Success doesn't just happen to you. You need to create it.

I've seen many articles on why most people will never be successful. But, today, I wanted to write one on how you can be.

Because those who achieved their dream success (and what that means is different for each person) aren't smarter than you. They didn't have an easier life or better circumstances than you. They just did things that most people don't want to do long enough to see their dream results come to fruition.

The underlying principles of their success aren't complicated. However, this doesn't mean they're easy. What doesn't make them easy is that you need to persist and keep going no matter what happens, giving you a myriad of excuses to stop.

So what are those things that if you master help you achieve anything you want?

Your thoughts

Everything starts in your mind.

Everything is created twice, first in mind, and then in reality.

Robert Sharma

For example, this creation can be fear and thought that you cannot achieve your dreams and live at the level you want. And we all know that this thought isn't that difficult to have.

Our brains are wired to look for danger, to be negative to keep us alive. What worked for the humans in caveman ages a long time ago is an obstacle that we now need to learn to deal with and control to achieve our full potential.

On the other hand, when you do that and intentionally redirect your thinking, you make your mind an ally in pursuing the dream life you want. The success you want to achieve. It doesn't matter how in the beginning. What matters is that you intentionally paint that picture in your mind, so it starts looking for it and help create it.

It's just like buying a new car. Before you decided on a make and model, you barely saw such cars on the streets. But then, once you made the decision, all the same vehicles (even the same color as you want) appeared on the road. Just as if everyone went and bought the very car you want the day you made the decision about getting it.

Has this happened to you?

I bet it did. This was your brain having a thought you implanted in it working for you and scanning the environment to confirm that thought and help you make it a reality.

Now you can do the same thing with your dream business or life in general. Start knowing what you want and planting those images in your brain to work for you, not against you. And whenever negative thoughts come back, redirect them to the ones that serve you.

So once you have the right thought, then what's next?

Your Feelings

What we think about affects how we feel about ourselves and the environment around us.

When you think negative thoughts: "I'm not good enough," "I'll never be able to do it," "I'm too busy." How do you usually feel at that moment? I'm guessing not very motivated to take action.

And when you don't take action, procrastinate or just take it half-convinced, it's hard to achieve anything you want, don't you agree?

Now, think of the last time you had positive, creative thoughts. The ones that say, "Yes, you can do this!" "You did this and this in the past, so you can do anything." Or even "I'm choosing to believe that I can do this, despite my current reality, and I'll take action towards it now." How do these make you feel? Motivated, wanting to act now, excited, and happy? Exactly!

Just like you can help your mind with intentional thoughts, mediation, affirmations, and other positive inputs, you can also help yourself with feelings.

Practicing gratitude, doing things that bring you joy, or spending time with the loved ones are all things that can help you raise your vibe.

I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.

Oscar Wilde

When you're able to positively impact your thoughts, you'll also be able to influence how you feel. And when those feelings serve you, they will push you to the third part of success, which action.

Your Actions

Taking action is the third step to achieving success. All 3 are equally important, and none can be skipped. You can have the best thoughts and feelings in the world, but nothing good will come your way if you don't act on them.

Actions require discipline, routine, and habits that help you push through even on the "I feel not so good days." Action creates momentum that beats procrastination. As well as building plans and focusing only on essential things.

To paraphrase Jim Rohn, you don't want to major in minor and trivial things. You want to major in major matters 😊.

And if one of the essential things is your business, then taking strategic action is key to its growth.

In summary, as humans, we are beautiful, complicated, and holistic beings.

Our thoughts, feelings, and actions affect each other and cannot be separated. Those who achieve their dream level of success learn how to control all three and direct them to play into their advantage.

And don't get me wrong, they don't do it all by themselves. The most successful people intentionally get help along the way. As I said in the beginning, this formula is simple but far from easy (that's why most people cannot do it).

But I know that's not you. Why? Because you're here reading this article. You're someone who wants to achieve your full potential, someone who's willing to learn how to get there. And if you're ready for help with that, schedule a free consult with me here.

Even though North American work ethic is not as extreme as Japanese, we're still not taking as much vacation as our European neighbors. And yet vacation has sooooo many benefits that it should be easy to choose it over karoshi (a Japanese term for death by overwork).

Because the vacation season has begun and COVID restrictions lessened, it's good to remind ourselves why taking some time off is soo beneficial.

Even if this season you stay within your region instead of traveling abroad, you can still reap all the below benefits of vacation.

Our Stress Levels Go Down

Let's be real, the recent few months have been quite stressful for most of us for different reasons. Our bodies and minds have been impacted even if you've been dealing with the situation like a pro.

The research shows that when removed from the typical day to day environments that may cause stress, we tend to relax faster. Our stress hormone levels go down, and with that, the symptoms, such as headaches, backaches, or other pains lessen or go away. Our bodies have time to heal and repair.

We Sleep Better.

Thanks to stress reduction, we began to sleep better. No wonder we get to really REST on vacation. We end up having less on our minds keeping us up at night and experiencing longer sleep with fewer interruptions.

Physical Health – improved!

I don't know about you, but I love to be active during vacation. Definitely more active than usual. Whether it's hiking or sightseeing, swimming, or just playing more with kids. Along with stress reduction, that's definitely one of the reasons why taking vacation significantly lowers your risk of heart disease.

We Gain More Mental Power

Vacation provides us with ample opportunity to Taking Time to Think. As we recharge, this lets our creative brain flourish, and new ideas come out. Less stress, more time outside breathing the fresh air, sun, and just having fun - all these things act as a power booster for our cognitive abilities. And then, when it's time to come back, we actually become more focused and productive during the business work time.

Vacation Strengthens Relationships

This one is a no brainer. Whether you're traveling with your partner only, friends, or the whole family, the relaxed fun time you have during vacation creates memories. Can you recall the last memories you have form one?

That's one of my favorite reasons for taking a vacation. Even if it's a staycation, it can become the most focused quality time you spend with your loved ones.

