My work helps you:

• Make sure your work is compatible with your true nature; your life purpose, your unique strengths and your blind spots; your values and your loves; your pet peeves and your deepest wishes. Why? Because then you have a much higher chance of succeeding financially, and of liking your life.
• Get in touch with your deep guidance and source of strength. Why? Because you have a much easier time knowing what to do and much more confidence doing it
• Create a work environment that is genuine and respectful
• De-program past failures and beliefs that get in the way of succeeding now
• Translate your yearnings to “make a difference” into profitable business practices
• Bring quality and meaning to a hard-driving professional life

How to tell if you would benefit from working with me:

• The easiest way is to join me on my free teleseminars, where you can ask any question you’d like and/or listen to the recordings. Sign up in the top right corner and you will get all the information you need to access them.
• You can also read a free report from my “Dealing with fear” page, which gives you novel ideas and techniques you can use right away.
• Scroll down this page and read my posts. I welcome your comments by the way.
• Just ask me; feel free to send me an e-mail at the address shown at the bottom of this page

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Don’t you resonate? I sure do; even though I’m really good at helping other people with their business, I’m in the same boat; I would love to “just do my coaching and not have to worry about selling and money.” That’s one of the things I loved about the Star Trek series way back when; they never had to worry about money! People did their work and went on with their lives .

This is a big issue for most of us and one that can’t be resolved in one article, post or conversation, but I’d like to make 5 suggestions:

• To very loosely paraphrase Buddhism, we can lessen our suffering through acceptance and detachment.

  Accepting that being in business in our society means having to sell and trade money.
  Accepting that everyone has money issues and that we will be on the receiving end of some of “their stuff” and detaching from the sting of what that feels like.

  Yes I know, easier said then done but when I remember to remember this, I’m able to take more action and feel less stress.

• One common mistake most of us make is that we are self-focused, and that’s the case even for giving practitioners or coaches who want to make a difference in the world.

  You see, we love our processes: they are fascinating, soul-enhancing, health-inducing. So we talk about them and hope to convey to others the power of our tools.

  Since other people aren’t interested in our tools, they tune us out especially if we use specialized lingo (which doesn’t sound specialized to us since we live it every day). I’m not only referring to health terms here, but also to coach-ese, new age-ese, or spiritual-ese.

  Instead, we should relate to them in their language, talking about their problems. Now that’s a conversation that would be interesting to them and to top it off, it naturally flows into how we can help. Doesn’t that feel better than a sales pitch?

• Remembering that people want a solution to their problems also allows you to feel more welcome and more confident. Doesn’t it feel better to think that you are reaching out to lessen people’s burden, than to think that you’re selling something to them?
• The dark side of being caring is forgetting that it is their decision whether to move forward with anything including our services. Now you might think that this sentence doesn’t apply to you but let me ask you; why do you take it so personally if they reject your offer? Yes I know, it’s darn frustrating when your work isn’t being valued and you need to eat and pay your bills.  Fact is, most people won’t be able or willing to hire us, which means we have to keep reaching out to many more people to find the ones who just happen to be ready to act.
• Reaching out with our message is one thing, quoting a price is another. Now that rattles our money and self-worth issues! I’m not an expert on that topic (well, I am an expert in the discomfort of it but not the solution ). I have come across a few people who do a very good job on this issue. One program that is coming up (and repeats every so often if you’re reading this post later on) is called “Transformational Fee Setting”. Isn’t that title intriguing?

  
  

  Intriguing enough that I’ve signed up; I can always use help in operating on a higher ground when it comes to money, as long as what they recommend is  practical in today’s world. I’d recommend you explore for yourself if this suits your needs by going to the transformational fee setting program page.

• Don’t think they can afford it
• Need the benefits
• Don’t have an idea for a business
• Don’t know what to do
• Are scared to fail
• Are worried about other people’s opinions (their families’, mainly)

Those are all valid reasons. I had the delightful opportunity to interview Valerie Young, an experienced “out-of-the-box” career counselor who has helped thousands of people transition out of employment to self-employment, and I asked her what she found mainly blocked people from making that transition. Here is what she said:

The main thing that blocks people from leaving their jobs and running their own business, is not believing it’s possible to do so.

You might think that this is saying the same thing as “I can’t afford it” and it is in a way, but Valerie is pointing out that it’s the belief that stops people in their tracks, not the actual facts.

Now how she has helped her clients over the years is  by brainstorming with them on the various ways they could make money, and that allows her clients to not only check the facts (is it really true they can’t make money?) but also to start believing in the possibility of entrepreneurship on their own terms.

