According to the Center for Women's Business Research, nearly 10.4 million firms are owned by women generating $1.9 trillion in sales. Yet, only 3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms.
U.S. Census data show that 46% of women-owned businesses are tiny enterprises with revenue of less than $10,000 per year, compared with 30% of men-owned businesses.
It's time for a change ladies! There is a way to improve the dismal economic stats. It's called cross marketing.
At its essence, cross marketing is nothing more than joining forces with compatible companies so that everyone involved can more effectively capitalize on each others' existing client base.
Join forces with women around the globe to declare your independence from expensive and fruitless marketing strategies by taking part in the $1 Million Cross Marketing Challenge.
You will receive a directory of businesswomen interested in cross marketing, ideas and tips on how to cross market, virtual networking opportunities on a private network, inclusion in live tele-networking events, tools to cross market, information on programs offered by WomenPartner International, and your profile included on the WomenPartner.com blog.
What's the cost to participate? $0!
The price of participation is forming a strategic alliance news alliance with WomenPartner International to help us spread the word about the $1 Million Cross Marketing Challenge.
What percent do you want to be a part of? The 3% with a $1 million in sales or the 46% making less than $10,000?
If you want to be a part of the top 3%, then register to participate in the 1 Million Cross Marketing Challenge. You will benefit from your alliance with WomenPartner International while connecting with other women interested in cross marketing. If you are staying home this summer due to the high cost of gas, you might as well have great time meeting women from around the globe whose clients can use your products and services.
Contact Jerrilynn B. Thomas at jerrilynnbthomas@ivwcc.org for a registration form and instructions on how to invite other women. Visit http://www.ivwcc.org to acquaint yourself with WomenPartner International. The tele-networking event dates are listed below. You will be able to attend as many events as you please.
Summer Networking Schedule
Thursday, June 26 Noon - 1 PM Pacific
Thursday, July 10 Noon - 1 PM Eastern
Tuesday, July 15 7 PM - 8 PM Eastern
Tuesday, July 15 7 PM - 8 PM Pacific
Thursday, July 24 Noon - 1 PM Pacific
Thursday, Aug. 14 Noon - 1 PM Eastern
Tuesday, Aug. 19 7 PM - 8 PM Pacific
Tuesday, Aug. 19 7 PM - 8 PM Eastern
Thursday, Aug. 28 Noon - 1 PM Pacific
Thursday, Sept. 11 Noon - 1 PM Eastern
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I figured it out
What the heck is Derek Gehl up to NOW?!
I got a message from him the other day that was pretty vague, but mentioned something about a revolutionary new training system that he and his team of experts have been working on. Now I'm always interested in what Derek is up to, so I called my "mole" at his company (yep, I know someone who works for Derek, and occasionally I call him for extra insight. Shhh! ;-)
Anyway... My mole told me that Derek had a couple of his experts holed up with him in their video training center for WEEKS, where they've been busy creating an extremely comprehensive, step-by-step video training system.
And the best part? This new series is based on BeBiz, the business building system that helps you create a completely automated, hands-free Internet business, including a professional-looking website, a top-quality salesletter, and a payment system that sends profits straight to your inbox.
(Just so you know, my mole mentioned that, at a recent company-wide meeting, Derek revealed that BeBiz has become their MOST successful system EVER!)
What else did I learn? Well, it seems Derek's ALSO planning to include FREE use of the BeBiz software with this new training system...
... and he's even throwing in THREE months of FREE one-on-one consultations with his team of marketing experts. Unfortunately, I couldn't squeeze the price for this new video system out of my mole, but really, it sounds like a few thousand dollars worth of value to me! I'm definitely going to sign up for his launch so I can find out more, and if you need help building a successful business, I suggest you do the same.
Just follow this link: http://www.marketingtips.com/dereks-project/t/649426
I got a message from him the other day that was pretty vague, but mentioned something about a revolutionary new training system that he and his team of experts have been working on. Now I'm always interested in what Derek is up to, so I called my "mole" at his company (yep, I know someone who works for Derek, and occasionally I call him for extra insight. Shhh! ;-)
Anyway... My mole told me that Derek had a couple of his experts holed up with him in their video training center for WEEKS, where they've been busy creating an extremely comprehensive, step-by-step video training system.
