Your Health is the Bottom Line!
The Status Quo IS Change
MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN BUSINESS! November 2014
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Susan Hamilton & Pam Russell host this offbeat radio show. We talk about all things small biz. Stop by and take a listen! It's always fun & informative! We talk about all things small biz and entrepreneurship on our always fun always informative show. We talk about marching to the beat of your own business. Don't follow the crowd. The unsaid stuff. The basic stuff. The crazy stuff. The struggles and the triumphs of having your own business. Come take a listen...you'll have fun, learn from us and our awesome guests!
1st Tuesday: Pam & Susan | 2nd Tuesday: Pam | 3rd Tuesday: Pam & Susan | 4th Tuesday: Susan
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From Susan Hamilton Change is in the air, and Pam and I have exciting news for you during the next couple of months! By the time next year is here, we’ll have a branding facelift, improved strategies for our contributors to share their content with their audiences, AND more of the best information we could possibly bring to YOU. Friends, The Offbeat Business Show and Magazine are perspective engines for living LARGE, intentional and effective lives! Our journeys are not easy, and our holidays are unlike average wage earners in American households. We work hard to grow our reputations and our brands, and we revel with our families every chance we get. Our minds are working non-stop to improve everything we do and reach out to our communities with our efforts. Cinnamon aromas just make it nicer, don’t you agree? This month you’ll discover why you do what you do, how to get control of your money, how to have an exceptional business and what it looks like to build a powerful network. You’ll take a mental vacation and take a risk. You’ll find resources in the Power of Ten, and you’ll be renewed by the few extra days off with your family.
From Pam Russell Gobble! Gobble! It’s November! Football! Family! Food! Friends! More Food! November is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. I love to reflect and make a list of all the things I am thankful for in my life and in my business. Then I wonder “why do I only do it in November?” I should be doing it each and every day. This year I am going to challenge myself to really look at the simple things that I am grateful for in my everyday life. Not just the big stuff like a new VIP client or marking a big goal off of my list. What about the ability to smell the flowers? Watch the sunrise. Walk my dog. Drink water whenever I want to. Brush my teeth. Turn on the air conditioner. Turn off the heat. When you look at the little things in your life that bring you comfort and joy what do you see? Do you see just the big things? I challenge you to keep a journal of five ‘little’ things you are grateful for each day. Things you might take for granted. Things you might need to find a new appreciation for. Look for the little things … and the big things will take of themselves. Happy November!
If You’re Sick of Brick Walls, It’s Time to Leap! By Susan Hamilton
Chances are, when you decided to start your business, you thought you might earn an income – but not take over the world, am I right? Serious ambition is usually reserved for those ‘other’ guys! And, well, we really only need to take care of our families and earn a little extra. Maybe one day we’ll get a place out in the country or travel a bit. Maybe sell the company and retire.
I often tell people that we’re not the products of our past, but of every step we take into our future. While I really believe that, we do have baggage that we try to take along on the way. Revamping our methods is time consuming, and there’s no guarantee they’ll work. So we keep our ‘stuff’. We think it defines us. We think we need to continue to do things the way we’ve always done them because that’s our uniqueness. What we bring to the table, so to speak. None of that is true. The truth is … drumroll … we’re lazy thinkers. We say we want more customers, but are often unwilling to do what it takes to secure or manage our relationships with them. Ultimately, we stay in scenarios that are familiar to us – working or not – for no better reason than we don’t want to change anything. We can’t see beyond our original vision, and as long as payroll is covered and our customers are happy, this is our lot. We may be paying our bills, a little late, but they’re getting paid.
Now, 5, 10, 15 or 30 years later, we see that in this competitive marketplace – we just haven’t gone as far as we thought we would have. Not only that, but it becomes crystal clear that we need to get much more current with our approach, programs and systems to do the bare minimum. And I ask you, if you have to go to all that trouble just to keep your head above water, why not bet the farm? If that’s where you are, I applaud you. Every business will reach this point sooner or later, and it takes this level of realization to make the changes necessary to improve our cash flow.
