Let me start today’s article out with a confession.

I am recovering from a bad case “perfection-itis.” You may know this disease - perhaps you have it too. If so, we’re not alone. This is an affliction that thousands of entrepreneurs suffer from on a daily basis.

Symptoms include the following:

1) An itching need to get everything right before you send out an ezine, launch a new program, post an entry on your blog, and so on.

2) A burning desire to learn everything there is to know before you try something new such as Twitter, podcasting, direct mail marketing, etc.

3) A feeling of guilt and inadequacy if anyone lets you know you have a typo or they unsubscribe from your ezine or stops working with you as a client.

4) Depression and self blame when your new program or marketing campaign doesn’t go the way it was intended.

And - ugh! - it’s no wonder that before long, the perfectionist in us leads to procrastination and non-action. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. And if you are a perfectionist, you’re not going to like it. Believe me - I am still getting used to the idea.

Here it is: as an entrepreneur, action is more important than perfection.

In fact, perfectionism will great limit your success and, most likely, it will keep you poor. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow. For those of us who hate to make mistakes and are scared to let anything out of our sight that isn’t 100% error free, this feels like a defeat.

Perfectionists spend so much time on each project that there is no time left over for anything else. In business, good-enough is actually better than perfect. The reason is that success thrives on speed. And, it requires ongoing action.

But if we get stuck proofreading our document for the hundredth time or editing our latest teleseminar for every single “um” and “ah,” then all of a sudden our efforts take us hours and hours. It actually begins costing us money.

Perfectionism is also a way to procrastinate.

We use our obsessing over typos to keep us from being bigger in the world. Inaction is safe because you don’t have to face possible criticism. However, the longer you procrastinate, the more difficult it becomes to create the kind of success you really want for yourself.

Don’t let your need to be perfect hold you back any longer.

If you are engaged in an activity and start to obsess, ask yourself this: “Instead of revising this one more time, can I generate more income if I were to spend the next hour on something else?” Then, move into action and send out that ezine or release your new service to the world.

Taking action is what will allow you to reach the success you desire.

Leave a comment and let me know how perfectionism has gotten you stuck and how you are successful in the fight against ‘perfection-itis…’

Twitter Love Me! 

Yesterday, I let the cat out of the bag and told you I’ve been having a love affair with a number of other bloggers.

Well not a love affair, but more of a one-sided crush…or a (well, just go and read the post and you’ll see.)

So here it is Friday again, so I’m going to tell you about a few other bloggers I am in love with (course they dont know, so don’t tell ‘em).

Christine Kane - Pretty much everything she writes is absolutely incredible. But her recent post on “7 Tried and True Ways to Stifle Your Creativity” really hit me over the head with a hammer because I am definitely guilty of all seven things!

Her number 7 on the list is one that I’m sure most of us can relate to:

#7 – Wait til you’re inspired.

Everyone knows how it works if you’re really truly for real creative:

You wait.

And you wait some more.

You stare at clouds.

Maybe you even eat some bon-bons.

Out of nowhere, the “muse” comes to you.  She takes your hand and leads you seductively to your desk. (She looks a lot like Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings.)

Dreamily, you ask the muse what, oh what, should you write.

And she tells you.  It is like taking dictation. And you know for sure that you are, indeed, one of the chosen few. The ones who are Creative.

That will surely happen if you wait…

and wait…

and wait…

and wait…

The lovely Kelly at Copylicious blog has a post about Going on a Marketing Diet which features a conversation between Bob Bly and Merlin Mann.

And it’s hysterical.

It’s Monday, and a tiny Bob Bly and a tiny Merlin Mann are having breakfast at a tiny dinette set inside the tiny breakfast nook inside my head.

Bob Bly prefers to drink his coffee back in his wood-paneled executive home office, but Merlin Mann insisted they have a real breakfast with fresh orange juice, fried chicken, and waffles. Bob is indulging Merlin, but he’s just itching to get back to work.

They’re having another one of their non-argument arguments, where no one is talking and yet a great deal is said by the way one asks for the syrup and the other passes it. Bob Bly is reading the Wall Street Journal, and Merlin Mann is making up limericks. He likes limericks.

And lastly (for this Friday, anyway), Jonathan at Illuminated Mind wrote a post on Why Productivity is a Huge Waste of Time. He reminds me to stop beating myself up about my so-called productivity because our non-productive times are really important. He writes:

So why does productivity matter, anyway? What’s so important about achieving?

