3 Powerful Characteristics of a Successful Woman Entrepreneur

June 18, 2009

What are the 3 characteristics studies have shown to be absolutely indispensable to becoming a Successful Woman Entrepreneur?

1. Self-confidence

This is that magical power of having confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities.

2. Achievement Oriented

Results are gained by focused and sustained effort. They concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.

3. Risk Taker

They realize that there is a chance of loss inherent in achieving their goals, yet they have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve their goals.

Entrepreneurs are people who will make decisions, take action, and think that they can control their own destiny. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.

So which of these three main characteristics is the most important?

You might have guessed it: Self-confidence. Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible (or you might have to work a lot harder to make things happen or you might find yourself holding back for fear of rejection or failure).

If you don’t believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.

Positive Thinking

Well, it all starts with a positive attitude, doesn’t it? Believing that something good will happen is the first step. Negative thinking simply is not allowed. You must truly believe that there are no circumstances strong enough to deter you from reaching your goals. Remember too, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.

Persistent Action

Now all of the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal. You have to take action, no excuses are allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough. Keep at it one step at a time. If you can’t get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or just go around it.

At the beginning of this article we identified a few traits that are common among successful entrepreneurs. You should be able to look ahead and see yourself where you want to be. Now just maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and don’t give up. If you can do that, you’re already half way there!

Dare to believe in yourself and become your biggest fan and supporter!

Posted by Francine | Filed Under Blog, Dare to Soar in Business | 1 Comment

DARE to Have a Business and a Life

June 10, 2009

6 STEPS TO HAVING A BUSINESS AND HAVING A LIFE!

How often have you wondered if it’s really possible to have both? If you DARE yourself to be disciplined enough to follow six (6) very important steps.

If you work from home, chances are you already know that you’re really pulling “double duty”. You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner… and let’s not forget all the phone calls from family and friends expecting you to run errands or just “go out” for an afternoon of fun.

One of the hardest parts of running a home business is separating your work from your family and social life. Here are six proven ways to keep your home life running smoothly while keeping your business on track.

1. First, create a work schedule and stick with it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls during the day or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that you’re expendable - not dependable - and people will take for granted that you’ll “always be there” for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours.

2. Your friends may consider “working from home” an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just that - for business. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and you’ll find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted.

3. Just because you have to set up a work schedule, doesn’t mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you’ll find that you’ll get much more done when you’re attuned to your body’s own natural rhythms. Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive and you’ll find that things get done easier, faster and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has.

4. If getting after-hours business calls or work day personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate business phone line, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line.

5. If at all possible, try to separate your “home office” from the rest of your home. If you don’t have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that you’re working and shouldn’t be bothered.

6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because you’re working from home doesn’t make you any less of a professional. Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right.

If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are you’ll find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your business, but also projects the message that you mean business - literally!

Posted by Francine | Filed Under Blog, Francine Shares | Leave a Comment

DARE to Grow - 5 Principles of Personal Transformation

June 1, 2009

In order to grow and transform yourself/your team/your business, remember the Five Principles of Transformation.

“Change Is Inevitable but Growth and Progress Are Not”

1. Appreciate and Celebrate Your Successes

If you’re like most people, you find it much easier to remember the bad times than the good. We tend to be quick to criticize, slow to praise - especially of ourselves. The world seems consumed with bad news - newspapers, TV.

Take 5 minutes to think of times you were proud of yourself, did something well or put a problem behind you. Questions to ask yourself: How much money did you earn? Did you save any? Are you proud of something you did for your child or a friend? Have you been keeping fit? What were some great moments at work, in your business, with your clients?

As you read through your list, give yourself a pat on the back. Unless you do this from time to time, you’ll end up feeling like a car that’s run out of fuel.

2. Learn Your Lessons

By examining both what worked and what didn’t work, you can find the lessons that you need to learn. You are your own best teacher, the best source of your own wisdom.

We tend to look at learning lessons from our mistakes and failings, but it is just as important to learn from our successes! To catch ourselves doing things right and incorporating that success into our future.

What can you learn from the successes you just listed? What strengths do they reveal that you should reinforce, get better at? What was your secret? What skills do you have that you can capitalize on? Once you’ve finished your list, look back over it and select the three lessons which would make the most difference to you.

Select short, memorable, POSITIVE statement that can act as guidelines or rules for you to create the successes and meet the challenges. For example: “Be Patient and Listen”, “Be Flexible”, “Trust the Process”, “Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up”

3. Shift Your Limiting Beliefs and Assumptions to Develop Your New Paradigm or Vision

Unless we wake up to the negative beliefs and assumptions we have about ourselves and what’s possible, we can live in a small box that seriously limits what’s possible for us/our business. When we aren’t getting the results we want, we often go back and change our actions - but if the results still don’t happen, it is probably because there is a strong belief controlling your actions.

The first step in discovering how you limit yourself is to ask what you DOING that holds you back.

What are your limiting actions? Take a minute to jot down any that come to mind: What are you doing that holds you back from achieving the results you want?

Your actions are controlled by what you assume to be true - what the voice in your head is telling you about your limitations. Really tell yourself the truth about this! Does someone know better than you? Do you believe you’re too old? Don’t know enough? Don’t have enough education?

Your limiting belief is what do say to yourself and believe about yourself that ends up being the reason for not producing the desired results. On paper, complete the following sentence …. “I’d love to________ but I can’t because I’m _____________. What are the words in the second blank? This is an example of a limiting assumption of paradigm.

Now decide that the results are most important than the reasons. Dare to become “unreasonable” with yourself. Now write a new paradigm. Make sure it meets the following criteria - It must be: Positive, Personal, Present Tense, Powerfully and Simply Stated, Pointing to an Exciting Future For You. Some examples are: 1) I’m able to go beyond my limitations. 2) Money is no longer a big problem for me. 3) I empower myself to have what I want and need. 4) Whatever I put my mind to, I achieve. 5) I have the talent to succeed.

4. Live Your Values

We don’t have to look too far in our world to see public examples of high profile people who aren’t living their values, who aren’t being true to the person they want to be. It’s so easy to criticize them because the gap between their behavior and their values is so obvious. But while it’s important to hold our public figures and leaders accountable, a better use of our time and energy is to examine our own lives in line with what we believe and the kind of person we want to be.

Make a list of the values you cherish or wish to abide by. Prioritize them. Be clear about what makes you feel good about yourself. What values does that represent? Consciously and actively make these more important than the common negative drives such as trying to look good, gaining sympathy, survival about money.

Our personal values provide the strongest motivation for change and for achieving the goals we most want to achieve. Common on my clients’ lists are values are: Integrity. Being True to Yourself. Keeping Your Word. Honesty. Family First. Being a Loving Person. Making a Difference.

5. Set and Focus on Goals

Identify what’s most important to you and do it. Allow your values to shape your goals. If there are “should” goals and you really want to achieve them, turn them into “want to” goals. If there are “should” goals that have been around too long and you no longer want to do, get rid of them. Stop “shoulding” yourself.

Write down a list of WHAT you want to achieve in the different areas of your life. Put your attention on these goals rather than the problems and issues in your life. Turn these problems and issues into goals that lead you unward the RESULT you want. Choose what’s most important to you, set a goal and then do them, no matter what.

Set and Focus on ” SMART” Goals