Drive Your Network Marketing Business to Success

Ultimately, success requires a plan, the way a car trip requires a road map.  First choose the destination and then figure out how you’re going to get there.  Stephen Covey is famously quoted “begin with the end in mind.” I’ll add: begin with the end in mind and then work backwards.

We’ve spent a solid week figuring out our vision.  If you’d like to have a peek at our process, we shot a video of our big picture notes, take a look. You’ll see that we’ve just about blocked out one view in order to create another. We can’t wait to look back this time next year and see what we’ve built.

By ‘figuring out our vision’ I don’t mean that it is complete, a finished product.  It is not static.  It’s dynamic and flexible and we fully expect changes as we move through this year and into next year.  We’ll learn things we don’t know today.  Opportunities will come that we didn’t expect or see on the horizon when we started.  And things that we expected to happen will not.  Yes, there will be failures along the way.

It Won’t Work – Quick Run

We started with our BIG PICTURE.  What did we want?  Where did we see ourselves as this year unfolded?  Jillian and I have consciously worked with our lizard brains, the amygdala for years. That’s the part that says, “Whoa now, you can’t do that.  It won’t work.”  It’s doing its job keeping us ‘safe’ from danger.  Unfortunately, the amygdala didn’t evolve as society did and it doesn’t know the difference between failing at a project and failing to run when a dinosaur approaches.  So, yes, we decided to ‘go for it’ on a few things that caused our lizard brains to wiz and whirl.  However, we’ve learned to take the adrenalin that comes with those experiences and define it as Jillian says, “as exciting rather than terrifying” (well, most of the time).

We’ve both been entrepreneurs long enough to know that any road to success is paved with failures too.  They may hurt as you learn from them, but they won’t kill you.  It’s the mistakes you want to avoid.  The failures will help you do that (avoid the mistakes) as well as teach you things you didn’t know, couldn’t know, unless you tried.

Yours for the Looking

Business success takes work and focus and contrary to some ideas about network marketing – like being able to build a business ‘in the cracks of your life’ -  your network marketing business requires work and focus.  I’ve never had an aversion to work and have never lacked in self-discipline.  Putting the elements together, however, work/focus/learning curve/team work requires commitment.

We’ve had a good dose of that this week as we did our visioning and strategic planning for this year and a few more down the road.  It has been interesting to observe it all come together.  Jillian and I have had partners in the past, good ones and not so good ones, but we are both very comfortable – and happy – working solo.  In fact, when we started our partnership dance in August, 2010, we had both been working solo for a good number of years.

We’re both take charge types and it has been interesting and delightful to realize that our overlapping talents have allowed (and at times taught) us to let go and let the other do the job and know that ‘it,’ whatever it is, will get done and get done well.  And although we find our match to be quite magical at times, we are also distinctly different and bring very different talents and personalities to the table. That tension and synergy gives birth to creative energy and ideas as well as some interesting self reflection and straight ahead talks.  It means figuring out what doesn’t work, improving, tweaking, sometimes feeling inspired and sometimes ‘slogging through.’

The Year is young, very young.  If you haven’t yet wrapped your head around where you’re going this year, let our process help you.  Take a look here. 

Now, that said, my ‘good on ‘em’ is about applauding people for asking.  You should proudly invite everyone you think could be a good fit for you business, to take a look.  That’s your main job when building an MLM business – exposing people to information about your business opportunity and your products and services.

Three people I know called me in the last couple of weeks to recruit me and what struck me was when you make the recruiting process all about YOU and not about the PROSPECT, you are getting in the way of your own business success.

In marketing, we teach people that all good marketing speaks to someone’s problem and then offers a solution.  You have dirty rugs, I have a vacuum.  You have a headache, I have an anti-inflammatory.  You hate your job, I have a business opportunity.  You wish you had more disposable income, I have a business you need to take a look at.  You wish you had more time freedom, I have a video I’d like you to watch…

When you make that call, it has to be about THEM, not about YOU.  Here’s the difference:

Call One:

Hello?  Hey Amy, I’m so excited about my business and you’d be the perfect person to help me achieve my goals and get where I want to be with the company – you’ve got to take a look.

