Don’t be scurred! is a line from a movie somewhere that our kids used to use, especially when we were out camping.

You’ll notice that my blog is usually me talking to myself.
My future has been freed up and I’m off on a new path.

If you feel you have a knack or a talent for something, give it a try.
Just get started and get moving.

Don’t be scurred! and even if you are, stick your toe in the water.
It’s almost never boiling…

I’ve fallen off the blogging and internet connection wagon and now I’m back on.
I guess if I hired someone to do it, it would probably have been going the whole time, but there you go.

Anyway – If you’re reading I hope you’re business and life are great and in balance.

Have a great life and Don’t be scurred!

Ned

You may be thinking – I don’t have any clients yet – how can I get testimonials?

Ask your friends – there is a very good chance that you have already been doing some variant of your dream business with your friends and family. Ask them questions that will help them explain what you do for them.

I’ll give an example – if you want to be a coach, then ask these questions of people who you counsel and who appreciate the advice you offer.

First ask – what is it about me that makes you ask me for advice?
They may say, “You’re easy to talk to, have good ideas, and want the best for me.”

Then ask “How does that help you?”
They may say, “I feel comfortable talking to you, so can work out things as I talk.”

Then ask, “Why do you take my advice?”
They may say something like, “I appreciate your advice, even if I don’t follow it all the time. You are thoughtful and I can tell that you listened to my concern or issue and often offer a great solution.”

Then ask, “When we are done chatting about your issue, how do you feel?”
They may say something like, “I feel calmer, as I have more available solutions and can see new possibilities.” Or they may say, “I feel motivated to take the next step.” or anything else.

This is your gold for starting your business – What do you do? Why do they “buy”? How do they feel?

Good luck and have a great day!

Ned

I’m still learning and maybe you’ll learn better and faster than me.

Here’s what I say that I offer:

Proven, tested processes that help you save time and energy to spend on the most important areas of your life.
An extra 20 hours per week to use as you would like.

But how does that make you feel as a customer?

This is where the testimonials come in.

I would never have thought of the lines that came from testimonials from clients. Think about it – when you give a testimonial for something that really moved you, do you talk about the process or the feelings.

Here’s what I heard – it made me happy to hear it AND it helped me more clearly communicate it.

“Ned says he sells tried and true methods for handsome sums and hopes for friendly faces worldwide, but I think he brings his clients love and forgiveness so that they can hear their dreams and ideas and manifest abundant lives.”

“This class has allowed me to stop and really think about what is truly important to me and to be able to make all of my decisions base on those things. It taught me to be realistic and gentle with myself. It taught me to change my outlook and perception of “being perfect and being everywhere for everyone”. It taught me to put my foot on my brakes and to be able to just sit back and enjoy my ride. It taught me to find success in the little steps and to smile and be happy with the outcomes (good or not so good).”

I never would have said it that way – I’m way to close to my material to give a review of how it will make you feel.

That’s one of the great things about working with people, even if you aren’t perfect. You’ll learn when you ask for testimonials and input. You’ll hear the good AND the bad. The good helps with marketing material, the bad helps with personal development and product improvement. If you keep studying, you’ll NEVER get this information. Take a chance – do what you do with real people and get the real results. You may be surprised to find that what you think that you offer is nothing like what they receive.

You’ll notice my new sales page for my coaching program is almost all based upon testimonials. Even the sentences that aren’t quoted came from my clients. Thanks to all of you who took the time to help me (you know who you are).

http://www.switchitnow.com/doyourdreams1.htm

So – think about how people will FEEL after they have been with you – because that’s all that really matters to any of us.

And start working with people sooner rather than later (yep, that’s the next post).

Good luck!

Ned

You should be looking at me as a potential customer. You should look at everyone you meet as a potential customer.

It took me years to look at the world this way.

Think of it. If you have something great that you are offering, why wouldn’t you tell everyone you know about it? Why not shout if from the highest mountain? If your service is really great, transformative, useful – which we all want our services to be, then why are you reluctant to tell people about it?

There are generally three reasons that we hold back.

1. We’re afraid of what people will think.
2. We don’t know how to explain what we do or deliver.
3. We don’t know exactly what we are selling.

This post will talk about number 3, because without knowing exactly what we are selling, we could never explain what we are going to deliver.

It’s probably because YOU know that you can make a difference, but you haven’t figured out how to explain it in terms that makes the other person think, “I have got to try this!”

To find out exactly what you are selling there is one easy way to do it and a couple of harder ways to do it.

