I spent Valentine’s Day in District Court and it turned out to be one of the best days ever.  The nuts and bolts is that I had a contractual agreement with someone.  After a year of the person adhering to the agreement, the other party stopped paying. The person said that our agreement was unfair.  I reiterated several times that they had voluntarily entered into the agreement. When those efforts failed, I sued them.  Disagreements are part of life.  As an entrepreneur it’s inevitable that you’ll disagree with a business partner. It’s also likely that in your business you’ll frequently need to choose between two very different options.  You move forward by mastering the art of the empowered deal. It’s called compromise.

I walked out of court with a little over $16,000 in cash because I was willing to compromise.

By giving up another $9,ooo and agreeing to some new terms I’m assured the original contract remain in full force. I also bought myself some peace of mind since the matter is settled for the foreseeable future. The alternative could have been a judgment I couldn’t collect on and/or expensive litigation into the next decade.

Let me be crystal clear. I’ve  never been a fan of compromise. Compromise is one of those concepts I had a hard time understanding: Everybody gives up something for the greater good, the supposed win/win.  But how does that work? If I want to go New York City for Christmas and my friend wants to go to Los Angeles, what’s the compromise Chicago? If you’re a teetoling, vegan and your business partner wants your company to be an Oktoberfest sponsor how do you square that for both parties?

In my case, I didn’t understand how the person became convinced that it was justified to renege on our contract.  I prayed and meditated but I was also adamant that my position was unassailable.  The judge however was sympathetic to some of the defendant’s concerns.   So how did my attorney telling me that it would be good for me to strike a deal become a teachable moment?

I acknowledged that my distaste for compromise came from seeing and experiencing it from a place of fear and powerlessness. 

Too often women sacrifice their principles, their wants and desires in the name of compromise.  They ”give in” to keep the peace or to maintain a friendship or a romantic relationship. In business women fold in the name of compromise because they don’t believe that they are in a position to fight and win.  They are fearful about what will happen to them if they stick to their guns. On Valentine’s Day, my greatest gift was realizing that true compromise  comes from a place of clarity and strength.

Here are  5 Tips to the Art of the Empowered Deal

1. Leave your ego at the door and look for the lesson. 
You ego tells you that you are right and that you shouldn’t give an inch to your enemy.  However your soul will help you to understand what actions/inactions brought you to this place.  This new awareness will help you to grow and to make new decisions in the future.

2. Decide what REALLY matters to you in terms of the outcome. 
Once you get over ”I’m right and you’re wrong” you can discern your core objective(s). This is important because it allows you to prioritize and eliminate less relevant “wants.” 

3.  Craft a deal that vigorously protects your key concerns and concedes the others.
If something is extremely important, you can’t half-step. You need to let the other party that it’s not negotiable.  You can then generously “give in” on the lesser items.

4.  Decide what you’re going to do if the deal falls through.  No deal is done until both parties agree to it.  So know what you’re going to do if the deal fails.  Will you press on, or will you quit?  There is no right answer, each situation is different.  However never make this decision based on fear or on a sense of lack. This decision has to be one that you can be content with experiencing.

5. Detach. 
Pray, meditate, say affirmations, breath, walk around the block.  Do whatever will bring you closer to your center—to your soul. Then go forward with the knowledge that the Universe has your back and that you’ll be fine whatever the final outcome. 

If you ask most women entrepreneurs, “Do you want to become a millionaire?” almost 100% of them will say yes.  The reality however is that there is a big gap between the number of people who want to become millionaires and the number who actually do. In the United States less than 9 percent of the population are millionaires. Of that 9 percent, only a fraction are women business owners.

If you’re not interested in becoming a millionaire, what about becoming a hundredthousandnaire?  According to statistics, less than 20 percent of U.S. households earn $100,000 a year.  This means that a much smaller percentage of women are creating six figure businesses.  While most women claim that they want to earn lucrative incomes, only a few of them are willing to change their thinking and their habits to create the business breakthrough that they want. The truth is, you can’t be maintain a “comfort mindset” and become a high income entrepreneur.

What separates the women who become high-income entrepreneurs from the women who continue to struggle?— It’s decision.

