Okay...We lost an hour of sleep on International Women's Day!  Mercury Retrograde finally ended.  We have a full moon.  This Friday is Friday the 13th. And people are in a panic over you know what.  What a start to a crazy month!

It's amazing on how much stuff that ends up in the "news" or "Facebook" can direct our lives.  Think about it?  Do you remember the thoughts or actions that you had based on any of the above (daylight savings, International Women's Day, Mercury Retrograde, new full moon or the news on the virus?)

Now there is some news that might help by warning us or educating us but please be responsible on what you add online.  Yes to educating but please don't add chaos to the masses.

We have enough stuff in our lives that takes us off track we don't need to add to the stress!  Let me remind you of the famous quote out there..."We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it."

This is a lesson for all of us. The time to focus on what's important, get educated and continue to enjoy your lifestyle biz.  

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog post.  I appreciate your support!

Follow up.  Why do so many women entrepreneurs hate those two words?

Is it that we forget?  It is time management?  Or is it the fear of rejection?

I believe it's a combination of all three!

If you don't have a system on how and when to follow up then most likely you are going to forget.

If you let time control you instead of using a planner or blocking specific time to do the follow up then you won't be doing it.

If you allow the gremlins aka...chatter of rejection to continue then you will never step outside your comfort zone and actually follow up.

Let me add that we are all guilty of this, even me.  There are times that I battle all of the above.  

Following up should be part of your DAILY marketing strategy. 

But what if you don't have enough people to follow up with daily?  Then you need to get out there and meet new people or follow up with your list you currently have.

Following up is about creating a habit that works for you and doing it consistently.  I don't care if you use a CRM, a voice reminder or a piece of paper - just do it.

What is it going to take to finally get serious enough for you to go for it?  To go after your dreams?  To build your empire?  To make an impact?  To reach more people with your product or services?

What is holding you back?  Really want to know what's holding your back?  I'll tell you, it's you. 

Big shock, huh?  You have created excuses on why you can't...
have a successful business...
don't have clients...
need to work a full time job...
why you're not making money...
can't work from home..
and the cycle goes on and on.

Truth is you are allowing yourself to play small.  You are where you are today because of the choices you made.  It takes work to create a successful mindset and business.  But the rewards are amazing if you are willing to take the first step!

Here are a few tips to help you start:
Take the Truth Serum.  Be honest about making excuses.
Ask yourself, why?  What are the thoughts that are causing these feelings?
Allow yourself to dream big and go after what you want.
Do the work required.

Somedays can be easier than others but if you work on yourself daily you will find yourself moving forward rather than stalling or not moving at all!

If you still find yourself stuck reach out to me either send me an email or set up a call.  Sometimes 15 minutes can change your life. 

I have recently made the announcement that I am not renewing my lease at the Siemon Realty Company.  What that means is that I am no longer going to have a 3000 square foot facility that houses my coworking space.  

The reactions have been for the most part, very encouraging but I can see how some people are upset about the news.  For the past three years. it has been a location of awesome connections, energy and collaborations.

In the past year, Women Empowering Women Now has taken off.  We have 13 chapters in Connecticut and expanding throughout the United States.  Along side of that the growth with my Inner Circle Memberships, Certified Transformational Coaching program and my coaching practice has been amazing.  Then I have added my first ever business conference which I am totally excited about!  

So you can say that my plate is a bit full.  I have added a team but when looking at the coworking space itself I knew that I had to release it so I could make room to work on my Women Empowering Women Now Business.  Sometimes you need to release something to make room for something else to flourish fully.

Now I will continue to have my bi-weekly leads groups and my Watertown Chapter Women Empowering Women Now Networking.  They will be held at the OWL Center over at the Depot Square Mall in Watertown.  I plan on taking CT Business Networking and having pop-up networking all over the state starting in the spring.

If you are someone who would like to be part of Women Empowering Women community, then why not join as a member?  We are releasing our newly updated Inner Circle Membership starting February 1st.  If you want to belong as a member and be included in the private Facebook group it's free.  You must answer the three questions to be part of the community.

If you are looking for collaboration, online networking, specific trainings, done for you workbooks and forms then check out our monthly paid membership for only $29.00 per month.  We have so much to offer. 

Here is one of our recent testimonials;
"Are you kidding me?  I can't believe how much my business has changed since I met you and have joined the Inner Circle!  I can't believe how much you offer for such a small monthly amount.  It is the best investment of my life!  Thank you!"

Sometimes we need to step outside of our comfort zone to make our dreams come true!  Make it amazing!

​Love to hear your comments!!

 Hey – so have you ever felt burnt out?  Ever felt sick and tired of the same thing happening to you over and over again?  Tired of saying, “Why her and not me?”
 
Have you ever felt or needed to take the day off – like if I don’t do this I am going to have a mental break down?
 
Well, that my friend is burn out!  And I am going to help you to stop getting to that point with 4 quick tips.

• Pay attention to your body.  Be mindful.  If you have a really long meeting and it takes place once a month notice how you feel the next day.  You might need to take extra time the next morning, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
• Schedule and plan according to your lifestyle.  If you are a night owl and can crank out some creative and productive work all from 10:00 pm to 12:00 midnight, then plan accordingly.
• Me time.  Don’t just schedule it but mark it off in your calendar.  Me time can be anything that helps your mind and body.  Journaling, cooking, writing, walking, stretching, working out, reading, painting, spending time with your animals.  Whatever it is that you like schedule more of it.  Get it into your morning, afternoon and night routine.
• Last one is to reflect daily.  Rate how your day went.  How did you feel?  What is it that you didn’t do that usually makes you feel better?  What did you allow in your life? Then correct and proceed.

