So the desire for starting an online business is calling you. You have some great ideas; have a lot of enthusiasm you’re ready to start. You’re going to make a large amount of money and be your own boss. Acquiring online business information will help you to make some decisions before you begin.
Well, wait a minute regardless of the claims of how easy it is to get rich off the Internet. You will find starting an online business is no different than starting a business in the non-virtual world. Maybe you need to consider some things first to make this profitable and mistake free.
When contemplating starting an online business you need to take an honest look at yourself. What are your skills? What kind of interests do you have? Many people stared their online business in the fields that they worked. A graphic artist could start a web design company or produce custom graphics. You will also want to think about the type of jobs you truly enjoy.
Homework
Do your homework to start your online business. Do not make the mistake of putting all your efforts, money and time into a service you want and try and find a market for it. You can not make people like your service or product. Instead, find out what the consumer would like and then design a service or product to fit that need. Also just like a real-world business, there is a certain amount of risk. By doing your homework you can lessen that risk by finding something people will buy and for how much. This allows you to adjust your costs to make sure of a profit.
You also need to study your competition. Find out what they are doing and what works or what doesn’t work. The more online business information that you have in regards to the market and your competition the better chance of success you will have.
When starting your online business you need to have a plan and follow it. What will it cost to start? Where will you get that money? If you are going to ask for a loan you will need to have a business plan to present to the loaning institution. It is a good idea to have a business plan even if you are funding your online business yourself. This will give you some set goals to review.
Time Commitment
To get your online business going you will need to make a time commitment and keep it. It will be difficult to keep a full-time job and work on your new online business. You probably will not be able to accomplish that unless you set a specific time to work on it. Starting an online business and making it profitable enough for you to work full time on it does take some time.
You have done the required research, taken the time and made the commitment for your online business. Now you feel that you have a great product that the world wants and price that they can afford and you make a profit. You have one more thing to consider marketing. Your customers need to be able to find your product so they can purchase it. This can be done online, offline, or a combination of them both. You will need to continually study what works and what doesn’t until you find what works for you the best. However, remember what works today, may today may not tomorrow and be able and willing to change your approach to marketing as the consumers dictate.
YOU are committed to your Online Business, right? Does this sound familiar? “I remember a few years back when someone asked me what I did for an income and I told them I have an online business.” “No,” they said, “I mean full time, like a real job!”
Say what?? It made me think, am I really committed to my business?
Definition
com·mit·ted /kəˈmidəd/ Submit adjective: committed feeling dedication and loyalty to a cause, activity, or job; wholeheartedly dedicated. “a committed reformer”
And that type of comment, as much as it can hurt, can get you to think about what you’re actually doing. Is your online business really thriving? Like it should be?
Hard as it is to admit, the truth can slap you right upside your face. Are you committed to it, or are you treating it like a hobby? Seriously…
If you look at other online entrepreneurs, all they have is their laptop, an internet connection, and an idea.
But they do a few things differently.
Here are a few suggestions to help you to stay committed to your online business.
1. Show Up
This sounds so obvious, but one of the most important ways for you to stay committed to your business is by showing up. Just like you would if you were running a traditional company. Arrive at work, stay there and leave when you’re done. Yep, close the door to your office if you have one.
2. Focus on Your Business
To be focused is to know who you want to serve, what you want to serve and how you will add value to their lives. Occasionally I’ve looked at a company and wondered how they make any money. Then I realize they are filling a need and they’re adding value to their customers’ lives.
3. Create quality content and Get it Out There
You need to have content on your site that keeps people coming back for more and they must want to share it and pass it on. Include industry tips, comments, and interaction.
4. Always remain true to your brand, from the style, tone and your service
There is no reason to go back and forth with what you want to do. If you need to sit down and make a list, just do it. Save yourself some trouble and get started. You’ll only regret it later if you don’t.
These are the most basic steps you can incorporate. Check back for the most important steps that will turn your online business into a huge success. (See what I did there?)
See you next time, and if you need me just give me a call.
Tracking your time for clients is a good practice for service providers. But don’t stop by just tracking it for clients. You should also be evaluating and tracking time for your own personal use, too. When you do this, you’ll discover important insights about your business that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
Here are a few questions you’ll want to ask after you’ve been tracking your time for a week or two…
Where Is My Time Really Going?
You’ve been working on launching your e-course for two months and you’re still nowhere near ready. But when you open up your time tracking app, you can quickly see that you spent 14 hours on Facebook or 9 hours tweaking the design of your website.
