Illumin Blog

....to come back home.

When starting or evolving a business or when things aren't going well in your business, it's normal to look at what's going on in the "neighborhood" instead of getting quiet and listening to what's going on inside you.

You "walk around the block" looking outward. You see the competition's marketing, selling, branding, products or services that you admire, wish to copy or perhaps even feel jealous of.  These are all normal emotions, yet even the most honorable of them--copying ("imitation is the sincerest form of flattery") can be a disservice to your business, clients and your spirit because it ignores the unique qualities and natural abilities you have that can set your business apart.

It's totally normal to look outward to see what others are doing in the industry and its even important to do because it helps weed out what you don't want. Just know that uncovering your business' "sweet spot"--that perfect combination of service offer, ideal client, branding and marketing--has to come from your own combination of purpose, expertise and experience. The clues to your business' sweet spot dwells within you, in your home, not someone else's. Only when this is accepted can you create a service offer, a brand, a company that honors your purpose and makes you more money.

Your body and the universe are always giving you clues as to where you should be going and what you should be doing in your business, but it requires coming "home". Going inward, getting quiet, listening. Accepting who you are, where you are. Allowing your gut, your intuition, your spirit to guide you. Accepting your spirit as your "homing" device as it will always bring you home--if you listen to it.

So, go ahead. Get some fresh air. Take a walk around the block and see what's going on in the neighborhood. Just don't forget that the answers you seek for your business will be waiting for you when you come back.

If you get lost along the way or feel locked out, give me a buzz. I'll help you find your way home.

In yoga class my instructor often ends our practice with the phrase “Surrender your head to your heart.” 

This phrase always gives me a sense of peace. It also makes me think about how important surrendering your head to your heart is in business, too.
 
Because our minds are processing machines, we take in everything, regardless of whether it’s good for us or not. There is no discrepancy in what is kept and embedded into the far reaches of our brain or what is tossed out. We often hold onto emotions, experiences or beliefs that no longer, or perhaps have never, served us. Oftentimes, these beliefs can be the very roadblocks that keep us from taking our business to the next level or fulfilling our ultimate purpose.

Our heart, on the other hand, serves as a filter, processing, purifying. Pumping back into our bodies’ blood and oxygen while carrying away waste. Your heart knows what will serve you and what won’t and proceeds to eliminate it. Your brain is not so discretionary.

Your mind is what will say, “I don’t have what it takes” or “I’m not smart enough.” Your heart will say, “I’ll find a way”, “I know I can” and “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”

It’s not unusual that when I ask women what they want to achieve in their business, the brain kicks in and there’s a list of goals usually conveyed in a serious tone. When I ask them what they’re passionate about and love doing, their voice and body language completely change. It is because they are speaking from the heart for “in your heart, you know.”

Your business may be based on your brains, but your heart is where your best service offer lay, what will attract customers, make you more money and give you more joy. Your heart should be the guiding force behind your business. If you’re wondering if it is, ask yourself “Do I feel joyful and fulfilled in my business or do I feel unfulfilled, anxious, depressed, bored or resentful?”

If it’s the latter, I’d like to suggest that you surrender your head to your heart to rediscover the passion that got you into your business in the first place.

Namaste.

We think too much.

As business owners we’re always trying to be ahead of the game, always want to know the answers before calling, launching, pitching or doing. Mentality this just puts us behind the game because we spend so much time thinking instead of doing.  It’s a big waste of emotional energy, time, competitive advantage and often revenue.

