2010. If I could, I would put one of those five pointed gold stars on this day – the kind we used to get in school when we finally got it right.

You see, today’s blog entry is a leap of faith for me. It’s not a marketing ploy or a part of some grand scheme to overtly move you into one of my training programs or have you click on a link and take me up on a coaching offer. Nope, I’ve let go of all that and am stepping into TRUST.

Today I am celebrating that I am one year into a personal journey that has changed me at my very core. I’m celebrating that I now see and experience my life and work as one big beautiful journey.  I’m honoring my lean and healthy body at the age of 50. I’m appreciating the depth of connection I have with the people in my life, and I’m acknowledging that while I’ve come so far in these past 12 months, I’ve only just begun.

Today I’m also publically committing to follow through on a promise I made to myself in August of 2009, to take only those projects and clients that serve my personal evolution and help usher me into the work I am supposed to do and the person I am meant to be.

Today I’m stepping into my belief that we all get to have a business that is wildly successful and beautifully fulfilling – all at the same time. I’m calling myself to a higher level – not just for my own evolution but because I sense I’m supposed to figure some things out for all of us who want it all.

Today I am inviting you to join the journey which is actually pretty scary for me because when we extend an invitation, there is always a chance we will be rejected. But that’s OK. This journey is first for me and secondly for those of you who feel discontentment in your experience as an entrepreneur and want some new ways to find joy, peace and success on the way to building your business.

What’s ahead? I have no idea.

But what I can promise you is this…

1. I will write often. No promises of how often but you can count on me to show up and share numerous times a week no matter what’s happening in my life and business.
2. I will write honestly. I’m taking off the mask and putting aside my very real need to look like I’ve got it all together. Been there done that. And while my game face serves me at times, it’s not honoring the fact that who I am today is all I need to be to make a difference in this world.
3. I will look for new solutions. This is where it gets fun for me. You see, I’ve got two big beautiful needs… to create and to contribute. In writing this blog I get to do both. My hope is that the insights and solutions I find for myself will in turn, serve you.
4. I will be authentic. I promise to be me. That means some days I will show up powerfully and full of confidence and other days I will show up wobbly and unsure. I’ll do this because I want you to find comfort in knowing I fight the same demons of doubt and fear on the way to my dreams.
5. I will make it fun. This is a growing edge for me and so I’m calling myself to bring levity and fun to the process. It’s a nudge from my dear friend John Dulworth who has opened my eyes to how much more meaningful the journey is when we don’t take ourselves so seriously.

So how about it?

Will you check in now and then to watch the journey unfold? Will you comment when you are moved or share an insight you’ve gained? I hope so because I’m sensing what will unfold over these next 6 months will be something pretty cool and I’d be honored to have you on the journey with me.

Maintaining Mindset, Personal Growth inspiration, progress, prosperity

Humility, in its purest form, has been hailed in movies, honored in classrooms and preached from the pulpits. But what is it really? What is at the heart of humility? Look up humility on line and you’ll see it defined as the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.

My view of humility comes from a deeper place based on my own personal experience. I believe when we stand in a place of humility we are in essence honoring the value and brilliance of others. Not just the ones we have put on the pedestal or who by rank, serve as our leaders and mentors – I’m talking about those behind the scenes as well.

I’m reminded by a beautiful quote by Mary Kay Ash that went something like this… “To be a leader we must honor the person who cleans the floors as much as we honor the person that owns the floors.” Doesn’t this pretty much sum it up? Is anyone really any more brilliant than the other? I think not.

However, humility can be an interesting thing when it comes time to market our services, ask for business and close the deal. To do this, we are holding ourselves up as the “keeper of the keys” to the answers and solutions they are looking for.  I know that it sometimes feels a little odd to hold myself up as an “expert or guru” despite the fact that I have evidence after evidence of the impact I can have on a personal business and personal life.  Thank goodness I have friends, a coach and many clients who remind me of the value I offer.  Their experience of my work nudges me to “step into my power” and let her rip! I write the blog (you are reading evidence of one now), I make the call, I extend the invitation to work with me – all from that place of remembering the valuable impact I have on others.  Sure, there is a little voice inside telling me “it’s not right to brag.”  I hear that, check to make sure I’m coming from the right place and then keep on keeping on!

