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How to Take Control of Your Business | Nadia La Russa

How to Take Control of Your Business

Have you recently started a new business? Or you’re thinking about starting your journey as an entrepreneur? Either way, congratulations to you! You’re taking a major step towards a rewarding and more independent lifestyle. That being said, owning a business comes with certain challenges. Here are the crucial areas that you’ll need to make an effort to understand and become familiar with if you want to take control of your business:

Identify Your Brand

One of your first challenges as a business owner is to build a unique brand. Creating a relevant and distinctive logo is only the first step when it comes to branding. What’s most important is identifying the crucial characteristics that set you apart. This is sometimes referred to as USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and will inform your marketing, the kind of content you post on social media, and how you communicate with your customers. Your brand identity should be consistent across platforms both online and offline. So, figure out what makes your brand unique. 

Know Your Customers

No one should know your customers better than you. Who are they? What problem of theirs are you providing a solution for with your product or service? Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll want to go ahead and dive deeper by developing a unique buyer persona. 

A buyer persona is a fictional character who represents your ideal customer. Some businesses even go as far as giving their buyer persona a name and a very specific lifestyle to bring them to life. For example, “Mary is a married 35-year-old mother of two who works in middle management. She drives a Honda Accord and enjoys reading mystery novels, yoga, and gardening.” Of course, you have to base your buyer persona on research to ensure it’s as accurate as possible. In some cases, you may have more than one. Your buyer persona (s) may change over time as your business evolves. Be sure to review or update it as your business grows. When’s the last time you reviewed and updated yours? 

Pay Attention to Your Numbers

Few people start a business because they enjoy crunching numbers. However, it will be hard for you to succeed if you don’t thoroughly understand your expenses, taxes, profit margins, and other essential numbers. 

Here are a few tips to help you in this area: 

  • Research the best business structure for your needs. Many new entrepreneurs start as sole proprietors. However, it’s often advantageous to set up an LLC, Corporation, or Partnership. If necessary, consult with an attorney. Setting up a business entity helps protect you legally in case your business is ever sued.  
  • Invest in quality accounting software. You may want to hire a part-time or full-time bookkeeper or accountant. You can also outsource these tasks to an agency as you need them. Whatever you decide to do, just promise me you don’t just try to “wing it” as this can lead to serious financial problems for you and your business in the future. 
  • Be frugal when starting out. You don’t have to invest in costly office space, equipment and non-essential amenities. Consider renting rather than buying expensive equipment or perhaps consulting with other small business owners and splitting the costs. 
  • Always track the ROI of your marketing campaigns. With online advertising such as Google AdWords or Facebook ads, you can use software to track your results. Important digital marketing metrics include conversion rates, cost per customer acquisition, and click rates for email campaigns. Regardless of what type of marketing you do, it’s essential to measure your results. 

Manage Your Time

When you’re an employee, your time is generally managed by your employer or a manager. When you run your own business, however, you are entirely responsible for setting your schedule. You need to set daily, weekly, and long-term goals for yourself. But where do you even start?

  1. Prioritize. When you create your to-do list, try to arrange it, so you complete the most urgent and difficult tasks early in the day.
  2. Use time management tools to track your time and see what you’re spending the majority of your time doing. Use the results to determine how you can better be productive with your time. 
  3. Avoid getting caught up in busy work. You can fool yourself into feeling productive while endlessly “researching” on Google, browsing social media, and holding long meetings. 
  4. Learn to say “no.” You’re not obligated to listen to every sales pitch or attend every event to which you’re invited. 
  5. Delegate and outsource. You only have so many hours in a day to get things done. When you delegate tasks, you have more time to devote to more essential matters. As your business grows, you’ll be able to identify more areas to delegate and outsource. This is one of the secrets to upscaling your business. 

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry, this is a lot of information to take all at once, but you’re not alone, there are resources and business coaches that can help you clarify your needs and develop a successful strategy for your business. 

I’m Nadia La Russa, and I’m a serial entrepreneur in Thunder Bay, Ontario who provides business coaching for entrepreneurs all over North America. I can help you take control of your business so you can reach your true potential. 

Click here to get in touch and find out how my business coaching can help you.

