Discovering Your Inner Samurai Blog

The Power of One Page Business Plans

Today . . . I am thinking about the ease of One Page Business Plans.

I've been a small business owner for awhile now, and I, like most business owners I know, wrote a business plan when I first started up my business.

Having a business plan is a strategic and financial asset. Not only does a business plan strategically guide your business, it is also invaluable for obtaining financial support and backing.

The only problem is . . . the traditional business plans are a long, arduous, and sometimes costly process filled with hours of crunching numbers, lots of grinding teeth, and struggle.

Since starting to use the One Page Business Plan books a year ago, I have met with nothing by rave reviews from my clients. They love the ease, the simplicity, and how quickly they can get their business plan done -- usually in 3 weeks time. Hats off to forward thinker Jim Horan, for making business planning a breeze.

If you are interested in creating a business plan for your new or existing company, let me know!

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

The way she describes her expansion into and one with all resonates with my spiritual awakening experience in 2004. See if it resonates with you, too.   

This video is 18 minutes long and well worth every minute.

See if you are absorbed in Jill's explanation and description as I was. Then let me know what you think.

Entrepreneurship for Artists and Musicians

Business Week's Small Biz Insider has just recently run two very interesting articles on artist and musician entrepreneurship. In Business Advice for Artists from Artists, Stacy Perman says that "while most fine artists will not see Picasso-size deals in their lifetime, they have ways to promote themselves and boost their sales." She has this to say about the business of art:

While most artists would not consider themselves entrepreneurs, art is still a business . . . Visibility has always been crucial for artists to get their work out to buyers. Today, with the Internet, resourceful artists can get their work noticed by creating Web sites or establishing a presence in online communities. These serve as a virtual portfolio.

In Teaching Musicians to be Entrepreneurs, Kerry Miller explains why entrepreneurship training is beginning to strike a chord with faculty and students at top music conservatories:

As an end goal, Manhattan School of Music President, Robert Sirota envisions "a new generation of performing musicians who function more like individual small businesses, who work the hypersegmented musical marketplace in an entirely different way."

As a musician, budding artist, and someone who helps entrepreneurial women, particularly the creative type, start up businesses, I find this new approach to the fine and performing arts refreshing. With entrepreneurship being taught to artists and musicians, we can soon expect to see a flourish in art and music in the United States as the artists and musicians themselves, have the business savvy to get their masterpieces our for all of us to enjoy.

What do you think? Good idea or not? Weigh in and let us know!

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

 

Life Has No Opposite

Like hundreds of thousands of people, I've been tuning in and listening to Oprah's worldwide, groundbreaking web event on Monday evenings (9p eastern). Over the course of 10 weeks, spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are co-teaching a 10-week free course on Eckhart's newest book A New Earth, on Oprah.com. For Oprah, it’s a step forward in her mission "to lead people to their highest selves." For Eckhart, it's a humanizing way to broadcast his message to the world.

Each week corresponds to a chapter in Eckhart's book. This is week eight and the topic is discovering your inner space.

The way that Eckhart and Oprah started out this week's discussion was talking about something that Eckhart said last week -- that life has no opposite. The opposite of life isn't death. Instead, life has no opposite. Here's what Eckhart and Oprah had to say about this:

A person is here only for a few years. You are life experiencing itself temporarily as this person, this personality, this ego. Underlying it, you are life that is eternal. So when you go into stillness, it is easy to sense that underneath the personality there is an aliveness, there is a presence, there is a consciousness that is timeless. That is the life beyond the form of life that you are. That is why it has no opposite. Because it's forever. 

Opposite only exists in the world of form.

You are life. Eternal. Timeless.

For so many reasons, when I heard Eckhart and Oprah talk about this concept I liked what I heard. Knowing that I am eternal and timeless feels so freeing and joyful, to me. It naturally releases a lot of stress that I impose upon myself when I think of myself as anything other than eternal.

It frees me up to take myself much less seriously, to be less ego driven, and flow more in the moment.

