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Can you pay off $30,000 in debt in 365 days?
How did five women pay off $30,000 in debt and jumpstart their savings in less than a year? Find out in author and wealth coach Deborah Owens new book, A Purse of Your Own. Owens shares her dynamic campaign to empower one million women with financial literacy. The Baltimore based radio talk show host and sought after public speaker helps transform women’s lives as they take control of their finances.
Owens’ book provides instructions on how readers can set up purse clubs (at no cost), which she started in January. They are designed to encourage women nationwide to meet in groups to use Owens’ book and on-line videos as a guide as they seek solutions to help each other succeed financially.
“There’s a difference between women who build wealth and don’t and that’s what my book is about,” she said. “Most people earn an income and spend it and have nothing left over. Many of us walk around dressing the part with an expensive car, but have nothing of real value in our purses (savings and investment accounts). Wealthy people add to what they already have and put money in their purse before they spend anything.”
Key points in her latest book include:
• Why women must trade in their counterfeit purses that have less than $2 in net worth
• How they can use their shopping prowess to fill up their purses and build wealth
• What every women can do to break the patterns that sabotage financial success.
• What women can do right now to find the money to save and invest
The Purse Groups are tracked and supported by an online community. Women can log onto thehttp://apurseofyourown.com, the Purse Community website, share their experiences on the road to financial freedom, and get smart money advice from Owens herself.
“Purse Groups of five to ten women work because each step of the way these women are holding each other accountable,” says Owens. “Nine out of ten women are going to be responsible for their own finances which is why it is critical they create a purse of their own. The journey to financial freedom is a lot easier when someone you know and trust is taking the trip with you. ”
Deborah Owens is also the author of Confident Investing and Nickel and Dime Your Way to Wealth. Owens is a former Vice President at Fidelity Investments. She is a twenty-year veteran of the financial services industry and a sought after speaker who has spoken to more than 100,000 people. Owens is on a mission to help people of all incomes build wealth. Her Financial Fitness column appears in Cents Magazine, an American Airlines publication. Owens has also been featured on CNN, ABC, The Washington Post and Shape Magazine. For more information visit www.deborahowens.com
Change is not as easy as you think
Progress should be every small business owner’s objective whether it be increased sales, establishing expertise, brand recognition, organization, functional systems, etc. The list could go on. With a new year, brings excitement, motivation and aspirations. However, it also brings new challenges, anxiety, uncertainty and soon, overwhelm.
The problem with a new year and resolutions is that the New Year essentially is just another day. Unfortunately, we don’t get a clean slate at the strike of mid-night, so all of our issues and concerns and disappointments of the day before are still there. With resolutions, we employ the best of our intentions and ideals to motivate ourselves to look forward to a better year and give us hope. However, resolutions become short-lived and the New Year gets tramped on in anticipation of yet another new year. And real change becomes the daily struggle again.
Progress can only be made with careful calculations. You have to truly understand how you got to the point you are at right now; the past. You have to know who you are and what your capacity is. Sometimes the best of intentions cause the greatest harm; the present. And you have to be able to move forward from a standpoint of reality and practicality; the future.
The past. You can’t move forward without knowing where you’ve been. There is a reason we’ve heard this over and over again. Because it’s true. How will you ever know what needs to change unless you know what the underlying faults and root causes of missed opportunities are? Just like a doctor, you have to treat the disease, not the symptoms. If you are lacking a clearly defined target market, you may not be clear on what the benefits of your product or service are.
The present. What are you capable of right now? With everyday distractions, deadlines and commitments, know what you can realistically expect from yourself. Know your faults. Know your strengths. And be able to exploit them both.
The future. Rome was not built overnight, so why do we continue to expect ourselves to achieve so much in such a short period of time. Without benchmarks to closely measure your progress on a regular basis, you’ll have no idea what works, what doesn’t work and why. Which, in turn, prevents you from making necessary adjustments. (i.e. how will you know if you are reaching your ideal clients?) Real progress is carefully planned for and measured. Your future is created by the actions you take today.
Real change should yield progress. Progress cannot be made without proper planning. Smart and savvy small business owners understand the importance of and value proper planning. Proper planning is never complete without giving careful thought to the past, present and future. So, if you resolved to make changes this year and find it difficult to break away from old behaviors, take some time to reflect and understand why you do what you and how you can better work within your means.
