How to organize your time more effectively

September 23, 2020 By

How to organize your time more effectively.

Where did it go? Where did your time go? In order to know that, you need to know what you are doing. Knowing that, leads to how to organize your time more effectively.

Time management is something I love to talk about. I love to teach about it and I love to make it work.

Though, it’s not as easy or as straight forward as it should be. There are things that you need to know about it. Things that if you don’t it’s rather hard to actually succeed at.

Back in February, I wrote a whole series on productivity. I talked a good amount about time and how to use it to your advantage. And that was prior to everything we have experienced since then. Pandemic, anyone?

Cut yourself some slack.

Life is different now. Quite different for a lot of us. Things that we could easily get done in “no time at all” now take a lot of time. So first, cut yourself some slack. Second, re-think how you are using your time.

Get out a piece of paper and list out everything you have been doing in your business for the last six months. 

Ask yourself this…Out of everything I have been doing:

  • How much of it leads to new business and more income coming in? 
  • What is on that list that is administrative and could potentially be outsourced or condensed so it’s done faster?
  • Where am I doing tasks that I dislike (or hate) to do?

Here is where you cut yourself some slack. Acknowledge where you are. Wherever that is, stellar performance, needing some help or just downright falling down. And…

Let it all go. That’s right, acknowledge, and then say “Ok, I’m letting this all go and will begin right where I am.”

It’s time to rethink how you are using your time for the most important thing in business, making money.

The trouble is, you think you have time. Jack Kornfield
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Rethink how you are using your time.

It is time to get clear about the time you have to work (do your work), be honest with yourself about what it is getting you the results you want for new business and income, and do a time analysis.

Here’s how:

  1. Get clear about the time you have to work. Get out your calendar/schedule. Go back over the last several weeks (or more) and see how many hours you actually spent working. I’m talking about actually getting things done. Not taking a break or checking Facebook. Do this per day and per week. So you spent 5 hours on Monday, 7 hours on Tuesday, etc. and then by the end of the week you worked 47 hours. Be as specific as you can. This is a key component.
  2. What are your revenue-generating activities (RGAs)? Out of everything you are doing in your business, what leads you to the money? Make sure you are crystal clear on this. In business, most of the time when we speak about results, we mean results as in financial results. Sure there are other results we’ll watch and measure but ultimately a business is supposed to make money. Make a list of your revenue-generating activities.
  3. Run a time analysis. Just like at the end of each month you run a profit/loss analysis you’ll want to run a time analysis. By that, I mean you will find out how much your activities and RGAs are taking you. Some examples: RGAs: following up on leads, signing on new clients and working with clients. Administrative: Responding to email, making phone calls, updating financials. For everything you are now doing in your business, estimate how much time you think it will take you to do and then figure out how long it takes you to actually do it. See here for more specifics on how to run a time analysis.

Your next steps.

So now you have a better idea of where your time is going. It’s time to be completely honest with yourself. Are you spending your time in ways that support your business goals or are you merely wasting time?

You may have noticed that you spend more time doing things that are not leading you to the money. Or you may have seen that you thought they were leading you to the money and now know better. 

It’s all good. Because you can cut yourself some slack. You did what you did because of what you knew (thought you knew) and now you get to change it! 

I remember when I did this for myself. It was eye-opening. I may have shared this before. I realized that I had moved away from what I love to do, which is coach amazing business owners like you to reach success. And moved into being a marketer. 

I love to market, don’t get me wrong. I love to strategize with my clients on how best they can market. Heck, I designed a VIP Day program so I could do just that and help more people succeed with marketing in ways that feel good to them and their business.

My next steps were:

  1. Schedule more time into my work week for my brilliance work of working with clients to help them move their business forward via strategies for marketing, client attraction, money mindset and more.
  2. Create a marketing plan for my business that was simple, easy to implement and accomplish in under 60 minutes per week.
  3. Cut out about 60% of work that did not lead to any of my RGAs.

What are your next steps? Hit reply and let me know. 

Not sure where to start?

Want to set yourself up for success in the upcoming months but you are not sure what your next steps are? I offer a free 30-minute laser coaching session for just that! Click here to schedule now. 

