Priorities for Small Business Owners

Some words of wisdom from my friend Cynthia Jurado:

As a business owner, you are the single most important factor in your business. You are the only asset you have in the beginning. You are the bank account, sales staff, worker bee—you are it.

If you use yourself up, there is nothing left to run your business. It’s essential you learn how to balance yourself, put support systems in place, and learn to get enough energy in your day to get through it.

Most sole proprietors just throw themselves into the work and neglect themselves. They don’t realize they have to take care of themselves first. It’s like the oxygen masks on the airlines ... you have to put yours on first, because you have to survive for the business to survive.

This would include learning what your strengths are and accepting them. Don’t fight it. Your strengths are what will make your business great. Just think about who you can have come alongside you to fill in your gaps.

I’ve seen people waiting for what I call ‘assistant nirvana’. They think they either have to afford a full time assistant or do it themselves. I’m a fan of ‘don’t spend money you don’t have’, but there are so many other options than spending your important time on details. You kind of have to cobble it together for awhile ... an intern two hours/day after school who can file, organize client lists on your computer ... a stay at home mom who makes calls for you ... a professional organizer two hours/month ... a way to move something forward that will give you a little more stability, a little more structure, so you can win at something else.

Cynthia Jurado
Business Coach
www.arcleadershipdynamics.com

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Visit Marilyn McLeod's Amazon Author Page
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Creativity and Happiness

Creating a life close to your values helps your happiness level.

You may think your product or service is your starting point, but your key is closer to home. You are the one who will be putting in the long hours to bring your vision to fruition. You have to be healthy to carry this responsibility, and you have to be happy to carry it long enough to make it work.

What makes you happy? What do you especially enjoy doing, and who do you most like to spend time with? What are your values? What roles most appeal to you? Define a role, career, product or company that matches who you are authentically as closely as possible.

Exercise:

1) Think about you and what really makes you happy. Write down specifics that come to mind.

2) Think about times you feel stifled, discouraged, uncomfortable. Write down the situations that stimulate this feeling, and what specifically you don’t like about it.

3) Think about yourself and all that you are. What aspects of yourself that make you happy remain untapped?

4) If you could have an ideal day, an ideal job, an ideal customer, an ideal life, what would it be like? Dream, and take notes!!!

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Practical Health

You and I probably have some things in common. My life is very busy. Do I really have time for this? The economic trends have taken their toll on my finances. Do I really want to add any more expenses to my budget?
But its time for me to pay attention. If I don't do it now, when will I finally get around to taking care of the most important factor in my ability to function ... my own physical body? How much money have I spent in the past on diets that I hoped would help, when I really didn't understand the criteria? How effective were those efforts over time? How much money do I spend now on food that either isn't good for me, or that for various reasons I toss without eating? Anything I explore in this book will have to be cost effective in order to fit into my current budget.
I admit it. I'm not just being saintly. As my friend Arthur Samuel Joseph says, This is not a dress rehearsal. This is for real. It's about my very essence. My health is about my actual life. It's quite humbling when life brings this to ones attention.
Personally I don't like the extra weight I've gradually put on over the past ten years. I know with each year I'm getting older and I want to age well. I've been around my older friends in their 80s and I've seen first hand what works and what doesn't. My friends who exercised and ate well lived much longer. My friends who stopped exercising because it seemed too hard or wasn't convenient declined quickly as they lost their ability to reason, to move effectively on their own, and eventually lost their capacity to take care of themselves.
I've also watched how much money it costs as health declines. I grew up with excellent health, and I could physically do anything I wanted to do. That's not as true now as it was when I was young. I'm interested in a full life into old age, and I know my chances are better if I start creating the right habits now. I look at Sam Rehnborg, son of Carl Rehnborg who founded Nutrilite and fed his son quality nutrition from the beginning well before the public had any idea nutrition and health were related. I couldn't tell you Sam's age by looking at him. He looks at least thirty years younger than his chronological age. The same with Betsy, a friend in her late 80s who's still going strong and looks like she's in her mid-60s. My friend Ruth, a professional ballerina who practiced and taught yoga for 50 years, was still performing and teaching a few weeks before she died at age 87. I know if I want that myself I have to earn it through my lifestyle habits, starting as soon as possible!!
I'm writing this chapter as I become my own advocate for my health. I'll take you along on the journey so hopefully you'll take similar steps to improve your own physical wellbeing.