Vacation Makes You Happier

Did you know that even planning your vacation brings happiness? I know how excited I am when we do as a family. My trick to overcome January/ February Canadian winter blues is to plan summer vacation during that time. Booking camping, planning other trips, and talking about it as a family creates lots of excitement and joy.

Having vacation planned also gives you an additional thing to look forward to (outside of all the fantastic things you have planned for your business 😊!).

And then when the time comes, and you are present in the moment … Yes! How amazing is that?

So when are you taking your next vacation?
It’s not only good for you but also for your business.

Mine is starting now … I'm already packed and ready to create new fantastic memories with my family and embrace all ideas that come to mind during the Thinking Time. 😊

I'm sure you've already heard that journaling has many benefits. It can raise your spirits when you practice gratitude in it. It can help you increase self-awareness. It reduces stress levels when you download all the thoughts mixed in your mind onto paper and then take time to analyze them.

And in the process, you become a better writer – if you've ever wanted to write a book or your own marketing copy as an entrepreneur.

But there are many other ways you can use journaling to your benefit, especially as an entrepreneur.

Below, I share with you 5 ideas on how I use journaling to grow my business.

1. Weekly planning

I'm an avid planner. My weekly plans align with the strategic plan and vision I have for my business. A remarkably simple planning system I use fits on one page of my journal. It doesn't take longer than 15 mins to plan my week each Sunday. But, at the same time, it massively improved my productivity.

It's because I start each week knowing exactly what my tops priorities are and when I'm going to accomplish them. Thanks to it, I don't over-schedule myself either. I completely eliminated the never-ending to-do-list that just used to always keep growing on me and stressing me out.

And finally, the longer I use this system, the more productive I get with my time. I can accomplish in one week what some people need a month or two for.

2. A Running list of:

This one is not for a never-ending to-do list, but more of a list of business ideas and topics for your content. Also: books to read and resources you came across and want to check out.

I do it because our minds tend to forget (or talk us out of) any fantastic new idea our creative side comes up with. So if you don't write it down right after you think of it, you'll likely never think of it again. And what if that idea was the one you needed to create a massive breakthrough in your business?

So even if hate journaling, then at least get into the habit of writing down your ideas as soon as they cross your mind. You'll thank me for this later.

3. Brainstorming

Once you wrote down an idea and decided it's a great one to implement, a journal can help you get your thoughts organized. Once you're ready to action, start with brainstorming about it.

Is it a new offering you want to introduce?

Think about how it would look like, who'd be the ideal person to benefit from it, what it would take to create it, and then sell it.

Then start organizing your brainstorming into stages of a project. And keep going deeper into details. You won't even notice how fast you'll have a full draft version of a project plan!

4. Taking control of your mind

We all have moments when our brain is trying to convince us that we're not capable of going after and achieving our dreams. When these negative thoughts overtake your day, it can be demoralizing and even paralyzing.

I found journaling to be an amazing tool to quickly turn these negative goblins into positive elves. It helps make my thoughts intentional.

There are many exercises out there that help with that.

The simplest one is to write down your thoughts as they are and then rewrite them into positive and believable affirmations.

For example, from "I'm not a known expert in marketing, who'd then buy from me?" to "I developed skill on marketing through …. I know I'm good as my clients love my work and keep coming back. Not everyone can afford a known expert. Only because I'm not famous doesn't mean I'm not an expert in my field." - I hope you get the gist of it now.

5. Maximizing the investment in self-development journey

If you're an entrepreneur committed to growing your business, I'm assuming you're investing in your self-development. As you're learning new skills through books, podcasts, courses, or coaching, journaling can enhance such learning and maximize your investment.

How?

First, track your progress. For example, if you've decided to develop a new habit of reading every day, track the days when you read and how long. Or if you've decided to connect with 10 new people each day, track how many people you connect with each day.

Tracking will give you awareness of how you're doing with that skill. It's not meant to be a tool for you to beat yourself up every time you miss a day. Contrary, it helps you to realize when you're consistent with it and when not. Then ask yourself why? Once you know that you can improve.

Which brings me to the 2nd step – performance analysis. Analyzing what you're doing and how you can improve takes this to a whole new level.

For example, if you're working on improving your sales skills. You tracked how many potential ideal client conversations you've had each week.

Then, write down what went well and what didn't go as well as you'd like. Next, think about and write down what you can do differently next time. Then go and try it. You won't believe how much you can improve by this simple exercise.

Are you going to pick up one of these tips and start journaling today?

I hope you do. And then also that you'll slowly adopt all 5 or more.

Once you're ready and want to know more about my weekly planning or how to journal your way out of negative thoughts, reach out. Schedule a free brainstorming session here. I'll be happy to share some of my other journaling secrets 😉.

There has been a lot written about personal branding. Not so long ago, I wrote a blog about branding through leadership, and today I'm writing one more.

Why is it important to be intentional about your personal branding, you ask?

Because as an entrepreneur, especially a service-based one, you're also your business' brand. Your actions, services you provide to your customers, and how you behave create that brand. And even if you're selling someone else's products, your interactions with customers, posts on social media, and other behaviors represent you and the brand you're selling. All of this combined attracts (or deters) your ideal clients.

That's why today, I'd like to share with you three key strategies that'll help your personal brand not only stand out but also your ideal clients fall in love with it.

Tell an Intentional Story

Intentionally or not, whatever marketing content you put out to the world to make your business visible, you're telling a story. And not only through each individual piece of content but also cumulatively over time.

So, if put yourself in your ideal audience shoes and look back at all the pieces of content you have put out even this year. Look from their perspective.

What do you see?

• Does it portray what you stand for?
• Are you showing up consistently in places accessible to your ideal audience?
• Does it bring value to them?
• What type of person do you see emerging from this story?
• Is it what you intended it to be?

