eVision Media eBusiness Blog

September 28, 2009

How serious are you about your business?

Business WomanAre you a true business owner and entrepreneur? Or are you just having fun at what you do and are treating your efforts more like a hobby?

Years ago I was a Mary Kay beauty consultant. I loved doing what I did and was very passionate about it. I built up a customer base of over 200 women, worked hard at making phone calls, doing classes and facials, and attended all team meetings.

For all intense purposes, one could perceive my efforts as being serious about my business, but was I really? I look back now and realize that even though I worked hard and seemed to be busy, there was one critical element missing from the equation that prevented me from truly being serious – and that was the need to actually earn a living at what I did!

At the time I was married with two young kids. My husband made a decent income and we never lacked funds to pay the bills and go on a yearly family vacation. So anything I did was, for all intense purposes, a hobby. Our family was not counting on me to make enough money to pay the mortgage or purchase food for the week. My income was simply a little extra cash to buy a new piece of furniture or to help pay for the Christmas presents in December. I really didn’t need to be working, so wasn’t serious enough to treat it like a real business and actually make a large income from my efforts.

Sound familiar? Is your business more of a casual attempt at earning extra income or are you truly running your business like a serious professional, ready to earn a substantial income and reap the rewards of your efforts?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help – you might be surprised with some of the answers if you’re being honest with yourself!

  • Are you clear on your business’s focus – have you defined the product or service you provide and have stuck to it or are you continually trying out other things?
  • Have you registered your business name with your local government?
  • Do you have a business licence with your local community?
  • Do you have a dedicated business phone line? A toll free number?
  • Do you have business insurance?
  • Do you have legal contracts in place with the various aspects of your business?

  • Do you have a clearly defined mission statement?
  • Do you have a business plan? A plan that gives you a solid blueprint on how to achieve your business goals and how much it’s going to cost?
  • Do you know who your competitors are and what they are doing?
  • Is your business scalable in a way that it doesn’t depend on you being hands-on 100% of the time?

  • Do you have a marketing plan that provides you with specific steps on how you are going to attract your perfect client and how much it’s going to cost?
  • Do you have a set budget for advertising and marketing to build your client base?
  • Do you know who your target market is?
  • Do you have a professionally designed logo to establish your brand and appeal to your target market?
  • Do you have professionally designed business cards, letterhead, promotional materials and other items to market your business?
  • Do you have a professionally designed website that represents your business brand effectively, 24 hours a day – 7 days a week?
  • Do you continually update and employ SEO tactics to your website to ensure optimal results?

  • Are you outsourcing certain tasks to help you with the things that are not your core competency such as bookkeepers, web developers, marketers, virtual assistants or graphic designers?
  • Do you have a separate office space where you can shut the door at the end of the day and leave it closed until business hours start again?
  • Do you have set business hours where no emails and no phone calls occur after hours?
  • Is your office space organized and systemized so that anyone could come in and take over where you left off?

  • Do you keep proper books and track all of your business receipts? Or is everything stuffed in a shoe box or file folder until tax time?
  • Are you aware of all the tax write-offs that you’re entitled to and use them to the fullest?
  • Do you have a dedicated business bank account?
  • Does ALL of your business income go into this business account and you pay yourself on a regular basis?

  • Do you take whole summers off and tell yourself you’ll get busy working again in the Fall?
  • Are you telling yourself you’ll kick things into gear after…. (fill in the blank)?
  • Are you truly happy and passionate about doing what you do?
  • Is your business fulfilling your life’s purpose or are you just going through the motions of trying to make some money?

The questions above do not cover everything when considering what is involved in running a business, by no means, but I hope they got you thinking enough to help you determine whether you are running your business like a hobby or are you seriously running your business to earn a healthy living.

I encourage you to take an honest look at what you are doing and decide today on what your future holds for you – nothing will happen until you make that decision!

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About the Author: Susan Friesen uses her heart-centered principles in running a successful service-centric website development and eMarketing firm in Canada. Her passion is helping entrepreneurs and business owners build a successful on-line presence and enjoys being a part of their on-ongoing support team. Find the key to a successful and abundant business by using the power you currently have in your hand – get it here: www.evisionmedia.ca/resources/enewsletter

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September 25, 2009

Business Building Blocks Telecourse by Ali Brown starts Monday, October 5



Last week Ali Brown presented her “Business Building Blocks” course for business owners. Some of the tips that Ali went over in her call (which are covered in more detail in her course) are:

- *5 strategies to set up your business for success no matter what your current level

- Cash flow secrets keep the green flowing…even in a tough economy

- How to structure your existing business for fast growth (without imploding!)

