Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurship trends’ Category

You’ve heard of karma, right? The dictionary defines it as “the total effect of one’s conduct, believed to determine one’s destiny in a future life.” But have you ever stopped to wonder whether it might be a factor behind both your business successes and your “failures”?

Understanding these more subtle dimensions of why I get the results I do – whether desirable or less-than-desirable – has helped me tremendously over the past few years. So if you have not explored the “invisible resources” or worked with anyone that can help you explore past lives, your chakras, the Akashic Records, or other deep causes of your current life experiences, it’s worth doing!

Here are three ways these issues can affect your tangible business results and experience:

1. Your level of confidence in delivering your message: Do you find yourself unable to speak your truth, even though from your heart you know you want to build a successful business? In many cases your past life history will literally show that you were persecuted severely for speaking your beliefs…and that you paid a huge price (perhaps even gave your life) for them. If that imprint is still active in your subconscious, it may be holding you back from putting yourself in a similar situation again.

2. Your ability to generate income: Do you feel like you are committed – at a deep soul level – to serving and helping others, but don’t seem to be able to collect money for it? This can reflect a vow of poverty taken in a prior life that is still affecting you today. Oh, you are not aware of it – but your subconscious will continue to do everything in its power to keep you from attracting excess cash since that would be a violation of this vow.

3. Your level of harmony or conflict with certain people: Do you notice that you instantly connect with some people (husband, client, colleague) as though you have known them for decades…but that with others you have ongoing conflict? Sometimes this reflects the playing out of issues set up in a prior life that are now ripe for resolution.

This may seem a bit “woo-woo” or “out-there” for you, but let’s face it: if studying marketing, business basics and mindset haven’t resolved your challenges, what could it hurt to look deeper? Contact me for practitioners I recommend – and join me at our fall Marketing, Mindset and Manifesting Intensive to ponder these issues further too!

Have you visited Youtube yet? No, it’s not just for high school and college kids any more…it’s for coaches and entrepreneurs too!

Increasingly, coaches, authors, speakers and consultants are using video (on Youtube or on their own site) to promote their services and products. Video gives the viewer a real-life, three-dimensional experience of you. And for coaches and other information professionals that do much of their work virtually, it can be the bridge to credibility – and therefore help the prospect build the confidence he/she needs to buy – in ways no other medium can.

Here are 5 ways you can easily and effortlessly start using video to improve your business and marketing results.

1. Put a short introductory video on your home page.

Whether you use an opt-in format like we do at www.careercoachinstitute.com or just sandwich the video in among other content, putting video on your home page has been shown to improve conversion and opt-in rates by as much as 50 percent! That’s nothing to sneeze at! The video we are using was filmed in a professional studio, but as you will see below, that is not necessary to get great results – even a webcam can produce the quality you need!

2. Use video to introduce yourself before an in-person appearance.

Frequently, part of an exhibitor package for a conference is obtaining the pre-conference list of attendees and having a one-time opportunity to introduce yourself to them and invite them to visit your booth. This has typically been done in an email or a pre-conference postcard mailing. But as I prepared to go to a recent conference this year, I thought, “why not use video as an introduction?” So I hooked up my $50 camcorder (a Logitech, if you’re curious about the brand), wrote out a script, and did an introduction! In just a few minutes, it was uploaded to Youtube and the link ready for the recipients of my email to view.

3. Create your own keyword-optimized YouTube channel.

If your clients typically find you online, as our students do, then you want to be accessible through a variety of means and channels. (Have you Googled yourself lately? See where you can be found that you may not have even known about!) You should be using LinkedIn, Facebook, your own name as a web site (e.g., www.marciabench.com) – and Youtube too! Rather than just having random access to your videos if people happen to put in the right keywords, you can customize your own “channel” in 10-15 minutes and have them all available in one place. (Check out mine here.)

4. Also place the Youtube videos you make on your own site or blog.

While it is great to upload videos to Youtube, taking people there doesn’t get them to your web site – and that’s where you can sell to them! So we like to also upload videos that are previewing an upcoming event onto our site for search engine optimization purposes.

(You might also consider the low-priced software Oovoo, which we are using for our ongoing series of Purposeful Entrepreneur Models Interviews – you can view 2, 3 or more people all at once on screen!)

5. Burn your video to DVD and send it out to prospects.

Recording a video of you talking about what you do best, and sending the physical DVD out to your prospects, can be one of the best ways to introduce yourself to them. Just as mailing a physical copy of your newsletter will be read more than an electronic version, video works the same way!

