It All Starts In Your Mind

Photo by Ololade Moshood from Pexels

Everything starts with a thought and then action. I often run into the challenge of trying to get things on my to-do list crossed off with slim success at times. One day I stopped to think about why I was struggling to get these tasks done. I thought about other times when I made a goal list and got those things accomplished and wondered what was different.

Mindset

My mindset for the items that I did get completed was positive and I had a ton of energy to get things done. I also gave myself a reward for getting it done at the end. So then I thought about how I can apply those same things to my to-do list that is growing by the day but not getting completed.

Change my mindset about it

Take a second look at how I described my to-do list:

“It is growing by the day but not getting completed”

This thought process is enough to make anyone NOT want to do this. Instead, I am trying a new perspective around it which focuses on how I will feel once it is done. Additionally, I will also break up the to-do list into bites size chunks. Deep Patel calls this setting “micro-goals” which entails “Breaking down each segment of your goal into a tiny “micro-goal.” Divide each larger task into the smallest possible unit of progress, and include each of these baby steps in your schedule. Keep breaking down your goals until they’re sliced up into tiny, easily achievable micro-goals”.

As entrepreneurs, we thrive on hitting our goals and making things happen within our business. In order to accomplish these goals, we must have the right mindset. Check out this tool to help you clear your thoughts so that you can focus. I hope this information gets you energized to reach success within your business.

Keep It Sunny

February Monthly Round Up

Photo by Gabby K from Pexels

The month of February is pretty much in the record books. It always boggles my mind how fast this month goes by. I hope you found time to work on your business this month and move it forward. If you had a busy month like I did and did not have a chance to read the blog posts that I wrote on Why It Is Important To Get Organized In Your Business and How To Do It then take a few minutes and read them. It could be just what you need to move out of a business rut. I also did a post on tools that you can use to help run your business efficiently. I hope you take the time to read and apply it to your business.

Don’t just consume and not apply. It will be a waste of your time and I know that your time is precious.

Keep IT Sunny!

Do You Have Systems In Place To Run Your Business Efficiently?

Running a business is a full-time job. Remember the good old days when you would work for someone and they took care of everything? All you had to do is show up and start working. In contrast, you are now in charge and it is up to you to have an organized way to run your business daily. These are the systems, tools & processes you use to run your business. Here are a few categories to consider:

Customer Center - This is where all things customer related live. This is where the initial customer meeting is documented for each customer. If they were a lead that turned out to not be a good fit then you would document why. You should have a CRM tool to help manage this process along with standard operating procedures to follow so that consistency can be maintained. A good CRM tool to check out is Zoho CRM.

Office Management - The place where we do business has changed in 2020. Some people are working at a traditional office while other people are working remotely. No matter where you call the office it is important to establish a few processes that will help you to stay organized. Do you have a way to make & receive customer calls when you are out of the office? Do you have a standardized greeting to answer customer calls? Some good tools to check out for phone communication is Grasshopper or Google voice.

Running a business is a lot of work. It is helpful to minimize friction and maximize efficiency by taking a look at your current processes to see where you can make improvements.

Keep It Sunny!

How To Plan For Financial Success In Your Business For 2021

The end of the year is here. It is really hard to believe that we are in the month of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’s Eve but we are here. Now is a great time to stop and take stock of the health of your business finances. Here are 3 tips to make sure you are in shape heading into 2021:

1. Is your business healthy? Can you look at your Income Statement, Statement of Cashflow, and Balance Sheet to access the overall health of your business? Did you make more than you thought you were going to this year? Did you lose a little bit more? What products or services were hot sellers this year? Which ones are ready to go on the chopping block? If you can’t answer these questions with ease then it is time to get your books in order and updated.

2. Are you ready for tax time? Do you have a CPA or Enrolled Agent to help you prepare your taxes in a few months? If the answer is no then check out this post I wrote about how to find the right tax professional for you.

3. Are you charging enough for your services or products? If you are not sure then it is time to take a deeper look at pricing techniques. Check out this resource from Mark Wickersham from the Value Pricing Academy and gain the knowledge to start charging what you are worth.

The end of the year is here and although this year was a bust we can start to look toward brighter days ahead. The 3 tips above will help you to start planning for financial success in your business for the year ahead.

Keep It Sunny!

Goal Setting Is The Key To Being Productive

Do you get excited about new goals and then fall off track as soon as the sizzle fades? If so your not alone, according to Business Insider,

“80% of people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions longer than six weeks.”

That says a lot!

So what can you do to make sure you don’t become a statistic? Check out a blog post that I wrote in July about how creating a goal/to-do list can help you to become more productive.

If you feel less than energized to go after your goals don’t fret. There is still plenty of time left in this year to finish the year strong.

Keep It Sunny!

Get Unstuck!

The end of the year is almost here and I hope you are being productive in your business. We all know this year is unique and that customers might be a little scarce. Are you in a business rut and need to find your way out? If you are looking for some tools to help you move forward check out this post I wrote to help you do just that.

