Is Your Tank Empty or Full?

As a woman in business, it’s not unusual to be like the energizer bunny who keeps going and going and going.  But at some point, you’re going to run out of gas. 

How do you know when it’s time to stop what you’re doing and give yourself a well- deserved rest?  Some people keep pushing themselves until they have no more push left in them.  That’s called burn-out.  You’re basically running on fumes

When you find your enthusiasm for what you’re doing starting to diminish, that may be the sign that your tank needs to be re-filled.  Here’ are some suggestions:

Get some much needed rest.  In order to really know what kind of rest you need, you need to tune into your own heart first, and see where your tank is at.

Start with some Remembrance. That’s always the best way to tap into your own heart, and take stock of where you’re at.

Then, feel your inner “tank.” Are you full (had enough input to last you a while)? Or, are you empty (can’t feel much left inside, thirsty for something new)?

This is a subtle distinction so you should give yourself the time you need to feel where you’re truly at. And be aware that one can masquerade as the other.

If you still have trouble figuring out what level your tank is at, try this: 

Take the idea of going to a bookstore, the library, or a mall perhaps.  Hold that idea in your heart while you remember for a minute or so. How’d that feel?

Take the idea of being alone on a walk (park, beach, wherever). Or running, biking, swimming, etc. Or playing with a dog, or blowing off steam in your favorite way. And hold that idea in your heart while you remember for a minute or so. How’d that one feel?

If the bookstore/new idea brought peace to your heart, then you could use some filling. If the alone time/steam-blowing did the trick for your heart, then it’s emptying that should be your agenda.

The important thing to remember is we all need a break to rejuvenate us.

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Work and Discipline

Working for yourself can be great, but it can also be frustrating, especially if you don’t feel that your self-discipline is in good working order. Self-employment gives you more flexibility to decide when you will go to work, what your priorities are, and when you need to take a break. But running your own business generally requires more self-discipline than you would need if you worked as an employee.

Thing is, self-discipline is critical. It is easy to get distracted or procrastinate. Family interruptions and our own resistance-especially when it comes to tasks that we don’t like doing but that still need doing-can get in the way of making steady progress. Without a boss and coworkers around to help keep you focused, it will be easy to spend too much time eating, sleeping, watching television, golfing, or even working. You must be disciplined.

Here are some initial suggestions to help you increase your work discipline:

1. Treat the business as a business. Simply having this attitude can easily eliminate many problems. When you treat yourself like a real business, others will too.

2. Keep office hours. A realistic daily schedule fosters discipline. For many loan officers, discipline means getting to the office by 9 a.m. and putting in a full day of work. Decide what your standard office hours will be and stick to them. Break an hour or so for lunch as you normally would, but treat it like work.

3. Make a daily task plan. Plan what you are going to do in the course of the day, and when you will accomplish each task. Consider making a rule that when you are done with the tasks on that day’s schedule, you are done for the day. This will help avoid workaholism or burnout.

4. Know your rhythm. Some of us are morning people, some are best in the afternoon, while others thrive at 3 AM. It is important to use your most productive time wisely. Determine your best times of day, and arrange your schedule according to those times as well as to the demands of your work-if you rock and roll at 3 AM, for example, there will be some tasks you can do then, and others (like calling a client) that won’t be practical.

5. Set rules for yourself. Decide the circumstances under which you will take time off to play, read or watch television, what interruptions you are willing to allow, and when you will do household chores.

6. Create “company policies.” In addition to setting rules for yourself, it is equally important to set policies so that family, friends, and business associates know what to expect from you and how to behave. For instance, you may find that your spouse or a neighbor expects you to do chores while they are at work. You may want to do this, or you may not. Either way, having policies that include this kind of thing makes such decisions easier.

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Getting Your Name Out There

The following is a portion of an article written by PR Consultant Jill Lublin of Promising Promotion.

Public relations is human relations and a critical aspect of growing your business. Everything you say and do is part of your PR campaign. It is the image you project every day to everyone you meet. It is about you and your company becoming a force in the public eye on a regular basis PR that you undertake yourself can be a primary way to grow your business and become known without major expense.

So how do you go about creating powerful publicity 365 days a year?

Make personal contacts as often as possible.

Always carry your business card and other marketing materials.

Know what is special about you and get the word out using the media.

Know the media you are pitching – always watch or listen to a show before you are on it.