P.S. If you’re feeling excited about taking control of your business but aren’t sure when to start because you’re always so busy, be sure to read this blog post I wrote on how to take control of your time. After all, we all have the same hours in the day as everyone else!

How to Keep Your Work-Life Balance When You Work from Home | Nadia La Russa

How to Keep Your Work-Life Balance When You Work from Home

If you’re lucky enough to work from home, then you already know it comes with some amazing benefits. Some of us have been doing so for a long time now and others are just joining the work from home lifestyle due to the pandemic. Regardless, here are some of the perks of working from home:

  • Enjoying a relaxed dress code
  • Sleeping in late
  • Going for a run on your lunch hour
  • Heading to the grocery store in the middle of the day and avoiding peak hours
  • Spending more time with your family and friends

If you happen to be your own boss, you’re in an even better position since you can set your own hours and pick the clients you want. While chatting with other entrepreneurs and friends who are now learning how to manage this work from home lifestyle, I’ve noticed that no one really talks about whether or not they really have a work-life balance.

As it turns out, working and living out of the same space is not as easy as it sounds. That’s because many people find it hard to shut down and disconnect from their jobs when their phone or email is just a few steps away. While you may feel like you get more work done at home, you might actually be working overtime without even realizing it. So, how can you make sure that your work-from-home job doesn’t end up consuming your life? Here are some tips on how to maintain that much-needed balance and keep your sanity:

Tip #1 – Separate Your Workspace

The problem with living and working in the same place is that it’s hard to switch off from work and focus on yourself and your family. One way to separate yourself from your work is to create a dedicated office space so you can walk out of it at the end of the day and shut the door. A spare bedroom or den makes a great home office, or your basement or garage can even serve as your base.

When you finish work, shut off your computer and turn off your phone. If you use your personal phone for work, just let any business calls or unknown calls go to voicemail. At the end of your workday, walk out of your office both mentally and physically. While it may feel wrong to ignore phone calls and emails after working hours, remember that this is exactly what your office-bound coworkers get to do each day when they leave the office.

Tip #2 – Learn To Say No

When you don’t have the distractions of chatty coworkers, lunch outings, and impromptu meetings, you tend to stay glued to your seat and wrapped up in your work. But at a certain point, you need to say no to all the meetings and the phone calls so you don’t overextend yourself.

Start by blocking your lunch hour by putting a recurring appointment for yourself on your calendar, and include a reminder so you don’t accidentally work through it. Then, make sure to decline any lunchtime meetings or phone calls, and instead propose a different time. And if your manager asks you to take on another project, or if a client wants your services when you’re already fully booked, think carefully before saying yes. If it means long nights and weekends trying to keep up with deadlines, your work-life balance will go out the window. By consciously managing your work commitments, you can start reclaiming your personal time.

Tip #3 – Remember To Take Time For Yourself

When you work in an office and start noticing flu symptoms, your manager tells you to stay home until you feel better. Whether you like it or not, you’re forced to take time off for yourself. But when you work from home, it’s tempting to just work through an illness without taking the proper time you need for rest and recuperation. People who work from home often don’t use their available sick days for this very reason. The same thing can happen with paid time off and vacation days. If your work is at your fingertips, you might slide back into bad habits and reply to some emails or make some work calls while you’re on vacation. One way to nip this in the bud is to set an out-of-office reply in your email and record an out-of-office message for your voicemail. Knowing that people are getting these automated replies should make it a little easier to put work out of your mind when you’re out sick or on vacation.

It’s up to you to maintain a healthy work-life balance when you work from home because no one else is there watching you work. So take control of your work habits and you’ll begin to get your personal time back again.

With You – 

Nadia La Russa

P.S. If you’re sitting in front of your computer and wondering what to snack on next, check out this blog post I wrote featuring some healthy foods/snacks to give you energy.

 

Stop Dreading Mondays | Nadia La Russa

Stop Dreading Monday – How the First Day of the Week Broadens Your Goals

Fridays fill us with weekend anticipation. Sundays make our stomachs sink with mundane Monday anxiety. Whether your Mondays are spent refining last week’s work, or you’re going to pitch new ideas, it can be very overwhelming.

Truth: You don’t have to dread Mondays.