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Visit Marilyn McLeod's Amazon Author Page
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Blog: http://www.PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Success in Business

Even the definition of success in business varies by individual. One obvious reason to go into business is to make a profit, to sustain your chosen lifestyle.

Some people start a business even though they don’t need the money. They may enjoy the process of creating money, or creating a successful venture, or leading people. They may be bored at home and want somewhere to go every day. They may enjoy the social aspect of their business, whether or not they turn a profit.

They may believe in a cause, and see their venture as a way to make a difference. They may have inherited a “successful” role or position they're not sure what to do with.

Back to my personal definition of success, “Am I happy?” Whatever your reason for being in business, it’s easier to make successful decisions for yourself when you are conscious of the reasons you want to be in your business.

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Blog: http://www.PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Consider the Possibility

Several years ago a new neighbor moved in next door and we became friends. As we became acquainted Melodey shared her plans to find a job. A few weeks later she mentioned this again, this time with a sigh, and a confession that she actually dreaded finding another job. She listed the kinds of jobs she thought she could land, and told me how depressed she felt every time she thought about how much she would not enjoy the successful outcome of her job search.

By that time I’d noticed several of Melodey’s skills that I thought could be marketable as an entrepreneur. I remember clearly the moment she later told me had been a turning point in her life.

I looked at her, paused, and said, “Can you consider the possibility that you might be able to earn a living without getting another job?”

She paused as well, and took in this new idea. She spent the next few weeks planning her new business building project, and began a consistent process of marketing and delivery of her chosen products and services. It’s been almost ten years, and she now has a successful business as an independent musician, creating music on her terms.

Now, you may not want to be an entrepreneur! You may not want to be a musician! I am betting there is something you would like to improve about your life that you feel discouraged about implementing, and my core message to you is … “Can you consider the possibility that something wonderful and beyond your current frame of reference is actually more achievable than it appears to you right now?”

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Visit Marilyn McLeod's Amazon Author Page
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Blog: http://www.PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Your Work Preferences Checklist

Back to you and what you enjoy. Here are some questions that I’ve found help my clients create the kind of business they will enjoy over time:

•    Do you prefer to work on your own or with a team?

•    Do you like to follow a set structure and follow the rules, or do you prefer to create your own style and your own rules?

•    Do you appreciate close supervision or are you more self directed?

•    Do you like to set goals ahead or just follow your intuition?

•    Are you more comfortable having just one product or a variety of options?

•    Do you love to sell or hate to sell?

•    Do you prefer to hit the ground running or ease into it?

•    Are you more comfortable calling on people you already know or a cold market?

•    Are you more in your element in a residential market or a commercial market?

•    Do you like to follow a proven system or customize a system to match you personally?

There are no right answers; only what fits you today. It may change tomorrow. It’s just important to know yourself, and to be honest with yourself about what you sincerely enjoy.

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Visit Marilyn McLeod's Amazon Author Page
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Blog: http://www.PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

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Your Ideal Customers

• You can choose your customers.

• You can change your customers.

• Find customers you really enjoy being with. This will make it a pleasant experience to serve them, because you'll want to help them anyway.

Exercise:

1) Think about who you enjoy spending time with. Write down any specifics that come to mind.

2) Are there particular activities you enjoy doing with these people, and others that you don’t like doing with them? Think about this and take notes.

3) What kind of people do you naturally attract? Are they people you enjoy being with? If yes, what do you like about them? If no, what don’t you like about the interaction? Can you think of a way to make this win-win? Take notes.

Clarify: Who is your customer?

Spend some quality time with the people you most enjoy being around and listen to them on their terms. Learn what they need, and from that perspective start thinking about what valuable improvement in their lives you can provide.

A ‘customer’ is more inclusive than just the people you are hoping will buy what you are selling. Think about the people who support you – your co-workers and family. They have needs too, and will be more receptive to helping you if you are interested in making their lives better first.

Best wishes,

Marilyn McLeod

Marilyn@PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Visit Marilyn McLeod's Amazon Author Page
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Blog: http://www.PersonalizedHealthCoach.com

Products & Free Assessment: http://www.Amway.com/HealthCoach