Be prepared for interviews. They might just call you before you call them.

Be consistent with your image and make sure all your materials reflect the image you desire to project.

Participate in social and civic activities and help others get business by networking.

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Achieve More by Doing Less

As women in business, it seems as though we’re always busy doing one thing or another in order to accomplish our goals.  But did you ever stop to think that you might be doing too much?  Furthermore, you might be doing too much of the WRONG things.

If you were planning to cross the Sahara, it would be crazy to do it without a map, a compass and a plan.  It’s exactly the same for anything else you do.  Think of everything you do as a journey and you will realize that a certain amount of planning is essential.  Getting busy, and cracking on with things is not efficient in the long run.  Make sure that planning is a planned activity in itself; one that is programmed into your mind on a regular basis.  It might not feel comfortable, especially if you are ‘chomping at the bit’ to get going, but it will definitely be worth it.

The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) says that 80% of achievements come from 20% of the work.  So plan to do only the stuff that works.  What if you stopped doing the unnecessary 80%, and doubled up on the 20% that actually makes a difference.  You will have doubled your output, and you will have reduced your workload by stacks! Just don’t fill it with more ‘busy-ness’ – go to the spa instead and get rejuvenated for the next round. 

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The Four P’s of Business

If you’re a woman in business you are probably operating on, what I call, a “low-to-no budget.”  Many of us have to wear several hats under the marketing umbrella, therefore, knowledge of each area is important to develop a focused effort.

A focus on what the customer wants and needs is essential to successful marketing efforts. This customer-orientation should go hand-in-hand with the company’s objective of maintaining a profitable volume of sales. Marketing is a creative process combining all of the activities needed to accomplish both of these objectives.

The American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing is:

“The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”

Providing the features and quality customers want is a critical first step in marketing. You will be facing an uphill battle if you provide something you want to produce and then try to convince someone to buy it.

Once you have a product, you need to determine a price for the product, let potential customers, know about your product and make it available to them. These are often called the four “P’s” of marketing:

Product

Price

Promotion

Place (how you distribute it)

If you cover the four P’s well, you should have no trouble achieving a fifth P: profits.

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Time for Some Spring Cleaning

Spring is here.  As a woman in business, that means it’s time for some spring cleaning.  How much dust, disorder and clutter have you allowed to accumulate in your business since the winter?

Here are some tips for cleaning up your business this spring and getting a fresh start:

1)  Clean out your email box:  At the end of 2008, I had more than 1200 emails accumulated in my email box.  Why?  I call myself saving them so I could sort them into different categories.  Of course that never happened so I decided it was time to let those old emails go.  That’s what you have to do also.  Go through your e-mail box and find everything that’s important — agreements, contracts, and legal documents. Save those in proper files on your computer (as well as print a hard copy and file it), and then hit DELETE for everything else.

2)  Update your database:  It’s time to open up your database and get rid of all of those email addresses and regular addresses that no longer exist.  You should also get rid of any names that weren’t good prospects.

3)  Review your business plan:  Take an honest look at where you are with the plan.  Are you on track to meet the goals you’ve set for this year?  Also, be sure to update your plan with realistic objectives.

4)  Clean up your work space:  If you are constantly searching for important documents or other information, it may be because your workspace needs tidying up.  A clean and organized work space can cut down on wasted time and boost productivity.

5)  Update your marketing strategy:  If you didn’t achieve the financial goals you set for yourself in the last quarter (or come close), then you may want to go back to the drawing board and re-vamp your marketing plan. It may be necessary to review your image.  Keep what’s working and discard the rest.  You may also want to ask your existing clients what sold them on your business or service and implement their feedback into a new marketing plan.

Remember, your business is a reflection of you.  How you choose to represent it depends solely on how well you maintain it.

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It’s All in The Presention

Recently my church held a business expo to draw attention to the number of small business owners in the congregation.  I was one of the participants, along with a number of other baby boomer women.

Since I’ve done dozens of these events over the past couple of years, I had a good idea of how I wanted to present myself to my fellow church members and visitors.  But what I discovered is there are some business owners who don’t understand what it means to present at a Business Expo so here are some of my tips:

1)  Table Set-Up.  Always have a table cloth (or plastic cover) for your table.  The church did provide a white plastic cover, however, I recommend you use something colorful to blend in with the products you’re displaying.  (I chose red).  Also, you might want to add a flower arrangement or some other type of decoration to dress up your table even more.  Then neatly arrange your products without making the table look cluttered.

