TOUGH TALK RADIO NETWORK

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner and you have not considered offering workshops you may be overlooking a powerful marketing tool.

Offering educational workshops addressing a prevalent problem in your niche which are pain points for your client base will identify you as an expert in your field and make you the “go to” person.  All of this just for providing a valuable service that can impact the lives of those you serve.

Here are a few suggestions you can use to create, market and facilitate your next workshop:

Setting the tone

Have you ever been to a boring, agonizing or tedious workshop?  To avoid these pitfalls make your workshop fun, engaging and entertaining.

For example, at the beginning of any workshop, warm up your attendees so they are receptive to your message.  Share a personal story or client story that paints a picture of how the information in this workshop eliminated or reduced the pain point.

Connect with the audience

Get the participants involved even more by encouraging them to reflect on, discuss and experience what they are gaining.  This is a critical step for long term retention.  Knowing they will have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and learn how to apply what they have learned will keep them coming back.

Market for maximum capacity

Creating an interesting workshop is the first step but it will only be successful if it is well attended.  Using basic marketing strategies to fill your workshop will not only give you a higher attendance rate, greater client conversion but also repeat customers.

Create a plan

Be more targeted with your marketing strategy by creating a well thought out campaign.  Instead of sending out a single email to a hodge podge of contacts or posting fliers and running miscellaneous ads, focus your efforts toward a specific market. This will allow you to customize your workshop to their needs by speaking their language.

Start marketing the event early and touch your prospects numerous times in advance.  Offer them free or value-added products and services about a topic related to the workshop.  For example, you could offer an article, report or ebook in conjunction with their registration.  The key is to send several messages giving yoru prospects more opportunities to get to know you, like what you are doing and trust that you will deliver if they invest in your workshop.

Get noticed

In today’s market we are all bombarded with media overload.  To create a marketing message that will “rise above the noise” so you will be seen and heard and capture the attention of your market your offer must be compelling.  Adding special offers with incentives, deadlines or bonuses will insure a higher response rate.

Make an impact

When facilitating a workshop the focus should be all about the learner.  Facilitation is not about being the “sage on the stage” but about being simply the “guide on the other side”.  An effective facilitator creates a setting where discussion, interaction and learning can take place.

Prior to the workshop, visit with some of the attendees as they arrive to hear why they came and some of their specific challenges.  Addressing these during your workshop will make your information even more relevant.

Request Feedback

You may have been very well prepared and your delivery may have been spot on…according to you however it is crucial to request feedback from your audience.  Taking feedback into consideration will help you to hone your presentation and become more in demand as an expert.

Apply these tips to create your next workshop will allow you to leverage this marketing tool to grow your business simply by sharing your knowledge with your target market.

Linda Ballesteros
www.LindaBallesteros.com

We all know that chaos can hit at any time whether we’re prepared or not.  Last year, Hurricane Sandy left her mark with an unprecedented show of fury.  Storms make me think of how chaos can strike at any time. When it comes to our careers it can hit without warning but more times than not there is usually some inkling of an impending change.  

A few examples of change:

• Your crazy boss resigns without warning and suddenly the old familiar chaos gives way to something new and maybe not better.  New leadership may bring in their team and where does that leave you?
• You or your spouse has been asked to either relocate or lose your job.
• Your company may be sold and an entirely new management team is being brought in to evaluate you, clean house and reorganize.
• Technology is changing and the job that you’ve mastered is either being eliminated or outsourced.

There is a new book by Howard Stevenson, a Harvard professor, where he discusses these changes as “inflection points”.  An inflection point “is a moment in time when structures are removed and rules are suspended.”  Stevenson feels that these types of situations are a time to reflect inwardly, decide what you want and act on it. He’s right. Honestly, as difficult as it may be, we need to fully understand that change will come our way and we need to prepare in order to be able to embrace an inflection point.  It’s time to humbly and honestly assess our strengths and weaknesses.  So what do you do, where do you begin?  Especially if you’ve been on auto pilot with your career/job.