You’re probably scratching your head. Yes, decision is the key factor that separates millionaires for non-millionaires.  Decision is also what distinguishes women entrepreneurs with high incomes from women who are not reaching their earning potential. You have to first decide that you want to earn more money. You also have to believe that you have the ability to do it. Then you have to be willing to invest in yourself and to take new actions that move you in the direction of your goal.

Most of women entrepreneurs who I work with get stuck because they haven’t really decided that they want to make more money. Saying, “It would be nice, one day if I earned $100,000 year” isn’t the same as saying, “This year I’m going to make a $100,000 in my business.” The former is a vague wishy-washy hope, the latter is a bold, committed intention.

Once you decide that you are going to earn $100,000 you begin to think of different ways to make it happen. If you’re an entrepreneur you’ll realize that you need to make $8,500 per month. That equates to 15 clients paying you $567.00 per month or 8 clients paying $1,000 per month for your product or service. It’s roughly $283.00 per day that you need to earn in your business.

Deciding that you’re going to earn more money doesn’t mean that you immediately have all of the answers. It doesn’t require that you have every detail worked out. What it does require is you believe that you’re enough, right now, to earn $100,000. It means that you are open to finding solutions. It means that you’re willing to seek out a coach or mentor whose expertise can help you to fast track your goal.   It also requires that you’re willing to be uncomfortable as you transition from playing small and living in financial struggle to sharing your gifts more widely and becoming a high income entrepreneur.

Making Decisions

Some women have trouble knowing the next step that they should take. They are unsure if the opportunity being presented to them is good or just a waste of time and money. The way to determine your next step is to first to have a clear goal.  This is the difference between saying, “I’d like to earn more money,” and saying, “My goal is to earn an additional $20,000 in the next 12 months.” The second statement has a concrete dollar amount with a deadline attached to it; it’s a clear destination.

If you already know what your goal is, ask yourself if there is something that you’re resisting doing that’s keeping you from that goal.  Usually if you have a subconscious fear about taking a particular action, something will come along to distract you. You’ll need to be very honest with yourself about this because your mind is great at making excuses and rationalizations about why you’re resisting something.

Let me give you an example:

If your goal is to enroll more clients and you know your next step is to make schedule calls with prospects, but instead you sign up for a course on how to use social media. You’re using the social media course as a distraction.  Your mind will work overtime to convince you that by learning how to navigate Twitter and Facebook, you’ll magically enroll all the new clients that you want.

When you need to evaluate a possible next step or decision, I always recommend that you turn to these FOUR QUESTIONS.

So let’s use the example above and run it through using the FOUR QUESTIONS.

1) Is this something I REALLY want to be, do, or have? (not a” Should”)
In this example the answer is NO.  Knowing social media may be useful but it’s not something you’re truly interested in learning.

2) Is being, doing or having this taking me closer to my ultimate goal?
In this instance the answer would be NO because it would be taking you farther from it. You already know that the most direct way to enroll more clients is to make the follow-up call to prospects.

3) Is being, doing or having this helping you to grow and evolve as a woman and as an entrepreneur?  
The answer is NO.  The interest in the social media class is tied to your fear about making the prospect calls. Perhaps you’re afraid of rejection.

4) Does being, doing or having this violate the rights of others (are you trying to manipulate someone or take away their right to choose for themselves)? NO

In using these FOUR QUESTIONS, only in #4 should there be a NO answer.  In questions 1-3, NO answers are signals that you probably shouldn’t proceed with the opportunity. The more NOs that you have the clearer it is that the thing isn’t the next step for you.

What’s one decison that you can make right now… one thing that you can do today that can move you closer to creating what you want in your business?

Let me know what you think by commenting below and sharing this post with your peeps

Demand excellence from yourself, your staff, even your customers–Apple co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs

I’m from New York City, so I’m very familiar with the velvet rope at trendy clubs.  For the uninitiated, the velvet rope at the entrance door separates the masses of party-goers outside from the “chosen ones” inside.  Here’s how it works, a functionary of the club or it’s promoter decides via a guest list or some other criteria whether or not you’ll gain admission.  If you get the thumbs up, the velvet rope is parted and you’re let in. If  you don’t get the high sign….you stay behind the rope…regardless of your ability to pay.  As an entrepreneur, how would your business be different if you established your own velvet rope policy?

