It's that time of year again, when it's important to start planning and making a decision about your business success for 2012... 

 

Our 2012 'Build Your Business & Get Results'

Coaching Program Is NOW Open!

Are you ready?  

 

In 2012, we are working with a limited number of clients to transform their businesses.  Over 6 months, we will be working together closely in our one on one and group coaching program - this is for those of you who are serious about making a difference to your business in 2012.

 

We are accepting ONLY the following clients:

• 15 clients into our "The Essentials" Program
• 10 clients into our "Essential Mastery" Program
• 7 clients into our "The Maven" Program

 

For more details on each level  - click here.

 

Don't wait to make your decision!  Registration is OPENED, and with numbers limited - our programs will sell out...

 

These programs are going to be stronger than anything we've ever done before.  And I'm looking forward to seeing your business grow like you could never imagine.

 

If you're ready to put yourself forward, and take the required action, then I'm ready to bring to the table all I know and have learnt about building successful businesses.

I'm looking forward to working with you in 2012.

 

Yours in success

 

Deb

 

Ps.  Go ahead - let's work together in 2012

PPS.  Feel free to forward this email on to others you think might be interested in attending...

 

 

When I sent this interview out in my VIP newsletter, I titled it "She had me at HELLO" - and when I first spoke with Melanie Summer, she did!  I knew that our interview was going to be fun and real, that there would be no pretense.  I knew that Melanie would reveal to us warts and all, what she did to turn her business from a $250,000 debt into the multi-million dollars business it is today.

Here's the interview:  Melanie Summer

If you want to know a little more about Melanie, here you go:

Melanie Summer is an award-winning business owner who oversees a multi-million dollar glamour photography company with 23 staff.  Her success hasn't come easily - she has battled bankruptcy, stress, language barriers, confidence and self-esteem issues, all while being a single mother with little or no support.  Like many small business owners, Melanie realised early on that passion and hard work are wasted without clarity of vision and that being a victim of circumstances is a mindset, not an excuse.  Rather than give up she chose to transform her life and her business by taking on a coach, immersing herself into every self-help seminar she could lay her hands on, re-training as a hypnotheraphist/public speaker and creating a focused, clear roadmap for business success.  Within three years she turned a $250,00 debt into a multi-million dollar assess and was recently awarded the Telstra National MYOB Small Business Award for her remarkable achievements.  Melanie lives and works on the Sunshine Coast with her daughter, Dana. 

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Who’s Wayne Bennett?  Okay, so stay with me here as I give a little background for all of you who may not be aware of our National Rugby League (football), here in Australia.  Wayne Bennett is the current rubgy league coach of the St George Dragons.  He has set coaching records for the most grand final wins, and has been coaching professionally since 1988.  This year he is off contract with the Dragons, and there has been a frenzy amongst clubs to secure his services.

Why bring up a football coach and business?

It began when reading an article about Wayne Bennett last week, you see, he seems to have this unwavering commitment from his players to be the best they can be.  And it had me wondering what we could learn from his style…

1.  He believes in himself; and you need to believe in your abilities and yourself when in business.  One of your most valuable assets is your mind and what you think.

As we know, being a business owner can at times be solitary work.  You’re in your office working on creating a new product, writing an article or finishing off some client work, when the self-doubt begins.  It draws you away from your current activity and threatens to derail you. 

Yet, when you come from a position of strength, and that strength being the belief in your abilities, then any negative enhancing thoughts (NETs) or self-doubt is removed fairly quickly. 

You are on purpose with the goals you have set and know what needs to be done to achieve them – this is why having belief in yourself is so important to you as a business owner.

Each day is about being the best you can be in that very moment.

As Steve Waugh (Past Australian cricket captain) said:  “If you want to be mentally tough, do as Wayne Bennett says: follow your beliefs and don't give in to yourself.”

2.  He believes in his players; and you need to believe in your products and services.  Because if you don’t, then how can you expect your clients to believe in them? 

