Whatever you do, don’t lose control
If you think back over the most stressful times in your life – illness for yourself or a family member, loss of a job or major client, a death in the family – I would venture to say that there’s a common thread through all of these stressful times: Lack of control.
Because home-based entrepreneurs see themselves as pioneers, we pride ourselves on our take-charge attitudes and get-it-done approach to life. Therefore, not being in charge of what’s happening can cause us a great deal of anxiety. We want to fix things, now. When we can’t fix things, or we don’t know how to fix things, we can become very stressed and even freak out a bit.
When faced with a situation where you’re not in control, here are three ways you can maintain an even keel, despite the foul weather:
Find something you CAN control.
When the world is spinning away from you, it can feel like there’s nothing you can control. Not true! In any situation, there’s SOMETHING you can control. Let’s say your major client is having financial difficulties. You may think you are at the whim of their financial ups-and-downs, but you can start regaining a feeling of control by searching out other clients to replace this financially strapped client if they would need to part ways with you. Or you could get your own finances in order and do some proactive belt-tightening so that the loss of one client doesn’t send your world into a tailspin.
You are NOT helpless, and the sooner you find something to control, the sooner you’ll feel less anxious about the future.
Focus on the moment.
Stress comes when we stop focusing on the here and now and start ruminating over the horrible things we wish hadn’t happened yesterday, or about the horrible things we fear will happen tomorrow. If we ground ourselves in the present moment, we find we’re still alive, still functioning, and still able to make decisions. Once we lose site of that fact, though, the stress seeps in. When your thoughts start spinning out of control, gently reel them back in. Take a few deep breaths, remind yourself that you are okay, right now, and then find something productive to do in this moment to protect against what you fear.
This may be difficult for some people to do because they honestly don’t believe they can control their thoughts. It’s true that when our mind is spinning out of control, thoughts do seem to just keep popping into your head. One method health professionals use to quiet discomforted patients is with visualization and repeating positive phrases. This actually does help to quiet the mind so you can gain control, once again, of your thought processes. Once you have quieted your mind, you can choose to focus on the here and now and take back control.
Remind yourself of your expertise and experience.
Stress also comes when we are afraid we can’t handle the horrific scenarios we’ve created for ourselves when we doubt our competence. If our client goes away, then what? If the economy tanks further, then what? If our website crashes, then what? If we knew we’d be okay in the future because we have the expertise to handle these situations, the stress about the future would be a thing of the past.
One tip to combat that stress is to remind yourself of all the tough circumstances you’ve already navigated through successfully. Think about situations you went through in the past and how you handled them. While past success is no guarantee of future performance, as they say in the stock market, it still is a pretty good indication of how things will turn out.
I bet you a dollar you are not setting
priorities.
If the basics of reading and writing are learning your ABCs, the basics of work-at-home success is setting your priorities. If you don’t have a set of priorities by which to guide your business, your day, and your week, you are at the mercy of circumstance. Happenstance is for people who play the lottery; not for entrepreneurs, and definitely not for the Corporate Mom Dropout who has to juggle everything and everybody.
You sit down at the computer to begin work on your to-do list, and the emails start coming in. Instead of having a way to rate the importance and urgency of each request and item on your list, you just respond to whatever is front and center – which is usually whatever email or phone call has come in most recently. Then the end of the day comes, and you still have as many items on your to-do list as you started with. The stress starts to mount as your business goals recede farther and farther into the distance.
So what’s the solution? Setting priorities. When you have a list of goals and priorities, you have a map for your future.
My advice is to set one or two business objectives for each quarter of the year. You may choose to launch a new product the first quarter of the year, revamp your website during the second quarter, create marketing materials for the third quarter, and develop an outsourcing strategy for the fourth quarter.
The following is my favorite process for breaking down a large objective into daily, weekly, and monthly priorities:
- Start with your quarterly objective.
- Ask yourself, what would have to happen this month to achieve this objective?