Once you look back, you'll get an idea of what your personal brand is shaping to be. If you LOVE it, your audience will too. If not, then maybe now it's the time when you become intentional on what stories you tell. And if you know what you want to portray but not sure how, then this blog on writing stories will help you. Click here to read more.

Let Your Clients Tell a Story

There are no better stories than those that your happy clients tell about you. They're not only the lifeline of your business but also the best storytellers, marketers, and advocates of what you're all about. That's why word of mouth from a delighted customer is such a powerful growth tool. Giving them all the material they need to prase you is your primary role as a business owner.

So, think about what you do to nurture your clients:

• Do you continually provide them with value?
• Do you have strong relationships with them?
• Are you making it easy for them to do business with you?
• Do you take 100% responsibility and being of service to them?
• Do you stay true to your values?

When your clients feel nurtured, loved, and cared for, you won't need to ask for them to spread a word about you and your business. They will be doing it on their own, reinforcing your personal brand and spreading your story faster than you can yourself.

Grow and Let Your Story Grow with You

I wouldn't be true to what I stand for if I didn't mention anything here about your growth and personal development 😊. One of my values is excellence. Excellence is doing the best you can with what you have now. It's a willingness to put yourself out there even though you'll make mistakes along the way. Excellence is taking the mistakes as learning opportunities and also being proactive about your growth. It's knowing that to be more valuable to the clients and grow your business, you need to above all invest in yourself.

And with all that, as you grow, your story will grow with you. Let it. Don't hold back. You don't need to be perfect, day 1. Personal branding should and will follow your personal development; that's when it truly tells a story.

As human beings, we love stories.

Everything we relate to evolves around storytelling. Stories bring out emotions, and that's how we remember things best. Every day you write your own unique story: in life and business. Because there is no one else in this world like you, make it intentional, consistent with what you stand for, and always growing. That's how you'll stand out and create a personal brand that your ideal audience falls in love with.

All businesses go through cycles: building up momentum, booming with having more clients than they can take on, and dry spells with fewer people buying.

The COVID pandemic has been a hard hit on many businesses. Some were able to pivot and thrive, some maintained their income, some had to shut down.

Running a successful, long-lasting business requires strategy and grit.

No matter the market conditions, successful entrepreneurs:

• are always able to pause and look inside their business;
• understand how the current situation is affecting them; and
• adapt to it to thrive.

And if right now you're in the dry spell seeing fewer customers, this read will help you pause and look inside your business.

Once you identify the reasons for your current challenges, you'll be one step closer to changing the situation for the better.

1. You stopped actively networking & building relationships.

If you relied on local, in-person, networking to find your ideal clients, then COVID changed that quickly and drastically. It's been a few months now, so you've probably switched to the online world and were able you start building the relationships here.

However, if you've always been online and stopped networking because you more clients than you could handle, that's why you're seeing a dry spell lately.

Consistent action in relationship building with your potential clients, regardless of how your business is doing, allows you to maintain a steady customer base.

2. The needs and wants of your customers changed.

As the market conditions change, the needs and wants of your clients will too.

As a business owner, you need to know what's going on. Even if you don't stay ahead of the game when conditions change, tuning in closer to what your clients are saying is vital.

Here is why:

• In a booming market, your clients will be optimistic, more ready to spend because they want the prosperity others are experiencing;
• In a recession - people become conservative, more scared and not as bold in taking risks;
• In a recovery market – your clients are starting to "wake up," they open their eyes to different possibilities and are less risk-averse.

Knowing how your client feels and what they need in each of these situations is key to understanding how to successfully shift and adapt your offering.

3. Your messaging is off.

If you're not speaking your ideal client's language, they won't relate and engage with you, your business, and your offering. So the question is, why is your messaging off?

Have you just entered a new market or are new to the business and need time and focus on getting to know your audience?

Or has the market shifted and with it what your client wants. If you haven't noticed that yet, it's time to do some research.

4. You stopped asking for a sale.

Many entrepreneurs don't like selling. It's because many have this stereotype of the "salesly" and sleazy car salesmen ingrained in our brains. So they'll avoid asking for a sale as much as possible to avoid being perceived as one.

The thing is, if you don't ask for a sale, you won't get it.

You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.

Oprah Winfrey

If that's your reason, then shift your perception of selling.

Selling is a fun conversation between you and your potential client. Especially if what your offer is of good quality and helps people. If you'd like to make that shift but don't know how to go about it, download my Sales Strategy Outline here.

It'll help you map out a real conversation that feels natural rather than pushy.

5. You are not in front of your audience consistently anymore.

Just like with networking, if you have an audience and aren't nurturing them regularly, they will stop seeing you in their feed.

Moreover, lack of consistency tells your ideal clients that you're not really committed to them or your business. No wonder they are buying less and less.

If that is your reason, I'm sure you know what to do 😊.

6. Your offering price is not at the right level for their current financial situation.

Just like the market, your ideal client's financial situation can change rapidly. If you're not in tune with that, your sales will plummet or not be as good as they could be.

Look at your offering. Are you only selling high-end ticket items, but your clientele cannot afford them anymore? It's time to pivot and create a new, more affordable offer.

This logic works the other way around as well. If your clientele is looking for a luxury item and you don't offer it, they will go somewhere else, and you lose the sales.

7. You shifted your focus to working on things you like in your business, not the ones that generate sales.

That's why having a strategic business plan that can guide you is so important.

It's also important to pause throughout the year and review this plan to see if it's still serving you or if it needs improvements.

Because as humans, we tend to drift easily. Without such regular checks, you might find yourself miles away from your goals without even realizing it while working hard and being busy every day.

8. You stopped following up.

Did you know that the majority of sales happen after 4 or even 7 follow-ups? If you're not following up with your potential clients, you're leaving money on the table.

So if you have never done it or stopped doing it, it's time to go back to this great habit :0). And doesn't it feel good to reconnect with all those fantastic people you chatted to once before?