And the best part? This new series is based on BeBiz, the business building system that helps you create a completely automated, hands-free Internet business, including a professional-looking website, a top-quality salesletter, and a payment system that sends profits straight to your inbox.
(Just so you know, my mole mentioned that, at a recent company-wide meeting, Derek revealed that BeBiz has become their MOST successful system EVER!)
What else did I learn? Well, it seems Derek's ALSO planning to include FREE use of the BeBiz software with this new training system...
... and he's even throwing in THREE months of FREE one-on-one consultations with his team of marketing experts. Unfortunately, I couldn't squeeze the price for this new video system out of my mole, but really, it sounds like a few thousand dollars worth of value to me! I'm definitely going to sign up for his launch so I can find out more, and if you need help building a successful business, I suggest you do the same.
Just follow this link: http://www.marketingtips.com/dereks-project/t/649426
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Are You a Woman With a Book or a Product?
If you're a professional woman with a book or product, give us an opportunity to purchase from you on Friday, June 20.
This is the day we are celebrating who we are as women---as women who are on the move and making a difference!
June 20 is the 2nd annual celebration of Baby Boomer Diva Day. Showcase your product for 15 minutes for the very low price of $10. A few vendor slots still left. Also, there will be plenty of prize giveaways with special guest speaker, Heidi Richards, who will discuss how blogging can turn into $$$ for your business or product. It's going to be the most fun you've had online in a LONG time. 10am-3pm
To get more information or to sign up now: keybusinesspartners@verizon.net
This is the day we are celebrating who we are as women---as women who are on the move and making a difference!
June 20 is the 2nd annual celebration of Baby Boomer Diva Day. Showcase your product for 15 minutes for the very low price of $10. A few vendor slots still left. Also, there will be plenty of prize giveaways with special guest speaker, Heidi Richards, who will discuss how blogging can turn into $$$ for your business or product. It's going to be the most fun you've had online in a LONG time. 10am-3pm
To get more information or to sign up now: keybusinesspartners@verizon.net
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I need your input
I'm sitting in my office with a small case of the "blahs." You know that feeling right? I have tons of stuff to do and little desire to do it. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and I'm tired. And I'm not so sure that I haven't lost sight of some of my goals and I'm not confident that I'm making progress.
So where did I get off track? I was moving along just fine, getting more excited every day and then ...Something hit. In my case it was the air conditioner, the washing machine and the lawn mower all breaking in the same week. Then all the rain we've been having must have eroded some of the soil in on our land because a tree fell over and destroyed part of our fence. And my husband just announced he may be transferred to Fresno, CA.
Doesn't it ALWAYS happen this way....You are going along just fine and something just blows up in your face and that carefully planned goal gets forgotten.
So the real question is ...Now that I know that I'm off-track, what do I do about it and how can I keep it from happening again? Well, the first step is to remember what your main goal is. In my case that goal is to ..."Make a decent living while helping as many people as I possibly can achieve their own goals for a quality life." But, wait. I have to admit that I am making a decent living, at least in my own estimation. So have I achieved my goal? Is that why I feel so lost? Is it time to change my goal? Of course not. I just need to fine tune my goal. You see, my original goal was written long before I learned anything about how to set SMART goals. What is a "decent living." Who gets to decide? How will I know when I make it?
A goal is a clear, concise statement - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and has a time limit. So let's see what we can do with that original goal to make it better. Ready? How about "Earn $200,000 this year" or "Make $40,000 a month by the end of 2008." Better? Okay. That's part one. Now for the second part - "help as many people as possible achieve their own goals." This one could be a little trickier. How will I know if I've helped as many people as I can? How will I know I couldn't have helped just one more if I had worked harder? Is there any way to make this a SMARTer goal? Probably not. So you know what. It's not a goal. Perhaps it should be part of my personal mission statement. (What? You don't have your own mission statement? Shame on you! We'll work on that in a different post.).