- What would have to happen this week?
- What would have to happen today?
Once you have defined what needs to happen each day, week, month, and quarter, put those items on your calendar and to-do list with a big star next to them. Now you know what has to be completed every day before you start answering phone calls or emails. No matter what the rest of the day brings, you know you have completed the things that will most move your business forward.
This small routine will help reduce your stress because you’ll no longer lie in bed, wondering what the heck you accomplished that day. Instead, you will have taken concrete steps towards achieving your most important goals. (P.S. This works great with personal goals, too!).
Now that you have your priorities set for each day, week, month, and quarter, how will you know if all that work will fit into your schedule? Let’s take a look at how you can manage those fleeting 24 hours we all have to work within. Stay tuned there is more coming…
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No Stress Blog
Post Series
Working from home is sort of like Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities – it can be the best of times, and it can be the worst of times. At the best of times, being a work-at-home mom is empowering, liberating, profitable and stressful. At the worst of times, working at home is anxiety-ridden, stifling, and stressful. Notice a common denominator?
It’s the stress. Stress can – quite literally – kill you. Stress during the best of times and stress during the worst of times is still stress. Knowing how to recognize and be proactive in dealing with stress is an important part of a successful career path for any work-at-home mompreneur.
This stress relieving blog post series is written to address some of the greatest sources of stress for work-at-home moms, and to share with you what you can do to alleviate, and learn from, your stress.
Whether you’re anxious because you’re struggling to establish yourself in your industry, or you’re stressed because you’re so much in demand you’re being pulled in too many directions, I hope you’ll find in this stress relieving blog post series as a way to make your life less stressful. After all, it’s impossible to enjoy success – or your path to success – if you’re constantly strung out, wringing your hands, and suffering from stress-related exhaustion or illness.
Take a deep breath, relax, and read through this material. Wherever you are in your business and professional life, I can help you figure out where you can make some adjustments to make your life better and to minimize stress.
When you work from home, stress is everywhere. It’s in your success as you become more in demand, it’s in your lack of success as you try to figure out how to make a go of your venture. When you’re stressed out, you become less effective as your energy is sapped away from your goals and diverted to fighting fires. If you could minimize these stressors, you’d be better able to focus on your long-term business goals.
In my experience, there are nine main stress points that home-based entrepreneurs and mompreneurs face:
1.You’re stressed because you don’t set priorities.
2.You’re stressed because you don’t manage your time efficiently.
3.You’re stressed because a lot of what you do is outside your control.
4.You’re stressed because you can’t say no.
5.You’re stressed because you don’t set boundaries for your family.
6.You’re stressed because you get sucked into the TV/e-mail/blog-reading trap.
7.You’re stressed because you don’t delegate.
8.You’re stressed because you don’t take care of yourself or your health.
9.You’re stressed because you don’t have a support system.
If you were to rate yourself on each point, you’d likely score higher on some than others. You may be a great delegator, but you’re not so good at setting boundaries. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses, based on our experience and personality. Even if you answer “yes” to only one of these stress points, you may suffer from more anxiety than someone who has answered “yes” to numerous stressors. Each of us responds differently to outside pressures and stress.
Let’s take a look at each one of these in greater detail, to see where some of your personal stress points are. We’ll also take a look at how you can make adjustments and get on the road to increased productivity and a more enjoyable work life. The first stop? Taking a look at your priorities. Stay tuned…
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“Sorry No catchy, salesy, promising
headline here?”
According to the marketing gurus and marketing rules of promotion it is important to have a keyword rich and powerful headline when preparing any announcement, sales page or promotion…So why I decided not to write one here you ask? Well here is three reasons why or why not.
- I have something very important to tell you and in order to you’re your attention, I needed to go against the grain to get you to read up until this point.