9. You abandoned your marketing strategy.

As mentioned in point 7, your business needs a strategic plan.

And one of its most essential parts is the marketing strategy. Do you have one? If you do, go back to it and see if you're still doing what you initially planned. Maybe it's time to go back on track?

If you don't, then create one asap and start following it. You'll see your results improve pretty fast.

10. You failed to adjust your marketing strategy to changing market conditions.

And when you review your marketing strategy, don't forget to align it with the current market condition.

The places where your ideal clients hang out might have changed. The way they speak and what they want might have changed as well. Your marketing strategy needs to reflect that.

One last thing before you go, I hope that today's blog sheds some light on why you might be seeing fewer clients lately.

If you identified the reasons but still don't know what to do to change your situation, then a free strategy session with me is your next step.

Through it, I can help you identify your next steps and offer suggestions on how to go about it. Step 1 to receive this help is to click here.

Have you ever worked on something in our business that took awfully long to bring results you expected?

So long, in fact, that you were ready to quit a couple of times, but your gut was telling you to keep going? And then when the breakthrough came, you were sooo grateful that you did!

Or on the flip side, did you work on something for soo long without ANY results that you wished you stopped it and pivoted sooner? Because it would have saved you lots of time, stress and money?

Being an entrepreneur, a creative being that tries new strategies regularly isn't easy. Sometimes our ideas work instantly. While others need time to mature, flower, and bear fruit. And sometimes it's best just to let them go.

The trick is to know when. And that's a challenge for many entrepreneurs. Here are five signs that can help you pause and determine whether it's time to keep going, pivot, or let it go.

1. Your marketing efforts bring no or minimal results.

Depending on whether you're running a paid advertising campaign or soft organic marketing, the results need a different length of time to materialize. It's good to understand that and align your expectations with it.

For example, if you've done market research and your offering is viable for sale, paid advertising should bring you some results within days. If it doesn't, it's time to pause and see what should be tweaked and adjusted. Might be in your copy, landing page, audience targeting, etc.

Organic content marketing, on the other hand, intends to build an audience first and then softly sell, which takes much longer to bear fruit. Here your first gage can be the engagement of your audience. If that's working well, then it's only a matter of time for them to buy your offering.

On the flip side, if no matter what you post and do, you hear crickets, then it's time pause. Either tweak and improve or let it go and replace it with a new one.

2. When you're not clear on what problems you solve

As an entrepreneur, through your offering, you help people solve problems or reach goals they have (or both). To do that, you also need to know whom you're helping. Trying to solve all the problems for everyone is not a good marketing strategy. Why? That's a conversation we can have over a free virtual coffee chat ;).

So, if you're not clear on any of this, it means you're not ready to market your product or services. And in case you've started and not seeing any results, that's your queue to stop, get the clarity first, and only then resume your marketing.

3. Your gut is telling you this is not right for you.

Pushing yourself out of the comfort zone to grow as an entrepreneur and listening to your gut when not to do something because it's not right are two different things. The key for you is to know the difference.

Usually, when we're going in the right direction, we're super excited and feel expanded about doing things in our business. Yes, we might feel scared at the same time because we've never done it before. That's our comfort zone speaking. In this scenario, your job is to take the smallest viable step towards your goal and do it! Through baby steps and small wins, you'll slowly gain confidence, 100%!

On the other hand, when you've adopted a strategy in your business that's not getting you results and the more you try, the less comfortable it feels, that might be your gut telling you it's not the right strategy. Take the time to pause and listen to it.

Because there are MANY strategies for you to choose from when it comes to running your business. So pick those that feel natural, that make you feel expanded rather than contracted. I promise you; you'll get much better results with such a shift.

5. You feel like you're burning out.

When we're doing things that don't bring us joy, help us grow, or fill us with passion, working becomes soul depleting. And if we spend A LOT of time on those things, we get stressed out, tired, and overwhelmed. If your business is becoming a chore where you're just working crazy hours, burning out with no visible results, it's time to call it quits.

STOP. Reassess, see what's happening and why (you might need someone else to tell you that) so that you can escape the hamster wheel. Once you know what and why things aren't working, pick a direction that will expand and energize you. And you'll see, the results will follow.

5. Even though you're selling, your profits are low.

As the CEO of your business, your ultimate goal is to make a profit. If you're starting, then yes, making losses is OK because you're probably investing to get your business off the ground. At some point, though, it needs to start bringing in the money to support itself and you.

So if you're in a time when you should be profitable but aren't, then it's definitely the time to reassess your offering structure, pricing, sales and marketing, and make proper strategy changes. If you do it early in the game, you'll have a chance to save your business rather than let it go.

Now, before we part our ways, let me offer some help.

Because I didn't write this article only to point out where you might have a problem. If you're reading this and thinking OMG, Maggie, I do see some of these signs in my business, and clearly, I need to pause, then let's chat.

For FREE, I can help you figure out where exactly you have an issue and why. Once you know that, you can then decide whether you'll fix it alone or with my help. How does it sound to you?

All you need to do to book a free strategy session with me by clicking here and picking a time that works for you 😊.

Yes, I need your help to figure out the WHERE and WHY!

I hope to be talking with you soon!

Did you know that the probability of you selling more to existing customers is 60 to 70% when to new prospects it's only 5 to 20%? Also, 80% of your future profits will come from 20% of existing clients, and for most small businesses in North America, 65% of business comes from existing clients (Source: Small Biz Trends). And a customer who is “totally satisfied” brings 2.6 times as much revenue as one who is “somewhat satisfied.” Not to mention that they buy from you much more in their 3^rd year of being your customer than in the first.

Those and many more other stats prove that focusing on retaining your clients is a key growth strategy for your business. That's why today I'm going to talk about the four main ways you can do that.

1. Hone Your Customer Journey.

Your customer needs to have an excellent experience from when they start interacting with you, step by step, all the way to the end. Assuming your sales process wasn't too pushy to evoke buyer's remorse, your client feels super excited about their purchase and starting to work with you. Don't let that critical point in their journey evaporate. Remember, you have an eager customer who can't wait to work with you.

