Welcome Back Wendy!

Welcome to the re-launch of my blog–The Radiant Edge where business, lifestyle
& passion meet.

I’m so pleased to be back writing to all of you about my favourite topics–all those wonderful things which make being an entrepreneur an adventure inclusive to life and business.

People keep asking me, “Where did you go? Why haven’t you been writing your blog & publishing your ezine?”

Truth be told, at the end of 2009 I stepped back from my writing to address issues in my personal life that needed much of my attention and time. I believe in being transparent about my life so to be honest this past 18 months I have been resettling into my life as I decided to leave my 18 year marriage at the beginning of 2010.

Divorce is an emotional process that will either push you to grow or push you over the edge. I am pleased to say, “I am still standing!”  Although a bit bumped and bruised, I am well and very happy about the decisions I made. Now that I have had time to settle into my new life and home with my children,  it’s time to get back to business and back to writing—both of which I have really missed.

I believe the experiences that are the most difficult in our lives to walk through leave residual lessons if we step aside and look objectively at them. What I can say about going through a divorce is that it has taught me a lot about myself and what I am really capable of, it has taught me much about the people around me in my life, and it has taught me also to dig deep into myself and really look at the reality of life now as the canvas I get to recreate in my ideal vision.

This has lead me to really look at the needs of being a single parent/woman in the workforce and how to  still maintain the quality of life I want for myself and especially my children. It has always been important for me to be able to stay home with my boys. And now with the changes in my life and the new financial demands my focus has really turned to the question: How can I continue to be home for my children yet make enough money working from home without going into complete overwhelm?

Thus begins the challenge for so many women I know. How do we do this? How do we create a financially sustainable, lifestyle based business that supports those things in our lives that we value?

This has compelled me to really look at the work professional women do and how we can still act in service towards our clients while being readily available for our children. I am really delighted to say I have found the lynchpin and have been able to do this. In fact, I am working hard at creating a new blueprint for doing business like a woman. I am excited to say this quest has evolved into my new workshop called The Marketing Mystique: A woman’s blueprint for marketing and business success—read more by clicking here.

I am hosting my first workshop on Friday December 2 – in Langley. I would love to show you another way to work as a woman by building a lifestyle based business- especially one that works really well for what I call Transformational Service Providers:  they range from coaches, consultants, holistic healers and practitioners, and heart-centered entrepreneurs. I hope you will join me to discover there really is another way to be in business as a woman.

I look forward to sharing more about this topic with you, my readers in the near future. However for now here is a toast of Cheers! to possibilities, empowerment, and personal radiance!

One more thing though, I am curious if you would answer my quick poll. 

How do you sell the real value of your heart-centered business?

For many people the idea of going into sales is not the career choice they would make. Yet, as heart-centered entrepreneurs, no matter what you do as your service, you are in the career of sales. Cleverly disguised at first, we trick ourselves that people will just naturally want our services like massage therapy or family counselling so we won’t have to “sell ourselves”. However, it is soon discovered that more effort is needed to convert someone into a client and that the process often leaves us feeling out of integrity.

What if you could sell your services without flinching?  I want to propose from here on out you twist the concept of sales to something more in alignment with the real principle of service. From now on, position your sales approach as an invitation to offer someone an opportunity to change their life with your help–because this is really what you are actually doing.

The tangible results you are able to convey about your services must be translated in your conversation with people. Crafting a conversation to share how you could solve a problem they may be experiencing will help a person determine if they are a good client for you. Setting up your sales conversation so that the person begins to see how you may be able to help them quiets their objections when you are engaged in the sales conversation as well.

Teach the real value of your product or service. Your transformational experience must be for sale not the deliverables such as your specific service (usually your title or job description) or product (book, DVD, workshop or class). It is in the transformation from a ‘before and after’ stand point that must be communicated because people want to believe it’s possible to change. Disappointment in previous attempts to fix their problem is usually hidden in the back of their minds making many sceptical if you are actually going to be able to deliver. You must be able to clearly communicate your results —especially if the outcome relies heavily on the client participating in the transformation. In services like counselling, coaching, and healing arts there is an element of collaboration in the transformation. Stating the benefits and results of your work is important in establishing the value of your work.

Convey truth in the information that you share. Authenticity is a key to selling. People want to trust the expert who is offering them the possibility of something different. Clarity in communicating the problem you help, the results you offer, and the ideal clients you serve will convey confidence. Providing testimonials from actual clients who you have helped achieve the results of this problem successfully lets people see you can deliver on what you offer. Having a FAQ on your website to answer questions or objections you may encounter about your work also reduces scepticism. By pre-framing your work in these ways allows people to pre-qualify themselves as potential clients because they gain trust in the information that you are willing to share. They must trust what you say and do is authentic or they will not invest in you.

