I love attending live events, for the learning, networking and most of all, for those ‘aha moments’ that always pop. I choose to attend very few events each year, so I’m always very cognizant of getting a big return on my investment of time, energy and money. Attending Lisa Sasevich’s Impact & Influence event didn’t disappoint.
Here are three of those aha moments I had from attending I&I that I hope you’ll find of value too:
1. In terms of money, you can only receive what you allow yourself to receive.
So consider how that may play out in your own sense of worth, in both the level at which you invest in yourself as well as the level at which you ask others to invest in you.
For example, if you invest in a $2500- program, are you asking your market to invest in a $2500- program with you?
On the other, more common, hand, are you asking your market to invest in you at a price point that you’re not willing to invest in for yourself?
Where in your business might there be this incongruence?
2. When you feel like you need to add another element to a program (to ‘justify’ a higher price), add more transformation instead.
You may have heard me say before that people buy based on emotion, not necessarily on logic.
When you’re writing your copy for your offer or speaking about your offer, you want to spend 90% of your words on the transformation that people will get as a result of engaging your services.
You can think of it as the transformation, or the outcomes, or the benefits, that someone will receive as result of being in your program, buying your product or siging on to work with you one-on-one.
3. “I already know that…”
Whenever I attend an event, I make the effort to pay attention as if everything was new, which enables me to see the holes that are present in my business. And when I find that “I already know that…” I ask myself, “Am I doing that?”
From this event, it was evident to me that yes, I have all the pieces working that were covered at the event; now it’s time to up-the-ante on them all.
Where can you up-the-ante on one thing that’s already working well in your business?
I’d love your thoughts on any of the above – feel free to leave them below…
What’s a Niffler, you ask?
Well, if you’ve read Happy Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you might remember that a Niffler is a critter that hunts treasure. Once it finds one treasure, it moves on quickly in search of the next prize.
Do you do the same thing in your business? Meaning, are you a constant gatherer of the things that you think will move your business ahead, but not so much the implementer of them? Do you get distracted by anything and everything that’s new in your industry? Do you come up with one great idea after another, but you never fully commit to completing one of them?
Yes? I hate to break it to you, but there’s probably a bit of Niffler in you! You could also call it distractiblity-disorder or failure-to-follow-through or fear-of-success/failure, or focus-challenged… but personally, I like having a bit of Niffler in me. It means I’m still passionate about what I’m doing, I’m still excited about learning new things, and I’m still interested in what’s happening in my industry, which lends to my ultimate success.
But what can happen is that all those ideas and thoughts and half-completed projects don’t move my business forward. For example, when I started my own business over 10 years ago, there was about half the business-building technology and tools available that there are now. And it’s so easy to want to jump on the cutting-edge bandwagon. But at some point, if I didn’t focus on actually completing things, I’d still be spinning my wheels instead of driving in the fast lane.
So, how do you tame the Niffler in you?
The strategy that has worked the best for me (not 100% of the time, but close enough) has been to keep an Idea Journal. Whenever I have a new idea or thought about something I want to do related to my business, I just jot it down in my Idea Journal. Then I go back to working on my current project that I am commit to completing. I know my ideas are saved there for me so I won’t forget them, and eventually I do go back and refer to what I’ve written and choose some to work on.
What this also does, besides helping me to maintain my focus, is it stops me from wasting time on ideas that ultimately don’t fit into my business. Many ideas end up almost self-selecting themselves out by virtue of time. So by keeping my focus on the ultimate treasure, I don’t get side-tracked by fool’s gold… 🙂
If you think you have a little Niffler in you, try this idea and enjoy a dramatic increase in your own productivity!
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, we’ll focus specifically on creating your detailed plan that will show you exactly what to focus on during each step of your business building so you stay on track to move much more easily from where you are to where you want to be.
You can get your ticket right now for the lowest price available here.
I love to know how this resonates with you – share your thoughts with me below…
While I had many shifts, ideas, pauses for thought, and lightbulb moments while attending Andrea Lee’s Wealthy Thought Leader event, I wanted to share with you three of the a-ha’s I had during the event’s three days.
