Discovering Your Inner Samurai Blog

Freebie - Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Toolkit

Attention: Spiritually Conscious Women Business Owners

"If you're finally ready for that Aha! moment that will transform your business from simply doing what other people expect to a life of success and happiness, this 3-step toolkit is what you've been looking for!"

This Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit delivers a powerful one-two punch of both energetic and practical answers that make owning the business you really dream of not just possible, but inevitable.

First - The "Doing What You Love: Multiple Streams of Passion" report helps to energetically ground you in a business perfectly aligned with your dreams.


Second - The "Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Video Toolkit" walks you through the practical steps of:

• Creating the perfect name for your business.
• Crafting a compelling and exciting business statement.
• Building your mission statement with a plan and purpose.
• Clearly define and target your niche market.

Best yet? It's absolutely fr*ee!

Our Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit combines both the energetic alignment and practical know-how:

• in language that is easy to comprehend and understand,

• with videos that are fun and entertaining, and

• worksheet templates that are a joy to complete.

All together, you'll have an end result that will leave you energized and excited about the direction of your business.

Get your Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit now!

Enjoy!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Is it Time to Expand?

Today . . . I am thinking about this question that came in from one of our readers about how to grow from a small at home business, to a larger at home business.

If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.

Q: "How do you make the jump from a boutique business to a larger business?"

A. If you've been in business for 5 years are more, you're company is doing well, are getting more orders than you can handle, and can check off everything on this list, then yes!

Pre-expansion Checklist for the Home-Based Business Owner

• Determine if this is a growth spurt or sustained growth. If you have been in business less than three years, what you may be experiencing is a growth spurt. Growth spurts are surges of activity indicating an interest for your product. Don't make the mistake of thinking a spurt is an indicator for future growth. Make sure you are showing steady, increased growth over the past two years.

• Check your bottom-line profit numbers for the past three years. Has your business shown a consistent, steady growth?

• Look at the trends, both economic and consumer. Are there strong indications that your product has staying power? Especially in our current economic market.

• Do you already have in place the necessary administrative and management systems to support your expansion? The last thing you want to do is expand at the same time you're putting them in place. Instead, put them in place beforehand to keep your business running smoothly during the expansion.

• Do a new business plan. Not just an update. You're new business plan will help you determine when it's time to expand, what you need to have in place to make it happen, and how you'll accomplish it.

• Obtain financing. You'll need financing for an expansion. Don't depend on there being an increase in sales during your expansion. More likely, the opposite will be true. Just like when you started up, it will take more time and money than you think to grow, and sales will take time to match your expansion.

• Make sure your website is ready to handle the expansion. Besides having all the necessities for handling increased sales, make sure your product landing pages, home page, and navigation links are all optimized for the search engines and your clients. Your website has to be ready to play with the big boys and girls and must have a professional look and feel to it. Consider hiring a SEO expert to review your site and a copywriter to write great copy for key pages.

• Rev-up your sales to existing customers. Before you expand, boost you revenue by selling more to the customers you already have. You can do this through volume discounts, buy-two-get-one-free offers, and expanding your product line to include complimentary products. This will not only build in excitement and generate income; it will also get you used to handling more.

That's my answer and I'm sticking to it!

Do you have any other suggestions? If so, leave a comment and let us know. And, if you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

We Plan Our Joys . . .

Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:

We plan our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.

- Kahlil Gabran

 

What plans are you making now?

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Are You Thinking About Becoming a Home-Based Business Owner?

Becoming a home-based business owner is more popular now than every before, and it's very attractive to many women entrepreneurs.

That's because people associate working from home with flexibility and freedom. And with so many mom entrepreneurs opting to stay at home while raising their families, running a business from home makes sense.

Here are some of the Pros and Cons to consider if you're thinking of becoming a home-based business owner.

Pros

• You'll save on start-up costs.
• Lower operating costs.
• No more commuting.
  
• You can live and travel almost anywhere in the world and still conduct business.
• Time with family.
• Work anytime you want.
• Family members can easily get involved with the business.
• It's convenient.
• Everything is in a central location - work, play, sleep, eat.
• Can wear anything to work.
  

Cons

• Vulnerability to interruptions.
• Temptations and distractions - TV, laundry, fridge, sleeping in.
  
• Need for space when your business expands.
• Cooped-up at home.
• Work bleeding over into family time.
• Privacy.
• Outside employees may not like coming to your home to work.
• Hard to get motivated sometimes.
• Isolation without other professionals around.
  
• Running a business and taking care of your family at the same time.
  

There's my list of pros and cons. What have I missed? Anything you'd like to add to the list? Please do!

