What if I told you that by plugging 3 ‘money leaks’ you could be far more profitable and have a business you’d enjoy much more?

But what if I also told you that your mindset has to change, and you probably can’t find the three things on your own because they may be buried.

I call this the “Brilliance In Your Blind Spot” problem.

See, there is something about you that is VERY unique.  It’s the thing that would allow your best-fit clients to come running.  And it’s the thing that will have you be known as an expert.

But the crazy part?  When it’s our brilliance, we often devalue it.  We can’t think of charging what we should, and are convinced that everyone else can easily do it, so why would they pay.  (Or some version of mental chatter like that.)

After working with tons and tons of business owners who ALL battled the curse of being really good but not visible enough to get where they wanted, I have created my 5 step formula you have to go through to get your gifts out in the world.

Find it, Own it, Package it, Market it, and Sell it.

And so on 10/18 at 10am PT/1pmET, I’ll be sharing the secrets of the first 3 parts of this formula.  Why?  Because nailing these three down are the hardest!  So let’s have you hit the ground running in 2012 with some really powerful new language and identity around your business.

When you sign up for the call, you’ll get:

• Top 5 ways you can determine if your business is suffering from this phenomenon
• Why finding your brilliance (and infusing it into your business) is so important
• Why you can’t see it, and what that costs you in terms of time, energy and money
• The 3 step process to move from blind-spot, to “profit-spot” and how to get there
• A solution to get you and your business on the map in a much more fun, leveraged, and authentic way

Ready?  Can I help you get your brilliance out in the world in a bigger way?

Imagine going into 2012 being strong and confident and having clarity that you’ve never had.  Because marketing can be really fun when you do it from the Inside Out!

She was right. My new marketing manager was working on some messaging with me and said… ”You really are like an eraser. You erase bad strategy, bad business models, faulty beliefs, and much of what’s broken in people’s business.”

I’ve never really thought of it that way before, but it was glaringly true this week as I reviewed the strategies I was teaching…and erasing.

So in this article, let me share one of the signs that you have graduated. Moved up to a higher level of professional ‘standing’ and how that can sometimes be like trying to fit into your high school jeans…30 years later.

We’ll look at letting go of the old clients, and your old identity, because staying the same is tantamount to going backward. You have to be continually evolving or you lose relevance.

And of course, I’ll be covering the mindset necessary to pull it all off because strategy alone is only half the equation.

Here’s a very important principle that you must get….

The thing that got you to the race is not going to be what allows you to win it.

Let me mix a few more metaphors here. ☺

What I mean by that is that very often what brought you to the entrepreneurial ‘game’ will shift along the way. You grow, you get new skills, and you discover parts of yourself that want to be expressed in new and different ways. And mainly…you own your value. (Or at least you SHOULD be owning it and charging more. In some cases, much more.)

And because of this, there reaches a point where there will be a “disconnect” with the clients you have had up to now. Or some discontentment or possibly even resentment. Here’s why…

Imagine that you come into the market wanting to sell a certain thing. You love this thing, feel good about it, and this thing gets your clients great results. But years later, the ‘thing’ seems a bit outdated. The clients who want to buy the thing from you aren’t really your faves, and frankly…they don’t seem to be willing to pay higher rates or evolve the way you want to.

It’s kinda like marrying your high school sweetheart and waking up 20 years later wondering what you still have in common. The question becomes, do you leave or do you stay?

One of the most important strategies to look at is who your market is and what you are offering. Very often I encounter heart-centered entrepreneurs spending tons of time, energy, and money on people who are not ever going to buy their products. So the question becomes…can you let them go and find the right people to work with?

There is a tendency to have loyalty to the old business model and client base. These people started with you. So you may feel obligated to stay running your business the same way for them.

Or worse yet…you have bought into some codependent dance with clients and feel like you just cannot raise your fees because they need you to keep them low.

Can you see how messy this all gets? Here you are busting your butt, loving your clients, yet possibly being hostage to staying at the same rates and NOT growing….just to keep them happy.

Things come in themes with coaching, and the last few weeks this has been a huge one. Many of my clients come in with either loyalty that is keeping them stuck, mindset issues which keep them from being able to see higher for themselves, or a scarcity mentality about being fearful in releasing the old clients because they aren’t sure if new one’s will appear.

So let’s talk about those three places you can strengthen.

Loyalty – tough questions here, so bear with me. But you have to ask….who are you in business to serve? You or your clients? Yes, we want to be good for our clients, but ultimately it’s YOU and your family that this biz has to all work for. The last time I raised my rates was truthfully because I was a bit pissed off. I was thinking…“I’m trading my life for this. This is taking time away from my kids….so it better pay me well.” What motivates you? Notice undeserved loyalty. We are nice. We are programmed to give our word and NEVER change it. But if you stay the same for a group of clients who started with you years ago, all the people you should be serving won’t find you. It may sound harsh, but you have to be selfish to some degree if you are going to run a business that serves your life. Selfish in that you value you and your time to a much higher degree. (And what’s really crazy? When you value yourself like this you become a FAR BETTER person for your clients to work with and they get better results in the long run.)

Devaluing – you’ve grown. You are a friggin rock star, except that you are the only one who can’t see it. Everyone around you is amazed at the skills you have. But you don’t believe in yourself. So those dreams you have that live quietly under the surface stay there gathering dust. Just know that sometimes, you may not be the best judge of your capability if you have a history of not believing in yourself. So of course you’d stay with lower rates and outdated programs because after all…who would want what you have, right? And there’s so much competition, and with this economy, everyone is lowering their rates, so how the heck would you raise yours…..

I’ve got a program coming up that will do some inner work/butt kicking in this area, but if this is you….get a coach or a mentor who will show you your gifts and help you get it out in the world. Nuff said.

Scarcity – I’d qualify this as the #1 dream stealing “stay where you are at” reason that make business owners suffer. It’s the belief that if they let go of the clients they have, no new ones will come. Visions of being the crazy homeless person with ten cats come from this place. And on paper it makes sense. You have some money coming in. They are paying. Why the heck would you want to release them and face zero income? Why? Because you have to. Simple. We are designed to be always growing. You don’t live in the same toddler body you once had (though my teenagers often act like tall toddlers these days, LOL.) You should not have the same thoughts you had when you started your business if you have done the work to grow and evolve. And because of this, the old will collide with the new and you will be forced to make a decision in service of you stepping into your next level of success. But if you don’t believe in an abundant universe, don’t believe in a natural flow and order of things, and don’t believe that you are always supported….this will scare the heck out of you. But I guarantee you that you cannot finish the race with what you had when you started the race. Time for the new.

This week my clients inspired me when they closed parts of their businesses that they didn’t love any longer. They inspired me when they decided to take the risk and value themselves enough to say no, or find more leveraged ways to deliver their services.

So what will it be for you? If you are discovering that you are having some growing pains, a bit of letting go will make the transition much easier, much faster, and very likely get some money in the door. It’s crazy, but it works!

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your take on it, so feel free to post your comments on the blog.