Mommy Mojo: Anything is Possible – How to be a Role Model for Following your Dreams
Kudos to you for taking that daring step of starting your own business AND raising a family. You are a true visionary.
When we become moms, we start living into the dream of raising loving, responsible and great children.
When we start a business, we step into the dream of making a real difference to others, to the world.
But making your dreams a reality is often a really hairy roller coaster ride. The thoughts that shake you awake in the middle of the night in fear and self-doubt when you ask, “What the heck was I thinking?”
There’s a certain degree of humility and surrender needed when you’re following a dream because you’re pretty sure the Universe hasn’t delivered the precise roadmap and resources to you yet.
Then of course there’s the mommy guilt that gnaws at you. Your children are clamoring for your attention, but there are clients to serve, copy to write and networking to be done.
Every parent wants their children to feel empowered to go for their dreams, but are we really being role models for our own dreams?
Children do what you do, not what you say. So what lessons are we teaching them when they see their entrepreneurial mommy perpetually stressed out, overwhelmed and hesitating towards her own goals?
3 Strategies to Keep You in Action and Be a Positive Role Model
Tip #1: Vibe Up With Your Vision
Your heart and soul are what birth your most potent dreams and vision. But in the day-to-day efforts to achieve that dream, we forget to stay energetically connected to it.
If we lose our passion, we’ll lose our ability to achieve our dreams. If your dream came true, what would be different in your family, your life or the world? FEEL the difference right down to your bones.
Take time to vibe up with your vision on a regular basis. Show your children a clip of Martin Luther King in his “I Have a Dream” speech to show them what passion, vision and purpose look like and have them feel how powerful a force for change that is in the world.
When you’re infused with that sense of deep purpose, you become unstoppable. Those around you feel a purpose and certainty within you that goes beyond words, and you’ll attract people who want to come onboard with you to help you achieve your dreams.
Tip #2: Grow Your Dream Every Day
We live in a society of instant gratification. Children and adults alike hunger for the quick fix. But that’s not how dreams get manifested.
Dreams are like fragile young plants. They need our daily attention and care. We need to add water, check the soil conditions, adjust the lighting and add fertilizer from time to time.
We can be powerful role models of the value of perseverance, discipline and making choices that align with our goals. When our children start to feel the calling of their own dreams, they’ll learn that anything is truly possible if they commit to a strong intention and consistent action.
Tip #3: Forge Your Own Path
Following a dream means you’re often out there forging your own path. Creating new possibilities requires leadership and a willingness to stretch out of your comfort zone. Leaders often don’t have a lot of company out there on the cutting edge of new ideas or possibilities.
Our children are so influenced by their peer group and a desire to fit in with the acceptable crowd. But seeing their Mom out there forging her own path in the world and figuring out how to create a successful business out of a beautiful idea can be inspiring to them.
They’ll get an important message that following the crowd or the traditional route doesn’t always get you where you want to go. They’ll learn that anything is possible, if you’re willing to step out and take action until your dreams become a reality.
Want more tips on how to unlock your brilliance? Get a copy of Carolyn’s special report “The 7 Secrets to Unlocking Your Brilliance as a Woman Entrepreneur”, visit www.BrillianceMastery.com
Smart Start-up Tips: 21 Things We Wish We Knew BEFORE Starting in Business – Learn From Our Mistakes
#1: No matter how hard you try, you can’t make more time – When you make a list of everything you want to do, attach a time because that is the #1 limiting factor to getting it done.
#2: What stands between you and charging what you are worth is YOU – Let’s face it – if you say a number that is way too low, potential clients aren’t going to tell you that they would pay more. But if you show the value and charge what is reasonable, the only thing between you and getting it is you. Just close your eyes and say the number!
#3: Three words matter more than any branding: KNOW, LIKE, TRUST – People do business with those that they know, like and trust. Period.
#4: Build your tribe – It doesn’t matter where they are or what you call them – subscribers, followers, fans. The key is building a loyal tribe and giving them an easy way to stay connected to you!
#5: Too much money makes entrepreneurs stupid – Bootstrapping is the best way to get started because it means you have to be creative to get stuff done.
#6: Dumping is not the same as delegating – It happens – you get busy, then overwhelmed and so you hire someone in a fit of desperation and dump it all on them, thinking your problems are solved. Not true. You need to properly train and systematically delegate.
#7: If you don’t have leverage, you just built yourself a job – Trading hours for dollars is simply working a job for many employers. If you want to build a sustainable business, you need to look for opportunities to create leverage!
