“I hate networking. It gives me hives.”

That’s what I would have told you at the beginning of this self-employment journey. It was one of the things I dreaded most about self-employment. I got so stressed out about it that it almost kept me from making the leap from my job into my business.

My friend Desiree laughed. “What do you mean you hate networking? You met me on Twitter, didn’t you? What do you think you were doing when you started chatting with me?”

“But that’s different,” I said. “That was just about making friends with someone I felt drawn to. That didn’t have any of the ickiness of networking because I wasn’t trying to get you to hire me or buy something from me.”

“It’s time for a little re-framing,” she said. (Desiree’s a straight-shooter – it’s what I like about her.) “Change your definition of networking. Instead of thinking about networking, start thinking about how you can attract your joy people.”

Joy people? I was skeptical. How would attracting joy people help me build my business? It sounded like a nice way to make friends (seeking out people who add to the joy in my life), but what did that have to do with business?

Setting Desiree’s advice aside, I went to a few of those business club meet-and-greets, where your primary goal is to get your business card into the hands of as many people as possible. They weren’t horrible (a lot of people are genuinely nice, quite frankly), but I walked away wondering what was the point of handing my business card to a bunch of plumbers, construction contractors, printers, and mortgage brokers. I was trying to build a business as a writer, retreat facilitator, and communicator – none of the people around the table were looking for the kind of services I was offering.

I kept going though, because I thought that’s the way you’re “supposed” to network when you’re starting a business.

And then one day, at one of those luncheons, when people were going around the table handing out business cards and stroking each other’s backs for bringing them business, I thought “these are not my joy people.” It’s not that they weren’t good people (and probably someone else’s joy people), they just weren’t MY joy people.

It took me awhile, but I finally took Desiree’s advice. No, let me rephrase that… I finally realized that the stuff I was doing all along, making friends with people online and in person who felt like MY people, with similar interests and passions as me, wasn’t just a sideline to building my business it WAS building my business.

It all started with an e-book. I had this bright idea that I would gather wisdom from a bunch of people I admired (my joy people) and I would compile it into an e-book. This wasn’t a money-making venture, but rather it was a way to attract people to my blog and get them to sign up for my newsletter. In the end, 21 wise and wonderful people  contributed to the e-book, and the thing I hadn’t fully anticipated was that these people would all take pride in the book themselves, and they’d tell all of THEIR joy people and suddenly the word would spread much further than I could spread it myself.

In less than two weeks, more than 500 people had signed up for my newsletter and downloaded the e-book. I suddenly had 500 people on an email list that hadn’t even existed before. That was 500 people who were interested in what I was putting out into the world – a whole lot more than I’d ever meet at business club meet and greets.

Then I had another bright idea. I’d attended ALIA (Authentic Leadership in Action) the year before (when I was employed and someone else was fitting the bill) and it was the kind of place that attracted a whole lot of my joy people. These are big-thinking, world-changing people who believe in social justice, beauty, art, music, dance, community, creativity, and leadership – all things I’m passionate about. I dreamed of going again this year, but knew I couldn’t afford it, what with giving up a steady salary and training budget and building a new business.

I put on my best creative, entrepreneurial thinking cap and came up with an idea. I emailed the executive director and suggested a trade – I would offer them my communications and social media expertise to help promote ALIA if they would cover the cost of my registration.

Not only did they like my idea, but they came up with something even better than I could have imagined. They wanted me to interview faculty members about their ideas for ALIA’s theme, “Change for Good”. In other words, I got to speak with some of the most creative thinkers in the world (these are top notch people, most of whom have several published books and have consulted all over the world) in advance of the conference!

Talk about attracting my joy people! These were the kind of joy people I’d only DREAMED of connecting with when I’d started imagining this new business. These were the kind of people who made any attempts at networking at a local business club seem pointless and a waste of my energy.

Suddenly “joy people” was starting to make sense. I was building my business and my contacts in a way that brought me great joy and connected me with people who were part of that joy.

Heather Plett is a writer, artist and visionary (she would not call herself that, but I do). Visit her home site of www.heatherplett.com and her leadership site at www.sophialeadership.com for more information.

It takes about 90 days to make a new habit stick. By the time you hit the 100^th day, you’re supposedly well on your way.

I’ve often pondered if it works the other way: if your habit, or goal, isn’t progressing visibly before 90 days, are you doomed for it to fail?

