FREE Resource - Create Your Own Surveys

Another great resource that I've ben enjoyeing can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/Default.aspx

For me it had multiple uses, such as surveys, verifying understanding of a presentation, and more.

Check it out - it's FREE

:)

I'm pissed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, yes, yes!!!!

and

No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!


I feel like crap!!! ... and retarded...!

Yes, I am sabotaging my success. I've been doing really good with staying away from movies for a while (I swear I was addicted to them - I'd watch one or two in the middle of the day and one at night [ok, sometimes two at night]).. But now last night I watched a stupid movie till after midnight (which would have not been a big problem 10 or 20 years ago, but now, at 40 my energy level is not what it used to be).

So today I was a bit tired - not too bad - but bad enough to drain my will power. And I spent most of my day playing video games...

No, no, NOOOOOOO!!!!!! I refuse to believe that I'm retarded. I'm better than this!!!!!!

It feels so, so, sooooo wonderful at the end of the day when I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. It's really great. And it's not like I'm overworking myself. I have enough fun too. At this point if I work 4 to 6 hours a day I feel really proud of myself (yes, I know shame on me - it sounds like I'm a laysy son-of-a-bitch -- hey, give me a break! I worked for about a decade 12 to 16 hour days + worked in teh weekends too -- it is my "grown-up" time when I can kick back a bit; except I'm kicking back waaaaaay tooo much.)

I really need to pull myself together and do what I know will bring more success and $$$$ money to the table. My house is too small, I'm one paycheck from bankruptcy (and it's not even my paycheck), and I have a baby in the way (yes, one more).

I really really need to pull my head out of my ass and show that I'm capable. I am success material, not a loser....

Host Your Own Radio Show! -- Now You Can...!

With more and more people getting their news and other information on the internet, internet radio is becoming more and more popular...

Did you ever dream of hosting your own radio show? Or would you be willing to put together something informative while at the same time promoting your services and/or products? Then maybe you can do a 30-minutes a day (or once or twice a week) show..

There are more and more internet radio providers on the net, but to start out I highly recomend http://www.blogtalkradio.com/, which is FREE, and no one can beat that price, right?

The good thing about internet radio is that you can listen live OR you can listen to the recorded show. And if you are interested in making your website more interactive, you can put a link to your show from your website.

I think that one of the most effective ways to structure your show is to interview people who perhaps are satisfied customers, success stories, etc. The more interactive the show, the more interesting, and the more likely that people will tune in to listen to your show regularly.

(Yes, great question :) and the answer is "NO, I still don't have a show of my own, though I'd really love to carve out time to do it. At this point I'm working on finishing some audio and video products on effective communication and dealing with difficult people)

Cool FREE Gadget - Digital Post-it Notes

Cool FREE Gadget - Digital Post-it Notes

If you like little useful gadgets that improve your productivity, you'll love the digital post-it notes from M3. Can you picture that? A digital post-it note? One with alarm and other features...?

They are easy, intuitive, and packed with features to get you organized. So you can make lists and reminders, key-code them with colors and photos, sort them by category, and set alarms to remind yourself of projects and appointments.


Read more about it here: http://www.3m.com/us/office/postit/digital/where_to_buy.html

Try it FREE here: http://pmb001.3m.com/pub/psnotes/pn31lous.exe


Enjoy!

Improve your communication and productivity

Do you wish there was a tool that could help you better understand yourself - Your communication style, your strengths, weaknesses, motivators, fears, etc.? What if this tool could also suggest ways to improve your communication with those around you? And what if, further more, this tool would suggest ways to improve your productivity as well?

Well, there is such a tool. It is called DiSC 2.0 or DiSC PPSS. These tools are used worldwide by fortune 500 companies, as well as by smaller businesses, to...

- help CEOs and managers be more effective

- help CEOs and managers improve their communications with employees

- help employees improve their communication skills

- reduce workplace conflict

- improve teamwork

- improve employee productivity

There are two main differences between the DiSC 2.0 and the DiSC PPSS:

The DiSC 2.0 is written in a narrative format vs. the DiSC PPSS, which is written in a bullet-point, more easy to read, format

The DiSC PPSS has a 2-page chart ( pages 12 and 13) that allows managers to see employees' (and their own) behavioral tendencies at one glance (the DiSC 2.0 doesn't have that feature )
Since DiSC PPSS is easier to read, it is the tool of choice of most large organizations (it is $10.00 more expensive than the DiSC 2.0)

You can view a sample of each assessment/profile at www.egsebastian.com/sample_reports1
(DiSC 2.0 Classic Sample Reportand DiSC PPSS Sample Report)


Here's a brief description of this great tool:

Setting the Standard for DiSC® Learning

Do you need a tool that will help you better understand your employees communication and behavioral tendencies? Do you want to better understand what are your employees motivators, fears, strengths, and potential weaknesses? Do you want to better understand YOUR communication style, how you are perceived by others, and how to improve both your communication and your effectiveness in reaching your professional goals?

The result of extensive field research and testing, DiSC Classic 2.0 is the leading DiSC assessment on the market. Scaled to today's diverse workforce, it offers more response format choices and more reliability, setting the standard for behavioral-based learning.

The DiSC 2.0 provides a non-judgmental language for exploring behavioral issues. It helps people explore behavior across four primary dimensions:


Dominance: Direct and Decisive. D's are strong-willed, strong-minded people who like accepting challenges, taking action, and getting immediate results.

Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing. I's are "people people" who like participating on teams, sharing ideas, and energizing and entertaining others.

Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative. S's are helpful people who like working behind the scenes, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and being good listeners.

Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct. C's are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches, and checking and re-checking for accuracy.

DiSC Classic 2.0 is a multi-level learning instrument that helps individuals assess to what degree they utilize each dimension of behavior in a situation. The instrument then provides feedback designed to help people in your organization:


- build productive teams
- develop effective managers
- train a powerful sales force
- improve customer service
- ease frustration and conflict

Every day, organizations use DiSC to establish a common language, paving the way for successful training and coaching applications. Detailed, personalized information helps people apply DiSC learning to specific business situations, including sales, leadership development, customer service, and conflict resolution.

Is Your Marketing Copy SPAM-FREE?

With spam filters getting more and more sophisticated, at times I find that even legitimate email is getting caught in them...

