« February 2010 | Main | April 2010 »
Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:
It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.
- W. Edwards Deming
That's right!
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Q: I've just lost my job, my husband and I are separated, and I'm in the middle of a major life transition that is both scary and exciting. I read your book, Discovering Your Inner Samurai, and know you went through a big life transition, too. I'm looking for answers, direction, and solace, and I love to read. What books did you find helpful when you were going through your life transition?A: Reading is a great way to connect with and relate to other women who have been there, done that, especially when you're going through a major life transition. In 2004, when it seemed to me as if my world was falling apart, books spoke to me in a way that made me feel heard, understood, and no longer alone in my experience.
As you know, in 2004 I went through a huge life transition. For a while after my spiritual awakening, I was able to function and operate in the world just fine, but then it became all too much for me and I crashed in on myself.
Within a short time, I quit my job, ended a long-term relationship, grieved the passing of both my parents, and wrote my book. The only two things that remained the same were my cat and my address. Other than that, my spiritual, financial, romantic, physical, and emotional worlds all went through monumental changes.
During that time I read a lot of books to help me make sense of the transition going in, around, and through me. One of the most helpful books was When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd. You may already know Sue Monk Kidd as the author of The Secret Life of Bees. (Another wonderful book, by the way!)
When the Heart Waits is an intensely personal book. Having gone through a life transition herself, Kidd openly talks about her own personal life journey and midlife experience. She shares how she grappled with the sacred questions of life, what her own emotional transformational process was like, how it almost did her in, and how she made it through to the other side.
Another book I found very helpful was The Way of Transition by William Bridges. This is a poignant, beautifully written, and uplifting story of his journey from darkness to light. Throughout the book, Bridges shows you how to not only survive a major life transition but also to embrace these most difficult moments and turn them into something positive.
Take heart. Transformation is very much a part of the inner Samurai journey. It comes when we least expect it, and comes, seemingly, unasked for. The call is unmistakable. It's the call to shed what we've known ourselves to be in order to become a greater version of who we are.
It's a journey all entrepreneurial women must take. While it may feel as if your life is falling apart, it really isn't. Instead, it's coming together in new and wonderful ways.
Enjoy these two beautiful reads!
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
All this week I've been showcasing Carol McClelland, PhD and her new book, Green Careers For Dummies. Now, I'd like to share an article Carol wrote for her Green Career Central eZine on Jane Goodall.
Whether you're launching a green career or are a budding woman entrepreneur staring up a new business, you'll find Carol's article insightful and inspirational.
Five Strategies that Launched Jane Goodall's Green Career
by Carol McClelland, PhD
Last Friday night I happened to see Jane Goodall's interview with Bill Moyers. In addition to sharing stories from her recently released book, Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink, Jane shared stories about how her own career unfolded in unexpected ways.
Did you know Jane's original career goal was to be a Poet Laureate and a naturalist? In the early days, she had no intention of becoming a scientist. And she certainly had no idea she would travel the globe as an activist!
Her ultimate dream was to live with wild animals in Africa. Amazingly enough she succeeded in achieving that goal! From there her career continued to unfold in ways that aligned with her passions and strengths.
As she described her career story to Bill Moyers, I was struck by the ways her mother nurtured the seeds of her passions that lead to her career. Her mother:
How Can You Leverage These Lessons that Propelled Jane Goodall's Career?
Most of us don't have an adult who is as committed to our future as Jane's mother. If this is true for you, it's up to you to give yourself this kind of encouragement, support, and faith. Even if you don't have a lot of time to dedicate to "fanciful" passions, give yourself some time each week to deepen what you know about the topics that interest you. Although your next job may not embody your entire dream:
(If you are a parent, look at ways you can incorporate these lessons in supporting your children to explore their interests and passions, even when their dream doesn't seem possible or probable. This doesn't mean your kids just follow their dreams to the exclusion of going to school and working. It means that they take classes that interest them; they take time when they are young to do low paid internships; they volunteer in ways that give them skills they'll use in pursuing their dreams. Help them experience opportunities that will strengthen their chances of doing work they love and having the impact they want to have.)
