I was at a women’s luncheon earlier this week at the beautiful Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. It was my first time there and I will definitely be back – with the kids or maybe even by myself

At the event, I was reminded about the “why”. When you’re in business for yourself it’s important to always remember why. Read on to discover your why and how this is extremely important for sales and motivation.

What is Your “Why”?

Connect with yourself for a few minutes and really think about why you started your business. Is it an area you excelled at or were passionate about? Most people have a meaningful reason for starting their business. Maybe something happened in your life that caused you to re-assess your career or made you passionate about fighting for a cause. There is likely a reason of importance hidden in there somewhere

Knowing your why will help you stay motivated. If you’re going through a low point in your business – which we all do, it just means you’re on track with being an entrepreneur! – being aware of your why will connect you with those feelings of excitement and purpose. This will help you stay focused and be inspired to hang in there through ups and downs.

Your why should be everywhere. Successful businesses have their “why” sprinkled throughout their marketing. For instance, my why is to help people do what makes them happy. This involves dreaming big, going for it and not settling for less. I include this on my website, in my bio and when I’m out talking to others. The background of my “why” usually comes up in conversation too. The short answer is that I felt stuck in my career and ended up watching the movie “The Secret”, which changed my life forever. People like hearing this story and feel connected to me as a result. This helps me build relationships, which in turn helps me grow my business. While I was at the luncheon earlier this week, I inspired someone to watch the movie again! That alone made my day. If I can motivate just one person to do something that will better their lives, then it’s been a good day

The other “why” to be aware of is in terms of sales (let’s face it, every entrepreneur is in sales), why should someone work with you? You’ve probably heard of WIIFM. In case you haven’t it stands for; What’s in it for me? People aren’t really interested in how you do things; it’s more about what you can do for them. What results will they get as a result from working with you? What can you do for them? If you know this and have prepared your sales calls around the answers, you will be much more appealing to your prospects. You can also include this “why” in all of your marketing. People want to know how you will solve whatever issue/problem they are facing. Take a few minutes and right down everything you do for your current clients. This will help you identify the results others get as a result of working with you.

Remembering your “why” everyday will keep you motivated and help you feel like you’re contributing to something bigger then just you. It will inspire you to keep going. Our world needs you and your unique gifts, so please hang in there through thick and thin

This week we’re in Canada – brrr! We came back for a wedding and are enjoying visiting with family & friends! I’m also happy to do a little networking while I’m in a different country! Telling 3 people a day what you do really helps to grow your network.

As I’ve been establishing my business here in California, I’ve been attending a lot of networking events. It seems to me that a lot of people are still networking “old school”! Like sitting down to a table, passing around a stack of cards without even meeting anyone. In that person’s defense, I just don’t’ think she knows any better. I’m excited to be sharing some tips with the young professionals group of the local Chamber, where I will go over a few tips on how to build meaningful relationships that lead to referrals.

“4 Tips to Effective Networking”

Tip #1: The know, like & trust factor. Most of you have probably heard about this before. Essentially people usually only refer others that they know, like and trust. The popular networking group, BNI, is structured in this way. A weekly meeting is held and at each meeting members are expected to pass a referral or to have met with someone from the group in-between meetings. They understand that even when a person is involved in a networking group they will only refer to others within the group if they have a relationship with them and trust them. It takes a little time and effort to get to know someone before referring business to them and for it to be reciprocated.

Tip #2. Set the intention to have a great conversation when you’re meeting new people. I don’t know about you, but I find small talk exhausting. I don’t want to talk about the weather and surface level topics. I like having a deep conversation with people. It’s about connecting on a deeper level and building relationships with people you connect with. I want to refer to people that I really like and believe in. If someone doesn’t sit right with me, then they probably won’t with the people I know either. I also know that they are a right fit for someone else. There is lots of abundance for everyone. I always set the intention before attending an event, that I will have at least one great conversation. Low and behold, I always do!

So definitely don’t go to a meeting and just hand out a bunch of cards and expect your phone to be ringing off the hook. Take the time to have at least one meaningful conversation with someone. You might be thinking that one connection versus reaching out to many doesn’t make sense. The reality though, is that people won’t just call you if you’ve passed your card to them and haven’t even at least met them. It’s a waste of cards. That one connection can make all of the difference.