If you use eMail as one of means to stay in touch with your customers and/or to promote your products and services, it is really important to ensure that your copy (text) does not include words that would trigger a spam filter to catch it.

Increase your chances of deliverability by understanding what words or phrases trigger a spam filter. A simple internet search with the words "SPAM TRIGGER WORDS" will give you a gazilion of sites with lists of spam-trigger words.

Or you can take the easy way out and run your message(s) through a spam trigger word checker, such as the one at http://www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker/. It is 100% FREE and it will dramatically improve the deliverability of your marketing or informative emails.

What's the Most Important Element of Your Business?

What's the Most Important Element of Your Business?

a) To make a difference in my community and in the whole world, if possible

b) To do something meaningful and really enjoyable

c) To generate a good income/profit

Bingo! You are absolutely right! c) is the correct answer. Without profits you will be out of business before you could say shmorgeshbord. So make sure to follow the steps in my "7 Steps to More Productivity and $$$s" post, or just do whatever works for you to bring in those $$$s and then you'll be able to make a difference in your community and hopefuly have fun in the process. Just remember; without income there'll be no business and without business you'll end up working who knows where...

So keep on focusing on those income-generating tasks day after day...

Solo Entrepreneur Success Traps

I tell you exactly why I am where I am today (and it might just explain why you are where you are in your business).

OK – a moment of honesty here… Why am I soooo unsuccessful…?
Why is it that some of us solo-preneurs are highly successful, some barely make it, and some of us straight out suck at it?

I tell you exactly why. Because we don’t treat our “practice” as a business. Some of us feel like “Now I’m self-employed, I have all the time in the world to do the things I love to do.”

Why am I so unsuccessful?
Simple. I’ve spent 60 to 70% of my time the past 4 years on non-productive tasks. More precisely, I’ve spent the first two years or so
- watching at least one movie in the middle of the day (at least, got that? That sucks!),
- taking a nap (which is not bad in itself, but combined with a movie, well… it adds up)
- reading about a dozen ezines
- reading dozens of non-essential emails (including some stupid chain-emails, which by the way I never forward) and replying to some in greeeeeaaaaat detail, sometimes spending about an hour or more on one reply (ok, some of those people turned into clients, though)
- designing several websites; putting way too much time into finding the right pictures, etc.
- visiting hundreds of websites to get ideas to build mine (then getting “lost” in their newsletters, etc.)
- playing computer games – Dang!!! This is bad!!! It starts out with “Let me play a game before I start my day,” then it turns out into 3 to 6 hours in front of the computer playing the dang’ game. Then, even worse, it turns into a daily routine, sometimes stretching out to a week or more… It’s a stupid addiction, and when you are on your own there’s no one to stop you. Oh ma’ God – if I could go back and trade my time spent on playing games (and watching movies) into productive time I’d probably be making a six-figure income L
- doing TOO MUCH pro-bono work, often not even trying to ask for compensation
- (overcomplicating things and striving for perfection…. Sounds familiar? Not taking real action till something is completed perfectly… )

That’s about the chunk of it. Yes, I’m getting better and better, but I still trip regularly. But as Alcoholics Anonymous and drug addicts will tell you, the first step to healing is admitting that you have a problem. So, yes, I have a problem. I procrastinate too much and spend too much on non-productive tasks.

80% OF OUR RESULTS COME FROM 20% OF OUR ACTIONS! Except there’ll be NO RESULTS if we don’t spend time on the “20%.”

*** IDENTIFY THE TASKS THAT ARE LIKELY TO BRING IN $$$s or new clients and try to focus most of the day on those tasks.
*** Develop a system that you abide by. Plan a schedule that you can follow day after day, week after week – one that contains activities leading to $$$s, more clients, visibility, growth, etc. You know what you need, you just need to do it, and the key is to schedule it/them.

*** Plan sessions of 30-minute-bursts. COMMIT for 30 minutes to FOCUS 100% ON A TASK. In that 30-minutes don’t check emails, if possible don’t answer the phone (look at the caller ID and answer only if it is a client) – let the answering machine serve its purpose. Then take a short break, then commit for another 30-minute burst.

*** HAVE A PLAN!!! I’m not talking about something super elaborate, though a business and marketing plan definitely help. What I’m talking about is KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON! Write down on a sheet what your focus is and work on those areas days after day till you reach each of the items on your list. KEEP THE LIST SHORT: 3 to 5 items, so you can comfortably work on them and accomplish them. This will help you AVOID LOOSING FOCUS, which often happens to us solo-preneurs, and we end up task hopping and not accomplishing anything.

*** “Delegate!” You might say “How the heck could I delegate when I’m a solo-preneur?” What I mean is, don’t try to do everything on your own. Designing a website on your own might save you some $$$s, but ask yourself if you could invest that time more productively bringing in more $$$s than what you’d spend to hire a web-designer.
IDENTIFY TASKS THAT YOU CAN OUTSOURCE! …and try to spend most of your time on tasks that will result in profits and new clients.

*** FOLLOW UP & KEEP EXISTING CLIENTS
One of the shortcomings of any business person can be the lack of follow-up, regardless whether we are talking about a prospect or an existing client. Of course, the best way to stay in business is to keep existing customers and only when we have a system in place that ensures this, worry about gaining new customers. It’s always easier to sell to existing customers than to get new ones (yes, this sometimes depends on your business).
Bottom Line! Keep in touch with both existing customers and with prospects, this way you’ll keep growing your client base and not lose them to your competition who might provide better customer service

*** ASK FOR REFERRALS.
Do you have happy satisfied customers? Ask if they know anyone who might benefit from your product or service. In worst case the client might say that they have no one they can think of or that they’ll think about it; but think about the better case scenario when they give you a whole list of people or they send several people to you… So ask for that referral – after all, what’s the worst thing that can happen, right?

Follow the few suggestions from above and it will be impossible not to become more productive and more profitable.

Did I leave out any crucial steps? Reply to this post and I’ll update my list :)

FOCUS & ACTION

FOCUS:

NOW/URGENT -- Free Publicity -- N

Insc. Consulting - Sold 21 DiSC assessments

Marketing -- N

Market Product -- N

T.Master - - N

Newsletter & Blog -- did not post to my other blogs

Write (my book) -- did not write at all today - that really sucks :(

Writing for (online) magazines --

Product Development & Recording Teleclass --

Speak -- MEANT TO PREPARE for the upcoming international conference -(dang!!! I'm playing the procrastination game again, then put a chest-crushing pressure on my self in the last days -- I really need to take this more seriously, after all they are paying me more than $2000 and I'll be exposed to company owners from around the nation and around the world, which could result in more business. STEP ON IT!)