The answer… not much.

The feeling of needing to accomplish something stems from dissatisfaction with the present. With this mindset, the whole idea of achieving is to become something. On the surface, it may seem like you’re doing something positive, but there’s a subtle undercurrent of rejection of what is. Rejection of yourself.

When you really get down to it, the noise and distractions aren’t really obstacles at all. They’re actually there to help you see what’s true for you and what’s not. They are a means to contrast, something to show you what doesn’t matter, so that you might know what is truly important. Obstacles are there to help your spirit grow.

Love you guys. You awesome bloggers, you.

Love how you share your thoughts and voices.

Love how you make me think bigger and act deeper.

Twitter Love Me! 

Lately, I’ve been in a love affair with a number of other bloggers.

Well… it’s not really a love affair because:

1) I haven’t told them.

2) They don’t love me back (only because they don’t know anything about me or I’m quite sure they would really, really love me.)

3) I’m quite fond of my dear husband because he does sweet things like make my dinner and rub my feet. He might not appreciate me having love affairs with random bloggers.

So perhaps it’s not really a love affair, but more like a one-sided crush….or an obsession…or a stalking.

I have a crush on these bloggers because they are so friggin’ awesome and they inspire me to be a better person. I’ll tell you more about other bloggers in later posts.

But for now, I want to talk about Naomi over at IttyBiz. Oh, Naomi…

Naomi is so cool because she shaves her head and writes cursewords on her blog and she’s still invited to speak at events.

And I’m jealous ’cause I want to be that gutsy. But I doubt I’ll shave my head any time soon.

I might curse on my blog, though…

Dammit!
(ooooh)

But in addition to being that cool, Naomi also is helping me to get a different perspective on blogging and being a business owner and a marketer.

Naomi writes:

“Let’s say you have a thing. Sometimes your thing is a small thing — you want to spend more time with your kids. Sometimes your thing is a big thing — you want to stop world hunger. But you have a thing because everybody has a thing.

No marketing = no sales.

No sales = no business.

No business = no resources.

No resources = no thing.

The world needs your thing.”

So my marketing thing can help other people do their thing - like helping to rescue dogs or making poems or singing great music or solving problems with techy stuff.

Naomi has made me feel bigger.

I feel bigger because I know my marketing thing has a big impact on you.

The people who are in service professions are the people I help with their marketing.

You are all doing stuff to make other people do their thing better. And marketing helps you let people know about how your thing helps their thing. And that’s my thing.

How cool is that?

Twitter Love Me! 

I have been getting questions lately from readers along the lines of “Times are tough. How do I keep my business going?”

And I’m not going to sugar-coat the situation. Times ARE tough. There are a lot of people losing their jobs, their homes, and their savings. So to stay afloat in these times, it is crucial to keep your mind steady when there is turbulent talk all around you.

Tough economic time means that, as an entrepreneur, you have to hunker down and weather the storm. And it isn’t always easy. But, you can actually make money during a recession. What it requires is being nimble and creative.

Now, more than ever, you have to be the steward and the visionary of your business.

First of all, I firmly believe that when the economy slumps, marketing is what will keep your business alive. But not just any old marketing, but marketing that shows your customers and prospects that your services and products will add value to them. Because most people cutting back on their spending.

This means that you have to absolutely and unequivocally emphasize the benefits your customer will receive when they purchase your offerings.

• How will it make their life better?
• How will it solve their problems?
• What will the outcome of their purchase be?

Break it down for them and explain it step by step.

This is also an important time for you to nurture yourself. Watch your nutrition, your fitness, and your stress level. Keep these in check. Because to fully serve your clients, you must be taking care of yourself first.

And, because recession-proofing your business means being creative, make sure you are giving yourself enough time to be with your muse.

Watch your mindset. With so much gloom and doom around us, it is easy to take on that energy. And, your customer can scent despair and desperation from at least 10 miles away. If you start to feel anxiety or fear about the economy, keep returning your thoughts to abundance. Continue taking positive actions.

So you have to monitor the thoughts that are going through your head and the energy you are projecting. Are you are thinking thoughts like these?

• “I don’t have enough clients.”
• I’m scared of not making enough money.”
• “There isn’t enough work for my competitors AND me.”
• “I can’t charge very much because nobody has any money.”