There are many valid reasons why coaching programs and similar transformational  processes are set for a 90-day period. It is short enough to feel “real” and long enough to get somewhere. But what happens when you hit the wall?

I say when, and not if, for a reason. In the nonprofit world, the term donor fatigue is defined as a reluctance to commit to voluntary donations of resources or altruistic behaviour in the light of repeated demands. I suggest the same could be true for the entrepreneur. After a while, the continued energy required for the continuous demands and never-ending need to keep moving forward can simply wear you out.

The question is how to avoid it or at least, minimize the impact. To be truthful, I think it is inevitable that as a self-employed, solopreneur, you will hit the wall. The question is how hard?  And what was the damage as a result?

Essential safety gear:

1. Clarity in your business. This is the approved safety helmet equivalent in your business. Being extremely clear on these things will help you immensely: why you’re in business, what you intend to do with it, and where you want to go.
2. A business plan. You need to have a strong foundation – the equivalent of a healthy body. Your plan can be summed up as simply as: who you serve, what makes you difference, what your offers are, and how you get and keep the customers that are the best fit for you. Your healthy body comes from a commitment to a lifestyle.
3. A consistent marketing strategy. This is not about “doing stuff.” It’s about taking consistent action to get your business in front of the right people. This is the equivalent of nutrition and being physically active. Eating junk food and hitting the gym seven days a week are contradictory, yet this is what you are doing if you are busy marketing randomly.
4. Help. Doing everything by yourself is a quick path to burnout.
5. Time away. Never taking time to celebrate achievements, and not having a good balance of other interests and areas of your life doesn’t support your business health, or your physical wellness.  Your energy needs to be replenished. Recovery time is just as important to peak performance in athletes, as to entrepreneurs.

Having all of the above in place isn’t a fail-safe answer to avoiding entrepreneurial fatigue. But when it does happen, you will recover and get moving again in a much quicker fashion.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.

Watch this space on Mondays, where I’ll share Buyer Beware Tips.

It’s important to invest in professional quality marketing materials for your business. This is not the place to cut costs by doing it yourself, unless you happen to be a kick-butt graphic designer, photographer and writer.

Deciding who to choose can be tricky especially if they may as well be speaking in another language. Interviewing someone and reviewing their portfolio is absolutely critical. Look for examples of their work that show depth and ideally, knowledge of your business sector. Hiring a one-size fits all graphic artist to develop your brand identity, or a web designer who does real estate, dog grooming services, the local florist shop and feed store is generally not a good idea.

Spend some time researching  who’s out there and most importantly, ask other business owners who they have used if you particularly like their examples. There are enough professional services out there that you can find someone who specializes or takes the time to really understand the needs and nuances of your business.

But the point I want to drill home today is what happens next: the fine print. It is vitally important that you protect your investment and watch out for these red flags before you sign the dotted line or exchange money. I know this goes on, because I hear it regularly from business owners who have been sucked in, mainly because they felt they didn’t know enough and took the person’s word for it. Take back your power, people! Vote with your feet, and your wallet.

An ethical, professional service provider will NOT do this:

Develop your logo but refuse to provide the files to you.

Make sure you will receive all formats of the artwork designed. Some designers will take advantage of your lack of knowledge and only provide a .jpg file, which is useless if you needed to get a large or high quality piece printed. The ploy here is to force you to come back to your designer for all future work. It stinks. Don’t do business with someone who does business this way.

Develop your WordPress site, but only give you partial access.

A sneaky trick that has become popular is to sell you on a WordPress site, with the allure that you will be able to maintain the site and make changes and create posts yourself. But, you are only given limited access to the dashboard. So if the time comes that you want to make changes to the appearance or menu items, you can’t do so. The ploy? Same as above. Even stinkier because you probably thought all your website problems were solved!

(Side note: it’s really the best idea to purchase your domain name and host your site yourself. It is not complicated, and your web designer should be willing to install the site for you with the host of your choice.The key is that you retain ownership and control, and have the passwords and account information you need if you have a technical problem or later, you want to change your site.)

Take your photo but retain ownership of the images.

Likewise.

I think by now you get the point. There are many variations on this theme. Make sure you ask all questions up front, check out the person’s credentials (look for longevity and testimonials  from people you can check out for yourself – any first name only or initials are a bad, bad sign).

