I was teaching my live Effective Newsletter workshop yesterday, and a participant brought up a really interesting point. We were talking about how she is publishing a set of CD’s and she said that she found a wonderful publishing company to work with. She was grateful for their help because she wouldn’t have known even where to begin with a project like that.

Her expertise was in creative piece - recording the CD’s. She had no idea how to get them published or on Amazon.com. She said “I’m a master at what I do, I don’t need to be an expert at publishing - I let someone else be the expert in that, and I gratefully pay them for their service.”

How many times in your business do you try to master something that you’re really not an expert in? I know so many practitioners who dive into things that are outside of their area of expertise.

What ends up happening is a lot of frustration. It’s not easy to learn the ins and outs of something and try to expertly apply it to your business. Like web design. I know so many people who try to tackle web design. They end up mad, frustrated, and worst of all - with a web site they aren’t even close to being happy with.

The biggest reason we try to tackle these things is money. We plead that we don’t have the money to hire someone to do these things for us.

If you explore your options, you can find ways to outsource tasks that aren’t going to be expensive. And, if you really look at your budget, where is your money going?

It’s worth it to get the help you need. It saves you time, it gives your business an edge, and it allows someone else to be the expert, and allows you to do the work you were really meant to do.

I am so stealing this idea from Lynn Terry’s post… I loved the question and thought it would be great discussion for those of us in the healing arts world.

If you could rub a lamp and ask for 3 wishes from the business building genie - what would your wishes be?

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Marcia Francois last week. Marcia and I determined that the world is definitely coming closer together. I live in PA, and Marcia is half-way ’round the world in South Africa - amazing that this internet thing brought us together and is allowing us to share such great information!

As a business owner, do you find that you have loads of ideas? We are creative beings and we can’t help but be sparked by endless ideas. But how do you reign that in, focus, and actually get anything accomplished? Marcia tells us how! Listen to the recording above - feel free to download it and take it with you

ooo - and you’ll hear Marcia talk about her Virtual Organizing Seminar. Check that out here. It’s this fantastic seminar she is putting together. It’s all done via teleconference. The best part is - it’s hands-on! You’ll come away from the seminar with a completely organized office - how cool!

I’m so excited to be posting the very first installment of my new blog series - Answering Your Questions. If you have a question, please do feel free to e-mail it to me. I’ll answer it right here on the blog.

For this first installment, we are addressing a question about niching.

Sylvia Asks:
“My name is Sylvia Hill, and I am The Queen of Las Vegas at http://www.sylviaslasvegassecrets.com     I’m having some trouble focusing on a specific interest group or niche for my business.  Since Las Vegas is a huge subject to cover, am not sure what to present myself as and who to present to.”

Ahhhh the niche question - this remains one of the more challenging things for us to choose as we strive toward building a thriving business. Some people feel very resistant to choosing a niche because it feels like you might be excluding people - or putting up a barrier that says “Nope, sorry, I can’t help you” when really, you feel like you can help anyone.

And there is truth to that. Truly - any business CAN help anyone. But, as Sylvia has eluded to, there comes a time when you realize that trying to serve everyone is quite difficult. Trying to reach and connect with everyone makes your marketing more difficult, and really, as a human, you don’t have time or mental and emotional capacity to serve absolutely everyone.

This is where niche comes in.  A niche makes your marketing efforts easier because you can create targeted advertising, and you can use language in your ads that really helps connect you to the people you want to serve.

And niche is also good for helping you create a community-like feeling in your business. People really understand that they belong in your business because they can see that other people just like themselves are hanging out within the walls of your business.

Now, let’s talk about Sylvia’s specific question - how to choose a niche. I agree - in her business, Las Vegas has enormous potential as far as choosing a niche is concerned.

The first place to look is in you (you knew I was going to say that didn’t you?? ). Who is it that you absolutely LOVE to work with? Who are the people that just make your heart sing when you work with them? And what is it that you love helping people with? Sure, there’s a lot you can do in Vegas - but what is it that you just love to do for clients?