In fact, you can use Mondays to your advantage. Whether you are an employee of a multi-national company working towards a promotion, or an entrepreneur on the path to a bright career, you need to be ahead of the curve. Sometimes, we can’t get ahead of our own negativity. That sense of dread really impacts your work ethic, lifestyle, and values. It’s time for a change, and that change can start on your next Sunday evening to broaden your goals.

 

Write Down Everything You Love About Monday

Seriously, simple things are what make us whole. Write down everything you love to do on Mondays. Anything from your daily commute to the office, to talking to someone you enjoy being around. Is Monday the perfect day for one of your favourite tasks? Take note of that!

 

A Sunday for Reflection

We get so wrapped up in training others and thinking about our gains ahead of time, that we forget about the beautiful beginnings in front of us. The new year can be seen as a new beginning, the first few weeks of spring remind us of what is to come. Why not stop to reflect on how much you have already. Breathe and feel gratitude.

 

Dare to Innovate

Do you have a new idea you’ve been dying to try, but you can’t get past your own rationale or make time? Maybe you want to open a store for handmade crafts or perfect your gluten-free baking skills! Be daring and start a new hobby that you can do when you want to unwind. #motivationmonday

 

Write Out a List of Inventions

We have bolts of genius, and we don’t even realize it. Create a list of any inventions or ideas that pop into your head. This is a great mind exercise for those who can’t stop thinking about the next step. Start your list on a Monday and see how many ideas you have by the end of the week. Who knows? One of those ideas might be your next career move!

 

Giving Back

Compliment someone’s dress or make time to tell someone how much you appreciate their hard work! If you work with a group, the extra positivity will enhance co-operation and create a lighter work day.

Putting a smile on someone else’s face also boosts your confidence levels. Try something as simple as paying it forward – next time you head to your local coffee shop, buy the next person’s coffee for them. It’s a win-win as you’ll both feel great!

 

Exercise the Dread Away

Even if it’s 20 crunches or 15 squats, exercising increases confidence levels and relaxes your brain. Your Monday might be super busy, so it’s important to do light exercises. Perhaps try exercising on a Monday evening to work off that “it’s Monday” feeling.

 

 

Treat Yourself

Giving yourself a little something extra goes a long way. It doesn’t matter if it’s a burger or a piece of clothing, treat yourself to something nice. The truth is, you work so hard towards your goals that you are probably taking advantage of yourself. So take some time to reward all that hard work.

 

Refocus Your Monday Mindset

Weekends symbolize what everyone wants the most: leisure, the freedom to be bored, spending time with our loved ones, and a break from the grind. Tomorrow is Monday, but now you have the chance to realign your ambition and aim your arrow towards practical, successful results.

Say it loud and proud: “I love Monday!”

 

Turn Off Your Notifications

Social media is a great way to read tons of informative content. It’s also a magnet for drama, fighting, and political echo chambers. Take a break from social media for a few hours. When you unplug from the social calamities, you might feel a little calmer and more focused on what you’re doing.

 

Energy Foods

What you eat plays into how you think. It’s good to indulge, but eating healthy is the greatest indulgence. Eat light on Sunday with fresh veggies and wholesome grains. On Monday morning, have a light breakfast ready to go! The key is “preparation” and Sunday is a great day to prep your meals for the week ahead.

Practice makes perfect. It may take a few days or weeks to get into the habit, it’s absolutely worth it. Before you know it, you’ll be wishing it was Monday every day!

 

 

The Mind is a Powerful Motivator for Success

A powerful mindset is a valuable asset in your quest for success. The health of your mind and your body are directly connected and have influential power. Do you really believe you can succeed in your work life and relationships? The answer to this question will often be the deciding factor in whether you succeed or fail.

Affirmations

Reciting affirmations is a key method to keeping your mindset powerful. You will need to begin by focusing your goals and positive thoughts and writing them down on a sheet of paper.

Negative Example: “I am terrible at doing my job.”

Positive Example: “I make wise business decisions.”

Spend a short time revising these statements until you think they accurately describe your values and your goals. Reciting these affirmations daily will help you convince your mind they are true.

Perhaps you are thinking, “what is this trickery?” Affirmations are not magic, you are simply tapping into the power that your mind holds over your decisions and pursuits. Conversely, negative affirmations are the natural enemy of wise decisions. Often we speak negative affirmations about ourselves unintentionally. The purpose of creating focused, positive affirmations is to combat the temptation to think negative thoughts.