Web design & Recording - N

Focus & Action

FOCUS:

NOW/URGENT -- I'm speaking at an international conference next month ($2000+ fee) - I did some mental practicing, going over some parts of my presentation, but did nothing serious toward fulfiling this commitment (yesterday, though, I did spend about an hour preparing)

Free Publicity -- N

Inscape Consulting - N

Marketing -- N

Market Product -- N

T.Master - - N

Newsletter & Blog -- did not post to my other blogs

Write (my book) -- did not write at all today - that really sucks :(

Writing for (online) magazines -- N

Product Development & Recording & Teleclass -- Planned a few products and set a completion date for the first one (audioproducts - teleclasses, then transfer them to CD and digital product + promote them on my website) ++ I started writing down the info of a highly successful marketer and I decided to duplicate his system

Speak -- Prepared proposal for High School and will submit it tomorrow (trying to present at their orrientation classes a presentation of effective communication and behavioral diversity)

Web design & Recording - N

Today's To Do...

I had a full plate planned for today (as everyday, of course), but I accomplished less then half...

The day went by mostly with sending out assessments to my next week's workshop participants (Yes, yuppy!!! That's more than $1000.00 coming in from there and hopefully some more business).

I also sent out another notice for an account that owes me some $$$s + another account that owes me close to $1000.00 and they have not payed for close to three months - I hate it when that happens. I wish I could tell them to shove it and take their business somewhere else, but they are my biggest customer, at times ordering in the thousands of dollars. I wish I had 10 more customers like this. Yes, I'd age earlier due to stress, but I'd age in style.

Ok... I have to give myself some slack. No, I didn't accomplish much today, but I did go with the kids to a movie and shopping for shoes for them, and we did have some fun in the process... I'm always happy to put in some "daddy" time. And we just got back from Disney World, after a 4-day trip (my parents paid for it -- my broke ass couldn't pay for something like this [but still managed to spend about $300 of my $$$s too]). So today it was somewhat of a recovery day...

Tomorrow I have to put together the plan for my next week's presentation and prepare the manuals. Dang!!! I have to take them to the printer tomorrow, or else they won't be ready by weekend, right? Thanks for reminding me!

Today's to Do...

- follow up on the July 16 workshop

- put together all materials and a plan for my september keynote

OK.... this was a weak attempt to record what I do duing the day...

The orange means that I completed it. I didn't even get started with the second one.

That's a major problem for us solo (") professionals (") that the phone rings, there are bills to pay, mailings to staff, long lunch, perhaps a nap... then the day is gone...

Slack off - or working hard..?

It might seem that I slacked off for a while... I got a 30-day gig sponsored by the United Way, training firefighters and cops. Two classes, alternating every other day (Tuesday through Friday).

The gig was about 50 miles away, but the one hour drive gave me a chance to catch up on some training tapes. I also took advantage of being in that community and I approached the school district and adult education to see if I can present some of my workshops for them. The innitial response was great, so maybe I'll get out something from these efforts.

Life is a bit stabelized; I'm making (together with my beautiful wife) enough to pay the bill and still have a good life. I thought I'd finish my book by my 40th birthday, but my birthday is around the corner and I can see that the book will not be finished. I became ok with it and I'll do my best to finish it before fall. I'm making really good progress on it, I just have to keep up with my system..., which, yes, I was slacking off on - but, hey, it was a bussy period.

Great, Great, GREAT NEWS!!!!!! Money is coming to the table!

Guess what!!?

Last week I got two gigs. I have to deliver one in July, the other one in September. Both pay in the thousands, and both are 3 to 4 hour long. This is how every week of my life should be; but at least one or two weeks a month. The challenge is, that one of them is a keynote speech, and I'll have to put some serious work into that one. Workshops are easy - I already have them downpacked. Keynotes are tough, 'cause.... well, you know... it has to be 100% original, funny, educational, inspirational... hey, you name, it's in there. But I guess for a few thousand $$$s anyone can put their mind to it. (and history has showed that I have no lack in charisma and humour, now I just need to add some good content to it).OK. Great news, ey?

How did I get them?

I presented a free presentation about 2 years ago at a HR managers event, and one of the HR managers approached me and said she'd be interested in having me speak to their employees (400+ employees). I've been working on that deal since then... and now it finally came to fruition.

The other one found me on the internet.
The organizer said that she searched for a long time, but I stood out most.Lesson: have a good website, with good content, professional look, and optimized for the search engines properly so people can find you easily.

Resource of the Day - Get Your Faxes Online in PDF Form

http://www.callwave.com – Free service for the first month, then less then $10.00/month (each service)
1. Receive your faxes online in Pdf. format
2. Listen to your phone messages online
3. If you still use your phone line for the internet… Stay online without missing important calls. Comes with important features like Caller ID and Screening, Take the Call, and Call Back or Text Reply.

What action did you take today that will end up generating income?

We, solo professionals, often work, work, work, and work..., only to find ourselves after weeks and months of work, getting nowhere. What's happening is that we often get caught in trying to build the perfect brochure, the super-duper website, the highly attractive business card, and tons of other "important" stuff... Which is great, we need all that; however, if we don't spend time on activities that pottentially will generate income, guess what? We will not generate income.

So what did you do today that had the pottential to generate income?

I'll be honest - I slacked off. I woke up with marvelous intentions to contact some HR managers at large companies, but I ended up checking up on my articles that I've submitted online in the past, and got caught up in submitting more articles. Well, yes, in the long run this might bring in something. But maybe not. On monday I'll need to do better. (Yes, it's still early, I could do something more productive, but I'm set to flood every article submission site with my articles).

I'll put together, though, the marketing materials that I'll use on Monday. Ok, let me get down to it, then I'll get back to the article submission.
(I don't know... maybe in the future I'll share some of the links to my articles. Right now I'm not very proud of a few things, so I choose to keep "quite.")

