Archive for April, 2010

What’s the first thing your business needs?

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A plan!
My email box is full of emails from people telling me about how they are ready to start their business. Then they ask me a ton of questions. I enjoy answering their questions. From what they ask I can tell that their minds are going in a million different directions and they have forgotten something important. They almost always make the mistake of skipping the first step.

Before you set up shop, even before you get any license or selling permits, you must have a plan. Some people get a little intimidated by the thought of writing a business plan. It really isn’t that difficult. If you don’t need to get a loan to start your business, no one but you ever needs to see it. Basically, your plan needs to state clearly what your goals are with your business, how you will accomplish those goals, who your target market is and how you will reach them. Of course you can add as much detail to your plan as you can. The more clearly you can envision your business the easier it will be to create it.

You can find free business plan templates on sites like SCORE and other places around the net. If you are only creating the plan for yourself, have a little fun with it. You may find it easier to see your plan as an art project. Once you have your plan and you know where you are going then you are ready to move on to the next step. A good business plan will help you keep your business moving in the right direction for you.

: Planing
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5 Reasons You Need a Goal Notebook

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This is an article I have posted on Associated Content.

My clients are often at a loss of how to reach their goals. Some of them are even unsure of what their goals are. To help them get focused and on track, I have them create a goal or dream notebook. I have found that when people have a special place to keep their goals they are more likely to reach them. To quickly explain why everyone needs a goal/dream notebook I came up with my ‘ Top 5 Reasons’ list. Everyone needs a dream or goal notebook to clarify, organize, inspire, and motivate them.

Your goal or dream notebook can:

1. Give you a place to clearly express your goal.
The ability to clearly state what we want is key to getting what we want. When you know what you are after, you can see every opportunity. When you can share your dream with others, they will know how they can help you.

Read More on AC..

: Coach Talk
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Everyone is creative, really!

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Creativity holds a strange place in our society. It is both admired and looked down on. Parents normally don’t want their children to grow up to be artists. At the same time when they see art they love they admire the work and the artist.

Why is this? I’m not sure maybe it has something to do with preconceptions that artist are weird flighty people.  I don’t even know when that misconception began.  When did artist change from the honored people that recorded history, created sacred objects, and preformed a valued service?  What is it about creativity that makes us both love and dislike it?

I think it may have something to do with the idea that only some people or certain activities are creative. Guess what, everyone is creative!  It is true, I’m not lying. The creativity that brings about beautiful works of art is the same creativity that brings about the solution to a problem. It is what helps us write book and successfully budget our money. It is inside all of us waiting to be called to action. For many of us it is like a bit of coal hiding a diamond inside.

This elitist view of creativity is rippling out negativity into our lives. It keeps us from using our imagination to live our dreams and overcome life’s day to day obstacles.  Being connected to our creative centers keeps us open to inspiration and leads to AH HA moments.

It also feeds our passion for our project that keeps us working, even when we don’t want to.  Creativity simply is bringing something new into existence.  It can be any new thing a new song, new photo, new way of dealing with customer service, or new marketing plan. Creativity is not for the sole purpose of making art.

We all have our own process we work through when being creative. Taking the time to learn what your process is makes it easier to start the process whenever you need to.  This helps us avoid getting stuck and frustrated when we are forced to produce a product by a dead line or create something we wouldn’t normally choose to.  It may be hard to think of creativity this way, but it is inside you waiting to be mined.

There are many things you can do to reconnect with your creative center. I say reconnect because you were born connected and stayed connected until someone told you that creativity was bad or only for special people.

Start paying attention to what you are doing or how you are doing things when inspiration strikes or solutions and ideas come easily to you.  Try to meditate or do some other calm relaxing activity daily or at least regularly. Stop telling yourself that you are not creative. Negative self talk kills creativity and our dreams! Be kind and loving to yourself and do something you really enjoy doing as often as you can.

: Coach Talk
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