I was so jealous to see her on stage....

Just a few weeks back, I saw that a woman I used to know was giving a talk on a big stage. I hadn't seen her in a while and I had wondered what she was up to now. As I read the flyer I felt myself experiencing jealousy and resentment. She appeared so confident on that stage. I didn't like the way I was feeling - we both came from humble beginnings and look at her now!!!!!

"HEY, HEY, HEY WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?'

I'm jolted out of my negative thoughts about her by my internal policing agent - the voice inside me that has common sense and the storehouse for all that I have learned about unconscious bias. She's the voice who takes over when conditioned thinking messes things up for me. I love it when she shows up to shake me out of my conditioning.

Education has been my saving grace - when I know better I do better and I'm grateful that I can challenge those conditioned thoughts with common sense and logic. What I learned as a child no longer serves me. It has not been like the flicking of a switch. 

I prefer to liken it to dusting a hardwood floor - those dust bunnies can be pretty sneaky. every now and then a giant one will show up even after I thought I had them all. 

So I looked at that flyer again - my friend making it onto that big stage. "Well, way to go girl. I will tip my hat to ya.  I am proud of you for taking new ground."

I also took it easy on myself - it's been a lot of work to get here. I'm proud of that work. 

Unconscious bias can really hurt your money maker. Challenging those assumptions that may have served to keep you stuck is hard work and every now and then you've got to do a little tune up when you start to slip. It is worth it. 

I love collaborations!!!

I regularly collaborate privately with one particular person. I believe we work very well together because we communicate well. We bring up the taboo items; we talk about the elephant in the room.

It's one of the best collaborations I've had and it gets better each time we work together.

I'd love to hear what makes your collaborations a success.

Join us in our FREE FB Group if you're interested in profitability.

You should have seen me at the gym

There's a reason why I coach entrepreneurship and not fitness. I joined a gym lately and I'm still trying to find my comfort zone there. The vision thing makes it tough at times. If you go to the gym you'll see me there looking like a female version of Magoo feeling my way around the room. 

Alma Taylor 

"You should see me at the gym!"

I was forced into entrepreneurship and learned to love it and I've got my fingers crossed that the same thing will happen at the gym. Did I mention that I am not a gym person.

I have noticed that my upper body strength is not what it used to be. I blame it on the sedentary lifestyle. A couple of days ago I went online and found an exercise that would work my arms. Next time I went to the gym I found the machine and got set up.

I set the weight at 10 lbs and sat down with the intention of doing 12 reps (I'm getting the lingo). Well, I couldn't even get to four and before I continued, I took the 10 lbs off and did it with the bar alone. Here I was trying to remember how to breath, where to position my feet, making sure I had the right form - all the while hearing the reel of my mantra STRONG BODY, STRONG BODY playing in my mind.

I was shocked that I was having such difficultly with this machine - I did a quick check over the shoulder to make sure no one was watching. This was bloody hard and I was getting slightly pissed.

Next day I'm at the gym and determined to get back on that machine. I walk over and there's a fella on the machine and you can tell that it's not his first time in a gym. You know what I'm saying? This man was buff. I watched how he managed with a lot of weight on the machine. He made it look easy. There was also something else that I noticed.

Before he got on the machine he brought this handle over the top and grasped them on the bottom. It's hard to write about here but can  you get the picture? The handle is flipped up and then when you sit down, you flip it down. I DIDN'T DO THAT FLIPPING DOWN PART the first day.

There's the reason why I couldn't do any reps. I took a second to laugh at myself and then I took over the machine when he was finished. Moved that weight to 20 lbs and I had no trouble at all.
I could have burst out laughing as I watched him flip this handle around and then start the exercise - I didn't use the machine the right way. No wonder it felt so awful. Thank goodness I can laugh at myself.

Here's the deal - if you are a perfectionist, you'll never try new things. Learn to laugh at yourself. Embrace the incompetence that you feel when you try new things. You've got to crawl before you walk and you have to make it fun.

Find out more about our new Membership Program for Entrepreneurs here.

