I know because I’ve done this too – waited for the time/situation to be just perfect before getting started.

But then last week I was reading Prince Charming Isnt Coming
: How Women Get Smart About Money by Barbara Stanny. In this book, Stanny talks about how women often wait for a man to look after their finances for them. There is one particular passage that jumped out at me.

“Please note: “Mr. Right” or “Prince Charming” need not be a man, or even a person. Our prince could be an ideal job, an insurance settlement, the lottery jackpot, or just an amorphous “something” – anything that we fantasize will save us financially. To become genuinely smart with money, we must get to the point where we can say with total conviction, I can do it myself.

This passage really grabbed me by the throat and made me realize that there are a number of projects I’ve had on hold because I didn’t have everything perfect.  I gave myself a long, hard look and realized I’ve been waiting for my business “Prince Charming”. In this case, my Prince isn’t a man either. Here’s what I’ve been waiting on and what I’m doing about it:

Schedule time

I’ve been waiting for more time to finish writing a book and several ebooks. Well, guess what? The free time is never there.  I need to schedule it to make it happen. How did I solve this? I booked several three hour chunks this month. Will it finish all the writing projects I have? No. But it will get me closer to finishing.

Don’t let cash flow stop you

I need some money to implement a couple of my projects and cash flow is tight right now so I’ve been putting them off. Instead of continuing to wait for things to get better, I arranged for some barter with a graphic designer to get one project completed. Then I looked at my accounts receivable and contacted people who owe me money.

Next, I looked out for “low hanging fruit” or ways I can make money quickly to allow me to finance my bigger projects. Finally, I looked for (and found) ways to complete my projects without spending as much money. It won’t be as fancy as I hoped, but it will get to market, which is far better than having a project on the drawing board indefinitely.

Procrastination

There are a couple of things I need to be doing to promote my products and services that I’ve just been putting off. I call it procrastination but really it should be called either perfectionism or fear of success. Either way, I’ve looked it in the eye and started implementation. I’ve created a list and committed to crossing one item off my list each day until it’s done.

If you’re like me, you have some projects that you’ve been putting off until the time is right. I heard a saying: The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The next best time is today.

What are you going to plant today?

Andrea J. Stenberg

Working from home is sometimes a challenge in the summer. Yes, there’s the fact that I have no air conditioning and my office is on the 2^nd floor. (Last week’s heat wave in eastern Canada and U.S. was brutal).

There’s also my teenage son who is home from school and around the house. Plus there’s the sun shining and I want to be outside.

As a result, there are some days where sitting at my desk staring at my computer seems unbearable.

But I still need to work. The mortgage still needs to be paid and we have this pesky little addition to food.

So, what’s a home-based entrepreneur to do?

I posed this question to my network and got some interesting answers.

Some people like to get up and do something physical: “a walk, mowing the lawn, stacking firewood. For me physical activity is the key to getting unblocked.”

Other’s shared that tidying the office is a good start. I know my desk often looks like a paper bomb exploded on it. And if I let it go too long the paper breeds and soon my office is covered. Taking even 10 minutes to clear the desk to the surface can often be enough to unblock me and get me going. In fact, that’s what I did right before writing this blog post.

Another friend commented that she picks the easiest thing on her task list. Getting that done and out of the way motivates her to keep going.

And sometimes, I think you need to give in to your inner sloth and enjoy the summer. Get outside and do something fun, even if it’s just sitting on the deck having a beer and reading a trashy novel. You’ll feel refreshed and pleased that you no longer have the worst boss you’ve ever had. And likely, the next day you’ll come back to your work with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

Andrea J. Stenberg

What’s your trick for getting back on track? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.

Today is a guest post from my colleague and joint venture partner Yvonne McCoy. Yvonne is a business coach and host of the internet radio show SOS 4 Your Business.

We all want to turn our dreams into reality, but sometimes we have doubts.

This is the time we need to master a Power Mindset!  The ideas and attitudes we have as we approach a situation will determine our control of our destiny. This is especially true when dealing with difficult situations. However, you can produce the energetic mental mindset you need in order to make your dreams and goals come true.

With a powerful mindset, you will take the necessary steps to snap out of negativity and get back on that positive track. You can get started by downloading Online Marketing 101: Discover Three Simple Things You Can Do Now to Grow Your Business Online at www.29DaystoGrowingaBusiness.com.