Imagine walking into a sales meeting with a potential client, and ‘sorta’ mentioning that you think your current product could provide a solution to their challenges.  You may get the sale, but my bet is that you probably won’t!

If you don’t come from that place of pure conviction that your product is the best fit for their current challenge, then the person sitting opposite you definitely won’t see you as their solution provider. 

You’ve got the results and you know what solutions you provide – your role is to communicate this effectively to your ideal clients, so that they know you are the person to call when they need your service. 

3.  He keeps the process of playing football simple, and he gets out of the way. 

Don’t look for complicated business models to grow your business – look for practical, simple models that you can implement effectively and derive results from. 

Too often, we see business owners looking at trying to overcomplicate your processes, when in fact if you followed the KISS principle you would have much greater success.  By keeping it simple, you are more likely to take action because you know that step by step the results will occur. 

When you overcomplicate the process, in most cases, you stop yourself from achieving because it becomes too hard.

If you look at the St George Dragons – they play a pretty boring game of football, because their coach, Wayne Bennett has kept the plays simple.  Last year, in his first year as their coach, he led them to win the Grand Finals.  His process is a simple step by step system – don’t overcomplicate the play, and each player knows exactly what they’re required to do.  They need to turn up each weekend and be the best they can on that day. Simple!

So if you feel you are constantly pushing uphill, stop and add the Wayne Bennett factor to your business.  Believe in yourself; believe in your products and services, and go back to the KISS business model. 

But most importantly take action to implement your ideas…

When working with entrepreneurs’ one area that many seem to get stuck on is the area of delegation. It can be the hardest job an entrepreneur learns, in fact some never do. They insist on handling the work themselves, running themselves ragged in the meantime. Others think they are delegating but in fact are only paying lip service to the word!

So to help you let go, here are some steps you can put into place that will allow you to be more effective at delegating.

1. Decide what needs to be delegated.
Whether you can delegate it to a staff member or outsource it - ask yourself:

~What am I doing that does not need to be done at all?
~What am I doing that could be done by somebody else?
~What am I doing that only I can do?

2. Select the individual

How far you can delegate projects will depend on the skill, experience and reliability of the person you've engaged. When you decide on the right person – think about your reasons for delegating to this person? Do they have the right capabilities for performing this task? What are you both going to get out of this?

3. Delegate the complete project

It is much more rewarding to work on a single project than on many fragments of the project. It you delegate a complete project to a capable staff member; you are also more likely to receive a smarter, tightly integrated result.

4. Explain the reasons for the project

When you delegate a task, you must explain why this task or responsibility is being delegated. Why you are delegating it to this person? How does it fit into the overall picture of what you are trying to achieve.

5. What results are expected?

Ensure you communicate effectively:
Ø the results that must be achieved
Ø the importance of the task
Ø the constraints within which it needs to be carried out
Ø the deadlines for completion (as well as any consequences of not meeting the deadline)
Ø reporting dates, when and how you want information on the progress of the project

6. Then let go!

Once you have decided to delegate a task, let them get on with it. Follow up and review on the agreed reporting dates, but don’t constantly look over their shoulders. Recognise that they may have a different (and or better) way of doing this task than you do. Remember to accept mistakes that can be fixed and ask what can be learned from this.

7. Support and coach when requested

It is important to provide support when they are having difficulties, but do not do the job for them. If you do, they will not develop the confidence and capabilities to do the task themselves.

8. Accept only finished work

You have delegated a task to reduce your workload. If you accept only partially completed work back, then you will have to invest time in completing the task yourself and they will not receive the experience they need in completing projects.

9. Feedback on results

It is important that you let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved the desired results. If not, you need to review with them what did not go to plan, how could it have been completed differently to achieve the results and deal with any problems that arise. You need to absorb the consequences of failure and pass on the credit for success.