#8: A penny saved is a penny earned – Just because you can call it a “Business Expense” and send it off to your bookkeeper doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep an eye on the bottom line. Every penny you save by seeking out the best deal is a penny you don’t have to earn.
#9: Invest in social currency – Relationships online are the same as in person – they take time to develop and the payout is often immeasurable and down the road.
#10: If the client doesn’t fit, don’t work with them – There is such a thing as a perfect client and no matter how tempting, if a potential client doesn’t fit the perfect client profile, don’t work with them!
#11: The key to networking is clarity – If you can’t explain what you do and how other people can either work with you or help you, they can’t or they won’t – and not because they don’t want to.
#12: People who want to “Pick your brain” will never buy – Don’t waste your time with people who want to pick your brain because it is always for free and never leads to you getting paid for your time or your expertise.
#13: For every “Yes”, there is an automatic “No” – Every time you say “Yes” to something, you are defacto saying “No” to something else – whether you acknowledge it or not.
#14: Marketing is your first and most important job – That means you, technicians – being good at what you do is just the start. You need to let people know about it.
#15: Give word-of-mouth marketing a little nudge – Remind your clients who are delighted with you to thank you by telling their friends. If you don’t ask for referrals, people won’t think to make them.
#16: The best test of your systems is to LEAVE – If you go away on holiday and everything goes sideways or you spend half your time managing your business remotely, start again. You systems suck.
#17: People matter. Find good ones. – Need I say more? In a small business, your people can make or break you. Be particular about who joins your team.
#18: First impressions matter and today that happens online – That’s a nice way of saying, “Think twice before hiring your second cousin who is fresh out of high school to do your web site for cheap.”
#19: Seek synergistic channel partners – The reason is simple: less effort, better results because you only need to establish a reciprocal partnership once for it to pay dividends again and again.
#20: Know that your business will change and evolve – And that’s a good thing. Just don’t do something silly like print 10,000 brochures that will be outdated in 3 months.
#21: Get clear about your strategic priorities – Know exactly what you intend to achieve in the next 30, 60, and 90 days and post it where you will see it every day!
Need help creating a strategic action plan? Grab our Business Building Blocks Roadmap e-Course with companion workbook now! It walks you step-by-step through creating a one-page strategic action plan!
Productivity Buster: mistaking activity for accomplishment
A former client recently contacted me about working together again. In asking a few questions about what she’s been up to, etc., I realized that for all the work she’s been doing (and she works a lot), she hasn’t been “done-ing” anything.
Now while “done-ing” certainly isn’t a word (yet), it does speak to the difference between working on a project so that you’re forever “doing” it and actually getting it “done.”
As small business owners and entrepreneurs dedicated to making our businesses a success, we need to be focused a lot more on the “done-ing” than the doing.
I was discussing this concept with a team member the other day and described it as the difference between “activity” and “accomplishment”.
Activity is where you’re busily doing things all day, doing, doing, doing, busy as a bee, flitting from one project to another.
Accomplishment, however, is where you’re laser-focused on a task or project either until it’s done or until you’ve spent your allotted time on it for that day (as in writing a book where it’s not your intent to finish it in one day).
You see “activity” everywhere in the corporate world: meetings, for example, are a hive of activity.
“Accomplishment” is a little rarer — those who accomplish stand head and shoulders above the crowd. In the world of small businesses, to put it frankly, those who accomplish succeed.
Those who work a lot in their businesses and yet never seem to finish anything are destined for failure or, at best, mediocrity.
Even worse, what truly makes my heart break, are those who are trying and actually accomplishing things, but are done-ing the wrong things at the wrong time and so see no forward momentum, no increase in profits in their business.
Make It Real: My Request to You
While “done-ing” sounds as simple as “doing”, it actually takes several support mechanisms to keep it happening again and again.
Here are a few things I do to ensure more “done-ing” (and of the right things) and less continuous doing (which is essentially a version of procrastination):
1. Create a strategic marketing plan designed to take me to my goal. Do this in the timeframe which makes sense for you — for me, it’s an annual goal, broken into quarterly mini-goals, broken into monthly objectives, broken into weekly targets, broken into daily success actions.
2. Select a few items (actual number depends on size of the project/task) and put them on my “Success Action List” for the day, then schedule a time to do them on my calendar. This allows for coaching calls and other appointments and ensures I don’t over schedule myself.