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Please join the call if you:
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On this call you will find out how to connect with
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The New Year Mindset Mastery info call will be 30
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This is a public service announcement…
Attention my Serious Women, Moms, Service Providers, Creators, and Biz Woman:
“Authorize Yourself” with your own B.E.D. (Brand it, Expose it and Design it) Time Story is a 6 week book writing intensive action shop. This is for those who have a book in them and ready to get it out. Ready to become the authority, ready to be the expert, ready to step into their greatness.
There is power waiting to pull forth through you. There is a road that power wants you to walk, a book that you are supposed to write, a business that is waiting for you to open up. The time is now.
- Are you ready to tell your story, maybe it’s someone else’s story, maybe it’s his story or her story or just a story?
- Do you have something to say?
- Are you ready to get the exposure you need?
- Are you ready to brand yourself as THE expert or authority?
- Are you going to let another year go by with your ideas in your head?
- Do you have articles that you would like to gather together?
- Are you ready?
If so, you’re in for a treat….
“Authorize Yourself” 6 Week Book
Writing Intensive Workshop:
How To Brand, Expose and Design your
biz by Building a Powerful Platform
with a Book!
(Yes, B.E.D Time Stories)
In this 6 week book writing intensive workshop you will learn:
- How to turn your passion, expertise and industry know-how into a book.
- How to bust through procrastination and distractions to write your book.
- How to market your book to establish you as an industry expert.
- How to turn your book into a business.
- How to use your book to monetize relationships and create joint ventures.
- How to come up with a winning title that speaks volumes.
- How to turn your book concept from a Good Idea into a God idea!
In this 6 week book writing intensive, you will have access to top notch publishers, editors, distributors and book writing experts to assist you in getting ” your book done” using the (B.E.D. Time Story) techniques that will attract media attention and clients. Here’s the program breakdown: (Be prepared to write your book by simply spending three hours a week for six weeks)
- Monday August 23, 2010 – Pajama Jam- We are going to go right into the process with creating an outline, Writing out our goal, Choosing a subtitle (not a title) & Completing Part 1 workbook, Guest Expert
- August 30, 2010 - Tea and Coffee Night – Identifying target audience, Guest Expert, Gathering Resources, Writing Workshop.
- September 6, 2010 – Burn the midnight oil- Putting all the pieces together: The process, The planning and the writing.
- September 13, 2010– Pump it up- Guest Expert, Writing workshop, Media Outlets.
- September 20, 2010- Insomnia- Writing workshop, Domains, ISBN’s, Copywriting, Marketing.
- September 27, 2010- Work it out-Guest Expert, Writing Workshop, Layout, Formats
2 Bonus calls (Guest Speakers, wrap up and writing workshop)
Using the B.E.D Time Story Method You Will Have Everything You Need To Get Into Action Quickly… Regardless Of Whether You Want to Publish a Physical Book, eBook or take your Self-Published Book to a Traditional Publisher.
Here’s what you’ll get in your “Authorize Yourself” 6 week book writing intensive workshop…
- Live trainings via webinar. This class will be as interactive and will provide you with the visuals.
- Fill-in-the-Blank Book Template
- How to get Book Testimonials guideline
- Proposal Guideline
- Access to Experts who charge thousands for no additional cost
- Group Q&A Calls where I will help you troubleshoot and provide feedback
- ‘Me Time” Coaching Calls where I will work with you personally
- A Press Release and Media Alert Template
- Additional unadvertised Goodies from our Guest Experts to help keep you on track and create the results you want
You’ll be on the road to making money and gaining visibility from your book and expertise. Here are the products you will be able to create during this intensive and here is an estimate of how much you will be able to charge for them:
1. Ebook – $20 or more
2. Physical Book-$15 or more
3. Journal – $15 or more
4. Audio books – $47 or more
5. Seminar/Workshop – $297 or more
Grab your spot in my book writing intensive workshop now and have your book in your hands in less than 90 days
Picture this – You are all dressed up, you step out your car, walk towards your venue, you have paparazzi outside your venue taking pictures, you have media inside the venue waiting to write an article on you, the lights are dim, the stage lights are bright, and there are balloons and flowers everywhere, you have a big poster board image of your book on the stage and everyone is clapping and they have money to give you for signing their book….yes, you are attending your very own Book Signing Launch Party.