That's why customer onboarding is your most excellent chance to maintain the momentum and show your clients how excited you are to have them on board.

The next in line is your customer service.

Serving your customers is the whole point of your business existence. So make it easy for them to be in contact with you and have their questions or concerns answered promptly. Excellent customer service is one way to show your uniqueness and stand out from the crowd.

As your clients move along in their journey, make it easy for them to work with you again. For example, my Dad is an insurance agent in Poland, and he always makes sure to call his customers ahead of time to let them know when their policy is renewing and that they need to budget for that for this spent. He also reviews the policies with them finds ways for them maybe to pay less for the same or better coverage.

Even if you sell products, know when you sold them and when your customer would run out. Get ahead of the game and contact them before that time. Make it easy for them to reorder. Remember that most unsatisfied customers will not say anything, they'll leave and never come back. Most people stay quiet rather than be vocal about there dissatisfaction. I'm the primary example of such a customer.

2. Be More Valuable to Your Clients.

Always look for ways to deliver more value to your clients. And I don't mean here lowering your prices. Instead, being attentive to their needs and their problems will allow you to see if you have the solutions. It might bring ideas for innovation in your business in the form of a brand new offering or a change in the one you have.

Through it, you'll become the solution to your clients' problems.

But even if you cannot solve them yourself, refer your customers to trusted partners and collaborators. Your clients will still remember that you cared, listened to them, and help them in the time of need. That's how you'll build trust and make many deposits in their emotional bank account.

Another way you can be more valuable to your clients is by nurturing them the same way you nurture your potential clients,i.e., your free content. When you deliver valuable information that helps them for free, you'll always stay on top of their minds whenever they need something.

Personal development is another way to be more valuable to your clients.

Why? Because growing skills in your area of expertise will ensure that you provide better service or better products to them. Also, gaining business management skills will allow you to find better ways to run your business, which will ultimately benefit your clients. When you grow, your business grows because your clients benefit.

Lastly, be available to your clients, whether it's with a concern they have a concern or have a question. It doesn't mean you need to answer the second you receive their message, but don't let them wait days on end for it either. For example, in my coaching practice, I'm available to my clients in between our weekly coaching calls via email or chat to answer any questions or help them through anything they're working on that week. I am yet to have a client that has abused this perk.

3. Develop Genuine Relationships With Your Clients.

Genuine human to human connection builds trust and bonds. Be in regular contact with your client. And there are many ways to do that. Thank you cards, small gifts, regular check-ins, texts, PM's/DM's, or quick call will go a long way. Coffee chats virtual or in-person are also a great way to stay in touch and make emotional deposits in their trust account.

Moreover, asking for their opinion and feedback will not only be valued because people love to share their expertise, but also help you improve in areas we talked about in point one.

You can also read more on how to develop strong relationships with your clients here.

4. Be a Proactive Leader of Your Business

This last point summarizes and encompasses the other three. But because it's so important, I wanted to single it out here.

You are the CEO of the leader of your business and brand. Therefore, taking 100% responsibility for it, especially when things don't go right, is of utmost importance.

None of your clients is expecting you to be perfect because making mistakes is human. But when issues happen, don't blame circumstances or other things and take full responsibility for them. Your clients don't want to hear "the dog ate my homework" excuses. What they want and will appreciate is knowing what you have done to mitigate them and avoid them in the future. When you do that, most of your clients will be understanding. And compensating them with a gift will go a long way.

Being proactive

If you see ahead of time that you can't deliver to what you've committed, say it. Whether it's a deadline, delivery delay, or anything else, step in front of that and tell your client what's going on. Also, tell them what your plan to mitigate the issue is. One of the worst feelings as a customer is being blindsided when expecting something to happen, and it doesn't. You will be more trustworthy this way. When you proactively communicate issues, you show respect and care for the best interest of your clients.

Moreover, as a leader also listen and ask questions before speaking. Effective communication is key to a successful business. Most issues I've ever seen in my career happened due to miscommunications. Listen to understand and stay tuned to your clients' needs avoids problems down the road.

Last but not least, be focused on innovation. True leaders want to better their businesses to serve their customers better. Innovation is a state of mind and skill that you can have, and I strongly encourage you to develop.

Customers are the bloodline of your business.

If you're a bit like me, you started the business to serve and help people, your clients. Now you must ensure you do everything you can to enhance and strengthen the trust they deposited in you when they chose your solutions.

And if you need help looking at your customer journey to see where you could improve it, or figuring out how to be more valuable to your clients, schedule a free brainstorming session with me here, and let's get to work!

Are you struggling right now in your business? Not having enough clients, enough time to find them, or personal issues, making it hard to stay consistent in your business? You're not alone.

Nobody's life is perfect because, as humans, we're not perfect. Even the most successful encounter challenges and don't have their journey filled with rose petals only. The difference between them and those who give up is how they deal with such challenges.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. Because when life happens, you're the one needing to figure out how to tend to that while carrying on with the business. Here're some tips to make the most out of any unwanted situation.

Acknowledge that "life happens"

Dealing with tough situations, especially unexpected ones, is hard. It brings unwanted change that naturally we resist. However, the longer you resist and deny it happened, the longer and more challenging it will be for you to deal with it.

As humans, whenever we face change, we go through 4 stages:

• Shock (denial)
• Negative emotions (anger, sadness).
• Acknowledgment of the situation with exploration ("what's in it for me'). and
• Acceptance of the new reality.

When you come from the place of understanding that "life does happen," the first two phases of change will pass quickly. The quicker you can move to the exploration stage, where you look for ways to adapt, the faster you'll deal with the issue and get onto greener pastures.

Be prepared

Acknowledging that an unwanted situation will occur sooner or later puts you a step ahead in one more way. Because it allows you to prepare, and you should prepare when the sun is shining.