I believe I’m not different from you! The landscape of my day may be different. I may be talking to different people and my list of things to do might involve different tasks, but aren’t we all looking for a way to express our value to others in a way that’s comfortable and effective?  Aren’t we all simply looking for a way to express the difference we know we can make? I get it and I’m with you!

So let this serve as a reminder to myself and you that if the ultimate goal is to create the life we truly want to live, we will need to stand in our greatness and do the stuff that sometimes scares us. But what’s a little discomfort today if it leads to having what we truly want tomorrow?

So I invite you to find a comfortable blend of humility and power. To honor the greatness in yourself as you see the greatness in others.  It’s from this place that we can use our talents for the greater good of all.

Business Growth, Marketing Innovation inspiration, marketing

Usually when I pose this question I am using it to help a client more clearly define their ideal customer.  But that’s not the intent of my question today.  My question “Who does your business serve” is a check in for you regarding who you want your business to ultimately benefit.  Is it your customer, your employees, your creditors, or perhaps YOU?

Certainly… your business needs to serve your customers. I’m a huge proponent of making sure every coaching client has a crystal clear picture of their ideal customer and a game plan on how they will serve them. Without knowing who we serve and how we’ll do that we can’t possibly have a profitable, thriving business.

My invitation to you is to go deeper with the question, “Who does your business serve?” What is your life as an entrepreneur really like? Is it a never ending marathon moving from one item on your to do list to the next? How do you feel on the inside? Is there tightness in your chest or an uneasy feeling in your belly? How about your schedule? Is there time woven into each day for you – time to eat well, to exercise your body, to connect with your inner world and be with your loved ones or are you moving so fast that you miss the moments that make up an extraordinary life?

I ask this because I have had a business that served everyone BUT me. That business had all the signs of success – healthy revenues, national notoriety, successful teams and paychecks that afforded me a beautiful lifestyle. But behind the scenes I was in pain – working too much and sleeping too little. I spent too much time in front of my computer and not enough in nature or at the gym. I put client calls before talks with my loved ones and began my mornings answering emails rather than connecting with my higher power. The business clearly did not serve ME.

Thankfully, this time around I’ve gotten smarter. I now have a business that serves me as well as my customers, team and the bottom line. I start my days with a morning practice that keeps me clear and centered throughout the day. I get my butt to the gym or run to the beach at least five times a week. I schedule in time for myself, my loved ones and time for play. In essence – I have a business that leaves space for all of me.

What’s exciting is that the more my business serves ME, the more I show up in both my business and my personal life. I am productive, creative, focused and incredibly happy.

How about you? Do you need to make some adjustments in your business model so there is more room for you?  If yes, begin with a good hard look at the past two weeks of your life. If you found yourself crowded out by your never-ending list of emails, phone calls and obligations – it’s time for change and I would be honored to help.

Jane Deuber is an internationally known business strategist, best-selling author and highly sought speaker.  Jane has also served as a leader in the virtual training movement. Over the past four years Jane has helped over 3000 entrepreneurs experience higher profits and greater fulfillment. Let Jane show you how to create a business that serves YOU as well as the bottom line. Take Jane’s Business Innovation Quiz and find out if you are on the path to having a business that serves you. Email us at: support@janedeuber.com or call 831-375-6856.

Business Growth, Maintaining Mindset inspiration, prosperity

I want to talk to you about a dance I do every morning. I’m not talking about the kind of dance you might be thinking of – the one that clearly embarrasses my twelve year old son even when nobody is around. No, I’m talking about a different dance – the dance I do each morning with the myriad of thoughts and emotions that run rampant in my head. Each morning, as I make my way from my bedroom to my small corner of the world where I feel comfortable and safe, I am often amazed by what’s bubbling up inside me.

Sometimes my thoughts linger to what didn’t get done the day before… good morning Guilt. Sometimes I think about a pending project or an upcoming campaign… hello Worry. And more mornings than not, my thoughts drift to the never ending list of things I want to get done that day… greetings Overwhelm! They all want to dance with me – arms outstretched, beckoning me to take them on as a partner for the day. But thankfully, I’ve learned a thing or two about dancing in the morning… I get to choose my partners.

Each day we have a choice. We can dance with the thoughts and emotions that feel crappy and painful, or we can turn toward what fills us up with joy, peace and a sense that anything is possible. Which will you choose? Tomorrow when your feet hit the floor and you are asked to dance with feelings of guilt, fear or overwhelm, will you chose something better?