When you're hiring a Virtual Assistant, these are the things to consider.

What a view!!

I'm blessed to have an awesome Virtual Assistant (VA) but it took a couple of tries to find one that would work well for me. Here is what I discovered as I was going along.

1. They don't need to know it all but they do have to be teachable. This is a must for me. I have to have things a certain way to work with my systems. It takes time to teach someone and there's nothing worse than someone who is set in their ways and don't want to learn anything new.

2. It helps if they're real comfy with technology especially if you're like me - low tech in all that I do. I hire to my weakness and I also want her to take over some of my duties which leads me to the next thing that is essential.

3. They have to appreciate that when you have a process that works, they need to follow that process or have a darn good reason why they won't use your tried and true.

4. Pay them what they're worth - the range that they charge is anybodies guess. But you know the value in what they're providing - pay them what they are worth. I've got a hangup about taking advantage of people. Probably comes from being taken advantage of. Pay them what they are worth.

5. For entrepreneurs with disabilities - an awesome VA can really make or break your business. After all, they can help us scale the extra barriers.

Benefits of Membership in Profitable Entrepreneurs

Over the years I have paid to belong to at least 8 membership groups. Each of them had an attraction for some time but there are two that I remain faithful to. One is the The Canadian Coach and the other is Women Who Wow founded and nurtured by Michelle Pippin who is an amazing and might I add courageous business coach. 

When it became evident that it was time to host my own membership group with consistent content I looked to all of the groups that I was part of and took the best practices from each one. I am delighted to offer Profitable Entrepreneurs membership group starting on September 1st and we will start with 25 people. 

Why this magic number:

I believe that if our virtual groups are going to take the place of real life groups, we have to have the option to mingle and grow our own lists. Not a lot of groups do this well - I plan on making it part of the Profitable Entrepreneurs group. 

With every group that I have joined, I come away with new relationships that are beneficial to business, new leads and opportunities for cross marketing our products and services. I know that this is not the case for all business people. Not everyone knows how to work a virtual room. I am going to teach you how to do this. 

The group will have a strong emphasis on money mindset and unconscious bias - two essentials to business success. 

What I have learned teaching for more than 10 years is that when adults come together there are many teachers in the room. This group takes this into consideration. I will bring my knowledge about growing a profitable business and that information will expand when it interacts with what you know. 

Maybe you want to start your own group one day - I can show you how as well. Here's the link to more infoand if you want more info, please email me at info@peoplecan.ca

Have an amazing day.

Unconscious bias - how it hurts a business owner.

Having been on the receiving end of bias a time or two, I have learned more than one lesson where the rubber hits the road.

A woman in trades, a law student living with a disability and the wrong heritage, being fat, a single mama, outspoken, not knowing my place - I have stood toe to toe with prejudice and witnessed first hand what it feels like to have someone treat you like you don't belong.  I once took a case of discrimination to the human rights commission. 

Bias - conscious or unconscious, does not feel good.

I had a fellow disabled law student tell me that he did not disclose his disability when he applied to law school. He did however disclose the fact that his dad was a superior court judge....oh but I digress.

I've taken the bold step this past year to talk about discrimination from a new perspective - unconscious bias and how those biases hurt us as business owners. It hurts everyone when people show prejudice against us - but have you given any thought to your own deep seated prejudices and how they might be hurting you?

When you come from a place like I did, where we didn't have a lot of money, it's possible that we carry prejudices. Let's not talk about camels fitting through the eye of a needle but do you get what I'm sayin?

I can sit here and talk about how I've been a victim but the reality is - all of those experiences have informed the work that I now do. People have mistreated me - I have no control over their biases. My own biases - now that is another story.  Our own biases can hurt us in business unlesss we nip them in the bud.

That's what I'm doing now and will continue to do. My experiences have shaped who I am. I'm all about owning my background, learning from it and definitely changing what does not serve me in business.

Unconscious bias against making money - it harms our business. Call it out, challenge the assumptions that keep it alive.