Look, I get caught up in these challenges too so I’ve created an approach to get out of my own way and stop over-thinking. It’s called Think. Do. Done. Here’s what I do:

1. I THINK of everything that I need to get done this week and write it down in my notebook in no particular order. This clears my head and frees up brain space.
2. I DO take a highlighter and mark, at the beginning of each day, the top three things on my list that will generate visibility, credibility, or revenue. If there are several of these items on my list (and there should be), I pick just three to do today.  If I picked them, I commit to not thinking about them, but doing them.
3. I DO write those three things on a separate piece of paper so I see only them, not anything else on that long list.
4. I DO clear my entire desk area of anything unrelated to those three items so I’m not distracted.  (I now have all my books, files, papers, etc. in a completely separate room on a completely separate floor because I am very easily distracted. I also log out of email and any social media sites. They can wait. On my desk are only those three tasks I need to do now.)
5. I DO give myself a time limit to do each of those tasks. For instance, for today’s blog post I gave myself an hour and a half.
6. I DO step away from my project for a bit of time, 15 min., ½ hr., 1-2 days (only for really big projects) to allow for any additional creative juices to flow. I’m strict with this time limit. For instance, if I write a blog, I’ll step away for about 15 min., come back, reread, make changes, and then send it to my VA to post it.
7. Now I’m DONE and ready to move on to the next item. 
8. Repeat daily.

By assigning three important tasks a day and giving yourself time limits to get them done, you realize how focused you become and how much more substantive your work is. If you accomplished the three tasks on your Action List for that day and have the time and the desire to do more, great, go for it. But, if you’ve completed them and want to have fun for the rest of the day, you can feel good about taking action versus “wasting” action on non-transformative, insignificant tasks (internet gazing, doing laundry, cleaning your desk again, etc.).

If I find myself over thinking a project, I just take action. Usually the action in and of itself resolves the problem. Basically, I borrow from Nike and “Just Do It.”

The great news about having a Think. Do. Done. way of working is that you will quickly get hooked on the habit of working quickly through your Action List.  You’ll be more comfortable with getting things done verses making them perfect. Let’s face it: nothing is ever perfect in business anyway. It’s all a journey and part of the journey involves feedback, and to get feedback you have to put it out there, and to put it out there it needs to get done. Not done perfectly.

Well, my hour and a half is done and this needs to get posted! Have a brilliant day!

NOTE: This is a long post in response to an inquiry about clients who don't pay, so if you want to whip through it quickly, scan the nuggets in bold.  :-)

Many businesses are experiencing challenges in this economy and one of them is getting paid for the services they deliver.

I've been on both sides of this, being the contractor who needs to get paid or the person in corporate who is the contact for a vendor awaiting payment - so these tips come from my own experience.

This topic is really an animal in breadth. Experience has taught me that the best way to avoid late payments is an airtight contract with a crystal clear scope of project deadlines and language indicating what occurs when payment is not received.  That being said, there will still be clients who may not pay no matter how diligent you are so take heart, you are not alone. Because this is a long post, I'll start with two awesome resources up front.

There is a great book called "How To Set Your Fees and Get Them" by Kate Kelly. It addresses the topic of outstanding collections and how you can set yourself up to avoid this problem, as well as fee setting.  It's one of my business "bibles." You can get it on Amazon for as little as $.01 used: http://tiny.cc/xzh58.

As a last resort, should you need to call in a collections agency, contact Jocelyn Nager, Esq. at Frank, Frank, Goldstein & Nager, PC. She is a very savvy collections lawyer and has a voice that could get even the most delinquent clients to pay.  She is lovely and a true professional: http://www.ffgnesqs.com/.

Here are some rules of thumb (in no particular order) and things I advise Illumin clients to do to mitigate late payments based on my own experience working with big and small clients.  Of course, consult with your accountant or lawyer.

1) Have very, very clearly defined letters of engagement, retainer agreements, expense reimbursement agreements, etc.

Be sure to include delivery dates and what will occur if payment is not received within the agreed upon time frame. For example, if you have a net 30 days, be sure to clearly stipulate that ongoing work will cease if payment is not received within a certain time frame after due date has passed. Say, 10 days or so.

I've worked for consulting firms and with clients that keep delivering service even when the client is very late in payment. It's ludicrous because any expenses (paying staff, travel, etc.) then comes directly out of the company's coffers when that money should be used for other things. The rule is: when they stop paying, you stop playing. In other words, do not move forward with your contract until you have the money in your pocket. Some people (the service provider) will say, "Well, we're halfway there already, why not finish the job?" Well, if they want you to finish the job that bad, they'll pay. Don't give your services away for free. Period!