But I call this one of three identifiable brick walls. Brick walls are those areas in sales, marketing and management that we just can’t seem to get past. They recur. We start to make progress and come up upon something we can’t get through, can’t figure out, and each time we start over to finally do a ‘run and jump’ to clear the obstacle, we just can’t get better programs implemented. Finally, we have to get back to work. It’s a very tall, very thick brick wall. Most of us have three of them. The first one happens because we get used to our dysfunction. We learn to work within a system that has its issues, sure, but you and possibly your team as well, have learned to operate within the limitations. We don’t blog because we never send anyone to the
website anyway. We don’t script our phone calls and track conversions because our memory is good enough. We don’t hold our technicians or teams accountable, because they don’t like to work ‘that way’ and it’s easier to keep doing wasteful things than to implement progressive strategies. We don’t go to networking functions because we can’t afford to not answer phones or lose a customer who is trying to reach us. The second brick wall can be recognized when we start to implement great new ideas, completely convinced of their importance, and get started with a great ‘heaveho!’ We put most of the system in place, buy the professional version of something or read most of the book – but we get resistance or new work or life happens and we eventually quit doing the things we had started. So we’re left with no completed, thought out strategy. We probably hang on to the easiest components and do those things, but we don’t bother tracking our results or putting focus time into accuracy. Largely, this happens with social media. We try a little here, a little there, get the team on board for this or that. Sometimes everyone’s engaged, other times we just toss out our messages like we’re crossing off our todo list. As you’ve no doubt learned by now, that’s completely ineffective! But the second brick wall might also rear its ugly head in management and sales, because management is the reason sales procedures are followed or not followed. If we’re a one man show, family business or small company, this is especially hard without professional sales trainers – but in our attempts to do things ‘our way’ or conserve money, we just do the best we know with what we have and hope for the best. I LOVE helping people leap over this brick wall because money happens almost immediately. The third brick wall is actually soft. It’s the resulting fluff in our organizations because of the first two walls. When time management, goal achievement and data analysis are not happening, it’s because we’ve got too much fluff in the way that must be cleared out. All the half-done stuff has to get chunked to the curb, and our
vision must get revitalized so a new system with better or improved programs can get the party started again. I’ve seen businesses who get the help they need to take this step see significant revenue increases in as few as 1-3 months and double in 6 months to a year. I’ve also seen those who don’t invest in their vision struggle painfully, resulting in decreased health, anger issues, and poor reputation management. I think there’s a lot of confusion about what business coaching really is. Such a generic name! These days you’ll see more creative titles associated with that career choice. I still call myself a business coach, but I also define myself as a content coach for those whose brick walls tend to be marketing related, but I digress. Business coaches help business owners and entrepreneurs see the holes in their systems and help them focus on the key issues that determine profit and loss. They become a strategy resource for people who are willing to be taught the next steps. They’re accountability partners and sounding boards, offering counseling and correction when necessary to get over the mindsets that people are so used to they don’t even see anymore. Making it in business today requires BIG vision. We have to have big purpose, and for the business owners and entrepreneurs who are willing to risk it all to make their dreams a reality – the sky is the limit! Business coaches are resources you need to get to the next level of your business without destroying your health and relationships. You will never regret investing in a coach you can relate to and trust to have your back as you grow. You will, however, regret not following their advice. Friends, if you’re sick of brick walls, it’s time to LEAP.
Susan Hamilton is The Richardson Copywriter, and owner of Leaping Walls Consulting & Services. Be a guest on The OffBeat Business Show or place an ad in The OffBeat Business Magazine to reach entrepreneurs and business owners who need your services. Contact Susan@OffBeatBusiness.com for more information.
