business owners | | Canadian Small Business Women

Mar 28 2015

Lessons from social entrepreneurs for newbie self-starters

As an organization that helps socially conscious ideas come alive, our teams faces the same challenges faced by first-time entrepreneurs. Perhaps you can relate to this:

Here are 3 tips from this #socent gal for all you lovely folks:

It’s All In The Details

Many starter projects struggle through the infancy stages. During this period, projects are usually not fully developed yet, missing details, or are unable to fully guarantee success. During this stage, nothing is perfect. Money is tight, and manpower limited.

However, if you are just testing the waters, but don’t have everything figured out, or feel a little insecure about your project – Don’t worry. Just make sure you are able to communicate your project ideas and the intended outcomes clearly. Being able to do so will already set you apart from many other entrepreneurs.

Amidst the unpredictability of starting off, use storytelling and visuals to minimize misunderstandings for your listeners. Moreover, try to engage your audience by carefully crafting your communications material ahead of time, and have someone else review it for you.

Keep Growing Your Track Record

We all know it. Starting a business can put a big financial stress on business owners – no matter how well prepared they are. Plans can fall through, partnerships may crumble, economic climates will change.

When money is not falling from the sky, always remind yourself to be patient, and that clients seek out proven track records and testimonials. The more opportunities you have to prove yourself, the easier it will be to command the fees you want. Hence, look for opportunities to showcase your skills. If you’re creative in demonstrating your abilities, the value of your product, and are not afraid to take risks (an essential part of the entrepreneurial DNA), clients will take notice, thereby making it easier for you to adjust your pricing in the long-run.

Don’t Listen to Fear

People sense desperation and fear in email replies, when conducting meetings, or even when negotiating prices. And it sucks. Because if anything, fear is the last thing anyone needs – especially, when you’re already struggling to pay your bills.

Whenever you feel restlessness and desperation kicking in, just sit back, breathe and take a step back. Remind yourself of why you started. Acknowledge that failure is part of the journey. But most importantly, stop internalizing these feelings of inadequacy, and embrace the natural progression in your business.

And if all fails, be confident even when you’re not. If you have to, practice your pitch in the bathroom mirror until the words naturally glide off your tongue. Attend meetings with someone, especially if you know that person is going to fortify your presentation or overall standpoint. In other words, fake it until you make and don’t be afraid to own all the work you’ve put into your business.

Written by Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Founders of JDC.

JDC supports socially conscious organizations with finding sustainable ways to tell their stories using visual design, engaging content and non-traditional media. We help you with anything from organizing fundraising campaigns to web design and social media management.

www.joint-development.com

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Mar 25 2015

Are you stopping three feet from gold?

If you’re into personal growth (which is highly recommended for all business owners), then you most likely have come across Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich. There was a story he shares called Three Feet from Gold. It’s basically a story during the time people went digging for gold to achieve wealth.

There was a man (Mr. Darby) that used his savings and those of his family’s and bought a great deal of equipment in order to dig for gold. He went on his quest to dig, but then got to a point where all signs of gold seemed to disappear. Feeling disappointed and frustrated, he then sells all the equipment’s to some ‘junk man’ who sought counsel of an engineer that lead him to finding gold just three feet from where Mr. Darby left off!

This story struck me because there are so many times when many of us face what seems to appear as a defeat and failure as we take on a project that we hope will bring us success. This is something many business owners face. We get an idea that we are passionate about, and then we plan and start taking action. At first things are going well and we are surprised at all the opportunities that seem to present themselves to us. As time goes on, things may get stagnant and we feel that our business is not progressing and we find it difficult to get to the place we envision in our dreams. Months, even years go by and nothing. As a result, many of us see this as a sign that it was not meant to be and often times, just when the tide is about to turn, we give up!

What would have happened if Mr. Darby kept going? He would have had all his dreams come to reality. However, his dreams of finding gold never came to pass because he stopped just three feet from gold!

How many times has that happened to you? Have you ever started something just to give up because it was just too difficult? If you knew you could not fail, what would have been your choice? I truly, believe that we can never fail! I know some people may not agree with this statement, but that is my belief! If we are persistent enough and keep working on our dreams, we will see it in physical form.

I am also reminded of the story of Jim Treliving who is Owner of Boston Pizza International Inc. and also one of the dragons in Dragon’s Den, the show where “wealthy high-powered entrepreneurs are pitched ideas from hopeful entrepreneurs looking for the dragon’s investments.” I saw a feature story on Jim when he was just starting out. There were times that were so difficult for him and his business that it was difficult to make ends meet. He worked several different jobs just to keep his business going. It amazes me when we look at him now, and admire or even envy his success and not realize nor think about all the trials he went through before he “reached gold”. He did not stop when times got tough, but keep persisting until his goal became a reality.