2)  Meet and Greet.  You should make it a point to greet everyone who passes by your table or booth—even if they don’t buy anything.  There is a saying:  A first impression is a lasting impression.  You never know when you may see that person again so you want their impression of you to be a favorable one.  There’s another saying:  You can draw more flies with honey than you can with you know what.  In essence that means turn on your charm and don’t be shy about self-promoting—just don’t overdo it.

3)  Information about your Business.  Always have an ample supply of business cards, flyers, brochures, etc so people can learn more about your products or services.  One of the worst things you can do (which I did) is run out of business cards.

4)  Giveaways.  Offering your product or a variety of products in a gift basket is a nice and clever way to get people over to your table.  While you have them register for the free prize, you also give them an opportunity to browse around to see what you have to offer and it also allows you to engage them in small talk.

5)  Reasonable Prices.  Knock a couple of dollars off of the regular price for your products. You should always make the potential customer feel like they’re getting a good deal. 

As a woman in business you’re going to find that everywhere you go potential customers will make judgments about your product, your credibility and your character based on the quality of your presentation.

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Old Broads Can Learn New Tricks

How Baby Boomer Women are using Coaching to Achieve their Goals

Special Guest Post by:  Heidi Richards Mooney

Mary, a 57 year old adjunct professor in South Florida and professional speaker and trainer in communications and presentation skills has found herself caught up in the current economic climate. Working with Fortune 500 companies for the past several years as an independent contractor she now finds herself without many prospects as companies continue to downsize or go out of business.

Dr. Roslyn, a 60 year old professional who has also worked in the corporate arena training their clients on issues relating to diversity finds herself with very few assignments for the coming year. In fact, her two biggest clients have cancelled contracts with her indefinitely.

These two women are in a quandary.  No visible means of support in the near or distant future and bills to pay. Sound familiar?

Both of these women are highly qualified experts in their respective fields, talented and well-educated. And even though they are struggling to make ends meet, they both realized that they needed help from someone who could see their situation, make recommendations and help them turn their professional lives around by showing them how to create a “new income stream, or several.”

I met Mary at a networking event and on the verge of tears she shared her story. She also told me about a website she had purchased that sells information/educational products which she didn’t think it was performing to its full potential.

Dr. Roslyn and I are members of the same professional organization and knowing I am a business coach she asked me for help. She too has a website which she has yet to use as a marketing and sales tool.

As a social media and Internet marketing strategist I was delighted to coach them and help them enhance their websites and web presence to start attracting new clients.  They accepted! That was 2 months ago and each woman is now becoming a netpreneur.  BTW, Dr. Roslyn was very skeptical at first but knew that she too must change with the tides or become irrelevant. Although she was scared about what the future would hold for her, she realized her fear of failure far outweighed her fear of change.

And Mary and Roslyn are not alone in their plights.  Many boomer women are being downsized, let go or taking cutbacks at their jobs. Which is why coaches are fast becoming sought after by Baby Boomers as their counsel of choice for change. Working with the right coach can take boomer women from the depths of despair to a place of encouragement and growth in business and life. It’s the quickest way to shorten the learning curve and achieve your goals.

Baby boomers value the one-on-one individual attention a coach can give.  And knowing there is more than one way to work with a coach makes it even more desirable.  You can meet face-to-face, via teleconference, web conferencing and more.

So how do you know if working with a coach is right for you? The first step is to recognize that having someone to strategize with and bounce ideas off is important to achieving your goals. The next step is to know what your goals are. And then the third step is to find someone who has skills you lack or need help with and seek her (or his) advice and guidance.

In part II, I will discuss what a coach can do for you, what a coach should do for you and other things to consider when working with a coach. In the meantime, here are two great books I recommend: How to Create the Life You Want after 50 by Sara Brown Ph.D. and Joan Malling and Second Acts: Creating the Life You Really Want, Building the Career You Truly Desire by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine.

©Heidi Richards Mooney – (a baby boomer) is a Professional Speaker, Business Coach and the Author of 8 books including: “Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Grow Your Business Using Zany and Non-traditional Holidays.”  She is also the Publisher of WE Magazine for Women. Stop by http://www.speakingwithspirit.com to get a FREE copy of Quirky Marketing, Chapter 1.

