Entrepreneur

Challenged with Staying Accountable to Yourself and Others?

One of the most common issues that entrepreneurs often speak to me about is the ongoing challenge of staying accountable. Most of us have no trouble in coming up with the next “great idea” we want to implement in our business, but when it comes down to actually implementing it and sticking with it, well, that sometimes is where the challenges come into play.

This week, I spoke with several potential entrepreneurs who were all looking at making an investment by hiring a coach for their business and ALL of them talked about the challenge of staying accountable on a daily basis. It is hard, particularly since many of us work alone or in a small group and we don’t have someone asking us each day, “Where are you on this?” “Have you completed that?” Or, “What! You’re going to start doing that, before you’ve finished the last thing?”

It can be challenging staying accountable to ourselves on a daily basis. Here are some tips that might help you stay accountable to your goals and intentions for 2014.

1-Don’t have too many goals

People find it easier to stick to things if you have a shorter list. Developing a list of 3-5 goals for 2014 will help you feel less overwhelmed and more likely to stay accountable and focused than if you have a list of 10—20 items.

2-Find an accountability partner

Find someone who will NOT let you get away with anything! Firm and tough, not sweet and nice! You want to share with them your goals for the year-so they have a good understanding of the big picture. Make sure you take the time for this part. Then figure out a schedule as to how often you will touch base with them, whether daily, three times a week, twice a week, whatever works for you. Then STICK WITH IT! The phone calls (and I strongly suggest phone calls-much easier than trying to meet in person) only need to be 5-10 minutes max. If you have the right partner, this is a great way to stay accountable.

3-Publicly announce what you’re going to do

Publicly announcing your new idea on your blog or social media sites is a great way to “put it out there”. Then, there are lots of people who will want to hold you accountable!

Staying accountable is absolutely necessary if you want to have a successful business and there are lots of ways to do it. What works for you in your business? Please share it in the comments section below! Also, if you would like to have a complimentary session with me in 2014 to see how we can help you be more accountable and exponentially grow your business, please click here to set up your appointment!

Mandy works with talented, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” right down below.

How a Mastermind Group Could Help You and Your Business

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

“Because eight minds are better than one”
Unknown

Usually when someone refers to a mastermind group, he or she means a group of like-minded individuals who come together on a regular basis to help and support one another to grow their respective businesses.

The history of a mastermind group dates back to the beginning of time. Andrew Carnegie, one of the most famous leaders of industry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, became one of the richest men in the world. He believed in the power of mastermind groups and often said participating in a mastermind group was an essential ingredient for his success.

One of the names we hear most often that is associated with a mastermind group is Napoleon Hill. While Hill did not invent the idea, he can certainly be given credit for promoting the concept of a mastermind alliance. Napoleon Hill was an American author, one of the first to write on the topic known today as personal development. In 1928, Hill published a study course called The Law of Success, based on his interviews (at the suggestion of Andrew Carnegie) over the course of 20 years with some of the country’s most successful men. One of the lessons contained within The Law of Success is…you guess it…a mastermind group. Nine years later, Hill continued to expound on the topic of the mastermind alliance in his best-selling classic, Think and Grow Rich.

Mastermind groups are a very powerful way to brainstorm, support, give and get advice from your peers. It’s like your very own board of advisors and a way to access entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and experience from a group of like-minded individuals.

I’m a big believer in Mastermind groups and have grown my business significantly because of them. As entrepreneurs we can become isolated in our own businesses, often spending more time working in our business rather than working on the business.

Mastermind groups, with the correct structure, allow you the accountability mechanisms to stretch yourself, create a vision and goals that give you the shivers, and stick to a plan to achieve those goals.

If you’ve ever considered joining a mastermind group, I would love to talk with you. You can check out my new program, The Big Profit Club to see if this might be something that speaks to you, and if it does, I would love to see if you and your business are a good fit.

The program starts, Thursday, November 14th, so give me a call today 207-653-6977 and let’s chat!

There’s No Shame in It…

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

“The difference between shame and guilt is the difference between ‘I am bad’ and ‘I did something bad.’”

Brene Brown

I recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend with the Mitchell Scholars, a group of fabulously, impressive college kids. During the weekend, there was time for getting to know each other, a couple of workshops and some community service work. One of our other activities was the chance to climb Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine. This climb has been on my bucket list for some time, and I decided to join a group where they were all nearly 30 years younger than me!