So what can you do next? Ask yourself:

• What is working right? Why is it working? Acknowledge your accomplishments. This is a great learning situation. Use it.
• What’s the ideal? What’s not quite right yet? What are your biggest challenges? Take charge. It is important to come from a place of abundance and serving and not from one of lack and fear. It’s contagious.
• What is your next move? Evaluate your options. What resources do you need or what are you willing to do? This is a time to surround yourself with people who believe in you and won’t judge you. Consider working with a coach or an expert. They help you accelerate your results.
• Have you made progress? It’s important to stay detached and not be on an emotional roller coaster ride with each success or failure.
• Have success. Celebrate it regularly.

Each day look at the actions you take. Are you spending your time on your most important activities? These are the ones that support your goals.

Renew your determination and resolve to improve each day and your business will flourish. A Power Mindset will get you focused and produce results faster. Get started today by downloading Online Marketing 101: Discover Three Simple Things You Can Do Now to Grow Your Business Online.

The gist of the article is you need to avoid getting sucked into giving away your expertise without getting paid. You worked hard for that knowledge and it’s worth good money.

If you’re a consultant or some other knowledge-based entrepreneur, this article is a must-read. In fact, I think I’m going to print a copy and post it next to my desk.

I’ve fallen into that trap before. In the name of “being helpful” I give away too much free advice so that person doesn’t need to pay me. They got it all for free.

Now I’m not saying I don’t give anything away for free. Hello?!? Have you read this blog? All free.

However, I need to make sure when I’m meeting with someone, I give just enough information to prove I know what I’m talking about but be clear that after that I’m on the clock. In the article, Adrienne Graham suggests having a fee schedule. That way if you’re squeamish about talking prices, you can always hand someone your fee schedule.

Fee Schedule + Law of Attraction = Results

Having a fee schedule has another benefit. I apologize if I found airy fairy here, but having a written fee schedule activates the Law of Attraction. When you write down what you expect to be paid for certain services, it tells the universe you’re serious about your business and voila, suddenly people who can and will pay for your services will appear.

Getting serious about getting paid doesn’t mean you can’t give it away for free … just make sure you are getting something of equal value in return. For example, I have a graphic designer colleague who I trade services with. When she needs help with some copywriting, she’ll send it over for me to look at. Likewise, when I have some graphics that need tweaking, she’ll fix it for me. However, when we have larger jobs, we charge. In the end, we get equal value out of the relationship.

So, look at your business relationships. Are you giving away too much by letting friends “pick your brain”? If so, maybe it’s time to do something about it. After all, you wouldn’t expect your friend the car dealer to just give you a car to drive just because you’re a nice person.

Andrea J. Stenberg

What do you think? Do you give away too much knowledge for free? Or have you found a way to stop giving away too much? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

And don’t forget to pick up your free copy of Internet Marketing 101: Discover Three Simple Things You Can Do Now to Grow Your Business Online. It will help you jump start your online marketing. Get the free ebook at http://29daystogrowingabusiness.com

I know, because I have SAD too. This means in the winter months, as the days get shorter and the sun is less bright, functioning at all can be a real struggle. And while my inclination may be to hibernate in bed for the next two months, my business can’t survive that.

Over the past few years I’ve learned some survival techniques to help me get through to the spring. If you also suffer from SAD  I hope they’ll help you. And even if you’re only struggling with a bit of the winter blahs some of these tips may perk you up as well.

First of all, I make sure I’m taking all my vitamins and supplements daily. In the summer I’m not so vigilant and in fact don’t take my vitamin D at all because I’m getting enough from the sun. But as soon as fall rolls around I make sure I don’t skip a day, because if I do things go downhill fast. I take Vitamin D, B vitamins and a herbal mood boosting supplement recommended by my Naturopath. Check with your health care provider about what you need.

Second, I unscrew the fluorescent lightbulb on my desk and insert a “blues Buster” lightbulb that mimics the light from the sun. I’ve been told fluorescent lights make SAD worse. It seems to help.

Third, I have marked my calendar to start using my Happy Lite in the mornings. This is a special light specifically designed for treating seasonal affective disorder. I know, you’d think I’d just start using it when I start feeling run down, but I’ve learned that I need a little external reminder. So my electronic calendar one day in November pops up a message reminding me to start using the darn thing.

