If you’re anything like me, you start looking forward to summer as soon as the calendar flips to a new year. 😉
Why not take advantage of summer’s slower pace and people’s more casual attitudes and plan to not only take time off but to make some money while you do?
Chloe has a children’s book (which is now a movie) titled Milton’s Secret: An Adventure of Discovery through Then, When, and the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and Robert S. Friedman, which really simplifies the concept of living in the present moment, and how the practice of that will, for the boy in the story, eliminate fear and worry.
I wanted to explore that as it pertains to your business, with a slightly different slant. I wonder if you, like so many of my clients, and myself as well from time to time, are so hooked into the future that we’re missing the NOW and not fully enjoying the journey?
So how do we unhook from it to allow what we truly want to come to pass without always feeling like we’re striving for it?
Here are 5 ideas:
1. Let go of the goals that take you away from the present.
Let me say first that you can have everything you want – and there’s no judgement here on what those things are.
That being said, do you want a mansion, to be the #1 speaker in your market, to be the one with the biggest email list in your market, to be a New York Times bestselling author, to make a million dollars? There’s nothing wrong with any of those lofty (yet completely attainable) goals.
And, what happens is when we’re so focused on the sexy dream we tend to get ourselves so riled up about getting there that we miss all the amazing stuff happening NOW.
What I’ve noticed is that people get impatient, sad, frustrated, and even angry when they’re so focused on the future goal that the present seems uninteresting at best, despairing at worst. The antidote? See #2.
2. Polish the present
I want to encourage you to stop striving so hard and thrive in your present. What I mean is that if you make what you already have better, and polish what’s already good and working, you uplevel your life without expending that energy on something that doesn’t exist yet.
Yes, it’s about appreciating what’s already good and right in your world and in your business AND it’s about how you can make what’s already there fulfill you even more. It’s true that if you make the most of what you already have, you’ll get more and better of it with a lot less effort on your part.
3. Don’t plan so much
I’m all about having the big picture plan down to the day-to-day details, and yet I know that most of the time, the plan changes.
One of the reasons we – as business owners – plan so much is because it gives us a sense of control and it helps to alleviate the fears and doubts we have about knowing what we’re doing.
So have the plan and be willing to be flexible with it. Let it be a guide but not the only way. If you get wrapped up in THE PLAN you’ll actually hold yourself and your business back from being able to adapt quickly when things change – and they always do.
Assess if you spend more time planning than doing – and if you do, stop right now. And if you tend to fly by the seat of your pants more often than not, you might want a lightly-built framework around you to give you some sense of stability.
4. Get out of the striver’s club
Stop trying to acquire a better future with others who are striving. It’s just too exhausting. I’m not saying to surround yourself with lazy folks, but get out of the overdrive club if you want to relax into a currently compelling present instead of an exhausting still ‘out there somewhere’ future.
5. Get off the ‘if/when’ rollercoaster
I admit this is a pet peeve of mine. Not from people who are decisive, but from people who use it as an excuse to not be happy now. When you make ‘if/when’ statements, you’re living in the future. Dreaming and visioning is one thing; otherwise it’s a holding pattern for you but even worse, you’re not enjoying where you’re at right now!
Now take and implement these five ideas to unhook from the future so you can enjoy the present – I promise you’ll thank me for it. 🙂
Ready for more? Join us for my upcoming free 1/2-day workshop coming up very soon!
Click here to get your free seat to the Online Biz Reset for Summer! Free 1/2-Day Virtual Workshop
While the message and the market of your business may be different, there are some stumbling blocks that seem to pop up for even the seasoned entrepreneur.
Here are four of the ones that I frequently coach on with my private clients:
1. Not moving ahead even when they know what to do.
Almost always, this is a fear-based immobility. Whether it’s fear of failure or fear of success (the later seems more prevalent for entrepreneurs, including myself).
We come up with all kinds of excuses as to why something isn’t getting done, but most often it has nothing to do with anything other than fear of the possible result of moving forward.
If you’re afraid of failing, remember that in our online world, we get to test things out with very little risk. My favorite strategy is to ‘fail fast’. Put it out there, see what happens, tweak until you get the result you want.
If you’re afraid of success, then you need to take a look at your Big Money Why (BMW – see #4) to see how you can make it more powerful and motivating (tip: money is never enough of a motivator, believe it or not). And you need to put a process in place for how you will handle the abundance that’s to come.
2. Being self-disciplined enough to make and stick to self-imposed deadlines.
The wonderful thing about being an entrepreneur is that you’re your own boss. The tricky thing about that is most, if not all, of our deadlines are self-imposed. Which makes them very easy to move, doesn’t it? I know because I’ve struggled with this one more than once.
If we go back to knowing what your emotionally driven motivator is for the success you desire, you’ll be more likely to stick to those self-imposed deadlines – but only if that BMW is strong enough.
Here’s a simple but very powerful tip for you in sticking to your own deadlines: Make them public. When I launched my first info-product, I told my ezine list that they would be able to buy it on a certain date, which gave me about 3 weeks to get it done. And done it was.
3. Claiming leadership status and fully stepping into the role of the CEO of your business.
Once an entrepreneur gets the foundational pieces in place for their business, it’s actually easy to stay in the start-up phase, because it’s comfortable. And because often they don’t know what the next step is, what the next layer of the business should look like, to take them to the next level.