Your Health is THE Bottom Line By Clint Fuqua Business is all about dollars and sense. In other words, if it doesn’t make dollars it doesn’t make sense. This is even more important when looking at expenditures and investments, as the wrong decision could cost you and your business dearly. The current elephant in the room for all businesses is health care - no matter what your business builds or sells. Within the next 2 years that elephant will be stampeding through the room whether you want to deal with it or not. Your own personal health is also at issue here, especially for sole proprietors, as your business can only be as fruitful as you are healthy. Ever hear the story about how to eat an elephant? You do it one bite at a time, so let’s go on safari and take care of that big beast before a stampede can begin with you under foot.
must offer health insurance or pay a penalty for each employee not covered starting Jan 1, 2015. This will include all businesses with 50 or more full time employees starting Jan 1, 2016 and all of my fellow sole proprietors get rolled into this by the end of 2016. Now let’s start taking bites out of this thing before getting stepped on. Let’s look at some sauces to make it taste a little better. The main penalty for not covering employees or having them use the state or federal health exchanges is $2500 per employee - and for many businesses, this both makes sense and saves dollars. There are also deductions for having wellness programs (also a requirement for all businesses) but only if your employees are participating and goals are being met as shown through tracking. If you don’t have a program and/or no one actively participates, there are penalties. That sauce has a major spicy bite at the end if you aren’t careful. The bottom line here is that your health, and control over it, is an addition to someone else’s bottom line. The most sensible thing you can do is keep it from taking as big a bite out as possible.
The name of this elephant is ACA and all businesses with over 100 full time employees (that’s anyone over 30/hrs/wk)
Now let’s take a look at the man or woman in the mirror for just a minute. So just how healthy are you really? How much are you
spending on junk food, OTC medications, and prescription medications every month? How much activity do you get every week and how many fresh fruits and vegetables do you eat?
Action Steps: 1. Know what ACA rules will be affecting your business as you grow, shrink, or survive as ALL businesses will have compliance issues by 2016, including sole proprietors. There are both penalties and deductions to be had so make sure you take advantage of what is available to you. 2. Get a wellness program established for your business and employees that both YOU and they will do, otherwise it will be a waste of dollars and make no sense. You must lead by example, and the right program will create massive amounts of productivity, not to mention more profits as health care costs shrink with everyone’s waist lines.
Your own wellness program can save you dollars and help you make even more every month in productivity. Get active, feed your body the food it needs, and watch the magic as your health feeds your success both at work and at home. It’s been proven - study after study that the healthier, more energetic, and confident a person looks, their business success increases in kind either in better sales numbers and/or the ability to have others follow their lead. A nice trimmed and toned bottom is about much more than looking good in trendy pants, it is about taking care of your life, your business, and ensuring your bottom line is ample.
3. Give back to your local community through charity events that support health based initiatives as selected by your employees. This will give your employees and their family events to participate in and help create a cohesive bond with the local community you serve.
Visit me at ClintFuqua.com and contact me with any questions, comments, request, recommendation, proposals, fan mail, or hate mail at Clint@ClintFuqua.com.
