Archive for March, 2010

Should you be incorporating your business?  What should you put in your business plan?  How to you calculate what to charge?

These and similar questions face every new business owner.  And when your goal is to establish a purpose-based business, you also need to learn to manage your mindset, explore your relationship with mon_ey, find ways to streamline from the start, and more.

If you are starting (or restarting) a business – or about to – and don’t know the step-by-step process to navigate establishing your business name, legal issues such as incorporating, contracts and more, bookkeeping, fee setting, the logistics of your shopping cart and how to take credit cards, as well as clarifying you vision and implementing it – then won’t you allow me to mentor you?

Successful people seek out help when they know they need it – and startup is an area fraught with minefields!  Starting tomorrow, Wed., March 24, I’ll be sharing ALL my sec_rets with you in a 5-week teleseries, “Jump-Start Your Purposeful Business.”

Don’t struggle and wonder if you forgot something – let me walk you through it all!  Just visit www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/jumpstartbiz.html for details! (Convenient payment plan available too.)

Do you have a tendency to base decisions in your life and business on what is happening in your external environment?

For example:

• You shop at more than one store for groceries because “they” (the other store) has a discount or bargain on a few items?
• You drive less because gas prices are (or were) up
• You don’t market as much because you keep hearing that things are tight, the stock market is down, or it’s the holiday season
• You spend hours on the computer planning a trip – whether business or pleasure – trying to get the very lowest price for your hotel and airfare (and then when you arrive find out it really IS “discount” – in quality too!)

If you find yourself doing any of these things, consider that it is because you have not yet adequately embraced the principle that “Nature is an inexhaustible storehouse of riches. The supply will never run short. Original substance is alive with creative energy and is constantly producing more forms.” (Wallace Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich).

Perhaps you are waiting to promote your services or launch a new program because of the economy, the holidays, or any external reason, there are at least four important reasons why this will actually be detrimental, not “wise.”

1. There are actually more opportunities, not less, for coaches and other entrepreneurs in the down economy.

First, while coaches can thrive in any economy, they have increased opportunities when there are more layoffs and downsizings than are typical. After all, with more people in transition, there are more people that need our services! Tailor your marketing and the benefits you emphasize to the current conditions – getting a job or building your business more quickly vs. slow expansion or bettering one’s financial situation through a promotion – and you will have people lining up to work with you.

2. By not promoting and pursuing expansion of your business now, you become part of the problem.

You have heard the axiom that “what you focus on expands.” That is also true in this arena. When you hold back (consciously or unconsciously) by printing black and white instead of color, using solely online promotion instead of adding offline or radio or television, or just wait for a “better” time…you contribute that vibration and energy to the whole. And people pick up on your reluctance, they become afraid, and they pull back…and on it goes.

My mentors and coaches (as well as I) are investing MORE in learning and in our businesses and marketing during this time than ever – and breaking records left and right. Time your product release or program promotion based on what your heart wants to do, what you are feeling guided to do, not on what is happening in the external environment. (One of my colleagues just launched a new magazine and when someone commented they couldn’t believe she would do this during a recession, she said, “I didn’t even think about it, it was just the time to do it!” And it is very successful.)

3. Because many of your competitors are contracting now, you have an unparalleled opportunity to step in and own more of the market.

Many of your colleagues are NOT reading this ezine, and they are giving in to the fear and contraction that their base instincts want them to hear – and that the media is feeding them. (“Television” is literally someone else telling you what your vision should be…don’t you want to choose that for yourself??)

Step beyond your comfort zone, announce something new, finish that product and get it out for springtime promotions. Remember the principle of Raymond Holliwell that “no desire is felt until the supply is ready to appear.” (Working with the Law) So if you feel the desire to share this program or product, people are ready to consume it. Move ahead, don’t hold back just when you’re finally ready to grow!

4. By pulling back, you are depriving the people that are looking for you, that are longing for your work, and really need it, of the opportunity to obtain what they need.

It was a huge shift for me to realize that when I give in to my own fears and cancel an event or hold off on finishing a book or workshop, I am actually keeping my “people” – the individuals that I am destined to serve and who long for what I offer – from receiving what they need! My job is to say yes to the desires and call within me; then it is up to God and the Universe to bring me together with those people that are looking for me. It becomes so much easier this way!

Will this feel uncomfortable? Certainly, at times it will. You may attract criticism, people thinking you’re just a little crazy…and even your own inner voices may join the chorus. As long as you are fulfilling your divine destiny and purpose through the work you do, offering “more life to all and less to none,” you can trust your inner guidance and follow it – in any economy.