Keep IT Sunny!

Welcome To The Month Of September!

Summer will officially be over in about two weeks.

I feel like the only way I know what month or season we are heading to is to rely heavily on my trusty paper and electronic calendar.

As we head into the fall season and the remaining part of the year it is a good time to access goals. Did you do any goal setting last month and have you achieve those goals? According to the Peak Performance Center, “Goal setting is a powerful technique that provides a direction for your efforts, focuses your attention, promotes persistence, and increases your confidence.”

If you are having trouble reaching your goals then it might be time to get some help. This month I want to take a look at how to find a business coach that is a good fit for your personality and business goals, the pros & cons of joining a mastermind group, and using social media to find accountability partners for your business goals.

You don’t have to do everything alone. Taking the step to access where you stand right now in your business and making a concrete plan to get to your desired goal is the first step for business success.

Keep IT Sunny!

Is Your Business Built On Solid Ground?

Let me ask you a few questions.

Do you have somewhere to be in the morning? How do you plan for it? Do you go to bed early the day before? Do you use an alarm clock to wake up so that you will be on time?

Let me ask you one more question.

When you plan for the day ahead and do all the right things the night before (go to bed early & set your alarm clock) does your day go better?

The answer for me is definitely YES!

When I try to wing it and basically rebel against myself then I pay for it the next day and my day turns out to be not so pleasant. In contrast when I make a plan for how I want the week to flow and make concrete plans and follow through on them then I get to have a great day.

Much in the same way it is important to make a plan for your business and follow through on it. Check out this article I wrote in January about how to achieve this goal.

Keep IT Sunny!

First Things First

Do you do things in order? I strive to do things in order so that I can have a successful outcome. But you know that it is easier said than done. I am like many entrepreneurs that have a to-do list that never ends, I love shiny new things..i.e..apps and technology or training tools. But I learned this one great lesson from Entrepreneurs on Fire; F.O.C.U.S: Follow One Course Until Success!

What does this mean?

This means that it is good to have a list of things you want to get accomplished BUT you can not get anything completed if you don’t focus on one thing at a time and finish that one thing BEFORE moving on to the next thing.

It is a challenge

Doing first things first to me means in order to have a successful week then I must plan ahead and follow through. It means being intentional. For example, in order to have a good Monday, it starts on Sunday by making sure that I eat early and go to bed at a reasonable time so that I can be refreshed for Monday’s agenda.

I know that as an entrepreneur I can get lost in my own ideas and see a project that I want to do from beginning to end and forget to get out of my own head and plan it all out.

Does that sound familiar to you?

What does the term first things first mean to you? Share in the comments below?

Welcome To The Month of April! Now Is A Great Time To Do Business Planning

The world seems to be in a tailspin. We are all glued to our t .v and computers to learn about the latest developments surrounding the Coronavirus.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed and lose a grip on all things business.

Instead of living in fear and hopeless take this time to do some business planning. This month we will take a look at two areas: Business Finances & Business Services. We will look at tools to gauge what the current health is for our business, discuss resources to help us stay afloat during the pandemic, tools we can use to set and measure revenue goals for the future. Additionally, we will look at our current services offerings for ideas on how to expand on our services.

These are challenging times, to say the least. But it can also be a great time to do business planning so that you can be in a position to provide amazing services to your customers.

Keep IT Sunny!

March Monthly Recap

The month of March marks the beginning of spring. It also moves us closer to the end of the first quarter of the year. It is a great time to assess how you are doing in your business so far. This month we took a look at how to choose the best project management tool to use in your business and 3 practical steps to apply in your business to help you reach goals successfully.

This month has been an unprecedented challenging time of transition and change for all of us. It can be easy to get lost in all the noise that surrounds us and lose focus on what is going on in our businesses. I would challenge you to use this time to do business planning, learn new skills and get organized within your business rather than live in a stressed-out state. If you're looking for a resource to get capital check out BlueVine.com,” a fintech company providing flexible working capital financing to small and medium-sized businesses.”

Be proactive and get ready for the next phase in your business journey.

Keep IT Sunny!

Ready Set Go! 3 Practical Steps To Help You Reach Your Goals

Are you good at setting goals and reaching them?

Do you still remember your New Years Resolutions?

According to an article in Inc. Magazine only, “92 percent of people who set New Year's goals never actually achieve them. And only 8 percent of people who set goals actually obtain them. But don’t be discouraged. The key thing to remember is that people who set goals that are not elated to novelty events like New Year’s Eve can actually obtain them. So it’s time to start setting those goals.

1. Start with the end in mind - Where would you like your business to be in 10 years or 20 years? If you have no clue then start dreaming. It’s important to have a BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal. This is “An idea conceptualized in the book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” by James Collins and Jerry Porras. According to Collins and Porras, a BHAG is a long-term goal that changes the very nature of a business’ existence.”