 Preparing for the Storm | Mental Preparation:

• Do I Like What I Do?| The first question you need to ask is “Do I like what I do?”  This is regardless of whether you’re working or not.  Do you like how you spend your day? Most times we get so tied up in our day-to-day chaos that we rarely take the time to take a breath and lift our heads up out of the foxhole
  • If yes, are you aware of what is happening in your town, company, the country with your career?  Make sure you’re in the loop with LinkedIn or Meetups in your area.  See what directions others are going in and then see if it’s a fit, if not, forge your own path.  If you’re young, speak with those that are more experienced.  If you’re experienced be sure to talk to the new generation to keep you fresh and up-to-date.
  • If no, it’s time to start figuring out what you want, now!  What do you want your day to look like? Get a small notebook and write it down.  Visualize for a few minutes a day.  This is just the beginning.   Like it or not the life you have is the one you created why not create it thoughtfully and not just recreate the chaos you may have grown up with?  Change always begins by first just thinking about what you do and don’t want in your life.

 Your Toolkit:

If you decide that you need to make a change, there are so many tools available now for all different income levels.  You may need to look a bit but you will find someone who has overcome the situation you are in.

• Internet Radio | On “Corporate Talk with Charlie and Eva” Charlie and I discuss many different topics and have a number of different guests all relating to some aspect of career life.  Replays are available if you miss the scheduled time.  Internet radio is free.  You can check the “podcast” section of my website or go to www.blogtalkradio.com/tough talkradionetwork or www.hayhouseradio.comlook at what the different hosts have to offer and listen. 
• Books| There are many low priced ebooks that can be searched on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  Just search on the topic you’re interested in.  Don’t over think it, just look for what appeals to you even if it’s only the cover art. 
• Get a coach, counselor or therapist| Sure I can do sit ups and jumping jacks in my living room but without the camaraderie or instructor yelling at me to get moving, I simply won’t do it. That’s why I pay for Boot Camp.  Over the years, I’ve had many therapists, counselors and coaches.  Some have only lasted a few sessions but many have lasted for years because they help me stay on track without me having to bug my family and friends.  It’s not that I’m clueless but I like to expand my thinking and see what others are doing.  This has allowed me to have a very diverse and interesting life and it’s still changing.   We all can use an educated, objective opinion! Network | If you think of networking as connecting with people, it’s not nearly as intimidating.  Look at LinkedIn, Meetup, see what groups appeal to you and make a commitment to keep in the loop to see what’s new.  Even a few hours a month is better than not doing anything.
  • My website contains names and reviews of books you may find helpful, blog posts, and replays of “Corporate Talk”.  Take a look at what is offered and see if it appeals to you.
  • Ask around and get a referral, you’ll be surprised how many people you know have worked with a therapist or coach.
• Online Resources | LinkedIn and Facebook when used wisely have a ton of information and can be a good place to start.  Although it can be overwhelming, the volume means that sites are vying for your business. This means a lot of free content.  This can at least get you started.

Change is inevitable and even though we can’t predict when it will come we can be more proactive in preparing for it!

Eva Lewwandowski
Core Coaching
www.corecoachinginc.com

This week I read an article written by Eric T. Wagner and published by Forbes. This article is so important to people who are or want to be entrepreneurs. I decide that my article will be a truncated version of Eric’s article. You will find a link at the end of the article for you to access the complete article and reach out to Eric.

1.) Have a Unique Perspective on Risk

This one seems like a no-brainer. What other segment of society is willing to step out with crazy ideas like entrepreneurs? But here is the deal for those of you on the fence — get your tail off it. According to the report, “a majority of entrepreneurs indicate they believe entrepreneurs are born — not made”.

2.) Instill Passion in Great Teams

Speaking with Venture Capitalist Paul Jones the other day — he told me the leading cause of high impact entrepreneurial failure is due to team dysfunction and breakdown.

3.) Demonstrate Resilience and Rapid Recovery

Tenacious as a bull-dog — rock star entrepreneurs simply don’t give up. Yes — they get things wrong from time to time. And yes — they get knocked on their rear once in awhile. But guess what? They get up and try, try again. Most times in a new direction.

4.) Embrace Innovation

Hurling through space at the speed of 67,000 miles per hour. Can you imagine it? Yes — that’s us here on planet earth as we fly around the sun.

Now take the break neck pace of technology and knowledge advancement we’re experiencing in our current time. Dare I say it’s whipping along at the same ridiculous speed. Which means you better build a culture of innovation into your business lest you get run over from behind.

5.) Focus on Core Competencies

Basically, the best entrepreneurs become laser focused on the things they do best and outsource the rest. Perfectly rational — but you’d be surprised at the number of entrepreneurs who miss this part. You simply cannot be all things to all people — and you should never try. So nail down those things you and your team really excel at and focus on those.

