I’m in Baltimore at the moment updating my business plan and devising my marketing strategy for 2012. I’ve listened to some inspirational speakers during the last couple of days and what comes out loud and clear is the need to feel the passion for your business. I totally agree.

You need to have a business head, but if your heart isn’t in it – well you might as well down tools now!  If you feel the passion, you are setting yourself up for success as you will be inspired into action. Combine that passion with clarity of vision, your strengths & skills and focus, and you will be driven into action to build a sustainable and profitable business.

That’s the core message of my presentation at the Sales Road Show on Monday 5 Dec in Ashford. If you’ve booked I’ll see you there, if not check out with the Invicta Chamber of Commerce if there are still places left – it’s free and will get you thinking about action you need to ‘get your year into gear’!

I’m a member of the Women In Business, West Kent Group and I was recently asked to present on ‘Working from home’. It was a great evening where we shared challenges and ideas with a stark realisation of the common issues home workers face. Jade Pluck, the group’s social media guru, wrote a post and she has agreed that I can guest her on my blog.  I hope the  ideas help you to work more effectively from home.

We had one of our members Denise Molloy speak to us re Working from Home, this is a subject which plays an important part to most of our members, and what a fantastic session it was. I think we all got one or two things off our chest about the trials we face when working from home and you know what they say “a problem shared is a problem halved” and I think was the case.

So what did I take away from the session; well the most important thing when you are working by yourself is to have a Board of Directors, these could be people such as:

• People who you can talk to and who are supportive of your business and you
• Having someone you are accountable to therefore achieving the goals you have put in place
• Partner with people/associates who have the strengths you don’t

We also discussed what our “driver” is, now most of us have set up our business as we are passionate about it which is great and you can really tell the enthusiasm when we talk about what we do, but we all need to think what we want to get out of it, is it a better work life balance or to earn a bigger income to help support your family – whatever it is really stay focused to make sure you get their (don’t forget your Board of Directors if you get stuck).

When it comes to self-management make sure you

• Play to your strengths
• Structure your day
• Maximise your time (doing what is most important at this point in time)
• Manage your activity
• Balance your energy

So how can you make sure you are using your time effectively, quite simply look at this A – E model below:

A – Tasks that must get done, allocate time for them

B – Be good to do

C – Could do if nothing better

D – Delegate

E – Eliminate

In conclusion I think we all took away something that was beneficial to us, for me it’s what I am going to eliminate from my to do list.

Emma Cox took away from the session:

• Surround yourself with supportive people
• Have a buddy
• Know your inspiration for working
• Check your passion – do you enjoy what you do? If not, do something else.
• Recognise your drivers and arrange your business around them.

What did you take away from it?

One last tip,Denise suggested a great book: Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

If you would like to speak to Denise then please do get in contact with her here.

Written by Jade Pluck of Virtually Anywhere

Denise is running two morning workshops in January to help

‘Get Your Year into Gear’

Thurs 12 January in Tonbridge and Wednesday 18 January in Maidstone.

Full details to follow soon but each date will be restricted to 12 people so if you want to be the first to know make sure you sign up for her newsletter here.

I happened to flick onto the tail end of a documentary with Peter Jones of Dragon’s Den ‘How we made our Millions’. He was seeking to find out the unique qualities of an entrepreneur – what made them successful.

Regular readers of my blogs will know that I am a fan of the Gallup Strengthsfinder tool and their book ‘Strengths In Leadership’, research studies into the unique strengths that makes a successful leader. Jones’ documentary provided further insight into how two very different leaders achieve top performance and earn millions.

Richard Reed is co-founder of Innocent and Michelle Mone founder of MJM International lingerie.

Reed advocates everything natural; from his smoothies to the way he does business with his staff and business partners. The offices are like a family home and his style is very much about collaboration and accessibility. Peter Jones called him a ‘hippy with a calculator’. The creative team confessed to working in organised chaos that was successful, much to the discomfort and dismay of Jones. Reed told Jones that he wanted to get rich and die poor, a reference to his contribution to charity and the needy.

Michelle Mone is much more of an authoritative, demanding leader whose strong need for perfection, by admission of her and her staff, makes life quite stressful. Her offices, like her home, are pristine and organised to perfection. Mone is always changing her mind and admitted she is a ‘nightmare’. Jones compared her to Thatcher as the ‘Iron Lady’  also only needed 4 hours sleep. Michelle’s drive for success is strong, and any self doubt she may have accelerates that drive to greater success and satisfies her need to achieve more.

I picked up on 6 of the traits for success that I think are worth reflection as you take your business to where you want it to be

• If you don’t like what is happening, do something different to change it
• If you are 70 % sure go for it, it doesn’t need to be perfect to start
• Don’t take no for an answer without asking ‘why’?
• You can be doing well but you can do better
• Collaboration with business partners and staff earns loyalty and trust
• Let any self doubt be a driver not a barrier

However different Mone and Reed behave and think, they are undoubtedly inspirational leaders in their field, and have made millions! The road to success is very different for each of them, as they chose to run their business so that it  fits their lifestyle.

Denise Molloy is a business and performance coach who works with owner managers to take their business to the next stage. Watch out for her workshops in January to help you:

‘Get Your Year In Gear’

Register to receive her blogs direct so you don’t miss out.

