Today's post comes from a wonderful Facebook group I'm connected to.  Here it is as I received it.  It was just what I needed!  

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How I made $3k in the first week of my Business!

Alright, what came to your mind when you read the above statement? A spammer? Another one of them to lure me into buying her “Build your six-figure business in a short time” program, Right? You got all the rights to think so because that's what I do when I hear about ‪#‎instasuccess‬formulas.

Look, before I keep going here, I need to open up and share a bitter but stark reality with you. Yes -- if you look at me now, you’d consider me a success. And I do feel blessed with all I have.

But let me tell you something before I talk about steps I took to make $3k in one damn week of my first month in business.

I felt Broken. Empty. Alone. Tired.

Before finding out about this Online Business Wonderland, I worked for peanuts (140 Blog posts for $80), got dumped, worked 18 hours/day with no light, scorching heat and lots of hatred and taunts; A perfect pudding for quitting. But guess what!

I DID NOT QUIT. PERIOD.

Point being, it’s okay if you're at a breaking point. In fact, if you are on the verge of giving up, rise from the ashes like a Phoenix. You’re gonna get there! I know. Because I have and I’m no different than you.

So my success is the result of 3 things:

1. Know your value and translate it into the right kind of words. “I am a copywriter. I write Clear, Concise & Compelling copy with a bit of wit and whole lotta personality for entrepreneurs who wanna up their game.” These two sentences brought me $3k in ONE week. Conclusion? Write concisely and clearly.

2. Reach out. I swear!!! No amount of FB ads can bring you as much work as networking can. Tell people what you do; don’t miss a chance to let the world know how awesome you are. Be happy about it, they’ll love you AND your service/product.

3. Keep learning. You can’t say you’ve learned enough. No. You can never learn enough. Read blogs, group posts, Google stuff, make your notes. Research. Research. Research.

YOU DON'T NEED TO BE PERFECT AT WHAT YOU DO. BE GOOD ENOUGH. PERFECTION COMES WITH PRACTICE.

Maria Rana

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I asked Maria how to credit her as I shared this article with you.  She gave me a link to a blog post someone had written about her. If you have an extra minute, you'll be truly amazed at her story.  http://electric-empire.com/letter-pakistan/

A complaint free workplace

It’s finally spring after a long tough winter.  It rained here in Rhode Island yesterday which was a nice change and welcome because it’s helping to eliminate those last snow piles.  Are you happy about the fact that the weather is improving or are you still complaining that it’s not as warm as you’d like it to be?

I’m fascinated by what we humans do and why we do it so I tend to observe our behavior a lot.  I’ve been listening to people complain the past few weeks about the fact that the weather has not been spring-like despite the date on the calendar.  It’s as if we humans are entitled to have the weather we want even though for the most part we’ve chosen to live where we do.

It seems to highlight two pervasive behaviors in our society that can be detrimental to our mindset as business owners – entitlement and complaining.  Let’s talk about complaining today and save entitlement for the next post.  Are you a big complainer?  If you are, you’re devoting a lot of your precious time to focusing on everything that’s wrong.  Many say that everything is energy. Constant complaining creates a negative environment which your co-workers and even your customers can feel.

Have you ever walked into a space and immediately felt the negative vibe?  I know I have.  It’s uncomfortable and off putting.  It’s not a space I want to spend time in.  Complaining all the time can make that kind of environment.  I love the quote from T Harv Eker, founder of Peak Potentials and the author of the NY Times bestseller ‘Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”.  He asks, “Are you complaining because your life is bad or is your life bad because you’re complaining all the time?”  Good question.

Could your environment use some sprucing up energy wise?  Then see if you can get a handle on your own complaining.  How?  Try the strategy used by those at A Complaint Free World.  They sell bracelets which I buy and give out at all my seminars on creating a positive life.  You place yours on one wrist.  Every time you complain, you switch wrists.  Goal?  Keep  it on one wrist for a month and watch the difference in your life and your business.  Isn't it time you got a handle on complaining?  

See you next time and remember to keep shining!

Marianne

Being a Solopreneur woman is all about learning

What do you need to learn to grow your business? Today's lesson will be presented at the East Bay Chamber of Commerce at 16 Cutler St. in Warren Rhode Island. It's all about how to add video to your blogs and websites mostly because people prefer to watch video rather than read. But also because video helps bring your site to a higher level in search engines. Stop by today if you're around. Session starts at noon and includes networking with other like-minded women. Cost is five dollars for chamber members and $10 for nonmembers bring your lunch and enjoy the camraderie and learning. See you there!

Networking tips

Isn't this why we started our businesses?

Happy International Women's Day

Things are not as bad as we sometimes anticipate

I admit it.  As much as I teach stress-busting strategies, I'm chicken to go to the dentist.  I've had some pretty bad experiences there the most recent being a couple of years ago when I had my mouth and nose covered and couldn't breathe.  The dentist and assistant had stepped out leaving me with a thing anchored to my mouth that I couldn't take off.  Can you say panic attack?

Since then, I'm even worse at the dentist. This past week I had an appointment to make a flipper tooth because they're going to pull one out soon.  I was a wreck because I thought I would have to hold this goop in my mouth for a long time to make an impression.  Sounds easy but my brain got wired for fear that day a few years ago and I had to be prepared.  I gathered my usual batch of stress-busting strategies (check them out in my Frazzled to Freedom: 30 Days to a More Stress-Free You program) and valiantly sauntered in.  I was ready.  Know what?  It was a breeze! Turns out the process for this was easy.  Yes, they had to make impressions - 3 of them - but they each took a little less than 2 minutes!  Yippee!

Hasn't something similar happened in your business?  You put off doing something you need to do or think would be good for your business because you think it's going to be too hard, too expensive, too time consuming.  I did that on a simple scale with the mouse for this computer. I've never been good at the one on the laptop so I've used an external one.  My computer was giving me trouble, jumping around, the mouse not doing it's job.  One day it hit me that all I really needed to do was probably get a new mouse.  Everything changed - this one has a smaller insert into the USB which makes it better for lugging the laptop from coffee shop to coffee shop and everything is now smooth and easy.  Why did I wait?

What are you waiting for?  Do you need to get onto social media?  Do you need a website?  Do you need to get a bit of training, get a logo made (I got this one made at www.Fiverr.com for only $5.50) get an intern?  Just do it...it's probably easier and less stressful than you think.  And if I can help, just let me know.  I'm aat solopreneurwomen@gmail.com

Til then, keep shining!

That includes solopreneur women! One of my goals is to gather us together frequently so we can be part of each other's stories.