by Ann Evanston | Sep 16, 2015 | Business Strategy
I have found that achieving business success, for most people (not all, there are some that are just lucky, or talented, or both, LOL) isn’t easy. Most of us don’t have “overnight success”. Sometimes understanding where we “get stuck” is the key.
While traveling and speaking, I like to hang out in the bar in the evening. Ok, some of you are not surprised, LOL! I like talking with people. There is this weird “safety” if you will. I think it is because most of us know we will never see the person again. Once in San Diego, I was at the Marriott Marquis. It is right next to the convention center, so the bar is always busy. I met a man who had his own business (defense contracts). We had a great time talking wine and business. Later, as I was really trying to get away and go relax (I had a class to teach the next morning), three women joined us. The gentleman said “Hi”, and suddenly we are in full conversation. It turns out they are from Chicago and one woman just started her photography business.
As the conversation continued, she looked him straight in the eye (pretty much leaned across me) and asked: “You own your own business. When does it get easier? What was the first year like? How do you get successful?” He proceeded to say that it has always been easy. His relationships allowed him to get contracts in the first year, and he has never regretted starting on his own.
I HAD to jump in! I shared my story. Eighteen years in business, successful team, primary bread winner in my family. And then I said: “The first year was AWFUL. I could barely afford the peanut butter, let alone the bread for a sandwich! Getting success was HARD that first year!”
She sighed, she knew I related to what she was experiencing. She shared her struggle a bit more. We talked about many things, but you know me. The depth of what you can achieve successfully has less to do with a brand, or a website, or even being GREAT at what you do. It has more to do with YOU, and how you THINK that determines your ability to be successful as a small business owner.
I shared with her that she has to train her mind to change her life and business. That so much of how we are taught to think fits the mold that requires you “go get a job and work for someone else.” That we are not trained to be on our own, and it requires a different mindset.
Do you need to train your mind to think differently? See, I find that many people decide to be entrepreneurs because they know they don’t “quite fit” in the business world. They are not so good at taking orders. They like to be their own person. Sounds like you shouldn’t be stuff right?
But have you made sure you have trained your mind to truly align with what you want now? Are you so comfortable with what you know now that you don’t even realize the patterns you fall into that aren’t helping your success?
Because success in business requires you can handle stuck. It will happen. You will have to push yourself again and again. Even I, right now, am having to push past stuck. I am comfortable with the marketing I do now. Guess what? To have greater success I have to move into something, new, unknown (for me). I know what IT is I need to do. I get it intellectually. It’s the process of training my mind, of getting through that place where I have no security blanket that is difficult.
Do you relate? I will change it though. Will you change it?
by Ann Evanston | Sep 9, 2015 | Business Strategy
Last week I shared the importance of involvement to get commitment. Let’s look at being an entrepreneur and wanting success in our business. The same holds true. Without involvement, there is absolutely NO commitment. The means you have to be willing to look at SELF first.
Where is it you need to be MORE involved to have a sense of greater personal commitment to your success?
Here is a checklist of places you could think about. As you read them, answer “YES” out loud when you know you need to be more personally committed:
1. Doing regular marketing on your website.
2. Marketing in person, and online regularly.
3. Participating in webinars, radio and opportunities to be interviewed.
4. Developing your give-a-way and developing a strategy for people to get it.
5. Planning your annual sales calendar.
6. Writing copy.
7. Developing your “top of mind” automation so it saves you time.
8. Engaging potential customers to your brand.
9. Developing materials that increase perceived value of our product or program.
10. Making sure the customers you have are WOWed from the moment they buy.
OK, I could go on. You personally can add to this list. More importantly: How many did you say: “YES, I need to be more personally committed to that action?”
In the post last week, I said it’s hard to live a healthy lifestyle without being involved in eating healthy. And if you eat healthy, you are committed. The same holds true in your business. You have to be involved in the things that make it successful for you. If you are only involved sometimes or “when you feel like it” it just doesn’t work.
Here is another question to think about: Do you want greater commitment from those you WANT to buy from you? (I am talking prospects here, not current customers, although the same does apply to current customers.)
I would hope the answer is a resounding: “YES ANN! Of course I do!”
Well, guess what? Unless you are more involved, they cannot feel the desire to commit. Many of the things I mentioned above are places we need to be involved to get their commitment.
Are you involved in what it takes to grow it? To keep new people seeing it? Sharing it? Buying it?
by Ann Evanston | Sep 2, 2015 | Business Strategy
I have been thinking about the power of commitment. We want it everywhere…so it seems. We want a committed relationship. We want commitment from our clients. We most likely want commitment from ourselves? (Ok, maybe I am jumping to a conclusion, LOL!)
Have you ever thought what it takes to get commitment, though? That’s what I have been thinking about. Reality is this: you CANNOT have commitment without involvement. Think about that.
Do you:
- Want a better relationship? You cannot have an amazing relationship unless you first are committed to acting the best in a relationship. Giving it time, nurturing it.
- Aspire to live a healthier lifestyle? Are you involved in eating healthy, movement, stress management?
- Desire a loving partner? Then you must be involved in being loving, actively loving every single day.
- Dream of traveling the world? You have to be involved in planning, saving, researching and going!
If you are not involved you will not get the commitment you are looking for. The outcome just cannot happen.
I often say: “anything worth having is worth working on.” That is the same as saying commitment requires involvement.