Let us know!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

What's on Your Summer Business Reading List?

Inc. Magazine just put out The Business Owner's Bookshelf. This is their list of the top 30 business books they recommend you read this summer.

Here are a few on the list to wet your appetite:

1. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, by Peter Bernstein (1996)
   
   From the ancient Greeks' belief that the universe was divvied up in a game of craps to Keynes's assertion that uncertainty makes us free, this lively economic history helps readers understand why we think -- and bet -- the way we do.
2. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything, by Guy Kawasaki (2004)
   
   The author has aptly described this book as the start-up version of What to Expect When You're Expecting. From his early exhortation to create a mantra (as opposed to a mission statement) through his final mandate to be a "mensch" (give something back), Kawasaki offers a broad, opinionated, often-shrewd blueprint for early stagers.
3. Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston (2006)
   
   Companies that fight against the green tide risk poisoning relationships with customers, investors, and governments. This manual smartly balances opportunity and risk in the quest to shrink companies' environmental footprint.
4. Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang (1997)
   
   Schultz's humble origins, his succumbing to a passion for a product, and his ongoing pursuit of servant leadership are genuinely inspirational.
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936)

   Of course, your salespeople and managers should read this self-improvement classic. But Friends is also about leadership. "There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything," writes Carnegie, "and that is by making the other person want to do it."

If you're like me, some of the books you've read and some you have not. Check out Inc's list and see which ones you will be adding to your reading list this summer.

Oh, hey . . . add mine to your summer reading list too!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Are You Shooting Yourself in the Entrepreneurial Foot?

. . . because you don't have a business degree and feel inadequate?

As women, it often seems as if we have a corner on the market for feeling inadequate or unable to do something because we don't have a degree telling us we can.

While it's true that a business degree goes a long way to empowering women with the tools and confidence to start up a business, it isn't, ultimately, what will make you succeed.

3 Simple Ways to Stop Shooting Yourself in the Entrepreneurial Foot.

1. Nip inadequate thoughts in the bud.

You know the one: “Who do you think you are starting up a business without a business degree?”

Calm that voice by realizing that no one starts up a business, even someone with a business degree, all by herself. Skills can be learned, books read, coaches found, and support people hired.

2. Is it fear or resistance?

Figure out whether you are experiencing fear or resistance. Here's how to tell:

• Fear makes you run.
• Resistance makes you question.

Many confuse fear with resistance, believing that if you feel resistant toward something, that that’s an indicator that you shouldn’t do it. Not so.

Before you conclude that “maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” hold the phone! Take some time to figure out what resistance is telling you. Do you need to do some more research? Take things a little slower? Go in another direction?

Answer the questions that resistance asks, instead of collapsing into fear.

3. Don't make a decision in the heat of the moment.

Instead, project yourself into the future and ask yourself questions from that vantage point.

Perspective is everything when it comes to making a decision. Decisions made in the heat of the moment, when your heart’s pounding and thoughts racing are usually not the decisions that are in your best interest. So wait until things have cooled down.

Then, project yourself into the future. From the perspective of one year from now, write out your thoughts to these three questions:

• Last year was an amazing year for me. I accomplished so much. What were some of these accomplishments?
• What am I so glad I did?
• What do I wish I would have done?

This perspective will help you get in touch with what’s important to you.

Certainly food for thought -- especially that first one. What do you think?

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

The Incessant Mental Noise . . .

Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:

The incessant mental noise of thinking prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being.

- Eckhart Tolle

 

Can you hear it? No? Ah . . . stillness has found you.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Last Day!

I'm finally doing something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.

I’m putting together a combination of Inner Samurai Business teleseminars, workshops, and retreats that will support you in taking your business to the next level.

But first, I need some feedback and direction from you. 

Rather than trying to guess what would help you the most, I am going to let you tell me exactly what you need to energize your business to the next level.

To do that, I've developed a four-minute Inner Samurai Business Survey.

And, as a delicious bribe to entice you to complete the survey, I will be giving away three Starbucks gift cards (valued at $10 each) in three separate drawings held between now and July 20, 2009.

Anyone who completes the Inner Samurai Business Survey eligible to win!

Thank you!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Survey Says?

I'm finally doing something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.

I’m putting together a combination of Inner Samurai Business teleseminars, workshops, and retreats that will support you in taking your business to the next level.

But first, I need some feedback and direction from you. 

Rather than trying to guess what would help you the most, I am going to let you tell me exactly what you need to energize your business to the next level.

To do that, I've developed a four-minute Inner Samurai Business Survey.