Resource of the Day - More Sources to Submit Your Articles & eZines

Here are some more sources where you can submit your articles, eZines, and online newsletters:

https://www.triond.com
http://www.bestezines.com
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com/index.php
http://www.connectionteam.com
http://www.homebiztools.com
http://www.addto.com
http://cerebuswebmaster.com
http://www.netterweb.com
http://www.business-dynamics.com
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.ezadsuccess.com/ (I can't find the link to submit articles to this one, but if you type in "submit article" in their search box, you'll get a ton more article submission sites. If you figure out how to submit articles to them, let me know)

There is no sweater publicity than FREE PUBLICITY. One of the most effective ways to do this is by submiting articles to online sources and to print publications (starting with the small ones in your backyard and shooting for the big national papers, magazines, and industry-specific newsletters).

Besides getting some FREE PUBLICITY, publishing articles online at several different sites, will result in HIGHER SEARCH ENGINE RANKING, which we all want, right? For example, the owner of the site www.egsebastian.com wrote a series of articles on promoting his Inscape DiSC Assessments/Profiles. Due to the linkbacks (and the quality of the content on his site), he ranks on the top of most search engines when you type in his top-selling profiles. Type in DiSC 2.0 or DiSC PPSS into www.msn.com, www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com 's search engine and he pops up on the top. See some of his articles at http://www.articlewise.com/6057.html (on How to REcognize the Personality/Behavior Style of YOur Audience Members) or http://www.articlewise.com/6056.html (10 Tips to Better Public Speaking).

You can do it too!
Write a top 10 article, or a series of short articles on a topic related to your field, and put a signature line with a link to your website. Also, it's great if you can include a freebie or an E-course that will entice your readers to share their E-mail address with you. Your (online) business success depends greatly on the quality (and a bit on the quantity) of your eMail database.

So, what' you waiting for??? "Write that Top 10 Ways to... " or other type article and submit it to these sources!

Resource of the Day - FREE Marketing Postcards

Get now 100 FREE POSTCARDS at http://www.vistaprint.com/. Click on Marketing Material on the left side menu, then click on postcards.
(They can also provide you with FREE Business Cards for a lifetime; or get a better quality card for an affordable price. I've been using them for the past 4 years, and I'm very happy with them)

On the mailing I got from them, it says that the offer for the free postcards ends on May 15th, 2007; but on the website there is no end date, so check it out.

Postcards are one of the greatest way to market yourself; and the greatest way to stay visible in front of your customers. I like to send out to my database a card every 60 to 90 days, to keep my name in my client's and pottential clients' eyes. This way, when they need someone to speak at one of their events, I'll (hopefully) be one of their top choice.

I always include in the card a freebie, such as a FREE E-Course or a free article on their area of interest (each accessible online).

YOu can use cards to thank your clients for their business, to promote a product, or for a gazilion other reasons.

And when it's free, you have no reason not to try them...

Resource of the Day - Nature Trails & More

Do you like to travel? Here are a few cool links that will help you find hiking trails, parks, kayaking, mountain trails, etc., etc.

http://www.llbean.com/parksearch

www.trails.com

And before you hit the road, find out what gear you'll need, what will the weather be like, accomodations, and restrictions and safety tips at www.outdoorexplorer.com

Enjoy!

Today's Action Plan!

- Finish the Handout
- Practice!
- Clean my desk (and commit to keep it clean)

Resource of the Day!

Do you want to increase your (site's) visibility?

You can post an article related to outdoors at http://www.outdooreyes.com/submitarticle.php3

Please check their submission guideliness.

Slack off

I slacked off. I implemented only about half of what I commited to in my action plan below. I never spoke to the TV or radio. I only have a handful of participants signed up for my presentation tomorrow.

Reason?

No real reason. yes, I did have a presentation to make for a group of insurance agents, on Monday; and I had a very important meeting with the manager of a resort with 400+ employees (I hope I'll earn their business, that'd be a few thousnand $$$s in my pocket, and hopefully it'd be a repeat business).

No. These are not real good reasons. The truth is that I simply couldn't stay focussed. I slacked off.

Lesson: STAY FOCUSED!!!

Cool Resource

Here's a few cool resources for you, where you can draw, write, and do a few other things, WHILE sharing it with others AND THE OTHERS CAN WRITE ON THE BOARD TOO. You basically share a white space where each of you can draw or write (typed or handwriten). Great for brainstorming or other purposses where you need to share ideas with others.

Isn't that cool?

Try www.skrbl.com and www.imaginationcubed.com

Both can be shared with your business partners or friends in other cities or countries, and you guys can brainstorm or explain things to each other while looking at the same board. I think this is really cool.

Slacking Off - Watch where your time is going!

Look at my post on Tuesday the 20th, regarding Marketing My Upcoming Workshop!

That should have taken me a few hours, or at most a day. And look at me now, two days later, I'm still only about half-way through.

We must be more focused if we want to succeed. Somehow need to become stronger and resist all the distractions.

OK... let's see if I can finish the list today.

Focus on Speaking!

One of the problems I face is that I try to do too many things at a time. I try to speak, sell assessments, sell consulting services, write my book, volunteer, do some side jobs to bring in cash... and who knows what else.

I'll focus from now on exclusively on speaking, and at the events I'll give out some info on my assessments and consulting (all related to my speaking topics). [I'll still spend every second day exclusively on finishing my book - I must finish it before July]

As a first step (after the thousands of steps that I took till now; but this can be used as a first step, if you are at the beginning),

• I'll try to barter with three cities' around me for membership in the chamber of commerce


• I'll advertise in their newsletter


• flyers


• approach groups


• present popular topics, such as my conflict management, eliminating barriers to performance, DiSC for parents and educators; etc.


• buy lists of seminar "goers" and mail out a professional looking seminar promotion


• follow Paul Karasik's method, described in his book
  (I'll come back later and ad some more to this list)

Reminder! Add the facilitator kit and other links to my blog!

Excited!

I'm excited about the Life-Balance & Energy-Management workshop.