Unconscious Bias Can Impact Your Money Maker - Small Group Coaching

Friday  June 15th, 2018

Small Group Coaching Topic

Unconscious bias - what is it? Do you have it? How does it impact your business? What can you do about it?

Want to know more? PM for details.

Preparing to pitch a book deal to a traditional publisher

I have self published and I am proud of it. Actually I've doe so 3 times now with each one being a little better than the last. Each time it got easier as my written word was well received and I became clear and more confident in what I wanted to say.

Now I'm taking it to a new level - I want to be published by a traditional publisher and I feel that same nervousness that I felt with that first book in 2011.

Here are the steps that I took to prepare.

1. Research - find a publisher who actually publishes the genre you're writing. It will save you a lot of grief.

2. Hire an editor who has actually been successful in helping other authors get published. They tend to know what the publisher will expect in a submission. Have a well prepared submission.

3. Speak to other published authors and ask them for tips - this is a wonderful asset.

4. Acknowledge the fear but do it anyway!!!!

I'm really doing this.

Men have been doing this for centuries.

Having someone say "You're like a man." isn't a bad thing unless of course they're referring to your face hair. 

This is exactly what a man said to me this week - I have learned over time that it is best not to react to odd statements. Instead I asked whether he wanted to chat about this a bit. and we did.

I knew he didn't mean it as an insult even though at first glance, it could be taken as one. I knew this because he is someone that I respect quite a bit and I know that he respects me - so we had THE TALK.

1. LEARNING ON THE FLY

Apparently for years the entrepreneurial space was dominated by men and they had certain characteristics that helped them to fast track success. For example, there is this tendency for men to jump in with both feet without having all the ducks lined up. Apparently this is something that women aren't known for. I hate to speak in broad terms or "extrapolate from a sample of one" but I have noticed that women do procrastinate more before taking action. Maybe I learned to "act like a man" from all of the years that I worked with men in the army - I do have a reputation for learning on the fly. Personally, I think that this is the way we need to roll in business - course correcting as we go as opposed to playing it too safe. 

Don't get me wrong or read into this more than there is - it's great to be prepared but there comes a time when you must take the plunge. Done is better than perfect folks. 

2. CHANGING THE SCOPE MEANS CHANGING THE PRICE

Ever had one of those contracts that changes halfway through? It's fair to say that we don't know what we don't know. We can get into a project and have the client want things done differently as time goes on. When this happens in business "when the scope changes" halfway through, you need to get the parties back to the drawing board and look at the cost again. When the scope changes, the hard (and soft) costs often change and that means that the price has to change. I have this discussion early with clients. That way it comes as no surprise when the time comes to up the price. This ensures that the client gets the value they were promised while I get paid what my service is worth. 

We discussed many other examples including things like the tendency for women to charge the right price and then throw in so many extras that they watered down the price and value. This looks like hidden money mindset issues. 

Apparently there are variations in how men and women do business. I have a few pretty savvy business women in my corner who are just like me so I hadn't noticed until he mentioned it.

So here's the upshot - I told him that I didn't think that I was acting like a man as much as I was behaving like a business woman who took this gig seriously. What about you? How do you act? 

What you focus on expands!!!

I've always enjoyed Dr. Wayne Dyer and his profound teachings. We miss you Dr. Dyer. 

What you focus upon expands he said. 

I've had times in my life when I have had runaway thoughts - about how crappy the day is, how bored I am or other things that were going wrong at the time. All or nothing thinking was another common favourite. Nothing is going right. Everyone is mad at me. The list goes on. 

Does any of this resonate with you?

There's a whole body of study out there that says that if we learn to visualize what we want in life, we will see more of it. If we could just drag our minds away from what isn't going well and purposefully think about what is going well - then what is going well will expand. I like to use the analogy of a spot light. Take that big old spotlight and move it away from the negative and toward what is going well. Don't ruminate on things that are not going well. There is no benefit in this. 

This week in our chapter one of Pam Grout's E Squared, we're learning to ask the universe or God or whatever you want to call that power greater than ourselves to show us that it is actually listening to little old me. Yep, you matter and he/she/it will respond if you look for that sign. 