Next, look at your current client-base. Who are the majority of the people that are already attracted to your work? Can you see commonalities between your clients?

These questions will help get you started with the honing process. Once you’ve narrowed it down a bit, and have begun working with the people you love to serve, chances are good your niche will continue to evlove. My niche still evolves in my business to this day… I’m convinced I’ll never be done evolving…

Sylvia - if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me, or post your comments here at the blog. Also - if any of you savvy readers have anything to add - please do share!

I’m starting a new blog series where I’ll answer questions from readers about building a healing practice. If you have a question, if you’re facing a challenge, if you need help with something, submit your question and I’ll answer it right here on the blog.

When I answer your question, I’ll include your name, and a link to your web site or blog. If you’d like to remain anonymous, that’s fine too

Please e-mail your questions. When I receive your e-mail, I’ll respond to your question via e-mail and let you know when your question will appear on the blog.

I was just reading a post by Dawud Miracle about how to get the most out of your Monday Morning. And it’s funny, because I sat down at my desk today thinking about this EXACT thing!

I always struggle with Mondays. Drew’s Barber Shop is closed on Mondays, so he’s around. And believe me - he is extremely supportive of my business, but without even knowing it, he is the cause of my interruption in my day. Ya know, he doesn’t mean to do it. But inevitably, he’ll come into the office asking if I’ve seen something he’s looking for. Then, 10 minutes later, he’s back to tell me a funny story. Half-hour after that, he’s back to tell me what errands he’s going to run… I love him, but I’ve given up on Monday’s being uber productive!

My most recent tactic has been just to make Monday’s a light day - sort of an unplanned day. I’ll do some online networking, take client calls, and just sort of putz around the office.

Today however, this strategy doesn’t really feel productive to me, and that’s bugging me. I sat down without a plan today, and now - it’s mid-day and I feel like I’ve gotten nothing accomplished. I’m not fond of that feeling because I know it has the potential to put me in a panic when I wake up tomorrow it just doesn’t set a good tone…

Anyway, Dawud says that he uses Monday mornings to plan the rest of his week. And he uses Monday afternoons to work ON his business. That’s a great idea.

I like the idea of planning on Monday mornings. That way, I don’t have to fret if I walk into the office without a specific plan. And, I don’t have to feel like I should work on Sunday - just to make a plan.

I’d love to know what Monday’s look like for you. And as my plan takes shape, I’ll let you know what I’m up to.

We all know that scent plays a very important role in our daily lives. We connect to so many things through scent. For example, how does it make you feel when you smell your grandmother’s favorite perfume? How about cookies baking?

You can use scent in your work space to help you stay motivated, help you de-stress, help you think more clearly, and help you learn better.

I use essential oils in my workspace quite a bit. I have a diffuser on top of my hutch, and depending on my mood, I fill it with a variety of blends. Not only does it help my mood, but it makes the air in my office feel clean and fresh.

Here are some of my favorites:

Relax
10 drops Lavender
2 drops Ylang Ylang
2 drops Rose Geranium

Get Moving
2 drops Peppermint
10 drops Lemon

Energize
10 drops Grapefruit
5 drops Lavender

I love to learn. And when I want to try something new, I immerse myself in the subject. Nothing wrong with that, except that sometimes – I over do the learning, and under-do the doing (say that 5 times fast!). I spend so much time accumulating information. I subscribe to e-zines, read blogs, join networking groups, download e-books, buy physical books, research the subject online… I get to the point where my head feels swollen with information.

And then a funny thing happens. I get stuck. I worry that I’m missing some vital piece of information. I stop trusting my intuition - I stop trusting myself to do the exact right thing. I worry that I’ll get it wrong. You would think that having all that information would boost my confidence to the point where I knew I couldn’t possibly get it wrong.

When we are about to embark on something new, it can be overwhelming. We fear we won’t get it right, we fear rejection, we fear abandonment. So we want to learn everything we can so that the possibility of a negative outcome is so tiny, we aren’t afraid to take the risk.

