Dream Catcher

                           Coach Jaynine Presents

                                    The Coach is 

               Guest Interview with Sylvia Runyon

Date: February 1, 2010

Time: 12pm EST

 Sylvia Runyon is the owner and operator of the woman owned and veteran owned Runyon Photography in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Sylvia is a former United States Marine and combat photographer.  In addition to “normal” photography services, Sylvia will come to your home and host a Portrait Party. You can learn more about Sylvia by visiting her website at http://runyonphotography.com/ and by tuning in to The Coach is in…

 Join me on February 1, 2010 @ 12pm EST as I interview Sylvia Runyon as she shares with us some key tips.  Sylvia will also share business success and horror stories. In addition she will answer, your burning questions so be sure to tune in to Coach Jaynine Presents: The Coach is in… on www.Talkshoe.com and participate by chat or call in at 724-444-7444 and enter the Caller ID 31087#.  All programs are recorded so that you can download the program for your listening pleasure later at your convenience and add it to your audio library.

 As the Debt Free Business Coach, I coach business owners on the systems and strategies needed to increase their visibility and credibility so they are seen as the EXPERT. If you are ready to grow your business and increase your revenue contact me today at http://coachjaynine.com/  or 910-539-2810 or Jaynine@coachjaynine.com

As a female entrepreneur and retired United States Marine, I know what is needed to succeed in a man’s world.  Women business owners must stop thinking like a girl. Women are raised to be kind, giving, and modest.  Women are pulled in a million directions and often put themselves last. These traits work well when you are a mother and you are attempting to raise children that will become model citizens. However, in the business world women must stop thinking like a girl and adopt a man’s mindset.

My ten tips will help you begin thinking like a man and start running a profitable business.

1. Make decisions based on facts not emotion. Stop feeling guilty. If a business you associate with or supplier is not fulfilling their contract or providing quality services stop allowing them to give you excuses. If friends or family want you to do something that is not a revenue producing activity and you know you need to be focused on revenue producing activities don’t feel guilty saying “no”. Make your decision based on facts and not emotion.

2. Negotiate. Do not be afraid to negotiate for a better deal. You know your budget and your business. If you want something but cannot afford it – negotiate. If you think the price is unfair or unjust – say so.

3. Lead your employees. Stop coddling your employees and allowing  them to walk all over you. Time is money. Lead your employees and expect nothing but stellar work from them. Be seen as the leader. Do not let them lead you.

4. Demand Fair Compensation. Stop giving away your services for free. Stop allowing clients to guilt you into lowering your fees. Men would not do this. Men state their fees and expect to be paid. Do not be embarrassed by your fees. Do your homework and know what similar professionals in your industry are charging and expect to be compensated the same if not more depending upon your experience and skills.

5. Boundaries. Establish boundaries for your time and fees. Do not allow friends and family to abuse your time. Adopt a business mindset even if you work from home. Family and friends would not call you if you worked for someone else just to chitchat. They would not ask you to stay home and watch a sick child or run an errand. Establish boundaries so your family and friends stop abusing your time and energy.

6. Think Billable Hours. When attending networking events or attending business meetings learn to balance the conversation between business, current events, and personal. Think billable hours. You are attending the event to promote your business or close a business deal. Use the time wisely.

7. Ask for the sale or business. Stop procrastinating or being afraid of appearing pushy just ask for the sale or business. Stop wasting the other person’s time. If you want to work with him or her state that and close the deal or let the person say “no” and you will then know to move on.

8. Speak with Authority. Drop the whiney voice. Drop the apologetic voice. State what you want or need clearly and with confidence.

9. Learn to say “No”. Say “no” to things that you do not want to do or that you think are unjust. Do not apologize for saying “no”.

10. Be decisive and take action. Make decisions quickly and with authority. Stop sitting on the fence or being wishy washy because you do not want to hurt feelings or you are scared of making a mistake. Make your decision and follow through. Do not apologize for your decision. Make your decision and take action.

