Canadian Small Business Women

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5 Ways to Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet!

sandra

It’s the start of a New Year. Time for goal setting, setting intentions and putting a plan into action! I love the New Year because I always feel like it’s a fresh start, a clean slate to do things differently, better, than the year before. I would love to hear your tips to make this year better than the last. Here are my 5 suggestions to make 2015 your best year yet.

  1. Celebrate your accomplishments from the previous year

This is something that I started to do several years ago. On New Year’s Eve, before any festivities begin, I grab my journal and list all of the things that I accomplished during the current year. They don’t all have to be monumental goals, but you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by all that you’ve done, even if you think you didn’t have such a stellar year.

  1. Review what worked and what didn’t

We’ve all heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results. If we don’t take the time to look at the systems and strategies that worked and evaluate the ones that didn’t we might end up making the same mistakes again next year. Don’t beat yourself up about the failures, but do learn from them. What can you do differently next time?

  1. Identify at least 3 things you intend to accomplish this year

What would an article about the New Year be without talking about setting goals? They don’t all have to be about your business. Throw some personal goals in the mix too. When we’re at our best, we do our best. Achieving personal goals can help you be more effective in your business as well so don’t forget to take care of yourself when setting your intentions for 2015.

  1. Choose at least one skill to upgrade or learn

If we’re not learning, we’re not growing. I’m a firm believer and strong supporter of continuing education. We can never possibly know all there is to know, even in areas that we’ve mastered. Whether it has to do with your business or not, learning a new skill or learning how to do something you already know in a different way, expands our minds and opens us up to new opportunities that we might not have known existed otherwise. My 9 year-old lab/border collie mix is a constant reminder that you’re never too old to learn and you actually can teach an old dog new tricks! 😉

  1. Create a 90-day action plan

If you work out regularly, I’m sure you’ve witnessed the popularity of your local work out spot in January and the decline in attendance as we head into February. It’s why I no longer believe in New Year’s Resolutions. We can’t just say we’re going to start doing, or stop doing something; we have to figure out how we’re going to do it. In addition to that, we have to make sure we’re committed to our goals and make sure that it’s a goal that is important to us, and not something someone else wants us to do. The action plan doesn’t have to be perfect, but it definitely helps to have one. If you want to increase the effectiveness of the plan, share it with someone you know will hold you accountable.

Reflecting on the previous year can be a bittersweet time for many of us. It’s easy to focus on the things that didn’t go the way we hoped or expected rather than on the things that worked out, sometimes even better than we had planned. Whether last year was phenomenal or lack-lustre, celebrate the fact that you survived another year and know that this year can always be better, it’s all up to you!

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

Before you make your resolutions and set your goals, DO THIS first!

Uchechi

So, 2014 is about to come to a close, and I’m sure many of you have been thinking about resolutions you want to set in the New Year. I’m one for planning and setting goals, but late last year, I discovered something that I thought was just genius and I wanted to share it with you today. It may be the ticket that actually guarantees that you strive for the right goals; ones that you will actually enjoy pursuing.

So, what is this new method I’m talking about? Well, it’s from one of my mentors, Danielle Laporte, author of The Desire Map. The Desire Map’s core concept is that, because we set a goal in order to feel a certain way, we need to start from there (the feeling place). She says, “You’re not chasing the goal itself; you’re actually chasing the feeling that you hope achieving that goal will give you.” She calls these feelings, your core desired feeling. When we take this approach, we then set our goals based on how we want to feel. If you take a look at past goals you’ve set for yourself and your business, if asked, “why did you want it”, it really boils down to a feeling. Let’s take a goal to get 10 new clients for your business. It really isn’t just about the 10 new clients, but more about how getting those new clients will make you feel: the desire to reach more people with your product or service, feel accomplished, productive, and of service. Those are the goals you’re really going after, not just the number of clients.

Let’s take another example of a resolution many people have which is to lose weight, say 20lbs. It really isn’t just about the number 20, but really about how losing 20lbs would make you feel: the desire to feel fit, strong, healthy, confident and sexy. So, before you set your resolutions and goals this year, it is critical to establish your core desire feelings first!

Next year, my biggest focus is on my core desire feelings. My specific tangible goals, which are important to have, is now based on my core desired feeling not the other way around. So many times, we subscribe to society’s definition of success and achievement. We then strive to reach it, even though reaching it does not evoke feeling of success for us! You need to understand what success feels like for you, and then align your goals to those feelings. If we take the example of losing 20lbs, and focused on the core desire feelings of being strong, fit, confident and sexy, you can set goals to strength train and work out 3-5x/week, because that’s what it will take to feel that way versus just having a goal to lose 20lbs. Even buying that cute little black dress that hugs all the right places will give you the same feeling! How great is that?!

Another great thing about this is that it allows you to evaluate opportunities that come up through the year. So many times we lose focus on our goals or have the “shiny object” syndrome. However, if you have something to compare the opportunities against, it makes it much easier to decide what is best for you. You are then able to make decisions that are aligned to your values and missions.

When you’re clear on your core desired feelings, you become an “intentional creator” of your life as Danielle puts it. As we all know, we start of the year with great intentions. However, along the way, we may hit some roadblocks. When we focus on our core desires, we are able to recognize when we’re not on it. We can’t control what happens, but we can control our reaction and experience of what happens. Focusing on your core desires allows you in those moments to take back your control and ask yourself; “what can I do to generate my core desire feelings”. This allows you to not be a victim to your circumstances.

Check out my two of my favourite gals in this video (Marie Forleo and Danielle Laporte) talking about the steps to match your goals to your core desired feelings here.