Any tips you’d like to share? Horror stories you’d like to pass on to save others from making your mistake? Please comment below.

When I first started my business, all I wanted was to earn at least as much as I had in my job, and to be able to call my time my own. I didn’t want to hire employees, subcontract work out, or deal with too many clients at a time. In essence, my intention was to keep it simple.

I have since found from speaking with hundreds of recovering employees that this is a common theme. Perhaps it’s the remnants of too many unproductive meetings, working by committee, and supervising staff that causes us to want to go it alone.

Fortunately, I was smart enough to realize early on in my business that running solo would soon put me on a plateau, money wise, and energy wise. As a mentor from the horse world likes to say, “You’re never going to get rich with your own two hands.” Whether your financial goals are basic, or you have multiple zeros in mind, the fundamental principle is the same. In addition to getting help and making sure you’re not spending time doing what someone else can do better, faster or cheaper, the quickest path to a sustainable business for most of us is collaboration.

My philosophy on collaboration in business is summed up brilliantly by Henry Ford, who said:
“Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success. “

This is a hard pill to swallow for many corporate fugitives who cut their professional teeth in a competitive mindset world. But actively seeking out alliances, passing on work that doesn’t fit you to a “competitor” and opening yourself up to new ideas and brainstorming with others is exactly what will propel your business forward.

Joint ventures are one of the best ways to ensure a constant stream of business via lead generation because they multiply results but divide the effort. They are arrangements where two or more businesses join together for the purpose of creating a specific product or service and sharing the expenses, profits and workload, or where complementary businesses interested in the same market agree to cross-promote each others’ services. This can be done with or without a direct financial compensation.

• For joint venture partners with an online focus (i.e. who have the infrastructure to promote services online and who use email marketing), it is often more effective to seek several “smaller players” than to attempt to build relationships with those who are more prominent. Generally this is because businesses with smaller email databases tend to have more flexibility in their promotional calendar.
• Team up with other businesses that serve the same market by providing services that are either complementary, e.g. others who serve this market or who serve your ideal client at a different point (look for trigger events as clues). Ideal joint venture partners are not in direct competition with you, provide complementary services to the same market, and share the same goals and values. You don’t need many joint venture partners to have dramatic results. Start locally in the community to get local leads, and connect with potential joint venture contacts online via social media and connection.
• There are many simple ways to work with joint venture partners, here are some:
  • Agreeing to feature each other as a recommended resource
  • Exchanging testimonials (provided you have actually used each others’ services)
  • Packaging a product or service together as a special promotion
  • Recommending each others’ ezines
  • Recommending each others’ teleseminars or events
  • Putting on a teleseminar or workshop together, or interviewing each other and sending the article or audio to each others’ clients
  • Providing products to each other to include as free bonuses
  • Participating in each others’ affiliate or referral programs
  • Co-sponsoring events
  • Purchasing shared advertisements
  • And endless other possibilities!

Remember: make it simple and easy for your joint venture partners to promote you by having material to supply to them including pre-written information and templates in multiple formats (for example, letters, short descriptions that can be included in a ezine, samples of Facebook updates and tweets, logos and banners that can be used, and easy to follow instructions and calendar with suggested timelines).

And most importantly? Devote regular time to developing joint venture relationships. Treat this list of people as you would your client list.  Your network is what will keep business coming to you in the years to come. Nurturing it in the early years will help you grow a meaningful, rewarding and sustainable business.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.

Have you ever wished you could clone yourself, or live and work in parallel time zones? As a small business owner, time is money. I like to add that the real reason most of quit high paying jobs to start businesses: because money buys you time.  The more efficiency you create, the more profitable you are… but even more than that, the more flexibility you gain. Streamlining in business improves the quality of your life, and that is the bottom line many of us care about the most.

There are many ways to systemize what you do in your business. If you can’t do this, I have news for you: you’ve created a job for yourself. If you can’t find a way to leverage your time or knowledge, and your business requires you to do the work yourself in order to get paid, you don’t have a system, you have a job. Which is terrific, if that’s what you intended, but for most of my readers, our number one value is freedom through flexibility.

I’m sure this isn’t revolutionary, and you’ve probably heard this before, but to add revenue and buy time, the formula is simple. You can have someone else perform the work,  or you can find ways to take what you’ve already done, and repurpose or adapt it to sell to more people. Not so complicated, is it?