It's tough to change your mind. Set your stopwatch/timer to nudge you at any given time during the day and check in to tell us what you are thinking about. Will you be thinking about that thing that you wish would show up or are you thinking about that thing that is pissing you off right now. 

Which is it?

What you focus upon expands - worth thinking about.

Law of Attraction - it's for everyone but it sure does feel weird in the beginning!!

Photo by Emily Murphy

My world turned upside down in  2009, I went from frying pan to fire after 6 years of trying to make a better life. I was a mess as I sat there on the step watching the truck pull away with all of my belongings. I had sold my home. 

Truth was, I got served with a notice to foreclose in the morning and an offer to purchase in the afternoon which meant that they didn't foreclose. 

I sold my house because I couldn't afford to live there. Not because I wanted to upsize or downsize but because I hadn't paid my mortgage in months - I needed a new place to live. It was a shit year.

Someone had mentioned the Law of Attraction stuff to me. It sounded a lot like blaming the victim - "You're responsible for the world you're creating - you've brought this on yourself." That was a tough pill to swallow - vision loss, loss of career, failed marriage and eventually bankruptcy didn't feel like things that I had a ton of control over at the time. 

It took me two more years before I got into practising the universal laws of attraction full time. I needed to go down that tragic road a bit further before I decided that I had nothing to lose and a lot to learn.

Invited to listen to Nova Scotia's Own Eddie Lemoine speak about his new book "Bring About What You Think About" opened the door a crack. His own story of loss and reinvention and the role that a positive mindset played in his journey inspired me to want to learn more about the topic. Hard luck is relative - I didn't think that his bottom and my bottom had anything in common but he definitely took a hit or two in life. I liked the dude and so I decided I needed to know more about the concept. I started studying other people who were writing on this topic.

I read everything I could get my hands on about Law of Attraction. I started reading books by Joe Vitale, Napoleon Hill and listening to Norman Vincent Peale. I was in pain and nothing that I was doing was working so I felt that I had nothing to lose. 

It was tough but I was determined. I took baby steps - gave up complaining, took up gratitude even when there was nothing to be grateful for.  (Read my blog on how grateful I was that the cat pissed in the litter box ). It was a slow start at first but eventually I gained momentum. 

Truth was, it took a lot of energy to gain some traction. I limited my time with folks who would gossip and did a lot of journal work. I surrounded myself with people who had already enjoyed success with this new way of looking at things. Sometimes I was inspired. Other times I was jealous and frustrated by my own lack of progress but I didn't give up. I was a work in progress and I knew it took time.

Oh, the rest is history - but it isn't really history. I went from there to owning a business, writing 3 books, travelling to teach and now I'm here mentoring other entrepreneurs who want to learn this stuff. What seemed like foo foo in the beginning has turned into a staple in my life. 

Recently I had a setback - something I hadn't planned for that I would have considered a piece of bad luck in the past. I was pissed for about a day and then I reminded myself of how all of the bad luck that I have experienced have transformed into blessings. Yep!! You heard me say it. It is true and I'm sure that this event will also have value in my life. A different mindset helps  me to have a healthier attitude about setbacks. I've learned to put things into perspective and I will more quickly get back to healthy thinking. This is where the magic happens. 

Know what? What you focus on expands. It's so true!!! It isn't reserved for the chosen few. Just as the sun sets for each of us - this way of thinking is available to everyone. What are you focusing on?

Meet Debbie

Debbie Adams is the owner of PeopleCan Training in Lower Sackville, NS. She's legally blind but has a tremendous amount of the kind of vision that you need to be successful. She is a 3 time published author including the book Money Mindset as well as contributing author in Dreaming Big, Being Bold. Although she is a reluctant entrepreneur, she has won awards for entrepreneurship. She loves helping others move from misery to magic in Entrepreneurship. Debbie is originally from Newfoundland but makes her home in Nova Scotia. 

Website: www.peoplecan.ca

I'm freaking out because it's time to take myself off the front line and hand it over to someone else!!!

