WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS - Blog

What's "Not Wanted on Voyage" in 2010?

Here's a blog post I originally wrote this time last year. Sometimes the more things we let go of, the more successful we can become! Let me know what you think.

"I love New Year! There's such a feeling of possibility in the air. I've had a great time planning for what I want to have in my life and business this year,and just as important, I've been saying goodbye to things that are not wanted on the voyage this year.

I've made some fairly radical decisions and not everyone may be happy with these decisions, but it's my life and my business so I'm really taking charge this year! I've done a major overhaul of all areas of my life and business and came up with an amazing list of what I decided to let go of or stop doing. This list included stepping down from any voluntary or leadership positions for this year. For most of my adult life I have been on various Boards and Committees. That was my choice and it was a fantastic experience. However,  I made the decision this year to carve out more time for me and more time for creative projects both business and personal.

One of my more radical decisions is to drop local face to face networking unless I am the keynote speaker. Don't get me wrong, I love networking some of the time and it's one of the main ways I built a successful business in the first few years. However, it doesn't fit with my new business model which is based on making my business even more "virtual" this year.

A few years ago I made a decision which has made a huge difference in the quality of my life - I decided to  see clients only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This is simply taking the idea one step further. I want to fit my business into my life, not just fit my life into my business!

My "Not Wanted on Voyage" list includes lots of other things. When I look at this list of what I've let go of it feels immensely liberating! It's freeing up my time and energy for new projects. I am so excited about what I have planned for this year."

I followed through with these plans for 2009 and it made a huge difference to my business.

So my question for you is this: what do you want to leave behind  as "Not Wanted on Voyage" in 2010?

A Splendid Torch - George Bernard Shaw. Inspiration for the New Year

A favourite quotation from George Bernard Shaw:

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

George Bernard Shaw

Entrepreneurial insomnia!

Had to get out of bed at 4.00 am this morning as I was having so many ideas I had to get up and write them all down! Sometimes I'm so buzzing with ideas I can't get to sleep. But this time I'd already been asleep and woke up full of ideas. An inconvenient side effect of running your own business! I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep unless I wrote the ideas down, and besides, I might have forgotten most of them by the morning.

What gives you energy? Finding the right fuel

I blogged in my previous post about my daily walking regime and the many benefits I'm feeling as a result. It got me thinking about what we use to give us energy. All too often we get a quick energy fix from caffeine or chocolate then hit an energy slump half an hour later. To say nothing of piling on the pounds!

No, I'm not turning into a kill joy - I still love chocolate and coffee, but I'm trying not to rely on them for quick energy fixes. I'm choosing healthier snacks some of the time  - like oatcakes,nuts, bananas and other fruit.

It's not only the food we eat and what we choose to drink that affects our energy levels. How about the constant diet of negativity from the news. These days I minimise the amount of news I listen to or read, which is saying something for an ex journalist! I am so tired of all the news concentrating on the darkest and nastiest goings on in the world. I don't need to know about every single bad thing that happens world wide every day. No thank you! Try a news diet for a few days and see how much more positive it makes you feel.

Do you have some really negative people in your life who are all gloom and doom and who drag you down every time you speak to them?  Can you minimise your exposure to these people? You can also try countering each negative remark with a positive one of your own and they might get the message! Otherwise you really would be doing yourself a favour by withdrawing from their negative influence.

And let's not forget what we say when we talk to ourselves! Are you being a kind, supportive friend to yourself or can you sometimes be your own worst enemy? Replace your negative self talk with more supportive language starting today!

See my audio and workbook programme: "SELF BELIEF FOR THE SELF EMPLOYED - How boosting your confidence can boost your business" for more on this topic. More information

Time to get fit

As small business owners we spend a great deal of time tied to our desks. This month I started a new regime of going for a 45 minute brisk walk every day. I'm not a fan of the gym, but I love walking. When I had a "proper" job I walked to work and back each day plus I usually went for a walk at lunchtime.