Positive Thinking

Similar to affirmations, positive thinking is a powerful yet simple tool to help you succeed. Positive thinkers are more adept at trudging through difficulties and failures. Imagine a time you failed at something and reacted with a negative mindset; most likely you didn’t try again. Reacting positively to failures will help you get back up and try again. Once you recognize a failure as a positive stepping stone to your next success, it will be easier to react in a positive manner.

Negative Example: “I failed my latest business presentation, so I must be terrible at public speaking.”

Positive Example: “This new product I created has a fatal flaw, but I know how to fix it and I will create a better product!”

Try to reframe how you approach failure. Combat negative feelings with positive thinking and you will begin to see an improved attitude.

Journaling

Many people benefit from the act of journaling. This could mean you write a log of your day before bed, or maybe you write your plan for the day in the morning. The act of physically writing these words helps release tension built-up during the day. In the morning, it will help get your powerful mindset ready for the day.

Journaling can also be used with positive affirmations. Try writing your positive affirmations in your journal in the morning and write your plan for the day. You will be pleased to find how well your mind will follow your direction.

Mindfulness and Meditation

It is important to create time to recharge and be calm, especially during a stressful week. Recharging can help you think more clearly to make the best decisions possible. Are mindfulness and meditation the same thing? Not really. Mindfulness is the act of “being present” wherever you are; it really is just a focused form of meditation. Practically, this could look like avoiding the temptation to “hurry.” Focus on one task at a time. Don’t worry about the past or future; pay attention to what you are doing at that moment. This can be accomplished anywhere.

As for meditation, this is a dedicated time intended to clear your mind and relax your body. Many people find that they cannot withstand silence for a couple of minutes; this improves with practice. If you give yourself even just one minute each day to meditate and be still you will quickly notice the benefits emerge. Perhaps you find yourself frustrated most days at work feeling frantic about project deadlines. With scheduled meditation, you will notice you become calmer during a stressful situation. Meditation is simple: try taking 1-5 minutes to yourself in the morning. Start by sitting comfortable and tall. Focus on your breath as you inhale and exhale. As you sit calmly and breathe, your thoughts will slow and you will become calm. Meditation takes practice so be gentle with yourself in the beginning stages. Additionally, one way to combine mindfulness and meditation is to focus on a specific affirmation. Speak this affirmation repeatedly during your meditation.

Used diligently, these tips will help you create a powerful mindset and set you up for success in your work life and relationships.

 

If you would like to learn more about creating a powerful mindset, then contact me to find out more about my Take Control Coaching program!

 

Busy? Take Control of Your Time!

Tired of Being So Busy? Take Control of Your Time.

How often do you find yourself saying “I’m SO busy”? We have the same number of hours in the day as everyone else. So why can some people take control of their time better than others?

“To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life.” – Derek Sivers, Entrepreneur.

It’s true. Life gets pretty overwhelming when your time is controlling you, instead of the other way around. If you’re tired of being forever busy, take control of your time with these tactics:

Understand Where Your Time Goes

Document where all your time actually goes. For one day, write down (or use a free timer like Toggl) to see how much time you spend: checking emails, travelling, sleeping, watching TV, going to the gym, chatting on the phone, checking Facebook, cleaning, eating etc. You might be surprised to learn how much time gets sucked up by “simple” tasks. For example popping out to grab a coffee every afternoon might take much longer than you think (i.e. 20 minutes x 5 days adds up to an hour and forty minutes each week). So making your coffee at work could save you a decent chunk of time. Or if you sit in peak hour traffic each morning, arrange to start earlier/later to spend less time in transit.

To-Do Lists

At the start of each week, jot down everything you need to accomplish. Each morning, write down each item that needs to be done that day (the Bullet Journal approach might work for you). Prioritize the order of importance, and if helpful, add the estimated time you think it will take to do each task so you can plan out your day. It’ll feel so good checking off those items! Or, reach out to me, and I will mail you one of mine!

Calendars

Whether on your wall calendar, planner, diary, or Google calendar; scheduling appointments increases your chances of getting them done. Your mind is also free to focus on the task at hand knowing you don’t have to remember when and where everything else is supposed to happen. (Set notifications to pop up if you need to.)