Did that title sound like it had your name on it? If it did, welcome to the club.

This is serious stuff. If you're at that stage, you're not alone. I'm doing the exact same thing and the same kinds of worries are coming up for me.

This isn't just our business, this is our baby and if we take ourselves off the front line, things could fall apart. Isn't that what we are thinking? We're likely also thinking..

What if they do it better than I did it? 

or

What if I can't find a manager who can manage to maintain the brand I have established?

Then if you're like me you might be thinking..
 I don't really want to manage - I'm a leader and we all know that leaders and managers are not the same thing.

The most painful part starting a business with barely enough money and not enough skills is that we have to do all of the tasks ourselves.

We know that there are certain parts that get us all fired up and other things (like bookkeeping) that are like a damp rag. Get that damper off your plate as fast as you can.

I can work 20 hour days doing the parts of the biz that I love. I need staff in order to scale but I have no desire to even try to figure that part out. I don't want a manage. I am not a manager, I am a leader. I do  not like to manage at all. I'm not good at it. So the options are....stay where you are or find a manager.

Then there's that other little niggling thing....letting go. Yep, I said it out loud. It's not easy letting go. But it is necessary for growth. I get that.

I know you love your baby. I get that it was your sweat equity and tears that got you to this place - letting go is not easy but you do have a limited supply of energy and right now you're spending far too much time on this decision. 1, 2, 3, JUMP

But you know what? That next level, it's there for you and it needs you - if your plan for the future needs your undivided attention, you need to giddy up go.

I have spoken with so many people who have arrived at this stage - decision time. Many of them were held back because they couldn't make that decision.

Letting go wasn't an option for them and they didn't get to live that dream. I could detect a little regret in the way they reminisced. Their passion got dampened somewhat. One person told me that she makes a good living but she turned down the opportunity to make a great life.

I don't want to be one of those people

and I have a feeling that you don't either.

So, 

one of the things that you can do is look fear in the eye and tell it you're onto it. Look at that worse case scenario (it doesn't happen as often as you think) and then weigh that against not acting - which one makes you cringe at the thought. Staying the same can often be a de-motivator. It can suck the life right out of you.

Is it time to act? It's up to you..

Maybe the thought of making the big bucks is scaring the pants off you!!!

A while back I was contacted by an organzation who needed a grant written. This was a piece of cake for me - I've been writing cogent arguments for some time now. It's not something that I have ever thought of doing for a living. I sought out some advice on what to charge for that service. My pricing coach told me that I could expect $16,000.00 to write this grant. 

I cringed at the thought because frankly......

I wouldn't pay it myself....

I chuckle as I recall that moment but let me tell you, I've gotten past that and 

learned how to price a job for the value that I bring to the client. 

My client had a need and a time crunch. It became evident very quickly that he had not given much thought to defining the scope of the project. 

He also didn't have the capacity to do the job himself and he wanted that 1 Million that he would be getting if we were successful. Of course it was worth it to make that happen. 

When I look back on this client, I learned so much about business from this client. I wasn't selling them a grant. I was solving a set of problems as well as opening the door 

to more than a million to add to their budge. They were going to get a dream project off the ground with this money. 

Recently when I spoke with a web designer who was new to business, I could tell that he was struggling with the same issue and I took the deal that he was offering. 

Before we went into the deal, I struck up a side deal with him. I would pay 

the low price in return for me coaching him in 

how to charge large if his product were as good as he thought it was. 

It was a win/win for both of us. 

Are you charging what you're worth or are you selling yourself at bargain basement prices? 

A bump in prices will let you reach your revenue targets sooner while also 

freeing up time. Think about it. 

Join us for our January E-book if you're fascinated with Law of Attraction

Learn more here!!!

or 

Check out our one day Business Strategy on Jan 19th here

A bit of a rant - be generous in July.

We are just coming through a Christmas where I personally got to observe the best in people. It's been tough on the family to see our parents transition - mother into a long term care facility and our grief stricken father transition into losing the one woman he has slept beside for 55+ years. It has been heartwarming to see our family pull together to provide the care that we could provide. We are in the season of change and we've got good people showing up to help us through it.

