Quick Tip: What’s Your ‘Whoosh Goal’?

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you have a list of goals that you want to accomplish in the new year.  How cool would it be to make those goals happen with a lot less effort… almost as if by magic?

The secret is to identify your “whoosh goal” – the one goal that makes all the others possible.

Think of a stack of dominos, all in a line, very close to one another.  What happens when you push the first one over?  With that one simple action, all the other dominos fall over – in a big WHOOSH.  Your whoosh goal is that first domino.

As an example, let’s say that your list of goals for 2012 looks something like this:

1. Create $200,000 in revenue by Dec 31, 2012
2. Host list-building teleseminars with 5 influencers in my industry
3. Launch and fill my first group Platinum program with 12 members
4. Take 4 weeks off throughout the year, completely unplugged
5. Release remaining $20,000 in credit card debt

Looking over this list, can you identify the whoosh goal?  Yep, it’s goal #2 – hosting teleseminars with 5 influencers.

In this case, connecting with those partners will lead to a bigger list, which leads to more clients, which leads to meeting your income goal, which leads to more time off – you get the picture.  If this was your list and you got those 5 interviews set up in the next 90 days, you’d have created TONS of momentum to carry all of your goals forward, all year long.

Your whoosh goal is the one goal that makes all – or nearly all – of the other goals on your list possible.

In any list of goals, it’s tempting to do what’s easiest and most convenient.  Instead, identify and tackle your whoosh goal EARLY and with gusto.  It may not be the most fun, but ultimately, focusing on your whoosh goal first makes ALL of your goals achievable with grace, ease and elegance.

10 New Year’s Success Habits For The Divine Entrepreneur

So the tree is taken down, the Yule log burned out, the eggnog all gone and the lights put away. The new year is here! It’s a time of reflection, looking forward, and making positive changes. Perhaps you’ve made a few New Year’s Resolutions for your life and business.

Personally, I’ve never had much luck with New Year’s Resolutions because the vibe feels punishing, not promising – like I’m going to have to work hard or struggle to create the positive change that I want.

That’s when I hit upon the idea of creating New Year’s habits. Habits are small, simple shifts that support you. They’re manageable, so you’re much more likely to succeed, especially if you take them one at a time. Best of all, habits create an environment that pull you forward and add up to BIG results over the long haul.

Below are 10 tried, true and simple Divine Feminine success habits for the new year. Turn even 2 or 3 of them into new habits and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you make positive shifts in your life and business – without effort, strain or struggle.

1. Honor your Divine Feminine Gift of Creativity daily. Your creativity, not your list, is your true source of income because it’s your creativity behind your programs, services, partnerships, relationships, marketing and all the other yumminess in your business.

That’s why you MUST protect your creativity (and creative time) like the valued asset it is. Remember, you simply can’t manifest when your energy is depleted!

2. Receive support daily. Consistent daily support is a necessity, not a luxury, for the Divine Feminine Entrepreneur. You simply cannot go it alone and expect to succeed. Coaches, mentors, assistants, web designers, and your emotional support system are all critical members of your team.

Receiving power tip: When you feel yourself pushing or struggling, that’s your cue to stop and check in: “Would a million dollar business owner be doing this task?” If not, delegate!

3. Pay yourself twice per month. Yes, you can do it! The secret is to focus on the action, not the amount, and take a no-excuses policy. Paying yourself first is a key practice in activating the Divine Feminine Gift of Receiving, which will allow you to receive even more.

4. Follow up with potential clients. Contrary to popular belief (and what your squishy mind is probably telling you), follow-up is a gift. When you get out of your ego (“they’re not really interested,” “I don’t want to pester,” etc) and check in from a place of caring and consideration, your clients will feel seen, acknowledged, and deeply appreciated. Check in at just the right time, and they’ll hire you.

5. Reconnect with current and past clients. Most spirit-driven entrepreneurs neglect past clients – a big mistake. A high percentage of satisfied clients will want more support from you, once the first program or contract is finished.

Make a habit of personally connecting and checking in with your peeps from time to time. They’ll feel the love, and you’ll both get the benefit of working together more often.

6. Track your income daily. This deceptively simple practice is one of THE most powerful, potent steps you can take to automatically start making more. (One of my clients reported 3 five figure months in a row shortly after starting this practice.)

Important tip: your motto when tracking is “it all counts.” Spouse’s income, gift money from Grandma, pennies on the street – it all counts. (Got a question about this? The answer is, “it all counts.”)

7. Commit to “just one thing” daily. To keep your marketing truly simple, stick to basic tried and true principles and adopt the magical practice that I like to call “just one thing”: every day, do just one thing to build your business, no matter how small.

“Just one thing” uses the Japanese principle of kaizen: big results come in continuous small increments over time. Commit to just one thing daily and you’ll never have to worry about where your clients are coming from ever again.

8. Let go of just one thing daily. Obligations, mundane tasks, and administrivia all chew up your precious Divine Feminine energy. So do damaging emotional habits like comparison, fear and doubt, and being too hard on yourself. Create the space for your Divine Feminine Gifts to flourish by asking yourself this question daily: “What can I let go of?” (Here, too, it all counts!)

