If you desire to get more clients and make more sales (and break into your 6-figures) and you’re frustrated and struggling, you might be challenged with fear and self-sabotage that keeps you from propelling yourself into the success you crave.

The good new is once you become aware of the top 3 self sabotaging mistakes, you can make the changes you need to eliminate them and quickly turn your situation around.  Once you take the steps to improve this area, you’ll be amazed at how quickly other areas of your business and your life will transform.

Let me give you three steps to make the ‘turn around.’

Over the years, I’ve coached and helped thousands of people make changes in their business and the biggest thing you can do right now is stop telling yourself selling is hard, getting clients is hard and making money is hard.

The problem is, once you tell yourself ‘it’s hard’, then you turn around and find the evidence that feeds what you’ve told yourself is true.

The golden key to open up to more possibility is to have the willingness to have it be easy.  Once you can be open to possibility, you’ll be able to find the right resources to help advance your passion and achieve your dream.

Step # 2  Make Peace With Your Past

Trying to create from a place of not being at peace with your past only creates more of what you already have. If you take the steps to forgive yourself and others, you’ll clean up your inner world and be able to create the outer world that is fulfilling and feeds you. Now you’re at a place where you can let go of all the old beliefs around money that keep you stuck.

Step # 3  Set A New Stage

Look at what you’re saying yes to.  Take a moment and look at your money goal at the end of the year.  Make decisions from that new place. Only say yes to those clients and opportunities that will match your level of energy and are in alignment with your values.

In order to grow you’ve got to let go. By taking these steps you’re clearing the path to quickly leap forward with your income your six and seven figure success.. 

Pam had been excited when she first started her small business she had her marketing planned out and working her marketing plan.  Somehow her passion wained and her motivation was at an all time low.  She was losing sleep at night.

When I asked her what was wrong, she said she was doing so much marketing to promote her business and there wasn’t enough time in the day to get it all done.  By the end of  the day she was tired and her phone wasn’t ringing like it used to.  I found Pam committing the forbidden 6 marketing sins.

For many entrepreneurs, we have difficulty doing a lot of marketing without getting the return on investment with our time.  Listed below are the seven sins of marketing.  They’re so simple I’m afraid that you might dismiss it at a first glance. So give it a read. I’m sure you will get ideas how to tune-up your own marketing system.

MARKETING SIN  #1- No marketing plan.

Let me ask would you go on vacation with out  a plan?  It’s no different in marketing. Small business owners and entrepreneurs are “doers.” There is nothing wrong with that – that is why they work for themselves and get things done! But often they get so busy they lose sight of where they are going and how they want to get there.

Just by giving the name of marketing plan sounds UGH and boring just the thought of those two words are less than motivating. The fact is creating a simple marketing plan can be so easy.  Hung up on the naming your  marketing plan still?  Call it your money map!

Let me give you the first three steps of creating your money map:

MARKETING SIN #2 – You’re like everyone else.

Most small business owners just name their selves by the profession.  For an example: I’m a mortgage broker, I’m a therapist, I make jewelry.  YAWN.  It’s like looking at a herd of zebras.  There is absolutely nothing to differentiate you from the herd. But if you were the color-striped zebra; you would stand out in everyone’s mind.

Take a long look and ask yourself these top two questions.  What makes your business different?  What makes you, your services or products unique? With the explosion of  new businesses, it should be your top concern – to set yourself apart from the pack.

If you are providing an ordinary product or service it may be hard to set yourself apart based on what or how you do it. But there is one thing in your business that no one else can duplicate – YOU!

MARKETING SIN #3 – No Visibility

If no one knows who you are or what you do you will always struggle to get enough business. Networking, public speaking, publishing articles are just a few no cost ways of getting the word out.

One BIG caution.  Do NOT do what one of my clients did before they came to me. They had a meeting with a television advertising salesperson who promised them everything and of course the delivery was way less than promised.  In fact this small business owner did not receive one lead from all his efforts and money spent. (If you
do approach the radio and television advertising arena, make SURE you are working with someone who KNOWS the business.)

