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Are you ready to quit?

November 17, 2011 in 90 Days, Action with 12 Comments

Here’s Day 41 of the 90 Days to a SMASHING Success! project:

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As the video says, I’m in a funk. It’s been a rough two weeks.

Alexander got sick twice last week.

Then I got the worst headache in my life and spent 8 hours in the ER on Monday, followed by a drug induced haze on Tuesday, and fog head yesterday. Even today my head feels all groggy.

So this morning I wake up and I’m just tired. I’m ready to throw in the towel and give up. I’m done.

But I know quitting isn’t the answer.

So I go for a walk. I talk to God. I enjoy nature. What was supposed to be less than 30 minutes and maybe 1.5 miles turns into an hour and 45 minutes and 5 to 7 miles.

It was a nice time.

I don’t have the answers I was looking for. I don’t know what the future holds.

But I know I’m going to pick myself up from this funk and keep marching forward.

But I want to know. What are you going to do? How are you going to react when life kicks you while you’re down?

Are you going to quit?

Are you going to give up?

Or are you going to pick yourself up, bruised and bloody, and keep moving towards the future you want to create?

Put a comment below. Let me know your plans.

~Ivan

Have you seen my new buttons?

November 4, 2011 in Action, website with 0 Comments

At the top of each page on this site you’ll see I have a series of six buttons on the right side. Here’s what they are:

  Google +

 

  YouTube

 

  LinkedIn

 

  Facebook

 

  Twitter

 

  RSS Feed

 

Now for those of you that are yelling at your computer screen right now because I’m telling you things that you already know, there’s a reason for it. OK. Two reasons for it.

First, I know for a fact that there are members of this community that don’t know what those buttons do. They may not have even realized they are buttons to click on.

Second, I want to intentionally draw your attention to them.

Why? Because I want to connect with as many community members as possible! That’s right, I want you to click those buttons and connect with me so we can have more conversations. So we can get to know each other better. So you can have a better glimpse at who I am and what I do (because I mix business and personal on all of them to one level or another!).

So click a button. Click two or three! Let’s start having conversations.

And if you’re not sure which one to click but you’d like to click one just because, go to YouTube and subscribe to my page. I’m officially over 1,000 views now and looking to make it much, Much, MORE! By subscribing, and watching, you can help me grow that number.

~Ivan

The Proper Order for Action

October 31, 2011 in Action, Video Blog with 7 Comments

So I brought this up in my former post about the goals for 90 Days to a SMASHING Success!, but I thought this warranted a post all to itself. And that is what I refer to as the proper order for action. Check this out:

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Remember, the proper order for action is “Ready! Aim! Fire!” While you can produce action with “Ready! Fire! Aim!”, it is directionless until you figure out what you’re aiming for. With “Ready! Aim! Aim!” you NEVER act. You must get out of that stuck position if you want to change your life, your business, or your future. “Ready! Aim! Fire!” is the proper order for action.

~Ivan

One Thing – Get To It! by Brenda Dunagan

October 5, 2011 in Action, One Thing with 7 Comments

Once again here’s another exciting post in the One Thing Series. Where I have asked successful entrepreneurs and those doggedly pursuing their goal of self employment one question: “What is the one piece of advice you would give someone if they told you they were starting a business and you could only tell them one thing to help them out?” Today’s guest post is brought to you by Brenda Dunagan, founder of 7 Chapters. Here is Brenda’s One Thing:

I recently was asked what one bit of advice I would offer to someone who is considering starting a business.  It’s a simple question that is hard to answer, but one word immediately came to mind:  GET.

Get started.

This was the advice given to me by Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays.  At that point, I had no idea what I was good at or what my business would be, but I took his advice and just started.  Most business owners don’t go into a business knowing exactly what they will be doing in ten years.  Even if they think they know what that will be, it will probably change along the way.  If you’re waiting to know the whole story and plan every detail before starting a business, the fact is, you will never start.  If you’re waiting to become an expert in something, you will never start.  Sometimes you have to take what you have and begin to build on that.  Consider the entrepreneurs you know who are successful in business.  Look back to when they first started versus where they are now.  What you see may surprise you.  In fact, you may see that you are already ahead of where they were at that point.  What is the difference between you and them?  Just this:  THEY STARTED.