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How to Network For Amazing Business Connections

September 9, 2020 By

Networking for a purpose

How to Network For Amazing Business Connections.

Do you love to network? Am I wrong if I guessed you said “No, I do not love to network?” Many people hate networking. That said, it really is all about how you look at it. Therefore, when you look at networking as making amazing business connections it turns hate in to love (or something like that ;-).

Networking is really all about making connections that help your business and put you in a position to help other businesses.

I am a true connector. Making connections is a value of mine. So networking comes easy to me. Nevertheless, I know a lot of people, maybe even you, do not like networking. With this in mind, let’s look at how you can start networking with a purpose for amazing business connections.

Networking is really all about making connections that help your business and put you in a position to help other businesses. – Kim Ravida
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Network with a purpose for amazing business connections.

Earlier this year, I joined a women’s networking group. I’ve been successful with it because I went into it with a purpose.

For instance, I knew what I wanted to give to it and I knew what I wanted to get out of it. I had a plan and I follow my plan. I’ve been able to refer business to a lot of members and I’ve been referred business as well.

As with anything you do in business, you must create a networking plan. If you are not a fan of networking, my guess is that you have not yet created your plan and named your purpose.

As a rule, it’s easy to do. I’ll show you how.

How to network with purpose.

As a business owner, you know that having a plan is a key element to reaching your goals successfully. Moreover, remember a plan is something that fits you and your goals, it is fluid and you will make changes to it as you go.

Here are five of my top networking tips:

  1. Define to yourself why you want to network. What is it you want to get out of it and what is it you want to give to it?
  2. Make sure you are in the right networking group. Do your research. What is your business and who do you help, who do you need help from? When does the group meet, for how long, what are the expectations that you will need to fulfill? Interview people in the group to be sure you choose the right group for you.
  3. Create your elevator speech. Be succinct, to the point, and informative. You will be introducing yourself formally and informally so be prepared. Make sure you state your name first, your business and how you help in an understandable way. Now is not the time to be cute or overly creative. You will be able to expand on what you do/how you do it and then some later.
  4. Show up and participate. Think of this as an integral part of your business. For people to get to know, hire and refer you, you need to show up and participate. You need to get known and you need to know your fellow members.
  5. Set aside follow-up time. The connections happen in between the meetings. Do not wait for someone to reach out to you. Within the week of your networking meeting reach out to one person and set up a one-on-one meeting to learn more about that person and their business.

Make it fun.

If the above sounds like work, well, it is. Building a business is work. That said, if you make it fun, it doesn’t have to be tedious. And if it isn’t tedious, more than likely you’ll want to do it.

Networking is part of your marketing plan. It’s a piece of your puzzle or pie, if you’d rather look at it that way.

It is a piece that fits into your overall plan to market. It’s called a TouchPoint. A point where you, as a business owner, reaches out to touch the world so that the people in it know you exist.

For this reason, people do business with people, consequently networking is one of the best pieces of your puzzle/pie to have for your business success.

Are you ready to love networking? I hope so. What is one TouchPoint you would like to do this week?

Set up for networking success.

Would you like help to create your networking success plan? I offer a free 30-minute laser coaching session for you to identify your ideal clients and create TouchPoints to reach them. Click here to schedule now. 

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Success is simple when you fall down, you get up

August 26, 2020 By

Success is simple when you fall down, you get up.

When you ski and fall you get up. Why don’t we do that in our business and in our life when we fall down? Success is simple when you fall down, you get up.

Ok, maybe you are not a skier. I’m what you’d call someone who has skied before and knows how, but it’s not my sport of choice.

That said, I do know that when I’ve fallen down, regardless of how hard it is to get up, I get up like right away. And it can be hard depending on where your skis are pointed!

Before you get all, “yes, but what if I hurt myself, I’m not going to be getting up now am I?” on me, let’s pretend that you have not hurt yourself bodily.

When we are on the ski slopes and we wipe out, we get up. Sometimes it’s an easy up and sometimes it isn’t. Yet, we GET UP and usually as fast as we can. 