And, as a delicious bribe to entice you to complete the survey, I will be giving away three Starbucks gift cards (valued at $10 each) in three separate drawings held between now and July 20, 2009.

Anyone who completes the Inner Samurai Business Survey eligible to win!

Thank you!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Inner Samurai Business Survey

I'm finally doing something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.

I’m putting together a combination of Inner Samurai Business teleseminars, workshops, and retreats that will support you in taking your business to the next level.

But first, I need some feedback and direction from you. 

Rather than trying to guess what would help you the most, I am going to let you tell me exactly what you need to energize your business to the next level.

To do that, I've developed a four-minute Inner Samurai Business Survey.

And, as a delicious bribe to entice you to complete the survey, I will be giving away three Starbucks gift cards (valued at $10 each) in three separate drawings held between now and July 20, 2009.

Anyone who completes the Inner Samurai Business Survey eligible to win!

Thank you!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

What Constitutes Success?

Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:

What constitutes success? She who has achieved success has lived well; laughed often and loved much; has gained the respect of little children; has filled her niche and accomplished her task; has left the world better than she found it; has always looked for the best in others and given the best she had.

- Bessie Anderson Stanley

What's your definition of success?

Thank you, Sandy Aaron for sending this to me.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

What It Means to Be a Woman Entrepreneur

Just want to state up front that this in not an original thought.

My friend Carolyn stayed at The Maverick Inn a couple of weeks ago and sent me their manifesto. I loved it so much, I adapted it for the woman entrepreneur.

See what you think:

Deep inside each woman there lies the entrepreneurial spirit of adventure, the unquenchable desire to explore, to see the other side of the mountain.

Inside each woman is the need to measure her spirit and see where she stands.

Inside her is the call to stand on the edge of the cliff and to feel the breezes of an unknown wind as it cleans away the known and familiar days of waiting for the opportunity to wander into the adventure of her dreams.

As this desire is called upon and fulfilled, we become the next picture, we change frames, our world becomes clearer and more defined.

Now we step to a new level of excellence. We discover a new standard of quality to be explored and shared, and we fulfill our need to refresh our minds and lives with the wonder of the beauty of our earth and our spirits.

The entrepreneur is a free spirit that follows her own path, hears her own voice, and sings her own song.

We honor this spirit in you and salute you in your entrepreneurial quests of adventure.

Don't you just love it?

Adapted from The Maverick Inn. Check 'em out if you're ever in Alpine, TX.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Toolkit

Attention: Spiritually Conscious Women Business Owners

"If you're finally ready for that Aha! moment that will transform your business from simply doing what other people expect to a life of success and happiness, this 3-step toolkit is what you've been looking for!"

This Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit delivers a powerful one-two punch of both energetic and practical answers that make owning the business you really dream of not just possible, but inevitable.

First - The "Doing What You Love: Multiple Streams of Passion" report helps to energetically ground you in a business perfectly aligned with your dreams.


Second - The "Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Video Toolkit" walks you through the practical steps of:

• Creating the perfect name for your business.
• Crafting a compelling and exciting business statement.
• Building your mission statement with a plan and purpose.
• Clearly define and target your niche market.

Best yet? It's absolutely fr*ee!

Our Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit combines both the energetic alignment and practical know-how:

• in language that is easy to comprehend and understand,

• with videos that are fun and entertaining, and

• worksheet templates that are a joy to complete.

All together, you'll have an end result that will leave you energized and excited about the direction of your business.

Get your Turn Your Business Dreams in Reality Toolkit now!

Enjoy!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Inner Samurai Business Survey

I'm finally doing something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.

I’m putting together a combination of Inner Samurai Business teleseminars, workshops, and retreats that will support you in taking your business to the next level.

But first, I need some feedback and direction from you. 

Rather than trying to guess what would help you the most, I am going to let you tell me exactly what you need to energize your business to the next level.

To do that, I've developed a four-minute Inner Samurai Business Survey.

And, as a delicious bribe to entice you to complete the survey, I will be giving away three Starbucks gift cards (valued at $10 each) in three separate drawings held between now and July 20, 2009.

Anyone who completes the Inner Samurai Business Survey eligible to win!

Thank you!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Nike No Excuses Commercial

Apply this strategy to your business for immediate results! Watch and the . . . just do it!

We Must Let Go . . .

Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.

- Joseph Campbell

 

What new life is awaiting you?

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Abraham - The Ride is Worth It!

Have you ever wondered why dogs put their heads out car windows, risking getting bugs in their eyes? Watch this 3-minute video to find out what Abraham has to say. Then, apply it to yourself as a spiritually conscious woman entrepreneur.

