Tag Archive for Starting a Business

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?”

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!

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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