 Get over it.

Hurdles.  Speed Bumps.  Roadblocks.  Let’s face it, life is full of them.  And when you’re starting a business, you will encounter them on a daily basis.  Finances, time, fear, lack of confidence, issues of the past, relationships – no matter who you are, you will face these.  So how do you handle them?  You handle them just as if you were driving a car – you go over them or you detour around them.  They may slow you down, but they do not have to stop you.

Get help.

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous points, and it is absolutely key.  At some point, you will need help.  You will need help getting started.  You will need help overcoming obstacles.  You will need help with the operations of your business.  Everyone, at some point, needs help.  But here’s the thing – not everyone is smart enough to ask for it.  This was a valuable lesson for me, to learn to ask for help at critical points along the way.  Sometimes you need the encouragement of your spouse or a friend.  Sometimes you need the expertise of a certain business coach.  Yes, this will cost you.  But it’s a worthwhile investment.  I engaged with three different coaches along the way, each bringing a defined field of expertise to the table.  And it was profoundly life-changing.  You will also need a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.  For me, this was found in www.FreeAgentAcademy.com.  Free Agent Academy is a business community that offers a comprehensive program for building, growing, and maintaining your business that is like no other.  I took my dream to their virtual doorstep, and they helped me turn it into reality.

Get educated.

Education is very important, but I purposely did not list it first.  Education is not about credentials; it is about knowledge.  And a successful business person carries that knowledge to a place of wisdom.  I have seen many MBA’s, graduates at the top of their classes, fail in business and in management decisions.  I have witnessed firsthand how a Fortune 500 company can be driven to bankruptcy by unwise decisions of a highly credentialed management team.  Education is only important to the degree that it serves a purpose.  So if you’re waiting until you have the credentials to start a business, don’t.  Start now.  Consider Bill Gates and others like him.  Start with where you are and be a lifetime learner.  Read.  Take classes that you need.  Constantly develop and hone your skills as you proceed forward with your business.  Sadly, I am confronted daily by those who want to start a business but who have not invested in themselves educationally for decades.  Their grammar, mathematical, and technical skills have gone lax and now, suddenly, they are in need of income.  This is often a desperate situation.  Do NOT let yourself go there.  Stay on top of technology and business trends.  And hone your writing and communication skills at every possible opportunity.  They will serve you well.

Get good tools.

When it comes to buying tools for a business, there are three categories of spenders:  (1) those who spend too much, (2) those who spend too little, and (3) those who spend just right.  When you start a business, begin with the right tools.  For example, purchase a computer that will serve your current needs and then those you anticipate for the next two to three years.  Don’t try to run a business on a Commodore 64.  (Yes, I’m old enough to remember those! )  Don’t feel like you have to have a hundred different programs to run your business.  Get the tried and true, the basic workhorses of word processing, bookkeeping, contact management, scheduling, and image editing (if that is part of what you do).  You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a website, but you do need to make sure your site is first class.  Engage with a competent website development professional.

Get focused.

This is the last point for a reason, because it happens as a matter of progression in a business.  As you grow into it, you will start to develop your focus and define your niche.  As you do, you will need to offload the things that do not fit your business or the things that are part of your business but not within your strengths.  If, for example, you are great at marketing and connecting with people, you should not be spending a majority of your week behind a desk, working on financial spreadsheets.  Hire a competent bookkeeper who can do in an hour what takes you four or five hours to do.  Then you can spend those four or five hours doing what you do best – growing your business.  If you hate doing details, don’t waste your time on them.  Hire a virtual assistant.  The amount you spend will be more than offset by the business you can generate while your assistant keeps your current business stable.  On the other hand, if you are good at the details, do those.  And hire some big picture people to do your promotion and marketing.  Focus on your strengths and hire someone to cover your weak areas.  It can save your business AND your sanity.

There you have it, the six “GET’s” of a successful business.  Actually, I like the number seven, so let me add one more “GET”.  It’s a quote from the Andy Griffith Show, where Aunt Bea played “The Warden”.

 “GET TO IT!”

Your dream of purposeful work that fits you is within your reach.  You CAN get there!

