We addressed the mindset piece and the pricing piece in earlier posts, so in this article I’ll be talking about how using a call to action is super critical in growing your revenue, and what to do if you have a bit of a hard time asking for that.

OK, first things first.  You do use calls to action, right?  With every email or article or written correspondence, are you directing your readers what to do next?  On your interviews or teleclasses, is there a ‘next step’ you want folks to take?  I think sometimes we get a bit lazy or just forget that this is a critical piece of having people move into connecting more with us.

So here are a few places not having a call to action is hurting you and how it’s related to the dreaded “Oh crap….they aren’t buying” syndrome.”

1.  They don’t know how to work with you. Yikes.  This happened to me once.  A person who had the profile of my ideal client responded to something I put (for the first time!) in my newsletter.  Basically I said, “Hey I have spots for a few more 1:1 clients, so if you are struggling with these issues, contact me and we’ll set up a time to chat.” By the time she got to the call, she was already sold because she’d seen my work.  When I asked her why she decided to respond to that ad in the newsletter she said,

“Because I never knew how to work with you before.”

See, I had been sending out articles, doing expert interviews, and had launched a few programs, but that wasn’t what she’d been looking for.  No where  in anything she read was a blurb that said, “if you want to break free of whatever it is that is stopping you from your business success, click here to do that and I’ll partner with you.”  Big lesson for me there!  My call to action for you….find places you can ask folks to take the next step.  Actually first figure out what that next step is and then go for it!

2. Your call to action is worn out and tired. So maybe you do have something at the end of your blog post that says, “leave a comment” or maybe you say “go to my website and sign up for my free report.”  But what if folks are getting sick of that?  What if they have already downloaded your freebie and left a comment or two?  What then?  Or what if your freebie is outdated and doesn’t match the talk you are giving now or the branding you are currently rolling out?

Here I want you to do a bit of spring cleaning.  You don’t have to go crazy, but you do have to have more current offerings.   And when you do, you may want to ask your market what they’d like.  Example….”would you prefer to listen to a 45 minute audio, or receive the same info as a 5 day ecourse?”  My call to action for you here is to let your readers tell you what’s working by asking them.

3.  Your mindset is getting in the way of asking people to take a next step. If you are first born child,  have super-hero tendencies, or tend to be a bit of an overachiever I have a prediction about you.  My guess is that you have a bit of a hard time asking for things.  Most of us (particularly women) get into “let me help/support/nurture you” mode and HATE to ask.  Very often the sale or opportunity to work together is just laying on the table but because we get so freaky about wanting to ask for things, we miss it.

I want you to notice what goes on in your head as you think about asking people to take the next step.  Do you recoil?  Feel like you’ll be ‘pushy’ or bothering them?  Are you afraid to seem to ’salesy’ or aggressive?  My call to action for you is to notice the places of resistance.  Notice if you get a bit anxious or uncomfortable.  This is a huge point of growth and so you may want to lean into where you normally would back down.

4.  You don’t know what to use for a call to action. Simple stuff here.  If it’s not your mindset, it may be that 1) you didn’t realize you should be using CTA’s in your pieces, or 2) you haven’t taken the time to plan or strategize where things should go.  It’s simple if you think about it in relationship building or developmental terms.  Let’s break it down.  Say someone reads one of your blog posts.  They get a feel for your work and expertise.  What is the next thing you want them to do.  (Asking them to leave a comment is really fine here)

Sometimes we may ask for a specific thing like “go to Facebook and join my group” but other times it may be more intangible like “Ask yourself what’s the definition of success in your business.”  You don’t want to continually be promoting, so are there CTA’s that will help your audience answer their own questions?  Find their own solutions?  Even if you are just asking the question, you are still viewed as a trusted source and that’s precisely what you want!  My CTA (call to action) for you is to take some time to look at each piece that you put out and plan on the call to action requests as well.  Don’t take it for granted that people know how to work with you, how to find you, how to benefit from your expertise, or even how to contact you!

Now my final call to action is to go out there an be as brilliant as you can be because the world needs what you have to offer!

And if you want some support in doing that, email me at Therese@HappyinBusiness.com.

Blessings!

This is part two if the three part series of what do to when you notice the trend (and probably freak out a bit) when folks aren’t buying what they used to.  If you didn’t catch part 1, the mindset piece, you can click on the link and read that article.  Once we deal with the inner game, now we’ll look at how some tweaks in your pricing can infuse some more vibrancy (and cash flow!) into your business.