6.) Pursue Expansion

“Just keep swimming… just keep swimming.” – Dory

Yes — the best entrepreneurs keep swimming. They keep pursuing innovation and they keep growing their companies. And not necessarily in the “grow or die” mantra. Smart, strategic growth and expansion.

7.) The Right Capital At The Right Time

No question capital is a biggie among both startups and the best entrepreneurs in America. It certainly ranks at the top as the biggest “pain in the you know what” I’ve heard from aspiring and startup entrepreneurs.

8.) Preserve What’s Been Built

Although this is a nugget from some power hitting entrepreneurs — not sure I am fully buying into it. Yes — there is no question you want to “cling to what is good — and abhor what is evil”; or in other words; work towards preserving all the wonderful things you have built into your company. But the trouble is what hides under the rug during your preservation mode. Call it “complacency”.

You can read the full article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericwagner/2012/11/15/8-winning-strategies-from-the-top-entrepreneurs-in-america/

We all know that to be able to build a successful business, we must take action. The question is … What Action?

Before we take action we need to know where we want to take our business. Hmmm … sounds a lot like I have to go through the dreaded goal setting exercise that has never makes me any money! Well you’re half right! Most goal setting exercises don’t make you any money because they are more philosophical than actionable. I have found a way to set goals that is simple and actionable.

Set SMART goals; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. This system can be used for long term goals, short term goals, as well as daily goals. Let’s take a look at how to use the SMART system. By the way, this system does not cost you a dime.

1 year SMART GOAL

Step one – SPECIFIC:  $200,000 in revenues

Step two – MEASURABLE: Yes

Step three – ACHIEVABLE: Yes, this 25% higher than last year

Step four – RELEVANT: Yes, this fits into my long term wealth building

Step five – TIME-BASED: Yes, 1 year

1 month SMART GOAL

Step one – SPECIFIC:  $16,666 in revenues

Step two – MEASURABLE: Yes

Step three – ACHIEVABLE: Yes,

Step four – RELEVANT: Yes, this fits into my one year goal

Step five – TIME-BASED: Yes, 1 month (20 days)

Daily SMART GOAL

Step one – SPECIFIC:  $833 in revenues

Step two – MEASURABLE: Yes

Step three – ACHIEVABLE: Yes

Step four – RELEVANT: Yes, this fits my 1 month goal

Step five – TIME-BASED: Yes, daily

Here is how you chart your actionable items. In my business I know I must reach out and touch 10 new people every day to generate $833 per day.

Actions

Step one – SPECIFIC:  40 phone calls or 15 in-person visits

Step two – MEASURABLE: Yes

Step three – ACHIEVABLE: Yes, if I block the time and make it priority number one

Step four – RELEVANT: Yes and absolutely must be done

Step five – TIME-BASED: Yes, TODAY

Have fun and get excited! You will accomplish your goals and make your dreams come true.

By Dirk Cummins

Just like anything in life, there are many struggles that we have to deal with in a home based business, especially in the beginning. The challenges of dealing with the unexpected and dealing with the things that are outside of your control sometimes get the best of us as human beings. However, establishing a few boundaries will get you started on the right path.

Here are a few things to consider if you are thinking about running your business out of your home.

Establish a routine.

More often than not, the main problem of working from home is procrastination. There are simply too many distractions lying about. Since you do not have a work schedule, you will have to come up with one yourself. Only by implementing a work schedule can you lessen procrastination and thus improve productivity from home. When the time for work comes, the brain can quickly shift into gear and you will feel more inclined to work. Do this everyday and you have yourself a classic work routine where everything that needs to be done is done as second nature.

Tell friends and family that you are on work mode.

Working from home is a relatively new phenomenon that some people still fail to grasp. As such, some friends and family tend to downplay the seriousness of your work. “You are not even in an office” as they often quip. Unfortunately, this does not distractions from friends and family which is bad when you are trying to catch up on a deadline. When this happens, it is best to make them aware that you are working and cannot afford to be distracted. Explain to them that you are not free just because you are at home.

Set-up a home office or a separate space for work.

Working out of your bedroom or in front of the TV is no good especially if you want to be productive. As such, you want to devote a separate space for work to make a distinction between work and play. As much as possible, find a quiet space in your home where there will not be so much distraction. Get all the hardware you need and put it in one convenient place for quick and easy access. Having a home office is best but any spot where you can work quietly is good enough.

Take frequent and short breaks.