- 3 marketing and positioning strategies to increase your income immediately with your current business

- Important legal considerations for your type of business (make sure to protect yourself and your family)

- Keys to running your business like a million-dollar enterprise…even if you don’t have money for marketing or staff

- For “maybe” business owners: Whether or not entrepreneurship is right for you (it’s a whole different ball game)

And much more…

Getting back to business basics is the fastest, most reliable way to build a solid, profitable business.

Ali has put together a brand new, comprehensive coaching program called, *Business Building Blocks: Your solid foundation for growing a million dollar company.*

This program is starting VERY SOON . . . Monday, September 28 to be exact. It comes with a step-by-step Course Manual and Reference Guide that Ali will take you through over four weeks.

This program was designed specifically with the entrepreneur (or would-be entrepreneur) in mind who realizes business success is impossible without knowing the basics.

There is much too much to list here but if you are one of those people ready to learn more about what it really takes for success, I invite you to visit this page.

See if it’s a good fit for you!
Sue

P.S. Please don’t put this off! The deadline for the easy 2-pay plan ends in on Friday, September 25.

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September 14, 2009

Thoughts Are Powerful Things

Think And Grow Rich! The Original Version, Restored And Revised

Here’s a fabulous article from David Neagle, someone I admire for his amazing insight into the power of thoughts and how we can manifest our true purpose in life by just believing it can happen!

He is a huge proponent, as am I, on the value given in the Think and Grow Rich book by Napoleon Hill, of which his article references.

Read David’s latest article on thoughts…..
Sue

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In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill wrote, “Truly, thoughts are things, and powerful things at that when they’re mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence and the burning desire for their translation into riches and other material objects.”

Definiteness of Purpose
Hill is not just talking about the desire for riches, although it might appear so. You have to look deeper. All the Laws of the Universe are summed up in those sentences. Let’s start with: thoughts are powerful things when combined with definiteness of purpose.

That means you are singular in your purpose. There’s no conflict between what you say you want and a subconscious purpose that is trying to manifest itself in a different way. You are unified; there’s no ambivalence.

How do you know if you’re a unified force? As I wrote last week, look at your results. If they’re disappointing, that’s a clue that something within you has a different agenda.

Persistence
The best illustration of persistence is an old story about a student who goes a master and says, “Teach me success. I want to know the wisdom of the master.”

The master says, “No, you don’t. Go away.” The student goes away. Later he returns and says, “No, I really want to know these insights.” The master, again, sends him away. When the student returns once more, the master takes him to the river and holds his head underwater.

The student gasps for air, fighting the master with all his might. When he finally breaks free, the master says, “When you want success, when you want true life as much as you wanted to live in that moment, then you are ready. Until then, don’t bother me.”

True purpose, like life itself, demands to be expressed through you. When you tap into that purpose, you feel the same kind of persistence that student did while trying to save his own life.

Burning Desire
About burning desire, Hill wrote, “I have learned from years of experience with people that when a person really desires a thing so deeply that he’s willing to stake his entire future on the single turn of a wheel in order to get it, he’s sure to win.”

If you think to yourself, “I don’t have anything that I would be willing to stake on the single turn of a wheel,” then you haven’t found your true desire. When you get to the core of that true desire, you are willing to stake and risk everything to make that manifest, because making that manifest is the purpose of your life. That’s why you’re here.

Your purpose is not to play it safe all the way to the grave while you save enough money for retirement, make sure the kids go to a great school, live in a nice neighborhood, take two vacations a year.

It’s not that you can’t have those things. You can have all of those things and more, but not by working for them. If you work for them, then that becomes the dominating purpose of your life.

Your true purpose also isn’t about what you’ve done. It’s about who you become, the awareness and enlightenment you bring to your soul in this lifetime.

The burning desire that lets you know you have tapped into your divine purpose is always for the greater good and further expansion and expression. It always causes you to grow and encourages others to grow as well.

Bringing this back to the quote: when you tap into your true purpose, when you’re a unified force that’s willing to do whatever it takes to manifest your desire, and when all of that fuels your thoughts, goals and intentions — there is nothing that you can’t achieve.

