WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS - Blog

Motivation matters!

If you want to keep your motivation high as you build your business, remember why you went into business for yourself in the first place. Consider what you want your business to do for you! Too often we become slaves to our businesses and lose touch with our key values and reasons for being our own bosses. It pays to step off the treadmill now and then to reconsider why you decided to run your own business. People go into business for themselves for all sorts of reasons - negative as well as positive. Perhaps you decided to turn your hobby into a paying concern. Perhaps you did it to avoid a long commute, a boring, repetitive job or even a bullying boss!

You could be one of those lucky people who are so passionate about their line of work  they would do it even if they weren't being paid! But, hey - you need to cover the mortgage too! Maybe you wanted to spend more time with your family, or find the time to finish writing your novel. Maybe the idea was to travel more and only work a four day week. Whatever the positive reasons were, try getting back in touch with what motivated you and use this to revitalise your long term vision for your business and how it will support your life.

Do you want your business to grow into a larger enterprise or do you want to keep it smaller and more manageable, still working from a home based office? Do you envisage larger premises and more staff? Is your longer term goal to make the business work without you and perhaps build a business that you can ultimately sell? It pays to think about the very long term.

Try writing down your ideas - don't just think about them. It's amazing how much clearer your ideas become when you write them down. Rather than working from month to month or even year to year, look at the really big picture. When do you want to retire? Do you even want to retire? This exercise will pay enormous dividends and may even prevent you taking a wrong turn with your business. You don't have to grow your business beyond a certain size if you believe this could have a detrimental impact on your quality of life. Remember, it's your life and your business so make the most of it!

The key is implementation!

 Einstein stated that: "Nothing happens until something moves." It's a bit like that with our businesses too! It's one thing to know what to do to build your business - it's quite another to actually take the steps to implement that knowledge.

This is one of the key reasons that business coaching and mentoring is so popular. One of the main benefits to having your own coach or mentor is that they get you into action in a focused way and working to a clear plan. The accountability factor is one of the key benefits to having a coach. It's all too easy to put things off if only you will know about it!

Even if you don't have a coach, consider getting an "accountability buddy" so you can report to each other on a weekly basis about the key tasks you want to accomplish. This really will increase your implementation and your productivity levels.

The confidence to be yourself

 As you’re probably only too aware, our confidence and self esteem are very variable – more of a wavy line than a straight line. Some days we feel we could conquer the world and other days we just want to hide under the duvet! 

We can miss opportunities because we allow fear and self doubt to get in the way.  We undermine our confidence by taking things too personally and by trying to second guess what others think of us.  I love the phrase: “What you think of me is none of my business!”  And Eleanor Roosevelt famously said: “No-one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

Why should someone else’s opinion of you matter to you more than your own opinion of yourself? I’d like you to really think about this. Remember – people take us at our own face value. Other people will treat us the way that we expect and allow ourselves to be treated. True confidence stems from within and relies on high self esteem. When it comes to confidence, the most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves.

LIMITING BELIEFS

Many of us have some limiting beliefs which undermine our confidence, but once we notice them and challenge them, we can decide that it’s time to let them go. Try the following exercise:

Make a list of your limiting beliefs – for instance any statements that begin with words like: “I could never ........”, or “I’m too old, too young, not clever enough, not rich enough, not good enough...” etc. Now look at the list again and reframe these ideas. For each item listed, ask yourself if it’s really true. What else could be true instead? What, specifically, do you want to be true instead? How can you start to make that happen?

Most of us underestimate the power of our own thoughts.  Many of us have inner “self talk” that is extremely critical of ourselves.  Think about it – would you talk to a good friend the way you sometimes talk to, and about yourself? Are you a kind, supportive, nurturing friend to yourself or are you sometimes your own worst enemy?

AFFIRMATIONS

Affirmations can be a really great tool in strengthening self belief because our brains can really only hold one thought at a time properly. Affirmations are a great way to defuse our negative self talk. So, what are the rules for powerful affirmations? Well, first of all they need to be stated in the first person: “I”. Secondly, they need to be stated in the present tense, “I am” or “I have” as if they were already accomplished, not set at some point in the future .

A very good source of powerful affirmations is Louise Hay’s work. She’s the best- selling author of “You Can Heal Your Life” and “The Power is Within You.”

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR TALENTS AND GIFTS

Here’s another confidence boosting exercise for you to try:

List 100 of your personal and professional achievements. This is no time to be shy – acknowledge your own talents and gifts. Don’t underestimate anything. If you passed your driving test first time, put that down. List successful interviews, promotions and prizes. Record instances where you got out of your comfort zones. Perhaps it was travelling alone, hosting your first dinner party, stopping smoking, learning a language, learning to salsa dance, making a speech, influencing others…..put everything down. Add new things as they happen in your life. Make it a habit to capture your successes in an achievements log. Reading this list from time to time will be a great confidence booster.