 
A list of boundaries will help keep you accountable and help you from having too many of those burn out days.  If we adhere to our boundaries, then we can start living a lifestyle biz on our own terms instead of having the biz/days control us.

It’s amazing the number of times I hear the excuse, “I can’t market because I have no money!”
 
That’s an excuse, that’s the gremlins who continue to sit on your shoulder and feed you the BS because it’s easier not to do anything then it is to work.
 
Market your biz like a girl boss only means that you are not going to let any gremlin continue the loop of why you can’t do something.  You are going to step outside your comfort zone and hold yourself accountable and get it done!
 
If you want to anything to change in your lifestyle biz then it starts by stepping out of your comfort zone and doing those very things you keep telling yourself that you can’t do.
 
But let’s talk about marketing.  There are so many free things you can do right now to market your biz.  Here is a list of my top 10.
 

1. Social Media.  Graphic Posts, Live Videos, Recorded Videos, all free.
2. Networking.  There are free networking groups out there.
3. Referrals from past clients.
4. Testimonials from past clients.  Share them with everyone!
5. Write a blog. 
6. Speaking.  Go teach something you know.
7. Start an affiliate program.
8. Start a podcast and get on other people’s podcasts.
9. Comment on social media posts, blogs, etc.
10. Add a call to action on everything!

 
Go and incorporate these marketing tasks in your daily schedule!  Now if you need accountability and want to change things up then check out Girl Boss Mastermind!  We start April 1st!

Seriously, how many times do you find yourself making up an excuse on why you haven’t followed through on something?  Do you even recognize it?
 
Some of us love being in that comfort zone.  It’s safe, comfortable and allows us to easily make up excuses so we can stay right there.
 
So, how do we get out of our comfort zone?  The first step is to recognize that we are actually making excuses.  Stop and ask yourself, “Is there a real good reason why I don’t want to do this?”  Sit with it and get down to the root of reason.
 
Another question, “Will doing this bring me joy?”  “Will it bring me closer to my goal?” or “Will it bring me money?”
 
Once you determine the excuses that you use to help keep you exactly where you are in life, then you can start making an action plan to help move forward.
 
Gremlins (inner chatter) are no joke.  Seriously, look at what you are missing out because you are allowing to stay in your comfort zone.

Masterminds are part of my business strategy.  I understand the value that it brings me. Thats probably why I started my own Girl Boss Mastermind.  You may not know but I am a huge advocate about entrepreneurs living a lifestyle business.   Being part of a mastermind can help you stay focused and create your own lifestyle biz.

A mastermind group is a mentoring concept in which individuals form groups to learn from each other and grow together.  A mastermind group can have a huge impact on your business. The value you receive by participating in a mastermind is the motivation, energy, and commitment of holding yourself accountable to making an impact, learning and growing.
 
I have been part of many different mastermind groups over the years.   I love the accountability, guidance and support from others.  I also find that I get fresh new ideas and intense motivation.

Now mastermind groups have been around for a very long time actually is was first introduced by Napoleon Hill.   In his book Think and Grow Rich (1937) he described Mastermind as a group of at least two people who come together with the aim of solving problems.

The core principals of a mastermind group are:
·       Commitment
·       Confidentiality
·       Engagement
Reasons to join a mastermind group are to:
·       To get ideas
·       Learn from others
·       To be accountable
·       To be motivated
·       To make a change

For me mastermind groups is part of my planning strategy.  I recognize the value because of the impact it has on me being so productive!  If you are interested in joining a mastermind, I encourage you to please check out Girl Boss Mastermind!

I love creative planning.  Creative planning allows me to plan my day, month and year out doing it creatively.

I love using my vision book, happy planner, memory keeper happy planner and my monthly downloads (photo above)

Creative planning is fun.  It get's me back into planning my business with a passion because I am being creative.  I get to pull out my glue sticks, stickers, tape and rip magazines out to help support my vision.  And it works!

I love being able to share with my tribe the different ways that you can support your business.  It's not just about planning out your business.  It's there to help you stay focused, organized and on track.  

My happy planner contains my goals, monthly reviews, highlights from the month, monthly numbers.  It allows me to have everything I need in one central area.

If you haven't tried creative planning and you love that type of stuff I suggest you try it.  If anything it will keep you excited about going to one place to work on your business.

Let me know what the best part of creative planning is for you?

Being consistent has so many benefits and to keep this blog post short and sweet, let me ask you a few questions:
 
How do you know if your business marketing plan works if you are not consistent? 
How can you tell if a product is going to be a successful without being consistent? 
How do you know if your customers will like your brand if you’re not consistent?
 
I’m sure you already get it.  So many businesses these days are in such a rush to call it quits when something doesn’t work.
 
The last Wednesday of each month I hold a networking group called Women Empowering Women networking.  It’s always the last Wednesday (unless there is a holiday that week).  Each month I get around 30 women who come to my networking group.  My goal is to educate, support and empower.  I think I do a pretty good job delivering that. 
 
Now this group is going on to year four and if you were part of the group in my early years it never looked like what it is today.  If I had just given up and wasn’t consistent, I would of never grew this amazing community to what it is.
 
Before you call it quits be consistent, see where you can improve and give it all you can.  If you need help shoot me an email.