Using Your Personal Story To Market Your Business

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We all love a good story.

Marketers know this and you can see the results of this every time you turn on the t.v. and a commercial appears. I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like I am watching a mini-movie and then discover that it’s a commercial to sell me an Apple product or some other “must have” item.

Why Did You Start Your Business?

I am guessing that you probably started your business based on something that happened to you and it compelled you to change it by sharing your talents. I know I started my business for a number of reasons but primarily because I was tired of the old way of working. I didn’t want to be constrained by corporate bureaucracy which was preventing me in my opinion from growing in my career. I wanted to be able to travel and live my life in real-time. I wanted to be able to have choices in where I worked, how I worked and to be able to work on things that I was passionate about. So you can say pure frustration with the status quo is what moved me to start my own business.

:)

When you are faced with life challenges there are a myriad of ways to deal with it. Jennifer Esposito the actress has an interesting story about what led her to start her own online business, The Simply Box. The actress shares on her site, Simply Jennifer that after experiencing multiple divorces and an undiagnosed celiac disease illness she decided to use these challenges to help others to improve their lives. She goes on to say that, “Money; toxic people; toxic places; toxic jobs; toxic behavior; even toxic living situations were a catalyst. It was a surplus of unneeded excess that was not for her greater good.”

That got my attention and I am sure it resonates with others. She married her love for healthy cooking and a desire to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle by attending the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to help people change their lives for the better.

Are You Relatable?

We all have heard this statement; “We buy from people we know like and trust”.

Are you relatable? Are you someone that people can resonate with and take a chance on trying your product or service?

What is your story?

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Are You Using Social Media To Share Your Business?

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I love social media. It’s a great way to build connections with others and stay abreast of what is going on in the lives of your friends and family. But it is also a great tool to use to build business relationships, network with others and find clients.

How Can I use Social Media To Increase My Brand Awareness?

  1. Listen and Share: The best way to use this tool is to share your resources and answer questions that are pain points for others.

  2. Focus: It is good to have a presence on the top 3 social media channels, FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn but to really get the most out of it start with focusing on just one core activity like blogging. The question of how many channels to use really depends on how much time you have to spend on it. Jeff Bullas a social media strategist states that, “It is more a matter of the resources that you have available, both in time and money to engage in Social Media effectively.

  3. Be Consistent: According to Buffer.com, “The first thing that businesses and entrepreneurs can do to find success is make a commitment to social media. They’ve found that it takes eight months to one year to really get the hang of social media. Not only to get a consistent content stream going, but to figure out what your audience resonates with and what they don’t”.

  4. Be on a team: Often the best way to really build lasting connections is to join a specific group on Facebook, LinkedIn or on any social media channel that you use. If you treat the group like your in person group associations and provide support you will get more out of it.

This is a short list on how you can use social media to share your business. The most important thing is to get started and share information, pick one focused channel to put your time and effort into, be consistent and join a group or groups where you can provide the most value.

What are your tips for using social media to share your business?

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FALL IS HERE!

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Summer is winding down and fall is fast approaching. I hope you enjoyed your downtime and had time to have moments of reflection. We all know that if we are not sharing our business with others and actively doing marketing then we are one step away from not being in business.

:(

This month we will look at different ways to market our business and share what we do with others.

What are some low-cost ways that you use to share your business with others?

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How To Create More Peace In Your Business

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Being an entrepreneur is an exhilarating ride.

There are ups & downs.

When things are going great it's like living in the roaring 20's.

BUT when things are not going so great....well...it is like a black cloud follows you around. Is there a way to create some ying & yang within your business?

I believe there is a way. Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at a few different areas within your business and how you can create more peace and balance in those areas. 

How do you create that ideal balance within your business and in your life?

 

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Do You Have Work-Life Balance?

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Does your life look like the picture above?

Or

Does it look like the picture below?

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If you picked the second photo but wished your life could look more like the first photo then you are in good company.   According to an article from Entrepreneur.com, "More than 11 percent of American workers say they work 50 or more hours a week."  And The American Institute of Stress stated that "77% of people regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stressed." 

Can you really achieve a work-life balance?