These are just 5 simple ideas, which you can implement with a webcam or an inexpensive camcorder almost immediately. What else can you do with video? The sky’s the limit! If you hit a “home run” with one of your video campaigns, be sure and let us know so that we can acknowledge you. Happy filming!

Copyright © 2010 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

I am so excited to be in the company of Michael Port, Suzanne Falter Barns, Michele PW, Christopher Mickelsen  and 30 top coaching entrepreneurs  who are coming together for  Milana Leshinsky’s Coaching Boom 2010 virtual event. Get details and save your place today.

(What happens at Coaching Boom 2010, stays there! Only those who attend get to hear about all the new opportunities,… trends, tools, and strategies in coaching.)

Don’t miss out! Check it out today!!!

It is no accident that this series is beginning during what is for may the busiest time of the year: the holidays. Our time gets filled with holiday parties and shopping, and our tummies get filled with all the wonderful treats and food-related events that are customary for the season.

In the midst of this hustle and bustle, consider this wisdom from our guide for this journey, Shunryu Suzuki:
“We say true existence comes from emptiness and goes back again into emptiness. What appears from emptiness is true existence. We have to go through the gate of emptiness…As long as we have some definite idea about or some hope in the future, we cannot really be serious with the moment that exists right now…Each of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way. This is the mystery.” (Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind)

There is an ancient story of a master offering to pour tea for his student. Once the cup was full, he kept pouring until the tea ran into the saucer and onto the floor. The lesson? You cannot keep pouring more and more into a full cup; there must come a time of emptying out.

This series continues in January 2010!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Bench is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach for conscious entrepreneurs in service-, information- and professional businesses. She is the CEO of Purposeful Entrepreneur.com, as well as the Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coach training companies, with more than 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting. She has authored 23 books including The Tao of Entrepreneurship and has given hundreds of live and teleclass presentations.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

“Blessing” 

by Marcia Bench

Now is the time,
It can wait no longer.
Share your true message
As it’s growing stronger.

The earth is awakening
Its time has come
So contribute your blessing
And say “it is done.”

Your gifts are unique
And they’re needed right now.
Be clear on your vision
And don’t worry about “how.”

As millions wake up
They’re beginning to see
But they need your input
To interpret and “be.”

So rest in your spirit
Tune into your heart,
Your part is important
And it’s time to start.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

Many entrepreneurs and coaches struggle today because they are so mired in “administrivia” that they can’t do the work they came to do. And as I’m fond of saying, the worst of both worlds is to “own a job” – where you can’t leave and you can’t fire yourself – instead of owning a business, and running it like one.

Three spiritual success principles will help you make this critical shift:

1. Recognize and step into the “New Time.”

Time as we have known it is changing. No longer is it a linear, set, solid perception shared by all. In fact, you have no doubt experienced some moments that were longer than others (waiting at the dentist for example?) and others that seemed to go by in the blink of an eye (sitting in a transformational seminar or reading a great book are examples). Time is becoming more elastic, more malleable, and more subject to our direction.

So if you find yourself sitting in your office and the day is dragging, send an intention that the time will speed up and that you will become more productive and work at a higher vibration. You can have that result instantly!

Also pay attention to the cycles and rhythms of your life. The Industrial Age is over, but our “Industrial Age Approach” to time has not fully dissolved. You are not designed to be a machine, punching keys all day on email or the internet or writing documents (even if writing is your profession!). You are designed to be an organism – or what Wayne Dyer calls an “enviro-organism” – and you constantly interact with your environment and the tasks you do. Begin to notice when you feel “stale” and take breaks throughout the day. Consciously seek activities that refresh and renew you – and balance those with any you are still doing (and in the process of letting go hopefully…) that drain you or feel difficult.

2. Take extraordinary care of yourself and gauge your Energy Thermometer.

You “know” that you need to engage in Extraordinary Self-Care, right? It is no longer a luxury to do so; it is a requirement for those of us who are Light Workers, leaders, healers, teachers and coaches in the New Era of Entrepreneurship.

I am practicing what I preach as I prepare for my 3-day live event this weekend: I am arriving two nights early, to give myself a day beforehand to rest, to settle into the venue, and to calm my mind and align my body. I have had my assistant schedule a massage before and after the event. And I am planning a renewing setting for each of the breaks I will take to keep my energy up throughout the event.