007 – Why Wait

September 27, 2011 in Action, Motivation, Video Blog with 6 Comments

I get a little worked up in this one.

It’s the after noon after I had a swallow test. Starting last year I occasionally have issues swallowing. This REALLY SUCKS when I’m eating. Because occasionally food will get caught in my throat half way down.

Yeah… not good.

Last year, 2010, it happened twice. This year it’s happened a dozen or so times with the majority of those instances happening in a 3 month window recently.

Here’s the video:

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Yeah… so not only has stress and frustration caused me to have 1) high blood pressure, 2) pretty rough headaches, 3) asthma attacks, it has also apparently affected 4) MY SWALLOWING! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!

If any of you that just watched this video and read this post have been waiting and waiting and WAITING on going after you dreams, PLEASE STOP! ACT NOW! What are you waiting for?!?! Are you waiting to turn out like me and be 32 years old and suffering from issues normally associated with people MUCH OLDER???

I ask you, WHY WAIT?

~Ivan

Who’s doing the work?

September 14, 2011 in Action, Priorities with 4 Comments

Photo courtesy: dreamstime.com

We’ve all seen it. Typically on the side of the road. They’ll be some sort of construction just off the side of the road and they’ll be one or two men digging a ditch while 6 to 10 men stand around and watch the ditch diggers. A few are “in the trenches”, the rest are just bystanders.

It dawned on me the other day that even when we’re starting our own businesses we sometimes get confused as to who is supposed to do the work. Who’s supposed to take action. Who’s going to initiate a transaction where goods and or services are exchanged for money?

Sometimes we’ll be so busy “in the trenches” in one area of our business, we’ll ignore other, equally as important areas of our business. You might find yourself devoting days and weeks to making your website the best it can be, but you’re ignoring the accounting and the financials of your business. Or you might find that you’re devoting a lot of time to building relationships online, but you’re TOTALLY IGNORING your local community.

Sometimes, we find ourselves “in the trenches” focusing on areas that are not as important as what we should be focusing on. For instance, we may spend considerable time and money to have a logo created that catches attention and yet we are SHUNNING THE SALES PROCESS because we’re afraid we might hear a “no”.

In each of these examples we’re “in the trenches” in one area and being the bystander in the other.

In the past I have been guilty of this in many ways.

The first that came to mind are the various blogs I’ve attempted to start before. I honestly can’t remember the number of blogs I’ve started and let die. Somewhere between 3 and 5. Each case was the same. I would stumble upon an idea that would inspire me to write a couple blog posts. So I’d quickly crank out 2 to 5 posts and sit back and wait for the millions and millions of subscribers I was going to have.

There are NUMEROUS problems with what I just described, but for the sake of this discussion let’s just focus on two. My “trench” in each of these examples was the content that I produced for the blog. So I’d get busy for a few days on writing about whatever the idea was for the blog. And then I would TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY ignore any effort on my part to draw an audience, to build a community.

Another great example happened when I attempted to sell real estate. Here my “trench” was really diving in and trying to get to know the local inventory on hand so when I had clients I could take them to the PERFECT MATCH for their requirements. So I spent days and weeks combing through the inventory of houses in the local market. I made notebooks of all the details.

BUT I COMPLETELY IGNORED GOING AFTER CLIENTS! OK. Not completely, I sent out a bunch of letters. Thousands of them (we could mail 300 letters for free each month for the broker I worked for). So I passively went after clients.

Now tell me, what good does knowing the inventory do if you NEVER HAVE CLIENTS to show the inventory to???

NONE!

I don’t think I fully realized it then, but I occupied myself with being in one “trench”, knowing the inventory, at the expense of missing the most important “trench”, going after clients who could and would make a purchase.

So I ask YOU, what “trenches” are you currently in that should be taking a back seat to the truly important tasks in your business? Are you trying to design the perfect backend to the sells process but you’re ignoring actually finding clients? Are you focusing on producing content, but ignoring building a community of people interested in your content? Are you putting all your efforts into growing your online presence, but you’re COMPLETELY DISCOUNTING your local market?

Don’t confuse action with productivity.

Figure out the right “trenches” and then maximize your efforts THERE!