Fourth, I make a point of planning meetings out of the office. Even if it’s just meeting a friend for coffee, getting me outside seems to really make a difference.

Fifth, I really try to force myself to get some exercise. This time of the year I really don’t want to leave my bed, never mind the house. But planning fitness activities with friends and family forces me to do what’s good for me. If it’s something like tobogganing, I probably end up having a good laugh as well as some exercise.

And finally, I try to give myself a break. If I have a day where I don’t get as much done as I think I should, I try to let it go. I try to focus on what I have achieved, and recognize that this time of year it’s hard for me. Notice I’ve used the word “try” several times in this paragraph? It is a don’t know you succeed.

So, if you find getting through the winter months the struggle like I do, please know you’re not alone. And before we know it the days will be longer, the snow will be gone and the tulips will be poking their heads out of the ground. And then we’ll start feeling normal again.

Andrea J Stenberg

PS. If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder where the winter blues, leave a comment and share your tips for surviving till spring.

When I was in my mid-20s I actually tried to start my own business doing very much what I’m doing now (minus the social media since Facebook etc. didn’t exist back then).

I survived about a year before I packed it in and got a “real job”. The problem was that I thought in order to be a business person you had to be independent, and independent meant doing it all myself.

This time around, being a little older, and a little wiser (I hope), I recognized that trying to go it alone was part of the problem. When I was raising my son I needed a doctor, advice from my mom, and support from other mothers. So I realized I needed the same kind of support for my business.

In the past five years I’ve worked with a variety of coaches, made friends with other business people who I can bounce ideas off of, and joined a networking group. I have an accountability partner who I speak with once a week to talk about what I’m working on. I have a strong network of business friends on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook who I can ask for advice. And on occasion I even talk to my husband about my business.

When I was younger I thought needing other people was a weakness. But if you talk to any successful business people, if they’re honest, you’ll find they’ve all had help along the way. I spoke to one man recently who owns and runs five businesses. He’s been doing so for over 10 years and still meets with the previous owner several times a week to get advice, feedback and support. I know one online entrepreneur with the business in the high six figures who works with three coaches and has a mastermind group.

When you’re building your village you need to make sure that just like a real village it is a diverse group of people. It is often easier to build relationships with other people who are the same stage in their business as you. This is useful because you’re both going through the same things and can really relate to each other.

However you also need to make sure your village includes some experienced business people. Being around more successful business owners helps remind you where you are headed. They can help you remember to focus on your goals and plans rather than just your daily to do list. If you’ve surrounded yourself with the right people will share some of their knowledge and be happy to give you feedback.

Of course, it’s always good to include some new business people in your village. It helps remind you how far you’ve come, and lets you pay back for the help you’ve received along the way.

If you find yourself struggling in running your business, take a moment and ask yourself who is in your village. If you don’t have enough support, advice, and inspiration in your immediate network it’s time to grow your village. Look for a coach, join a networking group like BNI, or reach out to someone you know and invite them out for coffee. You’ll be glad you did.

Andrea J Stenberg

What did he mean? You don’t have to be the best to be successful. The people who get ahead don’t worry about being perfect. They get off their butts, take action and get their products to market.

So here are my thoughts on why imperfect execution is better than perfect planning

Work your plan

While I’m the first one to tell you that planning is important, I know that too often planning can be a form of procrastination. Rather than getting down to the work, you keep tweaking the plan. Get a plan in place and start working it. Over time you can tweak the plan as you see what works and what doesn’t.

Beating the competition

How many times have you seen a competitor release a new product that is just like the brilliant idea you had a year ago but is still in the planning stages? Don’t you kick yourself when that happens? I know I have. Let’s learn from our mistakes; when you have a brilliant idea quickly create a plan then work on execution so that someone else doesn’t beat you to the punch.

Get results now

Customers don’t buy your plan. People have to know how to buy from you, so make it easy. A less-than-perfect sales page, advertisement, or social media campaign will get infinitely more results than that piece of paper with your plan on it that never gets implemented. Whatever method you choose to market with, get on with it. You’ll get better as you go.

You can do better?