I think you can achieve balance in both areas of your life. It takes effort, focus, and patience with yourself. To get you started on this journey check out this article with 20 great ideas towards getting your life to look more like picture number one. You can't be a successful entrepreneur if your life is falling apart. But you can stop and redirect your energy towards living a more positive and intentional life.

Do you have any tips to share on how you work to achieve balance in each area of your life? I love shutting off all electronics and just meditating. What about you?

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Self Care For Health & Wellness Practitioners

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Are you approaching burnout from being a helping professional?

If so you are not alone.

According to an article by Health Trust, "More than half of all U.S. physicians surveyed in 2014 by the Mayo Clinic reported at least one symptom of burnout—an increase of 9 percent from a study three years earlier."  Although you may be another kind of health and wellness practitioner the fact remains that helping professionals who suffer from career induced burnout is on the rise.

What Can You Do Right Now 

Take action to prevent burnout and increase self-care for yourself.

According to an article by Holistic Primary Care, there are 5 primary burnout insulators:

  1. Reflection and Recognition

  2. Self-Care

  3. Coping Styles

  4. Community

  5. Structure

These may seem like a no-brainer to you but it is a good reminder to zone in on preventative measures that can help you to be your best so that you can take care of your clients and your business. Check out the additional resources below for more tools to use for creating a self-care plan of action today.

The Signs of Burnout

Self-Care Revolution by Ellen Rondina, LMSW

Wellness and Self-Care Tools

Health and Wellness Burnout Prevention

What are your best strategies to help prevent burn-out? I love to turn off all electronics and listen to nature. What about you?

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Is Financial Stress Blocking You From Reaching Your Business Goals?

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Are you stressed out? If you are you are not alone. According to The American Institute of Stress and The American Psychological Association, "77% of people regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress. Additionally, 76% of people cite money as the cause of their stress".

Stress and Your Business

As an entrepreneur in the health and wellness space, you help others deal with the effects of daily stress in their lives. The problem is that you put your needs on the back burner and this can cause havoc in your business and in your life. It can show up when managing operational tasks such as your finances. For example, if you are stressed out then most likely you won't stay on course with taking care of receipt management for expenses, monthly bookkeeping, budgeting and forecasting and adjusting prices with your clients to ensure you are bringing in enough revenue. When you are not bringing in enough revenue then you might be tempted to work with anyone instead of your ideal clients and that can certainly add to your stress. 

 

"How you deal with stress determines how well you and your business do".

So what is the solution?

Stress Management Tips

1. Get enough sleep. If you are not well rested there is no way you can do your best work or make good business decisions. Set a specific time to power down each night and stick to it. If you are having challenges powering down check out apps like Sleep Cycle to help you relax.

2. Create a financial emergency cushion for your business and personal life. Dave Ramsey has great tips on how to do this on his site www.daveramsey.com.

3. Create a financial business team. This team which should consist of a CPA, an attorney, a financial planner and, a good bookkeeper. They can assist you with managing your business finances and ease stress related to planning for your financial goals. 

Financial stress is a daily challenge that most entrepreneurs face. It doesn't have to sink your ship. The key to stress management is prevention. If you put a plan in place to mitigate stress it will have no room to slow you down from reaching your business goals. Do you have tips you can share on how to manage financial stress?

 

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Are You Stuck In A Business Rut?

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I hope you enjoyed the 4th of July holiday with your friends and family. I think it is a good time to sit back and reflect on those who fought to make sure we have the freedoms we enjoy today including the freedom to work for ourselves.

But what if you are just burnt out?

What do you do then?

Take some time to remember why you started on your journey and just give yourself permission to re-direct your course. 

This is your business and you can color outside of the lines with a joyous smile on your face.

 Sit back and just take time to smell the roses and celebrate your wins.

 

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It's Time To Have Fun!

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As we come to the end of June and close out the first half of 2018 I hope you have conquered your goals.

If not then it's time to relax and take stock of what's working and what isn't.

Summertime is here and it is the season for basking in the sun and taking vacations. As you get into the full swing of the season take some time to have fun like you did when you were a kid and plan ahead for the rest of 2018.

What are some of the fun things you do with your friends & family during the summer?

 

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I Don't Have Time To Network!

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Do you feel like this? You are so busy that you don't have time to network? Well picture this: You are humming along in your business taking care of your customers and managing your daily admin tasks and then suddenly......business starts to SLOW down to a crawl.