The same way Noah built his arc before the flooding, or the roofers can only repair the roof when the weather is nice; you need to prepare your business to run even if challenges occur when they're not there yet.

You can do many things to prepare, and some of them will be unique to your situation. A couple of must-haves, at minimum, is to have an emergency fund and a simple business continuity plan.

Having enough cash to run your business for 3-6 months (or longer), even if you can't bring any new income, brings a HUGE peace of mind when dealing with "life."

Having a plan on who does what and when if unwanted events happen allows your business to continue running even when you cannot support it fully.

Make planning your habit

Even without a catastrophic event, things can get derailed with small common issues: like a client defaulting on payment, your child getting sick, or an urgent need to help a close family member.

When you make planning your habit, it's much faster and easier to "juggle" things in your business as needed.

Planning allows you to be more productive on regular days. And in case of challenges, you can easily assess what can be postponed or canceled and what might need to be delegated or done. You can also decide to use your business continuity plan if you know that the unwanted situation will last longer.

Planning also allows you to communicate with your clients, partners proactively, and other collaborators, showing your professionalism and responsibility for commitments ... even if that communication is to ask for extended deadlines, for example.

It's never too late to start planning, and my DREAM-PLAN-DO journal can help you with that. It's a tremendous simple planning tool for your business that comes with an online masterclass.

Check it out!

• US, click here
• Canada, click here
• Other countries - search for this product # B08L8XPCS3 in your local Amazon search page.

Focus on the lessons

When challenges come up, it's natural to focus on the negative side of those events. However, those natural reactions (anger, resentment, anxiousness) aren't serving you in any way, shape, or form. And if they last too long, they can derail your business.

It's OK to give yourself your time to grieve and go through those emotions, but the sooner you can move on to looking for lessons from the event, the faster you'll improve the situation.

Why should you look for a silver lining?

Because taking the time to learn lessons from unwanted events helps us prepare better for the future. It allows you to grow, and with it, up-level your business. It can give you insight into what you can do to either ultimately prevent the situation from happening again or minimize its impact on your life and business.

Take time to figure out the solution

Once you uncover the silver lining, now it's the time to think about solutions. Brainstorming is always a great way to start because you can always find more than one way to address the problem. And if you're stuck in what you should do and have no mentor, coach, or trusted advisor to help, ask yourself how someone you look up to would handle it, what would they do ...

Running a business with the mindset that challenges are a natural occurrence and that no matter what happens, you'll be able to figure it out gives you a tremendous advantage. That's how you'll grow your resilience, one of the essential skills of every successful entrepreneur.

Such a powerful mindset shift is what my clients learn to do in a Business Results Accelerator Mastermind. It's a comprehensive program helping female entrepreneurs grow their businesses by attracting paying clients consistently. If you're curious to know more about it and how it can help you hit your income goals, schedule a discovery call with me here.

If you're planning to run your business for 10 years or more, then resilience is something you'll want to grow and nurture. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as "the process of adapting well in the face of adversity."

Why is being a resilient, particularly valuable quality for those running a business?

Because according to US Bank data:

• Roughly 20% of small businesses fail within the first year.
• Roughly 33% of small businesses fail within two years.
• Roughly 50%of small businesses fail within five years.
• Roughly 66% of small businesses fail within 10 years.

And the leading causes for these failures are:

1. Cash flow problems account for 82% of failures. Such issues can have different root causes or their combination: lack of a business plan, pricing issues, lack of or poor budgeting, or insufficient financing.
2. Poor understanding of the market, therefore not having the right marketing strategy. Or being too rigid and not changing fast enough with the market needs.
3. Fast growth and with it the entrepreneur not being able to hire and lead proper teams or put systems and structures in place, allowing for controlled growth.
4. Not being prepared properly to be a business owner and, therefore, not being ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with running a business.

I want to point your attention to the 4th reason why the businesses fail.

Why? Because it all starts with you, the entrepreneur, the leader. If you don't continually prepare and grow yourself to run your own business, the other three reasons will happen. If you do – you'll be able to deal with anything that comes your way.

So what can you do to prepare yourself to run a long-lasting and successful business?

Here are a few steps you can start taking now and never stop.

Learn some foundational skills you need to run the business.

Most of those skills fall into the following areas: marketing and sales, time management, strategy, leadership, money management, and technology.

These foundations will serve you no matter what happens in the market. And as you continue expanding them and developing more expert knowledge, you'll be able to stay ahead of the market, predict the needs to change, build highly-performing teams and avert financial catastrophes before they happen.

If I was to give you only one piece of advice, it's this one: never stop learning and investing in yourself. Your business will grow if you grow first.

"How can I learn those skills then Maggie," you ask? There are many different avenues: schools, online courses, mentors, and coaches. There're an in-person, online, group, self-paced, or one-on-one learning? The one thing is sure, you cannot blame the lack of sources and opportunities to learn what you need ad set yourself up for success.

If you're not sure where to start or are interested in hiring a coach, then book a free chat with me here, and I'll be happy to point you in the direction that will serve you best right now.

Work on your mindset

Learning how to have your mind work for you, not against you, is one of the millionaires' secrets. Even when doubt, fear, or self-sabotaging thoughts happen, the most successful know how to get out of the rut and shift their mind to self-belief, confidence, and enthusiasm.

It's easy to get discouraged when the one thing you're working on fails 5127 times. You're thinking: "Are this many fails even possible?" – yes! This was the number of failed prototypes before the Dyson vacuum was ready to hit the marketplace.

And I get it; it's easy to stop believing you have something precious when you get rejected repeatedly (12 times or even more, for example, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling). But yet, some people keep going, and these are the ones that win.

One of the best mindsets you can adopt as an entrepreneur is treating roadblocks as learning opportunities and puzzle pieces to solve. Just like Ray Dalio describes in his book Principles:

By solving the puzzle, I get a gem in the form of a principle that helps me avoid the same sort of problem in the future.