Okay, so my new financial goal now reads: Make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008. Good goal. I'm feeling more focused already!
Step two. When you've lost focus and you've reexamined your goals, your not finished. Because just rewriting or remembering your goals isn't going to help you get back on track. You have to look at your strategy for achieving your goals. So how am I going to make $30,000 per month? I have my site selection business. That does well. But with the current economic situation, many meetings are being cancelled or scaled back so the chances of making $30,000 per month with that is not good. I have my Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing business. That does great. And it's growing. It could conceivably make $30,000 per month. But probably not by the end of 2008. Then there's the money I make from my affiliate programs. They all bring a little. And the "Travels with Bob" website is almost ready for launch. These are all good businesses. But none of them will make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008.
So what's the answer? Multiple sources of income. Alone - none of these will help me make my goal. But together I will more than achieve it. That was part of my sense of failure. I was focusing on one business to take me all the way. And then I talked to one of my mentors who reminded me that $30,000 is $30,000 whether it's all from one business or $10,000 each from several businesses.
Now, running several enterprises at once can be time consuming. And since one of my other goals is to spend more time with my husband, daughter, and grandchildren, that could cause conflict. So I also need to come up with some passive, recurring, and residual income. I will need to look at automating more of the processes on "Bob's" website. And maybe it's time to hire an assistant to help with some of the clerical and administrative tasks. And then I really need to share Fortune with as many people as possible. Network marketing is one of the greatest sources for passive residual income!
I'm so excited! I feel a new burst of energy. I think I'm back on track. In fact, I'm so excited that I almost forgot what I originally wanted to post about. I've been thinking of writing a book. I've got a title."Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise - A Woman's Guide to Becoming Physically, Financially, and Spiritually Fit". And you can help me write it. I need some specific input from you. If I've helped any of you in any way, I need to hear about it. Why? Well, it's not for my ego -- although I have at least as much ego going as the next person. It's because I need to know what things I am doing to reach my goals actually WORK! It's OK if you want to e-mail me and tell me that nothing has worked for you yet...But ...That's not the purpose of this post. What I am looking for is specific information, tools or techniques that I have personally given you that helped you towards a better life. I'm really looking for specific results. The more specific the better. If you have benefited from something that I've shared with you, please take a moment, hit the comment button and let me know specifically what it was. I'll be able to see what is working for you and that will help me help others.
So where did I get off track? I was moving along just fine, getting more excited every day and then ...Something hit. In my case it was the air conditioner, the washing machine and the lawn mower all breaking in the same week. Then all the rain we've been having must have eroded some of the soil in on our land because a tree fell over and destroyed part of our fence. And my husband just announced he may be transferred to Fresno, CA.
Doesn't it ALWAYS happen this way....You are going along just fine and something just blows up in your face and that carefully planned goal gets forgotten.
So the real question is ...Now that I know that I'm off-track, what do I do about it and how can I keep it from happening again? Well, the first step is to remember what your main goal is. In my case that goal is to ..."Make a decent living while helping as many people as I possibly can achieve their own goals for a quality life." But, wait. I have to admit that I am making a decent living, at least in my own estimation. So have I achieved my goal? Is that why I feel so lost? Is it time to change my goal? Of course not. I just need to fine tune my goal. You see, my original goal was written long before I learned anything about how to set SMART goals. What is a "decent living." Who gets to decide? How will I know when I make it?
A goal is a clear, concise statement - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and has a time limit. So let's see what we can do with that original goal to make it better. Ready? How about "Earn $200,000 this year" or "Make $40,000 a month by the end of 2008." Better? Okay. That's part one. Now for the second part - "help as many people as possible achieve their own goals." This one could be a little trickier. How will I know if I've helped as many people as I can? How will I know I couldn't have helped just one more if I had worked harder? Is there any way to make this a SMARTer goal? Probably not. So you know what. It's not a goal. Perhaps it should be part of my personal mission statement. (What? You don't have your own mission statement? Shame on you! We'll work on that in a different post.).
Okay, so my new financial goal now reads: Make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008. Good goal. I'm feeling more focused already!
