Category: Success Attitude

This is the first of a five-part series where I’m going to walk you through the five steps of transformation (specifically business transformation)  and share why each step is essential.

Why is transformation important? Well, if you’re trying to do any sort of “uplevel” of your business including breaking a financial ceiling (like build a six-figure or seven-figure business) or becoming more successful with your business, you’re looking for a transformation.

And, if you’re anything like me, you’re likely impatient that your transformation hasn’t happened yet. Which is why I thought this little five-part series would help, because along with walking you each step, I’m also going to show you what it looks like with a real world business example and explain why it’s important not to rush your transformation (as much as you may want to).

Honestly, I feel like one of the biggest mistakes I see is entrepreneurs and business owners trying to rush this process. Not only is it a waste of time (because it’s not actually possible to rush it if you truly want to transform) but by trying to force something to happen before it’s ready, you’re likely to simply delay things.

Now, that’s not to say the process of transformation needs to take years and years. What I AM saying is it needs to take as long as it needs to take–that may be a day, a week, a month, a year or five years. And, if you try and shortchange it and force something to happen that’s not ready to happen, not only won’t it work but it will likely backfire on you.

So, let’s talk about step 1 which is pause.

Pause basically means you have to stop. Stop doing something so you can create space to birth something new. Maybe that looks like stopping a program or stopping a marketing strategy.

In my case, it looked like stopping my blogging.

The year was 2016. It was sometime in the summer, maybe July or August, and it finally got super clear to me I needed to take a pause and not blog.

This was a big deal. I had been regularly creating content and posting on my Michele PW blog for over a decade. My blog was old and established and it had a lot of really powerful backlinks.

It also wasn’t giving me the results I wanted. And, after over 10 years of blogging, I decided I was doing something wrong and the only way I was going to figure it out and come up a with a plan to move forward, was to stop blogging.

So, I did.

Now, if you’re like me, you might be thinking to yourself  “why do you need to pause? Why can’t you keep going with whatever it is you’re doing and start something new at the same time? Why can’t I do it all?”

I personally was very resistant to the pause, so let’s go back to my blog and see the results of pausing.

Because I paused on my blog for six months, I was able to use that time I would have spent writing content on other things, such as writing a free book “How to Start a Business You Love AND that Loves You Back.” I didn’t even get the idea for this book until the beginning of September, and I was able to write it and launch it in a couple of months. I know this wouldn’t have been possible if I still had been creating content for my other blog.

I also was able to finish the current book I was working on  — my “Love-Based Money and Mindset” for a December launch. Would I have gotten it done in time if I had still been blogging? Maybe … or maybe not.

Lastly, I also used the time to start my podcast, which is also called “Love-Based Money” and I launched that in January. It’s highly unlikely this would have been launched in January if I hadn’t stopped my blog.

So, to recap, let’s look at everything I accomplished the last 6 months of 2016 because I took time off from my current blog:

• I wrote and published a new free book.
• I launched my fourth love-based book.
• I launched my podcast.

Now, let’s flip it and look at what would have happened if I kept blogging and decided I could “figure it out” while I was blogging.

Not only would those other projects been delayed or never done, I would have instead spent 6 months creating content for a blog I eventually would decide wasn’t worth saving.

I would have wasted my creative energy on something that was destined to end.

Even worse, I may very well have delayed ending that blog BECAUSE I would have continued to put the time and energy and creative life into it. I may have felt it was too painful to move on and start fresh, so I may have continued to force something that was ready to be complete.

And then, where would I be right now? Not where I currently am.

But, because I paused and left it alone to sit for awhile, I was able to be more objective. I gave myself space to hear the advice of my inner wisdom. And, when I was ready to start my new lovebasedbiz blog, I was ready.

So, the first step to transformation? Pause. Even if you don’t feel like pausing or are afraid to pause. Pause anyway. And see what’s wanting to bubble up.

I woke up at 4.30am with my heart pounding, completely disoriented and with no idea why I felt such panic.

Then I remembered, it was the big day. The day I had been planning for for over 9 months, it was the big event.

I tried to fall back asleep but realized it was useless. I started visualizing my day and felt the pain in my stomach intensify.

It was excruciating. I was sick with fear. And yet excited and happy and ready to take to the stage.