1. I already am a wealthy thought leader…
I just need to embrace it. And I can’t do that until…
2. I’m ready to take a stand…
And I am ready. It’s been forming for a while now, most particularly over the last few months. I started getting really clear on my principles and guideposts for my business as well as how and what I want to teach and share with my clients to enhance their business as well.
And that re-ignited that…
3. I really do love what I do.
How blessed am I that I get to work with such amazing clients, that I’m surrounded with a fabulous group of colleagues that continues to deepen and grow, that I get to be as creative as I want all the time, because this is my business, my life, and my choice.
At my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop, we’re going to do a session on making a stand in and for your market so you can stand out in an overcrowded marketplace.
Get on the early reservation list here.
I love to know how this resonates – share your thoughts with me below…
Here’s a question I get asked all the time:
“I don’t know you how do it, Alicia…with two little ones to care for and so few hours in the day to actually focus on your work. Somehow you manage to write your weekly ezine, hold a bunch of teleseminars each month, run your group and private coaching programs, AND be creating and promoting new offers and new products all the time. I’m so impressed and inspired by you, but more than that, I want to know how you do it all!?”
To be honest, sometimes I wonder myself! Something I often say to other, especially new, mothers is, “despite what everyone tells you to do, do whatever works for YOU.” In a way, that’s how I started running my business after I had my daughter. I just did whatever worked. I still do.
When she got a bit older, it was easier to manage both being a fulltime mother along with running a successful business. Then enter baby #2 and it was back to square one. It’s not easy but it is possible. And here’s what’s really interesting (mompreneurs, take note): I started making about $3k more each month since having my son – and I’m working LESS.
A client once pointed out to me that it seems the biggest growths in my business have been when I’ve been having babies – and she’s right!
Over time, I’ve figured out how to get the most important things done while still being able to focus the majority of my time on my family (after all, that’s one of the reasons why I went into business for myself in the first place).
Here are just a few of them:
1. Setting my work hours
My typical work day looks like this: I get organized the night before for the next day. This jump-starts my day and makes sure that when I do get those tiny pockets of time to get something done, I know exactly what to do. This makes me feel like I’m accomplishing stuff in-between drop-off and pick-up from school, making crafts, playing trains, making dinner, etc.
When I started my business, I didn’t get any real work done until naptime. I worked for about a total of an hour or so while the kids napped, five days a week. Then I put in some more time after they went to bed at night, whether I was leading a teleseminar or catching up on emails. My biggest block of focused time, usually reserved for writing and product creation, was on Saturdays, when I worked approximately 4 hours.
During a perfect week, that gave me about 12 hours of time dedicated to business. However, there’s never a perfect week (one or the other doesn’t nap, I have some pressing non-business-related task that I can only take care of when they’re sleeping, one of them is sick, etc.), so my best guess is that this gives me about 8-10 productive hours to work on my business each week.
Now that the kids are both in school, my dedicated work time is a couple of hours in the morning until I pick my son up at noon, a little at naptime, and sometimes in the evening (again if I’m hosting a teleseminar) or on a Saturday, if I have a launch going on.
So, although my hours have shifted, the amount of hours is still relatively the same – about 15 hours a week.
So how do I decide what to focus on that will move my business forward the fastest in that limited amount of time each week? I use what I call a Priority Card…
2. Using a Priority Card
A Priority Card will help you organize all your tasks in a way that will SHOW you every day what you should focus on. There are a lot of details that will threaten to take your mind off your priorities (this is where a virtual assistant can be of immense value), but those details are not necessarily what will move you forward in your business. To do that, you need to consistently focus on completing the projects that will move your business ahead big-time.
You can create a system for helping you focus on your priorities in a number of ways, but I’m going to give you mine. Like I said, I only work about 15 hours a week on my business, so adjust your own plan accordingly.
At the beginning of each week, I choose 3 to 5 projects with looming deadlines (self-imposed as they may be) from my master task list (which really is so massive that I write it on a 8.5 x 14 legal pad). For example, at the moment, I am working on my annual Online Business Breakthrough Workshop.