Step two. When you've lost focus and you've reexamined your goals, your not finished. Because just rewriting or remembering your goals isn't going to help you get back on track. You have to look at your strategy for achieving your goals. So how am I going to make $30,000 per month? I have my site selection business. That does well. But with the current economic situation, many meetings are being cancelled or scaled back so the chances of making $30,000 per month with that is not good. I have my Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing business. That does great. And it's growing. It could conceivably make $30,000 per month. But probably not by the end of 2008. Then there's the money I make from my affiliate programs. They all bring a little. And the "Travels with Bob" website is almost ready for launch. These are all good businesses. But none of them will make $30,000 a month by the end of 2008.
So what's the answer? Multiple sources of income. Alone - none of these will help me make my goal. But together I will more than achieve it. That was part of my sense of failure. I was focusing on one business to take me all the way. And then I talked to one of my mentors who reminded me that $30,000 is $30,000 whether it's all from one business or $10,000 each from several businesses.
Now, running several enterprises at once can be time consuming. And since one of my other goals is to spend more time with my husband, daughter, and grandchildren, that could cause conflict. So I also need to come up with some passive, recurring, and residual income. I will need to look at automating more of the processes on "Bob's" website. And maybe it's time to hire an assistant to help with some of the clerical and administrative tasks. And then I really need to share Fortune with as many people as possible. Network marketing is one of the greatest sources for passive residual income!
I'm so excited! I feel a new burst of energy. I think I'm back on track. In fact, I'm so excited that I almost forgot what I originally wanted to post about. I've been thinking of writing a book. I've got a title."Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise - A Woman's Guide to Becoming Physically, Financially, and Spiritually Fit". And you can help me write it. I need some specific input from you. If I've helped any of you in any way, I need to hear about it. Why? Well, it's not for my ego -- although I have at least as much ego going as the next person. It's because I need to know what things I am doing to reach my goals actually WORK! It's OK if you want to e-mail me and tell me that nothing has worked for you yet...But ...That's not the purpose of this post. What I am looking for is specific information, tools or techniques that I have personally given you that helped you towards a better life. I'm really looking for specific results. The more specific the better. If you have benefited from something that I've shared with you, please take a moment, hit the comment button and let me know specifically what it was. I'll be able to see what is working for you and that will help me help others.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Smile!
I attended the local Friday networking coffee this week. What I saw there prompted this post.
There were two different people there. They represented the same company. They were both well dressed and successful looking. They were neat and well-groomed. Both had information about their business and services and spoke well about what they could offer. And so I expected any leads that came from this meeting would be shared between the two of them, all things being equal. Not so. As I was leaving, I noticed several people clustered around one of the people. The other one was off to the side of the room - alone.
While I was driving home I thought about this. What made the one person more attractive and approachable than the other? Granted one was male and one was female. But that should not have made a difference. In fact if it did, it should have caused the opposite reaction. Because the male who was standing alone was HOT! And the woman who had drawn the crowd was just an ordinary middle-aged woman. And yet even I had to admit that if I was in the market for their services I would probably have approached the woman. I thought about it some more. Why? What was different about her? Then it hit me.
When the gentleman stood up to talk about his business, he presented all of the facts about his company and how he could be of service to us. He listed all the benefits of doing business with him and why we should contact him immediately. He was very serious and straightforward, passing out business cards and pamphlets about his company, dressed in his suit and tie and looking very polished and professional.
A little bit later it was the woman's turn. She stood up also. She was dressed in a simple suit and like her predecessor, had all of the facts and figures about her business to share with us. She also handed out business cards and pamphlets and acknowledged her fellow business person had already said just about everything there was to say about the company. And then she smiled. And it lit up her whole face. It was one of the most warm and welcoming smiles I've seen. It just drew you in. It made you feel like she really cared about your needs and wanted to get to know you better. And that, I think, was the difference. The gentleman had all the knowledge and ability that the woman had. But he never smiled. I never felt like he really connected with me and I'm guessing that none of the other networkers did either.
When I got home, I did some research on how smiling affects your business interactions and everything I found just validated what I was thinking.