There is NOTHING and I mean nothing like opening up your first box of books and holding your finished book in your hands, knowing you now have a tool to make a difference, to change lives, take your business to a new level, with your name on it.
Let’s get started now and you’ll have your book done in less than 90 days, in your hands, with your name on it.
It doesn’t take much success to
get a return on your investment
For only $297 and I realize that $297 may not be in your budget at this time. But lets do the math here to figure how much money can come your way once your book is complete.
For example…just ONE huge media connection will get you exposure that is priceless, TV, Blog, Online and Syndicated Radio, Magazine or Newspapers.
… One paid speaking engagement for $500 – $1000 each
…just One contract who agree to pay you $300
…just 15 copies of the ebook version for $20.00
NOW THAT WAS EASY
Enough TALK, the time is NOW
Guest Speakers Include:
Andrew Morrison is the President of Small Business Camp. The company provides high-impact marketing strategies for entrepreneurs, executives and non-profit leaders. Andrew has as trained thousands of entrepreneurs from Hawaii to Nigeria and appeared on Oprah. He is here to help you get your book done.
Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-CAL-o-witz) started his first business at the age of 24, moving his young family to the only safe place he could afford – a retirement village. With limited resources and no experience, he systematically bootstrapped a multi-million dollar technology business, sleeping in conference rooms to avoid hotel costs. After selling his first company, Mike launched a new business the very next day, and in less than three years, sold it to a Fortune 500. With his newest multi-million dollar venture, Obsidian Launch, he grows authors and experts into industry superstars.
Sophfronia Scott has nearly twenty years of experience as a professional writer. She honed her craft working with some of the best (and toughest) editors in the world during her career at “Time” and “People” magazines.
Sophfronia holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard. In her current position as executive editor of The Done For You Writing & Publishing Company, Sophfronia helps entrepreneurs and speakers to write and publish books to promote their businesses. Her latest work is the bestselling book, Doing Business By the Book: How to Craft a Crowd-Pleasing Book and Attract More Clients and Speaking Engagements Than You Ever Thought Possible.
Kamy Wicoff is an author and literary salonierre. Her first book, I Do But I Don’t: Why The Way We Marry Matters (Da Capo, 2006), was an LA Times Bestseller and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s “On Point,” The CBS Early Show, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Jose Mercury News and in other major media outlets. She currently hosts The New York Salon of Women Writers with the author, editor and critic Nancy K. Miller. Founded in London in 2003 by Kamy and the late biographer Diane Middlebrook, the salon brings women writers together to discuss the craft and business of writing. The salon also has branches in London and San Francisco.
We all form habits in childhood that may interfere with running a sound and profitable business.
For instance, did you procrastinate as a child, like not cleaning your room when your mom asked? Well, now you’re a mompreneur, and that nasty little habit can get you into a world of hurt in your business. You have to return phone calls promptly; you have to pay bills promptly; you have to write reports promptly. Well, you get the idea. Your livelihood depends on recognizing the habits that will hurt your business and learning a new more business-like habit.
Once you can recognize this baggage from your childhood, you can do something about it. Take a long, hard look at yourself and add up the good points and the bad. If the bad can hurt your business, be stern with yourself and start the retraining campaign. You can accomplish a lot just by taking note every time you slide back into the old routine.
Many years ago before the patches, the pills and the gum there was a smoking cessation trick that had the smokers put many rubber bands around the cigarette pack so that they were aware every time they reached for a smoke. It slowed them down enough so that they could decide whether they could do without. That’s what you need to do. Tie mental rubber bands around the bad habit, and every time you feel yourself slipping, you can stop and follow the new business habit.