Why then do we take so long to get up when we have taken a “fall” in our business?

The longer it takes you to get up, the longer it takes you to get where you want to go.

Success is simple when you fall down, you get up. No matter how many times, you get up.

The longer you take to get up, the longer it will take for you to get where you want to go in your business.

Success needs a setup. You aren’t setting yourself up for success when you are down and out laying on the proverbial ground.

Clients often come to me when they are on that ground. They have tried and tried and just can’t seem to get to where they want to go. And I often hear “I’ve tried everything.” When really what they have tried is a couple of things and so they stay down and out.

Are you like that?

Success is a setup, are you set up for success? – Kim Ravida
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Turn your success around. How to get up and make it happen.

I am known for asking my clients “what is it you need to do to set yourself up for success when you fall down?”

That may sound rather negative. It is not, I assure you. It sets the stage for my clients (and now you, because you know the secret) to attain the success they want.

What is one thing that you feel you have or keep falling down on that you simply can’t seem to gain any traction on?

Got that one thing in mind? Ok, great. Ask yourself the golden question:

What one thing can I do right now to make reaching my goal of [insert your goal or the thing you want to do] easier?

In essence, you are setting yourself up for success. You already know what didn’t/isn’t working and now it’s time to focus on what will work and help you reach success.

Set up for success.

When you set yourself up for success, amazing results happen. Sometimes without you having to push so much. If you would like help setting yourself up for success, I offer a free 30-minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now. 

In case you are thinking “oh right, this is a sales call.”

It is not, your 30 minutes will be spent on what it is you want for business and yourself.

If you want to talk about how working together could help you become more successful with your business we will.

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Learn to be productive by being better organized

August 12, 2020 By

Better organization for ultimate productivity.

What do I mean by learn to be productive by being better organized?

Well, did you know that by creating a space of organization in your head, it gives you the capacity to actually do what it is you need to do in your business to reach the success you envision?

Everything that we want in our lives begins in one spot:

In our heads.

This may be a new concept for you to embrace. The good news is that you can create ultimate productivity meaning, getting what you want by doing what you need to, by organizing your mind. You’ve heard it before. It’s your mindset.

It begins by how we think of ourselves.

I just had a client call and she told me she needed to re-arrange her office for better productivity. She felt she was unorganized to the point of distraction. She actually said this: “I’m a mess.”

We uncovered that she wasn’t only unorganized in her physical space, but also in her mental space.

Ways to organize your mental space.

You may not have realized that you can organize your mental space. You can and for the record, it is the key place to begin.

Take note of your thoughts, what do they center around? More than likely you have the same thoughts very often. And more than likely you haven’t done a thing about them. That’s clutter. 

I call those types of thoughts loopy thoughts. Because they loop around in our head, they keep coming back and we never seem to be able to stop them.

One of the things I do for myself as well as teach my clients is to be very mindful about thoughts. Especially those loopy ones.

Get those loopy thoughts out of your head and organize them by writing them out on a piece of paper (or enter into a document or online organizing system). Next, create a quick plan of how they will get done. 

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. -Marcus Aurelius
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What having order in your brain does for you.

When you have order in your brain you are able to have a calmer mindset. You are secure in knowing that you have captured what was in your head and that you actually have a plan to accomplish what you need to.

You are now free to actually get into action of getting your tasks done. What you did was create an organized space inside your head and now you have a clear mindset.

Your brain can relax and you can get to work. Very cool, right? Next, it’s time to organize your physical space so that it supports you in being able to take those actions when you scheduled them.

Organizing your physical space for your ultimate productivity.

Back to my client who first thought she wanted to organize her external space. Once she did her exercise of emptying her brain, writing down what she had in her head and created her path to get things done, it was time to organize the outside.

She actually was very organized to begin with. What we discovered is that she needed to create a physical space that was pretty minimal because if something was out on her desk or in her office and she laid eyes on it, she felt she needed to do it…right that second!

Are you like that? Do you easily get distracted when your eyes land on things? Do you suddenly feel the need to put something away just because you see it? If so, you may benefit from organizing your space so that it supports you rather than distracts you.