It’s easy to procrastinate when you don’t have any form of accountability. But a time tracker forces you to look at how you’ve been spending your time. This isn’t about shaming yourself. It’s about evaluating how you’re spending your time.
Instead, focus on being positive. You might say, “I spent ten hours on Facebook last week. What projects would I like to invest those ten hours into this week?”
Are These Tasks Giving Me a BIG Return?
You had a business coach tell you to make 10 Instagram posts each day and you’ve been following that advice faithfully. But when you stop and look at how you’ve spent this time, ask yourself, “Is this task giving me a BIG return?”
If you aren’t getting a good return on the time you’re investing, consider moving your attention to a project that will grow your business, like launching a course or hosting a webinar.
Do These Tasks Have to Be Done by Me?
Some digital business owners get bogged down in doing non-essential tasks that keep them from their important work. For example, if you’re a best-selling author then your most important work is writing that next book. But instead, you’re spending hours every week managing your Facebook group.
But what if you could outsource your community management? You could still pop in daily to stay connected to the group but you could focus all of your energy on that one thing you do well—writing your book. This is the right way you should be evaluating your time.
Is This Task Draining Me?
As you’re reviewing your time tracking, think about how you feel after you’ve completed each task. Did you feel energized and motivated after filming that Facebook Live broadcast? Did you feel frustrated and drained after working on your sales copy?
Pay special attention to tasks that take your energy. Try to find a way to avoid doing them. For example, you could hire a copywriter to handle your sales page or if your budget is tight, consider bartering with another service provider. Then you’ll both get to work in areas where you shine!
If you want to create more of what you want in your business and your life, tracking your time is important. The more you track your time, the better you’ll be able to manage it.
Are you feeling stuck in YOUR business? That’s ok, I think everyone feels stuck at some point. I’ve also felt stuck before in my business growth journey and I can tell you that there were one of the following things involved. Feelings are real, they affect your business because they affect YOU! Read up about what a feeling really is all about in this definition.
Not enough information
If I was inspired to do something, and I didn’t know where to get started, it was an easy way to feel stuck. The good thing is that this didn’t keep me stuck long once I learned to be resourceful – to find answers/solutions. You know that GOOGLE is MY best friend and it should be yours too!
This one is pretty easy to resolve considering there is so much information available at your fingertips, right?
The only challenge is…
Too much information…wha…wha…yes, you heard that right!
Early on in my business journey, I received some great advice from a mentor. She said; “Free information is great to solve simple problems”. “But if you want to really have a transformation – it means investing in a FULL solution/system with someone who already has solved what you want to solve”. Hummhumm…
And to take it a step further – find ONE mentor in that area to avoid the overwhelm of too much advice in the same area. It’s like asking directions from a bunch of different people. You only need one path/blueprint and begin taking action to get there. Don’t let your own personal feelings get in the way of making sound business decisions.
The only thing that will stop you here is…
Fear – yup – it’s a feeling!
Everyone has felt fear at some point, but the only difference is what do you do with it at that moment? You either can shrink to listen to the “False, Evidence, Appearing, Real” or you can face it using tools and techniques. This way the fear is transformed into something helpful or exciting. Imagining the best case scenario (as opposed to imagining the worst-case scenario, which is usually what the fear brings up). Whatever you do, don’t catastrophize because this is the worst thing you can do. There’s nothing worse than beginning with the “fear” and ending with “I quit because I’ll never make it! STOP ALREADY WITH THAT!
If you feel any fear or just plain stuck in your business, I’d like to invite you to help you transform your “stuckness” with me. I offer group mentoringas well as individual mentoring to other Virtual Service Providers (VSP’s). Yup, that is my magical super-power!
Let me help…contact me and let’s set up a chat so you can move forward with your business and get out of being stuck.
In life, there is a time and place for both negative and positive thoughts. A negative thought process will become a habit or begin to have adverse effects on you.
Believe me when I tell you that is NOT a good thing to have in your life.
You know what? It’s time for you to make an attitude change and cultivate a positive mindset.
Here are the top tips to help you cultivate a positive attitude:
1. Do NOT complain. Complaining is a very negative response to any situation that drains you of energy.
2. Express gratitude every day, even for the small things. Eventually, you will become grateful for everything.
3. Keep a list of things you have accomplished.
4. Let go of the people around you who are negative, critical, and abusive of you. They drain your energy, surround yourself with supportive, positive people.
