Infinite Possibilities Coaching

Personal Development Tips: A - Z

Donna — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:05:58 +0000

Here are some personal development tips to help anyone achieve their goals in life.

ACCOUNTABILITY
Be responsible and accountable. There is nothing to gain from pointing the finger or blaming others.

BUILDING POSITIVE HABITS
Lay a foundation brick by brick, in no time you will have a great wall to protect from the negativity and negative habits that are so prevalent in the world today.

CONSCIOUSNESS
Become aware of everything. Be aware when negative thoughts cross your mind. Be aware of the people you associate with. Be aware of how you think and live your life everyday.

DRIVE
Don’t give up. Be relentless, if something falls short of expectations, take a step back, reassess, make the necessary corrections and try again, then again, and again if needed. It has been said that Thomas Edison made 1000 attempts before inventing the light bulb. Make no mistakes persistence will pay off.

EFFICIENCY
Becoming efficient and organized is the foundation of personal development. Strive to accomplish more in less time.

FINISH
Completion of tasks or projects is crucial to personal development and success. Once something gets started, make sure it gets finished.

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
Setting and achieving goals provides the empowerment to achieve anything in life. The world’s greatest leaders are master goal setters. Knowing where they want to go with a plan in place is the reason for their successes.

HAPPINESS
Life is full of bumps in the roads. Rather than dwelling on the negatives, take these little bumps and be happy that life has given a new challenge. Find a positive solution. Remember the song “Don’t worry, Be happy”.

INDIVIDUALISM
Be the unique individual you are. There is no law that states in order to become a better or more successful individual requires you to change who you truly are.

JOY
Find the joy in everything. Life is too short to dwell on negatives.

KNOWLEDGE
Learn something new everyday. Talk to others, read books, research on the internet, find a mentor, or listen to motivational tapes or cds. The Tony Robbins, Brian Tracys and Zig Ziglars of the world became the leaders they are through their knowledge.

LEADERSHIP
Lead by example, be the model for others to emulate. Be knowledgeable, fair, consistent and approachable. Become a coach or mentor to someone. Strive for excellence.

MOTIVATION
Get excited about improving life. Be a visionary and achiever.

NEGATIVITY
Plain and simple, get rid of it, flush it down the toilet. Negativity is like poison and it is more contagious than catching a cold.If you associate with negative people it is imperative to get rid of them also.

OPEN MINDED
Keeping an open mind is crucial to success. Limiting thoughts and actions will hinder growth and more than likely bring everything to a grinding halt. Keep the eyes and ears open, the opportunity to grow is more often than not right in front of you.

PROGRESS
Move forward, eliminate procrastination and get things done.

QUOTES
A great motivator is to read quotes from well known writers, leaders in business and motivational speakers.

RATIONALIZATION
Use common sense, take the time to think things out before making decisions or taking action.

SIMPLE
Follow the KISS principle. Keep It Super Simple. If there is no need to complicate something, don’t.

TAKE CONTROL
Take responsibility for your life. Set goals, make plans,stay focused, and take action.

UNSTOPPABLE
Those who achieve their goals and dreams in life possess an unstoppable attitude. Their attitude can be compared to a F-5 tornado. These people believe that there is nothing that can get in the way of their success, if something tries, they will blow right through it.

VISION
Dream, envision, prioritize what is most important, and set out to accomplish it. At the end of your life don’t let yourself regret not doing the things you truly wanted to do. Envision it, Live it.

WRITE IT DOWN
Put your goals down on paper, post reminders around your home and workplace to keep you focused on them. Keep a journal of your life, document your accomplishments as well as your failures, it’s a great way to track your life.

XPERT
Become an expert at what you love, learn everything about it. Knowledge and passion leads to wealth.

YEARN
Without a need there is nothing to yearn for. Whether there is a need to spend more time with the family, make more money or get that promotion at work. Yearn for it, want it, crave it, then get a plan in motion to get it.

ZOOM
Get into the race car of life, buckle up, shift it into overdrive, put the pedal to the metal and zoom your way to the top.