I had prepared more for this than anything I’d ever done before. I had spent weeks walking the story, telling it to anyone who would listen.

I had been coached, received a ton of feedback, written and rewritten, recited and practiced.

If not now, I would never be ready.

And yet I was sick with nerves.

Now, let me tell you, this was not unexpected. I mean, it’s not like it had never happened before. I had spent years as a sufferer of stage fright where it had gotten the better of me and I never performed. And years since, that I had handled it quite well and managed to even enjoy the stage.

And this was a tough one – it was hitting me hard.

So I started my routine.

And as I felt me pulse ease and my excitement and nerves channeled to where I needed them – I began to cherish my process, seeing how beautifully it worked.

So here are the 5 secrets to feeling the fear and knocking it out of the court!

1. Get Moving! – stretch, walk, dance, jump – do whatever gets your circulation going and makes you feel good. Be careful not to exhaust yourself but make sure you whole body feels the movement.

2. Get Thinking! – review your notes, practice a few last times, remind yourself that you know this stuff really well, and for sure, a lot more than your audience knows.

3. Get Looking Good! – take a shower, put on your nicest and most comfortable clothes, arrange your hair and face, smile!

4. Get Food! – don’t forget to eat something small, light and preferably really fresh (fruit, salad, protein – keep away from carbs. & fats)

5. Get Help! – call the person that loves all you do and all you are – tell them you need a boost, tell them you’re nervous, ask for reassurance!

So, I called my love. He said, ‘Lis, you’ve gotta get over this’ – I thought at first that wasn’t so supportive. And then he said, ‘because I know there is so much more of this scale of work coming your way, and no one deserves it more than you’.

That worked!

Last but not least. I got on the stage before the audience arrived, to check it out, to get into the atmosphere, to practice. Something was missing. I didn’t feel as connected as I wanted to feel.

As they announced my name and invited me on to the stage, I took off my shoes. Barefoot, deeply connected and channeling all the nerves and fear into being of service and with great respect and love for my audience, I started the story.

It was one of the best performances of my life!

Article Contributed by Finnegan Pierson

While there are many factors that can help you to make your startup a success, some of these factors directly relate to the entrepreneur or business owner. Two very similar businesses could potentially be launched in similar markets, and the primary factor that may make one venture more successful and profitable may relate to the skills that the entrepreneur possesses. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. However, when you know which skills are most important for a successful entrepreneur to possess, you can take steps to refine these skills before launching your new business.

Marketing Skills

Ecommerce email marketing is a veritable necessity for most business that have an online sales component or that are entirely based on online sales. While there are many ecommerce email marketing strategies that you can apply to your efforts, understanding the importance of personalization with email marketing efforts is critical. More than that, you need to understand how to collect and use big data to achieve better results when personalizing your marketing materials. Ecommerce email marketing best practices indicate that personalization through the use of big data may help you to generate better open and conversion rates. Essentially, your understanding of this unique marketing skill could drive sales because it helps to create interest in email marketing and makes them seem less like spam. This is just one of many examples of how your marketing skills could affect your company’s overall success in the months and years to come.

Communication Skills

When you launch a startup, you may need to be a very effective communicator in many areas. For example, you may be your company’s primary or only salesperson, so you may need to effectively communicate with your customers to clinch sales. You may also need to communicate with vendors, contractors, potential new hires and others. Your communication skills remain important throughout your time as a business owner even when you hire professionals to tackle some of the tasks that you may initially handle. Remember that communication is essential to properly guide and lead your team. Verbal and written communication and even communication to big groups, such as through speeches, may be critical.

Leadership Skills

It may seem like communication and leadership go hand in hand, but leadership extends beyond communication. Leadership skills are verbal, but they are also based on many other factors. For example, a leader is usually an excellent listener, a mentor and a critical part of collaborative team projects. A leader is often empathetic and visionary. This type of person is also supportive and excellent at planning. A leader sees how to turn a seemingly negative situation into a fabulous opportunity. He or she can turn things around and guide the company through rough patches. Through effective leadership, you can solve problems, bring your team together, align their efforts and goals for the betterment of the company and more. You can take leadership seminars, ready books and more in an effort to improve your leadership skills. This may be an area of personal development that you want to continue to work on over the years. With many aspects of leadership to focus on, there is plenty of room for most entrepreneurs to improve in this area.