Women business owners do not run a profitable business when they do not run their business like a true business. It is time to stop thinking like a mother or best friend and time to adopt a man’s mindset in order to succeed in the business world. My ten tips to stop thinking like a girl will aid you in growing your business. When you speak with authority and adopt a man’s mindset, you will close the sale on your terms. Remember, stop giving away your services for free…no more free.

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free. She provides open and honest feedback to her clients while coaching them on how to turn their dreams into dollar signs.

 She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Networking Detox  and the upcoming Social Networking Bootcamp starting February 16, 2010.

 To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

Is this the year you step outside the box to grow your business? Do you keep doing things the same old way each year? When did you start your business? How many years have you been in business? When was the last time you looked at your business systems to see what was working and what wasn’t? When was the last time you tried something new? Nothing remains the same. Business owners must stay abreast of the latest industry trends as well as the latest marketing trends in order to grow their business.

My three tips will help you in step outside the box so you can continue to grow your business.

1. Know your competition. Who is your competition? What are they doing differently than you? What are they doing better than you? What do you do or offer that is better? Are your prices in line with the competitor? Cheaper or Higher? Think outside the box on how you can gain the business competitive edge while growing your business. If you have fallen out of favor with clients what can you do to get them back? Often clients or prospective clients go elsewhere not because they were unhappy but because the business was not in their face enough. Social networking has changed how people make buying decisions. People are buying from what they see in front of them. They are no longer shopping around. If they see a recommendation on Facebook or Twitter or they are connecting with the business on social networking sites that is where they are buying. They are being loyal to the company that is in front of them every day sharing tips and developing rapport.

2. Know your industry. When was the last time you attended continuing education for your business or industry? Do you subscribe to trade journals related to your business or industry? How much time each day or week do you devote to continuing education? As a business owner, you must stay abreast of your industry trends and changes. Nothing remains stagnant. Do not become complacent. In order to have the competitive business edge you must stay abreast of the latest and greatest in your industry. You also must be aware of recalls of products so that you can be the first to offer a solution to your customers and clients.  You will be seen as the expert if you are first on the scene with a solution or notification of a recall to a product. Social networking is a free tool that will help you market your business and stay in touch with your previous clients, prospective clients and current clients or customers.

3. Know You. Business owners need to take an honest assessment of their own strengths and weaknesses. Do you enjoy networking or does it make you feel faint? Are you embracing technology to grow your business? What are you not doing that you know you should be doing to grow your business? Is it following up with prospective clients? Do you feel like you are begging for the sale? Now is the time to adopt a business mindset and realize that certain things just need to be done because they are part of owning a business. I challenge you to pick one or two areas to immediately begin focusing on changing so that you can grow your business. Pick one or two networking events to attend each month. Go to the event with someone you know so it is less scary. After a while, you won’t mind going alone because you will look forward to meeting new people. To make it less scary do not focus on you and your business. Focus on learning about the people you meet and their business. Let the conversation casually lead back to who you are and what you do. Business owners need to stay abreast of the latest trends in using technology so that they can monitor what their employees are doing as well as grow their business. Social networking is here to stay. Use it as a free tool to grow your business. If you cringe at making follow up phone calls, you need to put your follow up system in writing and make yourself do it. Design scripts so you know what you are going to say so that it is less scary. In addition, you will want to use technology to aid you in following up. You could use email, dialmycalls.com and other resources to save you time and money when you follow up with prospective clients.

Business owners must make time to know your competition, know your industry, and know themselves so that they can increase their business revenue.  Social networking is a free resource you have at your disposal to aid you in knowing your competition and keeping an eye on what they are doing, it allows you to follow your industry leaders and learn from them and it is a great way to show off your expertise and grow your business while increasing your revenue.

Resource Box:

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free. She provides open and honest feedback to her clients while coaching them on how to turn their dreams into dollar signs.

