Tag Archive for ideas

Build Your Brand in 5 Minutes

I am looking to build my brand a little and have been working on a new program with any ounce of spare time (this week, there hasn’t been much free time). This is something as a business owner we are asked to do from time to time.

Because I find it so incredibly helpful, I thought I would share one of my favorite exercises. What I love about it is it helps me to develop my brand in less than 5 minutes.

The exercise asks you to set aside 5 minutes of your time and to be very lean in the words you use. This task of limiting the words you use, helps to fine tune your understanding of your business.

So, once you have 5 minutes set aside, being to think of how you would answer the following question with free association using ONLY ONE WORD. The first word that comes to mind, even if it makes no sense right now, might be incredibly helpful later on, so don’t throw it away.

(you might want a piece of paper and crayon, pencil, pen, marker… you get my point, as well.)

And if you are like me and tend to break “rules,” try limiting yourself to no more than 3 word phrases.

Now, you might find it doesn’t take 5 minutes, that’s okay too. Answer the question several times and see if you can find a new way to talk about your offering, without using lots of words.

The question:

“What do you do?”

Hey, That Was My Idea!

Have you ever had a really great idea? Perhaps you started bringing this idea to life by dreaming or setting goals of intentions. And after developing the concept, you were ready to tell the world. As your baby is starting to walk you get more confident, then one day it happens.

You discover someone else is offering something nearly identical to your idea or offering.

Does this sound familiar?hmm...

What is this all about?

Recently I had something like this happen, in what I believed to be a professional community. I was so excited to share what I was working on and to be an active member in the group, by supporting others.  Out of nowhere, someone who is a part of this community, started to market an offering very similar (almost identical) to my business model.

It was discouraging and disappointing to watch someone take, what I believed to be my work, and co-opt it to their advantage.

This was a rather vulnerable moment for me. I started to second guess myself on everything I was doing and my hopes for my work. Feelings around being unworthy and not enough were abundant, like a thick fog blocking my vision.

Fortunately I was able to I step out of my mindset for a moment, and began to process the feelings coming up, with one of my favorite tools, the Work of Byron Katie. After I moved through the raw emotion, I could start to see something even greater manifesting.

It didn’t really sink in however, until after I had a night of sleep to dream on it.

In the morning, I was eased with the reminder that I am made to do this work, it is that simple. So what is at the root here?

Was this really my idea? Did this person take my energetic footprint to leverage their success? Maybe. I can’t know for sure. If they did, it is really a sign my visions are right on target, isn’t the saying “copying is the greatest form of flattery?”

But what if this is validation of the importance of my work? Could it also a sign of humanity hitting the critical mass necessary for real change?

Either way, the gift for all of us is more conscious business owners are manifesting themselves.

My advice to you Wild Dreamer is to remember your gifts are unique to you.

No one can bring your visions to life the way you would. Do you due diligence in protecting the ownership of your work, but don’t worry if others start modeling you, you are an energy center of attraction.

In part you have offered yourself as a sacred vessel of activation for others, by your willingness to fulfill your purpose.

So carry on, and know you are headed the right way.

What is Purpose?

When I decide to live my purpose, I can

I just taught the first class of my second cycle of Birthing the Business Owner: a Spiritual Approach to Business Administration and am feeling so incredibly blessed by this work. It is an honor to witness the birth of such powerful healers, creators and dreamers!

I realized at the end of the class, how much teaching allows me to grow into myself. I am asked to reflected on my own personal work and have been able to discover wisdom in the students, who as teachers themselves.

This is a victory, a release of long held systems of beliefs which no longer serve me. And releasing these stories has been transformative for my soul. I am finally about to embrace the truth of my own sacred work, and by supporting theses students, I have opportunities to learn and grow.

One thing I tell people all the time is that they are meant to have these visions, and aspirations. It is foundational for your purpose in life. And when you start to release other’s expectations of what success should look like, you can start to embrace what your own success can be like.

Here is where the magic is born. When you live your own success story, you can start to be the person you always thought would would be, and you can stop being the person you were trying to be.

This is your purpose. To integrate the beat of your blood and heart and the mirror to your soul, into the daily practice of your live. And living your purpose, is the gateway to activation and truth.

Effective Dreaming: A Bedtime Journey

March 19, 2015 at 8PM EST

For this evening session, we will look at how to harvest information from the subconscious and use it to bring clarity to the inner voice. This month we will explore the dance between shadow and light.

This call is for you if you:

  • Want to connect with your purpose
  • Know you are meant to do something important with your life
  • Feel confused or overwhelmed with where to begin
  • Need direction for a change in your life
  • Believe in the power of intention

The call will be 60 minutes and details will be sent at least 24 hours before the call.

 

Because I believe you are perfect and fully ready to embrace what spirit wishes you to manifest in life –

I am offering this month’s call FREE!

 

Register Here!

Birthing the Business Owner

a Spiritual Approach to Business Administration

In my series I take you through the elements of nature and how they connect to areas in business administration. Because I feel deeply called to share my work with healers and other business owners who are also on a spiritual journey, I am offering one more class series at a pay what you can fee schedule, starting in late February 2015.

If you want to understand how you can manage your business as a spiritual practice and embrace the birth of your business as a sacred rite of passage, this class is for you.

Want to be “better at the business” part of your business? Join me for this unique chance to learn the basics of managing a small home based business!

Perhaps you are wondering if you have a business or a hobby, and want to know more about what a new business endeavor might mean. Birthing the Business Owner is ideal for those considering the leap into self employment or have been struggling with really moving to the next phase.

