© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Last night,  I was facilitating one of my “Conversation Clinics.”  (Those are online and onsite groups that help participants with how to best manage current issues in their lives and businesses.)  And, last night, the conversation turned to living the values one professes to hold in day-to-day business.

I told them about a corporate group I had worked with in the afternoon. This is a team in trouble and the last resort was to call me in to “fix” things.  I facilitated conversations and offered training and coaching for three months. Yesterday was the last session.  The participants were very unhappy to know it was the last session. They asked the boss in attendance why that was so. His response:

“I cared enough about this team to bring in the best person I could to bring about the changes that are necessary. She gave you the tools, the insights and strategies that would make the differences required. I know she did because I have been here with you.  In three months, you have received all this information and not one thing has changed.  So, Dr. Shaler, tell them what you think.”

Wow! What a hand-off to me! I was prepared, however, and I said this:

“There is a huge difference between information and knowldge. I gave you the information. Only you can make it knowledge, by internalizing it. Only you can take responsiblity for turning information into knowledge that is demonstrable in your approach to your work and each other. I believe, from watching your interactions and speaking with each of you privately, that, despite my warnings, you were all waiting for someone else to change. You could take a hundred courses and have piles of handouts, books & DVD’s and they will not make a whit of difference until you integrate the information with who you are and what you choose to do each moment. That is why the boss has withdrawn my services from you. You have done nothing with the information.”

My question to you, dear fellow women entrepreneur: how much information are you spouting that only went from your head to your mouth? Until it goes through your head, heart, thoughts, words and actions, it’s just information. Now is the time to reflect on who you are and who you want to be. Once you know that, for sure, you can decide on how to offer your expertise and experience to the world in ways that are aligned with your vision, values, beliefs and purpose. That’s a integral component of business success and can make all the difference in your success in 2010!

If you want help with that alignment, or, want to ask a question or get feedback on an idea or strategy, you can book a forty-minute (I’m throwing in an extra ten minutes over the usual)  introductory mentoring session for only $59 for new clients. That can really kickstart your business confidently!   Register now at ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com/mentoring/index.htm

Here’s to extrordinary business growth in 2010!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
Success Solutions for Life, Work & Business
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

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©  Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Are you thinking about waiting until January to plan? You’re not alone…but, I wish you were!  As a business coach, I know that my clients will spend December planning for 2010 and then breaking that plan down to the specifics for the first quarter.

You know the old thing: failing to plan is planning to fail.  And, we’ve all heard that when humans make plans, God laughs. So, somewhere in there, we have to make a decision.  Mine is to think through what I want to happen from my current vantage point (the only one I have) and articulate the steps I currently know to take to help it happen.  After that, the whole thing is open to further input from Upper Management.

If that’s not your modus operandi and you want something more practical and step-by-step, I offer that to my clients as well. Heaven knows, not everyone operates the same way.

One thing is clear: it’s time to reflect and examine the alignment of your values, vision, beliefs and purpose with your expertise and experience. If clarity is required and change is in the wind, you will then know and be able to prepare well. Creating an aligned life includes your business. Plan for it.

[BY THE WAY...If you are wisely ready to start now, I am offering a four session business plan prep program for only $349. That will take you to the completion of your business plan, ready to roll in January.  This is only for blog readers at this point, so, email me if this would be helpful to you... RS@OptimizeCenter.com ]

I wish you well.
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
Success Solutions for Life, Work & Business
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com
www.Rhoberta.com

The Optimize Center
Escondido, CA
www.OptimizeCenter.com
760.747.8686

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©  Rhoberta Shaler

Are your systems supporting you?  Do you know what needs to be done? Do you have a business plan? Do you know what your marketing campaign looks like? Is it all on the calendar broken down into do-able chunks?

It’s so easy for me to know that I should have all that, but, I resist doing it.  Not that I don’t do it.  I do. But, oh, how I resist!  I want to get on with things, right now. All that thinking through and organizing and making file folders, yuck! I’m just champing at the bit to get on and do things.

It was a hard-learned lesson that creating systems actually saves me time, frustration, anxiety and concern. I know when things are due. I have created a schedule of the tasks required to be ready by that due date and I usually meet the deadline easily.

This is what Michael Gerber wrote about in the E-Myth when he said that we have to take the time to work ON our businesses, not just work IN them. It’s seductive to think we are really progressing towards success when we are only working IN our business. Working ON the business seems to be, for most of my clients and certainly earlier for myself, to be so tedious.  Not so.  I can tell you that I certainly feel much better taking the time to know exactly what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and when so that nothing falls off the turnip truck!

If your systems are not supporting you, you are not supporting yourself. That’s what I’ve learned.  So, take a day to organize.  Hey, it’s only one day away from the joy of “doing” that will pay-off a hundredfold.  If a day seems like a trial, how about an hour a day for two weeks?  Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

To your success,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
…leading you to the life, love & livelihood that fulfills you…and makes money.
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Visit our site to hear interviews with successful women entrepreneurs. They share their stories, strugges and successes to shortcut your journey!