Developing, managing and growing a small business is a tremendous challenge. If your mission and purpose have been lost in the daily grind and fire-fighting, consider Micro Business Therapy. It’s common sense, practical and realistic. Don’t forget… we want to hear from you. Share your comments and questions below! To address your specific concerns, Skype me: amichelleblakeley or email me at info@simplicitymastered.com
WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
For over 18 years, Simplicity Mastered™ founder and CEO A. Michelle Blakeley has owned or managed small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Expert in her field, Blakeley personally guides her clients out of their Business Brain Freeze™ to streamline operations, increase return on investment, and attain quantifiable results. Forbes.com and FinancialPost.com each recommended her as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, joining the experts who know that Blakeley is a master at growing small businesses … and doing it with “Simplicity.”
What happens when you take your own advice?
Sometimes we talk the talk, but aren’t necessarily walking the walk. I wanted to share with you what happened when I applied the same advice I’ve been giving my clients for years.
My husband and I recently opened a fine art gallery. We had an opportunity present itself, we explored its potential and we took action. Neither of us are artists, nor do we have any extensive experience in the art industry. In fact, we are complete novices. That may not seem so far fetched, if you knew us personally. But what is interesting is that I was able to get a movie director to sit on our panel discussion, meet a fine art Master, get a visit from the Mayor, have a Senator over for lunch and have over 300 people show up for our “private” preview and do it all in about 60 days. All I did was take some of the same techniques, tricks and tools that I’ve been sharing with my clients for years and applied them to our newest venture.
In this 4 part series of articles, you will discover how to use some of those same techniques, tricks and tools found in my ebook “Get it Right and Move Along,” and on my blog to either form, strengthen or grow your business not only faster, but SMARTER. …see full article here: http://ht.ly/2O5tI
Your business plan in 60 minutes. Get focused and get ahead.
One of the quickest ways to re-group when you are overwhelmed in your business is to get back to your fundamentals. Being overwhelmed is a sign that there is a glitch in your system or worse, you lack a functional system. Something is off, and at the core it will be connected to your vision, purpose, priorities, target market, communication, management or some other business fundamental.
Going back to answering the “who, what, where, when, why and how” can provide you with interesting insight on where you started, where you are and where you want to be. It’s a quick way of seeing where you may have went wrong or deviated off course. When done properly, meaning digging deep, gaps and disparities will begin to appear. Take a close look at your business fundamentals by answering the “who, what, where, when, why and how” and see where priorities need to be re-aligned:
Who are you serving? Everyone is not the right answer. What is their demographic (age, gender, profession/occupation, income, hobby, etc.) You want to know who benefits the most from using your product or service. What is your industry background and how can those two elements cross paths? What does your ideal client look like and where can you find them?
What are you doing? What need are you fulfilling? The core purpose of your business should clearly answer this question in a short succinct paragraph.
Where are you? Are you in close proximity to your target market? Are you mingling in the same circles? If you are a virtual assistant, you don’t want to spend 90% of your marketing efforts and time networking and socializing with other virtual assistants. Go where your clients are and make it easier for them to find you.
When are you going to accomplish objectives and measure your results? You need to have timelines and deadlines. They help create a sense of urgency and they help provide checkpoints to ensure you are moving in the right direction. Without benchmarks and goals, how will you know your efforts are effective or efficient?
Why? What’s your story? Why are you doing what you do? What is your purpose? What is your passion? Know why you are doing what you are doing and understand how it relates to your principles and personal vision. Make sure it has meaning.
How are you making someone’s personal or professional life better or enhanced? How are you setting yourself apart from your competitors? No matter what you sell… product or service, it should be for the benefit of something or someone. It should be useful, relevant, time-saving, money-saving, better quality, better service, etc. Figure out what it is that puts you above the rest and maximize that strength. Remember, people do business with people they know, like and trust.
Having a written plan helps you to stay focused on your priorities and offset information overload. What doesn’t apply to achieving your objectives, you can quickly disregard.
Your business plan doesn’t need to be lengthy or burdensome. It simply needs to cover “Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.” Answering these questions can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing. Not knowing who to talk to and where to go for information can hinder your ability to lay a solid foundation for your business. If your doors are already open and you’ve hit a wall and found yourself in a hole, the best way to turn around is to stop digging. If you are struggling with developing a simple and appropriate plan for your business, STOP the pressure!
WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
For over 18 years, Simplicity Mastered™ founder and CEO A. Michelle Blakeley has owned or managed small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Expert in her field, Blakeley personally guides her clients out of their Business Brain Freeze™ to streamline operations, increase return on investment, and attain quantifiable results. Forbes.com and FinancialPost.com each recommended her as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, joining the experts who know that Blakeley is a master at growing small businesses … and doing it with “Simplicity.”
How to check the pulse of your business with Google
Has your business arrived? How do you know? Who knows you exist? Where do you exist? You should always stay abreast on what is being said about your business on the Internet. And you should always stay abreast on how and where your business shows up. This information can provide you with a lot of insight on how your business is perceived, where you are being found and what adjustments you need to make in your social media, marketing and branding efforts.