However, for the last few years of running my own business I've been guilty of neglecting my exercise. The result of this has been that I've put on weight and felt more tired. I'm determined to build up my stamina and my flexibility from now on!

You probably have your own favourite kind of exercise - maybe you love going to the gym or cycling or swimming. What I love about walking is that you don't simply get valuable exercise, you gain thinking time and sometimes it seems like you have a  sort of walking meditation. The other fabulous benefit of exercise is that it's a great stress buster. I've had a very stressful couple of days but I'm handling it better than usual because I'm not tensing up.

The other added bonus is more energy and a clearer mind. I'm sticking with my new routine! How about you? Just step away from that desk!

On commitment, by W H Murray

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way."

W H Murray, the Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1950s)

This is one of my absolutely favourite quotations. Often these days it's attributed to Goethe because W H Murray follows this with another of my favourite quotations, actually from Goethe:

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. BEGIN IT NOW!"

On being number one - or not!

In the current "celebrity" culture we could be forgiven for thinking that if we're not number one - not "famous" - then we don't make an impression. I don't hold with that thinking at all.

Is Susan Boyle less visible because she was runner up in "Britain's Got Talent"? Is Kate Walsh's career suffering because she didn't actually win The Apprentice? I don't think so!

So what does this have to do with you and your business? It illustrates that there's room for all levels of expertise and you don't have to be at the top of the tree to have a viable business, get clients and provide value. For instance - even if you've only been in your field for a year, you're a year ahead of a complete newbie. Maybe your ideal market is absolute beginners.

Or maybe you're ready to teach or coach an intermediate level. My reason for writing this blog post is to show there is room for lots of different levels of "fame" and expertise. You are unique, with a unique set of skills and experience. No-one else will approach things in quite the same way. So don't worry about being the next "......."  Just be yourself and see who shows up!

You won't get everyone to be your client - but then you don't want just any old client do you? You want the ideal clients for you! I'll be blogging more on this topic so do come back regularly and do post a comment.

Back to blogging

I've been enjoying some time off including last week's Bank Holiday and my eighth Wedding Anniversary. I can't believe I've been married that long - just a wee bit longer than I've been running my own business.

Now I'm ready to get back into some serious work and some more writing, so the blog posts will be ramped up again. Writing has become even more important to my business this year. I'm lucky, I love to write and I've even taught creative writing. I believe writing is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to boost your business.  If you'd like to learn more about how writing can help your business click on this link.

Email etiquette - beware of the pitfalls!

Over the past few days I have been shocked at how many of my contacts have sent out round robin emails displaying the email address of everyone on their list! This is a complete NO NO! If you want to keep people on your list and be taken seriously as someone who respects others' privacy, you simply cannot send out emails this way.  Sorry if I'm doing the equivalent of shouting in this post, but it really is that important. It is a breach of privacy at the very least. And don't forget data protection regulations. If you've been doing this don't worry - I've seen large public institutions doing it!

All you need to do to avoid this, is to use the BCC feature in your email field. Instead of CCing everyone on your list when you want to send out a round robin - just choose the BCC field instead. I mean how hard is that? Of coures if no-one tells you how to do this, how would you know? However, if you want to keep people on your list, make sure you use the BCC field. All this means is that everyone still gets the message, but they don't get everyone else's email contact details. Phew! OK - lecture over!

Communications restored! Time to celebrate.

Today I'm celebrating that I've got my email back up and running again! For a frustrating 36 hours I couldn't access my messages. Our email is something we all take for granted until it goes wrong. I'm reminding myself every Friday in this blog to stop and take time to be grateful and to celebrate what's good about life.There's so much gloom and doom around us in the news and I'm determined not to let it dictate my mood.

I love this quotation:  "Happiness is not having what you want - it's wanting what you have!" How true.  I know I sound a bit like Pollyanna but what's wrong with looking on the bright side of life? As Pollyanna said "There's always something to be glad about!" What do you have to be glad about this weekend?