I’ve talked about this very thing on Day 18 of the Productivity Actions I wrote about a while back. Success needs a set up.

A successful physical environment is set up so that everything you need to be productive is at your finger tips and/or within easy reach.

You have ample space to work, your space is organized for your needs, your electronic devices are in excellent working order, your planner/schedule is easily accessible, your papers are categorized and in places you easily access as are writing instruments and paper…continue reading more here.

Productivity is a direct reflection on organization.

You need to organize yourself inside and out in such a way that you are able to take action to get things done.

And in order to do that, being organized first will lead you to better productivity. The key steps for you to learn to be productive can be found in my blog that will teach you TOP productivity actions. 

You need to be clear on your TIME, be ORGANIZED with what you are doing, and know how to PRIORITIZE your time and tasks. Once you do, you will have learned how to be productive and it’s such a beautiful thing.

You will be checking things off your list so fast you won’t know what hit you. You will be able to set and achieve goals in ways you haven’t even imagined. 

Are you ready? I hope so. It’s time to learn to be productive with being better organized!

Productivity for Profitability.

When you are productive in the right ways, you are profitable. If you aren’t being as profitable as you want or need to be, I offer a free 30 minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now. You’ll walk away knowing what you need to do in order to reach the level of profitability you want.

In case you are thinking “oh right, this will be a sales call.”

It is not, your 30 minutes will be spent on creating your unwavering faith and optimism around what it is you want for yourself.

I promise you I will not be selling anything to you during your time with me. That said, if you want to talk about how working together could help you become masterful at your business I’m all ears. I love to help business owners succeed and create order, peace and prosperity for themselves and their business.

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Do You Have Unwavering Faith And Optimism?

July 29, 2020 By

Unwavering Faith and Optimism and what it means for you.

Unwavering faith and optimism means you have a steady complete trust or confidence in yourself and are hopeful and confident about the future or the successful outcome of something.

What this means for you is that it gives you a strong foundation to stand on. 

It gives your customers/clients a trust in you to help them with where they are and to get where they want to go.

Unwavering faith and optimism speaks to you standing in your ultimate power in your business and in your life.

By being in faith and optimism, your clients and customers feel supported as well as important especially in a time of unrest.

And that also means you are supported.

Your unwavering faith and optimism gives hope to those who need it. –Kim Ravida
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How supporting others helps you.

When you have unwavering faith and optimism you become someone who people want to be around. People will gravitate to you. They will want to be near you.

When that happens the people you support, will support you. And that feels good. 

Think about someone who you like to be around. My guess is that they also have unwavering faith and optimism. 

Now think about someone who drains your energy or is hard to be around. Someone who doesn’t have a lot of faith or who is pessimistic.

Doesn’t feel so good, does it? So I think you get my point.

By you supporting others such as your clients and your customers they support you by giving you amazing referrals, continuing to do business with you and so much more.

Stand in your faith and optimism.

Here are several ways for you to stand in your faith and optimism:

  • Trust that you are where you are supposed to be.
  • Be confident in your skills and ability to learn what you need to learn.
  • Plan out your results and the steps you will take to get them.
  • See yourself being successful in all of your outcomes.

Let’s put this into action, what is one area of your life or your business that you would like to enhance with faith and optimism?

  • Name it (increase revenue, improve relationship with clients, get physically fit, have more time for family).
  • State the reason you want that outcome (to hire help, be of greater service, have more energy, build closer family ties).
  • Create clarity (make it do-able by breaking your goal down into steps, listed as one action at a time and in order of first to last with a timeline of completion).
  • State why you believe this result will happen (here is how your faith and optimism plays a part).
  • Off you go (it’s time to put the plan into action and reach your end results).

Do you need some accountability? Go ahead and share it by commenting below or email me at kim@kimravida.com with Accountability in the subject line. I’ll be happy to hold you accountable. 

I have unwavering faith and optimism in you that you will achieve your end result!

Accountability = Responsibility to yourself.

And if you need actual in person accountability, I offer a free 30 minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now. You’ll get clear on what it is you want, how to go about getting it and of course, be held accountable.