3. At the end of each day, prepare for the next day and review what actually got done versus what was planned to be completed. I run around 85% of plan depending on the day.
4. Each month, compare the number of “Done” items with the previous month and then compare the profit for both months. An increase in the “Dones” usually results in an increase in the profit.
For those who think, “I don’t have time to do this” . . . the truth is you don’t have time to NOT do it. The success of your business is at stake. What’s it worth to you?
Have you ever written a list of goals, felt great about them and then wondered “How will I ever get this all done?” and felt overwhelmed or started on a project and then felt your mind wander to something else time and time again, only to find that things just aren’t getting done as quickly as they should, if ever?
These are symptoms of the Entrepreneurial Dilemma and Sandra Martini has made it her life’s work to solve them.
By meeting clients where they’re at, Sandy has an amazing ability to look at a situation and see the quickest path to where they want to go, and then get them there as shown by the fact that 91% of Sandy’s clients stay with her for at least a year.
Her background with start-up organizations such as AmeriCorps and national satellite television combined with her years in Peace Corps, managing White House Presidential events and voracious appetite for learning have created a skill set unlike any other – the perfect balance between marketing savvy, intuition and results-driven systemic implementation.
Through a combination of coaching, mentoring and “Done 4 You” programs, Sandy has been making entrepreneurs’ dreams real since 2003.
You can learn more about Sandy and get her “5 Simple & Easy Steps to Putting Your Marketing on Autopilot” at www.SandraMartini.com
Young Entrepreneurs
Pencil Bugs: Made by a kid but not just for kids
Jason O’Neill’s cute critters are making homework just a little more enjoyable.
When Forbes called to tell him he had made their Top 10 Role Models 18 & Under list in January 2008, Jason had to ask his mom who they were.
“I didn’t know what Forbes was. My parents had to explain it to me,” he says smiling.
“(Forbes writes about) celebrities and people who have done much more amazing things for much longer than I have. It’s a real honor.”
Jason is the creator of Pencil Bugs, a quirky craft meant to motivate kids to do their homework. He began when he was just nine. The inspiration struck in a roundabout way when he saw his mom creating crafts for a local craft fair.
“I thought if I helped her I would get some of the money,” Jason says, “but mom said I had to come up with my own idea.”
After a few failed attempts Jason hit upon his first Pencil Bug, which he painted his favorite color- red.
They come in eight colors and have Styrofoam heads and springlike antennae. They sit on the end of any pencil, pen or marker.
A huge success at the fair, Jason began selling them at school. When another boy offered to buy his idea, Jason realized he was on to something big.
“I thought I’d better pursue this, and that’s what I did,” he says. “I’ve learned if you don’t know something it isn’t that bad you just have to find someone who does.”
encil Bugs has since expanded to include greeting cards, bookmarks, and even t-shirts. One day there may even be a video game or movie.
Jason, now 13, has become a public speaker. He is often invited to schools where he hopes to inspire other kids to follow their dreams.
Jason even shared a stage with Mark Victor Hanson, co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Impressed, Hanson included Jason in Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Extraordinary Teens edition, and Richest Kids in America.
“Richest Kids includes all different aspects of rich,” says Jason. “I haven’t made millions yet, I’m on my way to hopefully, but I’m rich in many other ways also.”
Due to their success, Pencil Bugs will be moving to a manufacturing facility in the near future.
In 2006, Jason received the Young Philanthropist of the Year award for his charitable donations. Every quarter he takes a portion of his profits and buys toys for Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego.
“I’ve never been in the hospital,” he says, “but I know if I was I’d want someone to think about me and to maybe do something to make it a little easier.”
This Christmas, Jason is raising money to donate 250 teddy bears to the hospital. Truly, this young entrepreneur is definitely an amazing role model.
AstroTots Space Camp for Little Dippers
AstroTots president and founder Becca Robison inspires young girls to reach for the stars. Whether it’s creating Martian landscapes out of red clay or learning about chemical reactions with Alka-Seltzer rockets, Becca brings her love of science to girls in impoverished communities.
Becca lives in Layton, Utah, and started the AstroTots Space Camp for Little Dippers when she was 11.
“The goal of AstroTots is to inspire young girls, and help them believe they are capable of anything they can imagine.”
When she was 10, Becca attended her first “space-oriented” camp. When she returned home and began sharing her dream with other girls, she was told that “being an astronaut was a boy’s job.”