Schedule Regular Breaks

You know I’m a huge advocate for self care! When we get busy, self care activities are often the first to get axed. But it’s so important to take me-time to improve clarity and focus. When you’re working hard for long periods of time without breaks, your brain becomes less productive. Know that feeling of staring blankly at your computer screen? Or getting up to do something and completely forgetting what it was? It’s a sign to give your brain a break!

Checking Emails and Social Media

These beasts get out of hand FAST! Take control of emails and social media by allocating certain times for checking and responding. Turn off notifications and close browser tabs if you get distracted easily. You could set up a system to reward yourself with ten minutes of social media time each time you complete a major task on your to-do list.

Multitasking

It doesn’t work! Studies show multitasking reduces productivity by up to 40 percent! As NPR Science Correspondent, John Hamilton puts it: “The human brain is designed to do one thing at a time…sequentially. We can kind of fake doing several things at a time. But what we’re doing is putting one thing on hold while we shift our focus to the next thing and then we’re switching back. And every time you switch, there’s a little big of a lag. You lose a little something. It takes a little bit longer to get your brain back to where it was.” Though it may only be a 30 seconds wasted at a time, it adds up. So no more multitasking. Pick one project and focus on it.

Say No

Busy-I-Am-TooIf you’re always agreeing to do things for others and your own work isn’t getting done, say no. Or if you have a dozen things to do today, but two items that aren’t really a priority, cross them off the list. Figure out what’s really important and say no to the things that aren’t.

 

What helps you take control of your time? Add your good habits in the comments below!

 

If you need to take control of more than just your time, email me about my new 12-part Take Control coaching program. This powerful one-on-one program will help you take control of the three key aspects of your life: career, money and relationships. I’ll help you uncover and overcome the hidden obstacles holding you back from living the life you really want.

Season with Salt

When I need some downtime, I pick up my phone and scroll through my Facebook feed. It gives my mind a much needed break, and I can catch up on the latest happenings with my friends at the same time.  Like most of us who use Facebook, I subscribe to various groups for various reasons – parenting tips, Hollywood gossip, and groups that pertain to my companies.

Yesterday, I came across a sternly worded post in a group that started with “Avoid (business name) and (business owners name) at all costs!”  Reading further, I was then privy to nothing short of a rage-filled rant about this person’s experience with the local company, followed by 66 comments with varying degrees of support. Included in the comments were screen shots of emails exchanged between the business owner and the furious client, interspersed with threats of legal action.  By the time I finished reading it, (and yes, I shouldn’t have read it, but it’s the whole driving past a car crash thing…) I had felt as though I was punched in the gut.

Here is a sampling of some of the comments:

“..is the most awful excuse for a business…”

“despicable”

“…sounds like this business should be shut down.”

Sadly, some of these comments are from (soon to be removed) Facebook friends of mine.

Why does this affect me so much you ask?  Well, it’s because, as a local business owner myself, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that me or one of my companies could one day be the target of this type overreactive rage. I’m certain that there is likely some truth to the accusation; that the poster was perhaps in fact “wronged” by the business and is upset.  It happens all the time…because none of us are perfect. I have never met anyone who hasn’t had some sort of negative experience in a local establishment.  Does this warrant a social media rant like this?

What a lot of people don’t necessarily realize in moments like these is that people who own businesses use the income generated from their company to provide for their families, much like employees use their paycheque.  Imagine for a moment that, when you followed a policy or tried to work out a dispute with a client at your job, or made an error, your boss initiated a post on Facebook that started with “Jane is the most useless employee ever. You would not believe what she did today…”

How would you feel?  What would happen after that if 66 people commented with things like “What?! That Jane is just TERRIBLE! She should be fired!”

Regardless of the level and amount of truth in the initial post, you’d likely feel hurt, threatened, defensive, sad, emotional, violated, sick to your stomach.  If social media told you that your livelihood, or an error you made, or anything was “awful” it would suck.