I probably have to realize that I'm really attracted to this topic and I do tend to speak about it all the time anyway. Perhaps I should do more workshops and seminars in this area (and parenting, which I also enjoy really much and I have a seminar that I do present regularly, mostly to teachers. It helps educators and/or parents better understand the personality of their children and learn to more effectively communicate, motivate, etc each child based on their personality style)

I just had a conversation with one of with one of my coaching/mentoring clients who asked me "Don't you ever get bored on presenting the same seminars over and over again? Don't you get tired of it after a while?" And my answer was rather simple: "I'm passionate about what I talk on" (recognizing different behavioral/personality styles - their motivators, fears, needs, communication style, and other behavioral tendencies - and learning how to communicate most effectively with each style and avoid/defuse conflict with each).

I speak about this topic day after day and I never get tired of it. Well..., I also have to admit it that I've been reading psyhcology books and effective communication related books ever since I was around 9-years-old.

I think it is really important to find a topic that one feels passionate about and go for it! I mean REALLY GO FOR IT!!!

Statistics say that around 80% of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs. What can I say? We all do jobs that we don't like, for a while, because we need to survive. The key word should be here "for a while" and then move up, and move on, to the job that we feel passionate about.

Yes, I absolutely love talking on behavioral styles; but I also love to talk on life-balance (and let's face it, I can link the two in a way that they are interrelated - and they really are, right?)

Ok... I just wanted to say that I'm excited!!! (and that you should choose something that you can get excited about )

Promoting my Upcoming Workshop on Life-Balance

The company that is sponsoring my Life-Balance & Energy Management workshop has placed a large ad in the local paper and is sending a series of E-mails to their database of a few thousand people (don't worry, if 20 or 30 will show up, I'll be content; however this is a hot topic, so I might be in for a surprise).

So what can I do to get in more bodies in the seats?

• improve my blurb (marketing copy), focusing on the WIIFM (what's in it for me) from the participants standpoint, highlighting benefits and how this will affect their life/future
• send out the blurb to my database (E-mail)
• send my event promotional blurb to the staff and members of chamber of commerce
• share the info with my Toastmasters International group
• put out some flyers in the community, including the PUBLIC LIBRARY
• design my handouts and print them out
• (PRACTICE!!! it doesn't have to do with marketing it, but it's better than winging it)

What is my expected outcome from this event?

• pottentially get some coaching clients
• sell some products at the back of the room (my meditation tape/CD, Yoga DVD, Personality Assessments, etc.
• sell a few bottles of Himalayan Goji (yes, I stacked up a few so I don't run out again)
• get expossure to some movers and shakers and get invited to speak at one of their organization or company's upcoming events
• have lots of fun!

Ok... This is my plan for today. To get this rolling....!

Goji Sales & Energy Problems

Ok... as I was telling people about Goji, they wanted to try some and the good heart that I have, I sold them some of my bottles (ok, with a little profit - but I did give one away for free). The only problem with this is that I ran out of it before my new shipment has arrived and hence I was for more than 15 days with no Goji (I thought I canceled my regular order and placed a new order that was supposed to come earlier, but I must have clicked on who knows what, 'cause my shipment still came on the regular date).

The first 10 days were great (which proves to me that it is not some quick stimulant in the juice that makes me feel great), but after about the 10th day I started relapsing to the fatigued state that I used to have before I started taking Goji.

So, I had a few down days, then once the shipment has arrived it took another few days to get it back in my system, so I had a few down days. And (probably) that is why I couldn't keep up with my blog (and with a few other things for a few days)...

THE GREATEST NEWS!!!
This is the first year ever in my life that I did not struggle with colds and flu!!!

Definitely the Himalayan Goji does boost your immune system - which is a byproduct for me, since I got it to increase my energy levels (which has worked mirracles for me).
I was diagnosed as a baby with chronic bronchitis and throughout my life I was catching colds really easily and spent literally months struggling to get out of it. Even as an adult who works out regularly, I still had the colds and flu year after year and it took me 3 to 6 weeks to get out of it, and it ussually re-occured a few weeks later. It's been a struggle. (I was the kid in the class who was coughing all the time; as well as the adult who annoys workshop/seminar/training participants with my constant coughing).

But, hey!!! THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR WITH NO COUGH, AND NO ANY KIND OF COLD SYMPTOMS! My wife and kids went through the flu, and I didn't get it! That's something unheard of!

So, all I can say: THANK YOU HIMALAYAN GOJI!

....
Do you want to try it??? The guy I buy it from can be found at www.gog4u.freelife.com. Or I just found out that one of my friends sells it too, at www.AugieM.freelife.com; or you can search the net for Himalayan Goji - the price is the same at all distributors (stay away from the copy cats - I tried one - it's no good)

Try it! It has a 90-day money back guarrantee. YOu can only gain and nothing to lose!

I feel great!

The ABC of Guaranteed Business Success

As solo professionals we often feel - or know - that we have everything in place, yet we can't seem to see proper financial rewards for our effort that we put out.

Why?

What is that missing link that could make our venture more financially rewarding? And, yes, I know that many of us really enjoy what we do, but often the lack of proper financial return does poison the joy of our day to day opperations. And, let's face it, some of us go out of business really early on due to lack of financial success in our businesses.

So what can we do to stay in business and to prosper?

Focus, Focus, Focus!!!

If we could focus on one task on a consistent basis, there's nothing that could stop us from succeeding with that task (regardless of what that is).

I find focusing on one task one of the most difficult tasks. Sometimes I do great, and sometimes I'm really bad at it. It is not that I can't focus on one time for a long time - no, that's not the problem. In fact, when I start something, you need a crow-bar to get me off task. The problem is that the next day, I will not sit back and continue what I left off. Or even if I do for two or three days, then I "forget" about that task for weeks or months. This could be anything like product creation, writing my newsletter, designing a marketing campaign, etc.

I have a "million" things started and I never finish 80% of them. And then I wonder that I'm not getting anywhere...

OK. Thanks. I'm glad we had this little moment of "truth" here. I really need to pull myself together and be not only a GREAT STARTER, but also a GREAT FINISHER.

I gotta go! I got some re-thingking of priorities to do here...

"Take the First Step and The Universe will Provide the Rest"

Ok... this is one of my favorites: "Take the First Step and The Universe will Provide the Rest"

Do you know how many out there believe this??? And then they go out of business in less than a year (often, much less than a year)?

I know at least a dozen solo professionals who totally believed this; they built their practice on this beliefe, and soon they looked for a job. By today, some of them gave up completely on starting their own business.

So, what's going on here? Some of you say that I'm nuts and that this saying is 100% true...

