Are you spending 80% of your time doing what you LOVE TO DO and getting properly compensated?
When I first started my business, I struggled with knowing how to define my own niche, my own unique brilliance and the one thing I loved to do AND that people would pay for.
If you were like me… try saying this statement out loud and see how you answer.
“You were born with a skillset that is designed to help someone improve their life in one way or another. Have you found that “one thing” you can provide as a service to the world?”
Here are my Top 3 Strategies to Help YOU Clarify and Access Your Unique Brilliance:
- SELF-REFLECTION: Make a list of all the things that you would do for free all day long. Don’t worry, you won’t do them for free, on the contrary you will be very well compensated for it.
- REACH OUT: Reach out to friends, family, co-workers and colleagues and ask, “What is the one thing you can reach out to me for?” What is the one problem you can ALWAYS solve for them?
- ASSESS: How can I bring more of this unique brilliance to my business? How can you integrate more of these skills right now?
Begin to anchor yourself with this key knowledge, it will become your “secret weapon” within your business and it will allow you to become unstoppable and grow your business to the next level!
After completing these 3 steps, don’t stop there! The CLARITY FOR BUSINESS ASSESSMENT can help you become clear on what is the next thing you need to focus on in your business right now! Take the assessment and roll up your sleeves!
In Clarity,
As I sit and write this piece it’s August and we are in the middle of a Pandemic.
Whatever I had laid out clearly and neatly in my 2020 plan (back when I planned my year ahead in December 2019) is out the window.
Monthly sales goals. Gone.
Quarterly projects. Gone.
Product launches. Gone.
Travel plans…. Let’s not even go there…. I have so much money stuck in airlines I could probably call myself a shareholder!
So while March through July have been months of finding our footing, pivoting, overdelivering for our clients and managing now 4 children back at home and their online schooling, August is actually shaping to be quite different.
Yes, I’ve lost my focus, but I’m committed to regaining it in August. So here’s my plan:
- REGROUP: Back in April 2020, with my team, we sat down and we worked together in clarifying how we could serve the world given the pandemic situation. Now, in August, the rest of 2020 is shaping up to be very different than we envisioned. We thought that by the end of summer we would go back to normal but, instead, we have a “new normal”. So the first step is to once again REGROUP and ask ourselves, of all the problems we can solve, which one is more relevant right now? Actually this is super exciting for us because we are developing a whole new service (DONE FOR YOU) that will revolutionize your business… stay tuned.
- RESET GOALS: No point denying it. The world has changed (and I’m not exaggerating) and our business might look very different than it did a year ago. So we must UPDATE our goals, with a dash of reality and a dash of optimism. What can you achieve in the remaining months of 2020? Even if these new goals are 50% lower than before, these will be goals that can be achieved and that you will be able to celebrate when you raise a glass on 12/31/ 2020.
- RESET YOUR DAILY PLAN: FOCUS! What is the fastest path to achieve your goals? If your business is off in sales and cash flow is an issue then FOCUS on the fastest path to cash. How can you earn clients quickly? If what you are struggling with is an overabundance of work (lucky duck!) then your focus must be on systems, team onboarding and 100% customer satisfaction. You want to make sure your business can absorb this flow of new work without sacrificing quality. Trust me, any of these scenarios can pose a problem.
So there you have it. This is what will help us here, at Masters in Clarity, REFOCUS this month.
So where will you start?
In Clarity,
Dolores Signature in green
How many IDEAS do you have stored in your “back pocket”?
If you are an entrepreneur like me, you are constantly brainstorming new IDEAS. You write them down on pieces of paper, you put them in a google docs, store them in Asana or better yet – jot them down on a napkin in desperation to just get the IDEA down on paper before you forget!
So how do you take those notes, those brilliant moments of clarity and turn it into a successful product launch?
Here are my 3 steps to deciding which product to launch.
Let’s break them down:
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- SOLVE A PROBLEM: What is one problem you can solve without being in front of the client? A way for the client to learn, explore or solve their own problem with your guidance online.
- WHAT YOUR CLIENT NEEDS: The best way to identify what your clients struggle with is to ask your clients or get clear on what is the most common problem.
- PLAN YOUR LAUNCH: Ask your client what they want to learn at an accessible price. Know what they want and provide the solution.
The CLARITY FOR BUSINESS ASSESSMENT helps you clearly score how each part of your business is doing and how to prioritize your focus.
So, let’s get started on your IDEA and make it happen!
In Clarity,
Dolores Signature in green
I am sitting at my desk, it’s 9 AM and my calendar is free of appointments this morning.
Actually, if I am honest, most of my mornings looked like that in the first few years of my business.
I might have 2 maybe 3 client calls a day but the rest of the day was pretty empty.
So I would sit at my desk, and think, what should I focus on right now? What should I do?
And my go-to tasks tended to rotate between tweaking the website, working on a new product, writing an article or newsletter, and tweaking my website again…
Sounds familiar?
This dancing around a “spaghetti to the wall” kind of to-do list becomes boring, frustrating and can feel like failure over time but is a process we all go through until we get truly clear in our vision.
And…. spoiler alert, the feeling lost will still happen but there are ways of getting back on track.
So, how do you shift from being “busy” to “taking strategic action towards your vision? Here are tips that will allow you to hold your course and relax and trust the process:
- CLEAR VISION: Setting your vision is CRITICAL. Otherwise it is like driving your car with no set destination. A nice activity on a Sunday afternoon but not productive during your working week when you need to get to places in a timely manner. That is why if you are looking for a hobby, forget having a vision, BUT if you want to build a business you need to clarify your vision. So how do you do that? Yes, there are some complex processes you can engage in but in my work, a simple question can do the trick. Simply ask yourself, what do you want to celebrate by X date? That’s it, list everything that comes up for you.
- MANAGE YOUR TIME: You can’t make more time in the day. 24 hours is all that you have, BUT you can be a better manager of your time. Once you have the vision and you have broken down your process, then give yourself clear deadlines and block time in your calendar to meet these deadlines. Don’t just block time and label it “WORKING TIME” like I used to, instead have a clear “agenda” for what you want to accomplish during that time. What works really well for me is to have one of my team members meet with me during those times and ensure I get the work done. I need babysitting!
- BE KIND TO YOURSELF: Manifesting your vision is simply keeping it as your main focus day in and day out. Once your vision becomes your lighthouse all you have to do is look for it when you get lost in a project, a launch does not go as planned, the meeting, event or sales campaign doesn’t quite meet your expectations. Don’t despair, trust the process. Arriving at your destination might include stoplights, roundabouts, refueling and maybe even taking a rest in your journey here or there. Just keep on moving forward.
It has taken me many years to find my VISION and TRUST my process. Each one of us has a unique way of working so my suggestion to you is:
- KNOW HOW YOU ARE WIRED, so you can align your tasks in a way that meets your unique way of working. Here’s a FREE personality test that will help you.
- ASK FOR SUPPORT on the way. We are here to support you if you would like to hop on a CLARITY CALL with us.
Have a great weekend,
Dolores Signature in green