See you there. Visit us at professional speaker

Stuck Solopreneurs Learn to Take Action

Donna — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:28:14 +0000

I am watching many solopreneurs that are finding themselves stuck unable to take the necessary action that will continue to move their business forward. Taking action is the fastest way out of Stuck. On Tuesday I was a guest on The Manifesting Your Life Radio Show with Host Gary Glasscock. We had a conversation around taking action. You may enjoy!! Make a decision to put your business in the right position to excel even as the economy is struggling.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gary-glasscock

On Friday, November 14 I invite you to join us on Solo Talk at BlogTalkRadio. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/SoloTalk

Listen in while 5 incredible business owners share their success strategies and the obstacles to avoid for creating a thriving business.

Stacy Brice, President of AssistU

Peggy Murriner, President of BabysitEase

Peggy Stokey, President of Legacy Connection and CEO-ACT

Sheryl Schuff, Certified Public Accountant

Stephanie Bell, The Spirit Coach

Create a Great Day! It is a choice.

A Great Day to Commit

Donna — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:23:38 +0000

I went to vote today and I was thrilled to see the number of folks that showed up. I waited an hour and fifteen minutes which is really not too bad. As I stood in line and listened to all of the conversations going on around me I was saddened by the tone and discussions. Most people are focused on what is going wrong in the country and their own private worlds. People talking about being out of work, worried about health care and the state of our economy. As I stood there I was inspired and feeling good about what is going on. I have never seen a line at the location where I vote, there was such a mix of age groups represented. I found all of this to be a good thing. We have become too lazy as a nation and we have taken our freedoms for granted. I believe we all create our own realities. I am not saying that many are not facing challenges today. I believe we are all being tested. But I also believe we have a choice in how we respond to those challenges.

This afternoon when I opened my email one of my messages was from Yanik Silver and I thought one line in his email was at the foundation of my own beliefs.

“Election Day is the perfect day to claim your own independence and write your own ticket!”

I want to challenge you to claim your commitment to your own success, today! We are making history today at the poles no matter what the outcome. That is exciting. We have so much to be grateful for as we are truly blessed in this country. Decide right now that you are going to create the success you deserve and take the steps necessary to make it a reality. Start right now preparing for a fabulous 2009. Search out the support and resources you need to put yourself on a path of success. Today is the day to begin.

One of the most proven methods for great success is through taking advantage of the power of a MasterMind group. If you have read Think and Grow Rich then you know that Napoleon Hill believed the MasterMind is an incredible resource. I would like to invite you to check out my MasterMind program I think you will be blown away by the value.

Claim your independence today!

Don’t Just Survive But Thrive

Donna — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:20:13 +0000

Now is not the time for solopreneurs to pull back and stop marketing themselves. That is what a lot of folks will do out of fear, and the results will be devastating. This is the time to get focused and market yourself even more. Because many will pull back you will absolutely stand out from the crowd. Implement these 6 steps in your business and stay in the black in today’s economy.

1. Take care of yourself. Schedule that physical exam you’ve been putting off and make sure you get exercise and take care of any personal issues that are troubling you. Taking care of mind, body and spirit will increase your confidence. Confidence is key to growing your business.

2. Stay in Control. Don’t wait until you’re in the red. Take a real hard look at your expenses. What can you eliminate? Can you find a better deal or re-negotiate with current contractors? Need a great tool for checking on your financial situation? Financial forecasting software for solopreneurs check it out http://www.survivalware.com/.

3. Keep Positive. Hold the big picture in your sights. If you only see what is wrong, that is the only thing you will attract to yourself. “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

4. Reinvent. Create new products or services – or re-create old ones. Talk with your target market, what is their biggest challenge today? How can you help to solve that problem? Be proactive. Use this time when others are stuck to get creative and become your ideal clients problem solver.

5. Don’t Do It Alone! Get support from family, friends, coaches, and fellow solopreneurs. Join a group. A great group like the International Association of Solopreneurs. http://www.solopreneurs.org. Connecting with like-minded people can be empowering.

6. Keep Growing! It is important for you to keep growing. How many books can you read in a month related to your expertise? Never assume you know all there is to know. Learning is empowering and energizing. Keeping on top of your industry during the tough times will put you on top of your industry in the good times.

Take advantage of this market to not only survive, but your solo business can thrive in this marketplace. It is all a choice. What will you choose?

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Check Out My Upcoming Free Teleclass

Income Generating Activities

Donna — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:11:59 +0000

As solopreneurs we make choices everyday as to the best use of our time. And there are more than enough activities to choose from that eats away the hours we have to devote to our businesses. Many of those hours are spent providing the service that we offer to our clients. Because we are typically passionate about that product or service we become experts in our fields. The sad truth is that being an expert does not equal being financially successful. And although it is not the money that drives us it is the money that allows us to continue our endeavors. We must learn how to incorporate income generating activities on a daily basis.