I remember in a class sharing this and adding the example of a great relationship. At break a woman approached me and said: “Ann, I work hard all day long, I don’t want to have to work on a relationship. I am just too exhausted. It should be easy.”
“So how’s that working for you?” I responded.
“I don’t have one right now, I am alone, but I want a relationship!”
Hmmmm……
Involvement.
At the beginning of this post I mentioned “committed customers.” All I have spoken of is personal stuff so far! Without me going further can you see the connection to having people who COMMIT to pay you? Where your involvement might need to be to get that? I promise I will share with you next week!
by Ann Evanston | Aug 26, 2015 | Business Strategy, Mental Mind Shifts
Last week, I shared a simple awareness that most people have a fear of success. I even recalled the journey about myself, which I had to change to have the success I really wanted. See, we get what we DESERVE, NOT what we want.
[Tweet “We get what we DESERVE, NOT what we want.”]
And what we deserve is really how we believe, deep inside our hearts. As a small business owner, I see many of my clients do these things to self-sabotage success. Do you recognize yourself in any of them? As you read this checklist, take a moment to really LISTEN with your heart, and answer with a yes, if you do these things.
1. You know you need to do some blogging…but you just don’t feel like writing today.
2. You decide it’s time to charge more for what you do, but when asked “how much” you seem to say less than you agreed with yourself to charge.
3. You try to be everything to everybody, because you don’t want to exclude anyone.
4. You constantly ask other people what they think…of your logo, your product, your copy, your price, your title…and are overwhelmed by their opinions.
5. You share what you think online, and someone disagrees, and you silently overthink what you said and why it might be the wrong thing.
6. You are inconsistent: in showing up, in follow through, in marketing, in networking, with leads and customers.
7. You have a MILLION great ideas, but struggle with implementing and monetizing them.
8. You take an AMAZING class and are motived to do different…yet one week later you are back to your “old self”.
9. You have trouble owning your expertise, so you are continuously taking classes to learn more.
10. You finally decide and put out to the world “this is what the hell I sell” and everything you see online is EXACTLY that…you step into self-doubt.
11. You have some success, people start buying and you find yourself worrying, wondering, even having unsettled energy, although you’re not sure why.
12. You are EXCELLENT at implementing what your coach tells you, but you are so busy doing, you can’t BE for those that need you, even personally.
13. You have deep exciting highs and then weird lows in your business.
14. You know you need to implement systems within technology that will make your business run, yet every time you try…it’s just too overwhelming.
15. You are challenged by stepping fully into your heart, to write, speak, and most importantly decide.
Yes, I guess I could go on and on. This, though, is why “Vision of Self” is the first of the 5 Elements of a Bad-Assery Business™. I look at my clients and many have at least three of those above, most many more. I love that we change this so HOW happens, and money flows! And if you have at least three, there is a tiny part of you, deep, deep inside, that somewhere silently questions:
“Do you deserve that? No, do you? Really? What makes you think you do?”
You have to start by answering that tiny, tiny voice. That whisper. Heck, you need to have a conversation with it! Out loud!
by Ann Evanston | Aug 19, 2015 | Mental Mind Shifts
Fear of Success. Yep. That’s it. Many if not ALL people I work with…and many that are afraid to work with me because I fix this factor….they are afraid of SUCCESS! Let me explain and create some awareness.
One of the 5 Essential Elements of a Bad-Assery Business™, that I focus energy on with my clients, is Vision of Self. It’s been so powerful to watch my psychology background play a critical part in what I do with small business owners and entrepreneurs!
See, your ability to grow your business has LITTLE to do with HOW. You can learn HOW everywhere. Heck, just Google How to….set up XYZ…wa-lah! You can take a million classes about HOW. It’s NOT the problem. Eighteen years coaching and speaking about self-worth and success, it’s about you and your beliefs. (Or as I say in my book: The Influence Factor, it’s about these stories you have created that have become TRUTHS for you)
Fear of success comes from a deep sense of self-worth that one doesn’t deserve it. Doesn’t deserve the accolades, the money, the visibility, the praise, the recognition as an expert…
Oh I know, when in your HEAD you might be thinking: “But Ann, I do deserve it…what are you talking about?”
What does your heart say? Really listen to your heart, deep inside your soul. Get out of your head to grow.
[Tweet “Get out of your head to grow.”]
When you don’t think you deserve it, you do little things to self-sabotage the success. I know, I once was so “in my head” I thought I did deserve success, but when I listened to my heart, and really looked through my heart at my actions, I realized I REALLY did not believe I deserved it.
It was back in high-school for me, I am lucky to have done the work to change it in my early 20’s. In high-school, many people would describe me as a top performer, a super achiever, a winner. But I can now see the truth. I had this tiny voice that believed I didn’t deserve success. So I self-sabotaged.:
- I’d forget the dance routine in swing choir.
- I’d only get a B on a test I could have aced.
- I’d start a fight with a friend that could have brought me into influential networks.
I could go on…but see what I was doing?
I truly did not believe I deserved success. Do you believe you deserve it? Next week I will share with you a powerful checklist for you to review if you may have the fear of success.
Now I include “Vision of Self” as part of the 5 Elements of a Bad- Assery Business™. In college I actually developed my own self-esteem program, and for internship implemented it with college students and a group of 30 women in a tech company in Seattle. I love sharing that work now, and watching my clients SOAR!