 Passionpreneurs ® love creating and the idea of “having a business plan” and more often than not they struggle with how to design one.  Why?  They are so passionate about what they do they have a steady stream of ideas swimming around in their brain. The designing and planning process can feel complicated and overwhelming.  And if they do start a plan they wonder what do I do and what order do I do it in.

Does this sound familiar? Well as a creative and passionate entrepreneur I’ve figure out how to honor the balance of my divine feminine and still meet my implementation and financial goals in an authentic, graceful and elegant way.

Because I cam from a strong corporate background (with all the reports, spread sheets, charts and graphs), I had to find a different way because that just didn’t work for me any more. Imagine putting your design plan on just one or two sheets and away you go  As I realized it’s not the amount of sheets that’s important it’s what really goes on the 2 sheets that counts! 

Here are 5  simple steps to keep your energy, passion and life in balance when you design your business plan:

Step #1 Ditch the extra baggage and let go of the old goals you really don’t want anymore.  

Too many times passionate entrepreneurs (I call these people Passionpreneurs®) hold onto dreams, goals or visions they once had and they really don’t want that goal anymore. And if we hold onto something that  is not in harmony with who we are now and our gifts we’re bringing to the world, it brings up a lot of guilt and we end up wasting our energy resources on hanging onto old dreams. Be conscious of all the old dreams, goals or vision you really don’t want to bring to fruition anymore. By doing this you’ll end up not having to give focus and energy on what you don’t want in your life and will be successful in creating more energy and room for what your really want in your business and your life.  To create a new you need to create from the new you! 

One of my early mentors had me write a list of all the goals I didn’t achieve the year before and cross off of my list what I didn’t want to carry forward into the new year.  

Step #2 Create a new vision and design your plan focused on your gifts and calling.

I hear too many times Passionpreneurs ® don’t think they can make money from what they know now.  Because something that comes so easy and nature to us we don’t realize that there are a lot of people who would pay dearly to learn from us.  The secret to ‘living your true wealth’^(TM) is hidden in your gifts and calling.

Step #3  Your new business design needs to be dynamically in balance.

It’s easy to create a business plan that is so packed with all of the to do’s there is no room for the real creation of the Divine Feminine spirit which is rich with ideas, creativity and inspiration to complement the plan. But if not properly directed the energy this part of you provides can easily get diluted, with nothing concrete to show for it. You need the strength of the masculine, which loves to implement, on your side to put your brilliant creative ideas into action

Step #4  Put time aside to reflect, review and assess the actions you’ve been taking

I’ve seen way too many entrepreneurs leave out this very valuable step and end up suffering by getting off track and being disappointed in the outcomes they’ve produced. Every Friday set aside some time to look at what you’ve completed, your gross revenues and what’s working really well.  Then look forward to the next week and see if you need to make any adjustments in your plan.  Also, set aside times to look at where you are in relationship to your quarterly goals and revenues (trust me you’ll be glad you did!).  Your numbers hold keys to what to do next.  This time is about having your vision come to reality and serving all the people you really want to serve.  At the end of the month set aside more time, you want to do the same exercise as above and in addition to looking at your gross receipts look at your how profitable you’ve been.

If you start to not feeling good about your numbers, that is not what this is about.  This is about looking at what’s working and what’s not working.  Stay neutral with this exercise because the numbers are there to inform you.

One of the best things I ever did for my business is find a mentor and a mastermind group. 

Step #5  Look to see where you are with your mindset.

As entrepreneurs we work alone most of the time and it’s easy to get into a fearful and scarcity mode.  When you are looking at your business gross receipts for step #4 if you are making the same money you made last year your creating form your old thinking and beliefs.  So, look at adopting one new mindset or belief into your work and into your life.

Keep Your Business Design Simple and Celebrate OFTEN!