The Status Quo is Change‌ By Jack Bick Status Quo means the present situation will stay the same. If that is true then the present situation is change. Change is happening throughout our lives and it is accelerating. For example, in the early days of television a scene lasted for several minutes. Presently, scenes change every few seconds and some shows, like How to Get Away with Murder, have several 10-15 split second sequences. Our minds are being conditioned to absorb information quickly. Just compare the deliberative time playing checkers to the speed of a present day video game. Who plays checkers, now? Is it any wonder young adults look at their career path as a sequence of jobs - with changes coming every two or three years? There are several influences. Technology plays an important part. To understand this reality you must also consider economic fluctuations, investor impatience, globalization, a more diverse workforce and more. One example is a friend of my son. She is 29 years old, with six jobs since graduation. She’s contemplating a change from marketing to strategic pricing because the career track could lead further up the corporate ladder with that skill. It is a waste of time to resist change, and doing nothing is even worse. How does a company react in this environment? First, be aware of the skills of your work force. Give assessment such as Myers-Briggs, DISC or Strengths Finders to truly know their strong points and transferable skills. Determine how they fit into the future path for your company and which ones you want to fight to keep. Second, consider some sort of continuing education at company expense if you want to keep people for longer terms of employment. Third, be sure your management team is keeping up with information and trends. This can be done through periodicals read at home or at the library, trade/industry publications and searching the Internet. Look for emerging trends and changes in your competitive situation as well. Pay attention to ways you outperform them, and capitalize on that. Fourth, keep people networking in person and on the Internet. You must stay current and your people must know how to use social media and make it work for the best interests of your company. Most importantly, take action. You do not want your company to be the odd man out in this critical game of musical chairs. Human capital is too expensive to waste. Jack Bick is a seasoned journalist with success online, in newspapers, magazines, and business events. He is the former publisher of the Dallas Business Journal and founder of Inside Collin County Business. Discover more at JackBick.com, and contact Jack@JackBick.com to book him to speak to your group.
10 Essential Habits of Sales Superstars: Plugging Into The Power of Ten By Butch Bellah “Butch Bellah makes selling fun again!” The Best $12.99 You’ll Spend All Year! If you’re as good as you’re going to be, life is as good as it’s going to get. Don’t limit yourself. EVERYBODY is in sales, like it or not. Sales is something we do for people, not something we do to people. Wrap your head around successful mindsets and start taking simple steps forward every day to dramatically increase your income NOW.
“The power of this book is how it gives the reader simple techniques that dramatically improve results. Butch's combination of creativity and common sense makes this a fun book to read. The strategy for getting past gate keepers makes the book worth the time and money ant that is just the tip of the ice berg!”
Noble L. Feldman, Amazon review
Healthy Life, Healthy Business By Ann Lovett Baird Have you ever thought about how aspects of your physical, mental and spiritual life impact your business? As a business owner, life can be challenging and consuming. Maintaining success is sustained and driven by your health. In the same way, an unhealthy business can wreak havoc on your health.
First, your physical health is impacted by what you eat and how active you are. Eating fresh, non-processed foods including lots of fruits and vegetables and lean sources of protein are beneficial to your physical health. Avoiding foods with a high glycemic load like white bread, rice or other sugary stuff is helpful to your health. Drinking plenty of water to keep your body and brain hydrated is also important. In addition, because nutrition-robbed soils do not provide all the nutrients they used to, supplement your healthy diet with a pharmaceutical-grade, high quality multi-vitamin. Personally, I choose The Essentials made by Usana Health Sciences, because they use high quality manufacturing processes and ingredients for their supplements.
What about your mental health? Do you find yourself stressed out, angry or tired? Some of the writing work I do is deadline-driven and often dependent on receiving information or input from others. Even if others miss
their deadlines, my deadline may not change. This can be extremely frustrating — but here is where I have a choice. Merely standing up from my desk and taking a mental break helps me stay focused on completing the task rather than being annoyed that I have been put under pressure by someone else. I have a choice of productive emotions rather than non-productive annoyance or anger. Thinking grateful thoughts in those breaks reframes my mind into a positive place. Ultimately, staying in this positive frame of mind helps me be more productive.
Your spiritual health connects with the very center of your being. We are all comprised of mind, body and spirit, so we cannot neglect the spiritual part. Personally, I start my day tending
to
the spiritual because
it
sets the right tone for the day. I start with quiet time to read and pray. When I skip this quiet time, my day seems a little off-center.
Create great days for you and your business by focusing on your physical, mental and spiritual health. You will be amazed at how maintaining your health will positively impact your business.
Ann Lovett Baird has been a successful entrepreneur since 1995. Her business, Lovett Enterprises, LLC, is focused on moving businesses and individuals to the next level of performance. For personal health solutions or for business solutions to improve employee performance or morale, email Ann at ann@lovettconsulting.com.