This is not easy to do, I know this, and that is why I always advise people to have passion in whatever business they wish to pursue. Your passion will fuel your energy and not allow you to give up just shy of your goal. It is the passion and love for what you do that drives and inspires you to keep going and push past any delays or detours in your journey. During these times, it is important to remember that these delays are not denials and that it only becomes a denial when you say so! Only at the point that you call it quits will you lose because if you keep persisting you will eventually achieve your dreams. It is not a matter of if, but when!

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Founder of My Empowered Living (http://www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women shift their mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get her FREE online video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work in your business!

Mar 11 2015

Should I Start A Podcast?

You may have noticed a spike in podcast shows over the last year, as more entrepreneurs are starting to record shows to expand their personal brands. Many people listen to podcasts to expand their business knowledge, get new ideas and connect with other entrepreneurs.

People start podcasts for various reasons, but many business owners start these shows to promote their respective businesses. For example, if someone is a health coach and advice on personal nutrition, he or she can create a podcast where the discussion will fall on health in various ways.

At the end of the podcast, the business owner can refer to various products or services to get people to go back to the company’s website. While the podcast may not generate money in itself unless there are deals with advertisers, it can be a great marketing tool to push more paying customers.

It is also a great way to self-promote, if the business owner is planning on starting speaking, blogging or being the face of the business.

There are plenty of how-to’s when it comes to starting a podcast online. A simple Google search will give you everything you need.

Malene Jorgensen is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. Jorgensen is passionate about online content, blogging, online business development and e-commerce. She owns an international media publishing company and a design studio. Jorgensen has written several books that are sold in over 50 countries. She is also obsessed with coffee and Twitter. You can reach Malene Jorgensen at Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Feb 27 2015

This may be the missing piece to making more money and having more fun in your business!

You often hear that clarity is king when it comes to growing and building your business; and I couldn’t agree more. If you want to make more money and attract ideal customers, then you need to be clear on who they are.

If you’ve taken any marketing programs, then you would’ve come across the concept of Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA). The work of getting ‘inside the skin’ of your ICA is one many business owners find difficult to do. However, getting to know them at this level allows you to really hone in on those you want to work with.

Customer clarity helps you attract those who need and value your products and services the most. They are also more fun to work with. When you start to market your business without this clarity, you often attract people who are not the best fit for your business. Business is hard enough without you working with the wrong people.

Another important part of knowing your ICA is that it helps you better market your business and communicate to them in a way they understand. Get to know what issues and concerns your ideal customers have, and how your business solves them. What need do they have, that you’re able to fill? Understanding your customers is key to growing them, because you are then able to tailor your products and services to solve their needs.

A major mistake many business owners make is not using the same language their customer use to describe their concerns. The ‘language’ is the words your customers use to describe their wants, needs and desires? These are the same words you should be using in your marketing materials. Oftentimes as business owners, we tend to speak as if we’re speaking to our colleagues, and our customers may not get it. You need to use the same words they use to describe the problems and solutions they’re looking for. This allows your ideal customers to understand the value of what you have to offer.

An example I gave at a recent workshop on this topic was a personal trainer who used the word “functional exercises” in her marketing material. When I asked what that was, I was told, ‘it’s exercises that maximizes your time so your burn more calories in less time.’ I then said, use that in your copy! Instead of saying ‘functional exercise’ (which the majority of her target customers will not know what that means), she should have said something like; “burn more calories in half the time’.

When getting clear on your ICA, you really need to dig deep and understand what is happening in their world. What are the biggest frustrations they’re looking for solutions to? Overall, it’s important to answer the following questions:

Who is my customer?
What does my customer need?
How can I serve them?

You also need to find out where your ideal customers are. What websites do they frequently visit? What blogs do they read? What groups do they belong to on Facebook? When you have this information, you can then go where they are and offer valuable resources to them (I.e. guest blog, joining the FB group and contributing etc.). Build up your know, like and trust factor and strengthen your relationship with them. It is through this connection that you are able to form lasting relationships. This relationship will lead them to know you’re the obvious choice for them. When you’re able to master this, you’ll be well on your way to making more money and having more fun in your business.

Feb 11 2015

Why It Is Important To Keep Growing

As business owners, we start out with a business idea. That business idea gets altered, changed, developed and broken down during the business planning process. Here, we test the idea, examine our concepts and really figure out if this is indeed a viable business idea.

But part of the business planning is also looking at how the business idea could develop over time. We may start with one product or service, and be so invested in this one idea that we can’t look at other ways to build the business.

It is important to keep developing your business brand, because any given industry is changing constantly. New software programs are introduced, new business tools become available and your customers may want new things. It is important to have ideas as to how you can develop your business down the line.

