Recession Proof Your Life

Many people are experiencing the stresses of trying to make strong economic decisions in a downturned economy.  With so many varying factors from one day to the next, it may seem like the problems are overwhelming.  In short, it is in these very days that finding the right path might seem like an uphill climb.

Perhaps you are:

• Wondering if you are following the path you were meant to walk.
• Avoiding making a change in your life because you are scared.
• Feeling like you are missing out on the best life has to offer.

You don’t have to brave the world alone.  You can find the confidence to face the worries and discover the person you were always meant to be.  Instead of marking another day off of the calendar, you can plan the days that will help you change your life, find out who are you, and develop the lasting relationships that will bring joy into your life again.

Whether you want to:

• Start a new career
• Plan more time with your family
• Contribute to your community
• Build a business

The first step begins with Discovering Your Purpose in Life and Learning to Love what you do!

If you are ready to invest two minutes in changing your life, listen to my free podcast, “How to Discover Your Purpose and Love what you do!”   LINK:  http://www.smartsavvysuccess.com/reinvent.htm
Two short minutes…share those moments with me today and commit to changing your life.

5 Simple Steps to Take Advantage in a Downturn Economy

Many businesses struggle in this economy that stresses about ways to stretch the dollar and gain customers to maintain business goals.  In the month that started with April Fools, it seems fitting to talk about ways to avoid the pranks of an economic recession.  No matter what industry or business, the problems and issues facing business owners might seem insurmountable in any economy; however, there are ways to make the most of a downturned economy to help business flourish and grow.

If you are considering your business goals for the first time or seeking to gain a new outlook on your current business structure, think about these Five Simple Steps to Take Advantage in a Downturn Economy:

1. Build your Business Social Network—In the daily hustle and bustle of growing a business, contacts and networking often suffer from a lack of face time.  The most important measures for building strong customer relationships and business growth, this is the perfect time to re-establish a connection with past contacts or take the time to build new contacts into your network.  From online communities like LinkedIn to networking communities like Women Connections, adding social network to your business can bring heavy returns in connections and support.

2. Gain Guidance—Whether this is your time to discover your purpose or find a support network through Boost your Business Mastermind Coaching take advantage of your time to find the direction needed to amp your sales and gain perspective into your goals.   As time passes, it is easy to lose direction and get off track with business goals.  Finding a good support structure and examining your business strengths against your weaknesses will help you locate the next steps.

3. Evaluate Your Course of Action—Every business has important things that they do not have time to complete due to day to day activities that are time consuming.  From customer satisfaction surveys to email blasts about new products, these steps can function to both build your customer involvement in your company and find new ways to turn past customers into repeat customers.

4. Replan Your Approach—Once you have taken the time to build a network of connections, find the guidance you need to discover your purpose, and examine what steps you are missing from your current business efforts, the next step is to replan your route to business success.  With the constant change in communication, functionality, and availability of resources for businesses, it is possible to do more with less and to approach new markets with more niche products.  By taking a good long look at the strategies you have been using over the last 12 months (maybe even longer!), you will be able to update your approach to you business with fresh ideas about reaching your customers and understanding their needs.  Now, build a new plan using these ideas as a basis for approaching your customer base.

5. Execute Your Plan—After restructuring your thinking, approach, and taking a long hard look at your course of action, you have a new plan of action.  The last step is always the hardest:  execution and responsibility.  Here is where the groundwork of the first two steps really benefits business owners suffering in a downturned economy.  Through connecting with networking groups and forming a support structure with dynamic events like Boost your Business Master Mind Coaching Group, you will have a readymade team of synergy waiting to give you feedback on ideas and input on direction with a wide net of experiences and points of view.

When the economy shifts as it has in the past year, business owners tend to feel powerless to control the outcome and overwhelmed by day-to-day decisions.  By shifting perspectives and standing outside of the leadership role of running a business, it is both possible and probable to use the economic uncertainty to your business advantage with these 5 simple steps to taking advantage in a downturned economy.

Tuesday Tips: The 7 Secrets to High Self Esteem

Are you ready to give your self-esteem a good kick in the pants?  Join me tomorrow, February 24, for this empowering FREE Tuesday Tips topic “The 7 Secrets to High Self Esteem.” 