Have different places on the contract for the key contact to sign/initial . This brings particular attention to deliverables and the client's part in making things happen. Think about when you rent a car. The rental company has about four different places for renters to initial and the customer service person describes each of those areas to the renter. Talk clients through the contract. Conversations verses just words on paper can resolve issues up front, thus avoiding potential issues later once you and the client are contractually engaged.

Call the AP contact at the client's firm within a few days after the invoice is sent to ensure receipt. Tell them nicely that following up to ensure receipt of invoices is standard procedure for your company so they don't feel singled out. Ask them if they anticipate payment to be on time. This confirms they have actually received the invoice and that they know you are tracking that.

2) Reconsider installment payments

Personally, I very seldom allow payment in installments. If the client is serious about the job, they can pay in full up front. What I've found (in my particular business) is that those who pay in installments are perhaps not as serious as those who put their money where their mouth is. Of course, this is a generalization, but I'm reluctant to offer installment payments. That being said, I have worked with very serious entrepreneurs who are simply managing cash flow so payment breakout is appreciated. But, again, deliver only as much as you are paid for. If there is more to do and you have not received the next payment, wait until you receive it.

3) Run a D&B (Dun & Bradstreet) report on your prospective client

You can find out a lot about the financial health of a company by doing a little research up front. This can save you pain down the road.

4) Find out, up front, who the key contact is in your client's organization for payments

Develop a relationship with the contact person responsible for accounting up front and be sure they know you will be speaking with them directly to ensure timely payment. If payments are late, you can refer directly to that person . This can help your key contact "save face" because often they have no idea what the hold up is themselves.

5) Be sure to have wording/clauses to let clients know that you can deliver only insofar as they, the client, do their part to help you deliver that service

If you have delivered your part and they have not acted/responded on their part, they could point the finger back to you which could cause friction and delay payment. Do regular checkups to ensure all parties are consistently in agreement on progress and responsibilities so you're not surprised when a client doesn't pay if dissatisfied with service, etc.

6) Have a conversation

Talk to your key contact and ask them to share what's going on. I used to hire vendors all the time in my corporate life and felt very obligated to get them paid in a timely fashion because I had a relationship with them. However, sometimes things were just beyond my control and Accounting or Finance had reasons for delaying payment. Respect that your in-house contact may have no idea what's holding up payment. Ask them to find out who you can talk to to resolve this issue or lay out a payment plan. If you can't deliver your service to them or their department or team because of outstanding invoices, that person may feel the repercussions and incite them to act on your behalf.

7) Have processes in place so there is consistency in how you deal with AR and these types of customer challenges

You should not rewrite the book each time. It's a time and energy waster. As the president/founder of your business, try to stay out of it. Leave it up to your AR peeps, a bookkeeper, a collections agency, etc. You are the relationship person so try to keep that intact.

8) Lastly, be pleasant but firm

If you can't get a response that is satisfactory, bring in a collection agency. These are tough times for many businesses and even though people may have the best of intentions, the rug can suddenly be pulled out from under them. Talk to a collection agency about how to deal with this issue with your client. Hopefully, they can recommend things that will keep them out of the picture and, thus, preserve the relationship. If not, you can send a certified snail mail letter indicating that you will need to engage a collection agency to resolve the issue. Be pleasant, but professional and firm.

It's your reputation and your money.

I haven’t sent out a newsletter for a while and, to be honest, it’s because I have been stuck.

Each time I even think about writing a newsletter I get stopped dead in my tracks. Well, maybe I shouldn’t write this, but, the fact is: I don’t want to do them. I just don’t.

Now, I have a few mantras I often share with clients and one is “If it feels itchy, don't do it.”  

Well, writing newsletters makes me feel itchy.

To be honest, this "itchy" feeling has gone on for a while. On top of this, three clients recently told me—without solicitation—that they like my newsletters, but were surprised to find through our work together that I’m not the formal person my newsletters reflect. They told me that I was warm and fun, not as formal as my newsletters made me seem.