She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Networking Detox  and the upcoming Social Networking Bootcamp starting February 16, 2010.

To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

Business Owners often attend networking events and workshops with the intention of finding other business owners who they can joint venture. A joint venture is a great way to combine your talents with another business owner. It introduces you and the other business owner to a new list of prospective clients.  It is a great way to be seen as the expert and have fun. It can also be a great way to share the cost of hosting an event. However, I have been burned several times and lost my shirt too when I did not do my investigative homework on the joint venture partner.

My three tips will help you so you don’t lose your shirt.

1. Do a background check. You must do your homework and investigate all you can about the person you are going to collaborate with in a joint venture. Snoop around online and see what others are saying about this person. Watch what the person is doing online. Is he or she doing what he or she says they are going to do. Ask other business owners about this person. Ask for references. Ask the same questions you would ask a prospective employee. When I announced whom I was combining my talents with for a joint venture I had people very bluntly ask, “Do you know her?” as they gave me a skeptical look.  Find out all you can about the person. Do not go with the word of one raving fan of that person.

2. Ask for samples of work. It is ok to ask your prospective joint venture partner for samples of past work. Also, ask for a sample of the work that you will be expecting. See if the person meets your deadlines and provides work that compliments you. I joint ventured with someone one time that produced work that was always late and riddled with typos. I should have clued in when the person was always grocery shopping or absent from scheduled meetings.

3. Contract. Always have a very detailed contract of who is doing what and when. Make the contract very specific. You will also want to have a no compete agreement in your contract. I have had many of my ideas and my intellectual property stolen by joint venture partners. I had one client who engaged in a joint venture and did not think she had to tell the other person how to dress. The day of the event, the joint venture partner showed up in blue jeans. Be very specific in your contract. Do not assume that things are automatically understood. You will want to state who is paying for what and when payment is expected. You will want to state who is responsible for the setup of the room and the cleanup afterwards.

I cannot stress enough that jumping into a joint venture partnership is something that should NOT be done on a whim. If you are approached to engage in a joint venture use my three tips to evaluate the joint venture partnership and see if it is truly a great fit for you and your business  so that you do not lose your shirt.

Do you run your business from home or a store front? Do you receive your mail at a post office box or at your place of business? Do your customers or clients know how to contact you by mail? My desk is littered with envelopes that were returned to me because business owners did not have their correct mailing address on their website or business card. I fully intended to contact the business owners to find out their correct mailing address but just ran out of time. Therefore, they did not get the invitation to a big event, a thank you note or holiday card.

One of the steps we employ after we meet new people is to follow up. People cannot follow up with you if you do not have your mailing address on your website or marketing materials such as your business card or brochure. Follow up is part of the rapport building system. I recently looked at a brand new website that someone was bragging about and noticed they had listed the words post office box but they did not put a number. Therefore, others cannot mail them a congratulatory note for opening their business or hosting a new website.

People want to know where you are located. I often hear the controversy that you need a physical address because a post office box makes your business look like it is shady or a scam. However, other business owners think safety and do not want someone showing up at their home unannounced. Only you can answer the question on where you want to receive mail for your business. However, once you make the decision you need to let your customers and clients know where to send mail. You cannot receive a testimonial from a client if they do not know how to mail it to you. Not everyone uses email and sometimes people want to send a “real” thank you note or gift through the old-fashioned mail system. The note I had sent a storefront business owner was returned with a yellow label saying the business did not receive mail at that address. The business owner missed learning how much I loved the candle I had bought and how much I looked forward to coming in again and purchasing more. I was not trying to sell her something I just wanted to brighten her day and let her know everyone who entered my home loved the candle I had bought from her store.

 I encourage you to review your website and see if you have your correct mailing address on your website. You can list both a physical address and a post office box on your website. List the street address first with the post office box below the street address followed by city, state, and zip code.