Call Two:

Hello?  Hey Amy, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’ve got a seed I want to plant in that wonderful, cultivating mind of yours.  Would you give me a call?

Which one would get your attention more quickly?  Right.  Thought so.  Zig Ziglar said it best: we’re all dialed into to WII-FM – What’s In It For Me – 24/7.  Appealing to anyone works best when you express it through the filter of what’s important to them, not you.  Yes, it’s hard to do.  But unless you master this technique and are genuine in your approach, your message has much less chance of getting through and of you have less chance of easily achieving your goals.

You CANNOT make your networking business all about you.  The more you genuinely get curious about other people and get interested in their success, the more success you will have.  I like to say instead of dog-eat-dog, our business is dog-help-dog.  Give this some serious thought and pay attention to how you present your business.  Do it in terms that are meaningful to your prospect and you’ll have people much more interested in knowing about what you do.

Bear in mind, that while you’re all wrapped up in what you know and what you want them to know, they’re wrapped up in you and who you are and how you come across.  Come across with their best interests at heart and you’ll add a huge success key to your tool kit.

Click here to read about our home study Power Prospecting Course – master prospecting once and for all!

Your Business Mindset is Your Business’s Best Friend

If you listen to oldies music (or have been around a bit) you know that Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.  Now that may or may not be true, the diamond thing, I’ll leave it up to you.  But we do you know what your business’s best friend is – a robust business mindset.  Without that your business is stopped in its tracks.  Stopped before it can get out the gate or off the starting line.

A lightweight business mindset will turn your telephone into a 500 hundred pound hulk and make washing the dishes or cleaning the toilet seem more appealing. You’ll do anything to avoid picking up the phone and having a conversation with someone about your business/financial opportunity.  What is a good antidote to a puny business mindset?  Awareness. You weren’t expecting that were you?  But it’s true.

There is a great story in “The Inner Game of Coaching” by Tim Gallwey about a small professional medical office.  Too many patients were being kept waiting.  Gallwey was hired and came in to watch what was going on.  After a morning of observation he said something along the lines,

“I don’t know.  But while I think about it, I want everyone to keep count of how many people were kept waiting each day for the next week.”

I’m sure you can guess what happened.  They didn’t get a ‘perfect record,’ however, only one person (it may have been two, it’s been a while since I read the story) were kept waiting.

But here is the fascinating piece; no one knew what they did differently…except, of course, pay particular attention.  Everyone was aware.  Focus is an amazing thing.  Truly, awareness is curative.

So what is your first step to building a robust business mindset?  Paying attention to where you are right now.  Getting clear what your business mindset is and then cleaning up the fuzzy edges and sharpening your focus.

Awareness is Curative

Common sense tells us that before we can ‘do’ anything about something we need to be aware of what we are doing.  Here as Savvy Sponsoring we work from the premise that in order for any of us to fruitfully move from one place to another, we first need to know exactly where we currently stand.

To check out your Business Mindset and get a snap shot of where you are right now, click here to purchase for our new Key to Your Million Dollar Mindset.  It’s a new product with an amazing questionnaire that will expose things to you about how you work (or don’t) in your business that you never dreamed of.  Click here to listen to Wanda’s reaction (it’s is only 46 seconds long but it says it all) after she connected the dots on her questionnaire.  Not only will you hear it, you can feel it.  Her aha moment is palpable.

This is the first in a series of our Circle of Business Success products designed to clear away the fuzzy edges and snap your business view into focus.  A focus that, like the medical office, will allow you to pay attention and make positive changes in both your unconscious mind as well as your conscious mind.

Each Circle of Business Success product, as it is released, will be offered for $9.95 for two days in our newsletter.  After that, they can be found in the Savvy Store for the bargain price of $19.95.  The $9.95 price is a steal.  Each product will include:

1. A (fat) 45 minute audio download (many of the audios will be longer than 45 minutes.
2. A Circle of Business Success Diagnostic designed to get to the nitty gritty of your Business Mindset and pinpoint what you need to know about you and your business to change everything.
3. Comprehensive Notes and/or coaching transcript

Get your copy of the Key to the Million Dollar Mindset by clicking here and have the same kind of aha moment that Wanda and many others on our coaching call had with the Key to a Million Dollar Mindset.