Copyright © 2010 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:
Success isn't final.
Failure isn't fatal.
It's the will to continue that matters.
- Winston Churchill
Enough said.
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Greening Your Business
Guest post by Carol McClelland PhD
You’ve no doubt heard about the shift toward a greener, cleaner, more sustainable economy. Are you curious how you might be a part of the opportunities developing within the green economy?
A green business is one that improves the environment in some way by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste, conserving water, or restoring nature or by helping others make greener, more sustainable actions through marketing, education, policies, or regulations.
Take a New Look at Your Current Business
If you have a business, consider how you might green the business you have.
If you don’t have a business or you are looking for a new adventure, take a look at these options to find a business that is a good fit for your skills, interests, experience, and education.
Starting a new business or transitioning your existing business is quite an undertaking. Taking it one step at a time is the best approach. Use the following bullets as a guide for your actions.
We are currently in the earliest phases of the green economy. If you don't see a green business idea or strategy right now, keep watching. New innovations, policies, and regulations will continue to open up new green business opportunities in the months and years ahead. The key is to become aware of the issues of sustainability and how they apply to your business. If you find a viable opportunity, greening your business can give you a stronger brand, a more targeted audience, and a compelling marketing message.
Good luck!
Carol McClelland, PhD, is the author of Green Careers For Dummies and the Founder and Executive Director of Green Career Central,
a full-service online resource center dedicated to providing career
guidance, coaching, and resources to clarify the ever-evolving world of
green career possibilities for professionals, students, and career
counselors.
Carol will be stopping by Discovering Your Inner Samurai
throughout the day on March 22nd to answer your questions. Leave a
comment and she'll respond!
Want to be entered into our drawing to receive a free, autographed copy of Carol’s book? Leave a comment on this post.
Finally! A refreshingly thorough, uncomplicatedly
comprehensive, and extremely helpful book about the current green economy in
general and the future of green careers specifically.
Carol McClelland, PhD has done it again. A noted author of
four other wildly helpful books, McClelland has taken her passion for guiding
people to discover fulfilling careers aligned with their values and turned her
attention to helping people find innovative ways to live, work, and play more
sustainably, all while marveling at the inspiring wisdom of nature.
In Green Careers For Dummies, McClelland not only
encourages you to follow your heart's passion and start-up a green career, she
shows you exactly how.
Divided into six parts, Green Careers For Dummies explores
the emerging green frontier and helps you, step-by-step, find your green focus;
all while helping you wrap your mind around the more than 50 industries that
make up the green economy. No small feat!
Part III is the heart of McClelland's book.
In it, she
explores the multi-faceted world of opportunities for people seeking green
careers. She explores jobs for those interested in caring for the earth and
managing natural resources; jobs in alternative energy, in rebuilding the
infrastructure, and careers to help shape the green economy. McClelland rounds
out this section by showing ways you can provide green products and services,
while inspiring and motivating more sustainable action.
Each chapter begins with an overview and look at each industry's
current status. She then rates each green industry, talks about future trends,
gives a sample of the job functions within each industry, and provides
additional resources for those who want to continue their exploration.
"Use these chapters to familiarize yourself with the green economy as a
whole or to jumpstart your exploration of your target green industry,"
says McClelland.
At the start of the 21st century, we've all become more conscious
of the green movement, and what it means to go green. Some of us are taking
small steps to green our lives while others are fully committed to creating a
sustainable life career. For those people who really want to make a difference
in the world by staring-up a sustainable green career, Green Careers For
Dummies is the book for you!
Carol McClelland, PhD, is the author of Green Careers For
Dummies and the Founder and Executive Director of Green Career Central, a
full-service online resource center dedicated to providing career guidance,
coaching, and resources to clarify the ever-evolving world of green career
possibilities for professionals, students, and career counselors.