The articles said that smiling raises your confidence. When you are looking for someone to do business with, don't you want someone who is confident in their abilities? Sure you do. A smile conveys that self-confidence without being arrogant. Another article said that smiling instantly makes you more attractive. Who doesn't want to be more attractive? Admit it, when someone is smiling, aren't you drawn in? Don't you enjoy that person's company more? Of course you do! We all do.
So my business advice for this week is very simple. SMILE! Go ahead. SMILE! I've read that you can't fake a smile so if you just do it, even when you don't feel like it, it's bound to change your attitude. And we just read that it will make you more confident and attractive. So do it again. SMILE! Doesn't that feel good? Now that you know how good smiling is for you and your business, I want you to practice smiling every day. In fact, one of the articles I read said that if you practice smiling and thinking positive thoughts or repeating affirmations at least six times a day, it will have a huge positive impact on your life. What are you waiting for? SMILE!
There were two different people there. They represented the same company. They were both well dressed and successful looking. They were neat and well-groomed. Both had information about their business and services and spoke well about what they could offer. And so I expected any leads that came from this meeting would be shared between the two of them, all things being equal. Not so. As I was leaving, I noticed several people clustered around one of the people. The other one was off to the side of the room - alone.
While I was driving home I thought about this. What made the one person more attractive and approachable than the other? Granted one was male and one was female. But that should not have made a difference. In fact if it did, it should have caused the opposite reaction. Because the male who was standing alone was HOT! And the woman who had drawn the crowd was just an ordinary middle-aged woman. And yet even I had to admit that if I was in the market for their services I would probably have approached the woman. I thought about it some more. Why? What was different about her? Then it hit me.
When the gentleman stood up to talk about his business, he presented all of the facts about his company and how he could be of service to us. He listed all the benefits of doing business with him and why we should contact him immediately. He was very serious and straightforward, passing out business cards and pamphlets about his company, dressed in his suit and tie and looking very polished and professional.
A little bit later it was the woman's turn. She stood up also. She was dressed in a simple suit and like her predecessor, had all of the facts and figures about her business to share with us. She also handed out business cards and pamphlets and acknowledged her fellow business person had already said just about everything there was to say about the company. And then she smiled. And it lit up her whole face. It was one of the most warm and welcoming smiles I've seen. It just drew you in. It made you feel like she really cared about your needs and wanted to get to know you better. And that, I think, was the difference. The gentleman had all the knowledge and ability that the woman had. But he never smiled. I never felt like he really connected with me and I'm guessing that none of the other networkers did either.
When I got home, I did some research on how smiling affects your business interactions and everything I found just validated what I was thinking.
The articles said that smiling raises your confidence. When you are looking for someone to do business with, don't you want someone who is confident in their abilities? Sure you do. A smile conveys that self-confidence without being arrogant. Another article said that smiling instantly makes you more attractive. Who doesn't want to be more attractive? Admit it, when someone is smiling, aren't you drawn in? Don't you enjoy that person's company more? Of course you do! We all do.
So my business advice for this week is very simple. SMILE! Go ahead. SMILE! I've read that you can't fake a smile so if you just do it, even when you don't feel like it, it's bound to change your attitude. And we just read that it will make you more confident and attractive. So do it again. SMILE! Doesn't that feel good? Now that you know how good smiling is for you and your business, I want you to practice smiling every day. In fact, one of the articles I read said that if you practice smiling and thinking positive thoughts or repeating affirmations at least six times a day, it will have a huge positive impact on your life. What are you waiting for? SMILE!
Friday, May 23, 2008
What's My Business?
Hallelujah! My middle sister has finally come to her senses. After years of struggling to get by on disability (from an automobile accident), she has decided to start her own business! YES! She called me last night to discuss ideas. She has looked at my network marketing business (Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing) and decided it's not for her. She is not excited about affiliate marketing except perhaps as a sidebar to her own products or services. What is she going to do? Tell you later!
How did we decide what type of business she should start? It's fairly easy process. If you aren't excited about network marketing or affiliate marketing but want to do something totally new, I suggest you follow along.