While this planning may not be something you are thinking about as you start out, it is always good to have some ideas brewing. Like a business plan, these ideas will change with time. What you may see happening during your first year in business may completely change once you reach the third year.

With a plan in mind to grow your company, you may find yourself needing more experience and education. And self-growth is the key to running a successful business.

So – get going! Create a long list of ideas to assist you in future growth.

Dec 13 2014

Successful Planning, Successful Week

Planning your workweek in business can sound like a simple process – but if you have ever been interrupted, fell behind on deadlines or forgotten an appointment, this article is for you. I believe it’s not about managing every minute, it’s a new fresh perspective that includes being prepared, flexible and in-line with your work habits, style and personal preferences.

To plan a successful week I have used my experience with other female entrepreneurs who care about accomplishing a lot within a week and found some universal strategies that can be utilized in almost any business out there.

Schedule the unexpected:

Business owners are some of the most motivated people I have ever met so I find ‘over-planning’ to be a problem for a lot of us. This happens when we fill every moment of our calendar and fall behind immediately when even one phone call goes over our allotted time. This can cause stress for not only the day, but for the rest of the week as we play ‘catch-up’ to get back on schedule. A way that I have found to combat this issue is to dedicate some time in your week for ‘yet-to-be-determined’ tasks, projects or obligations. Later in the week is usually best. When you aren’t able to finish something in the time you allot or you get an unexpected request, you are able to now be flexible and rely on the safety net you have designed into your week already.

Identify low energy tasks:

It’s natural to have fluctuations in your energy levels as your day progresses. You may feel sharp, motivated and full of energy in the morning or feel tired and a little stiff in the afternoon. It’s easy to identify these times when you are experiencing them, harder to match your tasks to that energy if you are not prepared. The way to do this is to schedule tasks that require less concentration with those low energy times beforehand. Give yourself some time to answer ‘general email’ questions, tidy up your desk or look on social media when you are feeling less energized and save high-energy times for creative, developing and more intense projects. This will help you balance your day, which will help your overall week.

Pick a focus:

Within each of our businesses, there is always something that needs attention. Instead of trying to do everything all at once, my recommendation is to pick one focus and stick to it. This produces success because you are not reacting to interruptions, which take you away from that highly productive and focused work. You may be thinking that it is not practical to only do one thing a day – your emails still need to be answered. The way to do it successfully is to keep your focused work (what you really want to complete) in one of the higher energy times of your day (as identified in the previous topic). This gives you quality time that is in-line with your already established habits to really get it done.

Bundle ‘Away’ tasks:

Luckily we are in charge of our schedules so we can decide when to do our supply shopping, networking events, doctor’s appointments and ‘out-of-office’ tasks. I have always recommended that business owners pick a time in their week – every week that will be dedicated to these tasks. The benefits are far reaching as you are not only creating habits for yourself, but also creating reasonable expectations from others in your life. Which could be customers, family and also make delivery schedules more regular. I often recommend scheduling these days in the middle of the week when you may just need a change of scenery too.

Overall, when you see how much choice you have in planning your week and use these strategies to integrate your personal preferences you are going to be able to get more done in your week and enjoy it along the way.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, planners, guides and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get and stay organized. To support your successful planning, Tamara has just released two all new version’s of the ‘Entrepreneur’s Planner’ which can be found at https://yourprettypages.com/planners/

Nov 26 2014

Do you Mastermind? Should you be?

I constantly see images and hear things from other successful business owners about Masterminding, and why I should be doing it. In fact, this morning I was listening to Michael Stelzner’s podcast, and he and his guest, Jeff Korhan, were talking about the importance of small business owners taking the time to co-operate and collaborate with other small business owners.

When you’re a one man show 90% of the time like me (okay…maybe you have a virtual team member or two), it’s hard to really strategize and set goals because…well…there’s only you. Gone are the days when you can meet up with your team of co-workers to sit down and hash ideas out…I bet your office doesn’t look like this anymore:

And, so many other things come up, right? You just don’t have time, right? And when it’s just you, it’s easier to not hold yourself as accountable as you do when you know there will be someone else checking up on you. Sound familiar? I know it does for me.

But the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I see that this is something I need to make time to do. Why? Here’s 3 reasons:

I plan and think through things best when I talk through them….to do that I need more than myself.
ACCOUNTABILITY!! I think we all make things a priority when there is someone else in the mix…we just don’t want to let them down.
Fresh ideas…plain and simple. A fresh set of eyes could be exactly what you need to get out of a rut, bring together a great new campaign/product, or solve a customer problem you’ve been having.

As you can see, the process of collaboration has some very obvious, simple benefits (for me anyway), and I’ll be making it a big part of my business planning and strategizing in 2015.

(Now I’ve just got to find places to meet fellow masterminders…any tips?)