Green Careers For Dummies is available in bookstores now for $19.99.
Happy reading,
Susan L. ReidHere's this week's hot business strategy you can use now!
Do you know about oHello?
I first discovered oHello when I needed to make some phone calls to China for my trip last August and wanted a low cost way to do so. Now, I use oHello for all my International calls.
You can, too!
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 is only 3.4 cents - and that low rate is to a cell phone - which amounts to about $2 for 30 minutes of air time.
Signing up is very easy and straight forward. Connections are crystal clear!
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
Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
- Lao Tzu
Ah . . . flow.
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Shakespeare might have said, "To be or not to be, that is the question." However, for women entrepreneurs it isn't whether they want be an entrepreneur or not (after all, women who put their minds to it can be anything they want), it's whether they have a natural affinity for entrepreneurship.
If you're wondering if entrepreneurship is for you, here are five characteristics that I think are important for women entrepreneurs to know.
What about you? Does entrepreneurship resonate with you?
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Today . . . I am thinking about this question that came in from one of our
readers. She's been in business for a couple of years and wanted some suggestions about what to put into her marketing funnel.
If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Q: What's a marketing funnel and what goes in it?"
A:
Good for you! Having a marketing funnel in place for your business is a hot business strategy.
In short, a marketing funnel is a visual representation of the actual products
and services that you are offering your prospects. The point of a
marketing funnel is to keep people flowing down from the top of the
funnel to the bottom. As you go deeper into the funnel your products
and services will be priced higher and higher, until you get to the
bottom where your highest priced offering awaits.
Here's how it works: Picture a funnel—wide and open at the top and tiny and narrow at the bottom. At the top of the funnel is where you want to get as many prospects in as possible. At the bottom of the funnel is your highest priced product or service. In the middle are in-between levels and prices.
Three Steps to Creating Your Marketing Funnel
Step one: Get your prospects into the funnel by offering them something free, such as a special report, e-Book, e-Zine, PDF chapter from your book, intro teleclass, or tip sheet. The important thing to keep in mind when creating your free offering is that it must be of value to your prospects. In other words, it must be something that they want. In exchange for signing up to receive your freebie, you get their names and e-mail addresses (leads).
Step two: Strategically fill the middle of your funnel with information products and other programs to sell. This will give your prospects the chance to "sample" you and get to know you at a lower price point before committing to your highest priced product or service at the bottom of the funnel.
10 Information Product Ideas for Your Marketing Funnel
• Audio Programs (MP3s or CDs)
• Books
• E-Books
• Home Study Courses
• Special Reports
• Teleclasses
• Teleseminars
• Video Programs (MP4s or DVDs)
• Webinars
• Workbooks
Step three: Choose 2-3 high priced and highly sought after products and services for the bottom of your funnel, such as, private consultations, extended coaching packages, weekend live workshops, or a year-long personal mentoring program.
That's it!
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
Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:
Talk doesn’t cook rice.
- Chinese Proverb
Ah . . . so!
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Today . . . I am thinking about this question that came in from one
of our
women entrepreneur readers. Joan (not her real name) just signed up for coaching services
with a new coach, and her coach sent her a Letter of Agreement to sign.
Our reader wonders about this practice, and wanted to know the
difference between an agreement and a contract. Good question!
If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Q:
"My coach just sent me a Letter of Agreement to sign before coaching
services begin. Is this standard practice? What's the difference
between a Letter of Agreement and a Contract?"
A:
Yes, a Letter of Agreement is standard practice in the
coaching/mentoring industry. It is designed to lay the groundwork for a
productive working relationship, and sets the tone for your upcoming
work together.
The biggest difference between an agreement and a contact is that the courts will enforce a contract, whereas an agreement is just an arrangement between the parties. Sometimes, however, an agreement is included in a contract.