“I was completely devastated,” she says, “when I talked to my mom about it, she told me I should change their opinions.”
Becca held an experimental space camp in her backyard for neighbourhood girls. It was an immediate success and Becca realized she had started something amazing. A short time later, AstroTots took off.
A mobile day camp, AstroTots is non-profit and relies upon donations and grant money. (Becca herself is a volunteer.) The camp moves throughout the US and accepts 25 girls between the ages of four and 10. AstroTots has waiting lists of over 100 girls each session.
“The things people learn at a young age stick with them forever. We try to expose girls to the fun of science early, so these connections will stick with them throughout school and beyond.
“Even though AstroTots is science-based, we’re just as happy if a girl goes away wanting to be a ballerina.”
Her parents and four siblings help by training volunteers and manning science stations. Run by volunteers, Becca tries to make the camp as fun as possible while putting the spotlight on science.
Becca admits juggling her entrepreneurial and educational responsibilities is difficult.
“My family never lets me give up; they constantly remind me there are no limits.”
Despite all the challenges Becca persevered talking to teachers, parents, campers and CEOs in order to learn everything she needed to keep AstroTots running smoothly.
Unsurprisingly, Becca is pursuing a physics degree with an emphasis on Astrophysics. Her ultimate goal is to be Mission Specialist for NASA’s (almost) impossibly selective Astronaut program.
Her advice for other young entrepreneurs: “anyone can make a difference if they try, that’s one of life’s most important lessons.”
SuperJam: 100% pure fruit
Across the pond, this young entrepreneur is making a splash, even if it’s just a Jam.
At the tender age of 14, Fraser Doherty was taught to make jam using his grandmother’s secret recipe. The rest, as they say, is history.
Fraser began selling to his neighbours and friends. As demand increased, he decided to make it a business. Located in Edinburgh, Scotland, SuperJam expanded quickly. Fraser began renting a factory a few days every month just to keep up.
In 2007, Waitrose (a high end supermarket in the UK) picked up the product, making it available in over 184 stores – the first of three major UK retailers to carry SuperJam.
Made from 100% pure fruit, the sweetness comes from the natural fruit sugars and grape juice. Available in four flavours SuperJam is a healthy alternative to current market products.
Building up his business wasn’t enough; Fraser also wanted to give back to his community. Thanks to his grandmother, he spent part of his childhood visiting senior’s homes helping to deliver her homemade goodies. This led Fraser to organize tea parties.
The Tea Parties bring senior citizens together with young volunteers enjoying tea, company, and of course, jam. Now, over 150 are held throughout Scotland each year.
“Caring for elderly people was something I was always brought up with, so I decided it would be nice to continue this theme on a bigger scale,” he said.
SuperJam now produces over 500,000 jars a week, and reached over €1.2 million in sales last year. Currently, Fraser is looking to expand into Europe and America.
Notable Achievements
These young entrepreneurs have accomplished some amazing things and received many awards but here are the ones that stand out:
Jason was the youngest recipient of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007. The judges of Young Entrepreneurs of America were so impressed, they created a brand-new category to honor him.
Becca recently received the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. This award honors young leaders striving to make a difference by helping people and the planet.
Fraser received the Young Business Person of the Year award in recognition of his success and charity work at the Big Hearted Scotland awards this September. The award was created to honor him specifically.
Affiliate Marketing 101
A beginner’s guide to one of the most potent marketing tools available
Caroline Knox
Thousands of years ago women would sit around by the fire and chat.
Presumably they would talk about kids, the latest craze in food foraging and how to stay trim while still enjoying the latest hunt.
Today, women turn to social media to talk, swap stories and information and learn about new products and ideas. The number of moms who use social media has risen from 11 per cent in 2006 to 63 per cent today. One of the biggest reasons is recommendations on brands, products and services. Women find other women trustworthy sources of information. This has been going on since the dawn of time – but only recently was given a name.
What is affiliate marketing?
Simply put, affiliate marketing is referral marketing. Perhaps the best example is using one website to drive traffic to another. Used properly, this type of crowdsourcing benefits everyone involved.
There are three roles in affiliate marketing relationships: the merchant (the business or individual selling the product or service), the affiliate (usually many affiliates, all working to help sell the merchant’s product) and the consumer.
The merchant benefits by tapping into the affiliates’ customer base. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on advertising, the merchant gets hand-selected and targeted customers.
