by Luci McMonagle | Growth Oriented Mindset, mindset, women entrepreneurs
Disappointments are inevitable in life, so your small business endeavors are no exceptions to this: Your new business failed to generate any profits in the first few months, a lead or referral failed to convert into a business opportunity, a prospective sales meeting turned out to be a dud; a client expressed disappointment with your work, your partner quit, your new campaign failed to generate the necessary buzz… the list simply goes on. How successfully you are able to deal with these negativities, failures, disappointments, and criticisms and still strive to make your small business grow, shows the kind of mindset you possess i.e., either a limited mindset or a growth oriented one. Your resilience would ultimately determine the future directions of your business. 80% of women entrepreneurs end up quitting in the first year of their business because they are unable to cope with difficulties, competitions, disappointments and failure. The 20% who are able to survive and thrive may not be the most innovative and talented ones but are certainly more spirited, tenacious, and resilient than the rest of the lot. Here is what these entrepreneurs do differently than others when it comes to dealing with entrepreneurial struggles, failures, and disappointments:
They Acknowledge their Feelings
Growth oriented women entrepreneurs are more likely to acknowledge their feelings related to failure and display their emotions. They don’t keep things bottled inside till they break. They internalize the process as well as externalizing it in meaningful ways. This unique ability gives them a default advantage of getting over their disappointments and failures more quickly and getting back in the game.
They Seek and Give Support
Mentally strong women entrepreneurs are more likely to talk about their complex feelings related to failure and disappointments in their support circle, and seek emotional support rather than suffering in silence. They use their feminine traits of relationship building, compassion, nurturing, and empathy to build a circle of trust and care, and draw strength from it in times of need. As a result, they are more likely to purge their negative emotions, recover quickly from their disappointments and get back on track.
They Are Unafraid to Ask for and Give Help
Unbound by her ego, a women entrepreneur is not shy and afraid when it comes to asking for help from those who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she is. She understands that asking for help when things go wrong will allow her to resolve the problem quickly, fix mistakes and learn from them, and make quick progress. Likewise, she gives others her time and assistance generously because she believes in spreading good karma and feeding the spirit of abundance in the Universe.
They Look for Solutions, Adjustments and Compromises
A women entrepreneur with a progressive attitude doesn’t possess a “my way or the high way” attitude. She tries to understand her clients’ and partners’ needs, and looks for ways and solutions to accommodate them. She becomes flexible, reassesses her own goals, and looks for newer ways to reach them. She works with the belief that she can help people and can also build a successful business on this principle in the process of helping others.
It takes a lot of spunk to run your business in the real world, to be able to put yourself out there, allow yourself to make mistakes, become vulnerable, open yourself to criticisms and disappointments, be willing to look vulnerable and even stupid, assess where you went wrong and why, and gather the courage to get back up on the horse after a knockdown and get going again as if nothing happened. Over the years, as a serial entrepreneur, I started lots of side businesses; some failed, but many thrived. Had I given up on the initial failures, I wouldn’t have been able to reach where I am today. Resilience and a strong mindset do wonders for you.
I am Luci McMonagle, a Miracles Abundance Coach. I conduct personalized sessions with businesswomen so as to help them recognize the blind spots, self-sabotaging patterns in their businesses and life, and replace them with healthier, more productive attitudes and mindset. Most clients that work with me are able to make positive changes in their mindsets, their work styles and lifestyles, and experience transformative results in a matter of months. My coaching calendar is booked ahead for months by lots of ambitious and spunky women, but new slots open up as well, as I get free. So if you are serious about your business, book a complimentary assessment with me today. We will figure out what you need right now to help your business grow: resources, referrals, or anything else.
