Confidence is an amazing quality. With confidence you can literally climb mountains. Without confidence you never ask for a deserved raise. It has been said that no one is born with confidence and I choose to disagree. I think we are born with it and it is “realitied” out of us.

My four year old constantly talks about all the amazing tasks she will someday do. Recently she told me she would be able to fly someday. I did not simply point out that humans do not have wings and therefore are unable to fly. I told her we do not have wings, but when she grew up and studied math and science she could create a machine that would make it safe for people to fly.

I am not always so wise. I still fall into the “That is the way it is.” trap sometimes after 30 or 40 “Why, mama?” questions. However, by making a conscious effort to reframe my responses to her “impossible” dreams I am nurturing her confidence.

For some reason we allow ourselves to fall into the “perfect” trap and then we berate ourselves when we are unable to maintain that ideal. This is especially true for women.

Have you ever found yourself obsessing over the tiniest detail? For example, you forget one line in a prepared speech so the entire talk must have been horrible. Or, because you told your daughter one time “That is the way it is.” any confidence issues she has later in life will be your fault.

Confidence does have to tempered with reality to a point. I may be confident I can create a WordPress website, however until I actually learn how to create that website that confidence is misplaced. I should actually be confident that I can learn how to build it first and then build it.

Rephrase your narrative to include any action steps necessary to complete your goals. Just as I told my daughter she could fly if she learned what could make that possible, tell yourself you can speak in front of a crowd if you give yourself time to prepare properly beforehand or whatever you need to do to accomplish your goals.


Until next time…

Have a great day,
Susanne

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I had to cancel a workshop due to lack of registration. That was the one business failure I was hoping to avoid this year. Last year I canceled approximately 75% of my workshops due to health issues and lack of registrations and I do not want a repeat this year.

I have been going strong so far this year and have been working hard to promote my workshops at events and online. I am not disappointed (much) that I canceled that workshop. This is why…

I had three people ready (cash in hand) to sign up for that workshop. I told all three that this was not the right workshop for them and they should pass. Fortunately I only have one workshop that requires a specific type of business to truly benefit, and that was the one I needed to cancel.

I may drop this particular workshop from the rotation next year because I seem to spend a lot of time talking people out of it. It is simply not a good fit for many of the business owners in my networking circles; however it was one of the few workshops I actually hosted last year.

It is most beneficial for a brick-and-mortar business so I may reach out to my local associations such as the Small Business Administration or retail groups. It is good information that is beneficial to businesses, but if it not a good fit for my (potential) clients should I keep it in my schedule?

It will probably be September before I create my workshop schedule for next year so I have time to decide. I may completely restructure the way my workshops are delivered. Time will tell.

How do you decide if a program should remain in your business?

Until next time…

Have a great day,
Susanne


Check out my upcoming workshops here!

I am semi-proactive with my PR. I subscribe to HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and I do occasionally read the three emails a day I get. I submit requests for information once or twice per month. I have heard back from a few and was actually quoted in one article.

I also accept pretty much any interview request. I know I should ask who their market is and how big it is, but I am still happy just to be asked.

A couple of years ago I did a deep Google search (at least 50 pages) of my name to find as many places I had been in the press as I could. I printed pages, recorded videos and grabbed logos to make a "as seen on" graphic for my website.

Since then I have been searching my name every month or two in case one of those HARO requests that asked for more information from me actually used me and did not let me know. I found a video of me accepting an award on YouTube I never knew was posted. The video is not good quality, but I have a good sound bite in it and I get to toot my horn about winning an award so I am using it in my marketing.

I found a link to a magazine I had contributed an article to that I did not know had been released so now I have that credit to add to my marketing. Actively building your PR does not have to take a lot of time and you would be surprised at what you may already have if you have been involved in very many activities.

Your press does not need to relate to your business to be beneficial (it is better if it is). If you are an accountant and you were just on the local news about flooding in your area -- use it. Now you get to say "as seen on" CBS or whichever network they are affiliated with. Very few people will ask why you were on NBC, they just care that you were.

Until next time…

Have a great day,
Susanne

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