Stepping Into Big, LLC
Plan to take action now!8/17/12
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It's Time 
To Get Off The Hamster Wheel!
 
hamster on wheel by haundreis

Just being in motion will never get you to your Big. To do that, you need to be sure you're doing the right things, in the right order, for the right reasons.

Enter the Take Action Now System (tm). 

This seven-step system clarifies the activities that are mission-critical to your success. It then walks you through a process for creating step-by-step action plans to implement those key activities.


The result? You get off the hamster wheel of motion-without-progress and get on a more direct route to more clients and more money.

Forget about being busy; start getting focused by downloading your no-charge PDF version of the Take Action Now System (tm) today.
 
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Greetings!

   

One of the least helpful lessons I ever learned while growing up was "don't get your hopes up."  While I understand that my parents were hoping to help me avoid disappointments, the actual result was that I got in the habit of playing small, settling for less than I wanted, and creating the very situation I didn't want.

 

It's taken me decades to unlearn this lesson, and I occasionally still go into pessimistic, "it'll never work out" mode.  However, far more often than not, I now prepare for the worst without actually expecting it.  Making contingency plans like this allows me to act from a position of realism, confidence, and power.

 

When you're looking for ways to bullet-proof your business growth, take advantage of the following tools.  

Tip of the Week
  
Identify the most significant potential obstacles facing you, then develop plans for dealing with them if they actually do develop.

Do 80% of your revenues come from just one client? What would you do if she switched to another service provider?  What if it takes you longer than you hope to build a client base for your new consulting business?  How will you pay the bills in the meantime?

Every entrepreneur faces unique choices and challenges. The successful ones are prepared for down-turns, even as they work with focus and determination to create the positive outcomes they want.

Bonus tip: When you get the results you were aiming for, be sure to celebrate them! All too often we move so quickly from one task to the next that we fail to acknowledge our accomplishments - and that failure to celebrate can actually rob us of energy we need for the next round of achievements.
A Really Good Resource

light bulb
One way to prepare for the worst is to know in advance what's likely to trip you up, then take steps to avoid those pitfalls.  A great help in doing this is Michael Gerber's classic, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It.

Gerber addresses the main reason small businesses fail, and he tells you how to avoid becoming another failure statistic.  By reading and applying the ideas in this book, you'll benefit from others' mistakes and you'll greatly reduce the resources you spend on trial-and-error business development.  It's a great way to put energy into creating your exciting outcome rather than reinventing the (square) wheel.
How's This for Success?   

Stepping Into Big logo

Time for some self-horn-tooting about the advantages of contingency planning. 

 

This past Wednesday I had a great time presenting at the Minnesota Women in Networking summer symposium. I was excited to speak on the topic "Stop Being Busy and Start Getting Results: 5 Steps to Move You From Ideas to Action to Income." 

 

I'd prepared some slides (no, it was not Death By PowerPoint), and I knew the symposium venue had all the AV equipment I could need. I wanted to be sure my presentation would go as smoothly as possible, so I got to my room early to set up my PowerPoint well in advance. While I was fairly confident I could successfully work with the unfamiliar equipment, my Plan B was to tap the symposium coordinator for technical assistance if I needed it. I even had a Plan C, which was to get tech help from representatives of the conference venue. 

 

As it turned out, I arrived early enough that I was able to very leisurely familiarize myself with the equipment and get everything set up the way I wanted. It felt like a not-so-minor triumph over technology, and I stayed calm throughout because I knew my contingency plans were in place.  The result?  I was confident and effective during my presentation - so much so that two participants shared that they'd been "inspired" by me and another one told me my information would "revolutionize [her] business and life." Woohoo!

Out and About  

Thursday, October 11, 2012: featured speaker at Career Directors International's 12th annual Global Career Empowerment Summit in San Diego, CA.

Thanks to my friend Flickr.

 

Here are this week's heroes who graciously allowed me to use their images, posted in the Creative Commons area of Flickr, in this issue of Stepping Into Big
hamster on her wheel by Heindraus
light bulb by aloshbennett
How are your contingency plans coming along? Do you feel comfortably prepared for dealing with potential pitfalls? Or are you unsure how to prepare for the worst while still spending most of your focus and energy on creating the best possible outcomes?

Maybe I can help.  My specialty is giving you a step-by-step process that allows you clearly identify what needs to be done when, so that you move forward with clarity and confidence.  If that sounds like something that could keep your head from exploding, call or e-mail me to set up a let's-see-what-we-see, get-acquainted call. 


Wishing you joy on your journey into Big...

Kathleen 
Stepping Into Big
612-716-8239

Life is good.   

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