~Ivan

001 – Do Something

September 9, 2011 in Action, Friday Free Form, Video Blog with 17 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! PEOPLE OF ALL AGES!

Today you’re about to experience the first video blog for both A Better Way of Business and myself!

And I’m EXCITED!

Enjoy!

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There it is! What did you think??? I’d LOVE TO KNOW!

Special thanks go out to all the people who have encouraged me to try this out! You guys rock!

~Ivan

Aiming for perfection? Is there a better way?

September 5, 2011 in Action with 2 Comments

Anything less than 100% is UNACCEPTABLE.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

I don’t want to just do things correctly, I want to do them PERFECTLY. I could honestly do better than everyone else on the PLANET, and if there was the POSSIBILITY that I could do better then that I would be disappointed. I should have been perfect.

My drive for perfection causes WAY TOO MUCH stress in my life.

If I make a mistake in my present position I RELENTLESSLY brow beat myself. EVERY mistake is inexcusable, even those mistakes that have been made because I relied on information provided to me.

Anything less than perfection is inexcusable.

In college, I would drive myself into a sort of depression for not making 100′s. Forget A’s, anything less than a perfect grade was a let down.

And on through my younger years.

When I was younger, I played the piano. Some people, such as my instructor, said I was really good. If I heard a song and then played through it once myself I knew it.

Each year my instructor would have this huge recital. Due to her being very good at what she did and well known in the local music circles there would usually be several hundred people in the audience at the recitals. And her rule was the better you were the closer to the end you played.

I typically played next to last or last.

My final recital for her was in front of 300 to 500 people, of which I knew exactly two, her and my Pops (mom had to work).

We couldn’t use sheet music in the recitals because it took away from the impression of the piano player and the piano being the center of attention. So I had to play two different songs. One around 5 pages long, one around 7 or 8 pages long.

I sat down, and due to the setup folks positioning the piano incorrectly I looked out over the end of the piano straight into the face of the audience.

I FREAKED. INSTANTLY forgot what songs I was supposed to play and sat there like a deer in head lights.

Not knowing what to do since I just forgot which songs to play I decided to play the song I liked the most first followed by the longest song I knew.

When I was done I received a standing ovation. The only one of the night.

Fortunately, God was with me. I played the right songs, in the right order.

But I missed TWO notes.

Two notes out of hundreds, after first thinking I played the wrong songs, then finding out I didn’t.

I had missed two notes.

It ruined my night.

Striving for perfection has caused me serious mental anguish.

Fortunately, my friend Justin Lukasavige has taught me an INVALUABLE lesson.

Don’t ruin good enough with perfect.

That one piece of wisdom has given me the courage to FINALLY start my business.

It didn’t happen the first time I heard it.But it’s something Justin has said repeatedly.

Don’t ruin good enough with perfect.

What I have come to realize is that I have used my desire for perfection as an excuse not to act. Because I had not planned out my perspective business PERFECTLY I would REFUSE to attempt to start it.

Because I could not GUARANTEE success – be perfect in success – I would not take action to get any of my business ideas started.

What I have since learned is that NO business is PERFECT when it starts. It is simply good enough. Perfect doesn’t exist in this world.

So I ask you, are you striving for perfection prior to actually starting your business? Are you under the impression that you won’t start until you have the perfect plan? Are you waiting until you have perfectly thought out every possible eventuality?

If you are, I PLEAD with you to STOP! Take a little bit and PIN POINT the example of perfection you’re trying to model.

There won’t be one.

And when you come to that realization I want you to understand this point:

The world doesn’t need your PERFECT business. What it needs is your business that is good enough to serve its purpose.

~Ivan

Can you accomplish everything that needs to be done?

August 31, 2011 in Action, Community, Direction, Getting Started, Priorities with 1 Comment

NO!

At least I can’t.

In getting A Better Way of Business off the ground I have found that there are AT LEAST 100 things that should have already been done but I have not gotten to. Of those 100 items, 50 needed to be done yesterday. The other 50 needed to be done 2 weeks ago!

And it seems like every day there are 10 more things that need to get done, for which I don’t have the time.

It can and does get overwhelming at times.

So the question is, how do you decide what to actually devote your time to?