So….do you Mastermind? Why? Why not? If you do, what benefits have you seen? Let us know in the comments!

Samantha King has a passion for working with female entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams. Specializing in Branding, Marketing, & Event Planning, she uses her experience in event and marketing co-ordination to work with small business owners on the conceptualization, coordination and execution of their marketing and event projects. She works with her clients to understand their brand, current marketing strategy, and (most importantly) their dream to help them complete the marketing tasks on their to-do lists that they know they need to do, but don’t have the time to do…and don’t have the budget to hire a full-time inside person to do.

You can reach Samantha directly via email at: iamsamanthaking@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn at: ca.linkedin.com/in/samanthajking

Nov 25 2014

Know your Numbers!

Most people that know me well know that I love looking at numbers. I love creating budgets and expense tracking sheets to manage both my personal and business expenses. I love to look at how my business makes money and look at different opportunities to bring in additional sources of revenues into my business. However, I find most business owners do not do this.

How does your business make money? Yes, you may have a product or service that you sell, but there are so many different areas to consider in terms of how you make money. Who are your strongest consumers, and which outlets do you make the most money in? How profitable is your business? You’ve got to understand the financial health of your business.

It’s unfortunate, but finances tend to be where most small business owners tend to fall short. Entrepreneurs are highly creative, and there’s so much we have on the go, and sometimes the numbers part is what we tend to look at last. However, I’m a firm believer that you really need to look at your numbers and understand your numbers on a consistent basis. Understanding your finances allows you to make the right business decisions, know how healthy your business is, and will help you build a business with longevity.

Take time to sit down and add all the numbers. Do not be afraid of the numbers. When you’re afraid of the number, and ignore them, that’s when you get yourself into trouble. Set an annual (yearly) target and break it down into monthly and weekly targets. Depending on how big your business is, you may want to start with monthly, but I really love breaking it down into weekly.

When you do your budget, don’t forget to take account your own basic needs. Some business owners tend to budget solely on their business expenses. That’s great if you have a full-time job and you’re bridging your business. However, if you want your business to sustain you and you want to run it full-time, you really need to take your personal expenses into account.

You also need to also understand your break-even point. Your break-even point is the point where revenue actually starts to cover your expenses. The more money you make on top of that will go into your profitability.

Start tracking the return on all those activities you’re doing. So, if it’s Facebook marketing, your email newsletter– how are those converting? You need to know how much money you’re getting in return for all the money you’re spending to bring in sales.

Taxes are another great thing to consider. A lot of small business owners miss this completely, and I’ve been guilty of this too in the past. What tends to happen is we forget to set money aside for taxes. But once you do your taxes, especially when you start making more profit, you’ll have to pay taxes, and depending on how much profit you made, you may get a big tax bill. If you have not been setting any money aside for it, it will leave you scrambling to get money to pay for the taxes. Furthermore, it will cause you so much stress and energy. It will also take the focus from running your business to worrying about finances. Always set some money aside, especially if you’re making profit to pay for your taxes.

There’s so much I can write about this, and feel it’s so important to the success of your business that I dedicated a whole module in my 4-Week Business Success Bootcamp online program to ‘Know your Numbers’.

I like to say, ‘your numbers tells you a story’. That story will show you how healthy your business is and areas you need to improve to make it more successful!

Nov 15 2014

CSR for Small Business?

It may seem odd to think of Corporate Social Responsibility as a small business owner, but I think that there’s no better time that now to start thinking about more than just your financial bottom line. If you give thought to how your business is impacting the world environmentally and socially when you’re small, you will have systems in place that will grow as the business grows.

Whether it’s choosing a cause that your business supports because there’s an alignment in each organizations core values or ensuring that you operate your business in an environmentally friendly way that reduces your carbon footprint, you don’t have to have a big operating budget to make a meaningful contribution. It can be easy to think that practicing social responsibility is something only large companies need to worry about because they have the resources to do “big things”, but small business has a role to play as well. While big business can do things on a national or global scale, small business owners can contribute on a local scale, supporting the communities that support them.

Success in business is all about relationships. It’s about building trust with not only your customers, but the community within which you operate your business. I’ve heard it said that a relationship without reciprocity will die and I believe that to be true for us as entrepreneurs and small business owners. We can’t become so consumed by the desire to turn a profit that we forget to give back to the community that supports us by buying our products or services.

When our local communities are thriving, as citizens and business owners we can’t help but benefit. It is in our best interest to build into our businesses a strategy for how we will give back. What can you do to make your community better? Maybe you can do a fundraiser for a local cause, or do a review of your operational practices to see where you can make “green” changes. You don’t have to figure it all out at once, but it’s something that you want to consider.