Connect the dots today to learn exactly where you stand, so you’ll know where you want to go.

Lucky for me the universal energy or the stars lined up and bingo, I experienced the first impossible thing that was to happen to me.  I happened.  I happened against odds that make winning the lottery or breaking the bank in Vegas look easy.  Easy.  And you know what, we have that in common.  We’ve all been gifted the impossible, life.

Now that you know just how lucky YOU are, what are you going to do about it?  It’s the first of the year and time for some reflection, planning and go get ‘um tiger energy.  What do you wish you’d done last year that you didn’t?  Are you going to do it this year?

Just how much money did you leave on the table last year in your business, because you:

• Weren’t direct about your business opportunity
• Didn’t close the conversation
• Didn’t lead like your successful business depended on it (it does you know)
• Didn’t close the sale

Here’s the good news.  The rest of your life starts right now.  Ugh, sorry, I know overused, but I couldn’t resist.  Come on, get on it.  Celebrate your life with all that you’ve got.  It’s special.  Heck it was actually impossible.  The chances of your life happening were nil, none, zilch.

Go buy a lotto ticket (maybe the impossible will happen again for you).  But then get to work.  Don’t leave money on the table this year.

We’d like to help.  Make sure you get signed up for our complimentary coaching call on January, 10th at 3:00 pm eastern time (that’s noon pacific, 1:00 pm mountain and 2:00 pm central).  If you’re ready to build, we’re on it.  This is what client Callie Shields of Send Out Cards sent us mid-December last year.

Are you ready to send us this kind of email?  Join our complimentary coaching on January 10th and bring your team.  Callie did and wahoo!

Part of Sherry’s commitment to homeschooling has her teaching a zoology class this year to 4th and 5th graders.  The class is focused on birds, that’s how the chickens figure into the story.  Here’s the leadership part.  When there is danger in the barnyard the chicken has a couple of things she can do to protect her chicks, she can:

• Run all over the barnyard trying to collect them all – one at a time  -  or
• She can stand still and CLUCK, open her wings and get them to come to her

Which do you think she does?  You got it, mother hen stands still, opens her wings and calls out, “get here now.”  Those who survive the danger and live to grow, come running.  Can you imagine the carnage if mama hen ran around trying to gather each chick individually?

What kind of a leader are you?  Do you run around through your downline to each one of your recruits trying to get them under your wing, for example:

• Begging them to be coachable
• Asking and asking again for them to attend training
• Trying to get then to pick up the phone to recruit
• Calling them each week to check in, rather than encouraging their proactive behavior and having them call you

Or have you developed your systems and spread your leadership wings and invited your crew to “take cover,” while they learn, develop and become proactive so they can go out into the barnyard of business and recruit and build with the strengths and skills they need to be successful?

If you’d like to take advantage of our leadership and coaching skills, make sure you register for our coaching call (complimentary) on Tuesday, January 10th.  We’ll give yo some tips to call your chicks to the barn and keep that downline safe, savvy and successful.

A little planning goes a long way to keep you sane and keep your business on the right track.  In fact, a little planning goes a long way to facilitate taking the best care of yourself, your family, your business and thoroughly enjoy your year-end holiday.

What does it take exactly?

• Plan your exit from work
• Plan your re-entry back into work

I guarantee, if you exit gracefully from your business schedule, and have a solid plan to re-enter your business after the holidays you can walk away guilt free and let go of your business to thoroughly enjoy the season.  Not sure how to do that, relax…

Here is the step by step recipe.

Exit Strategy

Take the time to make a list of what must get done before you walk away from your office.  Do your best to keep it short and sweet.  Put only those things that really must get done onto your list.  Once the list is complete, take another look and see if something else can wait.

This is not the list of “what you would like to do.”  It is a list of what-must-get-done-to-keep-you-sane and allow you to walk away for the holidays.  Once the list is complete, go through the list again and see what you can delegate to someone else.

Leaders Delegate

Leaders delegate.  Leaders do NOT think they are the only ones who can do something.  Leaders may be able to do it better than someone else, quicker too.  But leaders know that in order to be successful you must – must – build a team.  That’s true in any business.