Ray Dalio

Collecting lessons and applying them without beating yourself up will get you closer to success.

Innovate constantly

As you read before, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity. Part of it sits in innovation. Entrepreneurs who have this skill, always look for better ways to serve their clients and run their businesses.

This is where the skills you acquire from self-development help you gain the knowledge of the market, and then the rubber hits the road with you applying all this to stand out of the crowd. That's how you're showing your Ideal Client, you're the only one who can meet their needs best.

Build a support system.

No one can succeed without a proper support system. And by that, I mean two things: people who'll help you and systems and habits that will help you be innovative, consistent, healthy, and enthusiastic throughout your journey.

Who are the people? These will be mentors, coaches, fellow entrepreneurs, friends & family whom you can turn to for help in different things: self-development, sounding board, moral support, or collaboration. Additionally, as your business grows, you'll add employees, suppliers, and subcontractors.

The second part is system and habits, processes, and tools in your day to day that will support you as a business leader growing your business creatively through innovation without being overwhelmed or burned out.

Don't underestimate this part. Enthusiasm and motivation can get you started, but without the habits and routines, you won't be able to keep going consistently. They're vital in building your resilience.

If you're thinking: "Great, Maggie, but what systems and habits do I need now and how they'll help me?" let's talk. My Dream-Plan-Do coaching formula in all my programs empowers you not only with new skills but also with such routines that carry your results to the next level. If you want to know how – contact me here.

Social media is the place to be to market your business. Of course, if you're an online entrepreneur, that's a no-brainer and a must. But even if you relied on "local word of mouth," COVID changed that. The pandemic has shown us that if you don't have a way to sell and market your offering online, you can go out of business fast.

There're tonnes of strategies, how to's, and frameworks that work. And as an entrepreneur, I'm sure you create your own that aligns with who you are and what you stand for as a person and business.

Nevertheless, there are some core principles that you should follow to ensure your long-term success in the online world. Here are seven of them.

Principle 1: Listening

Listening online is more of reading the conversations that are happening. Which conversations? The ones of your ideal client. When you listen to what their goals and challenges are, you can create solutions that will sell. Moreover, you also learn how they talk about all this, how they tell their stories, describe their pain points and dreams. Listening allows you to understand your ideal client and learn to speak their language.

Principle 2: Strategy

By strategy, I mean being focused on your niche. If you try to appeal to everyone, no one will relate. The more you define your ideal client, the more successful you'll be. By strategy, I also mean being intentional about how you, as a business owner, stand out from the sea of others who want to help your ideal client.

Principle 3. Audience quality

You've probably heard that before, so I'll be the reminder 😊. As you build your audience on any social media platform, it's better to have 1,000 followers who stay and care about your content than 10,000 fake ones that follow you for a day and leave the next.

When your audience loves your content, they will engage. When they engage, they will get to know you better. With that, they will start to like you and trust you. And that's the straight path to successful selling.

Principle 4. Value

Yes, social media is a platform to build your personal brand. And yes, you should show your audience who you are as a person. But the only way people will keep coming back to your posts is if they see value in them. Quality images and copy create quality content!

Now, value means different things to different people. But since you listen and know your niche well, you'll also know how you can deliver value to them 😊.

Principle 5. Engagement

If you want to see engagement on your posts, you need to give that as well. Because social media conversations are precisely that – conversations with many participants in it. You can't post and never engage in other posts and then expect people to comment on your feed. Participate in other people's conversations, reply to comments left of your feed, contribute value. In short, engage.

Principle 6. Consistency

Building a social media following requires consistency and patience. Consistency shows that you're serious about what you offer. It shows that you care about your audience, and you're there for them, shine or rain. It shows respect and professionalism.

And patience is required because to build quality following takes time. This is a long-term game. None goes from 0 to 10,000 followers organically in a month. The fantastic thing about the long-term game is that it will compound.

Getting to 1,000 followers might take time, and a lot of effort, but getting another thousand will be much faster thanks to the compound effect (just like interest on your savings account).

Principle 7. Collaborations

Collaborations help you expand your circle of influence. When you collaborate with other entrepreneurs who share your passion and values to serve, and their offering is complementary to yours, it's a win-win-win.

You benefit from getting exposure to their audience, and they benefit from yours. Their audience becomes your audience for a moment and vice versa. And the best thing is, your ideal clients win too as thanks to you more of their problems get solved.

So are you ready to step up your social media world and serve?

I am :) for you and for me. And if you want to chat about "how to's" on any of these, connect with me for a free strategy session here.

Have you ever gotten a piece of advice that was an AHA moment for you? Advice that you decided to follow and has been serving you in business and life ever since?

I'm sure you have. I've been blessed to have many people in my life share their wisdom with me, and through it helping me grow. So as a way to give back, I decided to share some of this advice with you in this blog. I hope it brings you as many fantastic outcomes as it has been for me. And that in turn, you'll connect with me to share your golden nuggets of advice :).

Never assume

This is the best advice ever that I got from one of my first Canadian mentors. It's great for any situation and works wonders in interpersonal communication and dealing with issues that involve other people. This advice helped me personally resolve many hairy misunderstandings, untangle snowballing miscommunications, and have better relationships with people in my personal and professional life.

This advice has the art of listening at its core.

When people communicate, they often assume that others know certain things and understand the reasoning behind what's being said. However, quite often, this is not that case, and such assumptions and lack of attentive listening lead to misunderstandings.

"Never assume" allows you to listen first to understand when you communicate with people.

Understand what are they know or don't know; understand their point of view. It helps you ask better questions before expressing your opinion and coming to conclusions on the situation.

It's not an easy nugget to follow, but I saved myself lots of trouble whenever I did.

How this advice can help you in business? Here's an example from sales.
When you're having a conversation with your ideal client, never assume that they know something and remember everything you told them. Don't be scared to ask clarifying questions or repeat anything important a few times.