Here's the difference:
For most coaching/mentor relationships there is just an offer and an agreement. No contract will follow.
Disclaimer: I am neither an attorney nor an accountant and am not qualified to give you financial or legal advice. If you are starting up a business, it is important for you to contact qualified law and tax experts and seek their advice.
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
Easy. Breezy. Business made easy.
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Inner Samurai Business thought for the week:
Always remember, your focus determines your reality.
- Qui-Gon to Anakin, Star Wars Episode I
Good point, he has.
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Recently, I did an informal survey of 250 women entrepreneurs asking
them this question, "What's the number one thing you do to boost your
productivity?"
Listed in David Letterman "Top Ten" order, here are the top ten ways women entrepreneurs boost productivity:
10. Write our your "to do" list the night before.
Don't wait until morning to make your list. Write your list the night before. Allow the process to percolate while you sleep. Then, when you awake it's as if you've had a 12-hour head start on your day.
9. Prioritize your daily list using the ABCD and E method.
A = must do
B = should do
C = would be nice to do
D = delegate
E = eliminate
8. Wake up early and get off to a good start.
Have an established morning routine and wake up early to set the tone for your day and allow you to get into the swing of things at an unhurried pace. Establish a morning routine that is of greatest benefit to you, not just to your family.
7. Delegate everything possible.
If it isn't directly making you money, delegate it to someone else. Turn over data entry tasks, packing and shipping, and answering non-essential emails and calls to a competent administrative professional. Not sure if you should turn something over? Ask yourself, "Can this task be done by someone else, or does it need my direct attention?" As an entrepreneur, your job is to concentrate on what is of most value to you and your business success, not errands.
6. Know your energy peaks and valleys.
You are in control of your business. You get to say when, you get to say how, and you get to say how long. As an entrepreneur, you aren't locked into a 9 to 5 workday. You can start work at the crack of dawn. Go to the gym in the afternoon. Outline a new product idea in the evening. Schedule activities, family time, and personal quiet time around the natural ebb and flow of your energy peaks and valleys.
5. Find a way to love what you do.
If you love what you do then you are more apt to be productive because you are fully engaged. No matter what you're doing, find a way to love doing it.
4. If in doubt, throw it out.
Make liberal use of your waste can. Regularly go through files and throw out or shred outdated or no longer relevant material. There is no need to save everything "just in case" you'll need it later. Trust that if you throw something out today and you need it in the future, you'll be able to get your hands on it again.
3. Break up projects into tasks.
If you have something on your "to do" list that's been there for a long time, realize that it's probably not a task. It's a project. "To do" lists are for tasks. When you put a project on your list, you'll feel bogged down and productivity will slow. Many of the women entrepreneur's surveyed use business strategist Brian Tracy's method for breaking up projects into easy to do tasks:
• First, list the finished result you want.
• Next, map out every single step of the project.
• Then, put the steps into order, moving the important steps to the front.
• Now, delegate tasks and assign responsibilities.
• Lastly, track the progress of the project.
2. Give 80% of your attention to what is important and 20% to what is urgent.
As an entrepreneur, your job is to discern the difference between what's important and what's urgent. To figure out the difference between the two ask yourself, "Will focusing on this move my business forward and make me money, or will I be just putting out fires?" Dealing with the urgent all day is draining. Dealing with the important in energizing. Want to increase productivity? Make sure you're giving 80% of your time and attention to what's important each day.
1. Focus on one thing at a time.
The number one thing women entrepreneurs do to boost productivity is . . . focus on one thing at a time. Although women are known to be exceptional multi-taskers, those surveyed said they were able to get more done when they focused on one thing at a time. Starting and stopping in the middle of things was frustrating for them and meant that not much was completed at day's end.
Tip: If focusing on
one thing at a time is challenging to you, have a pen and paper nearby.
That way, it something pops into your head, just write it down the get
right back to your task at hand.
What's the number one thing you do to boost your productivity?
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
Recent Comments