In my last blog I asked what makes you procrastinate, defined as putting off doing things needlessly. I suggested looking at the benefits of doing something and the consequences of not doing it as a way prioritising your time.

So what stopped me writing my blog last week?

I didn’t do a blog as my VA Lauren, who normally posts it on WordPress, is away so I didn’t have my normal deadline. But when all is said and done, writing is not my favourite activity. I like to be in front of people, to listen and interact. I prefer to be with people than write so that’s what I did and I had no one to be accountable to but myself.  But I recognise the merits of blogging in my business so I know I need to knuckle down and write. Once I get immersed into it I’m fine!

So here are 5 key tips to get you and me going on tasks that may not be our favourite activity!

• Firstly, make sure you are the only one who has to do the task – delegate what you can so you  spend time on what only you can do
• Know how long the task should take you and schedule time in your diary to get it done
• If you answer to no one but yourself, find yourself an accountability buddy with whom you can agree  deadlines, someone who you know will chase you up!
• Consider the task as you would an important prospect so you don’t put it off or reschedule
• Focus all your energy of getting that task completed in the time you allocated

Denise Molloy is a business and personal performance coach who works with small business owners to be more productive and profitable. Find out more about how she can support you and your business here

A recurring obstacle that prevents small business owners from moving forward is procrastination. Definitions include: To postpone or put off something needlessly; deferring action to a later time. These definitions make it clear that it is not a passive state but one over which we have control– if we choose to do so. That key control is to take action.

So what stops us taking action?
There are a number of reasons but one key reason is having or making the time to take action, the action required to get closer or achieve the result you are seeking.

Time is not infinite so setting clear goals and then achievable actions to reach those goals is fundamental to success.
Actions need to be prioritised so that important tasks are completed quickly and without procrastination. Thinking through the result and benefits you will gain from taking a particular action will help you decide on the priorities. Once you take action, that feel good feeling will manifest – the natural high from the release of endorphins in your brain that makes you feel happy. The knock on effect as we all know, is that you have that sense of achievement, and sometimes relief, that spurs you on to take more action and move you nearer to the goals you set for yourself.

Future blogs will be covering other reasons we procrastinate and simple strategies we can put in place to take and maintain control to step up our business.

If you have a few minutes to spare, please do take the time to complete my 7 question survey to help me understand better what might be getting in your way to stepping up.

In my group coaching programmes, I suggest ‘buddying up’ with another group member to whom you hold yourself accountable to take the actions needed to move you and your business forward.

For my group members, it’s like having a second coach who will chivvy them on between our forums and prevent procrastination. They each have a coaching journal to record their actions as by writing down and talking through actions, it helps create a mindset to make it happen.

So find yourself a buddy to add to your board of directors who will help you achieve your goals. Choose someone who complements your experience and skills so there is mutual support and keep in regular contact.

Consider half hour calls and alternate weekly who is going to take action and record it in your ‘coaching journal’. The following questions may help formalise it a tad just to make sure it doesn’t become a social chat – you can do that on another call!

Before you agree your action points, make sure they are congruent with your strengths and values. If they are not, review them or ditch them. You want to set yourself up for success so only set yourself actions that are achievable.

1. What actions have you agreed to take this week?
2. Are they recorded in your coaching journal?
3. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 high, how committed are you to taking action?
4. If less than 9, consider the benefits of taking the action, then the consequences of doing nothing.
5. If you still score any action at less than 9, really think what will motivate you to Step Up and take action. If you are not motivated, consider if you should put your efforts into areas which you are ready to Step Up and grow your business.
6. When will you take each of these actions? Be date and time specific.
7. What may get in your way that may prevent you taking these actions?
8. What can you do to overcome any barrier to make sure it happens?

Denise Molloy is a business and personal performance coach – find out more here!

Solopreneurship can be lonely……and is one of the reasons that a lot of us like to network. But how open and honest are we when asked ‘how’s business’? It will probably depend on how well you know and trust the person who’s asking the question and whether they could be a potential client.

We love the flexibility running our own business can give us, but we all face challenges, some that inspire us and some that can daunt. That feeling of overwhelm can creep in, caused by being busy or when we’re looking to keep the pipe line flowing.

The key is to maintain control and to have the right people to turn to. Follow these 3 tips regularly to help minimise the overwhelm.

Make time to plan achievable tasks
Allocate time in your diary to plan the following week’s activities – make sure everything you are doing is relevant and working towards achieving your business goals. Chunk them down so they are achievable and can be ticked off rather than over-run to the next week.

Do what you do best
You know what you enjoy as time flies and you get the best results. Focus on your strengths and play to the strengths of others to get more done. The cost of outsourcing what you don’t enjoy will be worth it as it will take a weight off your shoulders and give you more space and time to maximise your potential.

Choose who you hang out with
Negative nellies will bring you down so ditch them for success, action oriented individuals who will make time to listen, offer inspiration and encourage your success. Create your own board of directors to whom you can turn for expertise, advice and non judgemental support.

Why not hang out with me and other action orientated people on Wednesday 28 September and learn more about my 3 stage model to stimulate business growth. I will also tell you more about my group coaching programme and coaching gym that will help you make time to focus ON your business and work through issues that may be preventing you from Stepping it Up!

Please RSVP here on my LinkedIn free event on:

Wednesday 28 September
The Royal Wells
6-8pm