Our group was just going to the summit (a 10-11 hour hike). Other groups were not only going to the summit, they were doing a portion of the mountain called, Knife’s Edge-which is a thin strip of rock with drop offs on both sides of about 200 feet.

I will admit, it was a very challenging hike for me and I was, more often than not, bringing up the rear of our group of 11. Joining me was a young woman in her mid-twenties, in very good shape and an experienced hiker. In fact, she had climbed Katahdin earlier in the summer. However, she recently had had an appendectomy several weeks before, so felt a slower pace was in her best interest.

After three or four hours on our climb, this young woman started to feel pain in her abdomen and we fell significantly behind our group. She said to me, she thought she would tell our guide she would wait on the side of the trail, while we went ahead to the summit and she would wait until we came down and she would join us on the descent.

The guide said that was not possible. We all either go up together, or we call the hike and start our descent together. I could see the pain on her face, and having to make that decision, which impacted us all, was the worst for her.

I looked at her and said, “We have to call the hike.” She didn’t answer me. Then the guide said, “You know, there’s no shame in not finishing the hike. The mountain will always be here, it’s been a great hike, even though we won’t get to the summit. But there is no shame in not completing this hike.”

We called the hike.

I had the next five hours (yes, it took us five hours to get off the mountain) to think about this. I was disappointed in not being able to continue to the summit, but I thought a lot about what the guide said about “there’s no shame in not completing the hike.”

So many times I talk to entrepreneurs who will say, “Oh, I really screwed up that opportunity” or “Geez, I really dropped the ball during the summer in not following up with several people who wanted to work with me”.

Or, “I can’t believe how I really botched that sales call; it was my one opportunity to get the business.”

No. This isn’t true and there should be NO shame in not completing or finishing something. Because I just don’t believe an opportunity only comes around once, or there’s only one opportunity to follow up with a prospect, or one chance to make the sale. The opportunity is still there and it’s our job to regroup, reorganize, reprioritize and reposition ourselves to go after those opportunities again.

Where have you dropped the ball? Where are you feeling shame for not completing something, or taken advantage of an opportunity? It’s not too late.

Because as my guide said up there on the mountain: “The mountain will always be here.” Meaning-there’s always another chance. So get climbing.

Looking for Speaking Engagements?

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

People always ask me what’s the most successful way to get more clients? And I tell them, hands down, speaking engagements.

Now, I know there’s a lot of you out there who have a fear of public speaking, but I’m here to tell you, talking to a group of your ideal clients is so much more efficient (and effective) than talking to one at a time.

So how do you get speaking engagements? There are a variety of ways to land speaking engagements, which requires doing some homework, research and of course, putting yourself out there. Which is all TOTALLY doable!

Here are some tips and suggestions on where to go to land speaking engagements:

Chamber of Commerce and local business associations

Research your local chamber of commerce to see what kinds of events and workshops they currently offer. Where can you plug yourself in? What would you speak on? How would it fit in with their membership? Figure out who the person is who books the workshops and speakers and contact them through email, just asking if they are looking for possible speakers in the upcoming months.

Ask your ideal clients and networking buddies

Your clients and networking associates all belong to associations (local, statewide and national). Let them know you are interested in getting speaking engagements and could they put you in contact, or make a referral to a connection they might have who you could speak to. I’ve gotten many of my speaking engagements just by mentioning to friends, clients, colleagues and networking buddies, that I’m wanting to do more speaking engagements in the coming year.

Sign Up for Google Alerts and Other web-based services

Set up Google Alerts so you can receive email updates of the latest relevant Google search engines, based upon criteria you’ve entered.

For example, in Google Alerts, I’ve entered Women Entrepreneur Conferences, Women in Business Seminars, and Women’s Expos. When I receive an email alert that I think would be a good fit for one of my keynote topics, I will email the appropriate person to see how I might get on the schedule. Often times, it will be for the following year’s event, but I’ve been able to get quite a few speaking engagements this way.

Another great web-based service I’ve been using is called, Lanyrd.com. It is a social conference directory where you can learn about conferences all over the world. It also has recently added a speaker’s profile. This tool can be incredibly helpful in finding conferences that would be a good fit for your message.

The best place to start is to set an intention for a certain number of speaking engagements between now and the end of the year. Create a powerful signature speech that speaks to the struggles of your ideal clients. Do some research on local groups or organizations that are looking for speakers and make the contact to see if you can get on their schedule. You must set aside some time in your week to work on getting speaking engagements.