First, list all of the things you love to do. I love to teach (adults - not children! I'm a certified master trainer) and I love to plan and organize. That's how I got started in event planning - by planning training events. I also noticed that as a Girl Scout volunteer with my daughters, I loved the cookie sale. I had great fun helping them come up with clever and creative ways to sell their cookies so they wouldn't have to go door-to-door. So I discovered I loved marketing and promotion. That was a natural fit for FHTM! And now I'm taking my love of travel and my love of animals off on another venture - The Adventures of Traveling Bob.
What do you love to do? What are you absolutely passionate about? If you could do anything in the world with your time, what would it be?
Now, make another list of things you are good at. This list is just as important as the first one since it's hard to build a business on passion alone. For example, I love to paint and draw and do crafts. But I'm not good at it. My 6 year old grandson draws as well as I do. So even though I love it, the odds of making a living with my artwork are slim. (Don't completely discount these ideas though. There may be other options. Perhaps I could organize art-based tours?)
Now put these two lists together. Where are the common factors? I love to organize and train. I also am able to write well. So organizing and conducting training seminars might be an option. I travel well. By that I mean I know my way around, where to go, what to see, how to find the best bargains - and I almost always take Bob, my dog. And I love exploring new cities. So The Adventures of Traveling Bob could be a great fit for me.
How about you? Love photography and crafts? Good with a camera and your hands? Creative and imaginative? Watch for my daughter's upcoming venture.
Are you a gourmet chef who loves to cook married to bona fide redneck? Keep your eyes peeled for "The Redneck Gourmet" coming soon!
Find your passion. Match it with your skills. Turn it into a business. When you are passionate about your business, you have more energy and drive to make it work. Your enthusiasm for what you do shows and excites your prospective clients and customers. When they get excited they will do business with you. When you are excited about your business you are constantly thinking of ways to do more. And that makes for more opportunities for you to serve your clients - getting them more excited......
So what did my sister decide to do? Well, she loves to travel as much as I do. And she's quite the organizer herself. And with three children - all of whom are married and none of whom got married in their home towns (one in Puerto Rico, one in Hawaii, and one in Utah) - she discovered she loved help them plan their weddings. So - we are planning a joint venture: "Destination: Weddings." Stay tuned for details!
If you are still uncertain about what to do, I highly recommend a book by Barbara J. Winters called Making a Living Without a Job.
How did we decide what type of business she should start? It's fairly easy process. If you aren't excited about network marketing or affiliate marketing but want to do something totally new, I suggest you follow along.
First, list all of the things you love to do. I love to teach (adults - not children! I'm a certified master trainer) and I love to plan and organize. That's how I got started in event planning - by planning training events. I also noticed that as a Girl Scout volunteer with my daughters, I loved the cookie sale. I had great fun helping them come up with clever and creative ways to sell their cookies so they wouldn't have to go door-to-door. So I discovered I loved marketing and promotion. That was a natural fit for FHTM! And now I'm taking my love of travel and my love of animals off on another venture - The Adventures of Traveling Bob.
What do you love to do? What are you absolutely passionate about? If you could do anything in the world with your time, what would it be?
Now, make another list of things you are good at. This list is just as important as the first one since it's hard to build a business on passion alone. For example, I love to paint and draw and do crafts. But I'm not good at it. My 6 year old grandson draws as well as I do. So even though I love it, the odds of making a living with my artwork are slim. (Don't completely discount these ideas though. There may be other options. Perhaps I could organize art-based tours?)
Now put these two lists together. Where are the common factors? I love to organize and train. I also am able to write well. So organizing and conducting training seminars might be an option. I travel well. By that I mean I know my way around, where to go, what to see, how to find the best bargains - and I almost always take Bob, my dog. And I love exploring new cities. So The Adventures of Traveling Bob could be a great fit for me.
How about you? Love photography and crafts? Good with a camera and your hands? Creative and imaginative? Watch for my daughter's upcoming venture.
Are you a gourmet chef who loves to cook married to bona fide redneck? Keep your eyes peeled for "The Redneck Gourmet" coming soon!