Between having this "itchy" feeling and hearing the same comments from three different clients, I felt the universe was telling me something. That something was that my personality was not coming out in my marketing.

Bingo! That’s what has been bugging me with the newsletter and, to be honest, some of my other marketing, as well. I needed to shed the formality of my corporate background and allow the witty, fun me to step into the light.

Helping people step into the light to reveal their best self is what I do with clients, yet I was struggling with it myself. It just goes to show that the journey of coming into oneself, into one’s power, is just that—a journey.

Often, we are torn between different worlds that we play and work in. Defining our roles, knowing what experiences, personality traits or skills to bring to each area of our life can cause us confusion and stagnancy. I help clients with this all the time and now I was experiencing it myself.

It doesn’t happen overnight, but as we travel the path of entrepreneurship we are always getting clues from clients, colleagues and the universe, that reveal adjustments and decisions we need to make. For me, it means dumping the “itchy” newsletter, letting more of my sometimes sassy, irreverent personality come through in my writing and having more fun.  Just making the decision to dump the newsletter has made me feel completely re-energized and inspired.

So, what’s going on in your business that’s making you feel “itchy” and what are you going to do about it? If you need help, give me a call.

It’s time to scratch that itch.

From the goals we set, to the rates we charge, to who we network with, to how much we give away and how we react to challenges or opportunities, our every choice in our business is a reflection of:

• Our internal belief system
• Our self-esteem
• Our expectations in life

The Paradox of Choice

The paradox of choice is that, while you may feel that making a choice is limiting, it is actually quite the opposite. Choosing creates clarity and clearer minds are able to see opportunities where stuck or confused minds do not.

For example, choosing to focus on one business niche instead of taking a shotgun approach to many actually opens up greater networking, marketing, referral and sales opportunities.

Have you ever noticed how, after you made a choice about something, opportunities started to appear? This is not luck, this is the power of choice attracting your future. Choosing sends a signal to the universe that you are focused, open to what's next and willing to step into your future, even if you don't have all the answers. And the universe responds.

Attracted to People Who Chose Even if They Lose

It's human nature for us to gravitate towards people who are decisive and accepting of the outcome of their choices without the need to seek approval or complain when things don't work out as they planned. It's because they know that, in choosing, they have taken the responsibility upon themselves to move forward in their own best interest based on the information they have at hand.

Choosing is a sign of confidence, self-esteem and power. Can you imagine someone like Oprah or Donald Trump delaying a business choice? Of course not! Choice does not mean fearlessness or that you're always right. There may be nervousness when making a choice, but not choosing, not moving forward, not taking that chance is more painful for driven business owners than staying stuck or not taking the risk. Even when "The Donald" was down on his luck many years ago, he chose to risk and act instead of wallow. Game shows and reality TV shows are all about choice and we are impressed even by those who choose, even if they lose, because they had the guts to actually choose.

Choice is the Universe Raising the Bar

Choice is the universe's way of raising the bar, of pushing us further down the path towards manifesting our life's destiny. It is the world's way of testing us, of saying, "You say you want this, but are you strong enough to move towards it? To get out of your comfort zone? To choose it?"

When we continually ignore opportunities--choices--to move towards our destiny, life stops offering them. Choosing to step into those opportunities actually results in more opportunities.

Choices Are Our Internal Belief System at Work  

All choices are a reflection of our internal belief system and all too often we are stuck in old or self-limiting beliefs that impact the quality of choices we make in our life and in our business. These beliefs keep our business small, stuck or limited in its growth potential.

