 |
3 Tips to Put the Profit Back in Your Purpose
Author: Elizabeth Davis  | Posted: 14-05-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 5 | Rating: (51)  (?) 
Copyright (c) 2008 Elizabeth Davis
Yesterday, a client called me in a panic about the state of her finances. 'What is causing such a talented, experienced, bright woman such money misery?' I wondered.
As I contemplated her situation, my own history with money, and that of the hundreds of business women I've coached over the years, I realized that there is an inner process that must be happening simultaneously with specific, time-tested outward actions if you are going to have BOTH purpose AND profit in your business.
Here are my TOP 3 TIPS for creating more purpose AND profit in your business:
#1 Stop making 'work' a four-letter word.
Work gives our lives meaning. For many of us, work is one of the primary ways we express our life purpose. However, I've noticed something very interesting. Here's the hypothetical scenario: "Julie" is 36 and married, with two young children. She has just started a home-based business selling nutritional products. She is having trouble juggling the schedule of her kids with her own business responsibilities.
As Julie's coach, I suggest she hire an administrative assistant (easily done by posting an ad on www.CraigsList.com. Hourly rates range from $8 hr - $20 hr). She balks. "How can I afford that? I'm not making much money in my business yet." I ask her, "How exactly do you make money in your business?" She says, "Well, staying in touch with my current customers and finding new ones." "Right," I say, "so where is your time best spent?" Julie responds, "Marketing to my current customers and ideal prospects." Uh-huh. "So, how about doing that?" I say. "But it's so much work," she says. Uh huh.
When we do the REAL work in our businesses, which consists primarily of delegating tasks that are not our area of expertise and spending our precious time letting our prospects and customers know about what we've created to make their lives easier (that is the goal of EVERY authentic business - making the life of your customer EASIER with a better hand soap, a better vitamin, a better home study course, a better workshop, etc.), we begin to not only PROFIT, we feel more connected to what we are doing and why we are doing it - our PURPOSE.
Are you avoiding the real work of your business with lots of nitpicky tasks? What is this costing you? At a deeper level, what does this distraction allow you to do? That's right, HIDE OUT. When you spend your time creating a new product, publishing a new book or improving your marketing campaign, you are definitely not hiding out. You are showing the world who you really are. And that's what Julie is afraid of - succeeding and being seen. Which leads me to Tip #2.
#2 Determine your 'Visibility Edge' and stretch it
How much spotlight can you handle before you start to retreat? Is your blushing brought on by a simple compliment about your lovely blouse or is it a full-out panic attack about stepping on stage or calling the local TV station for an opportunity to appear on their morning news program? Each of us has a 'visibility edge' - the limit to which we will allow others to see, hear and applaud us before we stop doing the necessary 'work' to be seen, heard and valued by our target market. (See Tip #1.)
What is one thing you can do today to move your 'visibility edge' out a little bit further? (I asked my personal assistant to contact the local radio station about my appearing on Valentine's Day to do 'romantic compatibility' hand analysis readings for the listeners. We're waiting to hear back and I'm excited. If this one doesn't pan out, there are always more. BTW - I make up these ideas and pursue them - which takes me to Tip #3.)
#3 "Ask For Forgiveness, Not Permission"
Grace Murray Hopper, a computer programmer and the inventor of the COBOL program, was quoted as saying, "It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission." I interpret this to mean that, in your business, it is often easier to move forward with your visions and goals when the inspiration hits you than it is to wait around for someone to tell you, "Yes, darling, you can have what you want."
In Julie's situation, the nutritional company she represents won't let her put up her own web site. So instead of asking their permission to create an informational web site on nutrition fundamentals, Julie just did it, with a link that connects people back to the nutritional company. Julie honored the policy of the company but created a solution that not only increases the company's sales, but creates an additional profit stream for Julie in an area where her purpose as the "Family Healer in the Spotlight" can come alive.
If you are in a financial rut, these are my three challenges to you:
1. Work on the PROFIT tasks and delegate the rest. Do what makes money FIRST each day, not last.
2. Determine your 'visibility edge' by writing down the last time you really showed up publicly - whether on a teleclass, a radio or TV program or in print. What is ONE thing you can do before the week is out to bring you and your business some purpose-full publicity?
3. What is the BIG thing you need to give yourself permission to do? What will it take to give yourself permission NOW? What kind of person will you have to become to not wait for someone else's approval? Set a deadline and go for it!
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/3-tips-to-put-the-profit-back-in-your-purpose-414523.html
About the Author:Get Beth's FREE SPECIAL REPORT, "The 5 Massive Mistakes Spiritually-Oriented Women Make in Business (… and how to avoid them!)" and her FREE hot tips to discover your specific career niche at www.handanalyst.com. Beth won the 2007-2008 Glazer-Kennedy Information Marketer of the Year Award. She'll show you how your HANDS reveal the best way to market your business message.
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Business World, Youth and Beauty. Does youth and ...
By: janedoechronicles | 12-08-2008
Business World, Youth and Beauty. Does youth and beauty play a significant part in business . . . and, the corporate world? If so, why?
Small Business development
By: Paelu | 04-08-2008
I am setting up a business where I will have a private facility,20' X 40' area, available for training seminars, lectures and "hands on" massage classes. Most of the seminars, will be from 8am to appx 5pm and will last 2 to 4 days.
There will be 10 to 30 people in the classes.
I will have overnight accommodations available for a limited number of people to include the instructors and their assistants, (usually 3-4 people)
There will be kitchen privileges, and relaxation areas with TVs.