Ask you list what they struggle with. Are you selling what you want or what your customers need? Sometimes we are guilty of that because we get so excited about our offerings.  How about asking them what would serve them? Perhaps they aren’t buying because what you have been offering needs a face-lift.  If you do a survey to you audience, they will likely tell you things that you have thought of before, but hadn’t yet focused on.  Ways to ask them?  You could do informational interviews or use www.SurveyMonkey.com to get the data that would give you this information.

Come up with smaller pieces for your clients to buy. My advice – don’t lower the overall prices, but you can offer new ways to ‘consume’ your offerings. This way you don’t go from let’s say charging $250 a session to $150 a session. You go from offering a 9 month program to a 3 month program but keep your value the same. (And please don’t just be charging per session! Programs are the way to go.)

Offer payment plans. One of the commitments I made to myself was to keep my prices up where I felt really good about them. Even when the economy tanked there were some folks who wanted to work with me but couldn’t afford the fees, but I refused to lower my rates because I made the decision that I would rather lose money and take a stand for my worth and value than take less and feel compromised. (In fact I wrote an article about what happens if you undercharge – how it leads to resenting your clients.) That doesn’t translate to good service.   So if you want to make it a win-win, offer payment plans so your clients can get your services in a way that also works for their budget.

Add new/lower cost offerings to your funnel. Some of us are one trick pony’s. We offer one program, one group, and maybe a book or two. When you do survey your list, ask them what their biggest challenges are and design lower priced starter level programs around this to 1) get them in your funnel so they can begin a relationship with you, 2) help more people, and 3) get some income flowing in. When I did the Body, Mind and Business Breakthrough Telesummit I created the “30 Days to Plugging Your Money Leaks” program. This has been a wonderful way for people to start coaching with me without making a huge money commitment up front. And I feel good that this program really does solve a problem for business owners. So get outside the box with your thinking and come up with something new that addresses the challenges that your market has.

Create and offer high end programs. Guess what… folks are still spending money!  And there will be people who will want a more exclusive/high end offer.  This may not be for all your clients, but don’t take it off the table either. I’ve been doing my VIP offerings and so can attest that people are willing to fly in for the day for intensive work. A healthy service provider has a range of low to higher cost programs, so again asking your list what they’d like, roll out something.  You might find that it’s a heck of a lot easier selling one $2,000 day than selling one hundred $20 books. The trick is marketing, relationship building and finding the solution to the pain and challenges that your clients have.

There ya go….how to structure your pricing.  But now you have to get  comfortable asking!  So watch for my next blog in a couple of days where I’ll talk about why the “Call to Action” kicks our butts some times and ways to get around that.  In the meantime, if you would like help with your pricing, book one of my Bold Business Breakthrough Sessions before 8/31 while there is a $100 discount.  Trust me….I can help you design your pricing, feel good about it, and blast through and mindset blocks that would get in the way.  Just go to www.AcceleratingYourSuccess.com/vip and reserve your spot.

So you’ll remember from last post, I outlined Trap #1 which is I have to do it all myself syndrome. Have you asked yourself those questions?  What difference has it made for you so far?  I’d love to hear about your journey by leaving a message in the comment section.

Who else is sick of hearing about the economy and lack of business? Mindset block #2 is the belief that People won’t pay higher fees. This mindset gets you in the trap of having to try to keep your rates low, under charging, and feeling guilty if you ask your clients to pony up their dollars for your services. For me, I need only go to one of the restaurants in my city (Scottsdale, AZ) and notice just how many people are spending money!

The trick here once again is to discover if there is any part of you that pulls back from either asking for the sale, or from raising your fees. Usually there is a story underneath that it’s not right to ask for that much money or the tendency to jump into other peoples’ financial situations and make decisions for them. I think the heart of this mindset block is two fold. The first could be a lack of boundaries and a tendency to take in the ‘popular opinion’ which you must stay away from! If you find yourself believing that no one will spend more, begin to notice things to the contrary. Go to malls, nice restaurants, or car lots. See evidence that while some people are constricting in their spending, there are still loads of people who are willing to pay for good service and value. And stay away from the nay-sayers or any negativity that could lead you to buy into the lack consciousness.

Next is to understand the value you provide. If you have the story that people won’t pay for your services, it might be because you haven’t done the work on getting the clarity you need around the results you bring. I guarantee that if you really take a stand for what you offer and believe that deep in your core, you won’t pull back from offering your services. How to do this? One way is to ask your past clients to list what they have gotten from your work together. And you don’t want to stop at the surface level…do the ‘deep dive’ with them about how they were impacted 6 months later, 2 years later, etc. If you charge someone $1,000 but your client was able to get new business and bring in $5,000 that year, imagine the lifetime of their business and the results gained from your expertise. Its mind boggling to think of the reach you can have.