I did a quick survey of successful solopreneurs to ask what types of income generating activities they do and how much time do they spend in that area of their business. I have always believed that the 80/20 principle applies to these activities and I believe my quick survey proved me right.

This is what I learned. Although they all came from a different perspective as to what was effective for their business the amount of time they spend on these activities is about the same. I received similar responses that they spend anywhere from 20-30% of their time and/or responses like they always do at least one activity each day for marketing and sales. Activities such as warm and cold calls, networking with their target market, writing sales copy and getting it in front of their target market were all activities the different individuals do on a consistent basis that generates the results they are looking for.

If you look at your own business how much time do you honestly spend on income generating activities? If it is less than 20% of your week you might want to look at restructuring your time. If the financially successful solopreneur spends up to 30% of their time looking for new business I would follow their example in your own business. And if you believe that you are spending that amount of time but you are not experiencing the income as a result you need to do some research.

The first research I would recommend is that you track your activities for a week. You may find that although you think you are spending enough time in reality you are not. However, if you find that you are honestly putting the time in then you must evaluate the activities themselves. Learn what your numbers are. If you are not converting enough contacts to sales determine where the weak link is. Do you need to improve your closing skills, increase your number of prospects or are the prospects you are attracting the correct target market? Successful business owners are always looking at their results and determining where and how they can improve. Need help in this area get outside assistance that can look at your situatiion with a fresh set of eyes.

Create a prosperous day.

Give Away Enter Today

Donna — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:44:37 +0000

The International Association of Solopreneurs has a give away going on until the end of October.

If you know a solo business owner or someone who is thinking of becoming a solo business owner please direct them to our give away. There are two give away packages the first one listed below is packed with nice gifts.

Your very own blog, ready to go through Wordpress (www.wordpress.com), with FREE hosting for one year! (valued at $196.00)
Three FREE Audible book downloads gift certificate (Valued at $50.00)
Apple Shuffle 2GB (valued at $69.00)
FREE Business Coaching for 3 months! (Three thirty-minute sessions per month with no sales hype! (Valued at $900.00)

Go here to enter the give away http://tinyurl.com/3ly3pk
Help us spread the word by inviting your friends to enter. Thanks for your help.

Donna Amos
President and Founder
www.solopreneurs.org

Beliefs Around Sales

Donna — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:31:26 +0000

For many solopreneurs and entrepreneurs sales is a difficult process. If you as the owner of your business have a personal bias around sales it will be a challenge for you to sell yourself. Do you have a belief system that says that sales people do not have a good reputation? Do you see sales as being pushy? Do you believe to sell something you must convince (force) someone to purchase something they don’t really want? Many of my coaching clients have these kind of beliefs around the concept of sales.

I would like to help you develop a different perspective. First question I want you to answer for yourself “Has anyone ever been successful at forcing you to purchase something you didn’t want?”

When you decided to go into business for yourself you must have believed that you were going to offer something of value. That the service or product you were offering would solve a problem for your ideal client/customer. I also know that most solopreneurs are passionate about what they are doing with their business. Does this sound like you?

Step back from your own fears around selling. Do you in fact offer something of value? If so will it be of benefit to your clients and help to solve a problem for them? Then you have a responsibility to share how your product or service will be a value to them. Instead of attaching the word sell to what you do change your vocabulary to the word share. It can be the simplest changes that can make the biggest impact. Remember you are not going to force your prospects into buying anything. You may answer questions for them to help them become clear on how your product or service will be of help to them, but you will not make them buy anything.

One last thought, NO is absolutely going to happen. But NO does not have anything to do with you personally. They are not rejecting YOU. No simply means Not Now!

In today’s economy you do not have the luxury of holding back you have a responsibility to yourself to share your service and/or product with anyone that you can bring value to.

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I currently have two openings for coaching clients. If you are ready to take your business to the next level I would love to talk with you to see if we are a good fit. I only work with clients who are willing to take action.
Send an email to donna@donnaamos.com to schedule a complimentary consultation.
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Check out the interviews available today at www.solopreneurs.org

How is Your Sales IQ?