For me, it’s my morning practice that allows me to choose wisely. Some days it’s a quick fifteen minutes, other days I give myself the gift of an hour. But no matter how long I take for this sacred dive, I am always changed. I breathe deeper, think more clearly, and can handle more of what life throw’s me. At the simple lighting of a candle and the centering of my soul, I turn mayhem to magic.

You see, the entrepreneurial mind is something that I find fascinating. So much so, I dedicated my opening Module of my newest course, The Inner Game of Direct Selling, to the topic. And after seeing the impact of the insights I revealed, I’ve decided to take these discoveries to a broader audience through the Mindset Makeover training. It’s a 55-minute exploration of the insights and personal strategies I’ve used to create extraordinary success both in my business and personal life.

If I’ve sparked an interest, I hope you will check out the Mindset Makeover training. Together we’ll help you take the steps to once and for all – manage the thoughts and emotions that literally determine the quality of your life.

Available soon!

Maintaining Mindset inspiration, progress

I’m on my soap box today and the object of my obsession is ACTION.  It’s a particularly poignant topic because I’ve seen both sides of it in this beautiful 8-hour day. Stay with me, there’s a message here that I’m hoping will reach those who are seeking the trick to “moving at the speed of Jane”.

So here goes… I rose at 5:30 and enjoyed a pared down version of my morning practice – just enough to fuel me for what lay ahead. While I religiously head to the gym each morning, I opted out knowing that the guilt of not working out today would be totally eclipsed by a day of glorious accomplishment. I also know I will return to the ritual tomorrow as it’s become a positive habit. Here’s what the day held for me…

1. Wrote two keynote speeches with accompanying Power Points
2. Designed the outline for a leadership call being conducted by a client this evening
3. Conducted a great call with my buddy John Dulworth for the Revenue Revolution Course
4. Held four, one hour, one-on-one coaching calls with my amazing private clients
5. Got my son up, fed and out the door to an all day birthday party
6. Finished up at 5:00 for an evening with my family
7. Oh yeah… fired off this blog

What I DID do…

• Moved through my day with focus, clarity and a sense of humor – noticing that my propensity to procrastinate is what created my jam-packed day.
• Reached out to my team when I needed help or encouragement.
• Made a request to move a call when I sensed it would be OK to ask for that space.
• Committed to an extra 10 min on the treadmill tomorrow to balance my day of no exercise.
• Trusted that my time on the leadership call would strengthen my connection to the client by stepping up in the final hour.
• Asked to take a walk with my husband and dog Boomer after dinner as if to say “thanks for giving me space.”
• Opted for “rotisserie chicken” rather than a homemade gourmet dinner. No guilt here!

What I did NOT do…

• Lament or beat myself up about waiting until the last minute to design my speeches.
• Feel guilty about not going to the gym or shortening my morning practice.
• Feel imposed upon for the work I did on the leadership call, despite the fact that compensation for my time on it has not yet been decided.
• Give any less of me to each client who has invested in coaching. Rather, I stayed focused on them and their needs alone.
• Take a shower, which is rare for me. Rather than feeling frumpy, I referred to this as my natural look. J
• I did not sing the “victim’s song” wondering where my day went and why I had so much to do.
• I did not make myself wrong, crazy, less than or feel guilty because one day of my week was a little out of balance.

So there you have it – a look inside a day with enough “to dos” to send even the most action-oriented woman into overwhelm and yet I stayed focused, positive and joyful.

Here’s what I want you to think about…
What is your inaction costing you? Could it be that the feelings of guilt or frustration from NOT being in action far outweigh any discomfort you will feel as you do move into action?  If I have to choose between the feelings of discomfort and guilt – I will take discomfort because I know that, with time, my discomfort is actually expanding my comfort zone and building my action muscle. On the other hand, with time, guilt simply becomes… well, more guilt.

In the place of discomfort I can make a difference – perhaps even change my world and the world of others. Which will you chose?

Maintaining Mindset inspiration

I remember my “dog days” like they were yesterday… working long hours, achieving the goals, and bringing in revenue BUT leaving no time at all for ME.  This has been a recurring theme for business owners since the beginning of time. We love our businesses, our clients, the challenge, the excitement . . . but, at the end of the day, we are losing a piece of ourselves on the way to our dreams. This has got to stop!!!!