Belief in what you are offering. There has to be relevance for the buyer to even want your product or service. This is why picking a niche or group of people to serve is important when helping people see the real cost of them not getting a problem solved. If your service deals with the challenges of helping single parent women organize their homes to reduce overwhelm this should be clearly stated. Because the kind of “cost” overwhelm could be affecting—in their relationships, finances or health may not be relevant to another groups of parents. You become an expert and believable when you clearly demonstrate how you can help a specific group of people. With more success in doing so makes it easier for people to invest your service.

Stop Marketing Like Mad–Just Get to the Heart of Your Business

It seems to me that everywhere I look I am surrounded by the latest and greatest marketing strategies. These range from tips on writing articles and ezines, video implementation, social media networking, website restructuring, events and networking strategies, list building, joint venture partnering, information product development, teleclasses, workshops, and the list goes on and on.

Whew! Just writing this has made my head spin. What about yours?  

In any event, I know many of you reading this will say, “Well, Yes! I know that is what I am supposed to be doing to get clients. Action is the key.”

Is it really or is it just another means of overwhelming us?

Just for this moment I want you to stop and ask yourself,

• What if all these marketing delivery tools- because that is what they are—went away? 
• Would your business be able to survive?
• Could you still make money selling your services just through a conversation and still generate really good money too?
• Could your business message stand alone without all these marketing tools?

If not, then what is your marketing message really about?

What I have discovered at the heart of every business is a message of service.

A service gifted to each of you owners to help solve a plaguing problem someone else may be experiencing. The clarity in knowing this is the key to your business’ growth, and more over, the key to your helping more people. This, of course, translates into more money flowing into your business account which is providing that service.

However, if you feel like each marketing item you create must be edgy or crafty enough to compete with another piece, post, or presentation, then you really haven’t fully defined how exactly you can help people.

The heart of your business is your mission

If this mission is hidden underneath all that marketing noise, it will not be identified and no one will hear it. 

Here is the real problem with all this marketing. The people, the ones who really are   struggling to make the changes in their lives and who need that voice –your voice from the crowd—can’t hear you. What they really desire is for someone to say to them,  
           “I see your pain.  I know how to help you.  Here, let me show you a better way because I want you to reclaim the joy in your life, family, health, or business”.

If you are not clear whether your mission statement is being supported by your message, then the real service message or mission your business could hold is succumbing to the influx of marketing overload.

So stop doing all this marketing for a moment and start being!

Find the heart message of your business–coax it forth, rally it into your mission, and start sharing it with the world.

Learn better strategies about how you can help people make the changes they so desire—and that is not by having one more certification or program you must study either. Let go of all that doing and start investing into your being—clarify the steps you use right now with your most successful clients and repeat them with more people just like them.

Here is my belief about marketing. People really don’t need another accountant, beauty consultant, or cleaning company. What they do need is:

• Someone to help them feel less overwhelmed by their money challenges,  
• A  desire to have a person show them how to enhance their uniqueness in order to boost their self-esteem,
• They want a company that will help make their life easier by eliminating their biggest time consuming task at home.

To know the heart of your business means you have to know YOU!

What is your mission?  

It is the core of your business that is all wrapped up in the delivery of a service meant to help a specific problem someone is having.  Now, all you have to do is claim it!

When you can clearly answer this, your marketing will speak for itself with ease. It will also have a much greater impact that is extraordinarily enriching for both you and your clients.

Video BC Day Greeting by Wendy Burge

Hi Everyone -
I just wanted to wish everyone in British Columbia a great BC Day!
As you can see I was celebrating the day with my family at Cultus Lake Waterpark, near Chilliwack, BC. It was a fun day with a few great reminders that no matter what business you operate creating specialty services, products, and or in this case “play areas” for each age group is a wonderful way to enhance the experience for everyone who does business with you.

Watch my video to learn more.

Happy BC Day !

Wendy

The Secret to Receiving–Just Ask!

One of the short-comings of working as solo entrepreneurs or as small business owners is that because we spend so much time working on our businesses alone, we appear to have glossed over the fact that there is often a simpler approach to receiving the things we need for our lives and business.  Due to limited cash flows and lack of extra support at times, we personally handle every task in our offices and are ruthlessly commitment to the mantra, “I’ll do it myself”.  However, this takes a toll on our ability to refocus, and sometimes, in order to receive the outcome we are looking for, our focus and actions need to be shifted to allow others to help us.

A few days ago, I was out with some friends and I was reminded of one of the biggest secrets to receiving those things you want in life and business. And, this is not so much of a secret really, as it was a reminder. To get what you want, you must ASK for it.  Now hear me out, this is not meant to be cheeky. I know you know this but, I guarantee if you are like me, sometimes we forget how much power there is in Asking—especially for the really big stuff. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not afraid to ask for those little things I need help with, but, it’s the bigger items that I stumble over at times because I forget to ask for those things, too.

The power of asking was brought back into my awareness by recently watching my friend just effortlessly ask for something very large, very specific, and very last minute.  This person pulled out their phone, quickly dialled an acquaintance they thought might be able to assist them, and asked for the favoured request. Again, this is not rocket science, but the favoured item they were looking for was not some small gesture either. 