I’ll also give you a link to a short visualization where I guide you in getting clarity on understanding what you bring: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WP6c64cx.
It’s about 6 minutes long, and will give you a jump start on identifying the value you bring. Once you own this, you’ll not again have to worry if someone can afford your services.

Join me next time and discover the simple steps involved in mastering Traps 3 and 4.

Blessings,
Therese

Last post I reminded you about my last blog series that outlined the “Five Mindset Traps of an Entrepreneur”.  In this new series, I’m going to share some strategies to break free of these pesky little patterns that can be standing between you and your success.

If you are a business owner who has not yet delegated or still struggles with figuring out how to better leverage your time by having a team, you may be suffering from mindset block #1 which is the I have to do it all myself syndrome. How would you know if this is you? See if you related to any of these statements –

“No one could do it as good as I can”
“I’m not comfortable asking for help”
“I couldn’t trust someone”
“I should be able to handle it all”

Many of us struggle with this concept and the cost is really high. The first thing I do with a business owner is to look at where they are wasting their precious time by doing things that would be better outsourced. There is the tactical piece of “How do I do this” but mostly, the place it breaks down for people is when they have the mindset block of having to do it all themselves. Very often this comes from family messages and early training about not giving permission to be vulnerable or receive support.

The first step is to make an assessment about where you are in this area. If you haven’t yet mastered delegating and outsourcing (or just reaching out for support/encouragement), is it that you don’t know how or could it be a mindset block?

If you push past the first sentences and find what’s on the other side, you’ll discover the golden nugget. For example, if you relate to the sentence, “I’m not comfortable asking for help” take it the next step further and ask yourself why. Would you feel stupid? Would you lose credibility? People think you are less than or too needy? What’s the story under that? If you unravel the story that’s usually unconscious or not quite in your reach, you can finally ask the magical question…Is It True? Once you look at it from this perspective, you can begin to chip away at the old belief/block so you have freedom to make a new choice. To further this questioning process, look into the work of Byron Katie at www.thework.com. She’s got a quick way to turn your erroneous thinking around. On her site got to the Do the Work section and get started taking back your power.

Next post, we’ll journey together into how to blast through Trap 2.  You’ll be surprised how some simple shifts can really make a big difference.

Blessings,
Therese

Last post I described an all-too-common scenario. A fellow business owner spent a fortune on the “necessities” of building her business (website, branding, top-level coaching, etc.) only to be frustrated because she had not dealt with the mindset issues that were holding her back.

Here are 2 of 5 Entrepreneurial Mindset Traps you must overcome to enjoy the success you’re looking for in your business.

#1 – I have to do it all myself
Raise your hand if you are a first born child. For most of us (me included) the role of being first born makes us the natural choice to be at risk for this mindset trap. If you have ever refused help, hated to ask for support, or just were frozen at the idea of you not being in charge of everything, you qualify. It’s pretty standard in the entrepreneurial psyche by now, but Michael Gerber in his classic book EMyth Revisited tells of the three roles that a business has to have in order to run – the technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur. Often in start up phase we are all things because there is no cash flow. But if you are a few years into your business and still doing your own books, we have to talk!

Let me give you an example. I was at an event where the keynote speaker sat next to me and shared that on Sundays she always did her bookkeeping. Here she was positioning herself as a rock star in her area, but had huge trust and delegation issues, so took the whole day on Sunday to do something that she could have outsourced easily. On stage she was selling $25,000 programs, but I could see huge reasons why her business didn’t work (nor her sales) because of this pattern of having to do it all herself. For me her presentation was an integrity disconnect because she was teaching people how to be powerful in one area, but in her own business she was defaulting to some old patterns. (And again, no judgment here because we all have some of this.)

#2 – People won’t pay higher fees

This is a revenue killer. It happens when a business owner is well meaning and tends to look at a prospective clients financial situation and decides for them what they can do and cannot do. Part of it is from a place of compassion, but it may come from poor boundaries, care-taking, or even the reality that YOU wouldn’t pay higher fees. It also could come by not having a clearly defined niche because if you are working right, your people will pay for what you offer. Good marketing, clarity on your value and who you serve best are the key here, but until you get this, the cost of this mindset trap is that you are under charging, under earning, or possibly working with people who aren’t your idea market because of the fee structure. The truth is that while the economy is sluggish, there are lots of people still spending lots of money! In a few weeks, I’ll show you how to shift your mindset to start getting more comfortable asking for your slice of the pie.