In case you are thinking “oh right, this will be a sales call.”

It is not, your 30 minutes will be spent on creating your unwavering faith and optimism around what it is you want for yourself.

I promise you I will not be selling anything to you during your time with me. That said, if you want to talk about how working together could help you become masterful at your business I’m all ears. I love to help business owners succeed and create order, peace and prosperity for themselves and their business.

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How to embrace simplicity with your marketing plan

July 15, 2020 By

Embrace simplicity.

I know what you may be thinking. If I embrace simplicity, then my marketing will be boring and no one wants boring marketing.

Embracing simplicity does not mean being boring. It means: the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do.

I am going out on a limb (but it’s a strong one because I’ve been there and so many of my clients have too), and say your marketing is not easy to understand.

In fact, when you speak your “elevator speech”, my guess is there are at least several people who think to themselves “I still don’t know what she does.”

And when it comes to marketing your business, it is imperative that you are easy to understand. So that your ideal people will know that you can help them.

Does that make sense?

So, what do you do? 

I was at a networking event and one of the participants (an attorney) had to leave. We knew each other and she said “Kim, I’ll circle back up to you to connect later.” When she left, another participant said to me “what kind of law does she practice?” 

I realized that I knew she was an attorney but I did not know exactly what type of law she practiced. And I didn’t know this because in all of my networking with her (yes, I had heard her speech), she never said it.

She would talk about how she is a lawyer, where her office was, how she could connect each of us with anyone we needed (ok, but what if we need you). And she never mentioned what type of law she practiced.

Trust me when I say that you want your marketing messages to be crystal clear and so simple. You want it so that a 5 year old could tell someone what you do.

Here are a few examples:

  • Not so great example: I work with business owners to be successful.
  • Better example: I work with business owners to be clear on their brand.
  • Best example: I work with business owners to know their brand so that they create an impressive, confident and authentic marketing plan to build a profitable business that makes money year after year.

Simple, to the point and now you know what it is I do. 😊

Ya but…

I can hear you now. Ya but…I do so much more.

Yes, and so do I. 

However, what you ideally want to do in your marketing is create simplicity.  I’m probably going to sound like a broken record. But on the off chance you have never heard this before:

A confused mind does not buy. Here is an article that will help you see this more clearly.

Not now, not later, not ever.

Simplicity is the way to go with your marketing plan. The beauty of it is it is focused, to the point, understandable and empowering. 

I love the part about empowering. It’s empowering yourself to be able to make things simple so you get to do many other things. Heck, your business is not to spend your time marketing, is it? It’s also empowering for those you want to attract because it will be so (yes, I’m going to say it…) simple. People will raise their hand and say YES! ME please.

Start with ONE thing.

So what it is you can start doing right now to create simplicity with your marketing plan.

Is there something you are doing that you know isn’t working yet you just keep doing it. You know what the brings to mind, right?

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” –potentially Albert Einstein
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Could there be another action that you could do that would be easier and bring you results you want?  My guess is, yes there is.

So then, let’s begin there. Brainstorm several really easy ways for you to get the results that you want and begin to implement them right now.

When you do, an interesting thing will happen. You will begin to start to look at everything you do through this simplicity lens. Which is amazing. You can start to ask yourself something along the lines of:

“How can I make this even more simple so that by doing it, everything else is easier or unnecessary?”

And then when you know what that is, 

“What is the simplest one thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

Yes, it’s a take on The One Thing quote that reads:

“What’s the one thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” – Gary Keller
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And before you tell me “it’s too hard”, let me leave you with where else in your life do you say “it’s too hard”? Do not let your challenges define you, let your strengths influence you to make your marketing fresh, upbeat and uncomplicated to attract your ideal people right to your door.

Start embracing simplicity right now.

I offer a free 30 minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now to gain insight into how you can create your own simplicity in any area of your business. You will walk away knowing exactly how to create simplicity for yourself in your business (or in your life if that is what you need right now).