You can do it! Be sure and let me know how you’re doing and if I can be of help or support, please feel free to reach out at mandy@mandyschumaker.com

3 Lessons I Learned from Andy Murray

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

Watching Andy Murray recently win the 2013 Wimbledon Championship by beating Novak Djocovic in a grueling three set win was a really moving experience for me. Even though I’m not a huge tennis fan (I play, but don’t really follow the game) it was clearly a testimony to strength, skill and physical resistance from both players.

But there were several other things I learned from Andy Murray that day, and from some of the subsequent interviews, that I think are three great lessons for us entrepreneurs to take to heart.

Lesson #1-Visioning

In several of the interviews I saw with Murray after the match, he spoke about how early on he would dream about winning Wimbledon. He would see himself as the winner, feeling it, experiencing it, and being right there in Centre Court holding the trophy. As entrepreneurs, we need to be able to hold the vision of the pinnacle of our success in our mind’s eye every day. What does it look like, and feel like? What are you wearing? Who’s with you? Making a practice of really mentally putting yourself in the place you desire to be in your life and business can help pull you forward and achieve your goals.

Lesson #2 Staying Focused and Getting Back on Track

Watching Murray in the 2013 Wimbledon men’s finals was truly an example of one staying focused on the prize. As entrepreneurs, we often lose our focus, get pulled off our game, and get pulled off track. We fall for the “next bright, shiny, object syndrome”.

One of the keys to success is to retain your focus and when you lose it, and swiftly get back on track. The third set of this match was a grueling back and forth between the players, on the hottest day of the year with very high, intensive energy from the crowd and a lot at stake. Keeping focused and staying on track was one of the keys to Murray’s win over Djocovic.

Lesson #3 Never Give Up

Andy Murray’s career has certainly had its ups and downs and he’s worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today. The fact he never gave up even during some very trying times in his career is a lesson we can all learn from.

“The story of my career is that I had a lot of tough losses,” Murray said afterwards, “but the one thing I would say is that every year I always improved a little bit. They weren’t major improvements, or massive changes, but every year my ranking was going in the right direction.”

Moving forward, making improvements and not giving up. Many times, entrepreneurs get discouraged and give up when things start to get tough, or when they aren’t getting the success they want. When you get a chance take a look at Andy Murray’s career and you’ll see several times when he could have easily given up and walked away from tennis.

But on Sunday, July 7, 2013 it all paid off.

Are You Making The Time To Sell

by Mandy Schumaker Leave a Comment

Do you have enough business? Are you making the money you want to be making? Is your business growing? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, the issue may be, you’re not making enough sales calls.

And what I hear from lots of entrepreneurs is, “I don’t have time to sell”. If you’re not making the time to sell, and everything else is coming before getting in front of prospects, you are going to have a very difficult time growing your business, or in some cases, making enough to stay in business.

One of the challenges that entrepreneurs have, is not making the time in their schedule for selling. Have you ever had the best of intentions of making sales calls, but get to the end of the week and realize everything else took precedence, and you made very few or even none?

Here are some tips that might help:

1-You must make sales a priority

For most of us, sales is probably not our favorite activity so it ultimately takes a lower priority on our “to do” lists. But in reality, it needs to be your number one priority, and it must be done every week to have the success you want in your business. This is a mindset issue. If sales isn’t the number one priority for you in your business, you need to look at why that might be and work on changing that mindset.

2-You must schedule selling time into your weekly planner

This means writing down specific days or chunks of time that you will devote to making sales-and you must honor the time. You cannot let other things get in the way. I had a client this week who said, “I have the very best intentions of making sales calls, but everything else seems to get in the way”. You have to be extremely disciplined about creating the time on your calendar and keeping it sacred as selling time only.

3-What are the things you can either stop doing, or delegate to someone else to do?

Pick up your calendar or daily planner and take a look at a couple weeks worth. How did you spend your time and more importantly, what did you spend your time on? Are there things you can stop doing, even if it’s temporarily? Is your time spent on things you can hire others to do for you like social media, doing your invoicing or bookkeeping, running errands, etc? Take a hard look at your schedule and figure out at least three things you don’t need to be doing to free up some time for you to focus on the most important thing for your business.

The most successful entrepreneurs are those that schedule time to make sales calls and talk to prospects. If you are unhappy with the results in your business, I strongly urge you to implement the three strategies above and see what happens! I know you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

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