business

8 Signs You Are Meant To Be An Entrepreneur

2014-11-14 By Monica 6 Comments

If you’re anything like me, being an entrepreneur isn’t really optional. It’s in our DNA. It’s how we think and feel about the world around us. I started my first business at age 12, mowing lawns. Since then I’ve gone on to create and co-create several other successful businesses, including working with CEO’s and other entrepreneurs in the healthcare industry.

We entrepreneurs certainly vary in our styles and in the processes we use for creating businesses. However, some traits seem to be universal. If these signs resonate with you, even if you don’t have a history of starting a company, you just might be an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs are: [Read more…] about 8 Signs You Are Meant To Be An Entrepreneur

What Could Happen if You Didn’t Hate Mondays?

2014-04-21 By Monica 2 Comments

If you don’t like Mondays, you’re not alone. Many people experience higher levels of anxiety before they head to work at the start of the week. If that sounds like you, one reason might be that you’re in the wrong career, so you dread returning to your job.

You may not realize how much this affects every day of your week. The anxiety begins to build on Sunday and doesn’t lessen until Tuesday or Wednesday. Then when Thursday and Friday roll around, excitement and anticipation for the weekend begins. It’s a vicious cycle, and you’re never truly in the moment – always either looking forward to the future or dreading it. This situation leaves little time for enjoyment of the “now.”

That was me. In my early thirties, I worked in an executive position at a managed care company. I enjoyed spending time with my co-workers, and I was good at my job, but the work itself left me feeling hollow inside. After striving for years and years to get to that position, how could I hate being there? I started to develop weird stress-related health issues and I was miserable. Looking back now, it seems so obvious. I was simply in the wrong career and in the wrong environment.

Are you in the wrong career? If so, realize that it doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone has bills and obligations to meet, but you can create a life and a career you love. I’m not necessarily recommending that you run out and quit your job tomorrow, but you should thoughtfully and intentionally design your future. A future that includes a career you love. [Read more…] about What Could Happen if You Didn’t Hate Mondays?

7 Things About Business That I Didn’t Learn in College

2013-09-17 By Monica 2 Comments

Back to school time is always fun and exciting and I loved the years I spent in college. I learned a lot of great things, made a few lifelong friends, and also experienced a few hard knocks. As I work toward finishing my master’s degree, I’ve been reflecting on some important lessons learned while working in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur – lessons that I most definitely did not learn in college. Here are seven things that I had to learn on my own:

1. Advocate for Yourself

In business, you continually need to advocate for yourself. Whether its negotiating a salary, or a promotion, or establishing boundaries about working overtime, being able to support your own cause is vital to survival in the real world. In order to successfully advocate for yourself, it’s important to know your own value and priorities. I was happy to learn recently that some local high schools are working with students to develop self-advocacy.

What Are Your Anchor Habits and Why Do You Need Them?

2013-06-25 By Monica 3 Comments

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

An anchor is a device that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. When the vessel starts to drift away from its intended location, the anchor helps protect it by securing its spot and not letting it drift too far away.

When you think about it, some of our habits serve as anchors for us. When we start to drift away from where we want to be, there are certain habits you can start doing that will almost immediately help bring you back to your center and to your intended direction.

Activities or Practices That Help Anchor Us

One of my anchor habits is yoga. If I maintain a regular yoga practice of at least once a week (twice or more times per week is better, and daily is ideal), then it is much easier for me to maintain my other health and fitness habits of eating more vegetables, drinking eight or more glasses of water per day, maintaining a healthy weight, and relaxing more and being present in the moment. When I stop doing yoga, I tend to drift out to sea a bit, my healthy eating habits start to slip, and I feel more stressed and less like myself.

Anchor Habits At Home

Another example of an anchor habit that we often see in the home is keeping a clean sink. You will find if you are able to keep your sink clean, meaning the dishes are all washed and put away or in the dishwasher, it is easier to keep the rest of your house clean. Once a few dishes start to stack up on your sink or counter, it can be easy to begin to drift and before you know it, you have a much larger mess. Making the bed is another example. If you have the habit of making your bed every day, it’s easier to stay on track and anchored with the rest of your room.