Tips for Saving Your Business Money By Christi Rains If you are like most small business owners you are looking to save money. But also like most owners, it is all too easy to get buried in running your business and miss out on chances to save money. Organization and setting guidelines are the keys to finding these various savings opportunities. 1. Missing tax deadlines, failing to fill out proper paperwork, or a hundred other legal complications can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. The two main causes for these issues are not knowing or forgetting. The solutions are simple though; maintain up-to-date calendars and procedure guidelines OR hire an expert that does. 2. Review expenses quarterly. Make sure all your routine expenses are legitimate and are working for you the way you expect them to. Do not get caught paying for services or products that you are not using. Making sure your accounting is current, will insure your access to reports that will quickly and easily show you this information. 3. Use a budget, do not get caught making impulse decisions. Create your budget and stick to it with little to no deviation. Do you have a hard time
saying no? I have a guideline for myself, I won’t buy from anyone on their first communication with me. This gives me time to look into the product and determine if it will benefit my company and if the budget can accommodate it. 4. Do not let family involvement cloud your judgment. Having the support of family in your business can be very reassuring. But when too many people are making financial decisions you can very quickly find yourself over budget. You might also find you are going in various directions due to varying financial styles. Strict guidelines and a little bit of tact on your part can spare hurt feelings and save your business money. Stress comes with the territory when it comes to owning your own business, and most of this stress revolves around money. With some planning and proper systems in place you can go a long way to alleviating some needless worries. Christi Rains, President Alpha Omega Consulting & Bookkeeping, LLC – Sensiblebusinessowner.com – Email Christi@AOBookKeeping.com for more information.
Travel Will Do That To You By Shari Voight My husband and I had the privilege of walking on the beach with old friends this past weekend. White sand, a gentle breeze, water that was the most amazing shade of blue and so very clear – I could make out every grain of sand at the bottom. A happy toddler chased seagulls near the water’s edge, and all around us families were simply enjoying their day in the sun. It was pretty close to magical.
I crave times like that … but I didn’t know it until we began traveling. Now we seek them out. What began as a journey to see this great country has become a journey to connect with people. We’ve made so many friends in our 15 months on the road – some fellow travelers, others firmly anchored to their home and land. Facebook, blog posts, and email updates make it easy for us all to stay in touch as we move from place to place. It’s finally put the social in social media for me. These are people we want to stay in touch with – not an ‘audience’ to be marketed to. Talk about a change of perspective! Travel will do that to you. It’s an immersive experience that you can’t get from a TV screen or from the comfort of your own backyard. Maybe you don’t want to immerse yourself as deeply as we have … the idea of living in a 38’ motor home full-time is not everyone’s idea of a good time. But can you find a way to get away for a week or two – to go someplace you’ve never been and meet people outside of your regular circle of friends? Our travels have taken us to the mountaintop at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, through the Badlands of South Dakota, to a tiny campground with an amazing owner in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, through picturesque towns in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. We’ve been to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, the Door County Peninsula in Wisconsin, and to Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. We’ve had high points and low points – have learned what it means to trust God to bring you through tough times, whether they are health, financial, or family challenges. Every bit has been worth it. “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” ~ Mary Ritter Beard. Shari Voigt and her husband Gerald are the owners of USA-RVNomads.com, offering marketing expertise to the hobby industry as they tour. They left their 'sticks & bricks' behind and began their grand adventure of full-time RVing across the USA. “Our home is now wherever we park it - and this is our story.”
Stumbling Into Something Great by Jeff Klein Ever find your life’s work by accident? Well, I did.
because we had 2 15-minute speakers prepared to showcase themselves.
Near the end of 2005, I was having a brainstorming session with 3 other people. What we had in common was that we were all speaking to business groups, Chambers of Commerce, Rotaries, etc. I was teaching the 30 Second Elevator Pitch as a way to showcase my creativity and my advertising agency. One colleague was speaking for exposure for a direct sales company so she could reach Director level status. One was an author selling books and the 4th was an aspiring business consultant and trainer who had just published his first book. I think there may also have been a financial planner there. But I’ve slept since then.