For all of the tips that your mother did not teach you and society will not tell you about bring your confidence of self-esteem to everything you so, go and sign up today before this free phone call is full!

“The 7 Secrets to High Self Esteem” tele-class will last one hour.  Starting at noon CST, get ready to get super charge your self-esteem!  

You can register for this FREE call at http://www.smartsavvysuccess.com/tuesday.htm. 

Since it is free, email this invitation to your best girlfriend and share the life changing empowerment of realizing your own self-worth.

Talk to you soon,
Jane Morrison

LEARN SOMETHING FROM EVERY SITUATION

I am working with a wonderful administrative assistant, Nicole, who is one of those young mothers who should not have the hardships she does at her age. She wrote this piece about her life and keeping things in perspective, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Take care and count your blessings.
Jane

WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM EVERY SITUATION 

When things in life get you down do you ever look in mirror and say, “Why me”? or “Why not me”? I have done this many times. Then I thought one day while sitting in bed, that most of those same hardships that I experienced previously in life have given me everything I have in life today.

Many times crises and crossroads propel us into what we are going to or supposed to be. A German philosopher once said, “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying” –Friedrich Nietzsche.

 The idea is that we must go through all of these learning steps and sometimes curves in order to reach our intended goal, and as I have learned, our intended goal might have all together changed by the time we get there. For example, my goal out of high school was to finish college, attend law school, move to a high rise in New York City and live independently wealthy.

Well, my course in life turned out much different as you could probably imagine. I dropped out of law school to care for my children, was torn down the path of natural health because my son has medical issues, reside in the same town I have always lived in and married the love of my life, who happens to be from New York City.

It is all too strange how life works itself out, but it is surely worth taking the challenges and the hardship so you can get to the wonderful and joyous times. So next time you have a struggle in your life take a few moments to imagine where your life could take you  and how you could make the most out of your journey through the thing we all call, “life”!

A good way to get started is:

1. Try to stay positive about your situation.
2. Change your view or look from the outside in
3. Remember that you can only reach your goal after taking baby steps and when in doubt, keep stepping.
4. Love yourself!

WISE WORDS….THANK YOU NICOLE!

The Pressure for Perfection

Are we expected to be perfect or do we expect it from ourselves?

So many times you hear about what we as women juggle in our lives. Everything needs to be done and we are expected to do it. Or are we?

Many times the only pressure we have is from ourselves.   It’s hard not to see others in rose colored glasses. At times they may seem to have it all together, while we may secretly know we’ve got mixed socks under our boots or we  threw  together left-overs for dinner.  Oh Well!

If you have to finish a project in the morning, Oh Well! The point is we need to embrace ourselves for being who we are and not the expectation that we hold over our heads. Perfection is not attainable….at least for long.  If we as women accept who we are, that in turn allows us to be more than we have been. A better wife, mother, daughter, business owner and the list goes on. Many times we look at other women who make it all look so easy  and hold ourselves up to that standard, but what we fail to realize is, that woman may be looking at you thinking, “I wish I had it put together like her or could be as patient as she is with her kids.”

The thing is, we all have our own unique qualities and they form who we are. To be satisfied with yourself is not to be the best, prettiest, fastest or most successful; it is to no longer expect perfection from yourself and be the woman you look in the mirror at every morning. Your fabulous self!

Some ideas you should consider in taking your first steps in reaching this goal is:

1. Learn to Delegate and allow others to help you. You could get together with a couple of friends and make dinners for the week. Each person could make a large amount and share with each other so dinner is complete for a week.
2. Time Management- Start projects early so you can finish early. You can work more efficiently when you’re not stressed.
3. Live for the Moment! Indulge in each moment. Life is more satisfying if you can do this.
4. Turn off your cell phone. Give what is important in your life 100% of your time. A quality 30 minutes in better than an interrupted 60 minutes.

A 1099 Doesn’t Make an Independent Contractor

Many believe that an IRS Form 1099 distinguishes independent contractors from employees. Even so, the issuance of a 1099 does not, by itself, make an individual an independent contractor. The IRS, Minnesota Department of Revenue and other regulatory agencies scrutinize whether certain individuals are properly classified as independent contractors despite the issuance of a 1099 and in some cases are imposing significant penalties on businesses that issue 1099s to individuals who are truly employees.