5. Help others. You can become a volunteer occasionally.
6. Learn to meditate daily. Even a 10-minute meditation first thing in the morning will help you start your day on in the right direction.
7. Let go of envy. Envy is a very negative emotion. It eats at you, pointing to the faults we see in ourselves.
8. Be kind and smile at others.
9. Choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice. If a negative thought enters your mind, push it out quickly. Substitute a happy thought.
10. Have faith in yourself. Believe the Universe will help you.
11. Read inspiring stories and watch inspirational movies or television shows.
Now that you’ve learned how to rid yourself of the negative thoughts and build a positive outlook, you are ready to go deeper into the subconscious mind. Sounds a little like sci-fi doesn’t it?
The subconscious mind is the storehouse that holds your memories, past experiences, your deepest beliefs, and everything that has ever happened to you. It’s where automatic functions take place, like driving a car and carrying on a conversation at the same time.
You instinctively know how to drive so you can focus on your conversation.
The subconscious mind:
Is much more powerful than your conscious mind. It makes everything you say and do a part of your self-concept. That’s why it’s important what goes into it.
To change your outlook you have to go deeper than your conscious thoughts.
The good news is that the subconscious mind learns through repetition. Just like learning your ABC’s when you were a child.
There are several ways you can go deeper into your subconscious.
Here are 5 different ways you can do this:
Repeat your new beliefs or thought patterns every day. Repeat inspiring words. Choose affirmations like, “I love and respect myself.” or “I attract good things into my life.” Feed your subconscious mind only with what you desire.
Meditate. Meditation allows you to go deeper into your consciousness, slowing the brain pattern down to release stress, anger, anxiety, and even alertness. With practice, you can become an observer of your thoughts. Simply allow your thoughts to flow, not reacting to any of them in any way.
Let your creative side loose. Get creative and take up some form of artistic expression like painting or drawing, sculpture or decorating. Nurturing your creativity helps you to become more authentic and tune in to your subconscious self.
Trust your instincts. Your intuition is your connection to your subconscious mind. This is your gut feeling. Positive people have a strong sense of intuition.
Reprogram your subconscious mind using hypnosis. Hypnosis is the process of relaxing your brain waves so you are open to suggestions or reprogramming. Hypnosis can help you release negative thoughts that may have been instilled into your subconscious by society, yourself or your upbringing.
Let ME get into your mind:
There are other ways to access your subconscious mind as well such as energy psychology and brainwave entrainment.
In the end, I hope you have come to the realization that despite your own efforts at changing your thoughts, you might need to access your subconscious mind and take steps to dig deeper into those negative thoughts holding you back.
So, what is holding YOU back? Are you ready to take action?
I’d be happy to help you figure out how you can stop the negativity that happens in your business so you can move forward.
Just fill out the form below and let’s set up a call so you can get off the roller coaster and move on.
A positive attitude is one of the stepping-stones to success. Yes, everyone has a negative thought occasionally and you may be able to counteract it with a positive one. I use this concept all the time.
When a negative thought fills your mind, it may be time to change your mindset.
What is a Thought Process?
a thought process in which ideas (words or images) suggest other ideas in a sequence. construction, mental synthesis. the creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought. abstract thought, logical thinking, reasoning. thinking that is coherent and logical.
But, how do you do change your negative thoughts?
Become aware of your thoughts. The trick is to take control of your thinking. Frequently ask yourself, “What am I thinking right now?” Learn to recognize your negative thinking patterns and replace them with realistic, positive alternatives.
When something negative enters your mind, immediately replace it with a positive one.
Here’s an example: “I can’t believe that jerk cut in front of me! Positive thought change: “I’m not rushed and in a hurry like that guy. He must be extremely stressed.”
Or this, negative example: “I can’t believe the poor service at this restaurant today!” “The waitress must be having a bad day because the service is usually great here.”
Read inspirational, positive quotes and articles. Read about the lives of successful and happy people.
Do the things you love. Try to do at least one thing every day that you enjoy doing.
Visualize your life, as you want it to be. Create a visual map. As negative thoughts intrude, look at your map to remind you of what you want.
In the end, everyone has a negative thought occasionally. The trick is to recognize and replace them with positive thoughts immediately so you don’t dwell on them.
Will you let me help to change your mindset? Contact me below and let’s set up a call. I’d love to help you figure out how you can change your thought process, from negative to positive.
