The Spirit of the Female Entrepreneur
I have just got of the phone to one of my favourite female entrepreneurs – who was so excited and full of the exuberance that only we mothers know when we are on our way to our child’s “first ever school excursion” as the most esteemed “parent helper”.
It took me straight back to the early days of my own sons schooling and how proud I was to be able to participate in his first and most precious memories.
Just like my friend whose words were… “The rewards of being able to work for myself and be able to participate make up the “GOLD NUGGETS” in my day.
These are PRICELESS MOMENTS!
In the next breath she was filling me in on the absolutely awesome, gigantic deal she is about to pull off that will set her apart in the entrepreneurial world as one of the best!
As we talked about the campaign and the strategy I felt the gratitude that I and all my female entrepreneur friends feel as we get to experience the best of both worlds….
I wanted to remind us all that our vision, our dreams and goals for ourselves and our families are worth all the effort, the stress, the hardship, the worry – the daily annoyances to reap the reward and benefits of being in control of our own lives and our own destiny’s.
The spirit of the entrepreneurial Mum is alive and well – and today a little boys eyes are sparkling and his heart is singing because his mum had the courage to take their financial future into her own hands.
I feel so proud of her and all of us “spirited women” who are out there making it happen….
I raise my “Latte Glass” to you all
Making Your Offer Irresistable
In my previous post “Are You A Home Based Business Entrepreneur” I covered the Number 1 mistake that people make when they start up their home based business. That was creating product first when they should be considering the “market” first.
Here is the second mistake that most people make… they are running a “Me Too” business.
In my experience most people in business are doing a good job, providing quality products and friendly service, but what they are failing to do is influence the client to choose them above anyone else.
Whatever your Niche Marketing idea is, you have to make sure there’s enough of a want or need for it (”need” is always better, by the way – people can always shrug off a “want”).
It is so important to make sure that your target audience is big enough and hungry enough – then go to work!
The place to start is to find out exactly what the fears, frustrations, want, desires and needs of your prospect really are and then offer them a solution in a way that persuades them to take action.
You need to market your product or solution to them in a way that has them clamouring to;
- place and order,
- pick up the phone,
- request a free report, or
- make an appointment
In other words take some positive action towards the solution that you are offering them.
Your goal is to make your business distinctive – positively distinctive – to get your customers and clients to see your business as offering a superior benefit or advantage that no other competitor offers them.
Something very valuable, very desirable, very important, very precious and meaningful to them that is not available anywhere else.
So the question is what are the biggest fears, frustrations, wants, desires and needs of your prospect?
What is it that keeps them awake at night?
And… How can you solves this problem for them in a way that none of your competitors can?…
These are tough questions I know but… without the answers you will be a “ME TOO” business providing “ME TOO” solutions and you don’t want that… if that’s what you have then you leave your customer no other alternative than to shop for “price” and price alone.
So it’s time to take out a pen and paper and start working on these questions… I suggest you go and sit in a sunny spot in your favourite cafe and get to work….
And I’ll see you In the Cafes of the World.
Are You A Home Based Business Entrepreneur
I am a firm believer in the statement “When the student is ready the teacher appears”. Several years ago I purchase the book by Professor Paul Zane Pilzer, called the Next Millionaires.
As you probably know Pilzer is a leading predictor of economic catalysts and trends.
Now how’s this for the law of attraction… this book jumped back into my hands several days ago and as I started to reread it I got very excited about what was jumping out of the pages. The next millionaires according to Pilzer are those that capitalize on the internet, and he goes on to say why home based business entrepreneurs will be among the richest in our new economy.
Fortunately for us we are still well within the 10 year times span that Pilzer predicts. As he says in the ten years from 2006 to 2016, we’re on track to creating in excess of more than 18.5 million millionaires. And they way to go is to develop your own successful home based business.
Now, for those of you who know me, you’ll know that I am passionate about helping others (especially my women friends) to create better business lives, to shift the focus from having a job to integrate both our family and business lives and still have time to indulge ourselves in the odd “cafe latte”.
Making the transition to home based can be simple if you follow the steps I will be sharing with you over the next few weeks. First it’s important to know what the common mistakes people starting their own home based business make… so here’s the first one..
1. The problem most business owners have is that they develop their product first.
Your product or service must solve a problem for a ‘group’ of individuals. It must identify their pain and take them to pleasure. Discover their problems and give them a solution.
Do you know the thing that keeps them awake at night, takes up their thought processes, or is on their mind from the moment they wake up in the morning.
If your product or service can solve this problem then it is worthwhile pursuing.
We work from the premise that you should find your target market first, find out what they want, what problems they have and then formulate your product or service around this existing market.