Affiliates benefit by receiving payment from the merchant each time one of their “referrals” takes action. This is usually a purchase, but can also be completing a form or registering for an event.
Customers benefit by receiving trustworthy information from a source they’re familiar with. It’s a win-win-win situation.
How does it all work?
Affiliate marketing has evolved since it first began in the early ‘90s. Mark Ling, founder of affilorama.com, stresses that both affiliates and customers are smarter and savvier:
“In the early days of the web, things weren’t really policed at all and people weren’t nearly as discerning as they are now,” says Ling.
The vast majority of affiliate programs use a revenue-sharing or cost-per-sale (CPS) model for compensation. Affiliates earn either a percentage of the sale or a flat rate for each paying customer.
While affiliates often still rely on traditional advertising techniques, they are relying on a network or customer list they have developed themselves. This can be anything from a formal database to blog followers, ezine subscribers, or fellow Tweeters.
“Today you actually have to build high-quality sites that deliver real value,” says Ling.
How do I become an affiliate?
Most websites or programs offer an affiliate program. A well-managed program provides success tools such as copy, tracker counters, and information on how to best market their product or service. It’s then up to the affiliate to develop a marketing strategy that works for them.
Carla Young, publisher of MOMeo Magazine, is a big believer in affiliate marketing. Constantly asked for recommendations and referrals, Young has used affiliate marketing to build a revenue stream from something she was doing already. For busy business owners, affiliate marketing is a good way to maximize communication and revenue.
“As a MOMeo the big challenge is time, so the secret to being successful is to create leverage,” says Young.
“Affiliate marketing helps you get more out of your business model.”
Mark Ling sees affiliate marketing as the next natural step for many entrepreneurs:
“People are going online everyday to find information – and a percentage of them will pay for the best information out there. If you provide good free information, and then offer paid options for premium information, it’s a win-win situation.”
How much money are we talking about here?
Affiliate Summit is a conference held each year in the United States. In 2009 they asked more than 450 affiliates their monthly gross revenues from affiliate programs. The results vary greatly, but show the potential for substantial revenue:
How do I use affiliate marketing to up-level my business?
Affiliates are an extended sales force, and can be leveraged in many different ways.
“Marketing through a network of affiliates is a great way to extend your reach,” says Young.
“Small businesses that don’t have many salespeople or resources can especially benefit by expanding their market reach and communicating to more customers.”
A successful affiliate program requires significant work and maintenance. There are many software packages available to help get started. Increasingly, businesses are turning to hosted affiliate marketing services and outsourced affiliate program management companies.
What method you choose depends entirely on the nature and size of your business, and how you want to work with affiliates. Whichever way you choose, success depends not on how many affiliates you have, but on how well they work.
A world of possibilities
Whether you are a business owner looking to extend your sales force and maximize your impact, or a MOMeo looking for a way to up-level your business, affiliate marketing is a valuable tool. It’s about communicating effectively with your customers and leveraging your network to create success.
SIDEBAR
Before you sign onto an affiliate program, you need to consider:
Making Money:
Affiliate programs vary greatly in how much they pay and how that pay is determined. Make sure the commission rate is reasonable and worth the necessary time. Product cost will often factor into this; payment is often a percentage of sales. Crunch the numbers before you start.
Making Customers:
What’s the conversion rate of the product or service? Is this something that sells well and has good potential? Remember, as an affiliate you share any risk with the merchant and your reputation is on the line. Success takes a lot of time and effort; make sure it is a product you can stand behind.
Making Sense:
Is this good fit for you? Affiliate marketing can be so effective partly because it sends a targeted audience to the merchant. In order for you to be successful, it must meet the needs of your network. If you run a tech website and blog, a company that sells knitting supplies would be a bad match.
Making it Last:
Depending on the product, some programs offer an ongoing revenue stream (i.e., memberships renewed annually) while others are a one-time deal. Do your research: find out what long-term opportunities exist. High-priced products can be alluring but a small, ongoing revenue stream may be more lucrative than a few one-shot deals.
Making More:
Many affiliate programs offer tools and incentives to their marketers. You’re the one doing the work, but make sure you’re being encouraged and supported. Often, programs offer second-tier referrals. This means if a customer you direct to the merchant also becomes an affiliate, you get recognized and rewarded.
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- I love that @AlyPain tells it like it is --> STOP Blaming Your Children - Why YOUR Failure Isn't THEIR Fault - http://t.co/LPo51mgI
- Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." ~Mary Kay Ash