December saw a lot of people come together in a show of support and generous giving of time and resources to folks who are hit hard by the holiday season.  Whether it was an organization asking for donations or individuals trying to assist a woman who found herself in a precarious living situation - it got me thinking that it takes a village but we need the level of awareness in July as much as we need it in Decembers.

We know that these donations are band aid solutions on larger societal problems that require policy changes. It's important that we remember that we can pull together for our brothers and sisters all year long.

One of the core competencies of entrepreneurship is the ability to vision. It's not the only competency but if we use the analogy of baking a cake, not being able to vision would be equivalent to not having a bowl to mix the ingredients in.  But sometimes when our worlds are turned upside down, survival is the number one consideration. I think we can all agree that some of the folks we have served in December have less than desirable lives. It is tough to look at a better future when you don't have enough food on the table or can't afford to purchase tampons.

I teach people to vision - take time to create a compelling narrative around the life they want to create as entrepreneurs. What if we came together as a community and visioned together. I don't mean that we come together and gripe about what some politician isn't doing. I mean coming together to create a vision of what we want our society to look like. What if we then learned as a group to watch our language and take action when we could. What if we helped people who were struggling to vision by visioning for them - holding them up until they gain a little traction.

Let's collectively come together and learn to vision for a better future.  Let's not just hope that we can purchase a sailboat this year or maintain that lakefront property. Let's speak the truth about people and their starting position. Let's talk about the benefit of privilege and put ego in its place.

Sometimes by the time the disadvantaged get to where they could launch, they're so exhausted from surviving poverty that they take a break. A break that they can't get up from. It's called frustration and you'd have to walk a mile in those shoes to really get it. 

I used to feel sorry for myself - burdened because of vision loss and forced to give up a home and go through bankruptcy but I realise now that I was rich in other ways.  I had friends to lean on and family members who could pick up the slack. I had the ability to learn and communicate. I could write and articulate a letter that opened doors.

Can you imagine what it feels like to not be able to advocate for yourself but at the same time not know people who can advocate on your behalf? Try doing that on zero budget. Don't get me started on the impact of disability on a person without the means to support the disability.

In 2018, let's open our eyes and our hearts and show up for our brothers and sisters in need all year long. Nothing to give says the cash strapped entrepreneur? Try mentoring someone to get to the place that you have arrived at.

Don't say you have nothing to give - it could be that you lend your voice. You freely offer a piece of advice. You open a door for someone (I mean a door to resources that others are struggling to open).  Be as generous in July as you are in December.

Reach out to someone that you see struggling. If you have figured out how to vision - teach another person. It is the fundamental core competency of entrepreneurship - the ability to dream and then take appropriate action.

Drive a bit of business in the direction of someone who is struggling. Open up your networks to people. Offer to be a leaning post to a person in need by lending an ear.

I'm proud of what happens in December - of the generous folks all around me, but in 2018, let's see if we can keep the momentum going.

3 Tips for Surviving a Cash Flow Crunch

I have never met a business person who hasn't at one time or another had a cash flow crunch. There may be someone out there, but I've never met one. I know I have had one or two as I ease myself into this thing called business. You're not alone. Here are 3 lessons that I have learned where the rubber hit the road.

1. Don't beat yourself up over it. You got here because of decisions you have made. Accept it, learn from it and move on. No sense getting angry at yourself. It's counter productive.

2. You won't get out of one hole by digging another one.  As much as you may want to borrow from Peter to pay Paul, avoid the impulse. You're already overextended - think of ways to generate more revenue instead of looking for quick fixes. You're in a place of great learning - hard knocks are like that.

3. Get humble real quick.  The thing about good business people is that they're not afraid to humble themselves. Ask for an extension on payment if you need to but only if you won't inconvenience someone else. You need to get through this and keep your business going. Get humble real quick.

My two cents - something needs to change if this becomes a chronic problem in your business. Think long and hard about that.

Learn more about what we do at PeopleCan here.

Is being nice hurting your business?