Take a look at your list now and see what you can delegate.  If you have orders to enter, or package up or a client list that needs to be updated, or holiday cards to send… you can delegate those tasks.  Think about it.  You did not get into your business to make $10 an hour.  Given that, why are you doing tasks that you could pay someone else to do for $10 an hour.  Spend your time making money, pay someone one to do the admin you can delegate.  If you have children old enough to handle the tasks you need done, it’s a great way to involve them in your business.  They might even be more willing to leave you to your business time, since it creates the opportunity for them to earn money too!

Prioritize Your Exit List

Prioritize the items on your Exit List.  Remember, this is not a list of what you want to get done.  It is the list of what MUST be completed before you can leave.  Don’t make yourself crazy.  ONLY THINGS THAT MUST GET DONE.

Now that your list is prioritized… Put everything you must do before you leave into your calendar and give it a time to work on it and get it done.

Scheduling is Key

This is where most people get themselves into trouble.  If you prioritize your list, but don’t schedule the exact time you’re going to accomplish the tasks, you are courting disaster.  This is where we lie to ourselves.

Think about it.  Why don’t you want to put it into your calendar?  Because deep down you don’t think you have time to do it.  So you put it on a to-do list and try running doubly fast to get it all done.  It never works.  It just drains you.

Schedule the time and do the most important things first.  Follow that calendar.  Don’t work on anything else in your business until these items are complete.  If you have some office time left when all the important “big rocks” are completed, then go back to that list and add other things into a time slot.  But get the most important things done first.

Basics of a Smoothly Run Business

Sometimes we move so quickly we forget these basics of a smoothly run business:

• Work out of your calendar
• Make sure you allot yourself enough time
• Get everything (yes, everything) off that “to do list” and give it a time in your calendar

Not only will you get more done…you’ll have some sanity to enjoy all those important people in your life too.

If you currently don’t work out of a calendar, (e.g. book everything you do into a time slot) you are courting disaster.  Running a business from the seat of your pants may be a great adrenalin rush, but it is hell on the bottom line.  (It is also hell on your nerves and the nerves of everyone around you.)

Not sure how to keep a good, easy, make your life sane calendar?  Check this out.  I promise you will throw away your ‘to do’ list, get the important stuff done and be sane!  Money back promise and guarantee.

It is the undone, the unorganized things that keep nagging at us.  Spend a few minutes to administer your business with good prioritizing of activities.  You will be able to relax and enjoy your time with your family and friends.

Your Re-entry Strategy

Even though pretty much everyone will take a holiday break it can still be difficult to walk away.  But it can be even more difficult to get back to work.  It can really be tough.  If we are not careful, it can be mid January before we’re even starting to gear up.  After all ‘everyone needs time to get back to work, they’re not ready for my call.’  We can feed ourselves lots of reasons for not getting back to work.  Don’t get us wrong, we are not saying you need to be back to work early in January – as long as it is planned that you’re going to come back in mid-January.  But if you didn’t plan it, now that’s a problem.

Here’s the deal.  If you do not plan this extra time out of production, how do you feel?  Are you feeling guilty?  Are you fretting about what is not getting done?  Are you anxious about your next check?

You are not working.  But, and this is huge, you are spending energy.  In fact you are probably spending lots of energy, negative energy.  You’re fretting about what you are not doing.  Plus, the longer you are in this work limbo, the more difficult it is to get a handle on yourself and get back into work.  If you are going to take time off work, then plan and enjoy it, don’t make yourself crazy (or feel guilty) because you’re not working!

Make Coming Back to Work Easy

Don’t close for the holidays until you’ve booked yourself at least one money making activity in your calendar for your first day back to work.  In other words, make sure you have a money making activity booked into your calendar that requires you to show up.

There is nothing like an important money making appointment to bring us back to work.  The more you book your calendar for right after the holidays with strong money making events, the more likely you are to get back into the swing of things right away.

Make it One of Your Priority Items

How do you book your first week home after your vacation?  Simple, on that priority list you made of what you were going to do before you closed for the holidays, make sure you add to book a couple of money making appointments.  Set yourself a goal of two, three, four or ?? appointments and go for it.

Every appointment you set for your first week back from vacation will launch your business back into action.  People are typically up for change the first of the year (those New Year’s Resolutions).  Set yourself up for success and book those re-entry money making appointments.