By keeping your business design simple and celebrating often, you allow all your energy to focus on creating the outcomes and results.  That translates into serving and helping more people in a much bigger way than you would normally do and you get to allow the rewards to flow right back to you.

To really have a Fun, Fabulous and Rich ^(TM) Business you must practice the KISS (Keep It Simple Sexy) formula

 © 2008-2010 Ileana Kane
All Rights Reserved  
Do you want to use this article? Of course, you can. Just use the following blurb along with the reprint of the article:  

 Ileana Kane, CEO of Ileana Intl, helps Enterprising Entrepreneurs express their true value and get paid what they are worth while moving away from trading  ‘dollars for hours work.’  Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your business.  For your FREE audio: www.milliondollarmuse.com

The holiday season and the end of this year is quickly coming. During this time, you may be feeling like you just won’t get everything done you need to, in the amount of time you have left. Well, you’re not the only one.  Just Saturday I made up a “to-do” list and tried to get organized. I just wasn’t able to get it all done. It just seemed that there weren’t enough hours in the day to complete it all.

Starting out the holiday season this way will allow you to do all the things you really enjoy and love. Here are some excellent tips that will help you have more time so you can get the most important tasks done.

Tip #1 – Take Time for YOU!
During the holiday season, there is a lot of emphasis put on taking time to spend with your friends and family, as well as clients. You may be feeling guilty for taking time out for you. Well, you need to take this time. Have a plan to have some time to yourself. It will help you feel more balanced. Give yourself a gift – a gift of time. Set boundaries, saying “no” to parties you really don’t want to attend.

Tip #2 – Anticipate the Bumps.
Alter your expectations. Have realistic expectations. Don’t have the idea that everything is going to be perfect. Even though it is the holiday season, remember that situations with your family and with your clients may not always be so wonderful. There’s a variety of emotions that can occur during the holidays. So, anticipate the bumps along the way.

Tip #3 – Make a List…Check it Twice
Come up with a list of all the people you need to purchase gifts for. This way you can purchase gifts for more than one person while you are in one store. If you target hobbies or interests, then it is a lot easier to shop for someone. You may even want to do your shopping for the holidays from home. I love using the internet for holiday shopping and enjoy the great catalogues full of holiday gifts. I do most of my shopping all from home. In some cases I take someone out to lunch as a gift. In other cases, it can be more important to take the time to give a phone call to a client to wish them a wonderful holiday season and to let them know how much you appreciate having their business.

© 2008 Ileana Kane.

Do you want to use this article? Of course, you can. Just use the following     blurb along with the reprint of the article:

 Ileana Kane, CEO of Ileana Intl, helps Enterprising Entrepreneurs express their true value and get paid what they are worth while moving away from trading  ‘dollars for hours work.’  Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your business.  For your FREE audio: www.milliondollarmuse.com

The real key to a thriving business is sharing the value we offer in our products and     services to our customers.  Knowing the value of what we offer will lead to getting paid
what you are worth.

Charging what you are worth is a simple two-step process.  The first step is to know the value of the results you deliver and the second step is to know that your are absolutely worth it. The value of what you offer is perceived by your clients and your pricing is perceived by you.  

The biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make is they try to describe what they do. 
       
Describing what you do leads you down the path of using features. Trust me, your clients do not care about the features.  

Let me give you an example of features.  Let’s say you are a coach.  When coaches are  new to growing their business, they normally tell you how many sessions you will get with them and how long the sessions last.  Yes, at some time, your client will need to know this but not at the beginning of your conversation.  Just remember in the above example this is not a benefit or a result of what you do for them. 

What you want to do, is let them know the results they will get. 

Let’s take the same example of the transition coach. What you want to talk about is how, at the end of 60 days, your client has a clear plan describing what they want to do and how they will make their transition.  

See the difference between the features (the number and time of sessions) rather than the end result?  

