Even if we haven’t met face to face, I bet I know a few things about you…

I know that you have courage you don’t give yourself credit for – I mean, you could have played it safe and chosen a “job” with a steady paycheck.  Or climbed the corporate ladder.  Right?

But that’s not what you wanted.

You wanted to be your own boss.  You wanted the flexibility of setting your own schedule, your own hours (even though that means some days you work till midnight!).

Or maybe you pursued your passion instead of tolerating a job that wasn’t satisfying for you.

I also know that despite the “marketing smile” you wear in public, sometimes you feel like a fraud, an imposter.  Sometimes you don’t feel as confident as you look.

Secretly you worry that someday, someone will “discover” that you really don’t know what you’re doing.

I also know that very likely you didn’t get special training in “how to be a woman entrepreneur” – and that’s true even if you have an MBA!  Because the real world doesn’t play out like what’s in the text books.

I know that you have dreams for your business, that you want it to grow, but you’re already working so hard that the thought of getting “bigger” feels like one more burden.

I know that sometimes it feels like every time you take step forward, there’s a step back.

I know sometimes you just feel stuck.  And alone.

I know this because I’ve worked exclusively with women business owners for sixteen years – in every industry you can imagine – from retail to doggie day cares to professional service firms to manufacturing companies.

I also know that most businesses reach a stage where they need very specific tools and concrete, practical directions.

And in that stage I know that the woman entrepreneur has to take a long hard look at herself.  She has to increase her business knowledge and her leadership abilities.  She has to move from “doing” to “leading.”

And I know for certain that’s entirely possible.

I’ve seen it happen, and been fortunate to be a part of that transition.  I know that when you learn the tools and processes necessary to get through this stage of growth, you can get unstuck and grow.

Getting bigger doesn’t have to mean working harder.

Your business can thrive and your life can become less stressful.  Your business can grow and become less dependent on you.  Your life can look like YOUR version of success.

Here’s what else I know:  I have no silver bullet, no quick fix, no magic wand to wave, no pixie dust to sprinkle.

If that’s what you’re looking for, then you can stop reading right here.  I don’t offer hype, oversimplified solutions and sound bites.  I don’t over-promise and under-deliver.

What I do offer is step-by-step learning.  It’s not sexy.  It’s not glamorous.

It’s the truth — the real deal.  I can show you the road map to get from where you are to where you want to be.

But I can’t do it alone.

You have to participate.  You have to be willing to risk who you are for who you can become.

And I know that’s not for everyone.  You have to want it.

Are you willing to learn the tools and the leadership skills necessary to grow?

If your answer is “Yes!” then I hope you’ll apply.

I’m now accepting ten students to take my seven-session e-course called THRIVE!  How to Get Unstuck and Grow your Business. 

If you are one of those ten, here’s what you’ll get:

• Five online e-courses (lessons on planning, structure, financials and accountability)
• Two 45-minute one-on-one coaching sessions (following sessions 3 and 5)
• Tools that enable you to work “on” your business not just “in” your business
• Interactive templates (so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel)
• Guidelines that will show you how to transition from “doing” to “leading”
• Knowledge on how to move from chaos to order
• Instructions on how to standardize processes and procedures
• Leadership skills to help you increase employee commitment, engagement and accountability

And if you do the work, here’s what you REALLY get:

• The increased confidence that education and tools can bring
• The peace of mind of knowing your company will be less dependent on you
• The financial success to live the life you really want

And here’s the best part — since it’s online learning, you have lots of flexibility on when you view the courses.

• The e-courses are sent to you weekly — curl up and view them at your convenience, any time before the following session.
• Your coaching sessions are scheduled a week in advance.

Think it over.

Ask yourself this:  “How much can my revenues increase in just one year if I can get unstuck and grow this business?”

Compare that with your investment in the seven-session online course:  $1295 and your time (45-60 minutes per session).  If you do the work, the skills you learn will last a lifetime and you will recover your investment a hundred times over.

As with all my training, I offer a 100% money-back guarantee.  If you’re not completely satisfied, I’ll refund your payment.  No hassles.  No hurt feelings.  No risk.

So I hope you’ll take this opportunity to learn substantive, practical, essential business skills that will give you the confidence you need for your business (and you!) to THRIVE!

Only ten places are available and the deadline for application is Monday, January 6, 2013.  The e-course begins on Friday, January 10.

 

 

And as a special bonus, the first five women to enroll will receive FREE my e-course How to Create a Marketing Plan Guaranteed to Increase Sales (a $74 value), which includes an incredible 12-page interactive Marketing Plan template.

It’s your decision, but I hope you say, “I’m in!” and we’ll go down this road together.

 

 

Take care,

 

 

P.S.  Oh, there’s one more thing I know:  if you’re willing to learn, you CAN go from feeling like an impostor to feeling like a smart, capable, unstoppable woman entrepreneur.

Try this fun experiment with me. 

Clasp your hands in front of you.  Notice which thumb is on top, and which pinky is on the outside. 

Now release your hands and clasp them again, only this time put the opposite thumb on top and the opposite pinky on the outside. 

