The Top 5 Things to do When Your Business is in a Lull – Part 2

The Top 5 Things to do When Your Business is in a Lull – Part 2

This is a continuation of Part 1.

3. Change Your Mindset

Although you may feel responsible for where your business is, your continual abuse to yourself will not get you and your business out of the hole. Nothing good ever comes out of a negative state of mind. You have to be able to look at the possibilities and know that your best days are yet ahead of you to pull you through this season.

Beating yourself up will not change a thing. To the contrary, it will just make things worse for you. Give yourself a designated time to feel bad about the situation, cry, scream do whatever you need to do and then get up and go into beast mode to get the problem resolved.
 

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4. Do a Business Assessment and Make the Necessary Changes

Some entrepreneurs are able to do this for themselves, but others will need the support of someone else to come in to do it. Doing a business assessment can show you exactly where your gaps are in your business and how they need to be filled. The most effective business assessments are done by someone from the outside that does not have any ties or emotional connections to the company. Although there are some companies that can do them effectively from the inside.

The most important factors related to this is that the problems are identified, changes are made and the challenges that have been reeking havoc on the business are ultimately resolved.

5. Get Support

Often times we cannot do this on our own. It often requires assistance to make it to the other side. I am always astonished at how entrepreneurs with no business education or previous experience think that they are supposed to be able to find success in business simply by starting one. When I discuss this with entrepreneurs, they are often surprised by how ridiculous that sounds, but so many have succumbed to it.

If you have not been educated on how to create and grow a successful business, you are doing a tremendous disservice to your business and ultimately yourself. I can’t begin to express to you how factual of a statement that is. And the lack of you doing so will be your ultimate downfall.
 

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If you are not satisfied or happy with where things are in your business, it is your fault. As a business owner, you are responsible for guiding and keeping the ship afloat. If you cannot do it on your own, it is your sole responsibility to get the support you need from others to help you find your way. And if you don’t, you deserve exactly what you get.

This may sound harsh to you, but this is a simple fact and if you don’t shift your mindset around what is required to create and build a successful business, you will be part of that ever growing statistic of the majority of businesses that open and close in just a matter of a few short years.

Don’t become a statistic because of your ego. Give yourself every chance you can to create a business and the life that you, your family and your unborn legacy deserves.

If you want to learn the Top 7 Critical Steps to Grow Your Business to Multiple Six-Figures and Beyond, download my Free eBook HERE.


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The Top 5 Things To Do When Your Business Is In a Lull – Part 1

The Top 5 Things To Do When Your Business Is In a Lull – Part 1

It’s often very difficult for an entrepreneur to pull themself out of a slow time in their business. This difficulty is for a variety of reasons, but often times when one is in that place, it takes all they have to pull themselves out of it. Contrary to what many entrepreneurs may think, all businesses experience a slow down at times and must do whatever is necessary to move themselves and their businesses forward.

There are different ways to move yourself forward if you find yourself there, but below you will find what I believe to be the top five ways to do it.

1. Go Out and Get Inspired!

When you’re feeling low about where you are in your business or your actions and inactions in getting yourself there, one of the best things you can do is to go find inspiration.
 

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No matter where things are in your business, and how bad you may feel about your current state, there is always someone out there whose situation is worse. There are tons of entrepreneurs who had the deck totally stacked against them and they succeeded at this entrepreneurial game anyway.

Finding inspiration can be done in a myriad of ways. It can be done by reading the story of an amazing, unrelenting business owner. It can be done by watching the inspirational story of someone who overcame extraordinary odds in their business and life. Or it can be done by attending an event which exposes you to such people and stories. All that matters is you find it.

Inspiration is everywhere! Go out and get some to inspire you to do the next steps that are required in your business now.

2. Remember What Worked When Your Business Was at a High and Do It Again!

Now obviously this one assumes that you have previously had some wins in your business. If you have not, then you need to start at the basics and invest in some education on what’s required to create a successful business.

But for those entrepreneurs who have had success, many seem to have a short memory as it relates to the actions they did that worked and benefited their businesses financially. Why do I say that? I say it because if they consciously remembered what they did that kept them at a high in their business, as opposed to their inaction around what was putting them in a rut, then seemingly they wouldn’t allow themselves to get there again in the first place.
 

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I was recently speaking to a new client who was complaining to me about the current sales in her business and compared her current situation to someone else’s high sales in theirs. When she was telling me the story, she went into great detail about what the other person was doing that had their business booming and articulated her inaction in hers.

It was quite obvious to me that she was not hearing clearly what she was saying, because if she did she would implement some of the things that the other entrepreneur was doing in her business instead of complaining about hers.

When I discussed with her the current state she was facing compared to what she did when she was receiving sales, she responded as if she was surprised. She then said she would start to do those things again to pull her business out of its current state.

Check out Part 2 of this article on Friday.


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Top 5 Ways to Know If You’re Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur – Part 1

Top 5 Ways to Know If You’re Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur – Part 1

Many people see entrepreneurship as a sexy alternative to a 9-to-5. The problem with that view is that it is so far more than that and so far more difficult than the perception of what it appears to be.

Often times people see entrepreneurship as a means of creating freedom, flexibility, and great wealth. What they normally don’t see are the trials, hardships, lack of funding and uncertainty which can be a significant part of the journey as well.
 