If you use this simple but very effective exit and re-entry strategy in your business it will make your holidays so very much more enjoyable.  You won’t have one foot in celebration and one foot in angst because you left things up in the air.  Be good to you.  Plan your holiday exit and re-entry into your business.

However you celebrate this time of year, Enjoy!

Hi Everyone,

I love the opportunity during this not-quite-winter season to get together with friends and family over good food and wine and visit and relax.  I like to think about what I’m grateful for and appreciate my warm cozy house and the heat from the wood stove.  I feel very fortunate to have so much freedom in my life.  This last week I had some very difficult things to deal with as well.  I lost a friend to cancer and nearly lost another.

When I came to Jillian feeling lost and uncertain, she shared some great wisdom with me:  think about what you’d be doing if you didn’t feel what you were feeling and do that.  Some days it helps to put one foot in front of the other and do what is ours to do.  It can be the best medicine.

So, as 2011 winds down, I want to thank you, for reading our newsletter, for working with us, for being part of this great and sometimes oh-so-misunderstood industry.  And, I want to publicly thank Jillian for being such a great business partner and just as great a friend.  Neither is easy to come by and I got a two-fer.  I feel blessed and privileged indeed.

Here’s to us all recognizing all our blessings, more of the time.

Amy

In our last issue, we discussed a great technique for prospecting during the holidays.  This is the time of year when you connect with lots of people and have the opportunity to ‘mix’ more often than most other times of the year.  Go out of your way to attend every event you can – personal and business.  Accept invitations that come your way, look for business groups hosting luncheons, cocktail parties and other events and GO to them!

Starting in December, we’re offering a free coaching call the first Tuesday of every month.  This month, on December 6th, we’ll teach you a technique that is simple, works like a charm and DOES NOT compromise your dignity.

What do we mean by that?  You are not required to do anything uncomfortable or creepy, nothing that makes you feel like a deer in the headlights, or leaves you feeling awkward.  However, it’s a technique that can work in all seasons and provide you with unlimited prospects – like a tap you can turn on when you need more.

In the teleclass, we’ll go over the technique in complete detail, including role playing EXACTLY how it works.  The call is complimentary, there’s nothing for sale, just a great straightforward technique you can use year round to create an unlimited source of prospects, but works especially well in December because there are so many opportunities to get out and be out.

We’ll teach you how to drop a curiosity line, how to use the Family, Occupation, Recreation, Money (FORM) strategy quickly and completely.  We’ll tell you how to extricate yourself from any conversation after 3-5 minutes so you can have multiple conversations at every event.  And, we’ll teach you how to direct short conversations so you make a great impression, accomplish your agenda of getting their phone number, all WITHOUT talking about your business.

Our coaching clients often ask us how you can prospect someone after just one quick meeting.  ”Don’t you have to invest time and build a relationship?”  they ask us.  The answer is NO.  And you can do it without feeling like the proverbial bull in the china shop.  You’ll leave them impressed by you.  When you follow up with a phone call, we’ll teach you exactly what to say to introduce your business concept without coming on strong or alienating anyone.

You’ll have a quick sentence or two you can say about what you do that doesn’t give it away and doesn’t have you backing up the dump truck and unloading details that aren’t appropriate is this setting (and probably not in ANY setting…).

It’s what business CEOs do with ease and you can too!  Wouldn’t it feel great to ask someone about themselves and walk away knowing their potential hot buttons for building a secondary income stream?  Wouldn’t it feel even better if you knew what to say to ask them if they’re open to looking without waiting 6 months, but still sounding easy, professional and unassuming?  You bet it would and you can.

Rather than give you a scenario here, join us on December 6th and HEAR it role played – the meeting and the follow up. We’ll give the exact script after the call and teach you how to practice and perfect the technique.  We’re not selling anything on the call, this is our monthly gift to network marketing business builders.  Bring your downline along and multiply your efforts – imagine if everyone on your team was attending events and gathering prospects.  What could that look like for your business growth?  Don’t have a team yet?  Come to the call and you’ll be on your way to adding new partners.

Remember – what you do in December has the potential to launch 2012 on the fast track.  People make decisions in January.  Set yourself up so people are deciding to join YOU.  Join us – see you Tuesday.