However, my lesson did not stop there. What struck me most was what happened when the conversation had ended and the person on the phone was not able to yield the response hoped for. My friend let go of that outcome and went into action thinking of another way they could find what they wanted—without feeling the least bit slighted by the fact they did not receive the favoured item they were wanting.  So, after the first unsuccessful try, they just moved on to the next idea of who might have what they wanted and went into action, once again, to ask for it. Eventually, and with no more effort from the initial start, they successfully found what they wanted.

From this experience, I came away with some take-away points which I can see TRAP entrepreneurs around the idea of ASKING  for the help we may need to assist us in growing our businesses—especially the bigger things.

1. We DO NOT ASK enough for help in our business and lives for big or little items which could substantially move us into action faster.
2. We UNDER ESTIMATE that people are genuinely willing to help us be successful—if only we would ask them for what we need.
3. We ASSUME that we know HOW the things we want will come to us and WHO will or will not help.
4. If our request does not appear the first time, we “mistakenly” LET GO of the idea instead of moving on to the next person or option.
5. If someone can’t help us, initially, we FORGET to ask them “Who do you know that could help me then?”
6. If someone was unable to help us with that ‘item or project’, we tend to AVOID ever asking them again—when in fact they may hold the key to another request.
7. The WORTH of the request in UNDER VALUED by our own beliefs in the request itself or within our selves.

 

 

 

7 Points for Start-up Businesses and Newbie Entrepreneurs to Consider

(This is just my commentary about recent encounters with newbie entrepreneurs…)

If you REALLY want to go into business for yourself please use this check list to make sure you understand you aren’t creating just a job or hobby for yourself.

1.   Understand you are a CEO not a technician – You must view your business like a BUSINESS not a job with a lot to do. So what do you want this business of yours to look like? Find a model of a successful business in your field and industry and follow their steps. Success leaves clues!

2.   Determine WHY you want to go into business for yourself – Don’t just open a business because the economy is iffy. Your WHY must be greater than your need because you will have those days that your WHY is WHY you are hanging in there doing it! What purpose is it serving your life?

3.   Get “To legit to quit” – Make the decision and go all out, not half way and stop – then tell people it did not work out. Treat your business like its a child – with all the ages and stages you have with children. Businesses have a life of their own too. Hire a Coach to help you map and plan out how to help your business along.

4.   Invest in KNOWLEDGE. If not for yourself then that of others. It cuts your learning curve immensely! And do not expect “Experts” to continue to give you advice for FREE. They will help to a point but you must INVEST in your business/learning.

5.  You MUST SPEND MONEY. Pay for the best if you can – again YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR in the end. While there are alot of great FREE things for businesses online and off to use –pay for the people, tools, systems, and resources that help you get the job done right the first time!

6.   Understand you MUST learn about MARKETING & SALES if you want to own your own business. There is no way around this! Next to being the CEO your Primary Position is as Marketer & Salesman – no matter how big your business grows. Yes, it’s nice others can speak for you – testimonials are great but if you can’t talk about yourself and how you can help someone with your business – well you won’t have a business for long.

7.  Your MINDSET will either Make You or Break You! If you do not have the self-esteem, courage, or faith in yourself to move into or be in business for yourself you will not succeed. There are acres of books, systems, resources and people to go to in order to learn to grow a business but if your FEARS are big enough you will not accomplish your “Entrepreneurial Dream” because they will take over and cause stagnation, doubt and analysis paralysis!

Happy Earth Day!!

What a marvellous day to be writing to you.  There are so many great events planned around communities to celebrate this day. Earth Day is one of those days that everybody can take part in and contribute towards. It evokes a sense of responsibility and belonging, as well, care and preservation.

These attributes are also the very same we find in the foundations of businesses built by ‘passion’-preneurs. These are people who have stepped into serving others in their community, physically or virtually, with their natural talents, gifts, and innate understanding that they are on this planet to do something more with their lives than take up space.

Last week I shared the first of a series of questions to help clarify this process of awareness for new entrepreneurs within my ezine, On the Edge.  It starts with an internal dialogue – getting clear on how to create a business which feels more authentic. In today’s issue, I am offering the second set of questions to help continue this dialogue for ‘newbie’ entrepreneurs wanting to create great businesses for themselves and that serve people from a higher spiritual place.

I believe we are in a time in history where we, as a people, have more to give to each other-to share and help.  We also have resources available like the internet to connect us more easily with more people. This ability to reach out and have contact with people from around the globe brings us together by the most common of denominators-we all share the same living space on Earth, we all experience life within families, we all have the ability to participate in commerce and trade, and we all thrive in supportive relationships with others.

Owning your own business anymore can be more than merely a means to survive. It now has the power to affect people on a new and totally personal level.  And I am reminded about this -especially on days like today when as a people we put aside differences and stop and care for the abundant beauty we have by living on this planet together.

Click here to read today’s edition of On the Edge ezine