I am wondering where I would find more information on how to charge the
the instructors for use of the conference space, as well as, what kind of
room fees to charge for participants in the classes. I know how to break down my utilities for usage but am not sure how to project amount of usage ie utilities, wear, tear, and possible damages, liability insurance, housekeeping to include bed linens, bath towels etc. and what else I might need to include in my tabulations
Small business financing
By: theredsarecoming | 01-08-2008
How do I get financing for my small business idea?
Pls. answer..
By: bardy | 30-07-2008
what is kantian ethics thought?
What are some creative ways to finance a small business?
By: theredsarecoming | 28-07-2008
What are some creative ways to finance a small business? And I'm not talking about banks or venture capitalists.
Art co-op vs art league
By: eye | 27-07-2008
how is a art cooperative different from an art league?
Q&A Powered by: 
Latest Self Improvement Articles
The Significance Of Anger Management Techniques
By: Stephen Campbell | 08/09/2008
Anger management techniques are put in place to give encouragement to individuals to work on their anger. Anger management programs are generally educational in nature and help the victim to take control of their emotions-- the anger.
Catalysts For Achieving Real Success
By: Stephen Campbell | 08/09/2008
There are 4 important things which everyone should etch within their heart and mind--success secrets., leadership development, business success, abundance and prosperity.
Laboratory Experiments With Subliminal Messages
By: Michael McGrath | 08/09/2008
Do subliminal messages really work? Can your brain even record messages that you are consciously unaware of? This is a debate that has been raging since the 1950s and recently we have some scientific evidence to give us the answer!
How to Become Successful and Financially Free
By: Richard van Beek | 08/09/2008
There are many different ways to become wealthy. You can inherit money, win money, save up until you reach a substantial amount, or work really hard to get it. But a lot of people lack one element to create wealth. In this article I'll explain this secret.
The Awesome Power Of Gratitude
By: Jules Hawk | 06/09/2008
The expression of Gratitude has the capacity to transform your life, to develop the connection with Divinity, with your true inner self and the profound power within, to inspire, and to bring forth bounty and joy into your life.
Discover Your Destiny: Finding Your Path of Light
By: Michaiel Bovenes | 06/09/2008
The concept of destiny can excite you at the core of your being and can also become a source of frustration that renders feelings of impotenia and longing. When you learn these secrets you can easily find greater peace and fulfillment in your life.
Angelic Forces are Here Now
By: Kate Loving Shenk | 06/09/2008
Angels Are Known To Visit Where Catatrophe Looms. ER's, Hospitals and Hospices All Come To Mind (But Not Limited To). This Article Is A Review Of Dr. Robert D. Lesslie's New Book, "Angels In The ER."
Buy One, Get One Free or Bogof
By: Elsabe Smit | 06/09/2008
We believe that the illusions that other people create, but we do not believe that we can create our own reality. We then live the reality of someone else and complain about not getting what we want.
More from Elizabeth Davis
3 Tips to Beat the Law of Distraction
By: Elizabeth Davis | 19/08/2008 | Self Improvement
Are you suffering from the "Law of Distraction?" If you are, you are not alone. When I ask people what their #1 challenge is, it's usually not enough time at the end of the day. I'm going to give you 3 tips to help you beat the Law of Distraction and stop it in its tracks. However, if you really grasp this, get ready for your life to start changing from the inside out... fast.
How the Moon Can Help You Plan Your Business
By: Elizabeth Davis | 17/08/2008 | Self Improvement
Do you track the moon's cycles? What about other cycles? The moon has taught me about the power of cycles. Cycles can be charted and tracked so that you are prepared much more often than you are surprised by life's ever-spinning dance. Nature lives according to cycles - and so do we.
Suri Cruise: Living in the Limelight
By: Elizabeth Davis | 08/07/2008 | Home and Family
In celebration of summer, we will be exploring the hands of various celebrities. Today, we begin with Suri Cruise, the vibrant, beautiful daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Children's hands quickly and accurately reveal the personality of the child.
Fantasy in Your Hands: How to Use it to Grow Your Business
By: Elizabeth Davis | 23/06/2008 | Self Improvement
Fantasy is the opposite of reality. Fantasy is a whimsy, a dream, a vision, a desire, a hope. Reality is authenticity, truth, certainty. Many realities in our lives once started out as fantasies. What began as a picture in your imagination became your reality. In the palms, I can see someone's tendency toward fantasy.
3 Strategies for Leveraging the Opportunity Markers in Your Hands
By: Elizabeth Davis | 18/06/2008 | Self Improvement
I'm often asked if I ever see anything bad in the hands. Since you can choose whatever you want to believe, how about believing that everything, and I do mean everything, is an expression of life offering you an opportunity to learn, grow and discover more about your authentic self? This article focuses on three types of markers in the hands and how each offer an opportunity to grow.
Your Target Market is You
By: Elizabeth Davis | 16/06/2008 | Self Improvement
What is a niche? Your niche is your special place, position or forte. It's the "thing" you do that sets you apart from the competition. Once you determine your niche, then you need to determine your target market. Are you with me? Let's delve deeper.
"he or She Won't Commit? 3 Strategies for Turning Your Love Life Around!" (part Two)
By: Elizabeth Davis | 29/05/2008 | Home and Family
We've explored the 3 main strategies I've discovered from reading hands on how to take your relationship to the next level and create the commitment you seek. Not we're going to look at 3 MORE strategies for improving your *conscious contact* in your love life.
"he or She Won't Commit? 3 Strategies for Turning Your Love Life Around!" (part One)
By: Elizabeth Davis | 23/05/2008 | Home and Family
I've read thousands of hands and the issue of "commitment" in relationships comes up again and again. No surprise there. We all long for connections. We want to find an appropriate partner. Explore with me the 3 main strategies I've discovered from reading hands on how to take your relationship to the next level and create the commitment you seek.
|
|
Self Improvement 