Imagine what would change for you if you thought of yourself as eternal.  If you realized  that you are only temporarily experiencing yourself as form. What would you do differently if you thought of yourself in this way?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Top 10 Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs

Today . . . I am thinking about what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Have you ever thought about what qualities and characteristics are distinctive of an entrepreneur? Ever wondered if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Fortunately, psychologists, sociologists, and historians have been studying the behavior characteristics and traits of successful entrepreneurs for long enough to have come up with a composite list of attributes and characteristics. Read the list and mentally keep count of how many times you said, “Yes, that’s me!” At the end, you'll tally up the score and see if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Top 10 Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs

1. You have a strong desire for autonomy, to be your own boss, and live life on your own terms.
2. You are an independent self-starter, not needing or wanting others to tell you what to do.
3. You have a powerful drive to make money and accumulate wealth.
4. You are a calculated risk-taker with a higher-than-normal tolerance for failure and consider failure a non-issue.
5. You like to be in control and call the shots. 
6. You are highly self-motivated and are indefatigably fearless when it comes to getting the job done.
7. You had childhood experiences as a budding entrepreneur and/or entrepreneurial parents, grand parents, or relatives.
8. You have a high level of energy that is sustainable over a long period of time.
9. You are creative and innovative, a strong decision maker, and able to think quickly on your feet, and set things in motion.
10. You are a big-picture thinker capable of seeing how everything relates to each other.

So, how many of the characteristics did you resonate with?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Finding Who You Truly Are

Like hundreds of thousands of people, I've been tuning in and listening to Oprah's worldwide, groundbreaking web event on Monday evenings (9p eastern). Over the course of 10 weeks, spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are co-teaching a 10-week free course on Eckhart's newest book A New Earth, on Oprah.com. For Oprah, it’s a step forward in her mission "to lead people to their highest selves." For Eckhart, it's a humanizing way to broadcast his message to the world.

Each week corresponds to a chapter in Eckhart's book. I'm just now listening to last week's topic: Finding Who You Truly Are.

Below is the quotation that Oprah pulled out from page 186 that helped us to focus on the topic of finding who you truly are.

Knowing yourself deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in your mind. Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost in your mind.

Eckhart outlined the three levels to any situation that can help you distinguish between who you think you are and who you truly are:

Level 1 - Whatever external situation is disturbing you.

Level 2 - Your physical, mental, emotional reaction to the external situation.

Level 3 - Your awareness of both these levels. Eckhart described this as "the awareness that there is myself being the aware space for the external triggering event and my reaction to it."

Eckhart goes on to say that if you recognize yourself as the awareness that is aware of the thing that is happening out there and of the thing that is reacting inside, then this is who you truly are. Once you observe that you are not what is disturbing you and not your reaction to it, then you can let go of any concept you have about yourself. This is the beginning of freedom from who you think you are.

Perhaps you, too, have been reading the book and listening to the web casts? What did you think of this week's discussion on the being who you truly are?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Are You an Accidental Pren-her?

An Accidental Pren-her is a woman who finds herself starting up a business, perhaps for the very first time. She probably has had no, or very little experience starting up a business, though she may have exhibited early entrepreneurial leanings as a child. It is most likely that she has a dream — something she has been thinking about for a very long time — although she has taken no significant action to foster that dream’s development.

The “accidental” part comes in because most women, when facing starting up a business for the very first time, say that they never anticipated doing so. They may have been happily working in corporate, academic, or other traditional work places for most of their adult lives until something happened. What happened? Some kind of activating event — something big enough that it required them to view life differently from that point on.

For some, they were downsized. For others, they lost their job by getting laid off or fired. Still others decided they wanted more out of life than working for a paycheck, so they quit. Sometimes the activating event was getting married, becoming a mother, or children growing up and leaving home. The loss of a parent or other loved one caused some women to rethink life. Other activating events include divorce, near fatal accidents, recovery from a serious illness, and, as was the case for me, spiritual awakenings.

Whatever the activating event, all Accidental Pren-hers share a common theme. They know that something unexpected has happened to them and that this event is now shaping who they are and what they do.

Are you an Accidental Pren-her? What has the process of becoming an Accidental Pren-her been like for you? How's the journey from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial woman going so far?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

What's Your Game Plan to Thrive through This Recession?

Today . . . I am thinking of ways my clients can thrive during this and all future recessions.

What are you doing to weather this recession?

I've got a great idea. Let's combine our resources and build a list of things we can do together. I'll start us off. 

• Focus on creating new connections and strengthening long-standing relationships.
• Consider moving your business into the global market.
• Use social media applications for your marketing.
• Negotiate better deals with your vendors.
• Have your growth plan ready to put into immediate action when the economy picks up again.
• Keep your energy flowing by finding a way to serve others.
• Practice Jack Canfield's "Rule of Five": Every day, do five things that will move you toward your goal.

