Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the brave, the patient and the persistent. It’s for the overcomer. -Unknown
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.
Not everyone is meant to be a small business owner. And that is OK. There are leaders and followers, owners and team members. We each play a very important role in the world, no matter where we sit in it. After decades of working with and for owners, and now being one, I have learned a ton about what it takes to be an owner.
Confidence is a choice, not a symptom. -Seth Godin
Here is the audio version of this post. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy!
Just last week I wrote about confidence when sharing the Creating Awesome Recipe. It seems I just keep feeling the pull to write about it more. Why? Because as I shared last week, to me, it is one of the biggest things holding back so many small business owners, particularly in the professional beauty biz. And it totally bums me out, since if that is really the only thing holding back greatness, why is it not talked about more?
So my marketing and biz guru Seth Godin wrote about it recently too, and I had to share, as I love his take on it… Here is what confidence means, taken directly from his blog…
“The batter has already hit two home runs. When he gets up to bat for the third time, his confidence is running high…
It’s easy to feel confident when we’re on a roll, when the cards are going our way, or we’re closing sales right and left. This symptomatic confidence, one built on a recent series of successes, isn’t particularly difficult to accomplish or useful.
Effective confidence comes from within, it’s not the result of external events. The confident salesperson is likely to close more sales. The confident violinist expresses more of the music. The confident leader points us to the places we want (and need) to go.
You succeed because you’ve chosen to be confident. It’s not really useful to require yourself to be successful before you’re able to become confident.”
I agree with Seth. And I would also add that yes, education is very empowering, knowledge does destroy fear as my awesome buddy DJ Muldoon shares with us, but in the end, you gotta believe. You gotta do what you gotta do to truly believe you can make it happen, that you deserve success.
I think the other myth is that believing and knowing are the same thing. To me, they are not. I believe that I can empower people. It’s what I do everyday. I believe it. But do I know for sure that what I share will empower people? Well, actually, no. I don’t know for sure. But because I believe it, I have a much better chance of choosing to show up, create and share myself with the people I love, with the belief that they will be better for having engaged with me. It’s why I wrote my book, Follow Your Heart, it’s why I wake up every day. Because I believe. What do you believe?
It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently. -Anthony Robbins
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy!
So what does it take to create awesome? Over the last couple years, and really, over my entire career I have studied many businesses, including my own. I am one for keeping things real, and simple. While there are several ways to create awesome and people are doing it every day, it is the following traits and actions that I see which are some of the most important, and conveniently enough, they all begin with the letter C, so I call this the Creating Awesome Recipe.
Confidence
Believing your awesome and learning to love yourself and believe in you. This is absolutely the biggest roadblock to awesomeness in the professional beauty + wellness industries in my experience. You can have all the education and motivation in the world, BUT, if you do not feel deserving of success and happiness, another class or workshop will not help you. Truth.
Courage
Turning your fears into creative fuel. Learning to say YES, and more importantly, NO! It’s a decision. It’s a choice. Make it.
Clarity
Discovering your awesome and finding your purpose, promise and passion for yourself and your business. When you have clarity, those around you will too. If you want people to buy into your vision, seek clarity first, and then share it.
Consistency
Living your awesome and creating systems, processes and plans for growing your business, consistently. This holds true in business and in life.
Commitment
Are you prepared to make it happen, even on the days you don’t feel like it? Enough said.
Connections
Sharing your awesomeness by engaging and marketing online and off to grow yourself, your team and your business. Creating deep connections with the world around you brings so much more meaning to owning and leading a business.
Communication
George Bernard Shaw once said,” The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Truer words have never been spoken. Communicate with your team, clients and community. They will be grateful, and you will be a much happier owner, leader and awesomeness creator.
So there you have it. Pick one, work on it, then move to the next. Rome was not built in a day… and neither are our businesses or lives.
A business exists to create a customer. – Peter Drucker
Here is the audio version of this post. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy.
So here I sit. In a new place, in a kinda new town, well, at least for LA it’s considered a new town. Even though I am 8 miles from where I lived for over 13 years and in the city I was born in and have lived most of my life, when you move in LA, particularly to DTLA, you might as well be in another state.
As I continue to settle in, only 4 big boxes left, I am reflecting on the process that got me here, and the process for how I am getting settled in my new space and “town”.
How did I get here? I used YELP, Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist and lots of Google searches. All digital platforms.
Yes, I know, some may tire of me writing about the power of engaging on social + digital platforms, but it’s not the platforms I am in love with, it’s the power of the platforms and how they empower people & businesses, if we choose to let them.
Food, Shelter, A Nail Salon And More…
I found my loft on Craigslist via Google search then hit YELP to see if I even wanted to make an appointment to view it. And before I found my space, I looked at about 10 other spaces on Craigslist and YELP. My loft had some really good and really bad reviews, yet I still moved in. Why? Just because a business has some bad reviews, does not always mean its a bad place. But it did allow me to ask all the right questions, and move forward with open eyes.