How often do you find yourself talking down or negatively to yourself? Are you even aware that you’re doing it? Many people aren’t even aware that the things they say to themselves mentally or the things they mutter under their breath are negative and actually sabotaging their progress and success. Yes, this really happens to most business owners, especially when they are first starting their business.
The first thing you need to do is to become aware that you are doing it and pay attention to when you are doing it. If you mutter things to yourself when something goes wrong, start listening to yourself. And please, don’t think your nuts just because you talk to yourself. EVERYBODY does!
It’s likely that you’re being negative. If you use phrases like, “Well, I knew that would happen,” or “Well, that’s how things go for me,” or “Why should I expect anything to be different,” or “That’s just my luck.” Then you are engaging in negative self-talk.
Things will go wrong. Of course, they will and you know they will.
Everything isn’t perfect. Well, nothing is perfect in this world, you just learn how to deal with it.
When these situations happen or arise it’s best to just move on and not even acknowledge them, especially if you can’t be positive about them. I know, it’s hard to be positive when everything seems to be going wrong. However, if you notice when one thing goes wrong, if you react negatively it will create a domino or snowball effect and the rest of the day will be the same.
If you just walk away, so to speak and not let it bother you, chances are things will start to go smoothly again.
More often than not, it’s one little minor instance that gets the ball rolling
When you mutter or think negatively about it you give power to the negative and it escalates. Instead, try having a positive thought.
Here are a couple things you can do:
Think of something you’re grateful for. This will not only change your mood and outlook but it will change your vibration as well. When you get into a positive vibration it helps to repel the negative.
Go for a walk, get out in nature and breathe some fresh air. This will clear your mind and help you to think better.
Call a friend and just catch-up with their news. It will help you to forget about your problems and help you to focus on something else for a change.
Over time, negative self-talk can lead to low self-esteem, low quality of life, a bad outlook on life and everything else and can lead to health problems. It’s very rare that you see positive people suffer from the same maladies as negative people. Negative people tend to always have something wrong with them, even if it’s just minor things, and many of them spend a good deal of time going to the doctor to find out what’s wrong with them.
You hear them say things like, “Of course I’m getting a cold. I always get sick.” “There’s always something wrong with me.”
That’s not saying that positive people never get sick or have ailments, but they generally heal or recover faster, and often without going to a doctor for medication.
Start practicing positive affirmations
This won’t be easy in the beginning if you’ve been a negative thinker for any length of time, but you can start practicing when you are in a good mood. By doing this you will prepare yourself to use them when you start thinking negative or start talking down to yourself.
Pay attention to the things that make you think and feel negative. There’s often a pattern to these events. If you can start to catch these events and use your affirmations, you can ward off a full-blown negative melt-down. It may even feel unnatural at first, but once you start practicing this it will get easier.
Don’t be a Negative Nelly
You don’t have to go through life being negative. You can change this behavior. Just like any changes in behavior you make, this one will take time and can be very challenging. It is worth it in the long run.
Try it and see if you don’t start to feel better, see if people don’t respond to you better. No one wants to hang around a negative person.
If you want to be someone people consider friendly, start practicing having a better attitude and stop the negative self-talk.
Do you need help with your negative thought process? A good mentor could help you with that issue. Sign up for my Group Mentor Program and let me help you figure out how you can stop being a Negative Nelly.
Not interested in mentoring? I would still love to hear from you. Fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch.
Focus, say what??? So are you being pulled in 25 different directions? Forget about all of the different directions life is pulling you in. Today we’re just talking about the directions we’re pulled in as business owners.
We have to know the legal, business, social media, marketing, PR, accounting side of things, not to mention what we need to know about our own business. It gets really overwhelming. But when you’re doing “all of the things” are you going to focus on your strengths or the things that make you uncomfortable?
All the advice in the world
All the while, we’re getting advice like “you have to go LIVE on Facebook” or “host webinars!” or “you have to post on Instagram at least __x per day!” I see so many posts, webinars, and courses touting some definitive all-or-nothing approach to business.
Like if you don’t do this one exact thing, there’s no way you’ll succeed. Ha…is that what you want for YOUR business? It’s not what I want for mine!
Do you ever see something online — some statement or recommendation about the way you have to grow your business — and think “yuck! That really doesn’t speak to me.” Listen to your gut.
Maybe we don’t like Facebook or we’re not too thrilled about public speaking. Maybe we do much better with people in person than we do online, or vice versa.