So I asked everyone to tell us 2 topics they speak on, 2 groups they want to speak to, and their name. In that order.
During the conversation, I opened my big mouth and asked, “Why don’t we start a lunch? There are a lot more people like us speaking for exposure and working on becoming public speakers.” To which they answered, “Great Idea, Jeff!!!! Why don’t YOU start a lunch and we’ll support you?” Which is exactly what happened. The 3rd Friday of January, 2006, I held the first meeting of the Speaker Co-op. Just over 50 folks showed up. I looked at the clock and realized we’d run out of time if everyone did a 30 second commercial
And that’s still how we introduce ourselves at Speaker Co-op to this day. The rest of our meeting format has changed, but we still share topics, groups, name each meeting. And, the rest of us will gently remind anyone who violates our protocol by announcing (sort of chanting, really,) all together, “topics, groups, name.” And, we’ve met the third Friday of every month except December in DFW for the last 9 years now. And monthly in Houston as well. In 2015, we are offering licenses to start Speaker Co-op Chapters around the world. We’ve grown from being a networking lunch for people to speak to an over 1,000 person strong business cooperative community that educates and promotes business and public speakers. In the near future, Speaker Co-op will be mentioned in the same breath as Toastmasters International and BNI. “Looking to overcome the fear of public speaker? Join Toastmasters.” “Looking for a business networking group? Join BNI?” “Looking to use speaking to get more business? Join Speaker Co-op.” Jeff Klein is the founder of Speaker Co-op, helping people who want to speak to grow their businesses.. You can reach him at Jeff@JeffKleinSpeaker.com
Are You the CRISTAL Business? By Doug Peterson Are you the CRISTAL business? Regardless if you’re a sole proprietor with only one employee, you, or you’re a small business owner with many employees; the same question applies, are you in the CRISTAL business? Some go into business to fulfill a passion, while others are in it for the money. Perhaps you’re in it for both. You are setting the standard for your business. If you’re the only employee, then you’re still setting the standard for yourself and your customers. If you have employees, you’re setting the standard for yourself, employees, AND your customers. Some of you are asking, “What is CRISTAL? I’m not in the mineral business.” How does this apply to my business? Here’s how:
COURAGE – It takes courage to venture into creating a business. It is the fire in your belly that ignites the courage to take a chance on yourself and your business. Courage is not being without fear; it is not allowing fear to prevent your dream. Others will be inspired by your courage, and then will find the courage within themselves. RESPECT – When we respect others, and not condemn them for how they look on their outside, or for their personal beliefs, we will then earn their respect. If we treat others with respect, they feel good about themselves, and we will retain them as employees, or customers. INTEGRITY – Doing the next right thing, even though no one is watching. We have to have integrity in any business; otherwise, we will not be in business for very long. SERVICE – This is a no brainer. If you’re in any business, then you’re in the business of serving others. TRUTHFULNESS – We have to be honest in our dealing with everyone we’re working with, or serving as customers. This goes beyond the “cash register” honesty, it goes far beyond it. We have to be truthful in our dealings with vendors, employees, and our customers. AUTHENTICITY – We cannot pretend to be something we’re not. We must remove any mask that is hiding who we are, and just as importantly, what our business is all about. LOVE – We have to love what we’re doing for it to be successful. We need to love our employees for they are helping to fulfill our passion. And we must love our customers for they make all the work worthwhile.
Back to the original question, are you in the CRISTAL business?