Find your passion. Match it with your skills. Turn it into a business. When you are passionate about your business, you have more energy and drive to make it work. Your enthusiasm for what you do shows and excites your prospective clients and customers. When they get excited they will do business with you. When you are excited about your business you are constantly thinking of ways to do more. And that makes for more opportunities for you to serve your clients - getting them more excited......
So what did my sister decide to do? Well, she loves to travel as much as I do. And she's quite the organizer herself. And with three children - all of whom are married and none of whom got married in their home towns (one in Puerto Rico, one in Hawaii, and one in Utah) - she discovered she loved help them plan their weddings. So - we are planning a joint venture: "Destination: Weddings." Stay tuned for details!
If you are still uncertain about what to do, I highly recommend a book by Barbara J. Winters called Making a Living Without a Job.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Four Stages of Your Business Life
I was speaking with a member of my team last night. She was one of the first to join my network marketing downline and she went after it with all she had. Before long, she was making more money than I was! Last night, she called to tell me she had hit a slump and she thought maybe she had taken this business as far as it could go. Of course, she is wrong. She has just hit that stage in her business life that I call the "dry spell."
If you have been in any kind of business of your own then you know what I'm talking about. You will go through stages while you get things up and running and then find your equilibrium. There are typically four stages to the life of any business and what you do during each of them can dramatically impact the life of your business.
The first is the "new business excitement" stage. You have just joined a great opportunity or launched your first product or put up your first site and you are jazzed! You are have the best deal out there and you are going to whip the world. You are going to make so much money that no one will even believe you when you tell them. You are full of energy and new ideas and can't wait to do them all. Unfortunately, that's the problem at this stage. You may have a tendency to scatter your time and resources among so many different things that nothing gets accomplished and you get discouraged. You are so busy building your business that you forget about the rest of your life. As resources dwindle and energy drops, you begin to worry more and more about your decisions until - you quit, thinking your business idea was a bad one or the network marketing opportunity was just a scam.
How to you make it through this stage? Focus. If you have joined a network marketing business, concentrate on finding customers for your products and team members for your downline. Decide how many prospects you can talk to effectively each day. That's your goal. If you don't gain a customer or recruit a team member that day, don't keep pushing out of desperation. Panic shows! Just set it aside and start fresh tomorrow. And don't spend all your money buying the videos or trying the products or going to the meetings. You will need to budget for these things while you grow your business. When I first joined Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, it was just a few months before the annual meeting. Everyone was talking about it and asking me if I was planning to attend. I almost got caught up in all of the excitement and was just about to spend LOTS of money on plane fare and hotel rooms when someone in my upline stopped me. He asked me how much money I was making and I told him I had just started. Then he said if I wasn't making enough from my business to pay for my trip, I should reconsider. There were probably other more important uses for that money and my time could probably be better spent at home building my business. It made sense, so while everyone else was in Las Vegas, I stayed home and recruited enough people to promote myself to the next level.
Stage two is the "dry spell." You have been working as hard as you can and yet you just aren't growing like you did in the beginning. You have run out of people to tell about your business opportunity. The initial excitement for your product has worn off. Your site just isn't getting the hits it used to. You're wondering "does this thing really work?" Don't panic. This just means it may be time for some changes. If you are in network marketing, it may be time to stop concentrate on building your own downline and focus on helping your team build their businesses. After all, if they are successful, it impacts you as well. Or perhaps it's time to look at some new marketing techniques or different markets for your products. Now is the time to learn some new ways to do things. Talk to your mentor. Read some of the books and newsletters published by the experts in your field. Brainstorm. And then make the changes necessary to move you past this stage.
Stage three is the "Wow - maybe this REALLY does work stage." You made it through stages one and two and you are seeing your business gain some new life. You feel a sense of hope that perhaps you can make this happen after all. You have new energy and a new outlook and a new optimism. Keep it going by concentrating on doing the things that helped you make it this far to begin with. This is where you want to really take a look at what held you back and what moved you forward. Discard the actions that limited you and focus on those that help you grow.