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Seven Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

Here’s a summary of my best advice for any woman running a small business – my top seven tips for women entrepreneurs:

 1)  Focus on your strengths:  There’s an old saying- “Do what you do best and delegate the rest.”  Know what your top strengths are.  Delegate or drop anything that you’re not exceptionally skilled at, and focus at least 80% of your time using your key talents that bring you income.

2)  Put yourself first:  Your growing business needs a lot of time and attention.  Many women in business put themselves third or fourth on their list of priorities.  Put you and your business first and everything else will fall into place. 

3)  Learn to say “No”:  I ask women who have started a business to drop anywhere from 25% to 50% of their time commitments when we start working together. Most women are too over-committed with non-business related activities. Be strategic about what you say yes to, especially in the first few years of your business. Guard your precious time as the valuable asset that it is. 

4)  Plan for Success:  Lack of planning causes more businesses to fail than anything else.  Planning is very valuable because it causes you to think ahead to your vision and next steps to reach your goals. You can create a simple one page marketing plan that outlines your business objectives and how you will achieve them. 

5)  Ask for support:  Don’t try to figure it out all by yourself.  Notice where you are stuck and where you could use some help, and ask for it. Ask colleagues or others who have been in business and could mentor you, hire a business coach, or form your own mastermind support team. 

6)  Delegate or drop your weaknesses:  Get clear on what you don’t enjoy doing or what you don’t do well.  Either stop trying to do it, or find someone who will do it for you. A perfect example is bookkeeping. If you dislike it, give it to someone else to do, and free up your time to earn money doing what you do well.  

7)  Keep an eye on the bottom line:  You don’t need to have complex financial statements, but setting targets and tracking some key indicators every month will help you understand how you are doing. You’ll know sooner what’s working and what’s not working so that you can make strategic adjustments. 

Jan Marie Dore teaches women entrepreneurs how to grow their business online and create profitable income streams. Sign up for her savvy and smart marketing tips and receive a 30 page FREE Bonus Workbook and audio Eight Insider Marketing Secrets of Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs by visiting http://www.femalepreneurs.com 

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Angel Investors

Are you a woman with an awesome start up business idea but you just don’t have enough capital to make it happen?  Perhaps you’ve already gotten your business off the ground but it’s on the verge of collapsing without additional funding.  Why not shop around for an angel investor?

Angel investors are individuals who invest in businesses.  Many are successful entrepreneurs who want to help other entrepreneurs get their business off the ground.  Funding estimates vary, but usually range from $150,000 to $1.5 million.

For the business seeking funding, the right angel investor can be the perfect first step in formal funding. It usually takes less time to meet with an angel and to receive funds, due diligence is less involved and angels usually expect a lower rate of return than a venture capitalist. The downside is finding the right balance of expert help without the angel totally taking charge of the business. Structuring the relationship carefully is an important step in the process.

Did you know Google was started with the help of an angel investment?  That’s right!  Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim gave two college students Larry Page and Sergey Brin) $100,000 after watching them demonstrate their search engine software.  Other companies also helped by angel investors include Starbucks, Kinkos, LinkedIn and Simply Hired.

So what are you waiting on?  Go find your angel investor today.  Start here:  Angel

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Women Have the Right Stuff

Men may still continue to outnumber women when it comes to running large Corporations, but they are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to their effectiveness as business professionals.

According to a study performed by the Hagberg Consulting Group, women in business score higher than their male counterparts in a number of key areas. 

Women are better at:

1)  Motivating others

2)  Fostering communication

3)  Producing high quality work. 

4)  Listening

The study also revealed the fact that women are more caring and nurturing.  Women are also more likely to disregard as a useless power trip another long-held management strategy used by their male counterparts: keeping information tightly controlled. ”It’s better to overcommunicate,” says Anu Shukla, whose Web startup, Rubric, made 65 of her 85 employees millionaires. Rather than dispensing information on a need-to-know basis, she made sure she shared information with all of her employees. She also created the CEO lunch, inviting several employees at a time to discuss the business with her. 

Employees who feel cared about by their bosses or are inspired by them often produce higher-quality work, consultants say. And supervisors who know how to deal with conflict get better results.   

So where does a man’s strength lie in the business world?  According to the study, they are good strategic planning and analyzing issues.  But then again, the study said the numbers were even between both genders.

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