These thoughts, unfortunately, can be a self-fulfiling prophesy.

The more you get mired in these thoughts and take on the turbulent thoughts around you, the more doubt that will spill into your interactions with your prospects and customers.

If you are nervous, they’ll be nervous. If you project calmness and confidence, they will be reassured by your attitude and stick with you.

So to recession-proof your business, market smart. Ask for referrals from past and present customers (don’t wait for them).

If you’ve been in business for a while and sales are slowing, go back to the beginning. Remember when you had to make all those cold calls? It might be time to pick up the phone again.

Don’t stop marketing to your target audience just because times are tough. Follow-up repeatedly. People may need more hand-holding to make a decision, so hold their hand with your newsletters, mailings, and phone calls.

Smart business owners survive the bad times and thrive during the good ones. You can do this! And when you make it through the recession, just think how well you’ll do when we pop out on the other side of it.

Best, Wendy

Twitter Love Me! 

I am the type of person who will try a little bit of anything and everything to achieve a goal. For example, I have a 3 1/2 month old son. I turned 40 just 13 days after he was born.  And I was 38 when I got married. Kind of a late-bloomer in the whole marriage and kid thing, but each of our lives unfold according to their own schedule.

During our engagement, Nathan and I agreed that we wanted to be parents. So having old eggs and being (as the professionals labeled me) of advanced maternal age, I decided that I should get right to work on my fertility. My regimen included about 18 types of vitamins, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, bloodwork, ovulation predictor kits, herbs, nutrition, exercise, visualization, and an OB/GYN who specialized in fertility (oh yeah, and the husband was helping too). I was pregnant in 7 months, which I thought was pretty darn good for these old eggs.

As you can see, my approach included Western medicine, good nutrition, Eastern acupuncture, and a little bit of woo-woo thrown in for good measure. Something in there worked. Because I now have a beautiful bundle of baby-boy joy (and some sleepless nights too)!

And in building my business, I have used many approaches as well. I’ve studied the masters of advertising, attended marketing workshops, listened to endless telecalls, had strategic meetings with my team, learned about the Law of Attraction, posted affirmations and goal cards, and visualized success.

And, as a result of some or all of these tactics I have a successful business. Which is wonderful. And I am so grateful for my business partner, my clients, my amazing team members, and the wonderful projects that come my way. And yet, as I mentioned in my New Year post, I am re-examining my priorities and my goals.

And what I am realizing is that there is an exciting new idea within me but it’s underneath the surface of my consciousness. I am feeling the “There’s Something More” itch but I can’t quite name it yet. It has to do with my business and how I work with people. There will be a new aspect to what I am offering. Isn’t creativity amazing in the way that it works within us?

So, to get to the bottom of this new feeling, I am tackling it it with my a “little bit of anything and everything” approach. I am journaling and talking to people and blogging about it. I also creating a vision board. Believe it or not, I’ve never done one before. I always thought a vision board had to be specific. But, I just read about a technique on Christine Kane’s blog called an “Opening and Allowing” vision board. Here’s what she says:

How to create this vision board:

Go through each magazine. Tear out images that delight you. Don’t ask why. Just keep going through the magazines. If it’s a picture of a teddy bear that makes you smile, then pull it out. If it’s a cottage in a misty countryside, then rip it out. Just have fun and be open to whatever calls to you. Then, as you go through Step 2 above, hold that same openness, but ask yourself what this picture might mean. What is it telling you about you? Does it mean you need to take more naps? Does it mean you want to get a dog, or stop hanging out with a particular person who drains you? Most likely you’ll know the answer. If you don’t, but you still love the image, then put it on your vision board anyway. It will have an answer for you soon enough. Some women at my retreats had NO idea what their board was about, and it wasn’t until two months later that they understood. The Opening and Allowing Vision Board can be a powerful guide for you. I like it better than the first model because sometimes our egos think they know what we want, and lots of times those desires aren’t in alignment with who we really are. This goes deeper than just getting what you want. It can speak to you and teach you a little bit about yourself and your passion.

Isn’t that cool? I can create a vision board as a guide for something I don’t yet understand. And so I’ve started to gather bits and pieces out of magazines and putting them into piles. Before baby, I would’ve spent an entire day making my new vision board. With baby, I am doing this in stolen moments when I can.

