Are you a woman with a passionate desire to propel personally and professionally to the next level? Are you in alignment with your life’s purpose? Well, it’s time to Power Up and Up Level Your Life!
Up Level Your Business
It’s time to kick butt and find ways to grow your business! Reflect on your business’s progress and make plans on how you want it to expand! Here are 3 ways to Up Level your business:
Attract your ideal client. A client recently confided to me in frustration about a customer who regularly yells and demeans her bookkeeper. This bookkeeper is responsible for calling customers who are past due on their invoices. Though her customer is regularly late, he eventually pays. I looked at her sternly and said, “Fire your customer!” Yes, she was shocked at my response and wondered why I would suggest it. As I explained, the purpose of being in business is to align with your ideal customer. Right? The beauty is that you can pick and choose who you want to do business with. So, if your ideal customer is rude, obnoxious and constantly late in paying; then either keep that customer and eventually lose a good employee. or sever the ties!
Set fees that reflect your value and service. Are you compensated for the expertise you provide your clients? This is a struggle for many. As an expert, you must possess a level of confidence in yourself and services. Assess the results that you have delivered to previous clients. Are they satisfied with the results? If so, ask for a written or video testimonial. Add them to your marketing collateral. This gives you credibility, thus, allowing your product or service to sell itself regardless of price.
Design your signature program. Create a tiered program that allows you to add additional benefits to each level, thus, designing several price points. You are able to use the same offerings while creating more value to each tier. Even better, you can work with multiple clients at various price points.
Up Level Your Finances
Handling your money and finances can be downright dreadful! As director of a nonprofit SBA funded agency, I provide technical assistance to women seeking traditional or micro funding. Some are successful and at the top of their game yet struggle financially at managing their day to day personal and business finances. Their stories are painful yet all too familiar.
Here are 3 financial tips that I commonly share with clients:
- Create a budget. A personal budget is extremely important in managing your household while your business’ budget allows you to maintain a positive cash flow, pay your overhead and show profit. Properly managing both will help you in determining how much you will save and invest! “The Time Value of Life,” is an informative book in which author Tisa L. Silva, combines finance lessons and real-life experiences to illustrate the importance of each. Two easy to use online tools recommended by Jenny Kerr, CEO of The Jenny Pincher, LLC are Adaptu and Mint. Both can help you track your expenses.
- Invest wisely. Having an investment plan is the key to long term success. There are many options available, so I suggest you speak with a financial adviser.
- Establish a savings plan. Do you set money aside for an emergency? Are you ‘Paying Yourself’ first? With the economy being so weak, sometimes it takes every penny that comes in to make ends meet. You must get out of that mindset and start saving on a regular basis. Start small and increase as time goes on.
In addition, if you routinely pay all of your financial obligations before putting a percentage in savings, the probability of a healthy savings account or investments is slim. To avoid this, set up a separate account and have a certain amount automatically deducted from your paycheck.
Up Level Your Health
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while running a business, taking care of your family and maintaining a household can be a juggling act. Many health care experts report that the leading cause of health complications is stress. How well are you listening to your body? It is sacred and should be treated as such! It is what keeps us alive. It is important to treat your body right.
Here are 3 ways to minimize stress:
- Eat a balanced diet. Avoiding junk foods is an important factor in maintaining good health.
- Drink plenty of water daily. It is important to drink 8 glasses of water daily to slow down the aging process. Committing to this will keep your body fully hydrated and prevent dryness of skin.
- Avoid the sun. This is very harmful to your skin. If you must be in the sun, protect your skin from over exposure by using sunscreen products.
Up Level Your Spirit
Are you listening to the voice of your inner spirit? What connects you to it? For some, it is meditation, reading scriptures or attending Church. Simply, spirituality is the search to know our true selves. Everyone goes through trials and tribulations in life, but the question is how long does it take to get through them? In spite of all that might be going on, it is important to listen to your inner spirit.
Live in the moment. By living in the now allows you to experience life directly! Look around you; enjoy the beauty of your surroundings; take a deep breath and exhale; and stop worrying about what if, instead, enjoy what is.
Try this. Write down a daily affirmation and place it on your refrigerator, dashboard of your car or computer’s screen saver. For example, “Today I choose to be centered and connected to my spirit. I open my heart to the beauty of life!” Each day, make it a point to say it. mean it. and live it!
In conclusion, when it comes to success in life, it’s about understanding your mindset and taking steps to Up Level your life!
Guest Writer – Sylvia Browder
Sylvia is founder of National Association Women on the Rise, a virtual community for aspiring and established women entrepreneurs. She has served as an online volunteer SCORE counselor since 2004. For FREE weekly articles go to Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs, www.sylviabrowder.com.