Entrepreneurship

2007-11-29T17:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!
This is the hardest time of the year for most entrepreneurs! Facing the end of the year and realizing that most clients are deeply embroidered in the holiday attitude, there isn't must of an opportunity for new business. So should you take the rest of the off and cruise? Definitely not!

I was watching the previews for the Awake Movie and it reminds me of how so many people run their businesses. It’s like you’re telling everyone “I’m awake, I need your business, I’m great at what I do, Why can’t you hear me?” and no one pays attention. I was reminded recently by a client that one of the reasons they’ve enjoyed working with me for the past six years is that I always listen to them, ask copious questions and give them multiple examples, suggestions and resources to make the right choice for their situation.

Find out what your prospects need, want and yearn for. Then create a means to help them achieve their desires.

If you're not currently tracking your efforts in a database, please take the time to set one up. Make sure that you include a field that will tell you in a simple report where you are getting your prospects. Those resources are what you want to focus on in December. Imagine if you were to start 2008 with ten people referring you a new client? The each month you have two more sources for referrals. What would that mean to your year?

You will always be remembered fondly!

Have a wonderful holiday season and think about using the time to visit with you clients, just to check in with them!

My best, Sharyn

2007-03-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

Fire Your Boss
What are you waiting for . . . the pink slip? You know it's going to happen . . . if not this month or this year then it's bound to happen just when you think you can count on that paycheck! You know the paycheck that never seems to quite go far enough to cover all of your expenses. So, what are you going to do? Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Do you think it's too much work? How difficult is it to go to a job, work with people you don't particularly like and answer to a boss who doesn't pay much attention to how hard you work to get the job done?
Stop by and attend the free teleclass on March 15th. You might discover a secret that your boss never wants you to know.

2006-11-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

The Secret

Okay, if you haven't seen The Secret by now, you've no idea what the bid deal is! Even though there is a great group of people included in the interviews in the movie, there's nothing new here! So why is there so my hype about the movie? Could it be because everyone is looking for the one magic bullet? Do you really think there is a shortcut to success and that anyone is born with more capacity to succeed than you? Hardly!
According to the Stanford University study released in 1991 that followed 2,000 children from every economic background and every nationality and found that 98% of everyone they followed was born with a capacity to be a genius. Unfortunately, the statistics diminishes 225% every 5 years until they were 21 they found that only 2% were left with the ability to genius protocol.

The Big Secret is most of us don’t achieve the level of success we aspire to achieve because we allow our environment to distract us. In fact, it’s almost impossible to live in a supportive environment 100% of the time. So, back to the premise of The Secret, “whatever you focus on is what you attract!” Okay, how do you focus on being successful when you’re not? Or when the world as you have known is just won’t cooperate?

You take one thing at a time. If your relationship isn’t working, get out! If you don’t enjoy where you are living, move! If your friends aren’t more supportive, get new friends! If you don’t have enough money, get off the couch and get an extra job!

It really is that simple! If you don’t believe it, just look around you and talk to an immigrant who came to the US less than 2 years ago and you’ll discover that they can’t imagine putting up with a life that is less than they desire, after all, they’ve left their home country, their family and friends just to live a better life!

So, what’s stopping you?

2006-09-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

The Entrepreneur Work Ethic
Everyone knows that entrepreneurs only work half time and it’s up to them to choose which of the 12 hours in the day to work. The real challenge is having the ability to get everything done without being stressed. The challenge is learning how to create systems and master time management. Look around until you find an entrepreneur who is successful: the have more than enough time, clients and money. You’ll discover that they have mastered time management and have systems in place that keep them on track.What most entrepreneurs don’t realize is that being busy is not necessarily being productive. Have you ever ended up a week with more time than things to do? If you do, you’ll probably end up re-inventing yourself the next week. The point is, your business will always demand more of you than you bargained for, so don’t let it overwhelm you. You are in control and unless you’re having fun, change what you do and how you do it.