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About the Author:
David Neagle, Million Dollar Income Acceleration Coach, mentors entrepreneurs to quantum leap their current businesses past the 7-Figure income level in just 12 months. David invites you to download—as his GIFT to you—his legendary “Art of Success” 4-hour audio program. This audio series is a tremendously compelling and comprehensive program that demonstrates—once and for all—that Success has nothing to do with “getting” or “achieving”, and everything to do with WHO we must BE to manifest our hearts’ true desires. For an additional bonus, Text: success to the number: 85800
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September 12, 2009

Entrepreneurial women who want to thrive gather at RISE Oct 2-4

For a long time now I’ve heard from many of you that in these tough times it would be nice to experience some hope, prosperity, and FUN!

Well, you’re getting your wish! I recently found out about an amazing LIVE event that does just those things. It’s called RISE, and I am so glad I discovered this opportunity that I want to share with other like-minded women entrepreneurs.

Drs Ellie and Charlie Drake have put together this incredible event that will not only show you the keys to success in 2009 and beyond, but will give you access to some of the most successful men and women in the world.

Hungry for more information fast? Click here for all the details

Just wait until you read the details about this charter event carefully designed to connect like-minded women in a face-to-face environment.

=> You’ll hear celebrity speakers like Mariel Hemingway, Maya Angelou, Courtney Cox, Kim Kiyosaki, Rev. Michael Beckwith, Carol Channing, Delta Burke, and too many more to list here;

=> Unlike many events you may have been roped into going to so you could “learn,” RISE is a NO-PITCH ZONE where speakers are really there to help;

=> You may meet your very next business partner among the many women(and “evolved men”) who have already committed to coming to RISE;

=> Participate in fulfilling spiritual rituals like the Grand Drumming Session, BraveHeart Song & Dance, Laughing Yoga, Transformational Breathing, and more;

=> Get ready for even more surprise, “big name” experts being recruited as you read this for this special event;

=> Put on your party dress or most elegant garb for the First Annual BraveHeart Awards honoring women who have made a significant impact on a local, national, or global level (YOU are eligible to win when you attend as well!);

And so much more. I couldn’t believe the affordable price either – it’s much less than what you think! You simply have to read more here.

I wouldn’t recommend this community unless I knew how much it could help you and other women. I hope you’ll check it out now. You’ve got nothing to lose! I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Sue

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September 4, 2009

Ask Yourself: What makes your Twitter different and stand out from the rest?

I admit it. I’ve been Tweeting every day for a few months now and am quite enjoying it. I resisted the whole social networking thing for quite some time but there’s something thrilling about being able to have a moment’s thought and share it with hundreds of followers.

As I’ve gotten into the groove with tweeting just a few minutes a day and following other like-minded people that love to share their experiences, quotes, tips and funny stories, I’ve grown to realize more and more the value of social networking and am having fun meeting people from all over the world.

In saying that, none of us want to waste our time – heaven knows we do enough of that with other interruptions throughout the day so it’s important to be smart in our social networking activities. I realize the whole premise of social networking is to connect with others, develop relationships, and find a commonality amongst us, which is great in of itself; however, let’s be honest here – the bottom line for many is that we all hope to get noticed and perhaps even get lucky and transform those personal relationships into client relationships.

The question is, how to do that without risking offending anyone? No one likes to follow those that do nothing but promote themselves all day long – would you?

One of the answers is making yourself stand out from the rest by having a custom Twitter background designed to match your brand. This way, when someone comes to your Twitter page, they are immediately stimulated by the visual representation of who you are and what you do. Pictures do tell a story and this is no different. That first impression does many things like …

- Presents you as a professional; someone to trust to follow
- Positions your brand effectively so they take you more seriously
- Showcases your credibility through a visual presentation
- Increases the perceived value of your products and services

It also gives the opportunity to promote your website, sending qualified visitors to learn more about what you do.

The result? A professionally designed Twitter background brings out your personality and expression of who you are, resulting in attracting more followers – which is one step closer to a new client!

Think about your reaction when you visit a follower’s Twitter page – what is your immediate response to their presentation? Do you have a favourable impression when they present themselves in a professional light? The same can happen for you with your own custom design!

Happy Twittering!
Sue

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About the Author: Susan Friesen uses her heart-centered principles in running a successful service-centric website development and eMarketing firm in Canada. Her passion is helping entrepreneurs and business owners build a successful on-line presence and enjoys being a part of their on-ongoing support team. Find more about custom Twitter backgrounds at www.EVTwitterBackgrounds.com and get biz tips and inspiration by following her on Twitter!

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