Success Tips From Your Inner Samurai

Today . . . I am thinking about this question that came in from one of our readers. She is a spiritually conscious businesswoman who wants to make sure she is focusing her energy in the best direction for success.

If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.

Q: “How do I ensure that I am focusing my energy in the best direction for success?”

A: Entrepreneurial women begin imagining their future the moment they start thinking about striking out on their own and starting their own business.

They think about what the business will become, the lives they will touch, the people they will help, the flexibility they will have, and the money they will make. They imagine building a business around their value system, their passion, and what’s important to them. They envision a business that fits beautifully into their life. In short, they dream about building a business from the inside out.

How many times have you known what was right for you yet made another choice… one that was wrong for you? How many times have you gone against your inner knowing? How many times have you heard yourself say, “I knew I should have gone that way, done that thing, or spoken my truth?” It happens to all of us.

That's why getting in touch with and trusting your Inner Samurai is so important.

Success Tips From Your Inner Samurai

•    Create only two priorities per month. What are the two things you are most passionate about doing? This will help you prioritize and focus by aligning you with your "Inner Samurai Priority System."

•    Check in with yourself often. If you hear a lot of chatter, explanation and justifications, that's the voice of doubt inside your head. Learn to recognize and ignore it. If you check in and feel a one-word pulse, pay attention! That's your Inner Samurai.

Three qualities that will always lead you down the right path:

   1. Know who you are.
   2. Accept yourself as you are.
   3. Dare to be who you are.

Do you have any other suggestions? If so, leave a comment and let us know. And, if you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Take Our Inner Samurai Business Survey

I'm finally doing something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.

I’m putting together a combination of Inner Samurai Business teleseminars, workshops, and retreats that will support you in taking your business to the next level.

But first, I need some feedback and direction from you. 

Rather than trying to guess what would help you the most, I am going to let you tell me exactly what you need to energize your business to the next level.

To do that, I've developed a four-minute Inner Samurai Business Survey.

And, as a delicious bribe to entice you to complete the survey, I will be giving away three Starbucks gift cards (valued at $10 each) in three separate drawings held between now and July 20, 2009.

Anyone who completes the Inner Samurai Business Survey eligible to win!

Inc. Magazine's Summer Reading List

Inc. Magazine just put out The Business Owner's Bookshelf. This is their list of the top 30 business books they recommend you read this summer.

Here are a few on the list to wet your appetite:

1. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, by Peter Bernstein (1996)
   
   From the ancient Greeks' belief that the universe was divvied up in a game of craps to Keynes's assertion that uncertainty makes us free, this lively economic history helps readers understand why we think -- and bet -- the way we do.
2. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything, by Guy Kawasaki (2004)
   
   The author has aptly described this book as the start-up version of What to Expect When You're Expecting. From his early exhortation to create a mantra (as opposed to a mission statement) through his final mandate to be a "mensch" (give something back), Kawasaki offers a broad, opinionated, often-shrewd blueprint for early stagers.
3. Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston (2006)
   
   Companies that fight against the green tide risk poisoning relationships with customers, investors, and governments. This manual smartly balances opportunity and risk in the quest to shrink companies' environmental footprint.
4. Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang (1997)
   
   Schultz's humble origins, his succumbing to a passion for a product, and his ongoing pursuit of servant leadership are genuinely inspirational.
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936)

   Of course, your salespeople and managers should read this self-improvement classic. But Friends is also about leadership. "There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything," writes Carnegie, "and that is by making the other person want to do it."

If you're like me, some of the books you've read and some you have not. Check out Inc's list and see which ones you will be adding to your reading list this summer.

Oh, hey . . . add mine to your summer reading list too!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Do You Know About oHello?

Here's this week's hot business strategy you can use now!

The other day I was talking with my friend and colleague - Samantha Hartley of Enlightened Marketing fame - about needing to make some phone calls to China for my upcoming trip in August. I was wondering how much it cost to call China and the best way to go about calling.

Immediately Samantha said, "Do you know about oHello?"

oHello? What's oHello?

oHello is a leading provider of low-cost global prepaid long distance phone services based out of California. oHello provides smart alternatives for land-line and wireless users to place domestic and international call.

There are no connection fees, monthly fees, or taxes.

Calling to China was only 3.4 cents - and that low rate was to a cell phone!

So, I signed up - very easy and straight forward. And got a bonus $5 added to my account just for signing up!

The next day I called China. The process was easy, the connection crystal clear, and after 30 minutes of talking I had spent less than $2!

Check this hot business strategy idea out for yourself! Then let us know what you think of oHello.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success