What do you do then?

Oh you can contact that person you met at that networking event to see if they need help from you.

Oh wait a minute....you didn't have time to go to the networking event....bummer.

Does this sound familiar?

I hope it doesn't but if it does then it is time right now to start networking with other business owners. It isn't necessary to even leave your house and go sit at a lunch and learn type of event or an evening mixer. You can start online using a platform such as Alignable.com.

Alignable is similar to LinkedIn but with more focus on small business and building a true community. I started a profile a few months ago and forgot about it and then guess what my business started to dry up with clients so I thought about how I could network with other business owners to share what I know and learn from them in a cost-effective way.

Alignable.com definitely fits the bill. Check out Alignable.com and this post from one of the members. He explained why Alignable.com was the best choice over using LinkedIn. I personally think you can use both but he definitely convinced me to put more effort in networking with Alignable.  Are you using online networking tools right now? What are the best ones that you recommend?

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Must Have Online Marketing Tools You Need

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We all know that you should always be selling..a.k.a marketing your business. And we also know that even if your business is a bricks & sticks operation that you still need to market yourself online. But where do you start in this online wilderness? What tools should you really be using?

Savvy marketer Neil Patel states that "To do online marketing right, you've got to buy the right tools." That's right you need to actutally purchase the tools. I know we all like "free" stuff but sometimes that just won't cut it. Check out this article to learn what are the 7 must have tools you need to have in your online arsenal.

What tools do you love using to market your business online?

Tis The Season Of Business Networking!

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Well it's that time again everyone. It is time to get out there and make new friends and share your business with others. In short it is the season of business networking. Does your face look like the surprised Santa above?

Is this how you feel when you walk into an event and attempt to start "networking"?

Well fear no more. Check out this post on how integrating these 7 tips to your networking efforts could help you to feel relaxed and excited to share your business. The bottom line in my opinion is to just be yourself and share what value you can bring to help someone. 

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HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

How do you define success?

That is my question for you today.

Is it based on comparing your activities to others accomplishments? Is it based on your own personal goals, beliefs, and desires?

If you haven't thought about it lately then take a moment today to pause.......and answer this question.

I am a very goal-oriented person and do my best to set the bar high and achieve my goals. When I fall short of reaching my goals I can get bummed out BUT I always take a moment to reflect and think about these questions:

Did I set my goal too high?

What could I have done better in a process or system?

Who can I help more and deliver more value to?

Did I help one client achieve their business goals this month?

When I answer these questions it gives me time to really give deep thought to how I define success. It's really important that we get intentional about defining what success means on a personal level. Your business is your personal expression of your gifts and talents. Your goals and how you define success should be personal to you as well.

Take some time this weekend to celebrate every win you had this month, regroup and refocus your efforts on areas that you want to improve upon.

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IT's Time To Fall In Love With Your Business Again!

If you are thick in the weeds of running the daily operations of your business then you might be out of gas.

It could be hard to remember why you even signed up for this madness in the first place right?

One of my favorite authors Simon Sinek has a very famous book that I am sure you have heard of called, "Start With Why".

Check out the video clip below and take a mental break today to rediscover your reason for being in business.

 

Keep It Sunny and You are Amazing!

xxoo

Are You Running Out of Gas?

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We have all been there. You wish it was Friday but it's only Monday!

:(

As much as we love our business and serving our clients....well....we are human and as a result, we can burn the candle at both ends.

Sometimes you just need a little jolt to get you going again.

Check out the video below from one of my new favorite motivational speakers Eric Thomas.

I know you are burnt out BUT guess what?

It is GO TIME!

In the famous words of Chip & Joanna Gaines...Let's Get After it!

How To Share A Password With LastPass

If you are like me I have a ton of passwords and I was either writing them down in a notebook or I typed everything in a Google Doc and saved it. The problem with both of those systems is that they were inefficient and not very secure.

Then I started working with clients and knew I needed a secure online tool that I could use to access their sites to work on their projects. I did a lot of research and the password management system LastPass seem to check off all the boxes. It's a one-stop shop for sharing your password information with your business collaborators as well as using it for personal password management.

Check out the video I made below to learn more about how it all works. Are you having trouble remembering all the many passwords it takes to run your business and your life? I can definitely relate. I hope this video provides a solution to bring a little serenity back to this area of your life.