I listened to an interview recently with Harv Eker, the man behind the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. While I am not associated with his business model or personally endorse his trainings, he’s definitely found a way to resell his message in multitudes of ways and he has some excellent content. One of the things that struck me in this particular interview was his take on creating multiple streams of income. What he added was so simple – it’s not about creating multiple streams of income at all. To get the personal and financial freedom, the secret is creating multiple streams of passive income.

Passive simply means you make money when it works without you.  Multiple streams of income that require you to do more work, will make you more money, but drive you crazy. You’ve missed the mark if you’re still required to do it all yourself, and this is the part that many of us forget.

Not all of us want to create businesses with employees and the more traditional ways to build more revenue, but there are many ways that service-based small businesses like coaches, marketing professionals, accountants, etc. can add passive income streams. Even though they may not all be 100 per cent hands-off, you can work toward this. It’s a matter of redefining your paradigm of passive income. Many of us have severely limited this definition to information products. Passive income can also look like this:

• Partner up with other service providers to deliver a value-added service to your clients (my personal favourite – collaboration is beautiful and everyone wins, if you can team up with the right people who you can work with at the speed of trust). Deliver services together, with your company as the lead (or, whatever makes sense; the key here is that you are actually working together, delivering the service or product to the same client and you only have to touch a small part of the work yet still bring in new business). Bonus: you get to do what you do extremely well, and leave the rest to other people who ideally are doing the same.
• Team up with complementary businesses who have the same target market as you and you promote each other’s services. Or you create packages of services. They work very well to provide your existing customers with more choice – which they value – and they also bring you new customers you did not have to market to and find. The marketing effort is divided. Another benefit is that your new leads are coming to you pre-qualified – because you already know they have a history of being interested in this type of service, and they have a track record of being willing to spend money. Passive in this case, means you didn’t have to do anything extra to bring the business in.
• Package up your content in new ways to reach more people – for example, teach classes, write books, sell products, deliver training (and use all of this content to create materials in a variety of media that you can offer your clients, without you being there in person). Master the simple marketing strategies to promote this and familiarize yourself with the tools that make it possible (some of them mentioned below) or hire a virtual assistant to help you. It is far less complicated and not as expensive as you may think.
• Create sources of affiliate and referral income – as a service-based business, you want to protect your contact and client list, but if you have recommendations of complementary tools or products you can vouch for, your recommendation is valuable, and you can add a stream of income if some of the services you use provide a commission or credits for recommending them. Can you offer a product that you can buy at a reduced price to allow a small margin for yourself? Or, if the product is sold online, consider participating in an affiliate program. Just be sure you are clear with your clients that you may in some cases earn an affiliate fee or be compensated in some way for your recommendation. This is the law in the USA to protect consumers from misleading online advertising.
• Systemize and automate what you’re already doing to make it work for you – for example, use appointment based software like TimeTrade (formerly called Timedriver) to eliminate email and phone tag when setting up appointments, shopping cart and autoresponder services to keep in touch with your prospects and clients, and provide registration and payment services for classes and products (there are many choices, free ones like MailChimp or more complex paid plans like 1Shopping Cart or Marketers Choice (a reseller version of 1Shopping Cart and the one I use), and audio publishing and broadcasting programs like AudioAcrobat, that let you do a variety of things – record conversations and meetings with clients, create audio broadcasts that you can send out by email or publish on your website, and even give your customers a call-in number where they can voice record a testimonial or give you feedback. Pretty robust for $20 a month (I earn affiliate income for some of these products, in the spirit of full disclosure. However I only recommend products I have used myself. I recommend you do the same if you want to protect your integrity and your word).

These are just a handful of examples to get you started. Remember, time is money, and money buys you time. This simple mindset shift can lead to wonderful opportunities to earn more and have more fun doing it. If you’re like most business owners, you probably have several of these hidden assets just waiting to be brought out to the world. Get creative, they’re right there under your nose!

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.

Popular media and pollsters are finally catching up to what some of us instinctively or experientially have realized for a while: there is a new breed of entrepreneur.

Many people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are choosing to leave their careers to start their own businesses. Some walk away grinning from high paying, secure positions. Some are downsized or have faced a major life change. Whatever the reason, they choose self employment.