2. Set a plan for your goals and break them into small manageable bites - I am sure you have tons of time to spend on your goals right? That really sounds laughable as most entrepreneurs are crazy busy and find it challenging to juggle their business, family, and self-care. But what doesn’t get planned doesn’t get done. I use a business planner notebook and my project management tool Teamwork to plan goals by breaking them into small bite-size chunks. For example, my goal for writing this blog post was to block out 30 minutes to write the post free from editing and then I set another goal for a different day to read, edit and then schedule it to go live. This helps me to not feel overwhelmed and to stay energized and focused.

3. Reward yourself - It is important to give yourself a reward after you have reached a goal to keep yourself motivated. According to an article on StunningMotivation.com, “When we give ourselves treats, we feel energized, cared for, and contented, which boosts our self-command — and self-command helps us maintain our healthy habits.”

Setting and reaching goals can seem overwhelming. This can be minimized if you figure out where you are trying to go, put a plan in place & execute it and then the best part of all give yourself a nice reward.

Keep It Sunny!

Welcome To The Month of March!

Spring is in the air and it is time to start planting new seeds for your business success!

Did you reach your goals last month?

Do you have a system in place to track how your doing in your business?

If not then this month we will look at two areas of your business: project management & goal setting. We will take a look at tools you can use in a practical way to help you reach business success. What doesn’t get planned doesn’t get done. It is time to start getting things crossed off your to-do list and reach business success!

Keep IT

How To Ease Your Tax Woes

Now that Turkey day is behind us and the madness of Black Friday is over it is time to turn our attention back to our business and more specifically how to best prepare for the taxman. The first thing to do is just breathe like the picture suggests and create a game plan that will allow you to win and breeze through this as stress free as possible. Check out the previous post that I wrote on how to do this and I hope your tax prep season is truly stress-free.

Keep IT Sunny!

Are You Ready For The Tax Man?

It is that time of year to start looking at your books to make sure they are in order. The taxman will come knocking in a few short months along with contractors looking for their 1099’s.

Are you ready to meet these demands? Do you have a tax professional in place already to help you navigate these choppy waters?

If not then it is time to get in gear. Check out this post I previously wrote about finding an endorsed local provider that can help you get with minimizing your tax bill and alleviate your stress during this time of the year. I also wrote a post about how to minimize your tax bill that I will be using for my own business.

Keep It Sunny!

Welcome To The Month Of October!

Autumn is here along with all the fun activities and delicious food that comes with this time of year.

As we continue to wind down for the year we will look at how we can tie up loose ends for year-end and get ready for the year ahead. If you didn’t have a chance to check out my post from last week about tax planning for the end of the year take a look here.

There are only a few months left to hit those targeted business goals and get your books in shape for the new year. I want you to end this year on a relaxing positive note.

Keep It Sunny!

Welcome To The Month Of August!

The summer is rolling along and kids are winding up their summer fun before they head back to school. I am sure that parents are either beaming with joy or waiting for the calm before the storm as soccer practice and other sports activities leave them feeling like an Uber driver. :)

August is a great time to start fresh and get ready for the second half of the year. It is also a great time to reevaluate your business goals to see if you are on track to reach them.

Are you on track?

Do you need help getting there?

Take a look at how a coach can help you reach those goals so that you can finish 2019 strong.

Keep IT Sunny!

Get After It!

I hope your week is going well and that you had a chance to figure out your “Why” after looking at Simon Sinek’s video last week.

Now that you know the reason why you are in business it’s time to get after it and accomplish goals within your business.

If you need a little help getting started check out a previous post I wrote about this topic.

Keep It Sunny!

June Bright Spot Round Up!

June is just about over and in the history books. I hope it was a successful month for you and that you hit all of your business goals. July 4th weekend is upon us and it is time to have fun in the sun! I hope you take time to reflect on your business and life goals over the weekend so that you can be ready to start fresh next month. If you have some quiet time over the weekend take a peek at some of the blogs I wrote for the community this month and see if it will be helpful to you as you move ahead toward your business goals.

June Blog Posts

Welcome To The Month of June

How To Create More Peace In Your Business In 3 Simple Ways!

Keep It Sunny!

Do You Have a Contingency Plan In Place For Your Business?

I recently spoke to a client when the topic of having a contingency plan in place for our businesses came up in the conversation.

He asked me if I had one and I paused then said no not yet but I am working on it.

I asked him the same question and he said the same thing.

As entrepreneurs that provide a personal service to our clients it can be challenging to have another person step in if an emergency strikes you personally or professionally. But it is essential that a contingency plan is created for each area of our businesses. I wrote about this topic in a previous blog post and feel that the suggestions are worth taking a look at. I will be reading it over and using some of the tips to create my own contingency plan. It will provide great peace of mind. A contingency plan is like having insurance in place in case of an emergency. It isn’t a matter of if it will happen to you but when it happens to you and how you are going to best prepared.

What about you? Do you have a contingency plan in place for your business? Share in the comments below.

Keep It Sunny !