Well, YES! It is true!!! That is, if you take the steps in the right direction.

Many believe that simply going to a coaching school, getting trained as CPA, starting a speaking business or a consulting practice will mean that they will also succeed in that area. Simply getting trained, getting business cards printed out, getting a website out, perhaps some brochures... IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH TO SUCCEED(!)

You must take those "steps" in the right dirrection! And, then, ONLY THEN, the "universe" will start providing the rest.

If you regularly get in the face of your prospective clients and you let them see that you are selling a product or service that is of absolute benefit to their company or employees, there's no way that you will not succeed. So, in this case, YES! You kept taking those proverbial steps, and the rest was provided by the proverbial universe.

Just think of it this way. If you want to go to Walmart, but you keep taking steps towards the pub down the road... Even though you are taking steps, Heck!, the universe will not provide you the rest. You'll still end up at the pub (and get drunk and feel sorry for yourself that you didn't get to "Walmart" again). You must take those steps in the right direction in order to get there!

Question to ponder: in what direction do I need to take my (marketing/promotional/publicity/business-building) steps, in order to help the "universe" provide me the rest?

Build it, and They Will Come - True or False?

Some of us out there believe that "You build it and they will come." Or "You take the first step and the universe provides the rest." Both of these beliefs, of course, can be true.

If you place your phisical location in an excellent location, then you have no choice, but to succeed (given that your service or products are great, at a reasonable price).

Years ago, when I started my first company, I tried around half a dozen locations in the first 2 years, until I found the place where I had to do nothing, but show up. Yes, location, location, location! Before I found that "magical" location, I used to make as little as zero dollars a day, often averaging less than $100.00 per day. At my final location, I'd make on a rainy day, at least $200.00, and on good days, up to $2000.00 a day; the average being around $1400.00 a day (YES, A DAY! isn't that great - - oups! I mean, wasn't that great!!??? And, yes, there were mostly good days)

So, yes, if you build it - and you "build" it in the right spot - they will come.

Ask yourself this: where is a location where most of my pottential customers (with planty of cash) hang out and are ready to buy. Yes, it does sound kind o' simple, but it's not always as simple as it seems. Of course, there's always your choice to do some research - something that we, solo-preneurs, often suck at.

Questions to Ponder:

1. If your business needs a phisical location and If you haven't chosen a location yet, or if you are ready to give up on your current location :
Where could I set my business location in order to be "in the face" of my most "perfect" customers?

2. If your business does not require a phisical location:

How can I make myself visible to my most likely customers?

(articles in trade magazines, adds in trade magazines, networking, E-zine, freebies, postcards, etc. etc. )

Don't Get Stuck in "Learning Mode"!

Here's another piece of wisdom for you, if you feel that you are stuck and your business does not seem to move forward. (and this is mostly for solo professionals)

Some of us tend to get stuck in learning mode and we often forget all together to market ourselves.

I spent tens of thousands of dollars in the past 4 years on continuing education and getting certified in different areas of expertise. And that's really great. It's good when one is committed to continuing education and to further developing one's self. The problem starts when you do mostly learning new skills and neglect the day to day activities that would bring in sales.

Without sales, you'll soon be out of business. Sales are the fuel for your business-machine. No sales - no business.

What's the solution?
As Steven Covey would say, PUT FIRST THING FIRST!

Start each and every day with activities that lead to sales:
- send out your marketing materials
- keep up with your monthly postcard promotion (the wackier the postcard, the better)
- do a few cold calls (if you dare)
- definitely follow up on warm (and hot) leads
- provide freebies to your target market, such as top 10 tips, 7 Ways to..., E-books, or other formats. Get these in front of your target market by publishing articles in industry-specific publications, or advertising in their publications. Keep your ads simple: "FREE Tips to Employee Retention! Visit www.employeeretention.com (I made up that site, I don't know whose is it)
- design a simple E-zine and have a way to capture names & E-mail addresses on your website (notice, I said "simple E-zine" - don't get side-tracked by spending too much time on it.

Ok... these are a few suggestions. Bottom line is:
1. start the day with activities that have the pottential to bring in business.
2. track over time which activities bring in most business
3. keep on repeating the activities that bring in most customers

(ok... let me print this out, so I can follow my own advice. Lately, I do - but better hang it above my desk to keep reminding myself to keep up with this)

Question to ponder: What activites can I perform daily that will bring in most clients?

Write a list of activities that are most likely to result in sales, and follow it day after day, FIRST THING IN THE DAY!!! Then see what will happen.

Learning??? Is important - but maybe you know enough. Besides, the best learning happens while you do what you are supposed to do. Experience is your best teacher.

DO NOT GET STUCK IN LEARNING MODE!

Enjoy! And wish you success!

When in trouble... More trouble joins in...

Can you believe this!!???

A son of a gun found exactly me to rip off!!!???

My wife got recently a bonus of about $2000 and we were out of our skins of joy. So I thought we'd be ahead of the bills for a while. Then only about a month later, some checks started bouncing... and I felt a terrible cramp in my stomach. Are we in such bad shape still???

Then I just found out that a guy got my credit card information and was shopping online... How about that? He literally cleaned out my checking account, spending my money on dating sites and job search sites - guess where??? The guy wants to move to England. He spent on Great Britain sites close to $1000.00 on job search.

How did he get my info???

OK. I do try to shop online only from merchants that I trust, but I still fell pray to a phishing site. It must have been something speaking or marketing related. I could go back to dig up my online purchases (my broke s anyway couldn't afford too many in the past year or two) and I'm sure I could find the son of a "bleep," but what will I do next? These guys are smart.

I actually got the guys phone # who used my credit card info, and when he picks up the phone he says that he is me. Unbelievable! He probably bought the cell phone on my name. "Smart guy" - just hope that I won't meet you in a dark alley... AAARRGHH!!!! I'M ANGRY!!! :<(

So, guys... ladies and gentlemen... be careful out there! Beware of professional looking phishing sites. and protect your personal information carefully.

I got away sort o' "cheap.' I've read about a lady whose identity was stolen and someone bought a car in her name and all kinds of other goodies. At the end of the ordeal she was liable for close to $80,000 dollars, her credit was ruined to the ground, and it took her years to straighten up all the mess.