9. Invest in your learning, growth and expansion. When you invest time, energy, attention and money in your own growth, you are essentially paying yourself… and the results can never be taken away. Find a coaching group or mastermind, schedule time to read or listen to the content, and implement.

10. Gratitude. You know it feels good. You know it works! Now all that’s left is to make it a habit. If you haven’t been giving thanks DAILY for all the money, business and success you DO have, now is the perfect time to start. Complete this sentence 5 times: “Today, I feel rich because…”

Best wishes for a rich and successful New Year!

A Simple Way to Boost Your Holiday Cash Flow: The VIP Day

Have you heard about this format for your streamlining your service that’s simple, fun and oh-so-gratifying to deliver?  I’m talking about the VIP Day, or VIP Intensive.

In a VIP day, you come together with your client in a very focused fashion to support them with a particular challenge or problem. Instead of spreading out your coaching or consulting time over a matter of weeks or months, you “go deep” over a period of a single day.

The VIP day is a tremendous opportunity to serve your clients at a higher level. They are also a great way to deliver a great deal of VALUE without a lot of your time. That means you can charge a healthy fee while staying firmly in your integrity.

Clients love VIP days. Because you’re focusing on a single problem in a single day, you can go really deep with your clients. And if you design your VIP day in the right way, your clients can get results very quickly, leaving them thrilled with you and likely to return for more of your help.

Best of all, VIP days are simple to enroll, making them the perfect offer during the holiday season when you want to take a little more time off.  (Bonus tip: design a VIP day that’s tied in with the end-of-the-year planning or beginning-of-the-year goals.)

Here are 4 tips for designing your VIP days:

1. Select one topic, outcome and/or result. Remember, simplicity and focused attention will create a better experience for your clients and support them in getting the result that they want. You’re also not “giving away the farm” by overloading your packages with extras you should be charging for.
2. Select a topic that your clients can take action NOW. Call it stalling, procrastination, “sitting on the fence,” resistance – one of the biggest problems clients face is inaction.   As a coach, practitioner or healer, one of the things clients are investing in when they work with you is being held accountable to taking action.   Help them experience what it’s like to finally get moving and get some results – they will love you for it (and come back for more).
3. Don’t undercharge your VIP offering. Because you’re handling the problem in “only” one day, you may be tempted to discount your VIP package. Resist that urge!A deeper, richer experience (with more of your focused, personalized attention, and quicker results) is actually more valuable to your clients, not less. When you design your package correctly, your investment should be several times more than the monthly fee you’re probably charging your clients now (hence the title of this article).
4. Give your clients everything they need to repeat their results. Your VIP day offering will likely include some form of teaching and instruction as well as coaching and mentoring. Make sure to give your clients this system in a way that they can refer back to – and repeat! – again and again. You can do this by including materials such as an ebook, audios, worksheets, etc.

Want my proven template to design and lead your VIP days?  It’s my gift to you when you claim your “virtual seat” in my complimentary video training series.  Grab it now and get your first VIP day client BEFORE the year is out: http://www.6figuregoddessvideos.com

How To Free Up 2 Hours Of Time Each Day (In One Step)

Would you like to know the secret to freeing up literally two hours of your time, each and every day?

If you’re like 99% of the entrepreneurs out there, you can magically create up to 2 hours of time every work day with a single step.

Are you ready for the magic?  Here it is…

Let GO of email.

That’s it.  That’s the secret.

Far too many women entrepreneurs give up their power, their time and their life by being at the beck and call of email.  How do I know?  Because I hear it all the time from my clients, and… I used to be one of them.

Trust me, Goddess, it’s no coincidence that I made my first 6-figures in the same 6-month period that I finally just said NO to the email insanity.  If you want to step into being the Divine Feminine Leader of your business (and make your next big leap in income and impact), you must get a handle on your email.  Here are my 3 favorite tips for taming the email beastie:

1. Stop giving it away.

Be honest, now – how many times have you spent 45 minutes answering a client question that should have been brought to the next session?  How about agonizing to get just the right words (read: so you don’t hurt their feelings) in a response to someone else’s emergency or drama?  Or when a client asks you to “just have a quick peek at my website” and 2 hours later…

When you give away your time to answering client email – you’re doing exactly that: giving away your time.  And you know that once you open that door… your clients are going to ask for more and more.  The answer is to set a clear boundary: stop giving away email access, except for your highest level clients.

Taking this ONE action step will literally change your life.  Here’s some wording you can model, taken from the invitation to one of my programs:

Priority Email Access For Quick Questions And Feedback

As a Divine Feminine Leader member, you get Elizabeth’s “super secret” email address for burning questions and quick feedback.  (Responses within 48 hours, Monday through Thursday.)

Notice how this positioning of my email sets an expectation and a clear boundary, one that I can return to again if issues arise (they rarely do).