You don’t have to be a corporation to practice corporate social responsibility. I believe it may actually be easier to practice CSR as a small business owner because we have massive manufacturing plants to reconfigure and retool. We make small, but meaningful changes that will be sustainable as we grow and expand our businesses. What are you going to do to give back to the community that’s supporting you and your business?

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Oct 01 2014

ELIZAVETA DORINSKAYA: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of September 2014

Elizaveta immigrated to Canada 4 years ago from Russia, right after high school when she was 17 years old. Her family is still in her home country, but her mom visits. When she came to Toronto she got accepted into George Brown College, where she chose Business Administration program. Courtesy to her wonderful professors, with whom she still keep in touch, she fell in love with marketing. She graduated from the program, specializing in marketing and decided to continue her education. Currently, she is a 45h year BBA/marketing student at Ryerson University. She really loves marketing and thinks that no business can exist and develop without it. Fortunately, everybody in CeelDeel understands the importance of marketing and every single member of the team is involved in it. They value corporate culture and our CEO frequently assigns “readings” for the team which is usually an inspiring business book written by successful entrepreneurs.

Eizaveta is a shareholder of the company called CeelDeel and is very passionate about it. CeelDeel is a Toronto-based start up company. It is a consumer network, which helps people to find service professionals in their area. Users simply need to submit a “shout” (request for service) and all businesses at once will be contacted and be able to respond to this need. Users don’t need to search the web, just from one website to another, look through the numerous ads and all the clutter. Shouting on CeelDeel lets you make your request without wasting your valuable time by contacting them one by one. Let the businesses that are ready to help you know that you need them. Let these businesses offer you the best price and the best service. And, by the way, It is completely free for consumers!

At the same time CeelDeel helps business owners to save their time and money on advertising. We know that advertising is expensive and we want business owners to say: “Good Bye!” to old, traditional marketing, such as flyers that go to trash or emails that consumers associate with spam! We offer a new, effective way to market your business, make your advertising targeted directly to those consumers, who need you! Creating a business account is absolutely FREE!When you create a business profile on CeelDeel, you will be automatically indexed by search engines and added to our platform where you can start reading the shouts that consumers are submitting and you will be able to increase your online exposure through our platform.

Our Q & A with Elizaveta

*What inspires you?

There are different things that inspire me every day. Inspiration can be found everywhere- from your favourite music or a smile from a stranger that you met on your way to work. However above all of that, my inspiration comes from my team! I work with wonderful people, very enthusiastic professionals, who believe in our company and its success! We share our thoughts and ideas, encourage each other and celebrate happy moments of our lives! All of us think that team building is very important to develop efficiency and effectiveness in achieving a common goal.Therefore, we frequently get together to relax, forget about work-related issues and have some fun.

*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?

I’m proud that I became a member of this company at the age of 20. I believe that joining this company was one of the best opportunities that I got in this life so far, and I’m very happy that I was brave enough to take it. I know that I will do everything possible (and I believe that “If you can dream it, you can do it!”) to make this company successful, because I see how hard everybody in my team is working and I want all of us to get rewarded.

*What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?

The best advice I can give to other small business women is to be brave, be focused on what you are doing (don’t just jump at every opportunity that comes across), do what you love (it’s your business, better fall in love with it!), know what you do (every aspect of your business!) AND NEVER EVER be afraid to ask for advice if you don’t know something!

*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?

We are anticipating to launch our website in the next month (currently we are only subscribing customers and businesses to our temporarily website in order to make sure that there are enough people interested in our business idea). We are now in the last stage of development, trying to make sure that there are no bugs, issues or mistakes that can frustrated our users. It takes a lot of time and effort, since our website has a smart program that automatically understands consumer’s wants and needs in any way they decide to phrase them. Therefore, our biggest upcoming milestone is the launch of an actual website.

After that, we hope to expand our business further into Canada and let people from outside of Toronto to enjoy the benefits of CeelDeel.

Sep 23 2014

To Blog or Not To Blog: Musings on Blogging

Blogging, as many business coaches and other savvy individuals tell us, is one of the many social media outlets we entrepreneurs are told to embrace. It is an opportunity to go beyond the brief and restrictive 140 Twitter characters, offer more detail than our Facebook posts should contain, and can be more personal and creative than our professional LinkedIn profile.

Writing a blog, then, should be an enjoyable task that has us running to our notepads or iPads with gleeful excitement. And yet, I still haven’t gone beyond two places where I write just once a month (this blog) and once every six weeks or less for my local community newspaper. I could be doing this once a week or biweekly! Still, I’m not alone, as I keep hearing from my business friends and fellow networkers.

We know “we should” write more often and start a blog, and we do want to, honest, yet somehow so many reasons keep holding us back.

To bolster my enthusiasm, I attended a recent workshop by an avid blogger and writer who shared some of her wisdom. Here is some of what I learned.