IRS Standards.

The IRS relies on three main areas of concern when determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee:  (1) Behavior; (2) Financial; and (3) Relationship Type. Behavior involves who is truly controlling the work performed by an individual:  the business or the worker. If an individual is truly an independent contractor, he/she is self-employed and merely contracting with a business for a specific task. Financial involves who is controlling the business aspects of an individual’s job:  the individual or the payer/business. An independent contractor controls his/her own business aspects as he/she is self-employed. Finally, Relationship Type involves the things that define the individual’s relationship with a business. An independent contractor does not receive employee-type benefits such as a pension, health insurance or vacation pay.

Minnesota Standards.

The State of Minnesota’s definition of independent contractors is governed by Minnesota Statutes Section 176.042. Under Section 176.042, all workers are employees by default unless they satisfy certain exceptions. Some of these exceptions include:  maintaining a separate business with a separate office; holding a federal employer identification number; controlling how work is performed; incurring the main expense in performing the work; satisfactorily completing work or services; receiving compensation on a per-job or competitive bid basis; realizing a profit or a loss while performing work; having continuing business liabilities; and having success or failure depend on the relationship between business receipts and expenditures. Of these classifications, perhaps the biggest red-flag that is causing federal and state authorities to investigate whether a relationship is that of an independent contractor is the existence of a federal employer identification number.

If an individual is self-employed, he must have a federal employer identification number (“FEIN”). This is not the individual’s social security number. A FEIN obtained from the IRS, for all intents and purposes, is the social security number of a business. The presence of a social security number on a 1099 instead of a FEIN is an instant red-flag that the issuee of a 1099 may not be an independent contractor. Hence, it is extremely important that all independent contractors obtain a FEIN from the IRS and that a business that retains an independent contractor issue a 1099 to the FEIN, not the individual’s social security number. A FEIN can be obtained on-line in approximately ten minutes.

Factors such as control of work and the calculation of compensation are also extremely important in correctly classifying workers as independent contractors. As previously mentioned, an independent contractor controls his own work. A business that retains an independent contractor is interested only in the final results of an independent contractor’s work; the manner and means of how that work is conducted is under the sole control of the independent contractor. A business may supervise the work of its independent contractors, but it may not specify when or how the work is done.

Similarly, a business cannot pay an independent contractor like an employee. Independent contractors do not get paid a salary or even necessarily an hourly rate. An independent contractor is paid on a per-job, competitive bid or commission basis that keeps the majority of the risk of profitability with the independent contractor as a self-employed individual or business.

The Consequences.

The consequences of improperly classifying an employee as an independent contractor are serious. An improper classification can result in a significant tax liability to and penalties upon a business and an individual. It can also have other far-reaching consequences, particularly in the realm of worker’s compensation insurance premiums. An improper classification could result in a retro-active adjustment to worker’s compensation premiums that could result in a significant liability to the business or the lack of coverage of improperly classified persons.

The Solution.

The most effective way to properly outline an independent contractor relationship is through a written agreement. An agreement should set forth the nature of the relationship, compensation terms and representations and warranties adhering to IRS regulations and Section 176.042. Although an agreement is not a guaranty and it cannot circumvent the proper classification of an independent contractor, it will provide a great deal of clarification and certainty that may not otherwise exist.

© 2008 Skjold ▪ Barthel, P.A.

Minneapolis Office                              
[w]  www.skjold-barthel.com

The Business Curse of Multi-Tasking

This time of year there is so much going on, we can get pulled in many directions, lose sight of business priorities and feel quite stressed.

As one who suspects I’m already suffering from attention deficit disorder (I cannot stay in the kitchen long enough to successfully boil some eggs) having more on my plate can add up to creating a potentially unproductive environment, feelings of edginess and not finishing up what I started. 

Recent studies have proven what we women have known all along – that we can do many things all at once. This gift of multi-tasking  has allowed us over the centuries to juggle a baby on one hip while attending to another while fixing a meal, talking on the phone and  letting the dog out….or we’ll be making a grocery list in our head, remembering to send a thank you note to a client, and looking quite dazzling in a business meeting all while taking minutes.  