Here are just a few examples of choices we make based on self-limiting internal beliefs:

• Choosing to work with clients who zap your energy.
• Choosing to go after the small fish, not the big fish.
• Choosing to be like someone else instead of owning your own process, style or brand.
• Choosing to surround yourself with colleagues who accept the status quo, who aren't aiming higher.
• Choosing to undercharge for your expertise and services.
• Choosing administrative minutiae over selling, marketing, networking and getting out there.
• Choosing to see "stuck" as a roadblock instead of an "opportunity".
• Choosing to hire employees, consultants or vendors who are not supporting your goals and vision.
• Choosing to let the fear, instead of the opportunity, dictate your decisions.
• Choosing to ignore your gut and intellectualize every decision you make.
• Choosing the need to have all the answers first before launching something new.
• Choosing to do it all yourself and not allowing your mentors, coaches, consultants, employees, colleagues or friends help you succeed.
• Choosing to dress without spark so that you don't get noticed at an event.
• Choosing to not speak out, ask a question or make a comment at meetings or events.
• Choosing to work ad hoc, vs. setting goals in service of your long term vision.
• Choosing to buy cheap or buy to impress.
• Choosing to stay stuck and not hire a consultant, coach or therapist to help get you to the next level.
• Choosing to play weak, ignorant, innocent or poor.

Choice is a Responsibility

Not making a choice is like handing over the reins to someone else. It's abdicating responsibility--your responsibility--to other people, influences or factors present. When we don't choose, we get what we are given and what we deserve.

The choices we make are not always the right choices and often our choices require a leap of faith. But there's one thing for certain when it comes to choosing...by choosing not to choose, you lose.

So, what choices do you need to make today? If you're not sure and need help, give me a call. There's no obligation, only opportunity.

But, hey, this is a choice that's yours to make.

Internal Conversations Getting You Nowhere?

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get out of your own head when you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed or depressed when business is slow or your career is stalled?

As much as you may try, finding the solutions to what's ailing you professionally is sometimes impossible to do for yourself. You keep massaging the same scenarios over and over, keep taking the same actions with the same results, or keep having the same internal conversation without resolution. I call this "mental masturbation" and it's enough to drive you crazy because there is no result. If you're doing this, let's face, you're going nowhere fast in your career or business.

If You Don't Have the Answer, Reach Out to Someone Who Does

You're not alone. I've been there before--more than I care to admit. In fact, a few months ago I was experiencing real blockage in my work. I knew what I wanted to do and needed to do, but just couldn't get myself moving. Truth was, I was feeling stuck. I mean really, really stuck and I couldn't shake it.

I reached out to my coach for a heart-to-heart and after just one call, the weight of the world was lifted. Together, we made a plan and I started pushing through what I needed to do in order to keep building Illumin.

Staying Stuck is a Choice

As I've gotten wiser ("older?"...who said "older"?), I've started to learn from the pros. Those who have achieved the greatest success surround themselves with a robust support system, leveraging them constantly so they don't stay stuck. Being stuck--whether in your business or when in career transition--is a luxury few of us can afford. Time is money. The opportunity cost of not taking action vs. the amount of money you pay an expert to get you unstuck is nominal. And, let's face it, the longer you allow yourself to stay stuck, the more damage it does to your self-esteem and your bank account. Stuck is a choice few of us can afford.

Feeling stuck is often a precursor to breakthrough and that can be scary, but for those who really want success, it's critical to push through the fear.

What Mindset Do You Have to Push Through?

Reaching out for support is not always easy. As someone with a German-Irish background, I was raised to keep my business private and work through things myself. This was a mindset I had to push through when learning to reach out to others for support. I'm glad I did because it seems that the more I invest in these areas of support (business, marketing, sales), the greater the reward for my business and my self-esteem. And make no mistake, your business and career are directly impacted by your self-esteem so keeping that in tack is critical to success.

If you are feeling stuck. If you are still holding onto the mindset of "I'll figure it out myself," or "I can do it myself" or "I can't afford to" when it comes to pushing your career or business forward, then you may be shooting yourself in your foot.

More importantly, how can you afford not to seek out the support you need to move forward? Really, who has that luxury these days?

I wanted to share some exciting news with you.

It was my great pleasure to be part of a national ad campaign for a group I really believe in because they work the way women work, Women & Co.

I have two drugs of choice—coffee and swimming.

I love them and they compliment each other. Caffeine jump starts me in the morning and water calms my Piscean soul. It is there, in the water, that I am one with my own thoughts, my breath and my creativity.