Now before you get your knickers in a twist.  I’m not suggesting that your velvet rope policy be based on superficial things like whether not the person is sporting the latest fashion, or is bigger than a size 0. I also not saying that you need to be snobby, insulting or condescending in implementing your velvet rope policy.

I’m a however saying that if you want to have a successful, profitable business you need to have standards for your clients.

It’s your job to determine who you work with—- particularly if you work with people 1-on-1.  Your services and products can’t serve everybody and you should stop trying. At this point, you probably saying, ”It’s easy for you to be discriminating because you have clients.”  What I want you to understand is that you’ll never have an ample supply of clients if continue to serve everyone with a pulse and a valid credit card. At a hot club, despite a velvet rope policy, people will stand in line for an hour to get in.  The allure is that the joint is deemed “special” because it only patronizes select customers. People value that fact that the club has no interest or intention of catering to the masses. 

Having a “Client Requirement Checklist” is similar to dating. If you meet someone and the person is rude, flaky or who has beliefs or values which are antithetical to yours, you don’t go out with them. You certainly don’t commit to a long-term relationship with them. However that’s what many entrepreneurs do.  They’re worried about cashflow and will take on literally anyone able to pay them (probably a discounted rate).  Within your business, you have the right to decide who you want share your genius work with.  You also have the responsiblity, given your temperment, business philosophy, and financial goals, to decide who you are best suited to help. Be clear, you’re doing yourself and the client a BIG disservice if you took the person on solely for the money. This is especially true if it’s apparent early on that you’re not a good match and you plough forward any way.

By not establishing client criteria you signal to everyone that your work isn’t valuable…or specialized….it’s a commodity. 

People tend to judge commodities solely on price.  The result of you being commodified is that you’ll attract less committed clients. These people don’t necessarily value what you’re  offering, they are choosing you because you’re less expensive than someone else.  Your people, the ones you really want to serve, will turn to someone who communicates that she values what she has to offer by only working with a certain type of person. Your “Client Requirement Checklist” expresses, “What requirements you need for someone to work with you.” 

Here’s how to create your own “Client Requirement Checklist”

Make a list of 10 must-have that you need in a client. These items should include: (1) what attributes or characteristics do they need to have; (2) what mentality (or beliefs) do they need to possess; (3) who they need to be to most benefit from you work.

Here are a few items on my Client Requirement Checklist:

Women who work with me:

1. Ask questions, are honest and are pro-active about finding solutions.

2. Are fully committed to moving beyond their “comfort zone” to create the life, income and business that they desire.

3. Are willing to persevere and aren’t easily discouraged. (They have an “no excuses” approach)

4. Are willing to invest in themselves, through me, in order to accomplish their business transformation goals.

5. Open to hearing my opinions and recommendations without become defensive or finding excuses why they they can do what’s being asked of them. 

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about how I can help your business and income grow click here .

Note: The original post ran in April, 2011

One of the cool things about having a blog is that I can share interesting stuff with my peeps. Many of us became entrepreneurs because we had a message that we wanted to get out into the world. Through our work we want to make change in our community, country or world. In some shape, fashion or form we want to improve the quality of people’s lives. In my case, I use entrepreneurship as a way to teach women not only to make more money, but also to how create meaningful personal lives. Good intentions however aren’t enough to catch busy people’s attention AND make them take a specific action.

I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t acknowledge that some entrepreneurs do a much better job than others of getting their message out into the world. Moreover, most of them do it without large media budgets or high-end public relations firms. So why do some entrepreneurs move the masses, while others languish in obscurity?

I’ve viewed this video by Simon Sinek, author of the book, Start with the Why , several times because it’s a wonderful tutorial for entrepreneurs. People are attracted to brands that distinct and that are infused with some core value or belief. Functionality is a given in the marketplace; the successful entrepreneur also creates a brand that strikes an emotional cord with people. Clients want to you know “WHY” you are in business and WHY you serve the people that you do and WHY you operate you business the way that you do. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs to their detrimnet get fixated on the how and what. The “how” and the “what’ of their businesses are secondary, they are natural extensions of the “WHY” of the business—its dharma or purpose.