Here are some guidelines (from my vantage point) on how to proceed with disputes with any organization:

1) Do it in private – Facebook, and other various forms of social media, are not appropriate ways to get what you want. Have a conversation, one that you can look back on later and say to yourself “I was really nice to that person, despite feeling upset.” Use peace, grace and kindness as the overriding principles when dealing with local business owners and never, EVER publicize emails or other written communication. At the end of the day, the conflict involves you and the other party, not the rest of your friend list.

2) Be reasonable –  Remember that you might not get your way. A business owner doesn’t “have to” refund your deposit, pay you damages, publicly apologize, or any such lunacy, much as you wouldn’t have to do that sort of thing if you screwed up at your job.  Being a bully as a result is never the right answer.

3) Handle it yourself –  It’s fine to seek advice from others. But dealing with a situation with 66 “backers” means you need to bring the whole rugby team to beat up the school wimp.  It means that you don’t have the strength to fight your own battles.

4) Pick up the phone, or pay a visit in person – So many disputes get escalated in emails and texts. The written word is greatly misunderstood at times, and if we are all being honest, we are MUCH meaner and more courageous behind a keyboard. So pick up the phone. Use email only as a way to schedule an appointment to discuss the situation in person.

5) Talk about you, not about the other person – Phrasing is critical.  I have found that phrases like “I feel that I have been wronged here and I am hoping you might consider refunding my deposit” rather than “You screwed me over! Give me my money back!”

6) Promote the resolution as much as the problem – You know how bad customer service spreads like wildfire? How about a Facebook post that says “Hey everyone! Guess what, (business) and I figured out a reasonable compromise!”

7) Be humble – I have never bought into “the customer is always right” – because it’s not true. Every disagreement or conflict requires at least TWO participants. Which means you, customer, are also somewhat wrong. Own it. You didn’t read the contract? Admit it. You misunderstood something? Say it. It will get you so much farther.

8) Don’t be a jerk – Ever. Seriously. Airing your disputes on Facebook is low, and it sucks. And that makes you suck. So don’t do it.

9) Be productive – Are you really, REALLY going to hire a lawyer over a dispute of $50? No. You aren’t. So don’t say you are going to. Speak the truth and have every interaction take you one step further to the resolution.

10) Season with salt – This was the best advice I had ever received, by way of a message at Grassroots.  It’s derived from Colossians 4:6 which says “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” How I interpret this is to always let your words be live giving, instead of life taking. Deep down, is there ever any real satisfaction from “showing them” or “sticking it to the other person?” No.  If we are all honest with ourselves, it makes things worse.

Yesterday, I reached out with some words of encouragement to the fellow business owner.  What I’m hoping is that the rest of the population that reads the post takes everything that is written with a grain of salt (pun intended).

 

 

Entrepremyths

Brent and I own and operate six companies between us, all with their own unique offerings and challenges. No, these are not fortune-500 firms, no, we don’t have 600 staff and yes, we are actively involved with the inner-workings of our “babies.”

Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, and not everyone likes the idea of being an entrepreneur. The beauty of everyone being unique in their own way is that some people were born to be employees. Some were not. I was *definitely* not.

I did have jobs growing up, and I did clock punch, work on commission, and work for tips. I dealt with union bureaucracy, personality conflicts, and unreasonable managers. Each of these situations has shaped me into the entrepreneur I am today – and I am far from perfect at it.

I opened my first business in 1997, and it took me until about three years ago to actually use the phrase “I am an entrepreneur.” By definition (according to the nice folks at businessdictionary.com) I am, in fact, a serial entrepreneur, which is “an entrepreneur who continuously comes up with new ideas and starts new businesses.”

Over the years, I have heard some pretty unreal myths from non-entrepreneurs about their perceptions of entrepreneurs. I present to you, dear reader, the highlights, along with my perspective.

“You’re so lucky!”
Pardon me? Lucky? No. Lucky is winning the lottery. Lucky is finding a parking spot next to the door. Luck happens on casino floors, and in crowded parking lots. “Lucky” is not a term understood fully by entrepreneurs and I strongly suggest you not be in arms reach of a small business owner when you exclaim that phrase.

Entrepreneurs are not lucky. We are relentless. We are hardworking. We are disciplined and we are creative at seeing ways through tricky situations. Luck, my friends, sadly has nothing to do with it.