The fact is that this ability to  multi task can also take its toll on productivity. If you find yourself spinning your wheels,  and with unfinished projects, you’ve stumbled into the easy trap of doing too much at once and losing focus. Just last night I had to declare myself unavailable to the family and shut the office door so I could seize some focused time to complete a customer bid, something of great importance but that was being pushed to the back burner – not good. 

Here’s a few tips that I put to use when I get that feeling of being in overwhelm and feeling unproductive :

1)     Stay in one room until it is put together and things are handled in that space. I physically restrain  myself to one space since the panic of not getting done what I need to distracts me and causes me to run from room to room.

2)     Make a list and stick to it. Simple as is sounds, having the task written down forces me to complete it before going on to the next one.

3)     Take a break. This is contrary action for some, but when I find myself in the overwhelm place, 20 minutes of reading a good book, playing with the dog or getting outside shifts me into a place of calmness and clarity.
 
Feeling overwhelmed takes away your ability to focus.  By staying  in the moment of anything you are undertaking and give it your complete attention, you’ll be able to give it the focus it needs for you to be proud of a job well done.

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Join us for our free Tuesday Tips tele-class to learn more about operating and marketing your business to its fullest potential.

Three Ways to Get Your Marketing in Shape for the New Year

Every year, women struggle to make New Year’s Resolutions to tune up their bodies, businesses, and brains.  The largest part of the struggle is often about understanding where marketing dollars are effective and where extra expenditures will result in additional business.  So many times, business owners implement marketing and advertising measures without fully considering how each piece fits into the overall puzzle of their business plan.

In reality, good marketing will drive the growth of a company even in lean times; however, bad marketing is not simply a matter of marketing that does not work.  Bad marketing can be found in improper thinking about the execution, expenditures, and goals associated with each step.

Three great ways to get your marketing in shape for the New Year include:

• Marketing Means Business:  Each year, many women make the mistake of considering marketing efforts and advertising that does not achieve their overall goal of gaining more business.  The thought of creating a business or marketing plan is enough to send cold shivers through most business owners.  But, knowing how each piece fits into the bigger picture will go a long way toward making the most of every marketing dollar and each marketing effort.
• Find the End Zone:  Sports analogy aside, every business owner should take time to stop and specifically find the point at which they score.  Why?  Because keeping score is how you win the game!  When you are able to set specific goals, you are able to rationalize your expenditures with conversions, milestones, and return on investments.  And…please…notice the important word in the last sentence was “specific” goals.  It is not enough to simply say that you want to increase sales in 2009.  You need to say, “I want to increase sales 24% in 2009.”  Even better would be: “I want to increase sales 2% every month in 2009” because then you can go forth and set a monthly outline of milestones, deliverables, and action items to make sure you meet your goals.
• Cut the Fat:  Everyone is guilty of letting a gym membership or magazine subscription continue without realizing it until it hits your credit card every month.  Why bother right? It’s only $25!  This type of thinking will kill a marketing budget.  For every dollar you spend in an unnecessary advertisement or on an adwords campaign for a website with bad marketing copy (or worse!), that is money you do not have to focus on bringing business to you.  Going through all of your advertising, marketing, and design allocations for the year, you could save thousands of dollars to purchase marketing efforts in areas where your customers exist.  For example, are you still advertising in print when your customers are online?  Are you still marketing to an industry or a service that you do not provide anymore?  Do you have an email list (email blasts and newsletters are way cheaper than direct mail!)?  Really open your mind to where you place your marketing dollars and ask yourself the vital question:  What does this do for me?  If you cannot answer that question in concrete terms supported by numbers, then it is time for you to challenge this expenditure.

There is an old adage that says, “The clearest definition of insanity is to do things the way you have always done them and expect different results.”  As you enter into the New Year, the time has come for you to get your marketing into shape by knowing that your money and time are well spent in the pursuit of gaining more customers.

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Dont forget to join us for our free Tuesday Tips tele-classes!   Next weeks class is about “Is your Price Right:  How to Charge what you’re Worth.”