And she is not a proponent of taking unwise risks, making me chuckle when she said; “I call my business “Changing Course”, not “Taking a flying leap”!”

Now she takes on very few clients nowadays, instead being busy training other people on how to do what she does and become brainstormers. If that intrigues you, you can check out her training program by clicking on my link to her site, “From passions to profits” .

Valerie’s program is a combination of self-study and personal assistance and since she is a never-ending source of stories and ideas, it should be totally fascinating to train with her!

Now back to the reason why most people who want to start a business never leave their job; how can you stop feeling it’s impossible to do it?

Well, you have to make a plan you can believe in. That involves first, identifying what the business might be. Some people know and most people don’t, not really. They may have an idea but it’s often too vague. Or they may have no clue.

Then you design the transitioning phase which preferably will be something different than quitting in disgust and having no income to support you!

And you plot how the beginnings of your business would look like. What you will offer, to whom, and how you will reach them.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it is but not nearly as much as starting in the wrong business or in the wrong way. I strongly believe it’s not something you should do on your own for three reasons:

• If you knew how to do it, you would have
• Even when you learn how to create a startup plan, you need to get someone else’s point of view on your ideas; hopefully someone who understands entrepreneurship (as opposed to someone who’s always been on a paycheck)
• The forces of inertia are too strong and life is so busy that you might never finish your plan.

In case you’re wondering; is that the kind of work I do? I can, if we’re the right fit, so if you’re wondering about that, send me an e-mail (helene “at” wherebusinessmeetsspirit.com).

• The apparent reasons that may be true enough but aren’t the real cause of coaches’ lack of success.
• Three related reasons that relate to marketing fundamentals
• Three mindset reasons

Now it’s time to talk about the seventh and last reason why coaches and other spiritual entrepreneurs don’t make enough money.

Coaches’ work is quite personalized and often intuitive, and many coaches can’t translate what they do in their one-on-one work to a step-by-step system which they could then turn into group coaching programs and products. That prevents them from leveraging their time and creating multiple streams of income.

Even if they were happy with doing strictly private coaching, not being to explain clearly what they do limits the effectiveness of their marketing copy.

I see such a need there that I’m offering to a limited number of coaches (or even holistic practitioners and consultants who are in the same boat) a 4-hour program where we work together to create their coaching system. I intend to make that a group program but until then, the selected few will get private coaching at the group rate: 4 hours for only $197!!

E-mail me (info “at” WhereBusinessMeetsSpirit.com) with “coaching system pilot program” in the subject line if you’d like to create products and leverage your income but find it hard to describe what you do.

Here I’d like to cover three more reasons why coaches, holistic practitioners and spiritual entrepreneurs often have a hard time being as successful as they would like.

1. Heart-based service providers reject the money-grubbing, win-over-the-competition business world. They either suffered through years of soul-crushing corporate work or were allergic to that world from the onset.

   
   

   So what often happens is, they reject anything that smells of that world and they hate to talk about money, selling or business planning.

   And of course, both are necessary to success. That means that spiritual entrepreneurs need to heal their relationship with money and business if they want to make the kind of difference they dream of making.

2. Coaches love personal growth concepts, holistic practitioners love wellness topics, spiritual entrepreneurs could talk about spirituality for ever. And since many of them are uncomfortable about selling, they tend to write marketing copy, articles, and blog posts that are general discussions about their preferred topics rather than focused on selling their services and products. (Hey, I’m often guilty of that myself!)




3. Heart-based business owners are generally fans of the law of attraction, especially the visualization and meditation part. Few incorporate the part about taking targeted action to bring about their visualization. Somehow, spending a lot of time making vision boards, doing affirmations, reading inspiring literature and meditating creates the impression of working on the business. It’s a start, but we live in a physical world that requires physical action as well. (Though don’t get me wrong, action without a deeper connection is an old paradigm we don’t want to go back to.)

As you can see, those reasons relate to mindset and changing a mindset isn’t as easy as just deciding to do so.

That decision is the first step but change involves having the awareness to keep making that same decisions over and over again until new habits have set in.

That’s a lot easier to do with a support structure that keeps you in line such as being part of a program, having a mastermind group or a coach that bridges spirit and business (hint hint ).

Now there is one more reason to talk about in the next post, and that one has nothing to do with marketing basics or mindset.

One of them was that people aren’t willing to spend on coaching in this economy, considering it personal development that can wait for easier cash-flow times.