 In the previous installments of our series, we have addressed the key factors for a brand new business. Now we complete the process of setting our business up for success with the elements of Staffing and Strengthening.

11. Staffing: Magnetizing Like-Minded People to Implement and Enhance Your Vision

Even in the early stages of your business, you should delegate some tasks that could be profitably done by another person. As it grows, this is even more important! The Purposeful Entrepreneur must be careful to attract only like-minded people that are in integrity with the owner’s vision. Otherwise, it will be difficult or impossible to maintain the expression of the business’ key purpose throughout its various divisions and departments. There are three types of tasks which need to be completed in each business; at this stage at least two of them should be delegated so that the owner can focus on the creative, visionary tasks. This factor examines to what extent that has been done.

This factor answers the question, “How do we manage our resources (especially people)?” for the established business.

12. Strengthening: Leveraging the Success You Have Created

Once all 11 of the previous factors are in place, they pave the way for massive success…but then the question becomes, can you, the owner, let that success in? Or will you unconsciously sabotage things or become a bottleneck in your business to keep it smaller and more comfortable for you? It is difficult for entrepreneurs to let go of the tendency to “do it all myself,” and to allow others to bring their contributions to even the strategic level of the business. Yet that is called for here.

Often, the business reaches a point where it needs to reinvent itself, or the owner begins to lose interest when he/she is no longer creatively expressing on a regular basis. Re-allocating responsibilities – and perhaps even moving on to a new enterprise – may be considered here. Developing an exit strategy for the business and considering how to leverage the success it has enjoyed to date through franchising, licensing, distributorships, or other methods are among the issues evaluated here.

This factor answers the question, “How do we communicate what we do – now?” for the established business.

rganize what we do – now?” for the established business.

Evaluate all 12 factors of Purposeful Entrepreneurship in YOUR business with our Purposeful Entrepreneur Compass today: http://www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/assessment.html

In the previous installments of our series, we have addressed the key factors for a brand new business. Now we continue into the expanding business with the elements of Synergy and Systems.

9. Synergy: Dialoguing with Your Tribe, Meeting their Changing Needs

Everything you do through your business is actually an interactive dialog with your prospects and customers. If their response exceeds your expectations, you are “in sync” (synergistic) with them; if not, then the place to look is not at them but within yourself. Even your interaction with your business as you perform the duties and tasks required are synergistic, and, if you are open to it, are a path of personal growth and evolution. It helps you grow as you take steps to expand it! As a business grows, it is increasingly important to have regular direct interaction with customers to anticipate their changing needs – and use that information to be of maximum service in developing future offerings.

This factor answers the question, “Whom do we serve and what do they tell us?” for the established business.

10. Systems: Freeing Energy, Setting the Stage for Growth

Systems, policies, procedure manuals, and software all play a critical role in a growing enterprise. Without them, energy is wasted trying to find lost items, doing things multiple times (or by multiple people), and feeling like you are “chasing your tail”. This factor measures the extent to which you have implemented systems so that the energy of your purpose can express freely within the business. Your growth depends on it! Here we identify ways to regularly and seamlessly streamline and systematize, so it does not become a burden.

This factor answers the question, “How do we organize what we do – now?” for the established business.

Evaluate all 12 factors of Purposeful Entrepreneurship in YOUR business with our Purposeful Entrepreneur Compass today.

In the previous installments of our series, we have addressed the key factors for a brand new business. Now we move into the expanding business with the elements of Story and Simplification.

7. Story: Taking a Stand, Refining Your Purpose

As a business grows, its purpose must be revisited regularly to be sure the expanding market and growing line of products and services still express that purpose. In addition, the business’ position in the marketplace may need to be honed and narrowed even further to remain relevant – which means taking a stand to polarize the audience. Once you do this, those who love you really love you – and those who don’t resonate with your business will leave. This is a distilling process that greatly increases the impact and staying power of the business. Gathering success stories of happy customers and sharing them with prospects is also key here.

This factor answers the question “Who are we/what do we stand for?” for the established business.

8. Simplification: Getting Back to the Basics of Purpose and Vision

Growth inevitably means chaos – sometimes a lot of chaos. This factor examines how you have simplified – or could simplify – all aspects of your business. Often this means letting go of things that no longer serve the purpose of the business, whether that be staff, products, or ways of doing things. The Pareto Principle is useful here: 20 percent of your business will be generating 80 percent of your results. So what comprises the 20 percent, and how can you let go of the rest?

This factor answers the question, “How do we feel about what we do?” for the established business owner.

Evaluate all 12 factors of Purposeful Entrepreneurship in YOUR business with our Purposeful Entrepreneur Compass today: http://www.purposefulentrepreneur.com/assessment.html