Keep focused on the remarkable results and you will start seeing a big difference in getting more clients (and higher paying clients).

Your business in action: 

Think about what you really do for your clients in the end and what’s in it for them.  
   
Then write out a long list of benefits and results.

© Ileana Kane All Rights Reserved 

Do you want to use this article? Of course, you can. Just use the following     blurb along with the reprint of the article:

 Ileana Kane, CEO of Ileana Intl, helps Enterprising Entrepreneurs express their true value and get paid what they are worth while moving away from trading  ‘dollars for hours work.’  Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your business.  For your FREE audio: www.milliondollarmuse.com

 

It’s really challenging to offer only one way to work with you because it’s an all or nothing proposition to the prospect.  Prospects want to be able to choose what program(s) fit their needs.  I had Jo Ann offer service packages to her clients.  Then we looked at creating a packaged product for prospects and clients. This gave her passive income.  Next, we looked at offering a full day with her for her high end clients. The next thing I’m having her put into place is to get a bigger presence on the internet.

This was a great start for Jo Ann and it gave her a way to enroll prospects in here services more often And a way to have prospects that didn’t have the money right now to still work with her .  Once we put those systems into place Jo Ann’s business turned around fast!
 
Having more than one income stream will get you to your 6 figure income (and beyond). You’ll have more fun, joy and satisfaction in your business.

You might be asking yourself, “why should I become an expert?”

Establishing expert status is one of the best ways to separate your business from the others.  Experts charge more, work less and are highly regarded. Experts regularly experience an inflow of  interesting opportunities. Expert status is very magnetic and is an asset to our business because it attracts business easily and consistently.

I recently met with a client Liz. Liz, is an expert, has outstanding credentials and is well regarded in her field. However, Liz’s business wasn’t flourishing and she didn’t know why. So, she came to me for one of my Profit Breakthrough Sessions.  After asking Liz several questions, it was simple to pinpoint the changes that need to be made to get Liz’s business back to flourishing.

The first problem Liz had was everyone in her area was calling themselves
an expert.  It was clear Liz was far ahead of the pack. What we did for Liz
was to change the group of people (market niche) that she was marketing
to.  By doing this, it set her way above the others in her field and it is giving
her a leg up in becoming nationally recognized in her field.

Expert status takes strategic positioning.  Let me give you a few hot
strategic checklists that we came up with for Liz to start her on her way.

__  Make sure you are in the right niche for your expertise

__  Write articles and have them published in professional journals, newspapers, e-zines and other media in your field

__  Give  speeches and be introduced as a keynote speaker or subject matter expert at meetings

__  Enhance your website and marketing materials to provide high educational content that provides information about yourself and that serves as a resource for people seeking you out

__  Publish a newsletter that focuses on your expertise

__  Write a book that focuses on your expertise (many times it’s easier to focus on an information product first)

__  Create an expert focused website (or blog)

__  Get out and network  with other experts

Remember experts thrive by being in the spotlight.  Look for other opportunities to showcase your expertise.

These are just a few of the items we cover in my Fun, Fabulous and Rich ^(TM) Business where we
get you positioned as THE EXPERT!

• © 2009 Ileana Kane All Rights Reserved

Do you want to use this article? Of course, you can. Just use the following blurb along with the reprint of the article:
Small business marketing expert, Ileana Kane, has laser vision for seeing the hidden profit opportunities in your business you never knew existed and the innovation to turn them to gold. If you’re looking for simple, fast and easy ways to mine for bigger profits and attract high paying clients, get your FREE Audio and all the other free stuff nobody else gets!  Go now to  http://www.IleanaKane.com

 If you’re marketing yourself and want to sign up MORE new clients or even re-signup existing clients, packages are easier for others to understand and easier to buy. People don’t like being sold to, but they love choices and love to buy. Packages are the easiest way to accomplish that.