So when setting your goals this year, be clear on why you’re setting your goals and look to match them to your soul’s desires.

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!

Do you Mastermind? Should you be?

Samantha King

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:

  1. I plan and think through things best when I talk through them….to do that I need more than myself.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Easy Steps to Overcome Procrastination and Achieve Your Goals

yvonne

I’ll start my business this year, I’ll start writing my business plan next week, I’ll start my diet on Monday, I’ll follow-up on that new lead next week… and unfortunately we sometimes never get round to it and miss out on fantastic opportunities, or come next year, we are still struggling with the same goals.

Procrastination is one thing we can all easily fall prey to, but what differentiates each of us, as well highly successful people is our ability to overcome procrastination in order to achieve our goals. While it may be easier said than done, those who choose to be motivated and complete necessary tasks are those who are able to see results and move ahead onto bigger goals and aspirations. Here are five easy steps you can take to help you overcome procrastination.

 

1. Know Your ‘Why’

I love the story John Maxwell shares in his book ‘15 Invaluable Laws of Growth’. While a salesman looks out of the hotel restaurant window, he asks the waiter if he thinks the roads will be clear enough to travel the next morning. And the waiter responds, “Depends on if you are on salary or commission”. The first step to achieving your goals and overcoming that lethargic feel of procrastination is having a strong ‘WHY’; one that is worth fighting for and motivates you whenever you see yourself beginning to procrastinate.

 

2. Dive Right In

We often procrastinate because we fear that a task will take too long, or that we don’t have the skills to complete it successfully, or that we’ll magically find the time later to finish it. Oftentimes the best way to put a stop to procrastination is to stop thinking and simply dive right in. Once you get started, you’ll begin to figure out how to complete the task i.e. necessary steps or resources required, otherwise it’ll remain untouched, unfinished, and continue to be a roadblock to your success.

 

3. Learn Proper Goal Setting

Writing down a list of the top things you’d like to get done this year is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to goal setting.  Goals should be broken down into:

Overall goal > Monthly goals > Weekly goals > Daily goals

By breaking your goals into smaller and more specific steps, you increase the likelihood of them being completed. Also ensure your goals are time-framed, giving yourself specific target dates to complete tasks by.

 

4. Get Your Motivation Going

For many, once we have our strong ‘WHY’ in front of us, as well as see how easily a big goal can be broken down into manageable bite sized pieces, we feel less overwhelmed and more motivated. However, if you still struggling with driving yourself to get things done, analyse how procrastination is preventing you from reaching personal and professional success; make two lists of the pros and cons, listing all the drawbacks of procrastination that you can think of, and then list the benefits. This should remind you how much procrastination is holding you back. If necessary, tack that list up somewhere visible to remind yourself.

 

5. Practice Good Time Management

Getting things done is largely about properly managing your time. Not sure if you’re a big time waster?  Then do this: spend one week writing down how you’re spending your time from the moment you get up to the minute you go to bed.  Chances are you’ll be shocked by how much time you’ve allowed to go to waste.

 

BONUS:  By reviewing how you’re spending your time, you’ll likely find that there are tasks that you can delegate or outsource to others, or tasks that you can stop doing completely to free up more of your time. Here is a piece I wrote on how to delegate effectively.

Yesterday you said tomorrow, today is the day! Start doing.

Want to identify what may be stopping from achieving yours and find strategies you can implement to get you started? Attend our free and complimentary webinar on July 3rd Click here to sign up for the webinar

Download my Free eBook and uniquely designed Templates “4 weeks to Achieving & Executing Your Goals!” to help you get started now. http://eepurl.com/xeDrf

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Speaker & John Maxwell Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com

New Beginnings

anna

It’s that time of year upon when many of us decide to begin anew.  We make ourselves and other promises of change.  Some of us attack weight loss, others set goals for our career or business path. In essence we start with the best of intentions. We move into the new year with such wonderful expectations, full of vigor!

AND…, in some cases we hit the brick wall!  Our first main obstacle occurs and we start to teeter.  Then we begin to question our ability and this turns into disappointment and soon we begin to wonder what we were thinking in making this goal to begin with.

Does this formula sound familiar??? How many of you have already it your first impasse?

I am here to help with these feelings.  I would like you to know that over 80% of goals set have been hindered by the feelings of inability.  The question we all want answered is why we allow the plan to alter at the first sign of trouble.

The will to want to make a change is a huge part of success however we need to do the follow through. Here are some steps to ensure that you are successful:

  1.  Once your goal is set, you need to make a plan.  Make steps to your plan with appropriate time lines!
  2. Revise and edit your plan if you find that portions of your steps aren’t working with the outcome you desire.  Making a change in the plan isn’t quitting; it is merely allowing you to tweak your plan to ensure your success.
  3. Look for help!  If you find that things aren’t coming together seek the advice of a good friend or more importantly a professional.  Seek a business councillor for your business needs or the expert in the field of your goal.
  4. Don’t quit!!!!  You have the ability to become anything you want or achieve any success you desire.  It is all your choice!

Here is wishing you a great start to your goals in 2014!  Feel free to contact me if you need any help ensuring your success.

 

Anna Ottaviani is a Board Certified NLP Master Practitioner & Master Coach, Board Certified Master Hypnotherapist,Creating Your Future® , Time Line® Therapist Practitioner and Reiki Master. Her methods are unique and tailored to each individual client. She can be reached at www.sucessfullyyou.ca or by phone at 289-221-5772. You can follow her on Facebook