Do You Need to Fire that Client? Your Peace of Mind May Thank You For It

2012-01-07 By Monica 4 Comments

“Real Peace of mind has no ups and downs; it cannot be partial in adversity and whole in prosperity.” ~Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Do you have a client that continually drains your energy and saps your peace of mind?

It can happen in many different ways, including clients that don’t respect your time, are hypercritical, have unrealistic expectations, or by just generally being a difficult person. These clients, while maybe well meaning, may not be worth their overall cost to you or your business.

I once had a client that met all the criteria above. She would call, text, or email requests and questions at all hours of the day and night, including weekends. There was always some emergency, something frantic that needed to be completed right away. Her problems quickly became my problems. If I didn’t respond immediately, a text or email was often quickly followed by a phone call asking why I hadn’t responded yet.

At first, I tried to accommodate the requests even when I was spending time with my daughter, at the gym, or trying to take some of my very little time off. It became clear that these continuous interruptions were hurting my overall productivity, service to my other clients, and my personal and family time.

I tried to establish boundaries, setting up times to respond to requests during normal business hours but the requests kept coming. It got to the point where every time my phone chirped with a new message, I would cringe. I felt trapped, after all, I was trying to build a business, I needed to be responsive.

When I took a weekend off and was relaxing and walking along the beach on New Year’s Eve, I received a text message with some requests and questions from said client. I realized right there and then that the cost of having this client was too high for me personally, my peace of mind, and my overall business. I finally made the decision to fire that client. Immediately, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

If you have a client like this that saps your energy, constantly pulls your attention away from your path, doesn’t respect your time or abilities, or worse, consider the following:

1.) Set boundaries – it’s easier to do this from the beginning but it’s always worth a try later on as well.

2.) Realize you can’t please all the people all the time – that’s an old saying but is so true. Some clients, no matter how hard you try, will always want more.

3.) Communicate – try voicing your issues and concerns with the client.

4.) Try shifting your own energy – if you are difficult or disregarding your own time, your clients will too.

And if those things don’t work, consider firing that client. Your peace of mind, your business, your family, and your bottom line will thank you for it.

Have you had difficult clients? What solutions did you try and did they work? Share your thoughts below.

3 Ways You May Be Undermining Yourself With Your Own Words

2011-08-07 By Monica 2 Comments

“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” ~Pearl Strachan

Are you undermining yourself, both personally and professionally with your very own words? I know I’ve been guilty of it myself, more than once. I was fortunate to have a friend point it out to me so I try to be more conscious of my word choice. I have seen women in the workplace especially do this, but they’re not the only ones. Men can also fall victim to self sabotage.

Discrediting Yourself

Anytime you make a statement or give an opinion followed by something that discredits your own idea, you are sabotaging yourself. Take for instance, a message that I received this week from an educated, intelligent, and savvy businesswoman who was giving me feedback on a document that I asked her to review. She listed some excellent suggestions but then followed them with, “Maybe these comments are too late..if so, no problem, they were just fussy little things anyway.” There was nothing fussy about her suggestions, and yet, with one comment, she discredited her own ideas.

Your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions have value. Give them the credit they deserve by stating them confidently without minimizing their importance. You will find that others will value what you have to say, when you see your own value.

The “I’m Sorry” Statement

Apologizing when you’ve done something wrong is never a bad thing. However, overusing the “I’m sorry” statement shows a lack of self confidence. If you say you’re sorry for every little thing, you are taking the blame for things that aren’t your fault.

The “I Think” Statement

Do you preface your opinions with, “I think” or “I guess” rather than just stating them with confidence? Both statements produce doubt in your mind and in your listener’s about the opinion you are about to voice.

So how do you eliminate these bad habits and improve your communication?

1. Awareness The first thing is to become aware of the words you choose and how you use them. Once you are aware, you can catch yourself when you slip up and correct it. You can only change a habit when you have this awareness.

2. Challenge yourself to speak for 15 or 30 minutes without using self-sabotaging language. It can be more difficult than it sounds, but it does get easier.

3. Improve Your Confidence Work on improving your overall confidence by loving and accepting yourself. Let go of the fear and trust yourself and your instincts. You will be more confident and it will show when you speak.

What are some ways that you or others use self-sabotaging language? What techniques do you use for effective communication? I’d love to hear them. Please comment below.

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