Rather than launching into your business and hoping that it will succeed – it is critical to do your research first. The internet is a quick and inexpensive way to find out if your idea will “fly”. (Key word searches, looking at the competition and searching for niches will all assist you)
Build it and they will come – is not the catch cry of business today – you need to be a ‘savvy marketer’.
So remember: Market first – Product or Service second
My Motivation For The Cafe Latte Blog
Let me tell you a little bit about the motivation for me to build my Cafe Latte Lifestyles blog.
I became a “home based business women”, because I was looking for a business opportunity to take me from an income of $150 a week (which was far from exciting) at home with a new baby. I was intensely driven to make some extra money and work in a way that I didn’t have to put my son into someone else’s care.
I guess what I did was to grab an opportunity that was right under my nose, and work with all my passion and intensity to grow it into a multi-million dollar turnover business.
The business grew into more than I ever imagined, but here’s the key…
I found something I loved to do… that gave me my dream life… and gave me the opportunity to do what I love best… talk to people and share a cup of coffee
Over the past 14 years I cannot count the number of amazing ideas that have been born in cafes around the world.
Over the last year I have become involved in a business start up that has taken time and effort to bring about and it has make me realize that the thing I miss most is my ability to meet my “girlfriend and my women ‘business associates’” for coffee chats.
To me this is where the real business happens, this is where we get to conceive our ideas, share, network, conceptualize our plans and bring our dreams to reality.
So… my Cafe Latte Lifestyles is all about taking one of the most rewarding journeys we can take… the one that takes us right through our front doors and out into the world to meet with our friends, associates and mentors… because it is so important to share precious moments not only with your family, but also with other women that you can relate to.
Though it may feel like one more thing on your “to do” list, the fact is that reconnecting with other women, and moms, is a way to pamper yourself.
Never underestimate the power of time spent with girlfriends!
Recently I made a conscious decision to make more time to reconnect with some of my special business women friends at ‘our favourite Cafe’s’…now here’s what happened.
Just shortly after I made this intention my phone rang and one of my fabulous ‘entrepreneurial’ friends rang me to catch up for a coffee.
If you understand the Law of Attraction you will know that what you focus on you will manifest in your life. Our conscious and subconscious thoughts create our reality.
As I sat with my friend I got to experience that “delicious feeling’ that emerges when two like minds start to create together, and it’s not surprising that we have come up with a couple of great ideas for joint venturing together, that will not only be FUN but PROFITABLE as well!
I am a firm believer in the Law of Attraction and that what you think you will manifest. Just recently I watched this great DVD called “THE OPUS” which is an extension of the Law of Attraction.
The Opus is an inspirational blueprint for us to take something that is our passion, from vision, to plan, to performance… to create, through our sheer love of creating, something amazing that will leave an indelible mark on our world. Go and check it out at www.TheOpus.com.au
So here’s what I suggest….take your thoughts off “auto pilot” and set some powerful intentions and find some positive ‘friends’ to network your ideas with.
It’s my hope that you’ll spend some time over the next few day connecting with some of your ‘entrepreneurial’ women friends.
I look forward to hearing your stories and I’ll see you in the “Cafe’s of The World!”
Can We Really Have It All?
The question I hear so often from my women friends is “Can we really have it all?” – “Is there really a way to have both personal and business success?”
As women, we take on so many different roles: wife, mother, friend, homemaker, business maker and it seems we are so often so busy caring for everyone else that we find it difficult to find the time to care for ourselves and dare I say follow our own “passion”. In fact we are often so busy helping everyone else develop their passions that we lose touch with what our own “passion” really is.
Suddenly we find ourselves at 40+ asking ourselves the tough question “Is it too late for me to follow my bliss and find my own passion”
Well I am here to tell you that – yes it is possible. From one who has been there and done it. To achieve the at home mum, lifestyle business – that I call my “Cafe Latte Lifestyle” by finding the balance to be both a successful home based business woman with time and lifestyle freedom and a full time mum…
Running your own home based business gives you the opportunity to utilize all your innate skills. There is no doubt that women are born networkers, communicators, promoters and story tellers… that is why they make the perfect entrepreneurs.
We seem to have been born with the natural tendencies to promote our products and services, especially the ones that we have had personal success with and we naturally communicate trust. The thing that I have found that holds women back most of all is that they just don’t know where to start.
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you some of the strategies that I have learned for getting started… You see, what most people do is they get a brilliant idea that they get all excited about… but then you start to have doubts and start focusing on all the work involved and get bogged down in the details.
My advice to you…before you start to get snowed under with all the things you have to do (or in many cases “think” you have to do), there are some simple steps that you can take to push forward – through the ‘doubt barrier’ and start heading for the success that you deserve.
Right now I urge you to put “Develop my Dream Business” at the top of your TO DO LIST… and work towards turning your passion into a real “Cafe Latte Lifestyle”
See you in the Cafes of the world