10. Give credit when a project has been successfully completed!

Let me know how what you think - is letting go and delegating something that you do effortlessly? Or does it idea of not being in control of every aspect of your business, scare you? I would love for you to share your thoughts with us.

I always find the time immediately after a holiday, as an exciting time in business.  Your thinking is clearer and more creative, and you are open to possibilities that you may not have been just prior to your break.  I know this has been the case for my VIP mentor clients and myself!  There is a buzz in the air around business, and it’s as if everyone has their mojo back!  Do you feel the same?

If so, you’re ready to do things differently……

You want to know what are the core foundations you have to put in place for your success in 2011.  You know that 2010 doesn’t count anymore, as this is the New Year!

So, here are two key foundations that you will want to put in place for your success in 2011… 

1.  Taking action, without any excuses!

Taking action and being persistent is the difference between the successful and the not so successful.  It’s something that I learnt many years ago in my very first business!  After studying successful business people and then being mentored by some of these individuals, I realised that the difference between them and myself, was that they took action.  They made their decisions and acted upon them almost immediately!  They believed in themselves and they trusted the vision they held for themselves. 

Unlike myself, who at that time, would…make a decision, think about it, research it a little more, maybe do a course about it, think about it a little more, second guess myself…. (I know, you get the drift here now)…and then wonder why I was still running around chasing my tail while making limited profits!  Sound familiar?

It wasn’t until one of these mentors stopped me in my tracks one day, and said: “Deb, it’s time for you to stop thinking about it, stop learning about it, and just start doing it.  You spend too much time ruminating and not enough time taking action.  It’s time for you to take action, especially if you want to be a successful entrepreneur!  Otherwise you might as well close shop and go home.” 

Ouch!!!! Closing shop and going home, just wasn’t an option, so it was time to take action and be persistent.  It was time to stop thinking and start doing.  Time to believe in the vision that I held for myself and my business.

I want you to ask yourself:  “What do I need to do today?”  Once you are clear on the exact tasks you need to do, make a commitment to do them!

Sounds straightforward? That is until the self-sabotaging behaviours begin to rear their ugly heads, which leads nicely into the next foundation for your success…

2.  Removing Those Limiting Beliefs that are Holding You Back.

These are the stories that you tell, to keep yourself ‘safe’, to keep yourself where you are currently.  To stop you from focusing on the real action you need to take.

Removing your limiting beliefs, can be as difficult as culling your wardrobe!  You know you should get rid of some of your things, but even through much of it is totally out of fashion, not very flattering and you’ve not worn it for years, you insist on hanging on to it all.  Every time you open the wardrobe, staring back at you, is that white jacket with gold buttons and big shoulder pads!  It gets in the way of all the other great clothes that you could be wearing, if only you could see them.

We do the same with our beliefs:  we keep them when we don’t need them any more, when we have outgrown them.  Some of them have been with us for years.  Despite the fact they’re not really relevant anymore, we find them comfortable and familiar and insist on keeping them.  It’s worth acknowledging that limiting beliefs sometimes hold us back as a form of protection against the very success we are striving for.  So if you want success rather than to be a wannabe, you’ve got to get rid of these beliefs.  Make room for something new.  If they won’t go, change them so that they work for you more positively.

It’s time to put away those beliefs that are holding you back, away once and for all!  Take a moment to think about what your future will be like, what it will feel like with your old beliefs put away where they belong.  Notice again how this looks, feels and sounds for you. 

So, here are two key foundation pieces that you will want to put in place for 2011 - TAKING ACTION and removing your LIMITING BELIEFS.  If you have been thinking about doing something different, now is the time for you ACTUALLY do something different.  Step out of the sea of sameness and make it happen in 2011.

I can’t wait to support you further and hear about what you are doing different in 2011.  If you have your 'must-does', why not take a moment and share them with us here.

We're all on the same playing field....right?