P.S. If you’d like to get clarity about your overall business and learn other strategies to attrace more quality clients click here to see how I can help you.

“People can ONLY think to the level from which they are exposed” Marvet Britto (via Twitter)

Many smart entrepreneurs fail in their businesses because their visions are limited.  They have passion for their work but they also have fixed views about a host of things: how their business should run; what they are capable of achieving; what people will pay; and how much money they are entitled to. Doing the lone ranger thing, these smart entrepreneurs maintain their limited ideas and stay stuck. They continue to struggle in their businesses, not helping the number of people that they should and not making the money that they could. In comparion, successful entrepreneurs hire coaches and mentors because they realize that they have blindspots and lack the ‘know how” to reach their goals. 

I have yet to meet a successful entrepreneur who doesn’t work with a coach or mentor. 

This includes the millionaire and multi-millionnaire entrepreneurs that I have worked with. Why? Because you only know what you know. If your goal is to help more people; earn more money; create a business model that gives you more free time; add new products or services; break into new markets, get more media exposure; write a book, overcome limiting beliefs, etc. you need the advice and guidance of someone who’s been there and done it.   This means that you have to be willing to get outside help. This means that you’ve got to be willing to invest in yourself by hiring an expert.

You’re probably thinking, “She’s talking about spending money on coaching and I’m barely making it.” However, the hard truth is that if you don’t invest in yourself through a coach, you’ll keep struggling. 

When I started my business, I too was a “smart” entrepreneur who didn’t see the need to spend my extremely limited funds on a coach.  I thought that I was “smart” enough to create a fabulous 6 figure business by myself. Subsequently, I attended zillions of free teleseminars, read a library of marketing books, bought home study courses and even attended a conference.  My lack of progress was utterly astounding.  To make matters worse, the “small” amounts of money that I spent snowballed into a fairly large sum. Unfortunately I still didn’t have many more clients or much more income. I still wasn’t making the type of impact with my business that I desperated wanted.

After a year of believing that I was smart enough to go it alone, I decided that I wanted to be a successful entrepreneur.

My business goal was/is to empower women, emotionally, spiritually and financially. I also made the decision to invest in a business coach to make my dream possible. My first coach helped me to clarify my goals; create an income generating business model and decide on the best way for me to market my business.  She saved me valuable time, wasted money, and countless headaches.  More importantly she encouraged my potential and helped me to lay the foundation for my solvent business. To this day, I’ve continued to work with coaches and mentors. Each coach helped me to push further beyond my fixed ideas and my fears. With their counsel and knowledge my business has continued to improve and grow. 

A good coach can provide you with not only technical assistance but also accountability and emotional support.  My mentors have helped me to expand my vision of who I am and how I can contribute to the lives of my clients.  Moreover, as someone who came from a corporate background, these fabulous women helped me to see bigger possibilities for my life, impact and income as an entrepreneur. 

I’m inviting you to now take the step to expand the vision for your life….to make a bigger and more meaningful impact with your business.

I have 8  FREE Business Alchemy coaching sessions up for grabs.   In this private, 45 minute session we’ll talk about where your business is; where you want to be and what’s stopping you.  We can also discuss how to continue working with me one-on-one for the next six months.   Deadline Friday, January 20, 2012.
***The 8 sessions are gone but you can apply to be on my waitlist.***To apply: Email me at Yvonne@SoulfulAffluence.com In the subject line put: Business Alchemy Waitlist.

Most time management advice centers on creating and organizing your ”to do” list. Your “to do” list probably consists of ALL the tasks that you have in front of you on a given day.  Rarely does time management focus on prioritization.  A large part of prioritization is elimination of irrelevant tasks. 

If your goal is to have have a profitable and fulfilling business, you have to eliminate tasks that do nothing (or very little) to enhance your life or your cashflow. When it comes to time management I sure that you fall into one of these two camps:

Camp #1: You don’t have a “to do” list and everyday you’re winging it. The result is that you never seem to get anything important done. You spend your day putting out fake fires and doing time wasting activities. Your revenue, or rather lack of it, reflects your lack of discipline and focus.