Googling your business name is different from how your business shows up when people type in search keywords. When you Google your business name, you want to be mindful of the following:
You should always be first. Googling your business name, should result in your business website showing up first. Your Internet presence and social media efforts are directly correlated to this position. The bigger your Internet presence, the higher your name is on the results (rank) and the more pages your business name shows up (depth). Ultimately, you want your business name to show up on at least the first 2 or 3 pages; the deeper the better.
Watch for the social media sites that show up with your business name (this is tied to your activity on social networking sites). You can use this information to help measure which social networks you belong to that get the best SEO. Mingle more and increase your participation on those sites.
Search with your name in quotations and search without them. Take notice of the other business or sites that show up when you Google your business name. Is there any correlation? What do you have in common? Are there new keywords that you can incorporate into your tags?
How do you organically increase your Google presence?
Be consistent: Make sure all of your profiles are complete and have a photo; include a link to your website in your signature, add your business profile to Google maps, Yahoo and Bing.
Connect: Use your name as the text for links to your website, include video in your blog/website, do interviews, etc.
Communicate: Start your own blog, ghost write for other bloggers, submit articles to article banks (articlebase.com, Business Know How, eHow, etc.) participate in discussions and submit relevant comments.
Be in full control of your business at all times and in all aspects. Know where you are, what’s being said and be an active participant. Perform a little recon and make sure you check the pulse of your business consistently and on a regular basis. When done right, managing your presence on the Internet allows clients to easily find information on your website, products and services, your articles, images, videos and social interests and community involvement; which in turn, makes you accessible.
WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
For over 18 years, Simplicity Mastered™ founder and CEO A. Michelle Blakeley has owned or managed small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Expert in her field, Blakeley personally guides her clients out of their Business Brain Freeze™ to streamline operations, increase return on investment, and attain quantifiable results. Forbes.com and FinancialPost.com each recommended her as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, joining the experts who know that Blakeley is a master at growing small businesses … and doing it with “Simplicity.”
They said what?!
As entrepreneurs, it is impossible to have all the answers and sometimes we need a little assurance that we are moving in the right direction. You are often encouraged to seek outside help, support and guidance. Professional counsel, a colleague or close friend can be fantastic resource.
However, the caveat is that sometimes the advice you receive is not sage. Despite your need for guidance, sometimes you sense that what you are being told is flawed or just doesn’t sit right. When you seek the guidance of outside counsel, stay alert to your intuition, do your own due diligence and make sure they are providing you with an objective perspective and not “tainted glasses.”
Some savvy entrepreneurs shared some of their worst business advice with us and a lesson or two that can be learned along with it:
“If you build it, they will come.” Meaning just because your product or service is better, that does not determine the success of your business. How often have we seen or heard of great products, but the business failed to get off the ground? (J.Kaney, www.kaneyaerospace.com)
Lesson: The organization and development of your business is more important than the product or service you are selling.
“You need to have a downtown office.” Since I started my business four years ago, I’ve worked from home and I am glad I didn’t take this advice. Using extremely conservative numbers, I’ve saved at least $25,000 in this Internet-driven era. (D. Clark, www.dorieclark.com)
Lesson: It is unlikely your client will questioned your credibility because you choose not to spend money on an expensive “corporate headquarters.”
“Just do what you are passionate about and everything will fall into place.” While I do believe that being passionate about what I am doing is important and makes focusing on my business more enjoyable, without clearly defined goals, ways to reach them and giving all areas of business equal attention (even the areas I’m not passionate about), I know I wouldn’t have succeeded. (K. Gutierrez, www.assistantmatch.com)
Lesson: Passion is great, but you still need to a plan and the appropriate skills, systems, mindset and resources in place to ensure all areas of business are functioning properly.
“Don’t attend tradeshows” where I normally sold my handbag line and to book appointments in my NYC showroom instead. (S. Shaw, www.entreprenette.com)
Lesson: You always want to be where you have direct access to your target market and potential clients. Sometimes this can cost you and sometimes it can “cost” you.
“A DVD broker who told me that I should purchase 5000 copies of the program instead of printing on demand because the price was about two thirds less if I purchased the bundle.” (B. Michaelian, www.brittmichaelian.com)
Lesson: Before you buy 5000 of anything, you have to make sure that you know your ideal client, that your product will solve one of their biggest pains, that you have a clear marketing strategy to get the word out about your product and that there is a high level of demand for the product that you want to sell!