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A recent study showed that entrepreneurs have a high rate of depression. It is connected to the life of uncertainty, often lack of stability and ongoing hardships that entrepreneurs face at times. Obviously, that’s not all of what entrepreneurship is but you better know before you go into it that these factors certainly amount for some of it.

So, these are the top 5 ways to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur.

1. Are You Able to Deal with Uncertainties?

At some point in your business, or your career of entrepreneurship, you will face uncertainty. No matter who you are or what type of business you open, uncertainty is most certainly to be a part of your path. It doesn’t mean you can’t create certain pieces to put you in the best position, but what it does mean is that even with that being the case, uncertainty is guaranteed to be an element you face along the way.

There can be uncertainty around staffing, finances and reaching goals among other things. But it is crucial to be able to handle the uncertainties and not allow them to slow you down or stop you from moving forward in your business venture.
 

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2. Are You Able to be Malleable?

The reason you need to be malleable is because you are going to have to take some hits and curveballs along the way. There will be times when what you expected to occur doesn’t happen and what you hadn’t expected will. So, you must know how to move with the flow of things and to be adaptable to the differing circumstances you will face on your path.

Check out Part 2 of this article here.


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Make Money As a Speaker

Make Money As a Speaker

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when someone shared that she was astonished to find out the college where she worked paid $5000 to someone to teach a workshop. She went on to say that she could have taught the workshop herself. Unless you are a part of the world of speaking, it would be very hard to believe the amount of money that many speakers make. But the fact of the matter is there’s a ton of money that can be made from speaking.

Often times I’m asked, “How do I get paid as a speaker?” There are a variety of ways you can make money as a speaker, but for the purpose of this blog post, I will focus on the top two.
 

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The first way you can make money as a speaker is to actually charge to speak. Many people choose to give away their information for free, but there is an entire multi-million dollar industry built off of paying people to speak. The fee that is given to speak is often called an honorarium. An honorarium is a payment that is made as compensation for giving a speech or talk.

You can be paid to give a particular type of speech such as a keynote address (the main speech at an event) or to present in some other way. You can also be paid to teach a workshop, seminar or to give some other type of presentation or information.

The second most common way to be compensated as a speaker is by making an offer at the end of your presentation. This occurs when at the end of a talk, the speaker makes an offer to the audience that produces a sale.
 

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The offer can be a product, program, service or something else that requires a monetary exchange. This talk can be paid, have a fee associated with it or it can be given completely free.

Although some people think it is best to go the paid speaking route only as a speaker, often times your greatest profits can occur by not getting paid initially and just by making the right offer at the end of your talk.

I use both methods in my speaking business. However, I often say if I could only pick one of the two methods for the rest of my career I would skip the upfront fee and just make an offer at the end. Why you may ask? Because in most cases, if you know how to do it effectively, you can make a lot more money with the appropriate offer than you can through receiving an honorarium.

According to the National Speakers Association, the average keynote speaker is paid $3500. This can be a significant amount, especially if you weigh it against the amount of time it takes to give a keynote – normally less than an hour.

If you were fortunate enough to be able to book a few a month, it can certainly add up quickly. But, you can make 5-figures and 6-figures in sales after a talk from offering the right offer, in the right room, to the right audience, which can far exceed the honorarium you would get paid to speak.


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Why Entrepreneurship is Not For the Weary

Why Entrepreneurship is Not For the Weary

If you’ve been in the entrepreneur lane for more than a minute, you know that there is at least one time in which you’ve wondered if you should continue running on as a business owner or if you should just call it a wrap. Every business owner has had to come to that question and most have had to ponder it much more than once.

Entrepreneurship is not for the weary. You will be tired, tried and tested throughout your tenure. So, if you haven’t experienced it yet, know that at some point you will. And when you do, take comfort in knowing that the exception to the rule would be someone whose circumstances did not require them to think of it at all.

When that moment happens to you, it is important to take an analysis of where you are in your business and where you still have yet to go. Owning a business is no small feat. It requires tenacity, unrelenting faith and perseverance just to name a few. Even with all the right characteristics, there will be moments in which you wonder if you should go on in your business.
 

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I have had to ask that question at some point in almost all of my businesses. But know you can never create a successful business without making it through some dark seasons. Entrepreneurship can produce the most unbelievable, amazing results, but once you get to it, know that you deserve every bit of that success after all you would have had to endure to make it there.

When you do your analysis, look at whether you’re currently doing the best you could possibly do in the business. Look for support in the areas where you see gaps, and determine what is going to be required to get you out of that hole.

If you are able to do what is necessary to produce the end result, keep running. But if you see that even with the necessary components it is still not worth it in the end, or you are not willing to do what’s required to get there, perhaps it’s time for you to let it go.
 

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Nothing comes without sacrifice. There is a price for everything. Many who have built successful businesses will tell you that often times those they loved had to be sacrificed. For some, the sacrifice was worth it. For others, it certainly was not. But only you can determine whether the sacrifices it took for you to get there was worth it for you or not.

Seek out advice from those with specific expertise in the areas you need support. But be sure to make the best decision for yourself and one that you can live with and not regret as your life goes on.


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