That’s true enough, but only if the following 3 conditions:

1. Coaches are offering their services to everyone rather than narrowing it down to a specific group or people they serve.
2. Coaches aren’t explaining concretely enough what they do
3. And specifically, they aren’t highlighting the specific problems they solve and the tangible benefits people get from working with them.

Let’s look at some examples.

A business coach’s website says that she helps business owners achieve their goals. That might get some takers. But I bet many business owners will think that they can do that without paying for a coach.

But what if she instead specified that she helps women entrepreneurs who have children at home organize her business systems and schedules so that she has time to enjoy her life with her children and her husband while still running a business that’s profitable rather than being just a hobby? Wouldn’t that motivate some of those moms to invest in coaching even in these uncertain times?

How about a wellness coach that says that he helps people feel their best and vibrant selves? We all pay lip service to the fact that without our health, we have nothing but we keep under-exercising and over-eating, so obviously, lots of us choose to postpone our investment in becoming vibrant.

What if the coach specialized in helping executives age 50+ increase their level of energy so that they can be as productive as they were in their early 40s and have a life after work as well?  Hum…I can hear them think: “Forget budget cuts, I need to feel that way otherwise I might be axed for a younger version of myself unless I can keep up with them.”

The first 3 real reasons heart-based entrepreneurs often have a hard time making enough money have to do with filling a real need within a specific niche. Business basics that aren’t so easy to apply in real life.

The next 4 reasons are a different kettle of fish, and that will have to wait for the next post.

We were doing an exercise that was designed to open up our hip joints. First, we went through a movement that contracted the same muscles that we would stretch a moment later.

The instructor said that the joints would be willing to loosen up more after they felt their strength.

When you start a business, you are called upon to stretch your comfort zones quite a bit, especially if you came from a more structured environment such as a corporate job or a professional service.

A lot of entrepreneurship is about experimentation: finding your “winning formula” in business involves experimenting and testing to find the market you are meant to serve, the products or services that they want, and the marketing that does the best job at reaching them.

Any scientist will tell you that you need to have an open mind when you test, so entrepreneurs need to be willing to loosen up and be flexible.

That’s hard to do if you’re full of rigid assumptions, expectations, or fear of failing.

According to the yoga exercise, you’ll be much more able to relax into finding your success formula if you first feel your strength. So how do you do that?

One way is to give yourself an opportunity to experience some small successes instead of banking exclusively on a grandiose project.

Another is finding ways to have some cash flow coming in during your start-up to keep having the experience of receiving money. That might mean keep the job for a while or finding contract work.

Yet another is to interact with at least one person who will remind you how competent you are when you start doubting yourself, and do it in such a way that you believe it rather than think they’re just saying it because they love you. That often means that it’s best to not rely solely on family or close friends, but to have a mastermind buddy, mentor or coach.

Finally, helping others is a surefire way of feeling better about your value to the world. That might mean being involved in community work, or just lending a hand to friends.

What does that have to do with you business? Lots, because as an entrepreneur, you are your business and if you feel better, you’ll do much better.

Some also worry that they might run out of ideas in that “restricted” subject area, or that they’ll get bored.

And others rebel at having boundaries on their creativity.

If that sounds like you, here’s an excerpt from an article in Success Magazine about Quincy Jones. Reflecting on his training with his music composition tutor, Nadia Boulanger, Quincy said:

“When I was with Nadia, she taught me—I had a hard time getting my head around it. She’d say, ‘The more you restrict yourself, musically, the more freedom you have,’ ” Jones says.

This applies to us entrepreneurs as well, since what we do is creative. When we restrict ourselves to a niche, we have more freedom.

Just think about it; when you know who your audience is, you can come up with great products that solve their problem. You know the focus of your blog posts, your articles and your marketing. You know where to look for joint venture partners.

And since people can understand much better what you are offering, you attract more clients and partners more easily and therefore greater success.

Having more opportunities, you are definitely not bored.

Got you convinced yet?

But you see, contrary to many writers on the subject, I don’t think people resist the idea of concentrating on a niche as much as they find it really difficult to pick one.

So I’m planning to come up with a 4-week course on the subject. If you want to know more about it, make sure you gave me your name and e-mail (in the box at the top right corner of the page), and I’ll keep you posted.

And you’re welcome to comment on the blog below or send me an e-mail at helene “at” WhereBusinessMeetsSpirit.com (Replace the “at” with @; I’m trying to avoid spam robots from picking up my e-mail address).