THE TRAP OF PERFECTIONISM

Being a perfectionist can be a way to avoid taking risks and getting out of your comfort zones. But staying safe can take a huge toll on the quality of your life and in the long run does nothing for your confidence.

Remember, it’s OK to make mistakes. Some of our most important learning comes through making mistakes. Indeed, it could be argued that if we never make any mistakes we are not developing or growing. And remember to reward yourself for effort, not just for results. Give yourself a pat on the back. Don’t wait for validation from “out there”. Do it for yourself.

TAKE ACTION!

One of the most effective things you can do to boost your confidence is to take action!  “Analysis paralysis” can be zapped by simply blasting through it and doing something to get off dead centre.  It can be a small thing like doing one of the action steps on your to do list, or it can be a big thing, like applying for a new job. Taking action gives you a feeling of control. When you feel in control of your situation, you are inspired to do more as a result so you feel stronger and much more capable and confident.

Being decisive, taking action and moving forward with your life is the most effective way to build your confidence.

 

© Shona Partridge 2008-2009

Do you need to meet in person?

I'm been working on making my business bigger and more "virtual" this year. I'm very fortunate that I can work by telephone so it doesn't matter where my potential clients live.

Are there any aspects of your service provision that could be done over the phone rather than in person? It's great to meet potential and actual clients face to face, but not every subsequent meeting needs to be in person. You and your clients could save lots of travel time and it frees up space for more clients or more time off.

Of course sometimes it's great to get out of the house and it can stop us feeling too isolated as solo professionals working from home. But just giving a little extra thought to whether you really want or need to get in the car or hop on the train, instead of just picking up the phone can add up to hours of saved time over a year

Win a copy of Self Belief for the Self Employed

If you're quick and sign up for my newsletter today or early tomorrow then you have a chance to win a copy of my Audio and Workbook programme: "Self Belief for the Self Employed: How boosting your confidence can boost your business."

Sign up in the blue box on the right and you'll also receive my 3 Special Reports absolutely free.

Then all you need to do to qualify for the prize draw is to pass the newsletter on to another woman who's in business for herself.

The winner will be drawn at random on 1st September.

Marketing 101 - Tip # 14 Collect testimonials

 Collecting testimonials and developing case studies about your work are great confidence boosters. If you haven’t been asking for testimonials up to now, it’s time to get started!

When you’re working with new clients you don’t need to wait till the work is completed to ask for a testimonial. People will be full of enthusiasm as they start working with you and results can occur early on. So when your client says something is amazing, ask to write down what they’ve said. Get permission to use it on your website and in your marketing materials.

Read more about testimonials here

Marketing 101 - Tip # 13 Time to think!

If you're constantly busy and on the go, where will you find the time to think about new ideas? The trouble is, when we love what we do it's much more difficult to have the demarcation we would get in a traditional, salaried job.

However, taking time out to rest, recharge and just daydream is actually an essential part of being an entrepreneur and business owner. After all, Einstein came up with the Theory of Relativity when he was lying on a hillside on a sunny day wondering what it would be like to ride on a sunbeam! And Walt Disney had a specially designated "Dreaming Room."

So, what's your dreaming time and special place? When did you last empty your mind of to do lists and "shoulds"? New ideas need space to develop, and marketing ideas are no different. Try it out - and I'd love to hear how you get on.

Marketing 101 - Tip # 12 Trust your intuition

We all have access to our own powerful intuition and we ignore it at our peril. Trust your gut when it comes to deciding what niche to specialise in, which clients to take on or who to go into partnership with. If money is involved and you get a nagging doubt or warning from your intuition, pay close attention!

Of course we'll do our homework and research but if the niggles are worrying you, don't ignore them. Think of a time in the past when you paid attention to your intuition and avoided a problem - or maybe even more likely you ignored the hunches and went ahead only to kick yourself later.

My first feelings about a person or situation are rarely wrong and I've learned the hard way that I really need to listen when my intuition sends me a warning! This may seem a little esoteric for a marketing tip, but do give it some serious thought. It could save you time, money and trouble along the way.

If it's not a "Hell, yes!" it's a "Hell, no!"

This is a great idea to help you in making decisions. Instead of always falling over backwards to please other people, try making decisions from a position of personal power.  When you're asked to do something, try running it through the filter of : is this a hell, yes or is it a hell no! Life is too short to spend doing things you don't really want to do.  I don't recall where I first heard this, but it really is a great rule of thumb and really helps me decide if something is for me or not.

Try it and see how you get on. It makes things very clear - black and white even. After all, no-one ever said "hell, maybe!"

Marketing 101 - Tip # 11 Do some speaking

One of the best ways to get your business noticed is to do some public speaking. In an ideal world you would get paid, but even if you don't get a fee, think of it as fantastic free publicity. Create a "signature" talk in an area you know a lot about. Think about the problems you solve in your business. What do your clients keep asking you about?

Being the person at the front of the room at a networking event makes you much more memorable than being just another name on a business card. Check out local groups and choose one to approach this month.