Doug Petersen is a decorated Vietnam veteran, inspirational speaker, and award-winning author of five books. He is fulfilling his life’s purpose by making a difference in the lives of others through his writing, speaking, and workshops. www.inspirevalues.com
Little Known Way To Increase Profitability By Susan Hamilton Do you charge based on the level of difficulty to complete a job or project? Most people do. We reason that if it takes us longer to do it, if it’s a struggle to do it, or if it’s going to take our greatest wisdom, it should also cost more to produce. Actually, there’s a better way to look at your fees. Consider your end game - this life. You want to enjoy it, right? The logic expressed above is exactly why most people struggle with profitability. Oh, the money may be awesome, but nobody’s gettin’ any rest, and it takes every breathing moment to maximize the amount of money coming in. Working during family vacations becomes the ‘norm’ and, no dinner can be had without answering emails. Friends, that’s no way to live. Prosperity = money + time. Big bucks maybe, but time off is a burnout waiting to happen. When you get down to it, it’s trading dollars for hours. Which most businesses do. Which means there’s a cap on how much money you can make because there are only so many hours in the day. What if I told you there was a more logical way to look at profitability? What comes easiest to you, charge the most for. Each job in your business has a dollar figure attached to it. You have $8.00 an hour jobs, $14.00 an hour jobs, $37.00 an hour jobs, and $100.00 an hour jobs. Most businesses can relate to those levels, if not exactly, close to it. If you spend all your time on jobs within your company that are worth less than your best, you will shortchange everybody. Outsourcing and hiring actually SAVE you money, allowing you to make more of your top dollar. Your gift comes easily. You gravitate to it. It might be a struggle for anyone else, but not for you. Spend your high dollar time doing that, and you’ll do more of it for happier customers in less time than it takes you to do anything else. You’ll also easily cover your overhead. Don’t be deceived into thinking you should charge less if something comes easy. That’s an unrealistic way to look at revenue generation. Within what the market will bear, you will enjoy your life in business again when you decide to charge for your experience, expertise, unique perspectives and excellent customer service. Then focus your attention on the customer who wants THAT. Fewer customers? Maybe, but you’ll make more consistent money working smarter with people who LOVE what only you offer. Capitalize on your gifts, you have them for a reason. I can’t say this enough. Don’t be a commodity. Your customer isn’t everybody. Susan Hamilton is The Richardson Copywriter, and owner of Leaping Walls Consulting & Services. Contact Susan@OffBeatBusiness.com to join her Content Mastermind groups or speak at your event.
Do You Know Your Why? By Joyce Glass I love to watch people and talk to them wherever I go. Many people seem to be working hard, and waiting for the weekend to truly live. Why do they wait until the weekend? Why are they in a job to make ends meet, but never search for more? Do they know their talents? Are they growing as a person, gaining experience before they dare to take the next step out into the field or business they dream of? Sadly, many people I have talked to are under the false belief this is the best they can do. Maybe for a time, but not forever! Recently I had a conversation with a woman, and I asked her what her ideal job would look like. She replied, “Honestly, I have never thought of an ideal job. I thought a Monday through Friday job was it so I could spend weekends with my kids, but now I’m not so sure. I know I’m not happy. I love to write poetry and just uplifting things, but not sure I could ever go that route. I really don’t know how to answer your question. I have always just worked to provide and was always thankful not to be in retail or food.” This is how many people feel about their job or business.
Do you own a own business or do you work for someone else? Do you know your WHY? Have you thought about WHY do you own a business or choose to work for someone else? Are you where you want to be? Take some time in the next few days to spend 30 minutes to an hour reflecting on your WHY. Do you have a passion and excitement for your career? Do you have a vision for where you are going? Write down any and all the thoughts. As you reflect on your WHY you are in business or the job you currently hold, you may realize what is really important to you. Writing things down shares with your brain what you want in life. I encourage you to take time to reflect on your why you are in your current position. Knowing your why will keep you motivated and moving when times get tough. No job or business will be perfect, however they will have more good times than frustrating ones.
Joyce Glass is a writer, speaker, and lover of God's word even more than chocolate! She learned her WHY through writing and speaking. She is the author of iNeed God - daily downloads for your heart, and Blogs at www.TheDailyGPS.com.