On a colored index card, I write down those projects and prop the card in a standing clip holder, right in front of my computer screen. When I start to feel that sense of overwhelm, or when I find myself getting distracted by new ideas or other tasks (all of which seem important), I remind myself to look at my Priority Card and focus only on what’s written there.
Once I started using my Priority Card, my own business growth leaped forward ten times faster than when I was doing a little of this and a little of that, working on a dozen things, but taking much too long to actually complete just one project.
3. Ignoring the phone
I’m serious when I say that I ignore the phone. Some of my clients get heart palpitations when I tell them that I NEVER jump when the phone rings and suggest they do the same. I don’t even have the ringer turned on on the business line. Does this mean I miss some important calls? Probably. But my virtual assistant checks my messages in a timely manner, takes care of what she can, and forwards the rest to me. I then email or call people back at a more convenient time for me.
4. Quick consults
When a prospective client wanted to speak with me about ‘just a few questions’, I used to gladly schedule a time to talk. But instead of a few questions, I’d be on the phone for at least a half hour, basically giving a free coaching/consulting session, and being frustrated with myself for not valuing my time more.
And up until a few years ago, when a potential client or customer requested to talk with me further about working with me or about one of my products, they could schedule a time to talk for a much smaller fee than my usual hourly rate, and if they decided to go forward with working with me, they could apply the fee they paid towards the program or product they were interested in. This was fair and valued both our time and investment in the process.
Now, however, prospects can talk with my virtual assistant should they need more information about any of my programs or products. If someone is interested in working with me one-on-one, they need to apply for a private coaching spot and if I feel it’s a good fit, we set up an interview to discuss moving forward.
BONUS: Make and use lists
I’d be lost without my lists! I’d never remember to do anything if I didn’t write it down. I keep a bunch of reporter’s notebooks around the house and anytime I think of something I need to do, I write it down in whatever room I’m in – whether it’s business or personal. Then I periodically gather the lists and separate them into three main lists; personal, business, and other (which includes the “someday I’d like to…” stuff; things that aren’t a priority but that I want to remember to do at some point), and check things off in priority order from there.
If you start applying some of these steps now, I guarantee the number of productive hours you spend on your business will increase. And you’ll also feel less overwhelmed and lessed stressed about trying to get it all done!
I’d love to know which one of these resonates the most with you – share with me below…
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately getting ready for 2012 – planning, organizing, strategizing, visioning, and more. There are many transitions and transformations on the horizon for me and my business, and much to do to prepare for them, so I’m making space and opening the flow.
In Part 1 of this article, I shared 3 ways you can make space in your business. Now here are 3 ways I’m opening the flow in my business that you can do too:
1. Escape Email Overwhelm
The number one distraction to moving your business forward by leaps instead of baby steps is email. So here’s my system for handling email overload. If you can practice this 80% of the time, you’ll be way ahead of the game.
a. Delete: scan and delete junk emails first
b. Move: move any emails into an appropriate folder – and create a rule to make that happen automatically
c. Delegate: delegate any emails that should be responded to by someone else
d. Respond: respond to any emails that only YOU can respond to
The goal is to only have emails in your inbox that require action from you!
2. Track your money
One of the easiest ways to open the flow of money in your business is to start tracking exactly how much comes in on a daily basis. I give each of my private clients a money tracking sheet that makes it super-simple for them to implement this tip, but you can create your own very easily.
Just create a simple form that lists the days of the month, with your monthly money goal listed as well. Each day fill in the amount of money that came into your business, and don’t forget to include affiliate payments and any other sources of revenue as well.
Just by paying attention to what’s coming in will open the flow to more, and before you know it, all the days of the month will be filled in with a number!
3. Don’t overbook
When putting together your master plan for 2012, make sure you don’t overbook yourself. If you do, you won’t leave space for other opportunities to show up that you likely aren’t aware of yet.
When I completed my own master plan for 2012, it was complete, but not overbooked. There was time off, as well as space for other exciting possibilities to come up.
How are you making space and opening the flow for the new year? Please share your thoughts below…
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