 

 

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Do You Take Time Out To Relax and Have Fun?

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Can you remember the last time you did something just for the fun of it? I know you're probably thinking you don't have time for fun. But it's so important to put relaxation and non-work activities on your calendar. According to Business Matters Magazine, "Forgetting to relax can cause a number of problems with your health – including stress and anxiety, high blood pressure, headaches, muscle pain and more, which can add up and take their toll."

You don't need health issues to come in between you and running your business successfully. Here are some suggestions on ways you can unwind on a budget:

1. Take a blanket and go to the park for an afternoon picnic.

2. Unplug and have a staycation at home in your backyard.

3. Get out and go on a nature walk with friends.

4. Join a local Meetup Group to discover low-cost activities to do in your city.

5. Read a good book from your local library.

6. Go see a $1 movie at your local movie theater

7. Grab a Groupon and try out something new in your town.

8. Take an afternoon nap with soothing music playing in the background.

The list of relaxing fun things to do is endless. I hope you take the hint that it is important to take a break and make time for yourself. Do you have fun things you do to take a break from your normal routine?

 

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3 Steps To Building A Successful Contingency Plan For Your Business

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Life is full of surprises and we can't control what happens to us. BUT we can be proactive and put a good contingency plan in place to help us deal with these events when they occur. Think of it as a first aid kit for your business. Here are 3 steps to building a successful contingency plan for your business.

Step 1

Figure out what main areas of your business would be at risk in the event of an emergency. For example, if you live in an area that is prone to weather emergencies you may want to put a plan in place to deal with power outages or safe evacuation procedures.

Step 2

Determine what it really takes to run your business. If you work from home and use technology to run your business then ensuring that you have a data back up plan is essential. Also having a system to get internet service is important if your main internet supply goes down. Are you providing services that are prone to lawsuits? If so making sure you have good professional liability insurance plan in place is a must. Eric Michaels from Hiscox USA an industry leader in small business insurance states, "Lawsuits are not just stressful and distracting; they can actually shut down your business if you’re not prepared to defend yourself. This year alone, small businesses may face a bill of $152 billion in tort liability costs, according to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform."

Step 3

Will your business continue uninterrupted if you get sick or need to care for a family member? If not then it's time to identify a trusted colleague who can step in to assist your clients if you are not available. This trusted colleague can also be your backup plan for fun things like family vacation leave.

We all need to think about planning for the unexpected. Being an entrepreneur is fun and exciting but it can be very stressful if we don't act in a proactive way to plan for emergencies before they happen.

What about you? Do you have a current contingency plan in place and if so can you share some of your best tips?

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DO YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS?

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Do you have a contingency plan in place for your business operations? What if you get sick or life challenges come knocking at your door? How will you continue to serve your clients and provide them with the best customer experience possible? If you haven't thought about these events then now is a great time to get busy planning.

According to Study.com, "a good contingency plan should include any event that might disrupt operations." Here are some specific areas to plan for: 

  • Natural Disasters

  • Crises such as work accidents or employee related issues

  • Death of a key employee

  • Data loss due to cyber attacks

  • Mismanagement of financial resources

  • Product issues and lawsuits

  • Health Crises

 

We can't foresee the future but we can put a good plan in place to help keep things moving smoothly in our business. Next week we will take a look at how to put a specific plan in place so we are not caught off guard and left stressed out.

What about you? Do you have a contingency plan in place for your business? If so what are some ideas that you can share that really seem to work for you and your business?

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How Do You Handle Setbacks In Your Business?

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Picture this you go to do work at your computer and it doesn't come on.

Or you have been playing phone tag with a potential client and due to the lack of communication the meeting doesn't go forward.

The list could go on and on but the question is how do you handle setbacks in your business?

Do you yell, scream and throw up your hands in anger? Or do you take a step back and turn your attention to something else?

I will admit I have done both BUT the second option works very well. It provides you with the time to get a moment of clarity so that you can reset and redirect your efforts.

Next week we will take a look at how to put a contingency plan together for your business operations so that if an emergency does arise your ship won't sink.

What about you? How do you handle setbacks in your business? I would love to hear your ideas.

 

Keep It Sunny!