I am very excited about this experiment in Vision Boarding. Anyone want to join me in the journey? You can create your own board and we’ll compare notes on our discoveries. I will be posting a picture of the vision board on the blog when I am done. Something new and exciting is just around the corner for me. I will definitely keep you posted on my progress and my discoveries!

Twitter Love Me! 

My New Year is starting off with a big old BANG SIGH….

Why a sigh? It’s a sigh of self-reflection….of bewilderment…and of surrender (but not of sadness).

Motherhood has really shifted me in a big way. I love motherhood. I love my 11-week son. And as my best friend and mother of four wonderful children, Tammi Brooks, told me, “Nothing in your life can prepare you for the randomness of motherhood.”

And it is true. With a young child, there is always change. And it often occurs within the span of seconds. He’s giggling and then screaming and then back to smiles again…all within a few minutes. And even with a schedule, what works this week or this day is not always what worked last week or yesterday- thus the randomness.

With the New Year and my new family member, I am realizing that my life as I knew it is dead. Along with Ripley’s birth, comes my rebirth. The curious thing is that I have no idea who I am now. I am examining my new self, my priorities, and my goals. And it is both frightening and exciting.

At 40, I am coming into motherhood with a well-defined identity. It’s an identity that says to me, “Wendy, you are an ENTREPRENEUR. You are successful when you are PRODUCTIVE. Success equals accomplishments and doing tasks and serving clients and being busy.”

Yeah, well tell that to my son, Ripley.

To him, success means hanging out on the floor, bouncing together on the yoga ball, staring into each others’ eyes, singing ridiculous songs, and laying on the bed making weird noises and kicking at the air. It’s not really about DOING…it’s more about simply BEING.

I tried to tell him that I am not very adept at simply being, but doesn’t listen very well. He just gives me more opportunities to try.

Motherhood has weaved itself into every other aspect of my day and night. And this is part of what my rebirth involves.

With my new-found BEINGNESS, I have a lot more time to reflect. I realize that I have defined success with a pretty narrow measurement. I have looked at other people - other marketers in particular - and I have used their lives and their accomplishments as part of my gauge. If I were as successful as Mr. So-and-So or Ms. Blahdy-Blah, I would have numerous published books, millions of dollars of revenue, a designer wardrobe, an international speaking circuit, and a hot little car that I show off in my ezine to my 100,000 subscribers. Oh - and I would always be delighted with life because the Law of Attraction brings me everything. (I’m a bit sick of hearing about the Law of Attraction - I swear, every ezine I read is blab-blabbing about it.)

And then there’s my life. Mark Twain said, “When in doubt, tell the truth.”

Well, here is the truth… I have 2 dogs, 3 cats, an infant, and a husband who is a Pro Downhill Mountain biker. This means that most days, my house is chaotic with hairballs and mud and drool. As a new mom, I barely manage to get out of my pajamas some days.I live in a small town in Oregon with an amazing community of friends who mostly wear fleece and yoga pants (i.e. no glamorous gowns). I co-own a design and marketing business that I run with my business partner of 9+ years with great clients and an amazing staff. I have an ezine and blog that enjoy regular readers.

The thing is… I LOVE my life (with all of its chaos and clutter). So, why have I  been measuring my success by others? It’s time to put on the brakes. Scrrrreeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!!!

As part of my awakening to the new 40-year-old mommy me, here are my intentions for the New Year:

1. Be even MORE authentic on my blog, in my ezine, and with everyone I meet.
2. Embrace and enjoy MY life as it is (not as I think it SHOULD be).
3. Surrender to BEING and not worry as much about DOING.
4. Worry less about what others think (I’m 40 - isn’t it about time?).
5. Embrace abundance in ALL of its aspects.
6. Tell the TRUTH - (i.e. tell my truth to myself and live MY truth.)

Are you measuring your success in life by others?

What are your intentions for the New Year? Tell the truth - your truth. Tell it on your blog, in your ezine, at coffee shops with your friends - or simply write it in the comments section below!

Twitter Love Me! 

As part of your marketing efforts, be sure to offer discounts and sales. People love them and it’s a great way to create cash flow. You can use incentives to entice new people to try your services/products. Sales are also a powerful tool to encourage past customers to come back to your company if they’ve drifted away.

Here are some pointers to help you with your sales:

1. Offer a trial discount: If you want to get people to try a program or product you are launching, you can have a pre-release sale or a trial membership like I offered for my Maven Success Circle. You can also offer an early-bird discount for a seminar or workshop.