2006-08-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

What would you do with a magic wand?
If someone offered you a magic wand and told you that you have three wishes, what would you ask for? What would you wish for? More money? More time? Less stress? What would you do if you discovered a way of creating all three without a magic wand? There are 7 Techniques to Thrive in any Economy. Most people started their own business because they thought they could build a better mousetrap or got laid off from a corporate job. There are many reasons, but what the majority of business owners fail to do is continue their education and change what isn’t working. Yet failure to change is what causes more than 80% of businesses to close their doors. The next most common reason business don’t make it is they don’t know what they’re up against with their competition.Everyone is busy, but being productive is a different issue than being busy. Time management is one of the hardest skills to master for those who find themselves facing all the tasks of keeping a business afloat.

2006-08-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

The Entrepreneur Drive
What do you enjoy doing? Is it possible to take your passion and turn it into a business? Why not? Who ever decided that you have to work at a job you don’t enjoy just to get by? There is no reason why you can’t turn your special interest into a financially sound venture.
Most people who are employees don’t care for the responsibility of owning their own business. What they don’t realize is that most entrepreneurs who are successful have incredible discipline, a great business plan and are always looking for ways that they can improve their business. The responsibility rarely is an issue for the consummate entrepreneur. If you currently have a business and you don’t have enough time, clients or funds, it is most likely a simple change in the way you need to do your business. There are 7 Techniques to Thrive in any economy and if you’d like to what you can do to ensure your success, just ask for your copy of these techniques.

2006-06-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneurship
Have you noticed that most entrepreneurs take most of the summer off, just like they did when they were in school? This is a very dangerous habit. When you have a home based business and the kids are home for the summer, it is hard to stay focused. But, if you want to have enough clients by the end of the year, it is necessary for you to keep on track! One of the ways you might want to do this is to keep track of how many appointments you need to make each week to create the level of income you desire. Believe it or not, every business has a number. When you know what your number is, you can control your income. As an example, nationally the statistics prove that the average business needs to approach 20 prospects to talk with 10 who fit their profile to get 5 appointments. Two will agree there is an interest and 1 will do business. So if each client earns you $1,000 you now know how that you have to approach 200 prospects to earn $10,000 each month! That's every month, not just when it's convenient! Next post I'll talk about how you can get rid of all those things that slow you down so you can focus on the revenue generating activities.

2006-06-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Biggest Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make
During the past 15 years I've worked with more than 2,000 entrepreneurs of which 90% are still in business. That is the opposite of the national average. There are several things that make or break the potential success of a small business. The number one cause of failure according to the SBA is a company’s inability to change. Unless you have more than enough business, more than enough time, and more than enough money, you need to change what you’re doing. So how do you change? Stop and look at what your competition is doing. Investigate what others are doing in your industry 50 to 100 miles away when they’re successful. Interview them to find out what is working.
Another huge mistake entrepreneurs make is spending too much time working in their business and not on their business. I know you’ve heard this many times before, but in reality today’s market demands that you spend no less than 50% of your time marketing just to keep ahead of the curve. Sometimes that will mean that you have to start outsourcing more of the details that are eating up your valuable time.
I often have my new clients tell me that when a prospect tells them that they aren’t going to do business with them, they simply walk away. We have one of the few cultures where we omit the relationship building segment with our prospects. I assume that if they are ready today, they will be one day and I care enough to keep in touch with them. So take to time to go out there and build solid relationships with your prospects.

2006-03-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Entrepreneurs Submitted 99% of all business tax forms in the US
This is according to the IRS since 2000. So why is it that there are so few programs to support entrepreneurs? Why are there so many roadblocks? Why do so many people fear owning their own business?

The fact is with the focus on the downsize market, there is very little attention directed to those who are responsible for dominating the contribution to the economy. Imagine that for the first time in our country's history entrepreneurs contributed more than 87% of our nation's entire economic development.

When you look into starting a business where do you begin? In most communities there is an organization available that is made up of retired executives. You can find out if there is a chapter near you by looking at the Senior Corp of Retired Executives website http://www.score.org/findscore/localinks.html. The challenge in working with SCORE is very few of these volunteers have had personal experience below the XO level. So their level of experience rarely relates to what a start-up entrepreneur faces.

I speak to unemployed mid-level management groups and it amazes me how often one will tell me that it's too risky to start their own business. My question to them is always "You've just been laid off. How risky is it to have a job in today's market?"

I will continue to post the multitude of resources and helpful techniques to guide you to launch your entrepreneurial endeavor and reach levels of success that very few businesses ever realize.