©  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

Have you noticed how easy it is to lose focus, or, am I a lone ranger in this department?   I have a good business plan, a workable marketing plan, a passion for what I’m doing and excellent skills, yet, there are days!!!  So, I had to do something to get me quickly on track the minute I recognized possible derailment.

Across from my desk, on the wall above my monitor, I put a white board. It lists the MUST-DO’s in three columns: daily, weekly, bi-weekly.  That way, I have a visual check-list that keeps me focused.  That helps with the regular tasks. All tasks also pop-up in Outlook and that is where I keep the monthly ones, too.

Now, I had to have a good think about how to avoid distractions.  First, I listed the rabbit holes I was familiar with, the places that drew my attention with no return on investment.

• Ah, yes, let’s consider the magnetic attraction of Law & Order and other things that are “only for an hour.”  OK, keep the covering on the TV during the day.  Check.
• How many times a day do I check email, or Facebook, or Twitter, or…..?   Streamline that to three times a day. Check.
• What is the draw to the kitchen?  I’m certainly not hungry but it beckons. Eat protein and vegetables three times a day with a little…I mean, a little…carb because I know that keeps me out of the cupboards. Check.
• Do I really need to answer the phone WHEN it rings?  No, let them realize I’m busy.  I’ll return calls twice a day. Check.

Hmmmm….now, I’m free to focus on the list of  tasks that build and maintain my business.  Now, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?  All it took was the willingness to pay attention.

What tips can you share about maintaining focus on what matters most to your business?

To your success!
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
…Coaching you to create the aligned life & livelihood that fulfills you.
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Join my groups, For Women Entrepreneurs, on Facebook and LinkedIn.  You are welcome!

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©  Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Yesterday, I had a great day with a woman I met on Facebook. We connected because of our similar interest in helping women grow their businesses.  What a wonderful world!  I would never have met this woman without technology and my willingness to spend a little time working with it.

Of course, we have to be careful with technology. I’m sure you’ve noticed that it can simply consume as much time as you are willing to feed it. And, there is another issue: because you feel like you’re working, you can very well be mistaking activity for progress by spending too much time there.  So, be careful.  I know that forty minutes a day on the three social networking sites I invest my time in, is sufficient for building my business.  See what is actually working for you…by measuring your results.

Now, what about this “taking it lying down?”

As I have talked with several women–and the fact that they are women is important–I have learned that they have become absorbed in following someone who has created great financial success, and promises the golden path they can also take to mega-dollars.  Women want to collaborate and they want to believe and trust. They want to nurture relationships, even with people they have never met.  And, they may even want their approval, in some strange way.

Now, about that ‘lying down!”

Those women I’ve talked with who are desperately wanting to learn strategies and technologies for bringing their services and products to market in the most remunerative ways also had something else in common.  They had purchased products from these “gurus.” Some reported they received excellent value but others–too many others–reported paying high dollars for regurgitated transcripts and CDs of teleminars plus the high-value (tongue-firmly in cheek) of a copy of their PowerPoint webinar slides.  Whooppee!

Ladies, don’t take this lying down. If you receive product that does not meet the standards promised in the marketing materials that got you to buy it in the first place, RETURN IT!  Marketers will not stop this kind of stuff unless you complain.  Demand value for your money.

Just because we are naturally nurturing, relationship-seeking creatures does not mean that we accept what is given to us gladly.  You paid for it. Make sure it has the value you were lead to expect from it.

To Your Success!
Rhoberta

P.S.  You can connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. Look for ‘RhobertaShaler’

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Counselor. Coach. Catalyst.
….leading you to the life & livelihood you long for

Founder, www.ForWomenEntrepreneurs.com & Sow Peace, www.SowPeace.com
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