Do these sound familiar?  Keep an eye out for my next post where I’ll share the final 3 Traps.

Blessings,

Therese

As I described in my previous post, mindset can play a huge role in the money business owners generate.  Another place to look for some money leaks is your pricing model.

Since my main market is the service provider, I’ll address that in this article.

Usually for service providers, we start by looking at either the fees per session, or what kind of packages/programs they are offering their clients. Too many people are still stuck charging hourly. I know this one well, having been a psychotherapist for decades! The problem here though is that you have to constantly be selling. One of my sub-niches is holistic practitioners, so let’s use an acupuncturist as an example. If you have a fee-per-session model, at the end of the treatment, you have to get your book out and ask them if they want to reschedule. Hopefully your client is “blissed out” because of the amazing treatment you just did, but what if they are in a rush and have to pick up their son from school. You will likely hear….”Oh, let me call you soon.” Then they get busy, or sick, or short of cash, and you lose the business.

Compare that with the holistic practitioner who has a six month PROGRAM. I like to structure this where some of the money is paid up front or there can be payments made, but folks know that they are paying for a longer term commitment and seem to have more “skin in the game” because they are paying even if they aren’t coming. (Of course we’d prefer that they come!) It works for them because the understand that you are holding a bigger vision that just a one time fix, and it works for you because it levels out your cash flow because you don’t have to constantly be selling and getting new people in the door.

Now let’s look at your model. Where do you see that you could make some tweaks?

And the final place we will talk about here is you owning your value. Have you done that yet? What is your time and expertise worth? The way to understand this is to look at the results your service gets for people. These are some questions that will help you get what you do in a bigger way:
What results to people get after working with you?
What problems do you help solve?
What did those problems cost them?
What intangibles (like confidence) do you provide?
What’s that worth to get?
What’s the lifetime value of the work you do?
What has not working with you cost them?

I guarantee that if you would take 20 minutes and just do some journaling on those questions, you will never again devalue yourself! Make time for this ever important foundational piece so both you and your clients have a better experience.

Blessings,

Therese

Last post, I described two of my clients and how they each reacted to the concept of charging what they are worth.  Client #1 embraced it and raised her rates by 25%.  Client #2 struggled with feelings of guilt about raising her rates. Now let’s look at the outcomes.

Client #1 states that she shows up more fully and that her clients get better results because she wants to give more because she’s charging more. Did you get that? By charging MORE, she was giving MORE. It’s surprising that even though you think you are giving a lot, simply by raising your fees, you have to grow into a person and deliver a service worth of what you are charging, so you will improve your outcomes.

Sadly, client #2 is feeling some resentment toward her clients because she knows she’s giving it away for too little. (But thankfully she’s fully committed to changing this so is doing the mindset work necessary to make the shift.)

Let me give you a couple more examples of how this sneaky and creepy feeling comes in if you haven’t set your fees according to your value.

One client who was a VA found herself really angry when her client always complained about not being able to pay her fees, yet would spend $1500 buying jewelry and stuff from QVC! My client continued to keep her fees low and even allowed late payments from this woman! Definitely a place for resentment to begin to fester.

A colleague of mine who coaches chiropractors realized that he had charged a doctor $5000, but because of his suggestions, his client was able to grow their bottom line by about $200,000! It was at this point that he decided to shift his model and move to a profit sharing fee – something I have just begun to play with as well.

Do you see yourself in any of these examples? If so, let’s now look at how we can shift this.

The first place I want to start is with mindset.

Three questions here –
Is there a little part of me that is resentful now, or am I at risk of being resentful in the future because I am not charging the right fees?

What beliefs/inner dialogue is going on in my head that keeps me stuck? (This is where you look at your self talk. As an example, client #2 would remember the conversations she had where her clients complained about their financial situations and then hear herself say, “I can’t charge them more money….they wouldn’t be able to afford it and it’s not right of me to mess up their finances by doing that.”) Write down what you tell yourself to keep stuck in this loop.

What new belief would I have to install to be able to comfortably charge the fee that is right for ME? Some examples may be, “I give tremendous value” or “There is enough money out there” or “I only attract the clients to me who value my services and happily pay my fees.” Begin each day by looking at your new beliefs and repeating them until it becomes your natural way of being.