And in case you are thinking “oh right, this will be a sales call.” It is not, your 30 minutes will be spent on what it is you choose to use it for. I promise you I will not be selling anything to you during your time with me. That said, if you want to talk about how working together could help you become masterful at your business I’m all ears. I love to help business owners succeed and create order, peace and prosperity for themselves and their business.

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How To Be In Control And In Charge Of Your Business

June 17, 2020 By

Be in control and in charge of your business.

As a small business owner, as the owner goes, so does the business. This is why it’s important for you to be in control and in charge of your business.

I adapted that from a saying I once heard: “as the leader goes, so goes the followers.” I’m not sure who said it but it stopped me in my tracks.

As a leader, if I’m floundering and failing so then are my followers. That could mean my staff or it could mean my clients. See how it has a big meaning?

It made me realize that as a business owner, I need to be in control and in charge of first myself and then my business.

In our world today where things change very rapidly and our feelings are often hung out to dry it is so important that as a business owner you are in control and in charge of your business.

What does being in control and in charge mean?

Above all, let’s dispel that being in control and in charge is a negative thing. It does not mean that you are the Devil Wears Prada. It means that you are the one making the easy and the tough decisions that keep your business running.

Things like, you are offering services to those who need it at a special price. Or you are hiring a new team member to help with your increased work.

Whatever it is, and it will be very specific to each business owner, it means you are in control and in charge of what is happening and what will happen.

Essentially, you are coming from a place of order. From there you will create peace and prosperity in all meanings of each word for yourself and others.

“Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” — Pat Summitt
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Taking charge inspires confidence for others.

As a business owner, you are a leader. Demonstrating being responsible for your business empowers others. Seeing you taking charge inspires confidence for others.

For instance, in the past, I was part of a networking group and somehow it turned into more of a support group. At first, I fell right into the “woe-is-me” theme that presented itself. Instead of creating connections, sharing business ideas, referrals and making offers, it turned into a meeting where everyone talked about how bad things were going for them.

We were in an economic downturn and as you can imagine, there was a lot of businesses affected. What I soon saw was that the other women business owners were being led to think about all that was going wrong and not about what was going right and/or what they could do to help turn their experience around.

After that meeting, I decided that I didn’t want to be in that energy.  I wanted to show how (aka lead) by taking charge of my situation I could inspire confidence in others.

It took about two meetings of me coming from and showing up from a place of being in control and in charge (and yes I used those very same words to my group) to help shift that group. Soon the other business owners saw that they could also be in control and in charge of their experience.

I’m happy to say many of them turned their businesses around very quickly. They had decided to step into a place of taking charge.

How to have a sense of mastery over yourself.

There are so many things I can share with you to be in mastery and in control and in charge. One thing that I want you to embrace is to simply ask yourself: “what does it mean for me to be responsible for and to myself?”

Once you have that answer the next question is: “what is one thing that I can do that will bring a sense of grace and power to my business?”

You will easily answer those questions because you already have the answers inside of you. It’s through your Unique Brilliance that your answers and you will shine forth.

From there, you then implement business strategies, tactics and actions into your day-to-day operations, are able to look a little more long term and start seeing amazing results.

Remember everyone wants to feel successful. So first you feel successful and then you can lead others to feel successful.

In what way can you as a leader of your business inspire confidence for your customers and clients?

Begin now…

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure all this stuff out on your own can be challenging. I offer a free 30 minute laser coaching session. Click here to schedule now. You will walk away knowing exactly how to be in control and in charge of your business.

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How To Let Your Personality Shine Bright In Your Business

June 3, 2020 By

Let your personality shine bright.

As a business owner, much of what you bring personally to the table matters. Hiding your true self doesn’t help anyone. Let your personality shine bright.

By letting your personality shine bright, you open the doors to success. You open the doors to your business to allow your ideal clients and customers to feel comfortable to step right in.

You have your own unique personality. Your spirit, if you will. Your true self. The one you are no matter what.

When you let your personality shine bright, it makes your marketing easier. It is simple to create a unique marketing message for your business that will have your ideal clients/customers finding you over and over again.

It helps you to create an amazing client/customer experience that they will come back for time and again.

And most importantly, you are your true self. That alone is what makes your business a success.