I hope that my ordeal ends here. I shut down the card, I filed a police report, and called most of the merchants and they refunded me the money. The Grait Britain sites do not have a phone # on my bank statement, but I E-mailed them I hope they'll reply. They have close to $1000.00 of my money.

Can you believe it? No wonder I had no money for burger or a movie in the past month or so...

Follow-Up is Key to Success

I can tell you one thing...!

One of the main reasons for my lack of success is my low rate of follow-up. What "low rate"??? Who am I trying to full??? My follow-up is almost nill. Yes, I do follow up with hot prospects (but even with those I do slack off and follow up a bit late), but with warm prospects, often I don't even follow up at all? Can you believe that?

Well, I bet if you are a solo professional, you can believe it. Many of us beginner solo professionals suck at follow up (except I've been a beginner for the past 4 years - it's time to "GROW UP"!!!). But, hey, if you are different, "Congratulations!" - you are one of the few. And if you suck at this, then pull yourself together. This is one of the easiest ways to get business. After all, you are following up with someone who already knows that you will follow up. Well, at least that's what I'm talking about: following up with individuals that you talk to and they want you to contact them. Of course, following up on your mailings and other promotional giggs, is important. But if you completely such at follow up, then start following up promptly with your hot, warm, and luke warm prospects.

I swear that since I've been taking Himalayan Goji, even my mind works better. I've been having great energy lately (exceptionally great energy) and it's much easier now to complete tasks, follow up with prospects, and follow through with tasks. So, here I go: "I promisse myself that I'll promptly follow up with all my warm/hot leads; and I'll pick up my stack of about 40 business cards that I collected at networking events in the past year and I'll re-ignite the fire and follow up with them too." Let's see how it goes.

...
One of the ways that I stay sane in the midst of this turmoil is through meditation. And it helps tremendously. Then this morning during meditation I got a great idea: (here it goes)

Question to Ponder: What would I do if some invisible charity paid off all my debts? How would I act, what actions would I take?

I tell you what! I'll commit to act as if someone had paid off my debts (except I still won't be able to spend too much). I'll set up appointments with industry leaders and try to get speaking giggs or consulting giggs with them. I know I can do it. I have an excellent collection of services and products. I can do it.

No Money for Burger...

Heck, I don't even like burgers (ok, I"m lying. I love burgers, but I eat them only once or twice a month). I'm commited to staying trim and fit, and that's what I want my kids to get too: burgers are great, as long as you eat them once in a while.

Except... My girl wanted to go to a fast food restaurant (I think Burger King) a few days ago. We really haven't been in a long time, so I thought, "Yes, that's not such a bad idea."

I looked in my walet, there were $3.00 and a few cents in my pocket. Of course, my other child was with me too... So what the heck was I supposed to do??? I just told the truth "Sorry kids, my broke s can't afford to take you for a burger. But, hey, look at the bright side; burgers are fattening. Let's go home and eat some of the steak grandma packed us this weekend."

What can I say? It broke my heart. It's not only the stupid burger, but lately I had to say "no" to too many things. But they are good kids; they love me and they go with the flow. (You know, this is my seccond year that I promissed them to take them up north to see snow, and I think I'll fail this year too. Dang, it hurts being broke).

I have to admit it... I often find myself tensed. Really tensed. The burden of owing $100,000, not being able to buy anything beyond the bare minimum, and the feeling of being stuck in a small house in a crappy neighborhood is simply killing me. SEcretly I often find myself hoping for a car accidnet or something. It'd be nice to lay in a coma for a few months... But hey, I must be here for my kids!, right??? Besides, I'll finish that book and everything will be better. (my son often asks me in the morning "What are you going to do today? ARe you going to work on your book???" He can't wait for us to get rich. He is tired of the many "no"s he gets from me.

The good news in the midst of all this pain? I feel great! My energy levels are high. Now I believe I'll get out of this crap ( a few months ago I felt that I was going to literally die. i was getting weaker and weaker and more and more desperate. chronic fatigue and depression set in there for a while. now I believe things will be ok)

Good night :)

Doing Great

WoW!

I feel great, and I'm taking massive steps towards marketing my business. I even landed a speaking gig for the audience of a major national publication. How about that? And not only will I speak to them, but since most of the audience members are managers and supervisors, I'll be allowed to promote my products and services (all of which benefit professionals).

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say that things are looking great. I'll be back with more.

Broke, but Feelin' Great :)

Ey, things are happenin'... and they put me in a very sunny mood :)

First off, I don't know what happened (since I didn't spend on any extra) my account got down to $0.00. I"m just praying that I don't have more than one or two bounced checks (each will be $35 from my bank + who knows what from the party that it bounced for). I went ahead and put $300 in this morning, from my business account (left in there about $400+).

Yes, so maybe I should cry, but for some reason I'm happy the whole day. I feel great! It's great to be back in "hyper" mode (no, I'm not bipolar, but at times I wonder...), and go out with the kids to full around ont the trampoline, play football, and other "crazy" things. I've been listening the whole day - as I do some of my "slave" job - to Blue October (Hate Me, Give you my Heart, etc.) and it just puts me in a great mood.

Business is moving along:

• today I booked a conference room for 2 seminars - one for the end of February and one for the end of March (I'm very excited about this - I had a few presentations recently, and my energy and confidence is back and it felt great)
• contacted a few businesses about one of my hotest offers and I got back one pottential buyer. (I just started contacting them this week, so I'll still follow up). Even one sale could end up in 1000s of dollars in income. I have one such client and they re-order every two months or so, with my profit being anywhere from $300 to $800. NOt bad for a few clicks on the internet, right? I need 20 more clients like this, and I'll be out of the debt whole and in my way to financial freedom. (the product is hot and used by thousands of corporations, I just suck at marketing it)
• I committed to start making some cold calls to corporations in the area to promote my consulting packages and the other products/performance inhancing tools that I sell. Let's see how it will work out...

It's great to be healthy! That's my biggest message today. Just look at me, I'm even consistent in posting to my blog. (I felt really guilty the past few months for neglecting "you," but I was a walking zombie. It's great to be back alive! Try out that Goji enery drink. Try it from my supplier www.egsebastian.freelife.com or do a search on the internet. Beware of copy cats. Make sure you buy from FreeLife - they are the real thing.)

Till next time,

Ok... why not? Let's have that business talk now...