Now that we’ve visited what’s going on in your head, next time we’ll talk about what’s going on with your pricing.  You’ll see how being honest with yourself both areas will make all the difference in feeling great about being compensated for the value you provide.

Blessings,

Therese

P.S.

Have you registered for the Body Mind and Business Breakthrough Telesummit yet?  If not, take a minute to register at www.BodyMindandBusiness.com.  I’ll be speaking this Thursday, June 10th at 11 am Pacific about “How to stop the money sucking blocks in your business so you can make more money, have more fun, and help more people in the process”and would love to see you there!

Oh, you say you’d never resent your clients? I know that’s a horrible thing to cop to, but think again. If you let your clients get away with paying you a much lower fee than you are worth, trust me….resentment can creep in. As much as you may hate to admit it and as really crappy as that is to feel, the down side of taking care of them by giving them the rock bottom fee is that later on when you gain more confidence….you may be a bit resentful.
It’s not your clients’ fault though. Actually, it’s probably yours. Not meaning to, you may have bought into the story of how the economy has everyone scrambling. Or you may be “in their stuff” spinning around on the concepts of how dare you ask them to pay you the full fee because of their challenging financial situation. Or just maybe you haven’t yet figured out how to determine your value so you are giving your work away at a fraction of the cost.

The reason I’m talking to you about this today is because if we get really honest, we have all felt this at times, and I want you to work with people you delight in and then give them your all. But if there is an issue because of money, it will trickle out and affect the service you provide, so let’s change that, ‘ey?
While I have been seeing this problem in my clients (and if truth be told felt it myself in the past) it became really clear a few months ago as I was working with two different people, both in the same profession. As their business coach, one of my goals and up front agenda is to come in and find the money leaks. I want my clients within a few months to be starting to see more money coming in. In fact, usually within 90 days we have made enough shifts and so they have paid for their coaching fees with new business or additional revenue. (It makes me cranky when that doesn’t happen, so I turn a bit “blood-hound” and sniff out all the places money is getting lost.)

Let me tell you about these two clients -

Client #1 really took to the concept of charging what she was worth and when we examined her fees, she easily raised them by about 25%.

Client #2 has some money mindset issues. She’s an amazing expert, been in business for years, and yet when I asked her to increase just by $10, she hit a wall. For her the wall was jumping into her clients ‘stories’ of why they don’t have the money and doing some caretaking of them by keeping her fees lower. She felt guilty raising her rates, so struggled with this request.

Dramatically different approaches, but just wait until you find out how much more dramatic their OUTCOMES were!  I’ll share those results with you as well as some questions to ask yourself so that you can make sure you’re getting the outcome you want.

Blessings,

Therese

In The Pursuit of Money, Meaning & Beyond, Is It Time For Some Hair Of The Dog?

This guest post by Andrea J. Lee is excerpted here for the first time from the book, Money, Meaning and Beyond, Chapter 21

Ever feel like a fraud in your biz? Or, just stuck in a rut – again?? Whatever your business is, if you’re hesitant, embarrassed or shy about it, it’s just not going to work long term. Time for some hair of the dog.

Question: I’m totally stuck. I thought my business was going well, but I can’t seem to get anywhere these days. It’s like spinning my wheels in mud and getting deeper and deeper into ick. Plus, I have no energy anymore. When people ask me what I do, I just can’t seem to care enough to tell them. Please tell me what is up?

Whether you’re just starting out or been around the block a dozen times, the feeling of ‘I have no idea why but there is no energy around here’ is a common one to business owners of all stripes.

First things first. Remember, everything is energy. And when you’re stuck, experience tells us there’s something wrong inside – not something you’re doing – that is creating the block.

So here’s where the idea of Hair of the Dog comes in.

The phrase ‘Hair of the Dog’ originally comes from Medieval times when physicians of the time prescribed real hair from a dog to treat dog bites.

You know, someone would come into the surgery with a dog bite. And they would get a mouthful of tonic made from hair of the dog that actually bit them.

Now we don’t know if that worked from a medical perspective, but the phrase in modern times has come to characterize something more familiar, at least to some.

When you – or someone you know – has indulged a little too much in alcohol the night before, the morning after can be a bit of a trial.

And the phrase, “You need some hair of the dog” has come to mean, “Ya might wanna have another drink, buddy, it’ll take the edge off your headache this morning.”

It’s been a little while since I’ve tried this personally, but we seem to remember it works.

So what does all this have to do with your business? A lot, actually.

If you’re stuck in any way, or even if you’re not stuck but you want to amp up your flow of energy, ask yourself this:

“In what way could I be applying the things I sell, teach or stand for, to myself?”