But this entrepreneur isn’t interested in just any sure way to make money. This entrepreneur wants to have balance, passion and flexibility. There is much debate in traditional business circles if this is a pie-in-the-sky view (it’s not, at least among my friends and associates).

So the question that arises before, after and during this transition, is: Do you have what it takes to be successful? Many people believe that business ability is practically genetic, and that it requires special wiring to seek this path. Others believe that practice makes perfect, and that anyone can be successful in business if he or she is persistent enough. It’s not uncommon for my clients to show nervousness while having certain discussions or working through exercises. It’s as if they are waiting for me to give them a pass or fail, and the test is whether or not they’re going to make it.

I don’t know if there is an answer and on a pragmatic level, I don’t think it matters much. The only way to find out and remove all doubt is to act.

It’s my observation that we each have our own doubt threshold. Some need more reassurance than others, and some don’t experience these feelings until much later (I fell into the second group). In these cases, I often quote a successful business owner I know who has been making it on her own for 19 years now. When she told me “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this” she meant it, in that nanosecond. We all have those days!

Whether you believe an entrepreneur is born or made is your opinion. There is no test that will predict your success or tell you if you’d be better off staying in your job. Like anything else in life, all you can do is make your best choice at the time, commit to it, and consistently take the actions that are needed to improve your chance of success. There is no short cut to building a successful business, although there are many people who will try to sell you one.

Once you make the choice, you can expect the real work to begin. Passion for what you choose to do in a business isn’t a mandatory ingredient for every entrepreneur, but for the kinds of clients I work with, it is the secret sauce of your own trademark dish. And it is completely possible to build a business around your passion, as long as you also have a solid business model and a plan on how to turn that passion into a viable service or product.

So, if you really want to know if you’ll succeed, start where you are. Look at the assets you have in your favour, and also the areas you’ll need to improve.

Here are the assets I believe mature employees have when starting businesses:

• Established professional reputation
• Known and proven technical skills
• An extensive professional and personal network (often the inside track longtime business owners would give their eye teeth for)
• Transferable time and project management skills
• Perspective on their industry gained through their employment experience
• Insight into the other side of the table (especially when their new business is selling services to that side)
• Professionalism and organizational skills

 Here are the skills I believe they often need to learn:

• What they need to get started in business
• How to create products and services that are profitable and fun to deliver
• How to sell their services
• How to leverage their existing knowledge, network and skills in new ways
• How to reframe their attitude and beliefs on work
• How to think and act like a business owner vs. an employee
• How to accept risk
• How to define succeed and failure (not closing a sale, not knowing how to do certain things associated with marketing or running a business, not being an instant success – are not failures!)
• How to be a beginner again

 The best thing about this? You are starting out with amazing assets, and the others things can be learned. Investing in your own personal and professional growth is something you have the skills and ability to do, or you wouldn’t have made it this far in your career. Get help where you need it, surround yourself with people who inspire and uplift you, and don’t waste energy debating if your success is predetermined.

So you’ve got your game face on and you’ve got all of the necessary items in order to go out there and greet the world. You’ve done your homework, gotten specific and clear about where your services exactly meet up with your clients’ problems, and the word is getting out there.

What happens next is what matters the most. You’ve booked an appointment with someone who is interested in what you have to offer. Now what?

There are many things you can do to prepare for a meeting with a client. Some of them are obvious:

• Find out what you can in advance about the client. Check out the website, google search, and see if the company or individual has a profile on Facebook or Linked In. A lot of information is at your fingertips and it is worth your time (not to mention courtesy to your potential client) to prepare for your meeting.
• Assess the client’s needs. From what you already know, how could you help?
• Get your materials in order. Make sure you are prepared to provide information on your company and services. I am surprised how many suppliers I have met with over the years have to scramble to provide basic information.

Building this into your routine is an easy way to make sure you are having the most effective contact with your potential client. But in my opinion, there are two essential ingredients that many over-eager business owners miss: clear intention, and authenticity.

As you prepare for your meeting, be clear on what you intend to achieve. I’m not talking about “closing the sale” or “hitting your target”. If you’ve been on the receiving end of that equation before, you know how a salesperson like that makes you feel. In service-based businesses, your client will feel whether you are a right fit for them or not, much quicker than they will conclude this logically. Think about the feeling and atmosphere you want to create. Sincerely creating a rapport between you by listening to them, putting them at ease, and really being curious and helpful will do more for your business prospects than anything else.