Blogs are a good way to establish a connection with your reader (a.k.a. potential prospects and maybe future clients). It gives them the opportunity to learn a little bit about you, your style, and to know and like you.
The reason a more personal tone in a blog is appropriate and more fun to read is that, “people don’t want presentations, they want conversations”. ̴ Suzan St. Maur
Suitable topics are things that keep people awake at night, challenges that we face as business owners or simply as human beings. Chances are that if you have things that keep you awake at night, others will be worrying about the same or similar issues. So if you write about those, your readers can relate. Write from your heart to their
You can be either a guest blogger on somebody else’s blog site or set up your own. I don’t think the “where” is the real block for any of us!
Once you do start writing regularly, be sure to always post your blog on your own website/blog site first, and only then post on other sites, like LinkedIn etc. You want to make sure the Google ranking and any Internet searches direct readers to your own website first.

The common sentiment by the workshop leader, as well as other regular writers and ghost bloggers, who were present at the session, was that getting good at writing is much like exercising: you have to do it often to improve it. It is like working a muscle. So think about something you are well versed on, or have been wondering and musing about and think that others would have as well, and start writing it down; there’s no time like the present!

Happy writing.

Source: Workshop by Suzan St. Maur, “How to write better business blogs”. www.howtowritebetter.net

Martina Rowley is the founder and operator of Beach Business Hub – THE co-working space east of the Don Valley. She combined her passion and experience in the environmental sector with her community engagement side to create a local work environment where space and resources are shared. She fosters and facilitates collaboration, networking, and learning for and with small business owners and new start-ups. Contact her at:http://www.beachbusinesshub.ca, on Facebook and on Twitter

Aug 23 2014

Networking Etiquette

How does it make you feel, when someone you just met launches into a full-on sales pitch? Probably not so dandy. It may make you feel the same way as those sales calls you get after 8pm all right during dinner, and you just want to tell them to go away.

When this happens at a networking event, it’s awkward. Someone just introduced herself to you, or you said hello and asked what she does, and suddenly you’re finding yourself trying to back out of the conversation. If you’ve attended more than a couple of networking meetings, you know exactly what I’m talking about!

I admit that at my very first networking event as a fresh business owner, I hadn’t yet figured out the best way of going about things. Somewhere I had heard or read that it was a good opportunity to get and give as many business cards as possible, and many business owners support that view. Because you never know whom you`ll meet, or whom they know.

Being competitive as I am, yet also feeling a little nervous in a downtown pub stuffed to the hilt with small business owners, I “worked the room” as much as I was comfortable. In between greetings, I excitedly felt the growing number of cards in my pocket and felt somewhat proud over how many I had at the end of the night.

Yet therein lies a problem. As Christel Wintels, franchise owner of the BNI Golden Horseshoe groups, shared at a recent big networking bash, some informal ‘research’ had shown that of all the people who attend any given networking event, only around 5 per cent are there to buy something, yet a good 90 per cent or more are there to sell! So Christel’s commandment is: Thou shalt not sell!

Just like any other set of manners, networking etiquette has its pitfalls. Understandably, we’re excited about our business or idea and want to tell as many people as possible. And isn’t it all about exchanging business cards with lots of new people?

It is in a way, but of course certain guidelines should apply so that you are remembered in a positive way. For example:

Prepare your introduction. Have a well-rehearsed pitch or ‘infomercial’ of 60 seconds or less. It should tell the listener about your key services and main benefits to them. Make it engaging, use some intrigue.
Listen! Cany people “don’t listen with the intent to understand, merely with the intent to respond.” Make the conversation about the other person, and hope they’ll do the same.
Ask new people for introductions to other specific businesses, and also ask them whom they would like to meet. You will be a superstar if you can introduce them to somebody else you met at that event!
Wait for a break in conversation or an obvious end before jumping into a still ongoing dialogue between two or more persons.
Avoid introducing yourself to someone just as they’re putting food in their mouth. I always find this one particularly challenging to handle when on the receiving end! I struggle for a suitable and polite response when asked “So what do you do?” while I’m currently balancing hors d’oeuvres on a napkin, and trying to keep crumbly filo pastry off my face and clothes. Needless to say I also don’t want to talk with my mouth full. Maybe say hello to someone else first and come back later.
Be humble and accept the fact that not everyone will be interested in your business. Start a dialogue and then wait to hear if that person would like your business card or not. If they don’t prompt you, maybe they’re really not interested or in need of your service.

In any case, enjoy the event! Every networking event is a good opportunity to improve on and perfect your sales conversation, get a feel for which aspects of your conversation and benefits spark the greatest interest, and you never know whom you might meet and whom they know!

Just remember to leave the kind of impression you actually want to be remembered for.

Jul 24 2014

Your business is not a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ project; you need all the help you can get!