On a daily basis, you can ask yourself, what is my Energy Thermometer reading now? Are you a 10 – fully alive and engaged – or a 5 – neutral, on a downward spiral – or 0 to 1, completely drained and needing to go to bed? Awareness is the first step in change…and if you can begin to notice the energy lag starting – or that mental fuzziness as I experience it that means I have been too long in front of a screen (read: computer) – then you can renew yourself with a walk, a soothing drink, talk to a friend, meditate, sing, dance, or whatever revitalizes you.

3. Know that all the people and resources you need are available the moment you have the desire for them.

Finally, notice when you unconsciously “assume” that even though you want something – more mon_ey, a new car, a prettier office, new clothes, or more peace of mind – that you cannot have it. This insidious belief can cause us to settle for a life that we never really chose – we are acting on beliefs and thoughts of a prior generation, externally programmed, and never consciously adopted as our own.

It is a spiritual principle that no desire can be felt unless the way for it to manifest (read: resources, money, people) is also there. What if you did something radical and assumed you COULD have what you want, and now? Just engaging in that thought pattern, with an emotional commitment and anticipation, will bring it to you more quickly. You are not intended to go without; the Universe longs to give you the desires of your heart. But you must first ask, and expect them to come to you.

This week’s article articulates the final step in our 7-step Conscious Cash Creation Roadmap, which we are sharing at the Evolve Intensive (see past 6 weeks’ issues for the rest). To learn more about the New Era of Entrepreneurship and how you can align your business with it, click here to read the details about the Evolve Transformational Telesummit Nov. 30-Dec. 4 and get your preferred registration rate today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Bench is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach for conscious entrepreneurs in service-, information- and professional businesses. She is the CEO of Purposeful Entrepreneur.com, as well as the Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coach training companies, with more than 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting. She has authored 23 books including The Tao of Entrepreneurship and has given hundreds of live and teleclass presentations.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it:  “Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach Marcia Bench publishes the widely circulated ‘Purposeful Entrepreneur Times’ ezine biweekly to over 5,500 subscribers.  If you’re ready to start or grow a profitable business based on your life purpose and passion, get your F_REE tips now at www.purposefulentrepreneur.com“

Are you doing things in your business that others could do faster, better or more cost effectively? But not sure how you can afford to hire help?

If there is one key that has helped me grow my businesses quickly, it is getting help from the beginning. When I founded Career Coach Institute nearly 9 years ago, I had my first VA (virtual assistant) within the first few months. She started out at about 10 hours a week, and quickly expanded her role from there! Even though I didn’t have lots of extra money, the VA immediately paid for herself as she freed me to do the higher level tasks that could advance the business.

And it’s important not to bring on just anyone as your staff. They should be screened not just for skills, but for attitude, commitment, and their ability to take things off your desk (vs. simply taking orders or directives and doing only what they are told). Alex Mandossian calls these gems “drivers” – and they are indeed a rare find!

To find contract staff for your business, consider E-lance, Craigslist, or your local classified ads – or referrals from other coaches who are happy with the staff they have. Companies such as Assist U train and certify virtual assistants – and a newer company, onlinebusinessmanager.com, also trains and certifies Online Business Managers too. Think about the level of the staff person you want, whether you want a company that already has subcontractors they can farm work out to that is at various levels, or whether you want to assemble and manage your own staff.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to staff – but are you ready to let yourself be supported in this way? As John Assaraf so often says, “Hire people who play at things you have to work at.”

To experience the power of Conscious Creation in the company of other committed coaches and the author, as well as learning the 6 other critical aspects of the Evolving Entrepreneur’s Conscious Cash Creation Roadmap, click here to read the details about the Evolve Live Intensive Nov. 12-14 and get your preferred registration rate today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Bench is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach for conscious entrepreneurs in service-, information- and professional businesses. She is the CEO of Purposeful Entrepreneur.com, as well as the Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coach training companies, with more than 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting. She has authored 23 books including The Tao of Entrepreneurship and has given hundreds of live and teleclass presentations.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it:  “Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach Marcia Bench publishes the widely circulated ‘Purposeful Entrepreneur Times’ ezine biweekly to over 5,500 subscribers.  If you’re ready to start or grow a profitable business based on your life purpose and passion, get your F_REE tips now at www.purposefulentrepreneur.com“

What is the purpose of your business?

If you said “to help people” or “to change the world” or “to express my life’s purpose,” you’re partly right! But in fact, the purpose of your work overall is those things; the purpose of your business is to make a profit. Otherwise, what you have is a hobby you enjoy – but not a profitable enterprise (the definition of business).