2. Create pre-launch sales excitement: For the best example of this, review the buzz that was created around the newest versions of the iPhone and the iPod. Steve Jobs is a master. You can do this same thing prior to the release of your next product or service. Generate excitement in your ezine, your blog, and have pre-launch teleseminars.

3. Try discounting to groups: If you provide services or products to large companies or associations, you can offer a discount if a group signs up together. This can encourage more participation. You can also offer incentives to organizers to bring a group - for example, bring a group of 5 or more people and the leader can register for free.

4. Tell-A-Friend incentive: This is an effective promotional tool and can be used in a number of ways. For instance, a postcard mailing could promote “Register for XYZ program and register your friend for 5o% off with this postcard” or “Two registrations for the price of one with this coupon” and so on.

5. Make a reason for your sale: You can hold a sa1e because of a special event like Mother’s Day or your birthday or the anniversary of your business. Promote it to your customers in a way that gets them excited and be sure to let them know the offer is good for a limited time only!

6. Send out multiple reminders: Whether you are promoting your sale via e-mail, direct mail, or your ezine (or in all three), it’s important that you remind people several times about your sa1e. Why? Because all of us are bombarded by lots of information and it’s easy to miss a single notice about something.

7. Expect orders right before the deadline: Make sure to send out a reminder on the day of the deadline. Don’t be surprised if 50% or more of your orders come in at the 11th hour. Many of us are procrastinators and will put in the order at the last minute. But, if you don’t send a reminder…you probably won’t get the order at all.

The key is to avoid using any one discounting or sales strategy too often. Pull it out of your marketing tool box a few times a year. And mix up the types of offers you are making. Otherwise it can seem like you are simply inflating the original price and then you devalue your services/products. But when you need a cash infusion or are launching a new product…go for it!

Twitter Love Me! 

People don’t buy things. They buy solutions to problems; they want to fulfill a desire or meet a need. To market your business effectively, you have to KNOW your target audience and what problems they face. In your marketing efforts - whether written, online, or in person - you should be able to provide your audience with a solution that is specific and directly benefits them…AND you should care about their problem. Examples of powerful motivators include making money, saving money, having more time, reducing effort, decreasing stress, increasing comfort, good health, being fit, losing weight, romance, and praise.

So, what are your customers trying to figure out, overcome, fix, heal, or prevent? What is their biggest concern on a daily basis? How are they feeling about their problem? And what unique solution do you provide to their problem? Don’t get sidetracked by describing your service or product - stay focused on solving their problem.

How do you want your target audience to feel when they purchase your services or products? Trust? Motivation? Inspiration? More knowledgeable? Begin to think about the emotions you want to evoke in your target audience and the lasting impression you want make. What will they experience after they’ve hired your company?

Let me give you an example to show you how you can begin to develop this type of strategic thinking. Let’s pretend you are a financial planner who focuses on working with new parents to invest money for their infant’s future college tuition. You determine that their primary problem is not having enough money right now to pay for their child’s education. They feel worried and scared that they won’t have enough, confused about how to make the right investment choice, and committed to sending their child to a good school. You are going to help them to create a secure future for their child without exorbitant tax consequences. With your planning services, they will feel more in control, confident, and relieved.

By focusing on this part of your marketing planning and thinking strategically about your message, you will begin to understand exactly what motivates your target audience. You know they problems that keep them up at night. This will make all of your marketing efforts easier because you can explain the outcome your customers get as a result of working with you (and how your products and services will solve their specific problems).

It’s easy to get the inside scoop on your target audience - simply ask them about their specific problems related to your industry. Talk to your current and past customers. Take them out for coffee and ask for their assistance. Most people are flattered to be asked for their opinion. Ask them questions such as: Why did you need my services? What were you struggling with before you sought my help? What was the biggest improvement in your business since we worked together? How did you feel as a result? (By the way, if they give you fantastic feedback, this is a perfect time to also ask if you can use what they said as a testimonial!)

Interview several people about their particular challenges, needs, and problems. Try to get enough data to help determine the trends among your target audience. You may be surprised at what you find out. In fact, you may even come up with an idea for a new product or service because you uncover a need you didn’t understand prior to your interviews. By tailoring your marketing to solving your customers’ problems, you will position your company to be magnetic to your audience.

Twitter Love Me!