Here's one way we can all thrive . . . by putting our heads together and pooling our resources. Please add your ideas to this list so all of us can benefit.

We're in this together!

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

What Are You Putting Off Until Next Lifetime?

Is there something you want to do that you've put off doing for quite some time? No, I'm not talking about losing weight. I'm talking about something so wanted that you've only dared whisper it to your most trusted confidants?. Something you know would bring you such inner joy? Such delight? Such fulfillment?

You know what I'm talking about. We all have something so desired. For some it might be to learn to play the piano. For others it might be to fly a plane. For me, it was to paint.

When I was eight, my mother enrolled me in the Saturday children's art program at the Pittsburgh Art Institute. One day we all went for a walk along the inner city streets looking for something to draw. I spotted a wrought-iron fence in front of a brick house, sat down, opened up my sketchbook and began to draw.

As I was merrily sketching away, my teacher came by and made some corrections. Came back around again and made some more corrections. Then stood over me, watching as I anxiously tried to copy what she had done. Next thing I knew, she proclaimed that I was no good at drawing and with a decisive flourish, took my sketchbook from me and told me to sit quietly while the other children in my class finished sketching.

I was devastated. My cheeks burned with shame. Tears flowed, unchecked. And I never drew again.

As I grew older, I used to tell people that when God was passing out talents, my brother got artist and I, musician. That single experience had made such an indelible impression on me that for well over 40 years I held the belief that I couldn't draw, and would never be an artist.

But deep down inside . . . I really wanted to draw. Really, really wanted to paint. I dreamed of working with oils and painting on large canvases.

So at the beginning of 2008 I decided to stop telling myself that next lifetime I wanted to come back as an artist and enrolled in an acrylics class at a local community college. My first painting was a disaster; I did not despair. The second, barely recognizable; I was the worst in the class. Then, I allowed my Inner Artist to come forth and painted this wolf. And when I did, I could feel my little eight-year-old wrought-iron-fence-challenged girl begin to thaw. Although she had been frozen in time for over 40 years, I recognized, at once, her inner glow and joy at being allowed to flow forth.

My Inner Artist is my Inner Samurai. She is my inner muse. She is the repository of all my creative expression, eagerly bubbling to the surface.

What inner muse have you kept frozen in time? Wrapped up tight, protected like a mummy? What is it that you've been putting off until next lifetime to do? Will you allow her to bubble forth?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Creation Caught in the Act

My friend Tawney sent me this 3 minute chronicle of the adventures aboard the yacht Maiken. I've never seen the birthing of an island before. Have you? I think it is something very few of us ever get to see, though every Accidental Pren-her knows, first hand, what an act of creation it takes to start up her own business.

Here's the link to the Maiken site so you can explore more if you want. Here are excerpts from the introduction text that will set up, quite nicely, what you are about to see:

Early afternoon, somewhere east of the Lau Group in Fiji. We are sailing south of the island group to avoid having to pass through it during night. Yesterday we saw the birth of an island, most likely we were the first humans to see the new creation . . .  the sea turned to stone. Floating stones none the less. When you pick them up, it is easy to see that they are really just volcanic ash that compressed into pumice stone.

Click this link Download yachtMaiken.pps and tell me if you don't think Accidental Pren-her, too!

What did you think? Amazing, huh?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Breaking Free of the Pain Body

Like hundreds of thousands of people, I've been tuning in and listening to Oprah's worldwide, groundbreaking web event on Monday evenings (9p eastern). Over the course of 10 weeks, spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are co-teaching a 10-week free course on Eckhart's newest book A New Earth, on Oprah.com. For Oprah, it’s a step forward in her mission "to lead people to their highest selves." For Eckhart, it's a humanizing way to broadcast his message to the world.

Each week corresponds to a chapter in Eckhart's book. This is week six and the topic is breaking free of your pain body. What is a pain body? According to Eckhart,

. . . every emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain. It merges with past pain and lodges in your mind and body. This accumulated pain is a negative energy field, and if you look upon it as an invisible entity in its own right, you are getting quite close to the truth. It’s the emotional pain-body.

The only way to break from the pain body is to be present. As Eckhart says, "Being present is always infinitely more powerful than anything one could say or do." Inner peace then becomes one's first priority. And how do you achieve inner peace? When Oprah asked him this question, Eckhart told the world that he does that through allowing. For by allowing, you become vast, spacious, and whole.