What is your business about?  If you said helping people finding a solution to their economic issues, you’d be right.  If you said helping people become more independent to spend their time the way they want to, you’d be right.  So your job is to pay attention and be aware of someone’s need that you think your business might be able to remedy.  Anytime you are around people is a great time to be paying attention and the holidays are no exception.

If it’s someone you know, (Uncle Harry or Cousin Sue) you can always start out with what’s new?  How’s it going?  Or, tell me what you’ve been up to.  Nothing new here huh.  It is exactly what you’d do to catch up.  The only thing that is different now is you are consciously listening.  No more asking the question and then zoning during the answer!

If you’re meeting someone new, you can ask simple things.  ”What do you do?  How long have you been doing that?  What do you like best about it?  What’s most rewarding about it?”

And NO, you do not ask the questions in rapid fire machine gun style.  You’re having a conversation and you ask the questions within the context of a real conversation!  Because you’re ‘actively listening’ you’ll hear loud and clear if and when the conversation tips you off to wishing they had a bit more money to travel, or buy that new car or take advantage of affordable housing.  It’s possible that money isn’t the issue, but they feel like their boss owns them and they seldom leave their job.

These are people who may be open to a secondary stream of income.

When the conversation come to its appropriate end, e.g. you want to talk to others at the party or you need to get back to your partner or the conversation just took a natural wind-up, now is the time for you to offer your curiosity statement.  Yes curiosity statement.  What does that mean?  You are now going to say something that will leave them curious.  We want them to be curious about what you’re talking about.  Just curious.  NOTHING MORE.

As you are saying good bye to move on and mingle, you say, ”(Name) you said a couple of things that got me thinking.  There’s something I would really like to ask you about.  Would it be okay if I got in touch with you in a couple of days?” OR “Would it be okay if I got in touch with you?”

That’s it.  Pretty easy.  Regular conversation with what could be a life changing outcome for the person you’re talking to.  That’s pretty cool.

Many folks will say yes, …”What is it?  Tell them, ”It’s actually a business question which is why you don’t want to go down that path now.  But can I give you a call?”  They will almost always say YES, especially if you’re just completing a really nice conversation.

Now you have to be prepared to get their information.  Many of us won’t have a pen or a business card on us — you will.  You’re going to produce right out of your pocket a little pad (very little) and a pen or short pencil.

Hand it to them and say is, ”Great.  Would you give me a number where I can reach you?”

Bravo.  You’ve just spent a lovely evening out, connected with some people that you like and have found something in common with …and believe you might have a solution to something that’s bugging them.  AND YOU HAVE NEVER, NEVER MENTIONED YOUR BUSINESS OR DONE ANYTHING AS TACKY AS THE ’3 FOOT RULE.’

If you’d like to hear how this sounds and how to handle some of the many kinds of questions or answers you may get, join us for our complimentary teleclass on Tuesday, December 6th at noon pacific time / 3:00 pm eastern. We’ll go over a myriad of ways you can develop a warm genuine conversation and come away knowing you may well be a source of positive change for someone.

Some of you know that we are in the thick of completely redesigning the Savvy Website.  It will have an entirely new look and be much much friendlier to navigate.  Lots of things will go away and lots of new things in their place.

For that reason our Black Friday sale will be huge this year.  Everything – EVERYTHING — in our store will be half price.  When this inventory is gone, many items will not be available again.  We are also continuing the sale over to Green Saturday!  Make sure that you write in the coupon code – Thanks – and the 50% savings is yours.

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

Self fulfilling prophecy, we’ve all heard about that.  There’s lot of literature that supports the idea that we tend to get what we expect.

A coaching client of mine is President of her local school board and is currently fighting what she calls the “culture of low expectations.”  In other words, if you expect students to do poorly, you set up the culture that gets you, that’s right, poor results.  The kids may do well in your ‘dumbed down’ classes, but of course they don’t look good when compared to kids participating in challenging curriculum.  It makes it pretty easy to say, “See I told you so.”

Too often we do the same thing in our businesses.  We expect that our businesses won’t do well so we set up a business culture that proves us ‘right.’  We ‘dumb down’ or curtail our money making activites.  Obviously, we don’t take chances.  Too risky.