Donna — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:25:26 +0000

Every business must know their numbers. That doesn’t mean you must be a math wiz, it means your sales numbers. Do you know how contacts you must make to create the pipeline of prospects necessary to sustain your income at a healthy level?

A couple of examples:
1. You generate your business through public speaking and you know you must have 2 speaking engagements per month with 20-30 participants. Out of those participants you know that you will schedule appointments with 30% and 30% of those will become clients. The other 70% are added to your newsletter and another 25% will eventually become clients. End result is each month you will have generated 3-4 new clients per speaking engagement. To increase your numbers you either increase the number of speaking engagements or you improve your skills at closing the opportunities you currently have.

2. Maybe your business is internet based and driving traffic to your website is your prospecting activities. You have put several strategies in place to drive that traffic and you know that you need 1000 visitors a day to hit your financial goals. 1000 visitors = 2 sales and 50 newsletter subscribers. You have the same opportunities once you know your numbers. You either increase the strategies to drive the traffic or you fine tune your website to entice more folks to purchase the first time they visit.

Where are you in your sales IQ? Do you need to increase the efforts that give you an opportunity to sell or do you need to improve your closing skills?

One more question you may need to look at is how do you feel about sales? Does the thought of selling make you uncomfortable? I will look at those thoughts in my next post.

**********Shameless Marketing*********** Need Your Help

Check out the John Cow blog where we sponsored one of his marketing efforts. If you like please Stumble It.

One more request would you vote for www.solopreneurs.org at StartUp Nation

Tips for Successful Marketing

Donna — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:01:56 +0000

How often have you started a marketing campaign only to give up in a few weeks because you did not experience immediate results? I have watched many solopreneurs give up too soon. I had one client say why would I continue to blog when no one is reading? Of course it can be frustrating to know you are giving it your all and no one is acknowledging your efforts. We are certainly a society that expects instant gratification. But when it comes to marketing your business the biggest mistake you can make is to stop any marketing campaign too soon. Folks have to be touched by your marketing message 8 to 12 times before they will begin to see you as a possible answer to their problem.

What kind of things can you do to expose more prospects to your brillant writings? It is definitely a process to attract one new reader at a time to consistently build your audience. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

Do you participate in forums where your ideal client hangs out?
Have you used google alerts to notify you when someone blogs about your subject of expertise and then comment on those blogs?
Have you stumbled your blog and ask your family and friends to do the same? All of these little actions add up to big traffic.

Practical Steps to make it happen. I recommend that you make a list of activities you can do to promote your blog then get yourself a kitchen timer. Set that timer each day for 60 minutes and during that 60 minutes complete as many of those activities as you possibly can. When the timer goes off stop. At the end of the week you will have spent 5 hours promoting your blog. If you added another 5 hours looking for new prospects and staying in touch with your past and present clients you will be on your way to consistent income.

The bottom line you must keep writing and sharing your knoweldge.

Shameless Self Promotion ******************** Need Your Help

Check out the John Cow blog where we sponsored one of his marketing efforts. If you like please Stumble It.

One more request would you vote for www.solopreneurs.org at StartUp Nation

Interviews of Successful Solopreneurs

Donna — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:31:35 +0000

While preparing for the Iaunch of the International Association of Solopreneurs I have conducted at least 40 interviews of successful solopreneurs. The interviews are available for members to access and learn from others who are in the same shoes they are. The diversity of these solopreneurs is incredible. Each day during our four week give away one of the interview will be live on the front page of the site for anyone to have access to, but only for 24 hours, and then it disappears behind the membership only curtain. I hope you visit daily and listen to these incredible gracious solopreneurs share their stories.

I was struggling in sending the audio files to the individual interviewees because the files were so large. And I emailed the interviewees that I would not be sending the audios. Shel Horowitz of www.principledprofit.com wrote back and shared a website that allows you to send large files www.sendthisfile.com. It worked perfectly. I recommend it highly if you have large files to transfer. Thanks Shel.

One other site that I have used as a result of this venture is www.tinyurl.com. If you have a very long url this site will shrink it and give you a new one to use. Just like this http://tinyurl.com/3ly3pk this is the link you can use to enter our fabulous give away in celebration of our launch.

I hope you enjoy the two resources and be sure to visit www.solopreneurs.org and listen to todays interview with Alicia Smith the Disc Ninja.