“How could I – more thoroughly – be doing what it is I tell my clients they should be doing?”

The answers you come up with are…well…the things you must do to get unstuck.

Mini Case Studies:

• If you’re a massage therapist, how often are you yourself going to a therapist to reap the benefits of your trade? A grumbly massage therapist whose back hurts and forehead is wrinkled from low energy isn’t someone most people would go back to…
• If you’re a financial advisor, how are your finances? We’re not saying you have to be a millionaire to be a terrific financial advisor, but you must actively be pursuing what you believe is important in the realm of finances. If you aren’t, how can you do right by your clients?
• If you are a dentist, how are your own teeth?
• If you teach cold calling, how often are you picking up the phone?
• If you’re a coach or consultant, are you walking your own talk?

‘Nuff said.

It’s pretty simple really…albeit maybe a bit unexpected. When you start to apply the Hair of the Dog Principle, count on your energy starting to flow again. It’s like taking a little booster shot in exactly the right spot.

Wisdom nugget:

Make a list of why you think people should do business with you. Be thorough. Start with as many as you can write down, and come back a couple times as you think of more.

You can hear Andrea’s presentation on June 9th, so sign up for the free telesummit at www.bodymindandbusiness.com. I guarantee you’ll walk away inspired!

Blessings,

Therese

Love Practices For Your Business

Since we are in the first week of the Body, Mind and Business Breakthrough Telesummit, I am sharing with  you some guest posts that our amazing speakers have written.  On June 8th, Laura West will speak about “How to Market Your Business Like A Business Goddess for More Success with Grace and Joy. You can listen to her call for free so do sign up to catch Laura and the other inspirational thought leaders in this field.  This is just a slice of what Laura is about, so I hope you enjoy the article -

Love practices for your business?

Yes!

Love is the most powerful of emotions… we also know it as joy, passion, inspiration, connection, flow, beauty, creativity, and leadership.

We are literally yearning for more love in our businesses. We are tired of the same old sales letters and boring products that lack creative fire and beauty.

Love in your business makes your day feel full of joy. You are engaged and alive. You feel like you just resuscitated lives by helping make someone’s life better through your product or service. Love is that spontaneous flow of inspiration and ideas that you don’t know where it’s coming from, but you trust it for how awake and engaged you feel and the impact you can see you have on others.

Here are 5 ways you can consciously practice infusing love in your business:

1. Love Your Creativity – Freedom to creatively express yourself in your business is one of the highest values for most passionate entrepreneurs. If you find yourself nodding in agreement, then you want to make sure you schedule time for your creativity. As your business grows, it’s easy to lose touch with your creativity if you aren’t consciously giving it attention and time. Schedule creative retreat time each week to get out of your office. Spend some time journaling and mind mapping and reviewing what’s working in your business and where it needs to go. Then use some of that scheduled time to create the program, project or article ideas. Put your attention on what you want to grow!

2. Love Your Marketing – Let go of old stereotypes about marketing and what it means to market your business. These old-style limiting beliefs will just hold you back. Today’s marketing is all about creating relationships with your clients, potential clients, and potential collaborators. The more creative, fun and authentic you are, the better you’ll connect with your clients and grow your business. Successful marketing is also about having a generous mindset to help each other increase visibility and success. So… love your clients, love your colleagues… and focus on loving them in success. While you do, you’ll find you’ll be more successful too.

3. Love Your Money – Money loves being paid attention to. That means learning about money strategies, keeping your Quickbooks™ up-to-date, and knowing how much money you’ve spent and created. If you ignore money, then don’t be surprised if you aren’t making very much! Spend time nurturing your money and its flow in your business. Welcome sales into your business as a sign that you are getting your purpose (your love) into the world!

4. Love Your Life and Relationships – If you are like me, you started your business to have more freedom and flexibility in your life. So make sure that you build a business around your life, not the other way around. You want to love your life – your family, friends, hobbies, travel – whatever you love. Your personal joy is to make room and time in your life and let your business support your life.

5. Love Yourself – As your business grows, you’ll keep running up against your upper limits of success. Those beliefs that will limit how much joy you’ll allow into your business as far as money, success, recognition, great clients and enjoyment. Be aware that everyone hits upper limits of how much success they’ll allow into their businesses (think lottery winners who lose all their winnings within two years). You have to love yourself enough to allow the success in.

Where in your business can do you need to make room for the love? Which area do you need to start with first?

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business (www.joyfulbusiness.com). I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files.