This heart centered business course looks at how to navigate the logistics of administering a business as well as how to move through financial energy blocks!

Topics will include:

  • Understanding your business

  • What should you know about running a business

  • How you can stay spiritual, ethical and financially sustainable

  • Budget Basics

  • Tools for success in a mobile world

  • Marketing without selling your spirit

  • And more!

Classes take place every other Thursday evening at 8PM EST and will run between 60-90 minutes on the following days:

  • March 11, 2015
  • March 18, 2015
  • March 25, 2015
  • April 1, 2015
  • April 8, 2015

Register Here

Growth is Change

Change is a beautiful thing, it happens all around us in the world: people, places, trees, seasons…

But where does this fit in to your business? Business is a living organism which thrives on effective change.

So what is “effective” change? These are shifts which correlate to growth and relevancy, allowing your business to build a personal connection with your customers.

This connection provides a doorway to understanding who you are as a business owner and the type of customer you feel called to work with. In traditional concepts, we call this connection your brand and “type of customer” your market, sometimes subsets are called niche or segments.

You don’t need to have a vast background in business or communications, but having a basic understanding of your market and your brand can help you to make optimal decisions around changes to your business practices. When we know who we want to work with and who we are, we can start to determine where we want to go, and if we can have our customers join us. Growth is a measure of change.

Young businesses need time to develop their personality almost like a toddler or child. Typically a business needs about a year of startup time before they are ready to really bring the brand forward globally. During that time, they may slightly adapt or drastically change their image. I often advise clients not to invest significantly in branding services/materials until at least 6 months (12 optimally) of a business, especially print materials.

Many people put a lot of focus into what their image is, without the same investment in their product or service. I am a firm believer that having healthy bones will be more sustaining than a closet full of fancy clothes, which make you feel good but are not as long-lasting as the foundation.

Playing with your brand/image is certainly a great pick-me-up during the ruts, when we start to second guess ourselves. You know, those “what the hell was I thinking” kind of moments? I like to think of it as though I were a kid with paints, free to explore my ideas.

Early on, this is a great way to discover your creative side. It becomes more challenging as your client base grows, as they build a bond with the image/brand. Not that established businesses don’t ever change an image, but it takes a more calculated approach so not to alienate customers.

So if you are a start-up, I say play a little, before it becomes harder to explore and figure out who you really are.

 

 

 

Birthing the Business Owner Webinar Series

Birthing the Business Owner:

a Spiritual Approach to Business Administration

 

I had a fantastic time offering my first class series and I am ready to offer it again! What I discovered is if you want to understand how you can manage your business as a spiritual practice and embrace the birth of your business as a sacred rite of passage, this class is for you.

Want to be “better at the business” part of your business? Join me for this unique chance to learn the basics of managing a small home based business, while also embracing life as a spiritual journey.

The next time I offer the course the tuition $250, but the January series is a “pay what you can heart offering.” This means I am asking you to pay what you can freely, but will feel like an investment in your work.

My hope by doing this is you will love the course and want to share my work with people!

Click here for more information or to register today!

Dear Universe – Are you ready for growth?

Dear Universe,

I am open to receiving the next source of financial sustainability and personal growth. Ideally, it will fill my being with unbridled passion and help me to manage my household budget with abundant ease. Additionally, while working with amazing heart-centered souls, I will also have a flow of free time so that I might enjoy the pleasures of my life and gifts of my children’s youth.

This direction and manifestation will bring me to serve in this lifetime my highest purpose.

Bring me to clarity; bring financial and joyous opportunity to me; allow me to be supported by the divinity of all through the work I do in this world.

May my spirit serve to bring your vision into this world by the work I do and the people I meet. May my financial success be in alignment with my service to my community. May my vision be your vision.

Bless me with courage and humility. Bless me with abundance of joy, service, and financial stability. Bless me with all I need to be in this moment of existence right now.

I am ready to be held by, cared for and directed by spirit.

In service,

Alisa

There it is — a simple (or is it) request to the universe to provide me with all that is necessary to be in service to my life.

I recommend this exercise, it is a simple way to align yourself closer to the path. You can begin to see what is possible, what is reasonable, and what will awaken the passion.

It requires you to be willing to meet the growth with an open heart, as spirit comes full force at times. The trust of surrender can be scary, especially when it comes to business and finances. This part of our identity is not separate from our faith or connection with spirit. At the heart of faith is the belief we will be provided for by spirit (or goddess, life, god, universe, … you pick the word that fees right for you). Even without belief in a “god,” we still need to believe that we can be provided for with work, opportunity or our community.

The greatest business strategy you can invest in, is to trust that you deserve to be provided for, because you are divinely perfect and worthy of this support.

 

What’s your worth

I work a lot with clients who don’t understand how much they are really worth. There are many reasons for this but primarily I think it has to do with 3 main reasons:

  1. We hold stories about being “not good enough” which are basically erroneous.
  2. No one showed us how to figure it out.
  3. We forget what we would be willing to pay for something we wanted or needed.

The first recommendation I make to my clients often includes “shopping” for something they want and assessing if getting a good deal or getting a solid reliable service or product is more important to them. The reality is a good product/service is worth every cent.

Next I ask them to think of what they would be willing to actually pay for it. Really. Not your offer, rather someone else’s service or product. Why would you pay this? What do they offer you don’t? What is the same?

These are good steps in helping you to determine your “worth” – at least in the market!

The final quick recommendation I suggest, is finding a venue for working through the emotional barriers to success. This is a foundational need to any successful business, so prioritize it. It could be talk therapy, energy work, self-care, support groups, business coach, … Find something that calls you to be your highest self and go from there!

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