But what if we focused on our strengths and exploited the crap out of them instead of forcing ourselves to do things in our business that don’t feel right? Don’t get me wrong here.
There’s plenty we have to do in business.
Not many people like legal or accounting — but we all know it’s a required part of being an entrepreneur (sorry!).
But I’m not talking about not liking some of the tougher areas of being an entrepreneur. I’m talking about instead of doing things that don’t feel right or good to you, playing up your strengths. Playing up your strengths when it comes to marketing and finding new clients, giving presentations, or hosting giveaways.
What to do
Not a super techie person? Either hire out someone to build out your sales page when you can or focus on in-person marketing until you get more comfortable.
You don’t need to force something just because “everyone else” is doing it. Trust me — plenty of people have no idea this “online business” world exists, and they’re doing just fine.
Definition
Definition of focus plural foci play \ˈfō-ˌsī also -ˌkī\ also focuses 1 a : a center of activity, attraction, or attention the focus of the meeting was drug abuse put immigration into focus as a hot topic for commentators b : a point of concentration 2 : directed attention : emphasis The focus is on helping the homeless. 3 a : direction 6c the team lost focus b : a state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding tried to bring the issues into focus c : adjustment for distinct vision; also : the area that may be seen distinctly or resolved into a clear image d : focal length
Starting out in business
When I started my business, I felt like I needed to fit a certain mold I saw online in order to be successful. Post tons of pictures on Instagram of my perfectly arranged food, work out all the time wearing the perfect clothes and have killer hair and makeup. Or I felt like I needed to use certain language to sound like I fit a niche that didn’t speak to me and my journey. And if I wasn’t doing those things, I felt like my ‘weaknesses’ were being exploited. So yes, I hear you!
But what was I doing to play up my own strengths?! What about all of the things I liked that made me confident and who I am?
Yes, the Corporate World!
I reminded myself that when I was no longer in the corporate world, that there was a reason why I started my own business. One of them being that I wanted to be truer to myself and help others. I’m not being true to myself OR helping anyone else if I’m not sharing the most authentic version of myself. Either people like me for me and need my services, or they don’t. And that’s OK! I’m not for everyone. You’re not for everyone. But you’re not appealing to everyone, you’re appealing to people who have or want the same vision as you do. Remember that!
What I felt like I should do and look like, wasn’t me. I choose comfort over style and I post pictures I want to post. Instead, my strengths are real and I love helping women take steps to grow their businesses.
So that’s the real me.
I try to write like I speak, share parts of my personality here and there, and prioritize my strengths by connecting with real people. Not “fake” people like those in our current world. I could tell you stories but…
How are you focusing on your strengths in your business? What can you do to focus more on those, and less on the things that just don’t speak to you?
Let me know in the comments below or email me anytime at linda@lindahenslee.com. I’d love to hear from you!
What if you could achieve your goals and attract the success you want, using your thoughts? It is possible. Along with taking action, positively imagining what you want your success to look like is the key.
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ― C.G. Jung
Keeping your attitude positive, even in difficult times, is crucial to succeeding.
Here are six ways you can use positive thoughts to imagine yourself attracting success.
1. Visualize. Picture yourself achieving the success you are after. Visualize yourself in detail. For instance, if your goal is to lose x amount of weight, envision yourself putting on a pair of sexy jeans. If the goal is to sell x amount of products, picture yourself receiving paid invoices. Keep visual reminders around you.
2. Be thankful. Acknowledge three or four things you are grateful for each day. Embrace the day with the goal of being thankful. Picture in your mind how you would be grateful for your success.
3. Have a plan. Schedule each day in advance. A plan helps you see where you are going and make changes accordingly.
4. Take time to meditate or spend time in nature. Silence the noise that is around you. Sit quietly with your thoughts, removing negative noise.
5. Surround yourself with positive influences and people. Associating with positive people rubs off on you. See yourself being positive and kind.
6. Be enthusiastic and excited about your daily activities. Enthusiasm is contagious. It draws others to you. Force it when you don’t feel enthusiastic. Picture yourself being happy and excited.
You’ve got this. Use your mind’s creative visualization ability to see yourself attaining your goals and getting the success you desire.
Definition
visualisation. noun. the act or an instance of visualizing. a technique involving focusing on positive mental images in order to achieve a particular goal.
Visualize where you want to be and set your goals to get there.
Check out this Free Goals worksheet I created for you. Go ahead and download it and start filling it out.
But, if you need help creating your goals, please contact me by putting your information in the form below. I would love to help you.