When you list your business on various online business listing sites you will also want to ensure that you have your mailing address displayed. Additionally, take a minute to look at your business card. Do you have your mailing address on your business card? What about your brochure? Can customers or fellow business owners find you? Can they contact you?

A mailing address on your website and marketing documents adds to your credibility. When a fellow business owner or prospective client gets a piece of mail returned, they will often not take time to follow up. They will dismiss the returned piece of mail as well as you and your business. Do not miss making new friends, business contacts, or gaining new customers or clients by not having your business mailing address listed on your website or marketing materials.

As we swing into the New Year, you have a decision to make. Will you be doing business the same as last year or will you take time to evaluate what worked and did not work. Will you take time to review your mission statement and see if the direction your business is heading is in line with your mission statement? Is this the year you turn your dreams into reality?

You will want to lose the excuses and establish new goals for the New Year. If you do not have goals, how will you know if you are making progress?

There are four action steps to effective goal setting.

1. Preparation. Before you can begin writing down new goals you must take time to self reflect and review. You need to evaluate what went well in your business last year. What did not work out for your business as you intended. Also, think about the latest trends for your industry. Think about what your clients told you they wanted.

2. Planning. This step is where you put your goals on paper. I like using the SMART acronym. Your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. When you apply the SMART acronym to your business goals, you will be able to achieve your goals or realize that the goal is just not the right goal for you and your business at this time.

3. Implementation. The implementation step is where most business owners lose sight of their goal. They forget to implement the goal. People often write the goal in a journal or view the goal as something that is nice to have but they are not serious about the goal. Your goal should be more than wishful thinking or a fantasy. If you are serious about turning your goal into reality, you need to take action steps each day so you are closer to reaching your business goal.

4. Follow Up.  When you applied the SMART acronym, you agreed that your goal was important to you and it would be measurable. So using the fourth step, Follow Up, you must take time to measure if you are on track of achieving your goal. If you are not on track don’t beat yourself up. Just re-evaluate what you need to do to meet your goal. You may also realize the goal is no longer important to you or your business and you can delete the item from your goal list. However, do not let a negative mindset or laziness keep you from reaching your goals.

Business owners who are serious about turning their dreams into reality need to make time to apply my four action steps to effective goal setting. When you apply the SMART acronym to your business goal setting you will turn your dreams into reality.

Goal setting is a continuous process. Apply my four steps to effective goal setting so you can make this the year you lose the excuses and you work hard on growing your business so you can turn your dreams into reality.

[caption id="attachment_5" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="Lose the Excuses!"][/caption]

 

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free. She provides open and honest feedback to her clients while coaching them on how to turn their dreams into dollar signs.

She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Coach Jaynine’s Business Boot Camp and the upcoming Coach Jaynine’s Profit Center Blue Print.

To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

As a home based business owner I know how hard it is to be viewed as successful business owner by family and friends.  They see you in the role as friend, spouse, or parent. Using my five tips you will be able to work with your family and friends and bring them on to your team so you are seen as successful business owner by your customers or clients.

1. Examine Your Environment. Your well-meaning friends and family will be the worst offenders when it comes to seeing who is sabotaging your time and professionalism. Take time to review the people in your life and see if they are contributing to your success or harming you and your business. Once you pinpoint who is sabotaging your efforts you need to sit the person down and have a frank talk. Your family and friends need to understand that you cannot spend a day or even half a day doing laundry and cleaning house when you have business phone calls to return or meetings to arrange. Your family needs to become part of the household team so you can focus on revenue producing activities.

2. Establish boundaries for yourself and your family. Business owner need to have clear and defined boundaries on who is allowed in your home office and who has access to your business computer, office supplies and telephone. You do not want to get ready to work on a project just to find out that someone used all the computer ink or took your favorite pen.

