Do You Have The Grasshopper or Ant Philosophy?

There’s a lot of buzz going on in the small business community that is quite frankly disturbing. That talk is about ‘taking the summer off’. I don’t know any business owners who have the luxury of, or desire to, take the summer off.

The talk is rampant in networking groups and online. There’s concern about low turnouts at events because it’s summer. Scaling back or cancelling meetings because it’s summer. That nothing is going to be happening until September. Yikes!

You know the old story about the grasshopper right? He played all summer and when winter came he was starving and out in the cold because he didn’t spend any time preparing. He was at the mercy of the ants who kept working all through the summer so they were comfortable and ready for the long winter.

Here are a few things you can do to keep working on your business this summer:

1) Connect with others. What a great time to make time for face to face meetings with people you have wanted to connect with. Make it a point to reach out to a certain number of people each week and get a face to face or phone meeting on the calendar. Make it a mix of prospects and business partners. Get together with other business people who have the same mindset. Getting together with a few people informally to mastermind is really beneficial and energizing.
2) Get organized. Take advantage of the breathing room and get caught up on the boring, mundane tasks that you’ve been putting off. Clean out your office, get caught up on your books, or finally get your files organized.
3) Work on your business. If you haven’t done a business plan then grab a copy of my downloadable workbook and get to work. Look at your numbers and see how you’ve stacked up. If you’re numbers aren’t where you want them to be then figure out what you can do differently. Working on strategy is great because you can do it anywhere and sometimes a change of scenery is just what you need to give you a whole new perspective. So grab your workbook and a notebook and go the park, or the beach, or even on a hike. I’ve practiced speeches while on a walk. Just watch out for cars! Do take advantage of one of the best perks of being self-employed – setting your own schedule!

My encouragement for you is to think of creative things you can do with your time even if other people are taking time off. If you do, you will reap the rewards that come from consistent actions and you will be ahead of the competition.

So do you want to be the grasshopper or the ant? I think I’ll go with the ant philosophy. I won’t be taking the summer off so if you want to hang out with me give me a call and let’s set up a coffee or a phone chat. Remember, you can achieve whatever you believe as long as you are willing to work for it!

Liz Uram is a business strategist and marketing plan expert, working with entrepeneurs to sort out their big ideas and get results. Get your free eBook Boost Your Business Now!

Can you describe your business in one word?

In working with a new client on her business plan recently and brainstorming about how she would describe her business, we discovered that ‘charming’ was a perfect description.  As simple as a word as that is, it was not easy to nail down.  By listening to the client, asking lots of question, and deep digging, it became clear that it was the perfect word.

In retrospect it was kind of obvious but seldom do we, as entrepreneurs, take the time to get that focused on how we describe our business.  This story is important for a few reasons:

1)    This one-word description will be the basis for creating consistent marketing materials that convey the personality of the company and what the company offers.  Think of Apple, what word would you use to describe them?  Many people would say innovative.  It’s a fitting word and it comes across in their marketing.  Disney is described as imagination and it shows.  Maybe you think it doesn’t matter because your company is just you.  I would argue that having a strong brand matter even more to the solo entrepreneur.  Your marketing materials should work for you and the more you can convey the message of your offer through your marketing the less work it is for you.

2)    This example illustrates the benefit of having an objective outside opinion from someone who can ask questions that get to the root of the matter.  It is very difficult to be objective when you are dealing with your business because you are just too close to it.  Someone who is trained in the art of asking the right questions can make all the difference in the world.  Consider the money you spend on getting this clarity should be considered an investment in your business rather than a cost.  Remember, investments have the potential of gaining a return whereas costs are just money out of the account.

3)    This exercise demonstrates the value of creating a business plan.  This exercise comes out of the very first pages of plan and it will play a critical role in the success of the company as it unfolds.  Too many people skip over the first section of their plan covering the general company overview.  Questions like ‘why are you in business’ and ‘describe your business’ just seem too obvious and are glossed over.  That is a big mistake.  You will be surprised at the information you will uncover by digging into these questions.

This is a surprisingly difficult exercise but the payoff is huge.  It may not be apparent immediately, but it will make future decisions easier because now there is a reference point.  For instance, my ‘charming’ client has a product that will sell well at an expo so she is thinking about what her booth should look like.  Don’t you think it will be important that she choose materials that support her brand and image?  If you were to describe your business as cutting-edge, what type of marketing materials would best support that claim?  Do you think cardboard display boards with signs printed from your home computer are going to convey that image?  No way.  The brand and image you present matter.  And it all starts with one little word.  My encouragement for you is that you put some thought into what you want to represent and then review your marketing materials to see if that is what you’re doing.  Remember, you can achieve whatever you believe as long as you are willing to work for it!

Request your free eBook ‘Boost Your Business Now’!