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© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

Some folks seem to be slipping toward overwhelm and sliding towards defeat. They are ready to throw up their hands and toss in the towel. I wish they were my coaching clients, so, that wouldn’t be the case.  However, I’ve met a few folks lately who are on the verge of succumbing to the popular press of doom and gloom.  Are they desperate enough to re-mortgage their houses to buy a promise?

Now, it’s not that I’m PollyAnna over here, pretending folks are not losing their jobs and, along with it, a lot of heart. Change is everywhere. And, contrary to popular opinion, I tend to think it is a good correction, a necessary adjustment in the marketplace. Not a comfortable one. Simply a necessary one.

A colleague and I had an interesting conflab the other day about whether or not it is possible to really gain significantly more from a coach who charges you $100,000 a year than from one who charges you $20,000.  Or, is it just that the $100k chap has bigger body parts than the $20k, so asks for the high price?   (Don’t you love it when their selling story contains “Don’t make money an issue. You deserve this.” while they are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy?) Or, does that $100k buy you much more than coaching, for instance, access to the “Ol’ Boys Club” where insiders feather each other’s nests? Is that what makes it worthwhile?  What would make it worth it for you to spend $100,000 a year on coaching?  I’d be really interested to know.

With the public scandals of high-price executives feathering their nests with dollars many folks could ill afford to lose, it raises a lot of questions about the economy of scale.  Are sports figures worth the salaries they get?  How did those figures hit it out of the ballpark, so to speak? There’s a conversation for another day, right?

I guess, for me, this all comes down to matters of integrity. And, only you know what’s right for you in your business ethics. I just received a very compelling marketing piece inviting me to participate in a weekend program where the raving testimonials claim increases of up to 300% in their income following the program. That sounds remarkable. Or, is the person selling you the insider information to make seven figures annually actually making her seven-figures annually by selling the programs to you? Think about that one!

Nest-building is a curious activity.  Whose nest is feathered with whose feathers and who actually creates and keeps the nest egg?  I teach my mentoring clients to ask these questions pro-actively.  How about you?

To your success!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
…leading you to the live, love & livelihood that fulfills you

www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

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©  Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.SoulWiseWays.com

For the past few weeks I have been observing distinct changes in the ways and frequency some well-known folks are marketing online.  Whereas previously there were, at most, weekly offers, now there are offers every day or two.  And, each is for something different.  Previously, they would lead up to a major offer.  Now, they are seeming to be clutching at straws.

As that metaphor was the one that came to mind, I wanted to know where the phrase, “clutching at straws,” came from. According to WikiAnswers.com, it is attributed to Sir Thomas More who in 1534 wrote or said:  A drowning man will catch at straws. It  means an act of desperation. And, that’s what it is feeling like to me.

Two days ago, I received an email invitation to join in a special teleclass series and I noted the names of many colleagues as presenters.  Intrigued, I did what it took to be considered as a presenter. The ensuing phone call, with a very uncertain woman reading from a script which seemingly made her uncomfortable, had her describing to me how joint venture teleseminars worked.  Being very familiar with the process, I just waited as she read and her script assured me it would cost me nothing to join in and I would receive HUGE benefits and reach millions of people. She was enthused.  I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And, it did. As she closed down her presentation, she said:

“There is only one thing we ask of you and that is that you send a solo email notification to your people to sell them our coaching program. “

My response was simple:

“I’m sorry. I cannot do that.”

She was aghast. After all, in her script, she had given me millions and all she was asking for was this one simple thing. Of course she asked why I could not do it.

“I am very familiar with the coaching program you are selling and I simply cannot do that.”

After our call, I investigated further to find that this dear woman was also clutching at straws. She had taken the coaching program and was now trying to get others to have the same experience. Apparently, she was not making the income from the coaching so she now was trying to engage others in the training.  Doesn’t this seem just a bit like one of those MLM offers where no one sells the soap. Everyone just tries to sell others on selling the soap?

I know that each one of us takes responsibility for our own upkeep and that requires finding creative ways to keep money flowing. That’s what creates business, and that’s a good thing. This experience caused me to think even more deeply about an earlier post, Stick to the Knitting. If you have a good idea backed with a good business plan, now more than ever, we need to stick with it.  Sure, the economy encourages finding creative ways to engage folks in the benefits of what you offer.  As an entrepreneur, are you really willing to divert your time, energy, expertise and experience into selling someone else’s dream?

Oh, it’s tempting, very tempting. And, if we have to do it to keep the proverbial wolf from the door, we will.  Let’s just first take the time to examine our business plans and see where adjustments could be made to stay true to our vision.

And, spiritually speaking, it could be possible that spending a little more time with our spiritual practices, relying more upon truth as we accept it, the panic would never reach us.  And, even if it did, we would simply remember that we have already been given everything…and relax once again.  It’s not easy always, but it is simple and available.

To your success!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
….leading you to the life, love & livelihood that fulfills you
www.SoulWiseWays.com
When you become a member at SoulWiseWays…basic membership is free…you tap into excellent resources and inspiring insights to stay aligned with your vision, values, beliefs and purpose.  Upgrade and join a group mentoring program with a very reasonable monthly exchange.

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