If you plan to launch a startup soon or if you have recently started a new business, you should take an honest assessment of your skills as well as your weaknesses. When you understand what your unique weaknesses are, you can then take proper steps to improve your skills. The efforts that you make at personal development and improvement may be exactly what it takes to help you achieve incredible success with your new venture. If you need help with assessing your own strengths and weaknesses, consider asking a trusted partner or employee from a previous work environment for feedback that you can use as a stepping stone for personal development.

Article Contributed by Henny Kel 

It is not unknown that most of the highly successful people have shared their traits which include tenacity, vision, luck, hard work and being business savvy. It is often heard that people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, have “Midas touch” as they seem to be able to turn the majority of their business into successes.

No one can deny that these successful entrepreneurs are now masters in managing their finances and their business to a certain degree because of their virtue of enormous success.

It is observed that when it comes to managing the fund, most entrepreneurs don’t understand the tax and accounting elements that well. In fact, most entrepreneurs don’t enjoy this side of the business, and they rather want to spend their time and energy to find solutions, new product or services, they want to grow their businesses. This, therefore, results in neglecting the financial side of the business which creates government compliant risk, unneeded legal tax, and undermining their business success.

To become a master of finances of your business, you have two options:

1. To become a learner for lifetime
2. Surround yourself with a good team

• Become a Lifetime Learner

For becoming a successful entrepreneur one of the most important traits is to be a learner. People who keep absorbing new information, broaden their knowledge by attending seminars and reading. And well, those who seek consistent advice. Those who don’t can usually be found scratching their heads when the real problem comes. The latter kind of people then hopes that the stars will align magically for them.

Having vast knowledge in your field will always set you apart from your competition.

• Surround Yourself with a Good Team

It is commonly observed in small business entrepreneurs that they tend to be smart and have a tendency to handle a lot of things by themselves. They can have “do it yourself” attitude, which is okay in the beginning stages in a small business venture, as they have more time than money.

However, when the business grows they need to have a quick transition as now this stage of their business won’t need the same attitude.

It is essential to surround yourself with a team of intelligent and honest people, who would give you ideas and stick by your side. For a large business, it is not possible for you to handle everything on your own.

• Have a Proper Business Structure

It is tempting to be a lone wolf when we imagine about planning a business structure, but it’s important to resist this temptation and seek proper advice regarding accounting and legal things. There are many instances with clients where they make improper assumptions or when they incorporate for invalid reasons.

The most common mistake that is seen is when the entrepreneurs attempt to look out for the out-of-state entity and not in their home state (where they live), just to avoid state tax. It’s only when they already made the mistake they realize that they will have to register as a foreign entity in their home state and pay double or they have to scratch of their previous entity which was out-of-state and form a new one where they live.

It is possible to save state tax if you get organize in different states provided the nature of their organization and business structure.

• Never Delay Tax Planning

It is another area where people often don’t understand it well, as most of them are new entrepreneurs. Proper tax planning and strategies to reduce tax in various cases can save a large amount for you, and thus can be a significant amount of potential savings in the long run.

It is crucial not to delay this tax planning because it is often seen that in many cases, as the year ends, there are very few options available to you. So, you should know your business entity structure, your compensation, retirement, and your fringe benefits when you’ll devise a tax strategy. You should also consider your anticipated brackets and tax bracket so that you can come up with a time plan for years that you want to maximize deduction v/s when you want to take greater income.

• Set an Accounting System

For having a great firm on your business finances it essential that you should have a good accounting system. Thus, it should be on top of your list. You can find a broad range of software and accounting system on the market. Now, the nature and size of your business will be a factor in deciding what kind of system is required by you. Here are the three types of an accounting system that is commonly used by small business entrepreneurs:

1. Manual Paper-Based
2. Manual Spreadsheet
3. Software or Cloud-Based

• Build Trust and Add Value

For a moment don’t go after people’s wallet, now consider winning their hearts. For earning bucks, not just business strategies but trust also is needed which can be obtained by adding value to your relationship, with potential customers and existing ones as well. For this, you can start by providing them transparency, information, knowledge, treating them right, by being a good advisor, both before and after selling them your product. You should focus on creating a reputation in the market.