Business success takes a lot of mental toughness. It's a given - mental toughness and success go hand in hand. If you're like me, more often than not, you did it wrong before you did it right.

I'm a recovering doormat. I spent a large part of my life avoiding conflict and keeping the peace. You can imagine how that impacted my business - a venture where tough conversations are the norm especially when there is wiggle room for negotiation in price. Not a good scene!!!

I like to say I'm a  work in progress because the reality is that the tendency to be seen as nice still shows up on occasion and I have to stamp it out. It really is an ongoing battle.

In my classes, I talk about the internal workings that hold us back in business - being nice is one of those "driving with the handbrake on" moments. 

Enabling behaviour - helping someone to take advantage and mistreat us. It is often a taboo phrase - let's not talk about it in case we blame the victim. Well, I needed to talk about it because I was the only one that could stop it. 

In university, I encountered the term and it made me curious because it sounded so much like me. It intrigued me so much that I went looking for books on the topic. 

Books like Melody Beattie's Codependent No More and Beverly Engel's Nice Girl Syndrome  helped me to come to terms with the fact that 

I WAS HELPING PEOPLE TO TREAT ME LIKE CRAP!!! YIKES!!!

Are you fired up yet? The mental toughness that it takes to be successful DEMANDS that we take a long hard look in the mirror and put our finger on the problem. It's not about letting anyone off the hook - there are jerks out there!! No objection here. It's about being honest with yourself. 

Enable: to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to authorize;

We enable when we don't speak up to someone who disrespects us. We enable when we overlook again and again. We enable when we can't find our voice.

Being nice means keeping the peace a lot of the time. To the extreme in most cases. We can't keep the peace and have a difficult conversation at the same time. The problem with being nice is that even the most professional tough conversation can feel pretty scary. Well, breaking that cycle is tough for nice people but in order to be successful, you've got to learn to be professional and to be fair including treating yourself with respect.

Respect is all about moving out of victim mindset and taking responsibility for your 

part in helping others treat you with disrespect.

"Enabling" let's raise awareness about this topic and end it today.

Join us on Nov 23rd as we take a deep dive in how it impacts our biz.  

Entrepreneurship - Fixed and Growth Mindset and Visioning

Sit quietly for a few moments and imagine that its the end of the day (I'm assuming it's morning where you are). Now take a few deep breaths and think back on the day - what made it special? Did you spend time with friends? Was it the amazing round of golf in November or did you strike it rich at the casino? Did you enjoy a day on your own while the kids went on an adventure with grandma? Now.....

GET OUT THERE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Fourteen years ago, when I started my learning journey, had I read this opening paragraph, I would have stopped reading. Not my thing. A little hocus pocus and foo fooy. 

But here I am today not only visioning as a regular part of my day but teaching others to vision as well. 

I used to be a Fixed Mindset gal. I can still remember Sister Mary - a nun who walked around with a stick, little black Oxford shoes, bushy eyebrows and a double chin hanging over her white wimple. She would stare at me sternly when we were caught climbing back in through the bathroom window after sneaking out for a smoke. 

We weren't taught to dream - we were taught to be obedient and to become great employees. That's what the public school system did. Entrepreneurial success requires that you be a dreamer - a growth mindset characteristic. If we don't know how to do that - we need to learn. 

I've had a few meetings recently where I had an opportunity to speak about three of the core competencies of entrepreneurship that I dabble in - communication, networking and MINDSET with the latter being the one that I enjoy speaking about most.

Generally I'm chatting with people who are old school fixed mindset - having a foot in each canoe helps me to bring the conversation to a place where they get curious about what I'm saying. That's all I want to do is start the dialogue. How do we teach fixed mindset people how to think like a growth mindset person? One part of that is teaching people how to vision. A clear vision of where you are going becomes a magnet, impacts your choices and gets you there quicker.


Here's how it looks for a 30 Day Sales Challenge.

- we have set a goal for what we want to achieve.
- we do a visioning exercise where we imagine that we're at Day 30.
- we visualize that we're looking back over the month to see what it is that we did to get here.
- use your imagination.
- what needed to go well.
- what people did we need to meet.
- what did we say no to?

