Collaboration Vs Competition

This article originally appeared in the digital magazine - Smart Healthy Women - view the magazine here

I am done with competition. I am replacing it with collaboration. Because I truly believe there is enough work for everyone. I also think we get so hung up on trying to beat others. Comparing ourselves to their highlight reels. We lose focus on us. Our business, our families and ourselves.

It is possible to retrain our brains and change our thinking. When I think competition – I change that to ask – how can I collaborate with that business? Do we have complimentary skills? Do we share the same target market? Are their synergies?

If I see potential, I reach out and invite a conversation. Simply explaining what I do, how I work and maybe an invite for a program I am working on. At worse – I get no thanks. There is nothing lost, other than potential. But, both sides need to see the opportunities, especially if the collaboration is really going to work in the long run.

Collaborative working is the essence of abundance, in a work setting. Believing there is enough for everyone. Believing that more is achieved together than alone. Able to bring your collective ideas and thoughts into the same place. Delivering your message two-fold, with the power of others.

I love working in my business, being the creator of my own world. Yet, when you invite others in, you open your mind to their thinking. You see your world from a different perspective. You make choices to improve your world, your way of doing things. You fine tune your messaging and your offerings to your clients. You become more powerful, not only in you but in the world, you show up in.

Collaboration must be two-way, and often it is. When a collaboration breaks down it is often because one person has grown – after all in business we are always learning and growing. It is the greatest personal development tool available. Creating collaborations for defined projects rather than forever is a terrific way to ensure success.

Being clear from the outset on your expectations of each party in a collaboration is important. Setting it down in writing is helpful, if somewhat formal. However, we all get busy and having expectations in writing makes it easier to come back to and remind yourself what needs to happen and by who.

If you do need to end a collaboration, do it with an open heart. Be careful of burning bridges – acknowledge that at this time it is just not working, you can always come back to it later. In an abundant mindset there is always more….

With so many solo and micro businesses operating, often within a cluttered marketplace. I strongly believe that to deliver our important messages clearly and succinctly we need to work together. I have been rebuilding my business with this value at its core. I am excited for the future of this iteration of the business. Not only for me, my family and clients, but for those like-businesses who choose to walk the path too.

What collaborations can you seek or create in your world?

Is it possible to choose success?

This article originally appeared in Inside Small Business - see the article here

Being an entrepreneur and business owner is challenging. There are amazing ups, but terrible downs. Of new small businesses being started, 70 per cent are owned by women. Sadly, one in five of these businesses will fail in their first five years.

So, can you choose success? Is it really that easy? What is at play, in your mind and in your physical environment holding you back from being the absolute best version of yourself? Here are my seven reasons I believe some women are not seeing success:

1. Lack of confidence
Women feel the need to be perfect and have all their ducks in a row before they hit the go button. Have you heard yourself say, “I just need to do X, before I could possibly do Y and Z”. Believe in yourself, back yourself and just do it!

2. Lack of a support network
There is no way that we can do all this alone. We need support in our homes, with our children and in our business.

3. Work-life balance
Life doesn’t have to be “perfect” by other standards it only needs to be perfect by your standards. And if your standard of perfect is making you feel unbalanced and stressed then it is time to change your standards.

4. Fear
So many fears in our life. Being too successful. Being too ambitious. Fear of failure. Being judged. Taking on too much responsibility. Being found out as a fraud – the “impostor syndrome”. Fear of being invisible. And the list goes on.

5. Planning
Do enough planning to be able to stay focused in your business.

6. Money mindset
Have a good relationship with money, know your numbers. Where does the money come from, what are you spending it?

7. Lack of understanding of marketing
I believe you need a marketing strategy, which is well thought out and considered. A strategy, backed with sound research, giving campaigns which are measurable – all feeding your customers into a lead funnel which provides sales and customer retention.

With some work around these, maybe you can choose to be successful. It does take hard work, with no fairy dust options available!

Press the reset button - it is never too late

This article originally appeared on the Business Business Business blog, you can see it here

We are now a quarter of the way through the year. How are your plans going? Your news resolutions? Your goals?

Are you kicking goals and achieving great things? Or maybe you have forgotten all those good intentions for how your 2018 will play out.

This is a terrific time to stop what you are doing. Review what you have achieved. Understand why you haven’t achieved what you wanted to. Make changes so you can achieve what you want as we head into the next quarter.

It is never too late to press the reset button.

Pressing the reset button is a chance to start again. To take learnings from what you did well and how to improve so you can achieve all t he things you want to. Whether in your life or your business.

The important thing to do is to change what you are you doing, if it is not working for you. If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same result. So, what can you do differently to achieve the great things you are destined to achieve.

• Change could be mindset – your own confidence and belief in you.
• Change could be in your daily actions – stopping procrastination, becoming focused, managing your time better.
• Change could be in your goal setting – are you trying to do too much, or are you not thinking big enough.

If you are setting goals for yourself, you also need to commit to reviewing, and celebrating, on a regular basis. With self-reflection, making a commitment to changing something, you can press reset. When you press reset add new energy into your life, focus on the new goal and go for it.

Remembering to break down the goal into easy actionable steps – so every day, week and month you are working towards achievement and success. And when you review at the next quarter, mid-year, end-of-financial year, you can celebrate the success of your goal. Or simply change and press reset.

Staying accountable to your goals and having a group who you are accountable to, is so important. People who lift you up, support you and importantly tell you when you are losing focus. Seek one out or create one for yourself.

Enjoy the goal setting process. Enjoy ticking them off. Enjoy reviewing and pressing the reset button. Enjoy celebrating your success.

Simple: marketing starts with a plan

Keep it simple. Make it easy. Be creative. See the results.

Marketing confuses business owners. I see it all the time. It doesn't have to be. You need to make your marketing efforts relevant to your business. Set objectives you can achieve, without setting yourself up for failure.

Marketing is not sales. Marketing is not about doing everything you can think of. Marketing is not free. Marketing is not a quick fix.

Forget confusing marketing concepts and jargon: let's go back to basics.

Marketing is about getting your customer into your sales funnel and making a sale to them.

You need to ensure you have the right customer in your sales funnel. You need to be aware of your competitors and what they do. You need a strategy with goals and how you will achieve them. You need campaigns. You need a customer focused funnel. You need to measure and review everything you do.

You need a plan.

Not just any plan a strategic marketing plan.

Your marketing plan needs to be aligned with your business plan. Ask what business goals you have that require marketing to see them achieved? There is the start of your marketing goals/action.

Don't have a plan sign up to our free 5 day challenge (for business and marketing plans).

Planning is crucial to a businesses success - you really do need to allocate some time to creating a plan. Think of it as a road map. If you take the 5 day challenge - you spent an hour or two, once a day for 5 days to give yourself a way of moving forward and achieving goals in your business.

I just don't understand marketing
No problem. What you need is the knowledge around the different elements of a plan. Easy. Do what I did - go to Uni for three years, work in the industry for 20 years. Or shortcut it and join the Marketing Accelerator Program. Where in 12 weeks you will receive all the knowledge you need right now to set yourself up for a fabulous future in business.

The 12 week marketing accelerator program, and will move you from being lost in the marketing jungle to business growth. Creating new business habits and strengthening your business core.

All business owners suffer overwhelm, and why wouldn't we. Managing financials, legal, human resources and marketing - all before we have started making our products or delivering our services.

Register today