Just like working in the office, working at home also requires short breaks in between. Be sure to at least close your eyes for at least five minutes every hour. This reduces the strain caused by staring at the computer all day. You can also try walking around to stretch your legs a bit. Grab a quick snack to help replenish your energy and keep your mind sharp and active. You can even lie down for a while to get your bearing straight. Just be careful not to doze off completely!

Do not burn yourself out.

At the extreme end of procrastination is working your self too hard. Just because you can work 12 to 14 hours in a day does not mean you should. It may be tempting to “do tomorrow’s work today for a free day after” but it must be avoided. Over time, the quality of your work begins to deteriorate resulting in poor results. Working long hours is only bad for productivity. So do yourself a favor and take a break every now and then. Work within your capabilities and avoid overstretching yourself.

Working for yourself and officing out of your home adds challenges however it also provides flexibility that can improve the quality of your life.  Find others who have more experience working from home that can provide insight, tips and ideas so working from home works for the entire family.

Have you ever gone to a conference, read a book, or listened to a CD, and learned something you “knew” would help you, maybe even change your life … and then did nothing?! Would you say you’ve done this more than once?

Why do we do this? Because in the desire to implement what we’ve learned, we prematurely turn our attention to altering our “behavior” which is our automatic response instead of allowing our new-found lessons to transform our “beliefs” or our underlying foundation. Our beliefs drive and determine our behavior; the two cannot remain out of alignment. So, when we attempt to behave in contrast to our beliefs, we’re left with two options: continue to beat ourselves up for failing, or return to our original behavior.

So where do our beliefs come from? Each day we process an inordinate amount of information. To help make sense of this daily bombardment, we are forced to begin making generalizations to help speed up our processing time, and these generalizations ultimately become the foundation for our belief system. Once we “believe” something, our brains begin to operate on automatic pilot, filtering any input from the environment and searching for support systems to validate that belief. Our mind wants to collect information or evidence to support our beliefs. Often the evidence we collect is not supportive or empowering.  In fact it can often be detrimental to our well-being. However, without this hardwired process, we would not be able to function or survive.

The subconscious mind is where the majority of our behavior is controlled. Once a new behavior has been consciously learned it is delegated to subconscious, such as, riding a bicycle, and driving a car. The same is true of the way we “process” information about the world around us – having acquired a set of beliefs and concepts we delegate them to subconscious control and then we automatically engage in thoughts, feelings and behaviors subconsciously – in other words not under our conscious control. Therefore, whatever you believe becomes your reality.

The downside to this is that regardless of where our beliefs come from, we begin to blindly accept them and no longer question their origin or truth. Once adopted, these beliefs become our foundational view of reality and become entrenched in our unconscious. Before we know it, we have limited ourselves solely to the past as a source for our beliefs.

Check out your foundational beliefs by filling in these blanks:

• I am _______ (intelligent, athletic, a failure, a success, hard- working, lazy, etc.)
• People are _______ (friendly, caring, selfish, power-hungry, mean, kind, etc.)
• Life is ________ (a joy, short, thrilling, boring, hard, a struggle, etc.)

You might ask yourself:

• “What negative impact has this belief had on my life?”
• “What will it ultimately cost me in my future emotionally (as well as in my relationships, physically, financially, etc.) if I continue to hold this belief?”

Beliefs, both conscious and unconscious can arise out of direct and indirect experiences. Beliefs that arise out of direct experiences are those developed from what we see and experience in person. Beliefs can also be based on indirect information, for example information conveyed to us by another person. We make decisions everyday based on information  gleamed from many sources such as broadcast news, articles, teachers and professors, the internet and the list goes on.  We take this information in in the form of beliefs which are often based on this subjective evaluation of facts. In addition, each of us brings our past experiences, filters, perceptions and beliefs with us into every new situation.

To determine what you really do believe, you might ask yourself:

• “Is it true?”
• “Is this belief ridiculous or absurd?”
• “Was the person I learned this belief from worth modeling in this area?”
• “Is this belief based on accurate interpretations?”

Basically conscious beliefs and less conscious beliefs direct our lives, providing the framework for emotional responses, initiating our actions and conversations. Most of us know that if we could change the way we think we could change our lives. So how do I do that?

There are different methods for changing beliefs the one I recommend is Change Your Beliefs – Change your Life!  It is the process I use to assist my clients in identifying the conscious and subconscious beliefs that no longer support you. Using various techniques, I’ll guide you in resetting your beliefs and creating new beliefs that support your life today.

You deserve to have the life you want!

Diana Rinkoff ■ dianarinkoff.com ■ 713-503-9104.