• Keep an Eye on Reviews

The way internet is playing a significant role in deciding your reputation cannot be ignored. It is recorded in online surveys that more than 90 percent of your potential customers are reading a review about your product or service online. And as much as 80 percent even trust it.

You should keep an eye on the reviews about your business, as it will be a factor whether you will gain a customer or not. If any customer is facing the problem and they put it on your website or the online e-mart, you should actively solve the problem (or get it solved). Your company should never at any cost ignore these reviews.

• Sharpen Your Skills in Business Development

You should as an entrepreneur hone your skills in this field. There are many convenient options available in the market today for new entrepreneurs to develop their abilities. For example, you can join online classes.

Remember, you have got a real competition in the market. That’s why you should start making yourself better at this every day.

• Don’t Procrastinate

This is one of the biggest issues that entrepreneurs face. Set a time to address the issues on the specified day of the week or a particular time. You should not let laziness win over you. It’s a myth that procrastinators are smart-ass because procrastination is just a demon that will eat your time and your money.

As an entrepreneur, you should be active, and able to take all of the responsibilities.

After reading this, I hope you understand what it is needed for running a business efficiently. As an entrepreneur grasp the knowledge and go ahead with your team. Don’t be scared to use new technology and have a good relationship with your customer.  Designhill is an amazing place to learn new things.

We wish you all the best!

Article Contributed by Ashley Wilson

Many business owners view competition in the marketplace as a negative factor, but the reality is that a healthy dose of competition on a regular basis can actually benefit your business in several ways.

Competition is good in moderation because it inspires and even requires you to work more efficiently and intelligently, make use of all of the collective talents in your team, and more. The most successful entrepreneurs are motivated by the opportunity competition presents to do better and to think more creatively.

Here are some of the prime benefits associated with the competition in the business world:

1. Increasing Customer Satisfaction

When your customers have multiple products or services to choose from, you are required to improve your company’s customer satisfaction rating. Your customers must be satisfied with the overall experience they receive from your business, or they will quite simply take their business elsewhere.

Competition forces you to be the best that you can be and to find ways to get even better. Not only it helps you provide a better customer experience, but it also helps you deliver more at a more affordable price. After all, customers need to see value in the products or services that you offer in order to feel satisfied.

2. Driving Innovation

When your business faces tough competition in the marketplace, you are forced to find new and better ways to complete your tasks and serve your customers. On the other hand, if there were no one to compete against, you would feel less inclined to innovate and improve.

Competition drives you to innovate in different ways, such as by adopting new technologies or improving your products and processes. For instance, it helps you identify which product features are more or less appealing to your target audience. This gives you an easier and more cost-effective way to test the market before making revisions to your own products and services.

3. Improving Business Performance
   

Your competition may help you clearly identify your own strengths and weaknesses. By paying attention to what your competitors are doing, you can learn from their mistakes and determine similar areas in your business that need to be improved. Your competitors’ own trial and error situations are a valuable learning experience and provide you with the information you need to get the best possible results.

Once you have a good idea of your own strengths and weaknesses, you can begin streamlining your business in cost-effective ways. After all, in order to stay competitive in the marketplace, you need to find ways to improve your business operations and supply services at a lower price than other companies. Fortunately, your competitors will be there to keep you on your toes and motivate you to constantly strive to do better.

4. Helping You Develop a Competitive Edge

Without competition in the marketplace, you may feel comfortable keeping the status quo. However, the great thing about your competition is that it pushes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to develop a competitive edge.

For instance, you may find a way to appeal to more consumers, make your products more appealing or even find a new niche that you can focus your efforts on. Alternatively, you may decide that your best course of action is to focus on a smaller segment of your target market. Whether your competition forces you to find new opportunities or nurture the existing ones, in either case, it helps you push your own boundaries.

Final Words

No business or its products and services are perfect and even the most successful and profitable businesses can be improved in different ways. Not being perfect is what drives competition and competition, on the other hand, is what drives innovation. Once you focus on the positive sides of having a healthy competition, you will find the motivation to make your business even better than it already is.

Author bio: Ashley Wilson is a freelance writer interested in business, marketing, and tech topics. She has been known to reference Harry Potter quotes in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. You can reach Ashley on Twitter @ashleygwilson.