Lately, it’s become evident to me how critical support communities are needed in order to grow, develop and achieve your goals. This is relevant both in your life and business.

I saw just how important this was when I was fortunate enough to enroll in Marie Forleo’s B-School program in Spring 2013 (if you haven’t heard of Marie, google her, you won’t be disappointed!). One of the strongest benefits of this program is having a network of 12,000+ amazing, supporting and loving entrepreneurs. These are business owners who get what you go through on a daily basis. As different as we all are, there is always a level of love and support within the group. It’s fantastic because you can post a business or tech related question, to questions regarding support launching a new business and program, or even support of a personal nature where all you’re looking for is a virtual hug and reassurance that all is well. And you get an influx of support no matter what you’re looking for. It can be quite empowering.

We all know that business ownership can feel lonely at times, and when you’re a female business owner with family responsibilities and obligations, the feeling of overwhelm can add up. This is why it is so critical to have a network of people you can call upon to help you navigate through the ups and downs.

This support network should consist of those who understand what you’re going through and are able to inspire and motivate you to keep going. Your network should also be able to hold you accountable to your business goals, in addition to supporting and sharing resources with you to help achieve your goals. Forming or joining a mastermind group is an amazing way to get this support and bring like-minded people together, along with various social media groups that you can join.

Another benefit to having this kind of support is that a funny thing tends to happen as you start to grow and evolve in your business. Sometimes, those closest to you become distant and may not support your growth and aspirations. They no longer become aligned to your goals and needs as a business owner. This can be difficult and lonely because it’s hard for these people to understand the risks that you take, and the committed needed to achieve the success you crave. They may resist the change in you as you start being the person needed to reach your goals. Consequently, you no longer become comfortable in the crowd you’re currently in.

Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So I ask you, look to those that you spend most of your time with. Are they ones that inspire you? Do they support your growth? Do they encourage you? Or do they sabotage your desire for growth and success? Be honest and strong enough to walk away or distant yourself from those that do not support you, and look for those that do.

Remember, you may be self-employed, however you need the help of others to achieve your business goals.

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Founder of My Empowered Living (http://www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women shift their mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get her FREE online video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work in your business!

Jun 24 2014

Dating is Like Networking

It’s a numbers game.

Every business owner knows the formula for success is that you have to talk to X number of people, to narrow them down to Y number of warm or hot prospects, to succeed in turning Z number of those into clients. As I continue seeking my romantic mate, it occurred to me that dating works in a similar way.

While everyone and their dog is nowadays eternally busy “being busy”, today’s search for romance takes place mostly via online dating sites, with some face-to-face speed dating thrown in for good measure. The end goal remains the same as through “traditional/old-fashioned” ways: finding that one-in-a-million partner who is best suited to you, and vice versa.

In our high-tech 21^st century this means going online, resulting in instant, searchable, and fairly anonymous access to not hundreds but thousands of singles looking for love. This is where it’s akin to business networking.

Following above networking formula, you have to first talk to X number of people. That means selecting advance search criteria to narrow down your ‘target market’, e.g. gender, age, marital status, physical stature, interests etc. Then you scroll and skip through several hundred potential suitors, mostly not talking to anyone at this stage but just reading how they ‘talk’ about themselves. This is your Number X.

Second, you need to whittle down those potentials to find your warm or hot prospects; figuratively speaking or literally hot (Number Y). You message several or many. Some will reply, and many will not. In return, you will receive random inquiries from daters far outside your age range, location, or far off any attributes you would consider, even remotely. (Business speak: Know your target market! That works both ways.)

Attending speed-dates can help accelerate pre-selection by providing instant access to 10 or 15 prospects. This is like attending weekly or monthly networking meetings, where you work the room to talk to many business owners, seeking out those interested in what you have to offer.

Through perseverance with either or both of above two processes you then find a few potentials, with whom you communicate back and forth. This is your Number Y.

Third, you talk over the phone and/or meet the best prospects in person and attempt to discern the potential for a positive and fulfilling relationship, this time personal, not client based. If unsuccessful, you repeat the process for Number Y until you reach your ‘goal’ of finding your ideal Number Z.

Re-reading my own formulae and processes above, online dating should in fact be much easier than networking! In business, there are no “advanced search” selection criteria that will automatically pop up to help narrow down your ideal target market(s). No self-description as to what your prospect is looking for. There is just Cupid and his rose-coloured glasses on occasion obscuring your vision and judgement.

I shall ponder that thought. But now I must dash – someone just sent me a “wink”!

Author’s Cheerful Disclaimer: The opinion, experience, and formulae expressed by the author may or may not be true, realistic, and may, or may not, be based on personal experience, and would therefore not hold up in a Court of Law or anywhere else. Suggestions of potentially suitable single males may be submitted to the author via private and confidential e-mail after your thorough and thoughtful pre-screening, at your own expense, and applying your best guess.