Camp #2: You’ve got 25 items on your daily ”to do” list. You NEVER finish everything on your lists. You feel overwhelmed and incompetent. As result you’re having a hard time attracting clients and generating income because your confidence is at an all-time low.

Here’s the Real Deal…..

Most successful entrepreneurs have a daily “to do” list of no more than 1 or 2 key items.  Each day these entrepreneurs determine what is most important in terms of them moving closer toward their goals.

So here’s what you need to do. Use the first hour of your day to create your 1-2 item ”to do” list. Again, these are activities that are concrete steps to you acheving your yearly, monthly or quarterly goal.  Your first hour should be single-focused thinking—-no checking email, updating facebook, tweeting or talking on the telephone. 

Your ”to do” list should include items such as:

• telephone prospect(s)
  
• send out a proposal
  
• having a conversation with an employee
  
• write sales copy
  
• do market research for new product

The point of time management is to decide how to BEST use your time to serve your clients, your business and yourself.  Busy-ness that doesn’t net results is nothing more than procrasination.

P.S. If you’d like to get clarity about your overall business goals and learn other strategies to transform your business from strugging to thriving click here to see how I can help you.

Many women entrepreneurs have vowed that 2012 is the year that they will double their incomes. However I can guarantee that like in prior years, most of you will panic when you think about the gap between your current income and your desired income. The problem is that you’ll either try to be “reasonable” and think too small, or you’ll start worrying about, ”How am I going to do this?” and get stuck.

If you believe that the leap to your new income is too big to do all at once, you’ll likely get discouraged and do nothing. Once you hit your wall of fear, it’s unlikely that you’ll do anything that will substantially change how much you’re earning. The best way to achieve your desired income goal for your business is to create bite-sized chunks.

I teach my clients how to create their own ”Bold Money Goal,” a system that I learned from one of my mentors. It is an easy and powerful way to move beyond the cycle of panic and uncertainty so that you can increase your monthly income without the stress.

Here are the four steps to creating your own Bold Money Goal:

Step #1: Choose a short frame. A short time frame makes you focus and quickly create momentum. I recommend a 30, 60, or  90 day Bold Money Goal time frame. A short window gives you the incentive to expand your thinking and your creativity to reach your Bold Money Goal. Short time frames are also great because they force you to move out of your comfort zone and take big actions. In comparison, longer time frames encourage you to procrastinate and maintain old habits because there’s no sense of urgency.

Step #2: Pick the right new income amount. If you aim too low you’re unlikely to make any major changes; you’re still operating within your comfort zone. However if you aim too high the amount can feel far-fetched and totally unrealistic to you.  I tell clients to choose an amount that’s stretch but that also excites them. The main thing is that this new number must feel do-able and real to you. For most women entrepreneurs their new number should be anywhere from 40 – 50 percent more than they are currently earning.

Step #3: Go for the low-hanging fruit. Rather than add new services or products to your business to reach your Bold Money Goal, I advise that you look for the low-hanging fruit. Your low-hanging fruit are services and products that you already have that can be re-vamped or re-introduced. You can also send out an email to your mailing list discussing your current services and products and directly ask them to work with you or to buy from you. (It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs don’t ask their peeps for the sale). Lastly, you can also offer a teleseminar, workshop, or a group or private program focused on a topic that’s a common problem among your your clients.

Step #4: Be open to new ways to reach your goal. Most of us have a fixed idea about how our business should run.  However if you want to make a bigger impact and earn more income, you’ve got to broaden your vision.  The power of the Bold Money Goal isn’t just that it helps you to earn more money.  It also helps you to expand your thinking about what’s possible for you and your business. Be willing to do something new or different so that you can reach your first Bold Money Goal—and subsequent ones as your business grows.

Creating and achieving a Bold Money Goal every 30, 60  or 90 days will help you “break-down” your desired income so that you keep moving toward it without becoming overwhelmed.  The result is that can reach your ultimate goal faster and easier than you thought was possible!

P.S.  If you’d like work with me to create your own Bold Money Goal and learn other strategies to transform your business from strugging to thriving click here to see how I can help you.