by Luci McMonagle | Growth Oriented Mindset, Money Manifestation
In the kind of unpredictable times and economy we are living in currently, there would be days when your business would be going so fast that things would be a blur. Then there would be days when things would be very slow…almost at a standstill. It is bound to happen during the course of a business year and as women entrepreneur, we are more prone to become frustrated and insecure during these lull periods because of the lack of new business and a source of income. A limited mindset would force us to see this time as of scarcity, impoverishment, stagnation, and weaker personal and business influence. However, having a growth oriented mindset would help us realize that this time is a secret blessing, a chance for you to re-adjust your focus, shift gears, reenergize yourself, build up prospects and lead generating lists, and look up for new possibilities and alliances. This other perspective would help you embrace this period of uncertainly with peace and a renewed purposefulness. Here are a few ways you can make even this time the most useful and productive:
Get Organized
It’s inevitable for paper work to pile up when you are in the thick of things and the pressures of meeting the deadline is always on. In a way the lull period is a blessing in disguise to help you clean up your act, organize and categorize thing, so once the pace picks, you are better organized and much more in control to locate old information and leads from your system and easily integrate the newly generated information. Doing this work now will help you save a lot more time and energy in the future and reinvest them in more money making activities.
Send ‘Thank You’ Notes
Many people use this lull period to dig into their prospects’ list and start making cold calls. My approach is a bit different. I don’t use this time to make cold calls or sales calls solely but make the effort to touch base with a former or prospective client, just for the sake of it. You can write a personalized ‘thank you’ note to tell your old clients how much you have enjoyed working with them in the past and how much you appreciate their role in your life. Send an unexpected thank you gift to your biggest and most loyal client. It would make you pop up on their visibility chart and help them keep you in mind for upcoming projects.
Ask for Testimonials
If you haven’t asked yet, use this time to ask your clients to write you a review, endorsement and post it on your website, facebook page, Linked In profile, twitter account. Or ask them to like, tag, share, retweet your posts. This would generate some fresh buzz around brand and services. Ask them to or take pictures of ways they might be using your product and service and how they are enjoying it. You can post this pictorial content on your instagram, facebook, pinterest account.
Invest In Learning
Use the down time to learn more about your field. Get enrolled in a seminar, event, webinar, class relevant to your field in order to get a chance to learn from specialists and gurus in your field. Enroll in a forum and group and start actively participating there. Besides learning, this engagement would give you a great opportunity to make fresh contacts, get referrals, and network, new collaborative opportunities, and tons of ideas.
Develop and Share Resources
You can use this time to develop a paid resource or course and sell it to your audience. If you want to truly manifest an abundance behavior, use this time to develop some written resources, tutorials, posts, videos about any aspect related to your business and your target audience and post them on a public forum. Just keep the aspect of its useful in mind for your audience. Ask your audience to comment on, tag, share, retweet the material so as to engage more and more people. You can also develop a personalized resource that can help your clients further their own business goals, for e.g., template of a letter, a business plan template, a personalized diet or financial plan, a lead, source, or referral, whatever it is that’s relevant to your field and that of your clients’. Just imagine what a great impression it would make on your clients and how helpful it would be in gaining leverage with them.
So start thinking of your slow time in business as a spring cleaning time for your business, tossing out of old ideas, and cultivating new ideas, systems, catalysts and structures to manifest more abundance, more wealth, and more influence in the future.
I am Luci McMonagle, a Miracles and Abundance Coach. Through tips, techniques and resources and using my own years of experience, I have been coaching women entrepreneurs to take charge of their lives and their businesses, overcome their personal limitations and barriers through mindset change tips, abundance manifestation exercises, and practical advice. Would you like to explore the ways we can work together? Great…check out my training calendar and pick out a vacant slot. In this complimentary session, I would talk to you and try to find it what exactly do you need right now to help your business grow…referrals, tips, list building, resources, systems? Whatever it is, we will figure it out together. Click here
by Luci McMonagle | Growth Oriented Mindset
It is an absolute truth that we are surrounded by more negative people than positive ones. These can be our family members, friends, spouse, and even partners and clients. They are the naggers, complainers, naysayers. They see the proverbial glass always empty instead of full. If you are striving hard to find success as an entrepreneur, you would find it very difficult to get along with them. However, one of the advantages of having a growth-oriented mindset is that it will help you cope with these people and even cultivate a better work and personal relationship with them through 4 easy steps:
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