Read the full article here…http://tinyurl.com/theysaidwhat
Small business owners should cancel all unnecessary meetings
One of the best ways to recapture energy and time is to identify timewasters. Unnecessary meetings can be major time and energy wasters for small business owners. Be mindful of how you spend your working hours. Make them productive, make them effective and make them efficient. The more you ask yourself “what decision needs to be made?” or “how will this bring me closer to meeting my goals and objectives?” the more you will start to eliminate unnecessary meetings. With all the technology we have today, take advantage of ability to reduce travel time and 
expenses.
Face-to-face meetings should be scheduled wisely. They should include establishing a personal connection with a potential client, sales dialogue and persuading or soliciting a decision. Most other meetings should be done virtually. For more effective and efficient meetings:
- Make sure there is a real purpose for your meeting or event and predetermine your outcome. If your meeting involves: business negotiations, connecting with a decision maker, personal favors, promises, understandings, coordination, persuasion of others, expression of emotions, etc. they should be face-to-face. If not, schedule a virtual meeting.
- Use technology to make scheduling easier and stop playing phone tag. Sites like Tungle, Doodle,Bookfreshand Setster allow you schedule a board meeting, business lunch, conference call, family reunion, movie night, or any other group event.
- Use your virtual meeting to determine the need for a face-to-face meeting and cover the basics (i.e. draft an agenda, review material, etc.) Use sites like DimDim.com, gotomeeting.com, conference call lines, Skype and video conferencing to save time, gas and money and still achieve optimal results. Be sure to send visuals (i.e. PowerPoint, reports, documents, presentations, etc.) ahead of time so that you can review them together online. (This also saves paper).
As a small business owner, you can’t afford not to streamline your business operations, work with a purpose and be efficient. So before you schedule your next meeting, ask yourself, “What is the purpose?” “Is this the best use of my time?” and “How will this bring me closer to my goals and objectives?” and cancel any current unnecessary meetings.
WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
A.Michelle Blakeley is in the listening business. As a Micro Business Therapist, she provides an open-minded and non-judgmental ear to listen to the real issues and concerns that start-up, emerging and women entrepreneurs experience and negotiate solutions through comprehensive discussions and practical micro business plans. She is featured in Forbes.com and the Financial Post as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, contributor for the San Francisco Examiner and Fearless Woman Magazine; the host of Simple Truths for Women Entrepreneurs on BlogTalkRadio.com and author of the NEW e-book: “Get it Right and Move Along… a collection of practical tips, tools and techniques for small business owners.”
Ditch the pitch
Make better connections with real conversations. For years we’ve been told to recite what it is we do in 30 seconds in effort to catch someone’s attention, attract potential clients and believe it or not, make a sale. Although we acknowledge that business relationships take time to develop, we continue to “pitch” our products and services to anyone who will lend an ear.
Someone once said, “People don’t buy products and services, they buy trust.” Potential clients need to feel a sense of trust before they will ever engage you for your product or services.
Long-term professional relationships have always been built on personal connections. Before you can get to trust, you have to connect on a very basic and human level. You essentially put the cart before the horse when you offer your services without ever being asked for your assistance.
The next time you feel inclined to “pitch” someone, stop and think about the following:
- Never jump into sales mode or take the person you whom you are speaking with on your ego trip. Keep the conversation natural and casual. Networking conversations are really introductory conversations. They are the perfect time and place for you to discover what you have in common.
- Ask questions and if you forget what to talk about, remember F.O.R.D. Friends and Family, Occupation, Recreation and Dreams. Ask questions related to any of these areas to not only find out what you may have in common, but you may discover unmet needs or ways you may be able to help later.
- Do your homework. Don’t just take someone’s business card and flood him or her with emails or expect them to call you. Search out their name and company on the Internet and see what they’ve been up to. What is going on in their industry or region? What other things do you have in common? Do you share a target market? Do you share some of the same connections? Are your products and/or services complimentary? What else have you discovered that you can build on?
Social networking should be just that, social. Ditch your pitch. Stop ambushing people with your cards (unless they ASK for one). Idle chitchat can lead to powerful conversations, but business relationships aren’t built over night. Save the professional interrogations for a time and place after you have taken some time to get to know someone.
WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
A.Michelle Blakeley is the Founder and CEO of Simplicity, Inc.; a progressive small business development firm. She manages her clients’ business expectations and prevents information overload via Micro Business Therapy™ and Micro Business Action Plans. She is featured in Forbes.com and the Financial Post as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, contributor for the San Francisco Examinerand Fearless Woman Magazine; the host of Simple Truths for Women Entrepreneurson BlogTalkRadio.com and author of the NEW e-book: “Get it Right and Move Along… a collection of practical tips, tools and techniques for small business owners.”