“You don’t have a boss, so you can do whatever you want at work!”
Partly correct. I don’t have *a* boss. I have about fifty bosses. They are often referred to as “clients” and they have a funny way of asking me to do fifty different things at the same time. And sure, I can do “whatever I want” at work, much in the same way one could have any colour they wanted of the 1909 Model T.

“You get to pick your own hours!”
Yes, I can pick my own hours. I can certainly pick which 14 hours of the day I work, on any given day. I can also decide if I’m going to work Saturday or Sunday or both (but not neither!). Here are things that I don’t pick:

– when the phone rings
– when the client demands a certain deadline be met
– when the client is able to pay (and no, it’s not every two weeks on “payday” in entrepreville.)

Truth be told, I’d almost rather pick one of these, than my own hours.

“You’re rich!”
Ha! No, I am not rich, and yes, I get stressed about money. See, that’s the problem with being a serial entrepreneur. I get one business up, running and profitable, then I start another one. It’s not unlike someone being shocked that they are pregnant and completely appalled like “How could this have happened again?”

“You can take vacation whenever you want, and as much as you want!”
Riiiiiight. Yes, I can certainly assign myself 15 weeks of vacation per year. See, there are two parts to a vacation: the scheduling of the vacation, then the *taking* of the vacation. Anyone can schedule a vacation, but really, it’s the actual taking of the vacation that is the most important part. For employees, a vacation involves figuring out how to set an email “Out of Office” rule and updating the greeting on your voicemail, both of which defer all your responsibilities to another colleague who has taken your responsibilities for you while you are gone.

For an entrepreneur, not so much. See, I liken businesses to babies. When you leave baby to go on vacation, you have to hire someone to take care of it, explain every minute detail about the baby to the caregiver, leave it enough money and food and supplies, draft up a list of phone numbers and ways to reach you, then call to check in on it every two hours while you are gone. That’s not a fantastic way to take a vacation. There certainly isn’t any “let’s disappear for a month without our cell phones” in my immediate future.

“It’s so cool that you have people working for you!”
Yes, it is very cool. I am fortunate to have been blessed with some of the best teammates. What they do for me makes me want to do more for them, every day. However, having employees, as cool as it may be, can be overwhelming and a great responsibility. I am not one of those detached employers, and I get attached easily. This can make things messy and complicated.

So, given all of the above, you might ask “Why are you an entrepreneur?” and my answer is simple. Every day, I wake up to be able to serve and help people. This, and this alone, is the fuel in my tank, the sun in my sky, and the source of my drive. It far outweighs the “negatives” above. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And sometimes, I even get paid for it.

The Hilarity of Spam

Sometimes I sit in wonder at spammers. I like to believe that there are people sitting around trying desperatley to somehow break into my life by sending me the most outrageous of offers, clinging to the hope that I’ll actually be foolish enough to accept. Here are some of the highlights over the last week:

“How you can obtain a fixed second mortgage home equity loan or a home equity line of credit whereby your withdrawing as needed without a fixed amount Additionally, the latter adherents also claim that the utilisation of models during the research process is another way of forgetting the subject and thus renders such researches invalid Find ways to tickle your funny bone with cartoons, jokes, songs, stories, movies or even some good-natured clowning around!”

Or

“In this case, your most excellent choice would subsist to rummage around a cheap transpose telephone lookup service And when it sold out again There are practically 30,000 species of orchids available, all with their very own fantastic characteristics. Then this tobacco is toasted.”

Like really now. Where do I sign up?

Back in Action

I miss blogging! I had one of those “moments” today where I was like “Where *IS* that girl? I miss her!” So, I decided, bring her back.

The last 18 months has been a tough go, but it’s high time I kick my own butt into gear and dive into a major overhaul. I have barely been able to recognize the woman who has run my body over the last year and a half. Enough of that.

Ya, I could have waited until New Year’s and rattled off a whole list of resolutions and “I’m gonna’s” but for what. To watch myself fail on or before January 10, 2013?? No thanks. I’ve done enough failing recently. I have gone through more transformations in this last year that most people endure in a lifetime. New job, new home, new marriage, new family, new friends, new degree, new ME.

Of course, with bits of the old me that we all know and love. Like, the writer me. I’d like to be calmer, think slower, smile more and just…be. And, I’d like to share more. So, I hope you, dear reader, enjoy.