Tip #3. Think about how you can honestly help people at these events. When I meet new people, I’m truly interested in how I can move them forward and I always have my ears open to whom I can connect them with in order to do just that. This serves a few purposes. First, it just feels good to help people without trying to “get” something for yourself. People don’t want to be “sold” to and these networking situations are especially awkward when people are trying to do just that. I find it helpful to ask the person I’m talking to a bunch of questions about themselves and be thinking the whole time about I can help them. You will have your turn to let them know what you do too at the right time.

Second, by approaching the conversation his way, it helps to build the trust factor with them. They see that you are a genuine person and nice to be around. This is the first step in building a meaningful relationship.

Tip #4. What to do post-event? It’s important to have a follow-up system in place for the next morning after an event and to allot time for this in your calendar. If someone has expressed interest in receiving my weekly articles, I will make sure they are signed-up to do that. For anyone I felt a connection with, I will ask them to go for a coffee or for lunch. Meaning, I would like to start building a relationship with them whether the purpose is to work together personally or to add them as a center of influence (people who refer business to you). It’s best to meet with people in-person whenever you can. You will really get to know them this way and vice versa. For anyone I exchange cards with, I will make sure to send them a note by email the next morning, and then look for them on facebook so that we can stay connected on a regular basis. For you this might be a different social media venue depending on which one you’ve had the most success with.

It’s also important to stay in touch with the people you meet on a regular basis. If they are a center of influence, then following-up with them in-person once a quarter is reasonable or more, depending on the amount of referrals they provide. Like any relationship that’s important, you want to be sure take the time to nourish it. Of course this shouldn’t feel like any type of chore, because the people you have developed these relationships with you likely really enjoy being around.

Happy Networking & Business Building!

Here is a picture of Jason and I relaxing in Ojai last weekend. We had an amazing time relaxing, hiking, playing tennis and even sitting by the pool! We even saw the most magnificent rainbow ever! Ojai is truly a special place

This week I finished up the workshop series I’ve been doing over at Pitzer College here in Claremont. I have to say the students there are super amazing! They are already doing great things with their lives and left me feeling inspired. I feel honoured having had the chance to teach and learn from them. The topics I taught this week are particularly special to me – limiting beliefs and the law of attraction. I am fascinated how it can be as simple as a shift in perspective to make our whole world either fall upside down or be the missing piece to following our dreams. Read on to learn how you can shift your perspective and attract more of what you do want into your life.
“Shift Your Perspective & Change Your Life!”

For a change in perspective, start off by asking for it. When I was trying to make my big dream of moving to another country come true, I found myself using this a lot. There seemed to be a lot of limiting beliefs holding me back. I felt very guilty for moving away from our families and I had a lot of personal work to do before I could make the move and feel okay about it. Part of it had to do with learning how to say no, and set boundaries with family and friends. I used to ask the universe for a shift in perspective constantly. Guess what? It always worked! It would usually happen after getting a good night sleep. I would wake up feeling refreshed and with a clear outlook on whatever situation had been causing me grief. Sometimes it would take coming a across a book, quote or even a conversation with someone else to help me make the shift. Whatever the way, it always worked.

Set the intention for what you want. Setting the intention for what you want is the key to your success. By success, I mean having happiness in all areas of your life. When you set the intention to achieve something, you put energy towards making it happen. From there, you will start building the momentum necessary to making whatever it is a reality. You can set a positive intention for anything. For example, I like to start off my day feeling thankful for what I am and have in my life. First of all, feeling thankful just feels good and second, it helps you attract more of what feels good to you, i.e. more good things! I like to walk our dog first thing in the morning, and I always set the intention of feeling thankful by the end of our walk. Low and behold, I always end up thinking about what I’m grateful for right before I return home. This helps me start off my day from a positive place.

You can also set the intention for things like having a positive conversation before jumping on the phone, having at least one meaningful chat at a networking event and being creative before sitting down to work. You will then attract to yourself what you need to make that intention come true. You will think of a great idea, or manifest a situation or experience that will bring you just what you want. It will always work if you believe it will. I have recently decided I would like to speak more as part of my business. It has been flowing ever since I made the decision. Just earlier this week I was getting my nails done. The owner of the salon introduced me to another customer who just happens to work at one of the local universities. We started chatting and ended up exchanging cards! She just happens to have a meeting next week where they will be planning their speaking agenda for next fall and asked to see my bio before then. It’s truly amazing what can happen once you decide what you want and set the intention to make it happen. Let go and let it flow, as I like to say!