So, after three cups of Starbucks French Roast coffee, there I was this morning, swimming, my mind transported; my body thanking me with every stroke. Getting into a rhythm of breath and stroke. Stoke, stroke, stroke, breath, stroke, stroke, stroke, breath, stroke, stroke…BAM!!

My bliss ended abruptly.

Happy New Year!

The New Year is always a time for reflection, goal setting and preparation for greater things to come and it is for those reasons that I have recently been "underground", gearing up for a stellar 2010.

Like many of you, I wanted to kick my business up a few notches in 2010 which meant some changes were in order. It meant taking an assessment of what was working, what wasn't and making changes that reflected my value, attracted the right customers and focused on ROI in terms of time, energy and revenue. For me, it meant making changes in four areas: Branding, Services, Clients and Pricing.

Branding

Based on client, colleague and supporter feedback, I knew my branding and website weren't working for me.

I had put a lot of resources (time, money and effort) into my former site, but the reality was that it wasn't speaking to my client demographic--well educated, accomplished, driven professionals. My business had been mostly referral based which is great, but not enough to take sales where I wanted to go. In fact, I had lost sales due to my website.

The reality is, I'm a no nonsense consultant who really gets down to business to deliver transformative results--fast. My background and process are founded on 25 years in business, yet visitors (a.k.a., lost sales) often commented to referral partners that the former site reflected Illumin and me as almost ethereal. Wow! This sure isn't reflective of the Illumin approach and this needed to change.

Additionally, I wanted a website that was dynamic so I could engage with visitors and leverage social media and technology.  I needed to transformed the website from the old static version to its new dynamic form. ( I'm still working on the website with my fabulous designer, Eva Potter, so visit often as it continues to get built out.)

Services

As I put together my goals for 2010, a loud (screaming, actually) internal voice emerged saying, "I don't want to do that anymore!"

What became clear was that I needed to refine my service offer and focus only on what I loved doing most and on what generated real revenue for me and stellar results for my clients.

Looking at where my revenue comes from, it's no coincidence that I am making more money on the services that I most love providing. This is where a service provider's greatest value shines and something I speak about with clients all the time. It was time to take my own advice and eliminate that which wasn't performing and generating revenue and which I wasn't thrilled about.

Clients

While I had been focusing much of my effort on service-based entrepreneurs, my other target market, executives in transition, really picked up. As I've said in the past, "This economy presents a changing landscape of the opportunity. Leverage it." I needed to put more focus on the market of executives in transition since opportunity is ripe there. While I continue to work with service based professionals, executives in transition have proven to be an area of growth and opportunity for Illumin.

I also knew that I wanted to catapult my revenue and deliver my unique methodologies on a larger scale. This meant bringing Illumin's transformative services to companies, not just individuals. After all, my background is in corporate and I knew how Illumin services could be applied to companies that:

• Invest in their employees
• Know the value of talent and corporate goal alignment, especially in a time when resources are stretched or limited.
• Have strong Organizational Development programs
• Work with job seekers, such as Outplacement firms and Executive Recruiters

With this in mind, I am targeting companies, as well as strategic partners who work in corporate environments.

Pricing

Given the challenging economy, you'd think that lower priced services would be the ones selling. The reality is that people shopping on price weren't buying and people who were shopping for solutions, value and a customized experience were.

I stopped selling lower priced services and started focusing on services with higher real and perceived value. These also happened to be the services that would lead clients into a deeper relationship with Illumin and thus ongoing revenue.

I also raised my prices. Yes, in this economy, I raised my prices and not just a little bit. The Illumin methodology works so quickly that clients get results immediately (often in just three sessions or less). This means they are able to get a job, launch a website or market their business or services faster and better. This, in turn, means money in their pockets faster. So it's an investment with a quick return.

Pricing now reflects my value and my expertise and attracts a better qualified client which means less "selling" and more closings.

Business is an Evolutionary Process

January is already gearing up to be a great month for me and its all because of the willingness to let go of the status quo, take a leap of confidence and make changes that won't attract every client, but better attract the right clients.

How is your January going?