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PAM’S PERSPECTIVE
SUSAN SAYS
Thought Stew
Miracles Everyday
This time last year I began a mind shift. A transformation of sorts. I have been learning to walk through pain and uncomfortable instead of trying to stuff them. It sucks sometimes. But now I see that it is worth it. When you start to actually allow yourself to experience the feelings you have always stuffed in the past your mind clears. When your mental fog clears because you choose to walk through stuff instead of stuffing stuff you begin to actually experience how things affect you. What people say to you. What people don't say to you. How certain interactions affect you. How people treat you. You will begin to realize what you will and will not tolerate.
What brings you joy. What brings you sadness. What brings you confusion. What brings you pain.
Then you have a choice to address the uncomfortable stuff or not. I have gotten so much better at talking stuff through instead of assuming and stewing...those two things can create a big 'ole Texas dust storm of thoughts that usually aren't related to reality. I have made a lot of thought stew over the past years. I even had some in the freezer for when I needed it. I have tossed it all out. Now I pause before I start pulling out the ingredients to make a batch. Ingredients that include assumption, misunderstanding, ego, bitterness, a little more assumption and a dash of pride. Old habits are hard to break. It will be hard but I encourage you to choose to walk through the tough stuff so you can get to the good stuff. One situation at a time. One choice at a time. You choose.
Miracles happen every day, but we’re often too busy to see them. We serve a very real, very big God – and it’s a total trip that He cares so very much for us. Miracles, to me, are like little butterfly kisses from the Most High. Spontaneous and lovely, breathtaking and stilling. You know, every time I look at the family of companies I’ve developed and the people I get to associate with, I think to myself that it’s a miracle I could do any of it with a tenth grade education! Truly, we’re not products of our past, but of every step we decide to take next. We’re only as limited as the education we refuse. I’ve dedicated two hours almost every day to specialized education for the last seven years. I remember clearly the day I realized I was the expert in the room. I’m not being arrogant, I’m being real. Friends, do you capitalize on your experiences? All of them? Because the good, the bad, and the ugly make us more valuable – not less. I feel like a toy car, the kind you pull back on the floor and let go to spring forward. The things that used to hold me back, now propel me – unleash me - and give me a vitality and passion to do everything in my power to make a positive difference with my life. Reflecting on the miracles in my life makes me stronger. They grow my faith. They keep me in a state of expectation, and that’s a fun zone to be in! You didn’t go through your experiences to lose. Your experiences uniquely qualified you to win.
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The Journey to Paradise By Pam Russell Life is funny. It can have so many twist and turns that you get lost sometimes. The map you plotted so carefully suddenly takes you an unexpected detour that leads you to a different destination. Plops you right down in the middle of something you weren’t expecting. Death. Life. Loss of a Job. New job. Divorce. Engagement. Illness. Recovery. I had that happen to me ten years ago this December. My parents died a few days apart. Talk about a detour. Massive road construction including pot holes and barricades. Now ten years later I am arriving at a new destination. My journey through grief that took me to some dark places is evolving into a wonderful destination. Paradise. At 47 years old.
Writing | Encouraging | Speaking | Inspiring Teaching | Helping | Empowering
All of the things that bring me so much joy and happiness. New things. I am doing new things. Things I never ever imagined I would be doing in my life. I encourage you to pause in the detour you might be going through right now. Know that the destination could be spectacular even though the journey seems dark and lonely at times. Be aware of road signs along the way that inspire and guide you to discover new sights and sounds. New inspiration. I guarantee you it’s there. Look up. Look around. Feel your feelings and choose to walk through them. You just might land in paradise. Safe travels!
Pam Russell is the Founder and CEO of Pam Russell LLC. A sales training and inspirational speaking company. She empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses to Be Visible, Be Equipped and Be Inspired so they can Be Successful. Find out how here: www.pam-russell.com
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