As I continue my personal evolution, as I described in an earlier blog post, I am delighted to discover that as I reconnect with ME, take care of my body, enhance my relationships and spend time doing the things I love, my worst nightmare is NOT coming true.  You see, somewhere in the back of my mind I carried a disempowering belief that if I took time for me the rest of my life – specifically my business – would suffer. But instead I’m attracting more clients, opportunities and revenue than ever before.

Think about that! As I create new daily habits, including waking to a practice that puts me “in the moment” and daily workouts that have allowed me to release unwanted pounds effortlessly – I am taking a stance for ME – feeling happier and healthier than ever before.

I love this because my experience personal fulfillment and business success these past months counters the prevailing belief in the world today that it isn’t possible to have both a profitable business and a fulfilling personal life. I’m LIVING PROOF that you can!

Not only CAN you have both – simultaneously – it is becoming my life’s mission to show other business owners how to make it happen! Toward that end, I held a tele-class Tuesday night, called the “Revenue Revolution”. The response has been truly overwhelming and gratifying. Clearly I have tapped into one of the biggest pain points of today’s entrepreneurs.

Along with two of my team members, who are expert coaches, I am launching the Revenue Revolution Program on July 14, 2009, to show other business builders how they too can have it all. I’m so excited to share this with the world! If you’d like to get instant access to the replay of the call, click here. My intent is that it offers insights and inspiration you can take into your day.

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset inspiration, profit, strategies

Something significant happened to me last Thursday. It may have seemed subtle on the outside but inside it felt as if I’d experienced a shift at the DNA level. It happened at The Profit Builder’s Summit – my first live, solo, local event here in Monterey, CA. While the primary purpose was to step out locally after working nationally and internationally for so many years, the event also served as an opportunity to share a new message that’s been brewing inside for a while.

A New Approach For New Results
Here’s the truth… over the past few weeks everything has changed for me. From the way I see my life and business to the way I coach and consult my clients, I am seeing life and business in a new light. This change sprang from the personal realization that what small business owners need today is not another proven strategy or the latest online marketing tool. No, what most entrepreneurs need today are practical, down to earth insights on how to break through their personal barriers, manage their monkey mindset and improve their productivity so they can get stuff done, turn a profit and have time to live the life they desire!

Herein lies the shift that I brought to the stage last Thursday. In a great leap of faith I took a HUGE left turn from my typical strategy-based training and got “up close and personal” with those who attended. In short, I let them into what’s happening in my life, my business and my inner journey on the way to living an extraordinary life. As a result, those in attendance quickly came to see that there is little difference between us. That like them, I face challenges, self-doubt, fears and frustration. The only difference is that I have gained the skills to work through these blocks quickly so I can ease the pain and get back in the game.

Together we were moved in the realization that what keeps each of us from achieving our heart’s desire is, in truth… ourselves. In email after email they are telling me that they found themselves in my story (or the story of my clients) and have recommitted to shift the way they see and grow their business. They continue that they’ve gained renewed strength, commitment and courage to be the business owners they truly want to be.

So there you have it… proof that sometimes it’s worth revealing a piece of yourself in the name of helping others along the path. I can’t wait to share the journey that is about to unfold.

Business Growth, Business Vision, Maintaining Mindset, Masterminding inspiration, prosperity, strategies

Today I’m feeling lucky. Lucky to be in business for myself. Lucky to have awesome, brilliant clients who are committed to positive change. And lucky to be a woman entrepreneur in a time when all evidence points to the fact that NOW is the time for us to apply our unique gifts not just to building our businesses, but to also healing the economy and yes… even the planet.

Check out these stats and celebrate the unstoppable you!

• 10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.
• Women-owned firms (50% or more) account for 40% of all privately held firms.
• Women business owners are as likely as men business owners to be willing to adopt new technology and more likely (24% vs. 18%) than women in general.
• One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
• Women business owners are prepared to face risk: most (66%) are willing to take above average or substantial risks for business investments.
• Between 1997 and 2006, the percent growth in the number of majority women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all U.S firms (42.3% vs. 23.3%).
• Women are entering the global marketplace at a rate equal to that of all US businesses. In 2005, about 13% of women-owned firms are involved in international trade, and the number is constantly growing.

(Statistics from the Center for Business Women’s Research and the National Women’s Business Council)

Business Growth, Maintaining Mindset inspiration, progress, prosperity