Social Media and You: Working Smarter, Not Harder

As women, we often tend to shy away from technology and the networking opportunities that evolve from meeting online.  With so many women focused on the here-and-now of today’s business structures, who has time to go out and greet the world wide web of people much less learn the newest grooviest social networking platform to come along.

From tweeting on Twitter to linking on LinkedIn, this is not the world of your teenager fixated in showing their attitude through pretty graphics and their iPod playlist of the moment.  Much more than that, social medias including blogging, tweeting, and digging, the world of meet-n-greet is moving past the everyday pounding the pavement and shaking hands.  Even for traditional structures (referred to on the web as “brick and mortar”), the reality of the emerging importance of social networking through social media groups is rising to the top.  While you might be able to meet 15 people at a social networking event or summit, your new scope of meeting people in your area quadruples if people are listing themselves by area in a database and self identifying as wanting to make network connections.

If…instead, you are seeking network connections that will span the global sphere, then the real power of the internet and social media connection gives you an unlimited reach of those seeking you out from across the seas.  All of the sudden, you gain exposure to networking and potential customers looking just for you. 

• Consider this example:  As I was getting my haircut last night, the hairdresser told me about the Bed and Breakfast she owned with her sister.  It seems that they had just booked the entire week to a couple from Germany for their wedding.   It seems the groom asked someone in his Twitter network for any wedding site suggestions in the area his bride was working on temporarily assignment.  The answer: the lovely old Victorian B&B in the quaint little town about 15 minutes from his bride! 

With the power of social networking, not only are your good and services available through everyone in your network, you actually get bonus points in credibility and expertise for the people you “know.”  By building a virtual army of referrals, you are able to reach out to people who are in your online network for advice, support, referral, and community…all from your comfy office chair.

I won’t lie.  There is one downside of investing in a social media network approach.  You have to set up and maintain your contacts.  Gone are the days when you can just leave a calling card and follow up with a cold call a few weeks later or send out a sterile postcard with the hopes of connecting with people.  Following and commenting on blogs, engaging in LinkedIn events and creating true partnerships…virtually of course…is the wave of the future.

Social media.  Are you ready to work smarter instead of harder?  If so, join our Free Tuesday Tips classes on Smart. Savvy. Success to learn the way women are joining together to overcome business struggles!

Business Coaching for Women

Welcome to relief from STRESS!

We’re here to inspire you to FIND YOUR PASSION AND PURPOSE, FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS, and STOP SETTLING.   

We believe Total Success if a combination of two things – how you’re “Being” and what you’re “Doing”.  How are you managing your time? Are you good at SETTING GOALS, ORGANIZATION, OUTSOURCING? Or do you find yourself PROCRASTING and hanging onto PERFECTIONISM?

Your business success depends on many things: choosing a TARGET MARKET, SETTING FEES, dealing with DIFFICULT CLIENTS, creating effective MARKETING STRATEGIES, and keeping your vision top of mind. 

If you’re a woman in business, you have more challenges. We’ll teach you how to CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH, have BALANCE in your life, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, bring out your CREATIVE talents, find MENTORS, and improve your CLARITY and  FOCUS for greater results.  
 
Total success means making a PROFIT, having the INCOME you deserve and making PROGRESS. We’ll provide BUSINESS RESOURCES so you can write your own BLOG.  We’ll recommend WRITERS, VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE, MARKETING ASSISTANCE, COACHES to make your life easier.

Got a problem? We encourage you to share it here to help others too. We’ll help you with your CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. Need help setting BOUNDARIES, LEARNING TO SAY NO so you can have a life? No problem, we’ve learned that along the way.

Remember that along the journey of life you need to HAVE FUN, take TIME FOR your SELF.

Life is what you make it; your experience with life is based on your PERCEPTIONS.  We’re here to remind you to BE IN THE NOW, and DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF, 

You deserve to improve your HEALTH, make more MONEY, fall in LOVE, advance in your career, improve your CONFIDENCE, deal with that blended STEPFAMLY and FOLLOW YOUR HEART.
 
TRANSITIONS, CHANGE, taking RISKS and PROGESS can be difficult, we’re here to help.

Out topics will include the LAW OF ATTRACTION AND PROSPERITY PRINCIPALS so you can LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.
Remember to BREATHE and have FUN along the way …it’s all good.