How many times have you seen somebody else’s product, read somebody else’s book, or been to somebody else’s seminar and thought to yourself “I can do better than that”? Well if you really can do better, prove it! Nothing is perfect. If those less-than-perfect competitors are selling, get off your butt and get your better product out there too.

You’ll feel better

You’ll feel better. Seriously. That frustration you feel every time you look at your plan but don’t see any forward action will go away. Sure you may feel some trepidation, some nerves, as you get started. But as Dale Carnegie said: “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence encourage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

So if you have some new product that has been sitting in the back your mind, or new marketing strategy you been planning to attempt, quick tweaking the plan! Go out and get busy.

Putting your focus on profit doesn’t make you a Ferengi. It is a necessary part of the business world. When you have a j-o-b, someone else is responsible for marketing, office space, administration and designing a business plan. You show up, do your job and get paid for your time.

But when you own your own business, even if you have employees, you are ultimately responsible for every part of your business. That’s why you charge a higher hourly rate than you would if you worked for someone else. Very few entrepreneurs bill 40 hours per week.

But in spite of this, many entrepreneurs have an uneasy relationship with money. And it is a relationship, as I was reminded by Iyabo Asani in a teleseminar I attended last night. In this teleseminar she said that money represents an exchange of energy. You provide a services (expend energy) and the customer gives you money in exchange.

However, if you have a problem relationship with money, it spills over into other parts of your business life. If you always feel there is never enough money, then it is often because you lack value in yourself. This can manifest itself in a lack of clients or in attracting clients who can’t or won’t pay what you’re worth.

What Iyabo said made a lot of sense to me. I know in my own life, my relationship with money hasn’t always run smooth. I don’t come from an entrepreneurial background so making money isn’t always seen as a good thing. This makes for some interesting thought processes when you’re in business, let me tell you.

However, when I focus on money, when I focus on cleaning up my relationship with money, things improve.

How? A few years ago, I was attracting people who didn’t want to pay. They didn’t truly value my services yet they claimed the wanted to hire me. On more than one occasion I allowed myself to be talked into working for a reduced rate. Then the client kept adding more work.

The worst situation came when I was hired for what I thought would be an exciting project; something I had never done before. However, in the back of my mind there was a red danger flag waving franticly at me. But I ignored it. As a result, I was talked into cutting my rate in half. Then, a job that should have taken hardly more than a week ended up taking 8 weeks of my time, full time, and netted me less than $1,000.

After that experience I decided to get smarter. I wrote out a detailed description of my ideal client. This description included someone who truly valued what I offered and would readily and happily pay my full fee.

The result, it worked. I began getting better clients, clients who could and would pay me, happily and on time.

This happened because I knew what I was looking for. I was determined to never again be taken advantage of by others. I became more confident in quoting my fees. Clients sensed that and were less likely to try to get me at a discount.

Second, by focusing on what I truly wanted, the Law of Attraction could come into play. I know it sounds “woo woo” but when you know what you want and put it in writing, it has a way of showing up.

If you have an uneasy relationship with money, don’t bury your head in the sand. Look closely at it. It’s only once you deal with your money demons that things can improve.

Andrea J. Stenberg

This teleseminar I attended with Iyabo was part of the Masters of Client Attraction telesumit being presented by my colleagues Scott Shane Holt and Janice Wright. The list of speakers they have lined up is impressive. The Telesumit runs until April 12^th. If you’d like to attend free, here’s the link http://tinyurl.com/ajsMOCA.

Yes, that is an affiliate link. Yes, if you upgrade to one of the paid versions of the Telesumit I’ll get a commission. But we’re all in business, so you won’t mind. After all, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you should know I wouldn’t recommend anything I didn’t truly believe in.

While the entire podcast was interesting – as always – there was one section in particular that stood out. Godin said, “real artists ship.”

By artists, he didn’t necessarily mean people who put paint on canvas. He broadened the term to mean anyone who is creative and bringing something new to the market, in particular entrepreneurs. What he really meant is successful entrepreneurs finish what they start and bring new products (or services) to market. They don’t spend forever making it perfect. They get it close enough, then release it.

During the interview they discussed a few well-known cases of companies taking forever to get a new product to market. In some cases, they never quite manage to release.