The last stage is the "I DID it!" stage. Your business is flourishing. You are making money. You have learned to balance your business life with your personal life. Don't lose it by becoming complacent. Always keep learning. No matter how long you been in business, there is still something you can learn. Always stick to the basic plan that got you here in the first place. When things slow down, take a good look at what's happening and don't be afraid to make changes if necessary.
You can do this. Look at me. Just when I was thinking about retirement and wondering how I was going to afford it, a whole new world opened up for me! I'm doing things with my business now that just a few months ago I would not have dreamed of. And it's all because I refocused my resources, listened to the experts, made some changes to my business plan, and DID it!
If you have been in any kind of business of your own then you know what I'm talking about. You will go through stages while you get things up and running and then find your equilibrium. There are typically four stages to the life of any business and what you do during each of them can dramatically impact the life of your business.
The first is the "new business excitement" stage. You have just joined a great opportunity or launched your first product or put up your first site and you are jazzed! You are have the best deal out there and you are going to whip the world. You are going to make so much money that no one will even believe you when you tell them. You are full of energy and new ideas and can't wait to do them all. Unfortunately, that's the problem at this stage. You may have a tendency to scatter your time and resources among so many different things that nothing gets accomplished and you get discouraged. You are so busy building your business that you forget about the rest of your life. As resources dwindle and energy drops, you begin to worry more and more about your decisions until - you quit, thinking your business idea was a bad one or the network marketing opportunity was just a scam.
How to you make it through this stage? Focus. If you have joined a network marketing business, concentrate on finding customers for your products and team members for your downline. Decide how many prospects you can talk to effectively each day. That's your goal. If you don't gain a customer or recruit a team member that day, don't keep pushing out of desperation. Panic shows! Just set it aside and start fresh tomorrow. And don't spend all your money buying the videos or trying the products or going to the meetings. You will need to budget for these things while you grow your business. When I first joined Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, it was just a few months before the annual meeting. Everyone was talking about it and asking me if I was planning to attend. I almost got caught up in all of the excitement and was just about to spend LOTS of money on plane fare and hotel rooms when someone in my upline stopped me. He asked me how much money I was making and I told him I had just started. Then he said if I wasn't making enough from my business to pay for my trip, I should reconsider. There were probably other more important uses for that money and my time could probably be better spent at home building my business. It made sense, so while everyone else was in Las Vegas, I stayed home and recruited enough people to promote myself to the next level.
Stage two is the "dry spell." You have been working as hard as you can and yet you just aren't growing like you did in the beginning. You have run out of people to tell about your business opportunity. The initial excitement for your product has worn off. Your site just isn't getting the hits it used to. You're wondering "does this thing really work?" Don't panic. This just means it may be time for some changes. If you are in network marketing, it may be time to stop concentrate on building your own downline and focus on helping your team build their businesses. After all, if they are successful, it impacts you as well. Or perhaps it's time to look at some new marketing techniques or different markets for your products. Now is the time to learn some new ways to do things. Talk to your mentor. Read some of the books and newsletters published by the experts in your field. Brainstorm. And then make the changes necessary to move you past this stage.
Stage three is the "Wow - maybe this REALLY does work stage." You made it through stages one and two and you are seeing your business gain some new life. You feel a sense of hope that perhaps you can make this happen after all. You have new energy and a new outlook and a new optimism. Keep it going by concentrating on doing the things that helped you make it this far to begin with. This is where you want to really take a look at what held you back and what moved you forward. Discard the actions that limited you and focus on those that help you grow.
The last stage is the "I DID it!" stage. Your business is flourishing. You are making money. You have learned to balance your business life with your personal life. Don't lose it by becoming complacent. Always keep learning. No matter how long you been in business, there is still something you can learn. Always stick to the basic plan that got you here in the first place. When things slow down, take a good look at what's happening and don't be afraid to make changes if necessary.
You can do this. Look at me. Just when I was thinking about retirement and wondering how I was going to afford it, a whole new world opened up for me! I'm doing things with my business now that just a few months ago I would not have dreamed of. And it's all because I refocused my resources, listened to the experts, made some changes to my business plan, and DID it!
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