Catch yourself if your mind is racing ahead to think of something “smart” to say, or feeling rushed to impress the person. This means you are not engaging and actively listening. All purchasing decisions are made on emotion first, reason later. Your client hires you because of how you make him or her feel as well as what you can do. There’s plenty of time in your follow up to supply your features, prices and all the detail that we often rush into.

The other ingredient in your secret sauce? You! Let your personality shine and don’t be afraid to let your Teflon corporate shield down. Designing a business of your own comes with many rewards and one of the biggest perks is being able to be yourself, and put your own best foot forward, not your employers’. Be your best self. It is more than enough.

Place yourself in one or more of these scenarios. What if:

• You or someone whose care you are responsible for became ill or incapacitated in some way, severely restricting or even eliminating your ability to do your usual work?
• A staff or team member quit abruptly, perhaps even at a most critical time?
• You lost your biggest client, or more than one, because a project got shelved, or they simply can’t afford to pay you?
• You had a huge unexpected yet necessary expense, something you absolutely had to pay for, or your health, safety or ability to earn was put in jeopardy?

You might think it won’t happen, or that your positive, entrepreneurial outlook would prevail or ward off this evil misfortune. But the reality is that these kinds of unwelcome surprises can happen at any time.

In fact, over a four month period, I’ve experienced three of them.  An accident on a business trip left me unable to walk or drive a car (and literally required me to “put my feet up” to heal). This happened not very long after falling off my horse and breaking two ribs. A large consulting project was put on hold, and my own medical bills were eclipsed by a very large vet bill when our dog swallowed a toothpick and required life-saving surgery. During the same period, my husband was rear-ended on the highway and everyone in the family got sick. We’ve had more “bad” experiences in the last while than we’ve had in our entire lives up to this point.

What I can tell you is that it exposed some weak chinks in my entrepreneurial and financial armour, but also highlighted where the planning and design of my business really worked well.

Due to the way I intentionally set up my business, it had no effect on working with my small business clients.  We work together by phone and email. I schedule all of my appointments on certain days of the week, and leave ample time in the other days for marketing and life. It makes no difference where I am, or if I can get around. My mission to eliminate geography (I live in Central Canada, and the majority of my clients are in the USA), create a predictable and flexible schedule, and work in the comfort of my home was successful. If I had operated a highly localized, in-person business, this accident could have been disastrous.

Secondly, because my marketing is simple and automated, and I have an assistant to coordinate my newsletter and liaise with my clients, I could conserve my energy for my clients (revenue generating) and writing and reaching out to potential clients and partners (lead generating). Having a functioning team served me well and this is one expense that is priceless in value. Find good help and pay your suppliers first, even if you have to tighten your own belt.

That’s not to say that everything went perfectly. I had to cancel prior commitments for speaking and my own workshops for the fall, and losing a large project in the middle of this while having some unexpected large expenses put me in an unprecedented, uncomfortable but not devastating spot. This is where it pays to have more than one source of revenue in your business. Having only one service and few clients is a game of cash flow roulette. Fortunately I have more than one stream of income and this means I always have options to pursue.

However, I realized that I had not been as consistent in my marketing of some of my services last year, for a variety of reasons. This was exacerbated when I had the accident and had less time and energy to catch up. Had I been more consistent going into the summer period, I could have replaced the lost project more quickly. On the bright side, I have a good network and can choose to put more time into different profit centers of my business.

Of course, there are all the prudent ideas like having a business overdraft or line of credit, insuring yourself for critical illness or disability, and having all of your files and processes documented so that you or a team member could be seamlessly replaced without wreaking operational havoc. These are all smart actions to take, and I wish I could say I am an A+ example. But I am a work in progress, and this series of events highlighted some areas for improvement.

I was also reminded of the importance of a healthy mindset. Four months and counting of dependency on other people for basic activities we take for granted, and simply not being able to do things you want to do take a toll on even the most positive of outlooks. While I remained positive and thankful most of the time, I flirted with the dark side on more than one occasion.  But I realized how resilient and resourceful I am, and this characteristic is something that I need as an entrepreneur. There is always something you can do if you ask yourself what opportunities you have that are within your power, right now. Feeling enthusiasm for what I can do feels much better than feeling powerless about what I can’t. Remembering that there are others who have much bigger challenges than I do is another. I agree with positive psychologist Martin Zeligman that I am a “flexible optimist”.