This got me to thinking about my own business and the businesses of other people I know. There have been several times where I’ve had great ideas, created a plan and started work on a brilliant new product. And then something that should have taken me one or two months to complete, drags on for many, many more months. By the time I finally finish it I’ve either lost interest, or someone else has beaten me to the punch.

And it’s not just me. I see it all the time in other people. I have a friend who is a very talented alternative health practitioner. She is kind, caring, and really knows her stuff. We’ve formed an unlikely partnership in the past to create some wonderful workshops together.

But her real dream is to have a full time practice. We spend many hours brainstorming ways she could market herself to attract new clients to her practice. I helped her create a marketing plan. Some of her marketing ideas were truly innovative.

But she never quite got off the ground. There was always a reason why she wasn’t ready to promote the next workshop or approach a complimentary business for joint ventures.  Her website wasn’t quite perfect, her office space wasn’t nice enough, she didn’t have enough names to contact. It didn’t really matter. The net result is she never got around to pursuing those opportunities and now she’s back working full time in a career she isn’t passionate about.

And yet the other day while at my chiropractor’s I noticed someone else with the exact same type of practice as my friend was implementing all the ideas we had come up with. She had partnered with my chiropractor, was running workshops and building a practice. This other woman was living my friend’s dream.

Now, I’m writing about my friend’s lack of ability to ship because let’s face it, it’s always easier to see where other people are going wrong than to look objectively at myself. But I do it too.

I’ve resisted posting a list of consulting services on my site for over a year now. Why? As I write this I can’t think of one good reason why it’s taken me this long. And yet here it is, a year later and people who visit my site can’t find a way to hire me. Dumb!

And to add insult to injury, I’ve had several people ask when I’m running courses again; both ones I’ve run in the past and new ones that have been on the drawing board. But I haven’t set a date.

So, dear readers, I have a challenge for us both. Let’s commit to being true artists for the rest of 2010. We will complete those projects that are on the drawing board. We will release them to the world to see if they sell. We will promote our asses off to sell these new products and services. And we will go one better. Regardless of whether these new products and services are wildly successful or fall flat, we will continue to create new and better products, while learning from our past efforts.

Andrea J. Stenberg

As Helene said, “We Canadians have such a short time with good weather we need to take advantage of it.”

It’s not just Canadians. All small business owners need to give themselves permission to have some down time. I know I tend to be a bit of a work-a-holic. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ve seen me write about going two or three days without even leaving the house!

Even when I leave my home office I don’t always stop working. I have a habit of taking my laptop with me when I want to watch the Jays game or a movie and checking email, reading other people’s blogs or catching up with social media.

Now I’m all for multitasking. I do it all the time. But there comes a time when each of us needs to turn off for a while. It’s not healthy to be perpetually working. We all need time to recharge, refresh and actually enjoy the life we’re working so hard to support.

And it’s not just getting out of the office. You really need to turn off – turn off the computer, turn off the crackberry, turn off the cell phone. You’re not really getting away from work if you’re still checking your email, sending tweets or just making one more edit to that article.

Last week I was at the cottage and I didn’t even have cell phone reception. I had to walk 30 minutes (uphill) to get spotty reception. I lost my sister twice in a three minute call. Rather than stressing about the lack of access, I gave myself permission to enjoy the down time. I put away the laptop and turned off the cell phone. I actually enjoyed my family. I read entire novels without forgetting who the main characters were. I didn’t even crack the spines of the business books I’d dragged along. It was a true vacation.

The net result? I am refreshed, recharged and ready to work. I’m more focused and more excited about my work then I’ve been in a long time. I’m getting more done in less time.

You don’t need an entire week to turn off. Try a mini vacation. Give yourself permission to take an entire evening off and just enjoy your life. Finished your “to-do list” for today by 3 pm? Don’t fiddle around at the computer with busy work until 5 pm. Pat yourself on the back for your productivity and take off early. It’s one of the perks we all tout about being an entrepreneur, but when was the last time you actually did it?

If you haven’t taken a vacation yet this summer, I challenge you to carve some space out for yourself between now and Labour Day.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Are you one of those perpetually working entrepreneurs? Please leave a comment and tell us how your spouse caught you checking email at 3 am in the bathroom or whatever crazy thing you’ve been known to do. Or better yet, share your tips on how to get away from work, even if it’s only for a few hours.