But being bogged down in information only ends up stifling us.

There are so many experts out there, so many gurus, and with the internet – we’ve got access to free information in more forms than you can possibly absorb in a lifetime.

So who’s right? Who’s information is the best? Who has the techniques that are REALLY going to work for us?

There’s a reason there are so many experts and so much information in the world. It’s because they all have something unique to offer. Whether it’s the specific service they provide, or just in the way they communicate their message – they all have a different voice, and they resonate with different types of people.

So how do you know who’s right for you?

You feel it – deep inside. I know – that’s the standard woo woo answer. But it’s the truth! Sure, you can hear what someone is saying, and you can relate to their message, and you can get the feeling that they know you very deeply – but deep down – do you really resonate with them on the level of your soul?

How much information from how many different sources are you currently receiving? What do you do with all the information? If you take time to read it all, mentally – where do you store it?

Over this next week, I invite you to take a look at the information you receive. Does learning stop you from doing what is actually necessary? Do you spend too much time reading and not enough time implementing?

When you think about implementing something new, do you trust yourself? Do you trust yourself that you know enough, that you’ll do it right, or that the project will be everything you want it to be?

Take some time with each information source you receive this week. See if it’s something you truly, way down deep, resonate with. If not, don’t take it in - consider releasing it.

By limiting your information intake, you won’t miss anything. On the contrary – you’ll make room for the information that counts, and you’ll have time in your schedule to do what counts.

Ever since the movie “The Secret” entered the market-place, an entirely new industry sprang up around it regarding the Law of Attraction.

I’m a teacher of The Law, I’ve been studying it for the better part of 11 years. I’m also glad that The Secret brought some of these spiritual principles to the mainstream. It certainly helped open more people to these concepts, and it definitely made for great conversation and great learning as more and more people discovered these teachings.

However. I’m now seeing a down side.

Along with bringing more visibility to these principals, it’s also spawned a belief system that if you only think a “certain way” or if you just focus on “these right things” that everything in your life will suddenly shift and you will attract everything you could possibly want.

There’s a big problem with trying to think just the right things, or visualize just the right dreams. The problem is - we live in a physical world. You have to interact with physical things, and people, and you’ve had past experiences that mold who you are - and all of that comes into play when creating your present circumstances. As humans, we just do not have the ability to materialize what we want out of thin air - and no amount of visualization is going to change that.

I’m seeing more and more people become frustrated with these principles because some people teaching them are leaving out the most important pieces - the pieces that teach what the right actions are to accomplish your goals, and the pieces that support us in the human journey. We can have success - but sometimes, we need to learn. We are not all-knowing beings. We are never done learning - as we strive toward our goals, there are things we need to learn to help us achieve what we want.

You may want a successful business, but if you don’t know the steps to take to achieve that, you’ll need to learn them. You may want to be a massage therapist, you’ll need to go to school to learn to safely massage your clients. You may want to play the harp - you’ll need to learn the strings, the notes and how to read music.

Mark Silver, has a really great post on his blog about why we can’t visualize our way to success. His post is what inspired my thoughs here.

If you’ve tried visualizations, mantras, and affirmations and still you’re finding yourself stuck. It’s ok - all you need is a little help, maybe some guidance, and maybe some support. You can get where you want to go - and yes - it’s important to visualize your goals and have the right mind-set around them. But, you need to take action too, and sometimes, you need someone to show you the way.

My friend Cristina is doing something really neat in her blog this month. She’s declared October Anti-procrastination month. You must check out her first few posts in this series. I’m incredibly intrigued to see how she plans out her month and what action she takes. And I think it’s pretty cool that she’s doing it for all the world to see.

She’s inspired me to do something similar in my blog. Since she’s got a handle on procrastination, I’m going to think of something else to post about… I’ll let you know what I come up with!

Now, my question is - how will you apply the techniques Cristina shares into your own business? Is there an area that you are procrastinating? If so, why?