Not only that, we think that no one would pay us for doing such a simple thing.

Do you recognize yourself here? Spend a few minutes thinking of what you’re known for. What are you a “natural” at? Recall not only your present work life but also your past careers and accomplishments.

You might not even see them as accomplishments until you remember the compliments you’ve received about your work or abilities. Even if you thought they were only being nice or supportive, write them down.

Now let that list sit for at least a few hours. Later, come back to it with fresh eyes and ask yourself what on that list could be valuable to someone.

If you have a history of downplaying your value, or if you’re in a phase where you’re confused about your business direction, don’t trust only your own opinion. Ask someone else who understands your ideal vision (such as being a successful coach or conscious entrepreneur) to read your list and flag the most valuable abilities.

Then brainstorm on how you could package these abilities into a process, information product, or program. Don’t worry yet about how you would teach what you do. Just ask yourself: what problems would it solve and for what kind of person?

And…is there a market for solving this problem; are those people willing to pay for this? (How you do that is beyond the scope of this post, but you could start by googling).

Once you’ve narrowed it down to your top possibility, then you can reverse engineer what you do to design your teaching program. Once again, you’ll make much better progress if you involve someone else in your exploration.

After all, you’ve been unconscious about how you do what you do for a long time, so a fresh perspective would go a long way toward ferreting it out.

This has been a mile-high, fast-forward view of one of the many processes I use in helping you figure out your business offerings, but it’s enough to get you started.

Your unconscious competence is a gold mine; don’t pass it by looking for the pot at the end of the rainbow.

Have you ever had the experience of being really busy all day and at the end of it, wondering what the heck you accomplished?

Or of getting the job done by being really focused for days/weeks/months or even years, then taking a step back at the end of it all and realizing that you would have been better off devoting your time to something else?

That last one is particularly poignant when decades have gone down the tubes working hard in a career or environment that doesn’t really suit you. I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen retirees’ eyes reflect deep regret.

All of these are examples of what can happen when you’re too short-term oriented in your goals.

Sometimes being “too short-term oriented” can mean that you’re hopping from one urgency to another, or spend weeks on a project without giving sufficient thought to how it fits in with your ultimate goals.

But sometimes, it can be disguised as an apparently well-thought out career or business plan, as illustrated by retired executives who have deep regrets about their work life.

What was missing in that case was a larger picture of what they wanted their life to be about.

Too long

Do you know anyone who can’t figure out what he/she wants to do with his life and never gets started with anything?

Or someone who only wants to focus on the big picture and long term vision, never stopping to figure out the steps to get there and how to get them done?

Or someone who does the daily/weekly tasks but you can really feel how he/she resents doing them?

Those are symptoms of being too long-term oriented. These people are often accused of being “dreamers”, or in the last case, bitter dreamers.

On which side of the short-long continuum do you usually live?

Just right

Since just about everything in life is about getting the right balance, it comes as no surprise that the answer is to have a long-term vision for your life and your work, and keep it in mind when you decide on your shorter-term projects and tasks.

The trick is, how do you do that in real life?

The first step is to get a life vision and that’s not easy for many of us. To find it, you need to ask yourself what you value and get a sense of what you’re here to do (and in my experience, that’s always bigger than a specific career but often isn’t about saving the world).

There are many books and workshops on the subject. In my case, I found that, before my thoughts could become clear, I needed to process them with other people and my breakthrough happened when I found my life purpose with the help of a mentor (Baeth Davis).

Ironically, my purpose involves helping others to find theirs, which is now part of what I do. And another mentor, Connie Ragen Green, was the one to identify my business essence and website name.

Finding your purpose is just step one though. You then need to know how to reflect it in your work and in your life so that you make money doing something meaningful to you, taking action while keeping the stress low and the joy level high. That’s when the shorter-term goals come in.

So if you have a tendency to focus on the immediate priorities, you’re able to decide on which short-term project or task to do that will help fulfill your overall purpose.

And if you tend to be on the “dreamer” end, you can plant your vision into a conscious purpose-driven action plan. Then you won’t mind doing the short-term or mundane work so much since it becomes so much more meaningful, and you’ll have a much higher likelihood of success.

I’ll say it again, if you’re like most people, you can’t do this by yourself. You need some structure and someone who can bring out your vision and has the business sense to help you make concrete plans.

Then maybe you’re a better self-study than I was and reading books or internet material will work for you. Just make sure you don’t let too much of your life slip away trying it on your own before realizing it won’t do the trick. You won’t get that time back.