Although I read A New Earth several years ago, I am finding this second reading, along with the web cast most enlightening. Oprah and Eckhart are a wonderful duo. The balance each other well.

Perhaps you, too, have been reading the book and listening to the web casts? What did you think of this week's discussion on the pain body? I await your thoughts.

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

eCommerce Exploding for Women Business Owners

Today . . . I am thinking about e-Commerce.

This train of thought came about as I was listening to a consumer news report yesterday about how, for once, Internet consumer sales has outpaced traditional consumer sales.

Due to higher gas prices and poor in-store customer services, shoppers voted this quarter to keep their cars in the garage, fingers on their keyboards, and do their shopping from home.

What does that mean for women business owners? Great things! Whether you own a bricks or clicks business, regardless if you are selling a product or service, now is the time to make sure your business is set up to handle e-Commerce.

What's e-Commerce and how do you build an e-Commerce site? Marshall Brian wrote an article about How e-Commerce Works that  will answer your questions and get you started.

According to the Center for Women's Business Research,

Nine in ten (93%) women business owners surveyed are using e-commerce. They use the Internet to buy goods and services, seek business opportunities, sell goods or services on hosted sales sites, submit bids for business or perform such business administration tasks as recruiting employees or hosting web-based meetings.

And those stats are from 2007!

If you are a woman business owner, now is the time to get your e-Commerce game on. Already have an e-Commerce site? How's it going for you? Have you seen an increase in sales? No? Consider freshening up your keyword search phrases, adding new products or services, and finding creative ways to let people know what you have to offer.

How about you? Are you voting to keep your car in the garage and fingers on your keyboard? Have you found yourself doing more on-line shopping? I know I have. After experiencing the tremendously helpful, friendly and knowledgeable customer service at Harrods this past week, I see no reason to endure poor customer service. How about you?

Viva e-Commerce!

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Interview with Accidental Pren-her Jina Daigle

Today's special guest on The Accidental Pren-her Show, Stories of the Unexpected is Accidental Pren-her Jina Daigle. This 12 minute interview talks about how Jina reinvented her life after she was unexpectedly downsized in 2004.

Today, Jina is Founder and Owner of Creative Team Solutions. After struggling through the dead-ending of one career path, Jina took some time and went inward to find out what was important to her. As a result, she was able to connect with her passion and turn that into a successful small business as a trainer, facilitator, and life coach.

The inspiring part of this interview is the wisdom Jina imparts at the end of her interview when she says, "be comfortable with being uncomfortable," and "trust the process and your inner knowing."

You can listen to Jina's interview from your computer by clicking on the play button, download the MP3 file and listening on your iPod or other MP3 listening device, or read it in full below.

Enjoy!

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Today, Jina is Founder and Owner of Creative Team Solutions. After struggling through the dead-ending of one career path, Jina took some time and went inward to find out what was important to her. As a result, she was able to connect with her passion and turn that into a successful small business as a trainer, facilitator, and life coach.

The inspiring part of this interview is the wisdom Jina imparts at the end of her interview when she says, "be comfortable with being uncomfortable," and "trust the process and your inner knowing."

You can listen to Jina's interview from your computer by clicking on the play button, download the MP3 file and listening on your iPod or other MP3 listening device, or read it in full below.

Enjoy!

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Afternoon Tea at Harrods

Today . . . I was at Harrods for afternoon tea. Harrods, as many of you may know, is one of the largest department stores in the world. Occupying 4.5-acres, with over one million square feet of selling space in over 330 departments; it is the largest department store in the UK.

Today, Larry and I enjoyed grazing the amazing food court, purchasing some lovely cheeses, gorgeous fresh fruit, breads, and wine for my birthday dinner, later this evening. Then, we both went our separate ways to do some shopping. I headed to the Jo Malone counter to pick up some fragrances . . . I am a fan, then off to look at some jewelry . . . still thinking about that pendant, a look around at shoes and bags . . . you know I had to buy some shoes, then back together again at 1p to celebrate my birthday with a Full English Tea.

Ah . . . scones with clotted cream, delicate cucumber sandwiches with English watercress, bite-size desserts, and tea served in lovely china cups. Tea at Harrods was delicious, refreshing, and relaxing. What a memorable way to turn 50.

Well, enough about me. Have you been to Harrods? What was your experience like?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

 

The Success Principles

I'm an avid reader. You, too?