I did have some paid speaking gigs recently, as well as sold a bunch of online products, which did help a lot with the cash flow (duh!, right?).

Here are some marketing activities that I've been doing recently

• I'm in my 3d month of sending out monthly postcards to pottential clients (funny looking postcards, to make sure that they notice them, with some great headlines, to ensure that it will be read)


• I took a more proactive approach to my business (and now, with the newly found energy, it is much easier. thank you Goji!) I am doing regular calls (warm calls) to existing or pottential clients to remind them of some offers that I KNOW would benefit them


• I have a opt-in box, with an appealing offer, on my website, that keeps bringing 5 to 30 new prospects a day (hence some luke warm leads)


• I'm dedicating around 40% of my waking hours to finishing my book. I must finish it before I turn 40 in a few month (maybe this "little" accomplishement will keep midlife crisis at bay for a while :)


• I'm really trying to focus on one dirrection in my business, which is really hard. I believe that's the biggest mistake in business - especially for solo-preneurs - trying to accomplish too many things and going in too many dirrections. This is a really hard one, since I'm in love with several of the dirrections I started...


• To combat, or to alliviate, the above point, I work on no more than 2 to 3 tasks on a day and if I don't finish them, I WILL CONTINUE WORKING ON THE SAME TASK. And this might some common sense to some, but you'd be surprised how many of us are task-hopping, then we wonder why the heck we dont' get anywhere. This helps a lot!


• I'm heavily studying how to get more publicity. I started writing a few articles - I even published some online - and I want to publish them in some national publications, if possible, and hopefully - or perhaps exclussively - publish in niche orriented publications. We'll see how it will work out (I spend on this only about 30 minutes to an hour per week)


• I committed - and following through - to not waste my time on crappy, non-productive stuff/activities.

Ok... now this sounds more like what I had in mind. I'll be back (hopefully soon) with more on my diary of what I'm doing to make it all happen again. Being deep in debts hurts really badly. I must get out of it for once and for all. (I used to be upset with men who'd commit suicide in their 40s [midlife is the highest suicide rate risk for men]; but let's just say that by now I understand them. death sounds sometimes more bearable then looking into my children's eyes and say "I can't buy that - I'm sorry" - which happens quite often these last 20 months or so)

OK. Be good and we'll chat again

Another Breakthrough!!!

All right!!!

Last night (at around 7:00 pm) I had my first complete workout. I wasn't able to even get close to my gym set for about 4 or 5 months, then I started working on one muscle (one exercise time 3 or 4 sets) in one workout - which took me about 5 to 7 minutes. Then recently I was able to work on two muscles (ussually on biceps and triceps). Every second day I'd try to do 5 minutes of Tae Bo, Zumba, or other aerobic exercise. Often I couldn't even do the 5 minutes...

Hellooo!!! And now, last night I had my first complete workout and I still had energy left over. That's the greatest news in my life. And it's all due to that "pushy" Goji distributor (www.Sebastian.FreeLife.com).

OK... I'm getting lost in what the real purpose of this blog was. I wanted to document how I go from the edge of bankruptcy (remember, I have more than 100K in debts and I can't afford the monthly payments on that debt). Unfortunately, it is part of this journey that I couldn't work (properly) due to lack of energy. With 3 to 4 naps a day, you just don't have much time left; besides, even when I was awake, I felt like a walking zomby. So this is some really good news. be happy for me! :)

I promisse that my next blog will be business related, ok?

GREAT NEWS!!!

Great News!!!

First of all, I told you I went and had my head checked for a possible brain tumor (I used to feel like I was blacking out and about to collapse several times a day, and sometimes my fingers, when typing, would not do what I wanted them to do, and other symptoms); and I had myself checked for a possible stomach tumor...

It sounds probably to you that I'm paranoic, but when you end up feeling dead tired, take 2 to 4 naps a day, yet still feel more and more tired, you'd start questioning whether there's something serious going on. And you better do, don't just lay there and wallow in self-petty, as I did for about 2 months...

OK, THE GOOD NEWS!

Someone offered me a "magic" potion called Goji juice. It's somekind of concoction made of Himalaian Goji berries. This guy told me that if I start taking this concoction, I'd get better in a matter of weeks. What the heck - I thought - what can I loose? (that's the "beautiy" of being at the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up -- ok, or die)

So I started taking this Goji thing, and miraculously, in a few days, I got away with one nap a day, and in about a week I was taking no naps at all. I'm not kidding. Slowly, slowly I'm getting out of this numbing feeling of a dead-semi-live person.

My wife said that it's all in my head. You know what? Let it be only in my head as long as I feel more energized. It's been months since I felt like a man. I couldn't even carry my baby any longer, I was soooo week (and i appologized repeatedly to her). And now I'm back!!!! I mean: I'M BAAAAACK!!!!!! I'M ALIVE AGAIN!!!! Thank you Goji! And thank you dear "pushy" Goji Distributor. This has been the best decission that I took in the past several years.

Let me tell you, I tried all kinds of things from GNC and other stores, but nothing seemed to make any visible difference. I eves started drinking coffee for a while, but all I got was some heart palpitations and I was more nervous/excited/easily angered. But when I tried Goji, I felt great starting the very next day... yes, I had a little set back around days 4 to 7 or 8, but then again I started feeling great, and in the past three months I just was improving constantly. I'm actually back to working out again 3 to 5 times a day. I feel great!!!!!! (I hope you are happy for me :)

There's one problem with Goji, though. It tastes really good and I always want to drink more... My distributor says "Go ahead, it's a juice with healing properties, but there'd be no side effects." I hope he is kidding. At $30+ bucks a bottle, I don't think I'll end up drinking more than I need. But I gladly pay that price for my newly found energy. I'm back working again with enthusiasm and passion.

Things will be all right...

PS - my financial situation is still horrible, but I finished paying my car and tha's an extra $300 in my pocket. We are floating, but no movies, no restaurants, no extras, no toys for the kids (the grandparents overdoit anyway) - we just stick to the basics and we're moving on

PPS - If you want to try Goji, here's my distributor's url: http://Sebastian.FreeLife.com It's the best thing that happened to me in the past few years - you kidding me? $70 for a ton of energy that I didn't have before??? (just do a google search on it - on Goji - to read what's all the fuss. you can read hundreds of articles on it. )