Is it possible you don’t do well because you don’t pick up the phone as often as you should.  Maybe you don’t expand your circle of influence by being out and about in appropriate business and community groups.  Maybe you stay in your safe insular environment that keeps you right where you are, without much chance for growth.  Once again you get what you expect by creating the culture that makes certain nothing changes.

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t exchanging your low expectations for high expectations.  If you shoot too high you can often be severely disappointed.  You’ve “failed” again because things just didn’t happen that way you hoped.  So you don’t try again.

What’s an entrepreneur to do?

How about having NO expectations?

How about working from a good solid plan of action that moves you toward a goal?  Sure, you’ve set goals before and been disappointed.  Is it possible that what you’ve really had was too high an expectation about your goal?

Here’s what we suggest.  Put your energy and drive toward a goal.  Keep track of your metrics so you know what’s working and what’s not.  If you need to up your intensity, go right ahead.  But put that extra push (and angst) into your activity rather than worrying about what ‘might’ happen.

Making progress doesn’t always look as clean and clear cut as we think it should or wish it might.  But truly, if you stay in the activities that build your business and CONSISTENTLY put one foot in front of the other – you WILL get where you want to be.

Do that, and if nothing else you’ll sleep better.  And, most likely your business will take on a life of its own that eventually will far outstrip your expectations.  Not much drama, but great for the bankbook.

There are two parts to having money; making it and keeping it. We’re talking about the making of it part here. Although both aspects are critically important to respecting money and what it can bring us and just as importantly what it doesn’t bring. Being broke is not fun. It limits our personal growth. For example, it is tough to travel and experience the world without money. It limits what we can do with and for our families. Being broke truncates our ability to participate in our community. Like it or not money is our economic system. The more money you have the more you can participate.

I know personally that broke is not fun. I also know that regardless of the circumstances of my ending up broke (economy, people, etc), in hindsight, I realize I had more control than I thought I did. In other words, I had a hand in creating my ‘broke.’

What’s easiest:

• Letting your day plan you, or planning your day
• Reacting to the needs of others or creating boundaries to protect your planned daily activities
• Getting distracted by your environment (laundry, dishes, others) or sticking to your calendar
• Opening the mail and paying the bills or putting together a new marketing strategy
• Letting your excuses keep you off the phone (e.g. they won’t listen to me, I haven’t made enough money, I don’t want to bother them, etc) or dialing each day to potential entrepreneurs
• Not following up because you’re unorganized or afraid to hear “no” or simply following up because your system says it’s time
• Being broke and frustrated because you do what’s easiest or stepping into entrepreneurial leadership and getting things done that move your business forward

What’s Your Story?

I have so much to do, my partner, kids, boss, mom, team, everyone needs so much from me. As soon as one thing is done up pops something else. There is barely enough time to clean the house, I have dishes in the sink now. If I don’t pay some bills soon they’ll turn off my phone! It’s a good thing I didn’t make any calls last week, I haven’t had time to get back to those who might be interested this week.

OR

Now that everyone knows my schedule and I stick to it, things flow so much better. And everyone survived. My kids are looking to themselves first and my hubby/wife isn’t looking for me to solve their disorganized chaos from moment to moment. Now that I’m actually focused on my business there are so many more answers to my questions. My creativity is blooming everywhere. Who Knew! New marketing strategies, new ideas of where interested qualified people can be found, unique (clever!) comfortable ways to reach out. Now there is money to pay the bills and tuition. Not just the kids tuition but for my business growth as well. Now I’m investing in myself and my business.

What’s Your Day Look Like?

If I asked you what your day looked like would it sound like you simply move things from one (in)basket to another (out)basket. Things that you can easily double task because they are fairly mindless, repetitive and (dare I say) boring?

That is the winning combination to lose and stay broke.

You will be broke and frustrated if you do what’s easiest. It’s your choice to step into entrepreneurial leadership and get things done that move your business forward. Your choice and your responsibility if you don’t. Get help if you don’t know how.

As soon as you’re willing to step out of the boring-inbox-outbox-day-to-day-life and add your magic, your creativity to what you do – Well, what do you think? How different would your business look. How different would your life look?

Is it time for you to Control Your Money?