It feels weirdly strange and unfamiliar, doesn’t it?

You can try the same thing by crossing your arms.  For me, my left arm automatically goes on top and I really have to work at crossing my arms with my right arm on top.   

Did you have as much trouble with that as I did? 

We are creatures of habit.  We all have things that we’ve done for years, without thinking about it.  There’s no “right or wrong” to it, it’s just what comes naturally.

When it comes to running your business, I bet there are things you’ve done a certain way for a long time.  But as our business grows, we need to grow with it.  And that means we need to do things differently.

That can feel very strange and uncomfortable.  Old habits are hard to break. 

One of the most difficult things for women entrepreneurs to learn is this:  what got you here won’t get you there.  (Darn!)

In the start-up stage our businesses are typically… uh…shall we say, unstructured.  Meaning, we fly by the seat of our pants.  We have few systems, procedures or standardized processes.  We make things up as we go along. 

We also do most everything ourselves, at one point or another.  Depending on your industry, it’s common to know every single customer personally. 

You know exactly what to do, and you carry every detail around in your head.

That’s normal.  And appropriate for a start-up company.

But as your business grows, you get more employees involved – or maybe you out-source certain projects or projects to independent contractors.  You get more customers and there are more people involved in the process. 

Now, in this growth stage, sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.  Things get disorganized.  Things start to fall through the cracks. 

You have more people coming to you for answers and decisions.  They come to you because nothing is written down.  There are no standardized processes and procedures.  And they come to you because no one else can make a decision. 

Business is good, but life gets crazy.  You’re working harder just to keep up.

In this stage, it’s very common for the woman entrepreneur to do what she’s always done:  apply more steam, press harder on the gas pedal.  Meaning, work even harder.

Don’t.    

This is the very stage where you need to recall that little exercise of clasping your hands or folding your arms. 

Now is the time to remember:  what got you here won’t get you there. 

It’s time to change your leadership style.  And that can feel as strange and uncomfortable as deliberately crossing our arms with the “other” arm on top.

As our businesses grow, we need to grow too.  We have to learn new things, new ways of communicating.  We have to use new tools, new processes. 

Try this:  make a list of the five top skills and abilities that led you to where you are today.  Now ask yourself, what have you been resisting because it feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable?

Those things you are resisting could be exactly what your business needs right now. 

Change can feel strange and uncomfortable.  But that doesn’t mean change isn’t necessary. 

As our businesses grow, what we need most is the ability to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

Take care,

P.S.  Let’s have a conversation about this.  Tell me in the comments section below your top five strengths (and what you might be resisting!). 

Ready to learn more about How to Get Unstuck and Grow Your Business? Check out this FREE Business Assessment!  

I spent a wonderful half hour in the bookstore yesterday, to find a gift for a friend who loves to read.  As a book-lover, that was a lovely treat, to be surrounded by real books! 

I didn’t even mind the long line, and passed the time reading the magazine headlines.

• “3 Simple Tricks to Lose Ten Pounds”
• “Holiday Decorating Made Easy”
• “Five Quick Ideas to Perk Up Your Fall Wardrobe”

Simple. Easy. Quick.

Those are three of the most powerful marketing words used by publishers to sell magazines.  Because in our busy lives, that’s what we’ve come to desire – simple, easy and quick solutions.

In our new Twitter world, we want our answers in 140 characters. 

When it comes to our own marketing, most of us wish for a quick fix, a simple solution, an easy formula.  Better yet, a magic bullet (or am I the only one?) 

I don’t have a magic bullet for you, and I can’t say this in 140 characters.  But...I do have one practical, powerful recommendation that can help you maximize your marketing time and dollars. 

• Create a report of all your customers for the last three years.
• Sort your list by volume & look at the top 20% of your customers
• What do they have in common? (Industry?  Stage of life?  Geography?  Belief system?  Specific needs?  Lifestyle?  Economic status?)

Now you have good picture of your target market – your most likely customers.  These are the people you most want to reach in your marketing efforts.

How can you capitalize on this knowledge?  What does this information tell you?  How can you use what you learned to reach these most likely customers right now?

This exercise you just completed is the first step toward creating a well-defined marketing plan. 

Marketing is a challenge for most women entrepreneurs I know, consuming more time and money than they really want to devote.

If that’s the case for you, check out our new e-course, coming up this Friday.  (And if not, congratulations! Please share this idea with a friend who does need help with her marketing.)

No, it’s not a quick fix.  (Sorry, I hate to burst your bubble but most quick fixes don’t work.)  But if you’ll invest the time to learn this process, I guarantee you’ll make smarter marketing decisions, save time and money and increase your sales.

45-minute E-Course “Become a Marketing Superstar!  How to Create a Marketing Plan Guaranteed to Increase Sales”

Our online course will teach you a deep and thoughtful process to help you target your most likely customers and reach them with the most effective methods and the right message.

Best of all, you get a 12-page marketing plan template, completely customizable to your business.

 

 

Take care,

 

P.S.  As with all my training, I offer a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.