Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

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

Are you having some fun on your journey?

Uchechi

Wow, it’s crazy how much the year has progressed. Periodically, I like to reflect on my goals and accomplishments and determine where adjustments are needed. What’s come up for me today is the need to enjoy my journey as I reach towards my goals.

Those that know me well know that I always have something on the go, with ideas and programs to develop. However, along with this, is the calling to take time to reflect on my accomplishments and ensure that the journey towards the attainment of my goals in an enjoyable one. Being a wife and a mother of 2 has made this even more essential in my life!

As humans, we are meant to stretch and take on challenges. Most of us don’t always stretch past our comfort zone, which is needed to grow and succeed, but that yearning to be and want more is a human desire that we all have in common. What we tend to do is focus solely on the end goal (destination) that we don’t sit and consider how much growth and accomplishments we’ve had along the way.

Enjoying the journey also includes adding ways to make accomplishing your goals fun and exciting. This is important because at some point, we will get to the part where things start to become difficult or mundane and the beginner’s excitement is gone and we need to work at it to stay inspired and motivated. As business owners, we know this part very well! This is when enjoying the journey and infusing some fun and excitement into it helps to sustain your energy.

It could a relaxing massage for dedicating a full day to business development for your business and gaining more leads. You can also reach out to someone you admire and ask them to mentor you, spending an afternoon at your favourite restaurant ‘picking their brain’. Another great thing is to attend an inspiring event (like Hay House I Can Do It) or join a mastermind group with like-minded people. There are so many ways to add some fun and excitement to the process of reaching your goals. One of the things I personally plan to do in the future is get together with some great ladies and do a wealth creation mastermind that includes a fun day of pampering, yoga, masterminding and talk on personal development.

Yes, there are some tedious and difficult tasks that we must do consistently to turn our dreams into a reality. However, it is equally important to have time to reflect and inject some fun into your life and business. After all, that’s the reason why you established your goals and do the work in the first place. You wanted to share your unique talents and create something that will improve your life and make you happy, while serving others. It’s important to make the effort to enjoy the ride and be happy during the process and not just after the goal is reached. As we all know, once one goal is reached, you will have a need to establish another. Therefore, it truly is all about the journey!

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!