Too many spiritually-minded coaches have been taught by the mass consciousness that you can’t be spiritual and be wealthy too. With the birth of the Entrepreneurial Renaissance, however, the principles of spirituality and wealth are increasingly blending. Doesn’t it set a better example for your clients, workshop attendees and product purchasers to see you prospering, enjoying your life, expansively giving to causes you believe in, and living comfortably – instead of struggling?

The times we are experiencing – especially this year – are requiring that we get real – and stop fooling ourselves that overspending and hoping someone will come and rescue us from our own excesses (regardless of that is in overeating, overspending or overleveraging our resources). Prince Charming isn’t coming! <G>

But true wealth is not measured just by the amount of reve_nue your business generates or the number of clients you are working with – let alone the size of home you have or the care you drive. Spiritual Wealth consists of living the life you love, that is perfect for you – not the life someone else told you was the ideal. Do you know what that is for you?

Maybe it means you have more time with your children, or time and money to have a spa day every couple of weeks. Or perhaps your Spiritual Wealth means having enough disposable in_cone to splurge on a new outfit once in a while, but also give to the charities of your choice and maintain your health through a gym membership.

Rather than giving you the “4 principles of attracting mon_ey now,” I’d like to challenge you to think about what your true wealth is – tapping into your voice, not what you have been told or taught or what is working for someone else. Then, the plan to create it becomes easy.

I wish you wealth!

To learn more, find out about this and 6 other critical aspects of the Evolving Entrepreneur that you will experience personally at EVOLVE Intensive and the EVOLVE Transformational Telesummit this November: just click here for details and to get your preferred registration rate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Bench is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach for conscious entrepreneurs in service-, information- and professional businesses. She is the CEO of Purposeful Entrepreneur.com, as well as the Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coach training companies, with more than 23 years of experience in coaching and consulting. She has authored 23 books including The Tao of Entrepreneurship and has given hundreds of live and teleclass presentations.

Copyright © 2009 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it:  “Spiritual Business Strategist and Coach Marcia Bench publishes the widely circulated ‘Purposeful Entrepreneur Times’ ezine biweekly to over 5,500 subscribers.  If you’re ready to start or grow a profitable business based on your life purpose and passion, get your F_REE tips now at www.purposefulentrepreneur.com“

 What do you truly LOVE? I have been asking people that on the phone lately, and it amazes me to see how tough a time they have answering it! If you don’t LOVE what you do for a living – and the lifestyle that it brings you – then it will be very difficult if not impossible to enroll new clients to work with you!

Increasingly, people buy your story, your experiences, and your authenticity. If they sense that you can relate to the struggles and challenges they are facing, have discovered an answer and can help them find an answer through working with you, they’re sold! Without that, you become a commodity, “just another coach” selling your wares, with nothing unique to distinguish you.

The times we are in are calling us to step up, to be real, and to connect deeply with our clients, customers, staff, and friends and family. Nothing less will do. I’m taking some time before leaving for the first of several trips on the road next week to connect with myself, to share my authentic experience – versus how it is “supposed” to be – and to tell my stories of my own life experience in my daily interactions (work and leisure). I would encourage you to do so too, because until we get real with ourselves, we won’t attract the authenticity, love, and growth that we are seeking.

Want My Secret, “Behind the Scenes” Conscious Cash Creation Roadmap for YOUR Business, Including Templates, Plans And Checklists?

The secret to success is not what you DO, but who you ARE – and how well you blend the power of your mind, spiritual principles and the laws of manifesting and magnetizing. I’ll reveal to you exactly how I have created 6-figure success, not once but several times.. If you haven’t reserved your ticket yet I suggest you hurry. Reason is, we’re now OVER *30% SOLD OUT* and we’re keeping this event intimate so you get the high-content step by step training, coaching and Q&A with me that you’ve been asking for. If you want to blend spirituality with business so you can live a joyful, abundant, soul-rich life, then you must be with people that can help you do just that!

Click here to get ALL the details, including the exact templates, plans and checklists I’m including – 3 payment plan expires October 15!

“Awaken Your Genius Within: 7 Steps to Creating Your ‘Spiritual Signature System’”

Have you wondered what the number one secret to getting your message out to your audience is. Of course, there are many…but I realized recently that there is something I have done naturally for years, that has helped me build a mid-6-figure business that is sustainable…but that many people don’t know about. Find out in today’s article!

Wishing you the life of your dreams, 

Marcia Bench
Spiritual Busiess Strategist for Purposeful Entrepreneurs