When I first started my entrepreneurial journey, the economy was sluggish
and other entrepreneurs in my industry were slashing their prices.  Well, I
was just starting out and just did not want to go that route.  The mindset I
took was the value I gave was worth what I was offering.

At that point, it was time to test my theory by packaging my services and
offering different packages to prospects who were interested in my services.
People loved having choices and they remarked that no one else was offering packages.

What I found was most prospects purchased the middle package and a few
purchased the higher end packages and some purchased the lowest priced
package. My time was well spent and I had more sales than others in my industry.

Some more benefits of offering packages:    

• you have a system that you use with your clients    
• your clients have a better experience; are more apt to create lasting results     
• you spend less time and effort into getting new high paying clients 
• you are able to forecast your revenues for the year

    Your clients benefit, their clients benefit and you benefit.  What could be better than
    a triple WIN?

• © 2009 Ileana Kane All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete tag with it:
 
Ileana Kane, The Million Dollar Muse, helps coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs and helping professionals put their business on the fast track to getting new clients, making more money, having more freedom to enjoy it all. Find out how to uncover hidden profits in your business. For your FREE Audio and FREE Money, Marketing and Mindset tips go now to http://MillionDollarMuse.com

 The way that you move your body and walk has an enormous effect on the way that you feel and your confidence levels. 

Let’s start with an exercise. 

Imagine there are two people standing in front of you – one with “negative body language” and one with “positive body language”. I’d now like you to write down what you are observing with each of these people.  

You know, how you feel at any moment in time is linked to what is going on in your head and how you are moving your body. The way that you move sends subconscious messages to your mind and this either helps or hinder the way that the feel. Emotion is created by motion. If you sit still for a long period of time, your natural energy levels automatically lower. What happens when you get up, walk around and return to your seat? Yes, you have more energy and you’re given a boost. 

I can’t stress how important it is to move and act confidently and positively. 

You will give off all the right vibes to everyone around you and it will make them think that you are confident even if you’re not feeling it inside. Yes, that’s right. Even if you’re not feeling confident, act as though you are. So, how do you do this? 

Well, walk fast and with a purpose. Don’t saunter along, walk like you know exactly where you are going and when you get there, you mean business! 

Gesture with your hands as you talk, it will create motion and you know what that leads to – EMOTION! 

The right gestures also have a major impact on building rapport as long as you’re not shaking your fist! 

All it takes is a smile!

 Think for a moment about your confidence role model. One thing that he or she (and confident people in general) have in common, is that they all probably smile a lot and are happier than their negative counterparts. It may sound silly, but there is a lot of power associated with a smile. What I would like you to do is to start smiling more often. Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to walk around with a silly grin on your face all of the time. But smile as you walk down the street, when you talk to someone, even when you look in the mirror at yourself. You will be surprised at how better you will feel for it, and it will project a positive image to all others – one that will attract opportunities and people.

 Remember that confident people are happy people and negative people are not. Happy people are also seen as more attractive than unhappy and sad people are so that is an added bonus! 

You know, the way that we communicate in our appearance, posture, gesture, gaze and expression can be such a powerful tool in the way that we feel and when communicating with others.

 The manner in which you communicate and your interpersonal skills are also very important indeed. Effective communication is vital if you are going to succeed no matter what you are doing. The way in which we communicate with people is broken down into component parts, and it is popularly believed that people to whom we are speaking understand what we say by interpreting these different elements in varying proportions:

VERBAL

• 7% of our message is interpreted from the words we use. 

VOCAL

• 38% is picked up from our voice – speed, tone , pitch, rhythm etc 

VISUAL

• 55% is what the other person sees – our body language 

Please bear the above in mind when you are communicating to people. 

I could write a whole book on body language, and I may do just that, but here are some quick fixes and recommendations that you should start to put into practice: 

• Dress to win – Look at your appearance and ask yourself:
  • Do I feel confident?
  • Do I look confident?
  • What could I do with my appearance to give me the edge?
     