May 26 2014

Business got you feeling overwhelmed? Here’s 5 surefire ways to help!

Whether you’re an inspiring, new or seasoned business owner, there comes a time when you will feel stretched and overwhelmed. Actually, some business owners seem to find they’re living in this condition, more often than not. You have a lot of demand on your time and you feel that you don’t have time to breath and people are looking to you for answers and direction. Or, you may be bridging your business with a fulltime job;throw in family responsibilities and this can add to an overwhelming feeling of stress.

You would think all the advances in technology that’s supposed to make our lives easier and more efficient would help save time and make us more productive. However, the opposite seems to have happened. People, especially business owners are feeling stressed and overwhelmed more than ever.

When I find myself in this place, there are some tips that really help me get through it. These tips help me to feel more grounded and reduce the stress and overwhelm that I may be feeling. Some of my favorites include:

Setting Boundaries – This is an area that has really cut down on my level of stress and overwhelm. In the past and especially when I got into coaching, I used to take clients anytime in the evenings and weekends. I would change around my schedule completely to accommodate. Now this was at a time when I was fairly new to motherhood, and with work, wellness business, coaching, group coaching, and family commitments, it became very overwhelming. I then had to set standards where I did not take calls past a certain time (and this was very early) and cut back on weekend work. I was also not an evening person (very much a morning person) so evenings became a no work/business space. I gave myself permission to relax and unwind, and this helped me in so many ways. Not only was I more rested and in a state of mind to help others more, but I felt more present with my family which was a priority for me.

Ask for help – Why is this so hard for some of us to do (myself included!)? When you get into the place of overwhelm, it is important to reach out to your support networks (friends, family, colleagues etc.) and ask for help. We tend to have this Superwoman mentality that we can do it all, and feel that we will somehow get a prize for being a martyr. This is an area I know I personally struggle with and have to be very conscious off. Asking for help does not imply that you are weak, but rather the opposite. It takes great courage to ask for help, and the amazing thing is, you give those around you the opportunity to be of service to you. I know how amazing I feel, when someone I care about is in need and they come to me for help and I am able to help them. When you don’t do the same, you’re depriving your loved ones the opportunity to feel amazing by helping you. Think about that the next time you are in need and are afraid to ask for help!

Consider if you’re being too controlling – Another thing I have to admit to myself is that when the feeling of overwhelm is high for me, it is at those times that I am having a hard time letting go of some form of control. I tend to sometimes want to do everything myself, and have things be exactly the way I want them to be. This thinking is something that will lead you to get stressed. I often have to remind myself, that just because I started something, it is okay to delegate the rest and let someone else finish it. And that yes, it is okay that it is not done 100% to the way I would have done it. This control is a form of attachment and the need for us to have things a certain way. Letting go the need to control can be good and allows us to see things differently and know that there are many different options and solutions that will yield the same results.

You can’t do it all…and that’s okay – Sometimes just the thought of a task or deadline not being met raises our stress level. We push pushpush and then when the realization that a deadline will not be met, you go into a frantic state. Something that has helped me is the realization that sometimes not everything on my to-do list will be done. As long as I try my best, and prioritize those things that need to be done, that will have to do. I know some of you may be thinking, “Well everything is a priority!” But I am going to call BS on that. What I find at times is that things may be of priority to others, but not to you, however, you let others place their urgent matters on you.

Remembering to Breathe –Our breath is home base. Think about it, without our breath we would not be alive. It is breathing in the air that keeps us alive. When you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, you often have hard time breathing. You then take short shallow breaths, when what you need it do is take long deep breathes. Inhale for a count of 5 and exhale for a count of 5. And as you inhale, expand your belly like Buddha belly. We often breathe wrong and if you’ve done any yoga practice you would know the best way to inhale is to expand your belly (we tend to do the opposite). Do this for a minute or so with your eyes closed, and for added bonus, throw in some affirmations. Inhale, “I receive Divine guidance and support now” and exhale “I release all that no longer serves me”.

Now your turn, which tips resonate with you the most and what have you done in the past that has helped you cut down on your feelings of overwhelm? Share in the comments below.

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Speaker and Writer, but most importantly, a proud Mother and Wife. Uchechi is Co-Founder of Elite Wellness Services Inc. (www.elitewellness.ca) and Founder of My Empowered Living (www.myempoweredliving.com) a website aimed at helping women change negative and disempowering mindset and live their passion! Whether it’s starting and building their dream business, or helping them create a lifestyle they crave, Uchechi is the modern woman’s secret to success! Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com to get your FREE copy of 5 Simple Steps to Create a Life you’re Crazy About! A 15-page workbook!

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