“Business is a logical process done by emotional beings.”
~Steve Chandler

Business is very simple – you give someone something of value and they give you money for it. So why do so many business struggle, fail or are only somewhat successful? Well, the day I became successful at business was when I fully realized that there could only be 3 possible reasons I might fail.

1. My thinking
2. Thoughts in my head (The who do you think you are voice)
3. Believing my thoughts

Why does it take so much courage to be a entrepreneur? For me, I found that my business success often mirrored my deepest belief of self-worth (or lack of).  Making the declaration to start my own business was a bold beginning to my journey of personal transformation.  Even though  I  might have said I started my business to make money, have  freedom, or become somebody – the  truth was, that it was really a call from my soul… my deepest, truest self to fully come alive! I started off with visions of what I could get by being a business owner – now my soul purpose is what I have to give.

I call myself a Solopreneur Courage Coach, and I help solopreneurs such as authors, speakers, coaches and consultants define their “Wow factors,” know their value and create the courage to fearlessly charge what they are worth… and more importantly how to boldly ASK for it.

After 17 years of creating some business success and some massive failures, I have discovered a way to create clients by making a difference instead of wasting time and money on marketing. I started working with some amazing coaches and have created a simple, yet bold business model that I call “Serve and Succeed.” It’s grounded in providing exceptional value and a commitment to asking for clients. It sounds simple, because it is – what gets in the way are conscious and unconscious thoughts that question if our services are “good enough” or beliefs like I have to work really hard for money or even deep down wondering if we deserve success and money.

The saying “There’s no one that can stop you, but you” rings especially true for soloprenuers! So, how do we stop making up imaginary obstacles in our minds and create success instead? It starts with absolutely knowing the value that we deliver and creating a solid case based in reality that specifically states how we make a difference (this logic helps quiet the mind). Once we deeply know our value, it becomes a matter of serving people and creating the courage to ASK for clients… this requires an awareness of who we are Being for our clients, no so much what we are doing for them. This takes courage.

I choose to work with clients that are committed, courageous and coachable – and that want to make a difference, authentically connect with and serve people. I work with people who truly want to grow and are willing to take bold action to create results. As an entrepreneur, I mastered at all the self-distractions, reasons, and procrastination strategies that keep entrepreneurs from doing the one thing that will create success (hint: ASKING) – my coaching is about results… not reasons. 

Some of my clients already know who they are, who they intend to serve and what services they offer and they are ready want to improve or create an online presence and following. Others may have a lot of skills, talents, experience and would like a partner to collaborate with and help them define who they are, who they want to serve and exactly what services they offer and how to package them.

Soloprenuers are in an amazing position to create a highly profitable business, financial freedom, more precious time and make a profound difference in the lives of their clients. There is a way to create a wildly success business without marketing, a flashy website with slick sales copy and Tweeting.  The way is by serving people, and engaging in transformational conversations – the truth is that all people care about is if you can solve their problem. Twitter and Facebook, a blog a website can all be used as tools to serve people and engage people in a conversation – however, the bottom line is that clients are created by conversations.

My coaching process is:

Step 1 – Defining who you are, what you are up to, who you want to serve and coaching the unleveraged talents out of you and then expressing them in a way your target audience will respond to. This is a very difficult task… even for the best of writers!  This step is a critical foundation to build and it is well worth taking the time to slow down and get clarity. I call this determining your “Wow Factors.”

Step 2 – Owing Your Value

“People do not pay you what they think you are worth,
they pay you what YOU think you are worth.”
~Steve Chandler

Knowing the exceptional value that you create makes it much easier to fearlessly charge what you are worth. I’ve found that “Value deficit disorder” going undiagnosed can take the best businesses down… like the Titanic. Many times entrepreneurs don’t know their own value, maybe because they are self-taught and they might think “if I can learn this or do this, anyone can.” Or, we don’t realize how valuable our ideas and thought processes are, we tend to think everyone thinks like us.

Sometimes we may deliver exceptional value targeted to the wrong audience or we don’t communicate the value we offer in a way that clients really understand the benefits. Business is a simple matter of exchanging value for money, if we do not absolutely know the value that we offer, then it can make asking for the sale seem a bit frightening (perhaps this could cause solo-preneur procrastination?) Before I really knew the value that I created, I would spend countless hours working on a website or checking email a hundred times a day… I was very busy and active and took very few actions that would actually result in sales.

Once I unquestionably knew the exceptional value that I delivered, I became very conscious of devoting my time and energy to the 20% of activities that actually create clients! Then I learned the magical powers of outsourcing the busy work to others who actually enjoyed doing it! To the control freak in me it seemed like a crazy idea at first … but it turned out to be genius!

Step 3 – Courageous and frequent ASKING. For solo-prenuers that offer services, clients are primarily created by engaging people in conversations. In many cases, a big marketing campaign, fancy brochure or video is not required to build a successful business. What is required is ASKING for the business. This kind of asking calls for authentic conversations and an intention to be of service. Asking is the greatest cause of success for solo-prenuers, and it is a skill that can be learned, practiced and perfected.

Step 4 – Building your online presence. Once who you are Being is truly serving people, then we can move into creating an online system to build relationships… etc. to support you – not in lieu of and to avoid conversations and “ASKING” but to use the tools online to engage people in a conversation.

If you are a solopreneur that would like to explore what’s next, create more success or just feel like you have more to offer but are not clear on what is next, I’d love to hear from you! Send me an email Julie @ GotCourage.com to schedule some time to talk about possibilities for you.

If you feel this coaching school is for you, contact me directly as soon as possible on my cell phone (801-979-7662) – or e-mail me Julie@GotCourage.com to setup a time to talk.
 
I’m looking forward to hearing from you,
 
~Julie Blake