 A side benefit to life’s unpleasant attention-getters? You quickly adjust your priorities and get immediately clear on your focus. While I hope none of these scenarios happen to you, it’s worth an eyes-wide-open look at your business and how much of a safety net you have in place.

Do you have:

• More than one revenue stream or profit centre
• Packages and services that can be ramped up or scaled down as you need (this means you have a clearly defined market with a problem that fits your solution)
• Consistent marketing routines
• Others on your team
• Systems that someone else can step in and follow for the marketing and operations of your business
• Financial reserves or access to emergency money
• Willingness and ability to “put your feet up” when your body tells you it’s time

It’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s what we learn from our experiences and how we choose to move forward that does. I am reminded of this quote:  He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left. — Chinese Proverb. Review your business and plan for a trip of your own, you never know where the journey will take you!

As a business strategist who uses coaching processes to work with my clients, you might think this is odd. So, let me explain.

The basic foundation of most self-help advice is to wrestle the demons, and fix what’s wrong with you. It took me a long time to put my finger on just why this has irritated me so much. But over the past year, I finally got it.

The problem I have with this approach is that people who adopt it tend to focus all of their attention on their weaknesses instead of acknowledging them, giving them a curt nod, and moving on to their strengths instead. It can become a new religion of obsessive proportions.

Think about it. If your weaknesses were people, would you willingly hang out with them most of the time, or would you choose to be with others with whom you are at your best?

When I meet with aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners, I often observe them taking this same damaging approach to their businesses. The ugly step-sisters of doubt, fear and comparison to others stop them from seeing the princess-like qualities in Cinderella.

This causes them to be hesitant, and all too often, to market themselves in a lackluster way. They focus on all the things they’re (supposedly) not instead of all the things they are.

When you’re coming out of a professional career to start a business, you’re stepping into a vulnerable and unknown territory. You are no longer your job title with your years of experience; you are now the new kid on the block when it comes to running a business. And this plays games with your heart and your head!

All of a sudden you question your exciting business idea, and wonder if you fell for the “grass is greener over the fence” trick. And you start questioning if you have what it takes to be in business at all. What happened to the driven, creative, productive professional?

The answer is, he or she is still there. But you’ve now met some new parts of you.

One of the best ways to build your new business, or reinvent an old one, is to honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses. But don’t let the weaknesses drive you (and by the way, being new to business is not a weakness. There are ways to get around this).

When I work with a client on designing their business services and the best ways to market them, we always spend time determining strengths. Often the strengths are the qualities in you that come easiest, and are the things you like to do the most. This can be skills, the types of clients you work with the best, and the way you like to work.

For example, if you’re the kind of person who likes to work alone, and doesn’t enjoy entertaining, running a hospitality business and interacting with customers is not the best idea for you if you are placing yourself front and center.

When it comes to marketing, you also need to focus on what makes you unique and difference. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing calls this “your remarkable difference.” We all have them, but some of us spend too much time on what I think of as “your noticeable shortcoming”…in other words, the thing we think we lack that we’re sure our potential customers see.

So if you are finding yourself focusing on things like this:

• I’m new and nobody knows me
• I don’t have clients yet and they won’t take me seriously
• I’m the only one working in my business, I’m not big enough… it’s only me
• I don’t have the (time, money, background, resources, staff, etc.) that the big guys do

 Then it’s time to take a look at those perceived weaknesses in a new way:

• I’ve got something exciting and different to offer
• I can’t wait to introduce it to the people who value and need this (if you don’t have clients yet, make sure you read this article)
• When people work with me I am able to be responsive and to give them excellent service
• I’m able to offer high value with low overhead, which allows me to be aggressive and competitive in my pricing

Be kind to yourself, and let your light shine! Designing your business to suit your strengths is well worth the effort, and will be easier and more profitable than spending time and money overcoming your weaknesses.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM  for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.

Did you know that it’s possible to have happy, rewarding and productive days in your business every day? Where you never struggle with tasks or feel sad or bored? Where your clients think you are amazing, shower you with praise simply by doing what comes naturally and is fun for you?