2. Create a “super secret” email address – and keep it secret.

Your super-secret email your next clear boundary.  By “super secret,” I mean, ONLY for your family, close friends, team and Platinum clients.  Nobody else.

You can decide if you want to receive newsletters at your super-secret address.  If you do, limit it to the top 5 that you read, and filter them into a folder so you can read them once a week or 5 minutes a day.  Decide what works for you and stick to it.  (And no Facebook notifications!)

Whenever I give my super-secret email to my clients, friends or partners, I am very clear about the rules.  When someone violates them, they’re out.  Yes, I’m ruthless about this.  You should be too!

3. Release control.

All of the mail that comes to your “public email” – whatever you use on your newsletters, website, etc –  should be sorted, handled and answered by an assistant.

(Stay with me!  Keep breathing!)

Giving up email can feel complicated, but it’s really pretty simple.  (Hint: this is a great place for your mind to create confusion and make it seem more overwhelming than it really is.)  When you break it down, your business email will fall into these categories:

• Potential clients
• Current clients
• Potential partners (invites for telesummits, speaking gigs, etc)
• Personal
• Testimonials / raving fans
• Newsletters
• Emails from programs you participate in as a client

Start by creating a simple checklist of what you want your assistant to do for each of these categories. Yes, you’ll oversee your assistant at first, but very quickly they will learn how to respond on your behalf, leaving you free to put your focus where it belongs: income-producing activities.

4. Set a time… and a timer

Respond to email at certain times each day – for example, mid-morning and late afternoon (but definitely not first thing when you wake up!).  Set a timer for how long you’ll answer.  This takes a bit of discipline at first, but stick with it and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll begin to “keep to time…” and how much time you’ll have left over for the things that really matter.

My Favorite – And Fastest – Six-Figure Strategies

All solo businesses go through different stages. There’s the beginning stage, otherwise known as “taking the leap” or “OMG am I really going to do this crazy thing?!”

Then there’s what I affectionately call the blundering-around-trying-to-find-your-way stage, a.k.a. “I’m not sure what I do or who I do it for” (lots of experimenting and course-correcting here)…

Then there’s the “chugging along” stage. You’ve begun to hit your stride, you’re starting to make money… hey, this “crazy thing” just might work! You hang out there for a while because, well, things are good.

And that’s when you nudge up against the sick-and-tired-of-being-at-the-same-level stage. You’re getting restless. The desire for expansion, what Wallace Wattles of Science Of Getting Rich fame calls “more life,” hits… and it’s time to step it up to the next level of income, impact and satisfaction.

I love that stage because it’s such a gift. That tug on your heart is your invitation to make the all-or-nothing decision to break through to a 6-figure income and impact.

The great news is, once you reach this point, you’re not starting from scratch! You’ve been going for a while, so chances are you have everything you need to make the transition quickly and gracefully, with just a few simple actions.

1. Tighten up your niche. Moving to your next level quickly (as opposed to the long and slow road) requires that you focus on a specific problem that people are motivated to invest in to get solved. This means releasing any attachment you may have to your process of deep transformation and getting really focused on what your clients want. Now is the perfect time to look at your niche again, to hone and refine. Are you thinking like a client would? How would they describe the problem you solve?

2. Transition to several levels of service, including a high-end offering. To create 6-figures in your business requires you to stop giving away all of your time in 1-on-1 sessions and instead transition to offering service at different levels of investment and availability. Your 1-on-1 time goes at the highest level, in a premium or high-end service such as a Platinum program or private VIP day.

3. Raise your fees. Once you’ve transitioned to different service levels, thinking in terms of “dollars for hours” and pricing your services at a low hourly rate simply doesn’t work. Instead, get very connected to the value of your new packages and price accordingly – in other words, raise your fees!

One of my favorite exercises for this is to make a list of at least 30 results that are possible for your clients when they work with you. This will force you to get very specific and will keep you connected to all the ways you positively impact your clients’ lives.

4. Systematically grow your list. Now that you’ve repositioned, repackaged and re-priced your services to support more people, it’s time to reach more people. Create a campaign to increase your list, including a clear goal (25% is a good number to start) and a “by when” date (shoot for 30-60 days). One way to do this is to create a new irresistible free offer and launch it as you would a new program, using social media and your current peeps to get the word out.

Remember, growing your business means growing yourself. (Entrepreneurship is not known as “the best personal development course on the planet” for nothing.)

Simple as they may be, these actions are bound to push a few of your buttons. And that’s okay. Think of them as stepping up to a whole new level of service and creating value for your clients – which they are!

One of the ways I’ve systematically grown my list by 500% in 2 years is by adding hundreds of people to my community with every no-cost teleseminar.  For most of these, I did NOT have “big players” promoting for me.  Can I share with you how I did it?  That’s just some of the juicy content I’ll be sharing on my all-NEW complimentary training call, “Leverage Secrets Of 6-Figure Entrepreneurs,” happening on August 30 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET.  Register here to reserve your seat: http://www.marketinggoddess.com/leverage/

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