Even when I'm on holiday . . . especially when I'm on holiday, I just have to be reading.

Presently, I'm on holiday in Kent, England. And I'm reading The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I'm also reading The Other Boleyn Girl. No, not because the movie is out, rather because I knew I would be in Boleyn country, visiting Hever Castle, and wanted to read a period piece.

When it comes to success, Canfield reigns supreme. As co-creator of the wildly successful Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Jack Canfield knows success.

At the foundation of this book are the 64 success principles that he claims "always work."

There are six sections to this book and 64 chapters:

• Section 1: The Fundamentals of Success
• Section 2: Transform Yourself for Success
• Section 3: Build Your Success Team
• Section 4: Build Successful Relationships
• Section 5: Success and Money
• Section 6: Success Starts Now                                                              

You guessed it . . . each chapter is one of the success principles. I must admit, at first, 64 success principles seemed a bit over-the-top. Then, as I got into reading the book and saw how each chapter was both a stand alone principle and a nice dove-tail into the next, I found it all working quite smoothly together.

This is an excellent book both for Accidental Pren-hers just starting off in business, and for entrepreneurial women needing a quick reminder.

Have you read Jack's The Success Principles? What did you think of the principles? How about the lay-out of the book? Too many principles? Let us know!

And . . . have you seen the movie yet? The Other Boleyn Girl?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

   

 

Leave Your Mark

Today . . . I am in Kent, England. I'm here celebrating my 50th birthday week with my brother. We're staying at the lovely Hever Hotel (right), and have already visited Hever Castle (left), the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and Chartwell House, the ancestral home of Winston Churchill.

We've been in England only a short while, and already, I can feel how wonderful it is to be away from the familiar. Away from all those things that seem so important when I am at home. Here, experiencing something new, out of step and out of time from my regular schedule.

I've brought along a small sketchbook, keeping this as a diary of my impressions, thoughts, and experiences while I'm here. As such, it has made me an attraction magnet for people wanting to see what I'm drawing. No matter where I've been, it hasn't taken long for someone to come near, peer over my shoulder, and make a comment about what I'm drawing.

I wait for their comments, welcoming them, even. Then, as soon as they say something, I invite them to sit down. I ask them their name, where they are from, and off we go on our getting-to-know-you adventure.

I love these little interludes . . . even if it's just for a little while. Before they leave, though, I ask one last question: "Would you mind leaving a drawing in my sketchbook for me to remember you by?" "Sure!" everyone says as they reach for my pencil and book.

Some draw a quick, Pictionary-esque sketch. Others, something more elaborate. Everyone, without being asked, signs their sketch, adds their email, and asks me to send them a copy of all the pictures I'm collecting. Smiles and hugs all around, and off we go, each back into our own little world, enriched and enlightened by our meeting and united by our drawing.

While it is unlikely that I will see any of these people again, each has left their mark with me. Even now, as I flip back through my sketchbook, I find myself smiling at the pictures left behind. Instantly, I recall the person's face, what we talked about, where we were sitting, and what we were doing.

As entrepreneurial women, we leave our mark on each and everyone of our clients and customers. We leave our mark in big and small ways by everything that we say and do. And these marks have life. They are passed on to others, brought back to haunt us, and added, layer by layer, to make a lasting impression.

How important is your mark? You tell me.
Are you conscious of the marks you leave behind? Or, perhaps, have you never really thought about it before. Knowing that you do leave a mark; does that change anything about how you interact with others?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

   

Accidental Pren-her Susan Reid Turns 50

This month, I turn 50. More specifically, I turn 50 on April 4th.

I can hardly believe 50 years have passed since this picture was taken! Interesting, isn't it, how much presence a baby has? How much of the woman to be is already present. Already there. Like the bud of a flower. All in place, ready to show itself.

Same barely there eyebrows.

Same inner knowing eyes.

The hint of a neck, yet to come.

Fingers made to play piano.

In honor of the child that was and the woman that is, I am celebrating my birth year by doing what I love. I'll be traveling to England, Italy, France and Antarctica this year; I'll be inspiriting and inspiring greatness in others, and; I'll be  honoring the Native American and Japanese traditions I have long admired by giving away gifts, all this month for my birthday.

Along the right and left-hand sides of this blog you will find plenty of gifts, specials, and opportunities to sign up for, download, and try out. Each week I'll be adding something new, so come back often and bring your friends.

Celebrate good times, Come on!

From my heart to yours,

Susan L. Reid