Choose the life YOU want

I was talking with my daughter last night and trying to come up with my best motherly advice. Nothing terrible was going on, just life stuff that we all deal with. Since she was open to listening I took full advantage of the opportunity to pull out my best stuff about how to have the life you want. Here’s what I came up with:
Instead of focusing on what’s not going right and what you don’t have, focus on what you want. Knowing what you want is the ultimate to key to having the life you want. A good life doesn’t just fall into your lap. You have to be aware of it. In fact, the more time you spend on focusing on what you don’t have the less chance you have of accepting the good that is coming your way. I’m a believer that opportunity is all around us and that good things are coming our way all the time. The problem is that if we are so focused on the way things should be or having what we can’t have, we miss those opportunities to and they land on someone else. Then we get caught up in the fruitless cycle of focusing on what other people have. Get rid of the clutter. Accept what isn’t working or serving you well. A better way is to not pay attention to what other people have and just focus on what we want and what we are going to do to get it.
Instead of saying I can’t, say I can. It’s true that we can’t change what other people do or what happened in the past but we can do things differently going forward. So, if you don’t like the way something is you can ask yourself what you can do differently. And no, this doesn’t mean trying to change other people. It means working on ourselves to become the person we want to become. Like attracts like so if you want something a certain way you have to start to become a certain way. A job or your business, is a perfect example of this. If you want a promotion or to have a reputation as an expert then start acting the way someone at that level would act. I’m not saying you should be a fake and be something you’re not, I’m saying to figure out what is you want and develop yourself into that.
Figure out what you want. The easiest way is to sit down and write out everything you want in 7 areas of your life – financial, career, relationships, recreation, health and wellness, personal development, and community service. My book ‘How to Organize & Manage Your Time – A One Year Planning and Action Guide’ is designed especially to help you do this. Order before the end of the year and get a free 30-minute CD on the 4 keys to success in life.

Request your free eBook 5 Steps to Boost Your Business Now.  Liz Uram helps  solo entrepreneurs attract more qualified leads, get more clients, and make more money through strategic action planning.  She is a certified professional coach, has a B.A. in Organizational Leadership, is the author of ‘How to Organize & Manage Your Time – A One Year Planning and Action Guide’, and is an award-winning speaker.

Putting together the pieces of success

A lot of people have the holidays on their mind at this time of year but it’s actually a great time to start thinking about planning for next year.  Why wait until the beginning of the year to get going? Wouldn’t it be great to be all set to blast off and start off strong?  The success you achieve in the future begins with actions taken now.   Just like the success you enjoy now is the result of actions put into motion in the past.  It’s all about momentum and momentum begins with a single step.  Think of the powerful locomotive that starts out slowing chugging along and ends up as an unstoppable mass of energy.

Your greatest chance for success starts with a plan.  Here are 3 ideas to get started.

Think about what you really want to achieve.  Set aside a few hours, a full day, or whatever amount of time you want to lay out your vision.  Get creative however creativity looks to you.  You might have a wall full of post-it notes, or flip charts with colorful markers, or just a plain old pen and notepad.  It doesn’t matter what medium you use to get your vision down, the key is to get it out of your head and onto paper.   When you’re ready to this, be relaxed, in a good mood, and don’t second guess yourself.  Start by writing out everything you can think of.  It doesn’t matter if it’s big or little, realistic or unimaginable, this exercise is like dumping out a box full of puzzle pieces.  You get to figure out how to put them together later.  

All action is born in thought.  Procrastination and inactivity is the result of too much time thinking and not enough time doing.  Getting your thoughts down on paper, as just described, is the first step in achieving what you want.  It is amazing what can happen just by getting things out of your head and down on paper.  You can begin to see the big picture.  Just like when all the puzzle pieces that are out of the box, you can begin to see how they can come together.  As long as they are in the box nothing will happen.  Once they are out of the box you will likely start to pick them up and start piecing them together.

Success takes time.  Just like the puzzle, success takes time.  Of course, the length of time depends on the difficulty involved.  A 500 piece puzzle won’t take as long as a 5000 piece puzzle.   When you’re dealing with your life or your business you’re probably dealing with a 5000 piece puzzle at least. Just like the puzzle, success is a process that includes prepping, testing, analyzing, and tweaking.  Be realistic about what you are trying to achieve so you don’t get discouraged.  If it’s a long term goal, don’t expect overnight success.  A few pieces of the puzzle put together might not look like much but you have to start somewhere.  If you keep at it eventually the picture will become more defined, more clear, and eventually you will have succeeded.

My encouragement for you this week is that you will plan to plan.  Schedule some time before the end of the year where you can have relaxed, uninterrupted planning time.  Have fun with it and just take it step by step.  If you want some help getting started, call or email me to schedule a Get Focused session.  Remember, you can achieve whatever you believe as long as you are willing to work for it.

Liz Uram is a certified professional coach, has a B.A. in Organizational Leadership, is the author of ‘How to Organize & Manage Your Time – A One Year Planning and Action Guide’, and is an award-winning speaker.  She specializes in helping entrepreneurs and solo professionals attract
more qualified leads, get more clients, and make more money!  Request your free eBook 5 Steps to Boost Your Business Now!

Where are you going?

Do you have a vision?  Do you know where you’re going?  If not, how will you know when you get there?  The great thing about creating a vision is the feeling of excitement you get when you start brainstorming all the exciting possibilities that are out there.

Seriously, if you don’t have a vision what are you doing every day?  Are you just going through the motions?  It’s your life – your one and only – don’t you want to make the most out of it?  Visions fuel your imagination.  You will find yourself more energized.  You will want to jump out of bed in the morning because you can’t wait to get started on your day.  You will take pleasures in every action, even the ones you that don’t turn out as you expected because you know that every “mistake” is a something to learn from.

Get excited!  Get going!  Grab a piece of paper and write down everything you would love to do if there was no reason not to (and there isn’t).  Have fun with it and remember, if you don’t do it now when will you ever do it?

Check out “How To Organize & Manage Your Time” for a guided walk through creating your vision in 7 areas of your life.