I found my new nail salon on YELP. It has mostly great reviews, a few mediocre ones, but it was very convenient. I can walk there. Did I love the experience? I’m not 100% sold, but may try it one more time.
I found the best sandwich shop, which just happens to be 2 doors down from me, on YELP. It has killer reviews, and they were right, it was the BEST! Marie’s on 7th. Give it a try when you are here.
I found my pizza place on YELP and via Eat24. Ugh, yes, 2 foods in a row, but you know, a girl has gotta eat. OMG, wish I never found this place. But if you love pizza, check out 9th Street Pizza in DTLA.
I found my Internet service via referral from the building and then YELPED it just to be sure. So far so good, since you are reading this blog, my Internet is working, and they are some of the nicest people for an Internet company. Bel Air Internet, a small but mighty company that seems to really care. So much more awesome than my experience with the BIG internet companies. Happiness.
I found a couch cleaner and an installation service to mount the TV on my wall, both on YELP.
When was the last time you moved? When was the last time you needed to find a new service? Whether you have or have not, people like me are moving, and searching, or wanting a new experience. Where are they going to find that service? More and more, they are hitting search engines, and yes, YELP. A good offline referral program coupled with awesome online reviews have the potential to really super charge your biz.
If you want YELP to work for you, you have to work it. What does that mean? Create systems and processes for gaining reviews. The more reviews you have, the more you will show up in search engines and in YELP searches. And Google search LOVES active YELP pages. Provide an exceptional experience offline. Always. And ask people to share their experience on YELP.
Worried about bad reviews? How do you handle them now, offline? It’s really no different. And trust me, if you have 10 great reviews and 1 shitty one, and you handle it well in your response, nine times out of ten, the prospective new clients will love you even more, knowing that experience matter to you, even if it’s some nut case just stirring up trouble.
Wouldn’t you rather know someone was disappointed with their experience than just telling a bunch of their friends and not allowing you the opportunity to make it better? I think we all know the honest answer to that.
If you are looking to create more awesome in your biz, it’s time to begin to better see through the clients eyes. Want new clients to find you? Engage. Show up, online and off. You never know, the next new kid in town could be your best new client.
All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust. – J.M Barrie, Creator of Peter Pan
Here is the audio version of this post. It’s my first time recording on a new computer in my new space, so its a bit wonky, it will get better. Thank you so much for understanding and listening. Enjoy.
For the last 7 months, I have been overwhelmed with the process of selling my house and deciding where I would be moving myself, my canine babies and Passion Squared. Talk about an experience in patience and trust. OMG, there were days and weeks I was not sure I would survive.
Being overwhelmed by all the stops and starts and mistakes. Not knowing when or if, or as my therapist says, being in a forever “hallway”. Ugh, hallways, seriously one of the worst places to be. So why am I sharing this in my blog?
For months I have been thinking about how I would share my experience once I came out the other side. So here I sit today, finally out of the hallway and into my new space, and new chapter.
So what did I learn?
A delay is not always a denial.
When I think back on my life, I am so grateful for the things that did not go my way, as much as I am for the things that did. And many times, the things I wanted so badly, were not actually the best things for me. I trust that the Universe or what ever you want to call it knows. The more I learn to trust and pay attention, the more I see this as truth.
Life is one series of lessons.
When I choose to look at it that way, things get a little bit easier and actually become funny in a way. Cause seriously, many times, all I could do was laugh, in between tears of course. What makes life so awesome is the lessons, if we can see them and learn from them. Isn’t that why we are here?
Wants and needs are very different.
What I wanted was my house to sell in 5 seconds so I could get on with my life, no interruptions, nothing. Realistic? Hell no! What I needed was to trust that the people I put in charge of selling my house knew what they were doing, and that the perfect buyer would come, eventually. Patience is still not my strong suit. And I made a huge mistake choosing my first realtor. So I own my decision, make better choices, and move forward. And trust that if I do my part, my needs will be met. Even when it’s not on my perfect timeline.
What is right for you is not necessarily right for me.
This is one of the biggest reminders for me during this process. You see, I had to sit for a long time in my decision to buy a house in the first place. Looking in the mirror is never easy. I purchased a home because that is what I thought I was supposed to do. So many people told me that was what I was supposed to do. You know, the American dream thing? Well, guess what? That is total BS.
In looking through years of decisions I have made, I realized many of them were based on what other people thought. What other people said. Not on what felt right for me. So here I sit, realizing again that so much of my life was built based on others thoughts and opinions. Not everyone is meant to be a homeowner, or a business owner for that matter. For reals. We all have a path. We all have skill sets. But to assume what is right for you is right for me is what gets so many of us in trouble. With life, leadership, and even home ownership.
So today, as I sit in my new loft space in downtown LA, with all the sights and sounds, the energy, the aliveness, I am finally at peace. Knowing that this was all just another awesome lesson, in this crazy journey called life. And today, I am grateful for the delays and denials. I am grateful for everything.