We’re coming to the end of 2011. It’s the time of year when everyone talks about assessing the past and planning for the future. As entrepreneurs your focus is probably on getting more clients and earning more money in 2012.  It’s true that you need both people and dollars if you want to remain solvent. However most entrepreneurs fail to consider a critical element in their profit equations—themselves.  You may be struggling to get traction in your business because you haven’t identified your personal truth.

Your personal truth is at the core of who you are, therefore it’s also at the core of your business.

Deep down inside you have a vision for your life. You have secret desires about what you’d like to experience; how you’d like to live; and how you’d like to feel.  These are your personal truths. These are the factors that you need to harness to create your authentic, profitable business. Your personal truth should be the foundation of a business mission that energizes you. Your personal truth should be the basis for you deciding how to best serve your clients (products, services, classes, etc.). Your personal truth should be integral to your external communication (marketing).

However for most us our personal truth gets suppressed under a sea of fear and thoughts of inadequacy. As you age rather than expand your life, your business, your income, you’ve learned to contract your desires.  You’ve learned to justify this contraction as “being reasonable.”  The net effort is that you reap only what you can see as “realistic” for yourself. Babe, there’s so much more out there that’s yours for the asking.

One of the guiding principles of my business and marketing coaching is that your business is a reflection of you. Great marketing alone won’t make a successful business for the long haul.  Why?  Because marketing strategies can’t overcome your crippling fear about who you are, what you are capable of achieving and the value of what you’re offering to the world.  What this means is that in conjunction to doing the practical work to attract clients; you also need to do the inner work to uncover your personal truth. 

One of my personal truths is that entrepreneurs can be soul-centered and well paid. Initially I was afraid to join those two concepts in my business; I was afraid of what people would think about me. However, as I began uncovering my own truths, teachers appeared to help me on my journey.  These mentors are spiritually-centered, women entrepreneurs, who are earning multiple-six figure incomes; one is a multi-millionaire.  They inspired to create my Soul & Prosperity for Women Entreprenuers online summit to discuss ”conscious money making.” The event attracted over 1000 women from the U.S. Canada, UK and Australia. By standing in my own personal truth, I helped  women around the globe to find their own. Your business and do the same thing.

There’s a hidden part of you that yearns to come to the surface…. and it’s important to your life + business success 

To experience the emotional and financial abundance that you want, you have to dig in and address your fear about expressing who you are.  This means acknowledging to yourself what you THINK would happen if you showed your friends, family, and clients the ”real you.” It also means getting real with yourself about the spiritual, physical and/or financial cost of your fear-driven “realistic”  life. You then need to honor your personal truth by taking new actions that allows it to emerge from the hidden place.

So during the holidays, I’m not going to ask you to do any business forecasting. Instead I want you to commune with your inner-self.  Meditate, pray, dance, sit in silence, read an inspirational book. listen to music—whatever gets you in your zone.  Then once you’re done with the ohm—do something new and audacious  that respresents your soul’s desire, your personal truth.  Get a new haircut, buy some 4 inch heels, volunteer at the homeless shelter, initiate sex with your partner; write a big check to a cause that moves you.  It doesn’t matter what  you do as long as it’s something that you’ve been secretly longing to do. This bold move has to be something that will nourish you and help you to feel like the extraordinatory woman that you are.

Definitely check me out  http://www.soulfulaffluence.com/about/ so that we can do some deeper work together to get your business where you want it for 2012.

Happy Holiday,

Yvonne

A few years ago, I attended my first conference for entrepreneurs. During lunch I sat with a woman who said that I had a green aura and that I was healer.    I listened attentively since it wasn’t the first time that some mystical stranger had helped me through a life transition.  However, while she was extremely insightful,  I just didn’t accept the healer pronouncement.  When she and I met I was still nursing old emotional wounds and I was coping with a crumbling relationship— I didn’t feel equipped to heal anyone.   In time however I learned that my decision to become an entrepreneur is a healing journey and has allowed me to help heal others.