You could simply accomplish each task as you encounter it. Although you won’t be able to accomplish every task you come across each day, you can work on the each item until it’s complete and then start the next, but realize you’ll never be able to get it all done.

I’ve found this to be ineffective. If you’re like me, you have a tendency to think of new things that need to be done that are inspired by what you’re currently working on. And if you’re like me, you’ll be prone to forget what you’re currently working on and chase after that new shiny object you just saw.

This will lead to an infinite of half complete, started and never finished projects. And if you don’t complete some of these projects your business WILL suffer.

So what do you do?

Here’s how I’m approaching it. I am prioritizing tasks based on whether or not they fall into one of three major categories I’m currently focusing on.

For instance, right now I’m focusing on: 1) Generating quality content. 2) Connecting with people. 3) A special project I’ll be writing about soon.

So each day as I come across the various tasks that needed to be completed at some point in the past I make a quick note or type a quick email to myself as a reminder of what I need to do. Then when I get home I analyze all that needs to be done and see which of the items fit into one of the three categories. If the new task doesn’t fit into one of the three categories I save it in my inbox for another day. If it does fit into one of the three categories then it gets my attention, but again, it gets my attention based on which category it fits into.

So generating quality content comes first, connecting second, and items for the special project third.

Trust me, I’m right there with you when it comes to having too much to do and not enough time. But hopefully you’ll be able to maximize your effectiveness with YOUR business if you prioritize.

~Ivan

What are you doing to draw attention?

August 29, 2011 in Action with 0 Comments

Imagine this roaring through your neighborhood.

So I just got back from a walk around the “neighborhood”. I say it that way b/c I really walk out of the neighborhood and down this other road to a dirt road and turn around. It’s VERY nice. There’s a rather large cow pasture on one side (with only a few cows) and the rest of the way has woods lining the road. It’s overcast today, about to rain, with a nice breeze rustling through the tree tops. It made me smile thinking, “God sent this breeze just to cool me off and say, ‘I see you, my son. Keep walking this way.” It was VERY nice and relaxing.

Then I hear him.

He’s down the road a mile or two, but you can always hear him coming. It’s my neighbor from 3 doors down. I’ve never personally met him, but we hear him EVERY DAY. He’s the guy on the Harley. You know, the one where he removed the mufflers to make it EXTRA LOUD. Oh, and he does around 60 through the neighborhood. You know… where the speed limit is 15 and there’s ALWAYS kids playing in the street, but he likes to hear his Harley revved to the moon so he FLIES through the neighborhood regardless. Yeah, that’s who I hear coming.

I instantly start thinking bad thoughts when I hear the guy b/c he’s already disturbed my peaceful, rejuvenating walk with the obnoxious noise of his motorcycle.

And I ask God, “God, why did you have to let THIS GUY come by RIGHT now and RUIN this? Couldn’t you have made him come by some other time? Why can’t you just make him go away?”

I took another 20 steps or so as the guy comes ROARING past me and I’m just stewing. This guy and his stupid motorcycle REALLY get on my nerves.

And I ask myself, “What could God POSSIBLY expect me to learn from this guy? What?”

And I just felt this feeling of, “It [the noise] got your attention didn’t it?” And it did, it really did. And I realized, even before I could SEE the guy, I knew who it was.

And it made me think. What are you doing to draw attention to your business?

Are your out in the market pushing your business so hard that you are being like this Harley guy? Your potential customers are seeing you as loud and obnoxious and really just want you to shut up and go away?

Are you doing NOTHING to draw attention to your business and just hoping and praying that customers will somehow, magically find you and your products and want to buy them?

Have you even THOUGHT about this AT ALL?

Because I have to be honest and give the neighbor of mine some credit. I know a lot about him because of what he does to draw attention to himself. He loves his motorcycle because he’s driving through the neighborhood ALL THE TIME. He likes his bike loud, because you can tell he’s removed his mufflers. Maybe the loudness is even a safety feature because you can hear him coming from miles. And he gives off the air of being a little edgy because he’s always going so fast in a busy area.

So whether or not it’s the image he’s aiming for, my neighbor is DEFINITELY drawing attention to himself. What are you doing?

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