The sooner they can take on the leadership role, by becoming the CEO of their business (even if they don’t call themselves that), the faster the growth of both the entrepreneur and the business.
One of the ways you can step more fully into that role is by delegating. So if you’ve been in business for a couple of years and you’re still doing too much of the managing of it, and especially if you’re doing all the admin work, and you haven’t hired an assistant yet, it’s time. Start with one small project and add from there.
For every task in your business, ask yourself, “Is this something I should be doing?”
Because remember, even if you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
If the answer is no, then pass it off to a capable assistant.
4. Having an emotionally driven motivator for your Big Money Why (BMW).
This is probably the most important one…
Money is NOT enough of a motivator, no matter how much you want it, or are attached to the ’6-Figure’ or “million-dollar’ mark. There has to be a reason behind wanting it, something that is so strong that it drives you and the business forward, no matter what.
If you find things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like, or it feels too hard much of the time, or you just aren’t using your time and talent effectively, take a look at your Big Money Why. And if you haven’t done this before, then that’s your coaching homework.
In as much detail as possible, write out why you want the financial success you do. Is it to give to your family, is it to give to others, is it to create a charitable foundation, is it to take care of elderly parents, is it to enable your children to get the best education you can give them, is it to travel and expand your world view, is it to buy a nicer home for your family, is it to give experiences to those you love – they are a thousand reasons why, but you need to be very clear of what they are for YOU before you can make them happen.
Inside the Lively Biz Business Club, we focus a lot on your Big Money Why, as it’s one of the most powerful exercises for shifting the members into passionate action in their business.
Click here to get on the wait-list to be first to find out when the Club re-opens
I first learned that there are only 3 ways to make more money in your business from
Jay Abraham (marketing genius):
1. increase the price
2. increase the number of client/customers
3. increase the frequency of purchases from the existing client/customer base
As business owners, we tend to focus more of our efforts on the first two while neglecting #3 to a great degree. Maybe we do so because we think it’s easier to increase the price or get new clients and customers when in fact, the ‘easiest’ sale often comes from someone who’s invested with us before.
Here are 4 simple ways you can implement #3 to increase your sales today:
1. Upsell
An upsell is simply suggesting a higher priced product or bundle during or immediately after someone has made a purchase from you.
Think about your offer for a moment. Consider what’s the next thing you can invite them to? What’s the next logical step they could take with you?Then make the answer your upsell.
For example, if someone purchases your homestudy system, you could offer a couple of private sessions with you to help them implement that content as an upsell.
Where in your business could you add an upsell?
2. Cross-sell
A cross-sell is simply suggesting a related additional product or service during or immediately after someone has made a purchase from you.
Think about your offer and consider what else you can offer them that complements what they’re buying.Then make the answer your cross-sell.
For example, if someone buys your book, you could offer a companion workbook as a cross-sell.
Where in your business could you add a cross-sell?
3. Down-Sell
Offering a down-sell is simply giving someone a lower-priced offer instead of letting them go altogether.
For example, let’s say you have a membership program for $97- month. A current member contacts you to cancel. Instead of just canceling the membership, consider offering them a ‘lite’ version of it for $47- a month. A percentage of people you offer this down-sell to will take you up on it, earning you more money than if you had just canceled the membership.
Where in your business could you add a down-sell?
4. Unsell
The Unsell technique is simply when you step back from the buying decision and allow your client or customer to choose No over Yes.
For example, when you’re in an enrollment conversation with a potential client, and they keep coming back to you with ‘yeah, but…?’ and you start to feel like you’re having to convince them to work with you. Simply put ball back in their court by suggesting that perhaps this isn’t the right time for you to work together, or that this isn’t the right program for them. Allow them to convince themselves (and they will, if it’s truly right for them). For your part, you want to always be committed to someone making a decision but don’t be attached to what the decision is.
Tune in for more!
And if you haven’t registered for the free Masterclass 6 Simple Steps to 6 Figures, even if you’re starting from scratch be sure to do so here:
https://aforest.lpages.co/6-simple-steps-to-6-figures-masterclass/
I’ve never had to have a discussion with my husband about who was going to stay home from work to be with the kids.
So, after the kids finish classes today, maybe we’ll go play in the snow, or (more likely ;-)), maybe we’ll light a fire and watch a movie – just because we can.
And I LOVE that about my business – the flexibility of it, the freedom of it… and that’s probably one of the reasons you’re your own boss too.
This year has likely been one when you’ve needed to have a lot of flexibility, especially if your kids have been remote learning, or if other members of your family needed care, or if your own business was forced to change due to the pandemic.
I’ve been spending time, energy and money in preparing to both make that happen and enjoy it when it does.
I’ve simply refused to let this time in lockdown be in vain.
So while we may not be able to control what’s happening externally, we CAN control what happens in our business and our life.
I’d love to share more about this with you in my free mini-workshop that’s coming up soon.
I’m calling it the Online Business Reset – because I believe that’s exactly what we all need as we turn the calendar to a new year…
… a reset that includes more freedom and flexibility for you.
If this was helpful, I’d love it if you’d share it using the buttons below – thanks so much!
The snow as it piles up in our backyard this morning….
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