If that’s so, then what makes one business owner more successful than another? I was thinking about this today,  after speaking with one of my mentor clients – let's call her Liz.  During our call today, she was reflecting on the difference that our work together had made on her business the past three months.  For me, it was very humbling to be there on the other end of the phone, listening to her reflect on what our working relationship meant to her.

Liz had asked me to work with her at a time when her sense of hope was failing.  Her business had hit rock bottom, she had sold her family home, and taken on two more jobs to pay back creditors, just so she could keep her family fed.

After listening to her story, I agreed to work with her.  At our first face-to-face meeting, we spoke about how we would work together, and established our guidelines for success. Our expectations were that she would do everything she committed to in our calls, and I would do everything I could to support her. We agreed that if nothing had changed by the end of 2010, she would close the doors and walk away. Liz left that meeting with the first of her action steps….

I remember going home that night and sitting at my desk thinking:  “Can this turn-around happen?”.  “By agreeing to work with her, am I giving her false hope?".  There have been times previously, when after having my first meeting with new clients, I have decided not to move ahead and work with them.

However, there was something about Liz that made me believe she could turn her business around. 

Was it tenacity, was it belief, or was it a desire to succeed, and change the tide?  I think it was all of these things and more, but I also think it was having someone who believed in her and the legacy she wanted to create. Someone who would hold the space for her, and give her honest feedback in the process.

Liz was the one who took the very first step to change and grow her business by engaging a mentor.  After each call, she walked away with, and committed to her action list.  Step by step, things began to change. 

Some of the areas that we focused on included re-establishing monthly financial targets for the business to meet, identifying referral partners, and organising one-on-one meetings. A step-by-step marketing plan was developed that included both on-line and off-line strategies.  A communication plan was developed and implemented.  Everything was tracked and if something wasn’t working, then changes were made.

Liz was totally committed, and put everything into making sure that the turnaround occurred.  Everything we spoke about was implemented, and action was taken straight away.  At times there was a sense of being overwhelmed, there was exhaustion, but still there was hope.  As each call progressed, I began to hear the difference in her voice, her language had changed and a lightness began to appear.  Things were beginning to turnaround.

As things stand now, Liz is not out of the woods completely, but three months on, she is now working in her business.  She’s paid off all outstanding debts, and has started taking a wage from her business again.  She’s there in the morning to get her kids ready for school, and in the evenings to have dinner with them all. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m going to let you in on a secret:  What we did wasn’t rocket science; in fact it was an easy, step-by-step, practical, results driven process.  It’s what we all need to do to have successful businesses.  I often hear other business owners who aren’t running successful businesses say, “Yeah, I know this stuff already.".

But do you want to know the difference between them and my mentor client?

She implemented it all, she took action and she believed in what she was doing.  She didn't sit back and say, "I know this stuff already.". Liz took it all on board and now has a proven process that she can continue to use.  2011 is going to be her year for building a stronger, more successful business - mark my word on this!

I’m going to make a presumption here – you’re in business to make money, right?

Then, if your business hasn’t grown in the past year, wouldn’t it make sense to make changes around what you are currently doing?

Let’s acknowledge that the internal conflict we have around change is real, it is also normal and it can be very scary.  The fear of not knowing can hold you where you are.  But is that where you really want to stay, doing the same thing over and over, and all that is really changing are the days…

Probably not!  It’s time to dip your toes into the water of change. 

Block out time this week and commit to really looking at the way you do business. Ask yourself:

“Is my current way of thinking serving me?”.

“Am I achieving the results I really want?”. 

If not, than it’s time to make some changes. My guess is that you already  know what you need to be doing differently.  Make a list of the things you want to change, and then be willing to move further along the left of the continuum of change.  In fact, challenge yourself to do something different within your business, your life or the way you think in 2011.  Just be willing to make changes, open your mind to the possibilities that when put into action, blast your business forward out of stagnation.

What really do you have to lose? 

A thought to consider: By letting go, you actually gain!