 Does this sound too good to be true? It’s not! This is exactly what happens when you create your life and business around your innate strengths. Your unique strengths and talents are the characteristics you were born with. When you are performing activities that utilize your strength you feel invigorated, energized and alive.  This is in stark contrast to when you are doing tasks where your strengths aren’t involved. You have to mentally psyche yourself up or motivate yourself to do a task, you feel exhausted doing it and your productivity is poor. Usually we don’t appreciate our own strengths because they come very easily to us. We think anyone can do it, and thus diminish the value. Plus in a culture where hard work and long hours are praised, it is easy to focus on your weakness and spend time there instead because that is where you have to ‘work’ hard and struggle.

 If you have your own business you are step ahead of the game because you almost certainly started your business around what you are good at (your strengths) and enjoy doing (usually the two go hand in hand). However, when you fine tune your life even more, it goes from “good” to “I am in heaven.”

The first step is to get clear on what your strengths are. Psychologists Peterson and Seligman identified the following 24 personal strengths.

Personal Strengths of Wisdom and Knowledge

1. Creativity

You think of new and original ways to do things.

2. Curiosity

Always very interested in the world around you.

3. Open-Mindedness

Open to new ideas, non-judgmental, able to see both sides.

4. Love of Learning

A student of life, love constantly learning new knowledge and skills

5. Perspective

See the world with perspective and wisdom

 Personal Strengths of Courage

6. Bravery

Act without fear of physical or emotional threat.

7. Persistence

Have an “I started so I will finish” attitude.

8. Integrity

Act in a genuine, authentic and honest way.

9. Vitality

Have zest, enthusiasm and energy for life.

 Personal Strengths of Humanity

10. Love

Place a high value on the close relationships you have with others.

11. Kindness

Happy to perform good deeds for others with care and compassion.

12. Social intelligence

Have your finger on the pulse of the emotions of the people around you.

Personal Strengths of Justice

13. Citizenship

Loyal team member.

14. Fairness

Treat all people equally with no bias.

15. Leadership

Maintain good relationships with the group while moving them forward.

 Personal Strengths of Temperance

16. Forgiveness

Able to forgive others and not hold a grudge.

17. Humility

Displays modesty, let your accomplishments speak for themselves rather than brag.

18. Prudence

Is cautious, thinks of consequences before taking action.

19. Self-Regulation

Able to control own emotions and impulses.

Personal Strengths of Transcendence

20. Appreciation of Beauty and excellence

Appreciate natural and man-made beauty in the world.

21. Gratitude

Is thankful. Count your blessings.

22. Hope

Always optimistic about the future.

23. Humor

Laugh readily, give laughter to those around you.

24. Spirituality

Believes there is a higher purpose, has faith.

 As you read the list you probably resonated with almost all of them! The trick, however, is to narrow down your strengths to just three or five. These are your core strengths. When you know yours, you can make changes in your business so that you are working with your strengths and not against them. Here are a few examples. A client of mine has strength number one, creativity. When he was working for a large corporation he couldn’t help but come up with ‘bright ideas’ of how to improve the way business was done.  His bosses considered him annoying and he was highly frustrated and under-valued. Now he is a consultant for many big corporations. In this role he is paid handsomely for his ‘bright ideas.’ He goes to work in T shirts and he feels a sense of pride and joy in his new role. One of my strengths is ‘no. 12 – Social intelligence.’ I love my work as a coach because it utilizes this strength. However, being a coach involves other activities besides working one on one with clients. There is marketing, website maintenance, book keeping, etc. In order to work with my strength and not against it, I hire a book keeper and graphic designer etc. This way I can work with my strengths and they can work with theirs.

 Are you ready to embrace your strengths? Here’s how in five simple steps.

  1. Identify your three to five core strengths

2. Think of the activities you do in your business at the moment that utilize them. If you aren’t sure, it will be the activities that you are naturally drawn too, the ones that you lose track of time doing.

3. Brain storm ways you can ‘get rid’ the other activities that aren’t on your list. It could be by delegating them, or thinking of a different approach that uses a strength to get the end result.

4. Re-evaluate number three on a regular basis. It’s surprising how unwanted activities can slip back into your life

5. Start to pay attention to how much happier and productive you are when you have made these changes.

Jacqueline Sinfield is an ADHD coach and author of the book, Untapped Brilliance: How to Reach Your Full Potential as an Adult with ADHD. She has worked in the healthcare field for nearly twenty years. She has an Honors degree in Psychology and trained and worked as a nurse in England before moving to Montreal, Canada where she has her own private coaching practice.