Now get 'er done.

"Card Laid, Card Played" works in a card game but has no place in business.

Newfoundlanders love a good game of cards. We had a lot of fun during a recent game of 120. Hearts were trump and Marg led with the deuce of Hearts. Ian played the Ace because he wanted this trick. Ken didn't see the Ace go down, so he played his King and by the look on his face, he was certain he was getting this trick.  He spotted the Ace as soon as his fingers dropped the King and he reached to pick it back up. "I meant to play the seven".

Suddenly, she was all in an uproar as they starting yelling

"CARD LAID, CARD PLAYED!!!"

They all started laughing and banging on the table because they now knew where the King was and that was a game changer. They loved watching Ken squirm. He hates messing up.

The rule "Card Laid, Card Played" works in cards.But don't get fooled into believing that the same rule applies in business. Not at all, the rule in business is that you can change your mind or course correct at anytime. It actually makes good business sense to do so. When you play the wrong card, you pick it back up.

If you've made a decision to start a business in one area and noticed that there's no real market  - it makes good business sense to cut your losses and try a different product, service, or location. It's the equivalent of laying one card and picking it back up because it's not the right move.

Now, here's a warning - people will talk!!! People will have an opinion and some may even want to tell you "I told you so!"

But who cares? This is business - do what's right for your business - the stakes are higher. A better rule for you is "Play your cards right!"

Join us for our 30 Day Sales Challenge (Learn from home)

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Housekeeper and Bookkeeper - Money Well Spent

My housekeeper loves what she does. How do I know? Every two weeks I walk in the door and I stop for a moment to breathe in the "smell of clean". She is amazing and having a clean and tidy home are important to me - I don't particularly enjoy doing it myself (nor am I very good at it) and I make no excuse for my lack of domestic passion - my gifts lie in other areas. My housekeeper makes my life so much easier and makes me so much happier. 

My bookkeeper also brings a ton of value into my life. I could go on forever about the value in having a bookkeeper - how could I ever course correct in my biz if I couldn't check in regularly to see how I am doing? Collecting receipts and putting them aside until the end of year is a recipe for leaving money on the table. You can't map out a plan for where you want to end up if you have no idea where you are. A good bookkeeper will keep you on top of all that.

I like to expend all of my energy in the places where I get the most joy - neither of those have anything to do with keeping a tidy home or tidy books. But don't get me wrong - I do appreciate the value that each of these bring. They both help me to show up as the best business woman I can be.

Some folks say they can't afford it but the truth is, in both cases, it's money well spent. They free me up to do what I am good at and they keep me happy. I feel so grateful to have these two people in my life - they're amazing at what they do.

I must remember to give them both a big hug when I see them again.

Is the Shame of Failure Holding You Back?

My epic failure happened at Law School in 2006. It was a humiliating, fall flat on my face, embarrassing and life altering event that easily falls into the category of failure.

I have also referred to it as a blessing, a privilege, the catalyst for change that catapulted me into a new profession - one that I grow more grateful for each day. 

It is one of those things that is defined by perspective. Not everyone will see it the way that I do. 

There is truth is the quote by Dorothy Herman "If you're fearful of failure, you'll never succeed." But I would even take that quote a step further. There are many people out there who have failed miserably and allowed that failure to stop them dead in their tracks.

I believe that "If you fail to mine for the gold in failure, you'll never be successful." Failure is the ultimate "School of Hard Knocks". It's a privilege to have been given the opportunity to learn from this perspective. The lessons learned there aren't available in any theory. It's about as custom as custom training gets.

I believe as a result of my event that the harder the knock the higher the potential for learning. The risk inherent in failure is in allowing the event to stop you dead in your tracks - failure does not have to be the end of the road but failing to learn will put you at risk of just that.

Do you have something that you're stewing over - a failure that brings you shame? Have you failed to process this lesson? The time is now - don't let it hold you back one second longer.

If you are afraid to failure, you will never succeed.