Patience pays off

This advice doesn't mean just sitting around patiently doing nothing and hoping that our dreams come true. What it means is that as long as you take action and consistently do the strategic things you need to do to grow your business, you'll start reaping the benefits of that work sooner or later.

It also applies to relationships and other areas in life (ex. your health).

Strategic, focused actions, consistency, and patience are key to success. I have experienced it many times when following it in different areas of my life. Compared to 2019, in my business, most recently, I have seen exponential growth despite COVID 19.

Do the right thing

This is a hard one to follow, especially in relationships or parenting, when our emotions are involved. I know because I've been there.

Being a person that does the right thing and takes a higher road isn't always popular. It even can make you not so popular having to face other people's negative emotions towards your decisions and actions.

And very often, this is your duty as a leader of your business or family.

If you've ever said 'NO' to your child for something they really wanted but wasn't right for them, then you know what I mean. However, doing the right thing, taking a higher road always wins and pays off (advice # 2😊).

It also saves you energy for bigger and better things. When you get to hang up on little stuff, chasing things, or trying to prove others wrong, you lose time and energy on trivial matters.

People need what you offer.

When I first started my business, I was scared of selling like most of the new entrepreneurs. I didn't want to be pushy or 'salesy.' My whole philosophy and mindset around sales were plain wrong.

Then I read this advice: "there are at least 5 people out there who need what you offer." They need your help to grow their business, get rid of overwhelm, and lead a balanced life.

And you know what ... ? I knew this was true because I was talking to them regularly. I saw their struggles online, yet I was scared to convey how much value working with me can bring them.

And this one piece of advice helped and switch my mindset around sales. It helped me understand that if I'm not the one who will support my ideal client, someone else will. Someone who might not even be as good as me. This was the first steppingstone in reframing my whole mindset around selling.

If you don't grow, nothing in your life will grow either.

If you were to take out only one golden nugget today out of this entire blog, I hope this is the one. Everything starts with us. If we become better and grow as a person, everything around us will grow as well. Be our relationships, health, self-confidence, and business.

Whenever you want to take things in your business to the next level, you need to get there first.

Conscious self-development and growth have been an essential part of most of my life. It helped me get to where I am now, and it'll help me achieve the next stage. I made it a point in my business to invest 10% of my income into my strategic self-development. It's a non-negotiable item baked into my budget.

How about you? Do you treat self-development as a non-negotiable part of your business growth? Or rather a nice to have once you "get more clients" or "reach X$ income"?

If you're a bit like me, think about how where your business could go if you made self-growth and development a part of your daily, weekly, and monthly routine? Where could you take your marketing, sales, or productivity, or mindset?

And if you decide that you're ready to take any of these to the next level, then I'm here to help you. How? Schedule a free discovery call with me here, and let's have an exciting conversation about it 😊

Do you know why your Ideal Client would choose you over the others out there offering solutions to the same problems you solve? Do you know the unique benefits they get when buying your offering?

If your answer is "No" or "I'm not sure," then it's time to get on it and become clear on your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

What's Unique Selling Proposition & why you need it?

USP is the thing that makes your business different from competitors. That allows you to stand out from the crowd so that the Ideal Client can notice you and say 'YES' this brand is perfect for my needs. Because it isn't just enough to be visible, you must stand out to be noticed.

And if you don't know how you stand out, how would you expect your client to understand why they should buy from you?

Unique Selling Proposition is not synonymous with your brand.

It's part of it but a very distinct part. Your brand is your story, your promise of what you deliver, and what you stand for. USP are concrete benefits that your Ideal Client gets when buying from you that are different from your competition.

For example, Walmart's USP and competitive advantage is being one of the cheapest retailers on the market. If you go there, you know you're getting a bargain. This USP has been baked not only into their marketing but the whole operation to ensure they deliver it.

On the other hand, Tiffany & Co. chose a style that brings experience and love as their USP. See how it's not luxury itself, even though you definitely feel the luxury when you buy a piece of high-quality jewelry from them.
Just read this: "Since 1837, the masterpieces of Tiffany & Co. have defined style and celebrated the world's great love stories."
If you close your eyes now, can you imagine what type of clients such USP attracts?

So now your turn.

And to help you figure out how to come up with your Unique Selling Proposition, here are 5 necessary steps:

1. Brainstorm

Write down the features that your offering has and then the benefits those features provide to your clients. Because really, no one buys anything for its features. People buy for what the products or services will do for them.

Here is an example: you don't buy a laptop because it has a keyboard, screen and is light. You buy it because of the convenience it provides. You can work with it from anywhere, move it around it and store it easily.

2. Do market research

Go out there and do some social listening. What are your clients looking for, what are their specific needs that your offering fills? How do they describe them? Know what really motivates your Ideal Clients to buy.
Also, look at your competitors and see what their USP is. Because you want to come up with something different, something they have missed. Think about how your offering is better than theirs.

3. Be creative

Think about what is unique about you and your brand. And how can you pair it with the unique benefits of your offer? Definitely don't try to please everyone. You want to attract only your Ideal Clients. More on how to define your niche, here.

4. Be bold

Don't try to hide. Be bold. Stand out in your own unique fantastic way. That's where your brand comes in. Just don't forget to be personable. You don't want to come across as stand-offish but rather someone who people can relate to and look up to simultaneously.

If you look at Oprah, even when she talks about the successes she achieved in her life, it's not to show others how much wealth she accumulated. It's to inspire them and show them that if she could do it, anyone can.

5. Ensure your messaging is clear

Once you have an idea of your USP, start messaging it to your audience. Make sure that you're not using expert language. Communicate it clearly ideally in your Ideal Clients' language.

So are you ready to get to work and define your USP?

When you do it, be creative and make the process fun. I bet that you'll learn a lot about your offering and Ideal Client while doing that. And if you ever need more guidance on how to go about it, connect with me here for a free brainstorming call.