“You have no idea how your unique life will impact those around you.” ― Julane Fisher, Sour Lemon Strikes Out
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Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

When I work with clients I often hear things such as:

  • I can’t really do what I want
  • No one will want me to be myself
  • How can I be myself if I’m in business

In response to those statements, I like to ask:

  • Who says you can’t really do what you want?
  • Who do you think people want you to be?
  • How can you not be yourself in your business?

You can see how my clients probably answered. In fact, maybe you answered the same way. My questions are asked to get my clients to think differently. Of course they have to be themselves, they can’t be anyone else. They are who they are.

Can we improve on that, absolutely. Coaching is great for that. Yet, you are, at your truest form, the most magnificent being on this earth.

You alone have unique skills, talents, gifts, ways of being and so many other parts to you that only you possess.

Don’t be afraid to show them, to show your true self. It is only then you’ll truly shine in your life and in your business.

In my last blog I wrote about how the time has come to better your best self. In it I talked about changing takes courage. It stands to reason that a little courage and some understanding of what you really bring to the world could be all you need to be able to let yourself shine bright.

Take an inventory of your unique self.

If you are still skeptical to let your personality shine. It could be you aren’t clearly seeing all that you have to offer the world.

If that is the case, I recommend that you do an inventory of your skills, talents and gifts. Below are several resources for you to be able to do this on your own.

Skills, according to Indeed: “Skill is a term that encompasses the knowledge, competencies and abilities to perform operational tasks. Skills are developed through life and work experiences and they can also be learned through study. There are different types of skills and some may be easier to access for some people than others, based on things like dexterity, physical abilities and intelligence.”

You have skills that are unique to you and ones that are transferable. That means they are usually broader and related to leadership, communication, critical thinking, analysis, and organization. And can be used in a number of different capacities. Use this skills worksheet if you need some help with transferable skills.

To discover your talents, take a look at 3 Ways to Discover Your Natural Talent.

To help you discover your gifts, if you need to, read this article by Tony Robbins, How To Find Your Gift and 5 Ways to Identify Your Unique Gifts by Tris Thorp, of the Chopra Center.

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure out your uniqueness on your own can be challenging. I offer a free 30 minute Uncover Your Unique Brilliance session. Click here to schedule now. You will walk away knowing exactly what your Unique Brilliance is and how to use it in your business.

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The time has come for you to better your best self

May 13, 2020 By

Time to better your best self.

The time has come to better your best self. Time, it’s elusive. It never comes back. You can’t make it, you can’t find it.

Time is one of the most sought after “things” in life and in business.

Have you ever said:

  • I need more time
  • Where did the time go?
  • How can I make more time?

Yes, and probably a whole lot more.

Time, like money, is actually just a tool we use to live our lives well.

Do you need me to say that last part again…live our lives well.

So amidst everything that is going on in your life and in the world, it is time to better your best self. 

How to better your best self.

I knew you were going to ask.

Your time is the #1 thing for you to get under control. I talk a lot about that in my Productivity Actions series I did in February. I strongly suggest you read the beginning actions.

Set aside about 30 minutes in the next week (now would be good) and write out everything you were doing before you had to stop doing it all.

As you are writing things out, how do you feel about those activities, to-dos, and tasks? If you are feeling good put a smiley face at the end of them.

If you aren’t feeling good about them, put a question mark at the end. 

Leave it for at least a day. When you come back to it, read it over and determine if you still feel good about those things you felt good about or did your feelings about them change?

What about the ones you questioned?

Does what you were doing fit into who you want to be now and into your future and what you want to be doing?

If those activities don’t, you simply do not go back to doing what you didn’t like doing.

So maybe it’s not that easy. And now you have very valuable information in which to use as you reenter your life as you want it.

Changing how you have been before and what you have done takes courage. It’s out of that that you are able to better your best self.

“Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” — Pat Summitt
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Use your time well.

So then, how do you want to use your time well? I like to look at time as containers that we fill.

Time containers are simply time blocks magnified. Too many business owners “block time” to get things done. What they do not do well, however, is being super clear on what they are going to do in those time blocks.