Here’s the deal: if you’re an entrepreneur YOU are your business.  The quality of your thoughts and beliefs permeate  all of your programs, products and services. Your thoughts and beliefs also impact every condition connected to your business. (clients, no clients, low paying clients, late paying clients, etc.) As a business coach, on the surface I help women  entrepreneurs to create more profitable, leveraged businesses. However  in order to realize that goal, I help them to heal their limiting beliefs about money and what they are capable of acheiving in their life and business.  The lessons that I teach are the lessons that I have learned through my own business.

As an entrepreneur your “healing” comes with helping your clients to solve a problem and to have a better quality life .  You don’t have to be in an esoteric field to “heal” your clients.  An accountant through forecasting and clear records can “heal”clients’ fears about their financial security.  A hairdresser, stylist or make-up artist by creating a fabulous new look for a client, can “heal” her damaged self-esteem.  A personal chef whose delivering nutritious meals can “heal” the guilt that busy mothers may feel about not cooking for their families.

In reality most people aren’t going to come to you because they want to be “healed.” (I don’t even suggest that some of you use the term).   Clients will come to you because you have communicated to them that you can help them to reach a specified goal . However the raison d’etre of your business, is the type of healing that you provide as the foundation for achieving their outcome.

If you’re business is based solely on your passions, you’re probably struggling to find clients.  Your passions are about you, not serving others.  If you want people to pay you, your passion has to be connected to the needs and interests of other people. Your passion has to help people to achieve a tangible result or discernible state of mind.  If you’re still not sure about what you’re REALLY offering to people, or who you are meant to heal through your business, ask yourself  these clarifying questions.

So you why are you in business (aside from making money)?

Why does this subject matter/field appeal to you?

What have you experienced, struggled with or overcome that you can share your lessons learned with others?

Who are the people who care about what you do? (Describe this group in detail)

Where can you find them and how can you stay in regular communcations with them?

BTW, Here’s some ways that you can work with me to take your business from struggling, barely hanging on to thriving and profitable.
Click Here:  http://www.soulfulaffluence.com/programs/

Who do you have to be in 2012 to reach your business and income goals?

It’s a question that you probably don’t ask yourself when you create your New Year’s resolutions. However, not asking that question is why your resolutions rarely make it past March. Your goals and more importantly, your motivation to do the tough, scary work needed to manifest them, are directly tied to who you are.  Who you are involves what you believe is possible for your life.  It’s those beliefs that then steer your actions.  Where you are in your business and income is based on who you’ve been up until now.  As Albert Einstein said, You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.

If you want to build a business that helps more people and generates substantially more income, you’ve got to evolve.

It’s not enough to want to do more or to have new things, you have to become the embodiment of the person who has those things and those experiences in her life. The woman who’s in a loving nurturing relationship, acts differently from the woman who keeps attracting cads.  Similarly the women entrepreneur who earns $100,000 a year has made different choices than the woman entrepreneur who’s earning $25,000 a year.  To add more money to your bank account or more enjoyment in your life, you first have to expand your vision of yourself.  You’ve got to evolve to a place where you believe that your dreams are really attainable–that you deserve to have what you want.  Moreover, in furtherance of your goals and dreams you seek out new knowledge, training and guidance, in the form of new people.

When I coach women entrepreneurs, before I get into teaching marketing and pricing strategies we explore their mindset.  I make them investigate what they believe to be true about themselves, about money and about their ability to earn more of it.  I do this because great marketing can be torpedoed by the limiting beliefs that you hold….just like your New Year’s resolutions.  If you subconsciously believe that “you’re not worthy,” or that “people like me aren’t wealthy” or “money is evil,” the actions that you take in your business will support your beliefs.  You may not make the calls to prospects that you need to make.   You may decide not to spend money to attend an important conference.  You may not invest in the coaching that you need to build your business.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” –Proverbs

It is also true that if your vision focuses on lack and fear, this is what you will manifest in your life. In that same vein, if your vision is full of  abundance and love, that is what you will manifest in your life.  Your path to increased hapiness and earnings won’t be found isn’t writing another to-do list.  You’ll receive your gifts by embarking on a journey of growth and development that allows you to transition from your 2011 self to your wiser, healthier and wealthier 2012 self.

P.S. Start getting some new knowledge for your business today with my FREE audio training, “How to Get 3 Clients in 30 days.” Click Here to listen