• Handshakes – Never give a limp wrist handshake, make sure it is firm but not too hard 
• Smile a lot more than you have been doing – even if you are a comedian!
   
• Walk tall with your head and shoulders back. Walk at a brisk pace
   
• When you talk to people look them straight in the eye 
• Keep on moving – Motion creates what?
   
• If you are ever feeling down, just have a look at your body language and change it immediately. Even if it has to be false – YOU WILL start to feel better and more confident immediately.
   
• First impressions count – so when you are going to meet people for the first time, think what first impression you ant to give them. A smiling face? A good remark? Etc 
   
• Take more notice of others body language. You can normally tell what others are feeling by the way that they are moving and using their body too. You can use this to your advantage when you are more aware of it.

 © 2009 Ileana Kane  All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete tag with it:
 
Ileana Kane, The Million Dollar Muse, helps coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs and helping professionals put their business on the fast track to getting new clients, making more money, having more freedom to enjoy it all. Find out how to uncover hidden profits in your business. For your FREE Audio and FREE Money, Marketing and Mindset tips go now to http://MillionDollarMuse.com

A new look at “failure.”  

Learn why you should look forward to it, and how it can help you ultimately get where you want to go. 

“There is no such thing as failure” 

When you read the quote above, what’s your reaction?  Do you think it’s untrue?  Silly glass-half-empty stuff?  What if I told you that only you have the power to decide whether or not something is indeed, a “failure?”  

In fact, there are some individuals—highly successful people—who believe the very word “failure” has no place in our vocabulary.  Let’s talk about why.

Opposite Day 

As a kid, you probably played that game “opposite day.” You’d play practical jokes on your family and friends and release some passive aggression in the process of claiming “opposite day.” It was great—you could call the cutest girl in the class “ugly,” and then take it all back by simply exclaiming “opposite day!” But, the end result is the same; you still would have acknowledged her cuteness. 

Well, let’s play the game.  

What if today, failure really means success? How can you acknowledge your success, even as you utter the word “failure”?  Well, you can point out: 

     a. Everything that was learned in the process of getting to where you are now—surely not everything goes to the scrap heap

     b. That simply being able to recognize everything hadn’t gone according to plan, or achieved the desired outcome (i.e. “failed”), is in itself a positive outcome

     c.  that the specific path you took this go round, clearly wasn’t the right one and so it has successfully been eliminated and will not be repeated 

     d.  That you’ll know to do things differently in the future 

     e.  That the experience has enabled you to grow in some way 

“Failure” is feedback 

“Failure” can simply be a great way to get us to pause in the midst of our process, and get some critical information to indicate that we may need to change direction, try something new, continue our learning or shift our focus. Imagine what would happen if we didn’t get that feedback, and continued endlessly along the wrong path, toward the wrong goal, or without ever learning a new approach? The thought is pretty scary, isn’t it? 

Failure then, can really be seen as positive feedback—information that gets us back on the right track! For, without it, we would surely be lost. The key then, is to identify it quickly, and change direction, try something new, or shift our focus.  

Here are some tips: 

• Always have a clear idea of where you want to go and continue to re-evaluate it as you move forward 
• Identify specific milestones or markers along the way, to let you know you’re on the right track and celebrate each success 
• If something doesn’t appear to be working, or working fast enough, don’t hesitate to try something new 
• Continually learn—from others with whom you work, seek out experts, find others who may have traveled down a similar road before 

And always remember:  

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down” 

“You NEVER fail until you stop trying” 

“If you are not making any mistakes, you’re not really doing anything with your life”
 

© 2009 Ileana Kane  All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete tag with it:
 
Ileana Kane, The Million Dollar Muse, helps coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs and helping professionals put their business on the fast track to getting new clients, making more money, having more freedom to enjoy it all. Find out how to uncover hidden profits in your business. For your FREE Audio and FREE Money, Marketing and Mindset tips go now to http://MillionDollarMuse.com