When you change the way you look at your time, such as using time containers, your time changes.

Look at your list, if you aren’t willing to give anything up, where will all of that go? Remember a container will fit only so much. After which, it is overstuffed and the lid will not close.

One of my clients is a business owner with three children, 6, 9 and 12. Yes, her life is busy. She realized that she doesn’t want to go back to the life they had been living before.

She now sees that being frazzled, stressed out and maxed out does not serve 1) herself, 2) her family and 3) her business. So she is making changes.

You only have so many time containers that can fit into your life what do you really want them to be?

Your action right now is to figure that out. Are you game?

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure out where to start is a stumbling block. Let’s clear that up for you. Schedule a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. We can look at your list and talk through where you might be stuck on how to better your best self.

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How to create a work/life blend right now

May 6, 2020 By

Work/Life Blend.

Today, I’m going to show you how to create a work/life blend right now.

Work/life blend is something you have been doing already. You just don’t know it.

Work/life blend is when you blend your work and your life to create a cohesive life experience.

Most of us need to work or we want to work for a multitude of reasons.

If a client tells me they want more work/life balance, what that tells me is that one area of their life is taking up way too much time and they are unhappy about it.

And yes, it’s usually work related. They have thrown their life out of whack. The best way to get it back to rolling smoothly is to blend in more of what they are missing and/or wanting.

By the way balance as a noun means an equal distribution. And in our lives, we rarely have an equal distribution of the areas in our life. Another important reason for blending in what we really want and need to be happy.

You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matter to you.” ―Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo
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Examining the Wheel of Life

A tool we use in coaching is what is called a Wheel of Life. You rate on a scale of 1-10 your current level of satisfaction in specific areas.

It’s a big circle with specific life categories. After you rate your categories (more on that in a minute), you can see how life is a little (or a lot) bumpy. 

It’s a great tool to see where to put your attention to first and blend that area into your life for a smoother ride.

Here are what is on a traditional Wheel of Life:

  • Family/Parenting
  • Personal Development
  • Health & Wellness
  • Spiritual Awareness 
  • Relationships
  • Personal Finances
  • Fun & Enjoyment
  • Career/Profession

Keep in mind that each of those areas, can have their own separate wheels to use as well. For now though, just focus on the Wheel of Life in regards to helping you create a nice work/life blend.

Using the Wheel of Life.

If you have found yourself wanting more “balance” in your life, take each of the above categories and rate them. 

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being you are unhappy with where you are and 10 being you are ecstatic.

After you have rated all of the areas, look at what area of your life you scored the lowest in. That is a place for you to blend into your life. 

To give you an idea of what a Wheel of Life Tool looks like, below is a Wheel of Life image courtesy of iPec Coaching. iPec is where I received my professional coach certification. All Rights Reserved.

How to blend what is missing into your life.

I’ll give you an example from my own life.  You may be able to relate. I love my work and can spend hours in my office.

Yet, I was noticing I didn’t have much down time and began feeling frustrated. The story I was telling myself was that I had too much work and so I had to stay and get it done.

By doing that, I compromised my fun and enjoyment category because, well, I wasn’t having any. 

Enter the Wheel of Life and discovering my Fun and Enjoyment rating was at a 1. That was great information for myself.

Next I went about seeing how to blend in fun and enjoyment into my life.

I started slow.

I decided that each day I would read 15 minutes of a book I enjoyed. Then I slowly moved that time to 30 minutes until I got to spend an entire day reading.

I’ve got to tell you that initially, even though I wanted to read more, the idea of spending an entire day reading was so foreign to me. It didn’t feel good and it certainly didn’t bring any feelings of fun.

And now, it’s something I thoroughly enjoy and have fun doing.

Your turn: go back to the list above and rate where you fall. Take the lowest number and figure out how to begin to blend it into your life right now.

Or if there is an area that has a pretty good level of satisfaction and you want more, start there.

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure out where to start is a stumbling block. Let’s clear that up for you. Schedule a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. We can go over the Wheel of Life together or any part of your life to create a work/life blend that feels good to you.

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