3. Set Business Office Hours. Set office hours so you know when you are working. This will also allow your family and friends to know when they can and cannot call or visit. I suggest posting the hours on your office door or setting a policy that when the door is closed, they are not allowed to interrupt you. I have had fellow dissertation peers state that when they put on their university sweatshirt the family knew not to bother him or her because it is homework time. Put on your work uniform so you feel dressed for success and everyone knows you are going to the office.

4. Phone Greeting. You do not need to answer your telephone each time it rings. Your telephone can be a great asset to your team. Set your voice message so it announces your business name and hours of operation. This will let callers know when you are in the office. Do not let family or friends answer your business telephone with a “Hi” or  “What’s up”.

5. Business Mindset. Do not sabotage yourself by not adopting a business mindset. If you see your business as a hobby or something that plays a secondary role to everything else in your life that image will carry over into how you conduct business. You will be sabotaging yourself and you will not be in business. Adopt a business mindset by dropping the excuses. Demand that your family and friends abide by your boundaries so you can run a profitable business.

When you examine your environment, establish boundaries, set business office hours, have a professional phone greeting, and adopt a business mindset you will be a successful home based business owner. You will be employing family, friends and technology to be a part of your winning team.

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free. She provides open and honest feedback to her clients while coaching them on how to turn their dreams into dollar signs.

She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Coach Jaynine’s Business Boot Camp and the upcoming Coach Jaynine’s Profit Center Blue Print.

 To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

As we start the New Year, many unscrupulous individuals will start their new year with a new identity. Will he or she be stealing your identity?

Business owners must take steps to protect their identity and their employee’s identity. You never know who is going to snoop through your trash. What may seem like nothing to you can be used to steal your identity or your employees’ identity.

As we begin 2010, I encourage you to take five steps to protect your identity.

1.  Shred or burn documents that contain your name, business name, address, and other vital information such as date of birth.  This includes but is not limited to junk mail, magazine renewal notices, and bank statements. I highly suggest you cut or rip the address label off catalogs before you throw them away. Also, if your catalogs contain offers for free credit with that catalog I suggest you rip that out offer of the catalog and shred it too.

2. Change your passwords. I know this may seem like a real pain but I bet your children, spouse and friends can figure out your current passwords. Take a few minutes and change your passwords. Also, do not automatically store your passwords on each account on your computer. If someone broke into your  business or hacked into your computer you would be granting them easy access to your bank accounts and other private areas. When you fire an employee or an employee quits you will want to change your passwords on your accounts.  Business owners must remember that the business computer contains a great deal of intellectual property that when in the wrong hands could sabotage your competitive business edge.

3. Protect your social security number. Do you have your social security card in your wallet? Is it in your glove box of your car? If you have a teenager in the house or someone who has been job hunting I guarantee they are carrying their social security card in their wallet or leaving it in the car so they have it handy to show employers. Do you still have your social security number printed on your checks? This was the rage when I was younger and it took friends pointing out to me that times had changed and I needed to remove it from my checks.  Do not give your social security number to someone over the telephone. Request that they provide you written documentation before you release it.  As a business owner review your procedures for safeguarding your employee’s social security numbers.

4. Keep your credit card receipts and ATM statements until you get home or return to the office and can shred it. Again, you may not know what to do with the information on those receipts but identity thieves do.  Don’t forget to ask your employees to provide you all the receipts if they are doing your banking and running errands.  This includes the gas station receipt that is often left in the gas pump. Grab it and take it with you. Do not toss it in the trash can by the gas pump.

5. Check your credit report at least yearly. Look for accounts that you did not open. An identity thief may have a bill sent to their address so you will never know about the account unless you review your credit report. You will want to check your children’s credit report too. It is also important to know what you will do and have a plan in place or at least in your mind on how you will handle an identity thief that is a trusted employee or family member. I have had several friends tell me about family members that stole their identity or their child’s identity yet they didn’t want to press charges and cause a riff in the family. Spend a few minutes and think about what you would do.

Identity thieves do not just steal from people they steal from business owners. Start your year out right by taking measures to safeguard your identity and your business identity.