First – the easy way. Ask people that you worked with what they get out of their interactions with you. Do they feel happier, more peaceful, more organized, more motivated, inspired to act…? If you have already worked with a few clients or have a few customers, ask them for testimonials. The testimonials from my clients tell the story of my business and the benefits of working with me much more clearly than I can make up a sales pitch. You’ll notice my site has testimonials on each page. I also use them when developing my sales pages.

Here’s a sample of a sales page. You see how testimonials tell much of the story.

So – that’s the easy way.

Now the hardest way – sit by yourself and look at your business. Think about your customers. What BENEFITS do you offer to them? As a customer I don’t really care too much about how much schooling or training you have had, as long as you can make me feel better. If I need surgery, I’ll check your credentials, but if you’re a coach or a healer and have skills or products, I don’t care if you have 2 years of experience or 20 years. Remember, we’re selling BENEFITS, not skills or credentials. While credentials and training are important to get your foot in the door, what people are buying is the benefit. People work with me because it helps make their lives or businesses work better for them. The may have found me or contacted me because I went to Stanford or sang at Carnegie Hall, but that’s not what convinces them to buy. Remember – this is the hard way. We all tend to focus on our skills and training, rather than the results that we offer. That’s why I recommend looking outside yourself for assistance here.

So, what EXACTLY are you selling?

What do you do AND how does it make your customers or clients lives better?

Because, at the end of the day, if your customers don’t feel better about their lives or businesses after their interaction with you, they won’t be your customers for long.

And now, the intermediate version. If you don’t want to ask people what benefits you offer them or don’t have any testimonials YET, take a look on the internet for people who have similar skills and see how they sell them. Look at people that you respect. How do they present themselves? What are the benefits you feel from working with them? Then turn it around and see how your business benefits your customers.

Good luck with this – work with a few people, ask your friends and look for the next post on preparing your elevator pitch.

Ned

p.s. – I do read and appreciate your comments – I’d love to hear your opinion on this stuff.

The truth of small business is that you will NEVER be done improving your business.

If you are starting your own business, there are literally thousands of things to do before everything is “just so.” Then, after you have your business going, there are more and more layers of the business.

I’m saying this so that you can accept the fact that you will never be done working on your business.

Now that you know your inbox will be full when you die, we can get on to doing the most important things in the business.

The first thing to do when you are starting a business is look at what you want to sell. Even if you aren’t asking for money, you may be asking others to invest their time with you. Often to get started, you will need to sell people, even though you are offering it for free. Massage therapists do hours of free sessions as part of their training. I did a lot of coaching for free and in a business environment before I started looking for clients.

What do you want to sell? What is your dream business?

Think about this. At the same time, remember, you can’t do it all.

Find coaches, partners, supportive friends, anyone who has been where you are to help you. When you say, “I need your help.” people will line up to help you, once you know what you are selling.

The next post will talk about how I would want you to educate me on your business if I were a  potential customer or if you came to ask me for help.

Once we agree that the list of tasks will fill a lifetime we can start to accept that it’s not going to be perfect. We can’t do everything that a great business needs in the first day. What we can do it make a little progress each day toward our goal of our dream business.

Be nice to yourself. Know that it takes time to build your business. Treat yourself as you would a beloved friend who is learning something new. At times, there will be tremendous frustration and upset as you work towards your dreams.

Step back, take a breath, let the upset go and start anew.

You can’t do it all, but you can do it!

Ned

p.s. – if you need help taking a breath, feel free to subscribe to my Coaching Newsletter at the right of your screen for free one-minute relaxation audios, plus great discounts on my products.

Do you need to make money NOW?

Here’s the good news. If you need to make money now, I don’t have anything to sell you. Just read on and you’ll get my opinion on the best way to start on your “dream” business.

Lots of us have dreams on how we can make it in the world (or maybe even make it BIG in the world). Dreams are great, affirmations are great, visualizing is great. However, if the wolves are at your door or out in the front yard sharpening their claws, it’s tough to stay focused on the dream part of the business.

If you really need money NOW, here’s what I’d recommend to you. 3 steps – none of them involve spending any money or learning anything new.

1. Make a list of what you are good at and what people have paid you to do in the past.

2. Separate this list into three categories
(A) I’m excited to do this, (B) I’m happy to do this, (C) I’m willing to do this

2. Send this list of skill areas to five people who are close to you and ask the following question. “Hi friend, I’m really in a spot and need to make some money NOW. Here’s what I think that I’m good at and I enjoy doing (list areas A and B). I’m willing to do anything on those lists (and probably lots of other stuff) for $XX per hour or $YY per day. If you think there’s something that I could do for you or someone you know, please let me know. If I’ve left anything off of the list that you think I am good at, please let me know so that I can add it. I would really appreciate any help that you offer. Thanks so much for your help!

3. Follow up with these 5 people and ask for feedback.

4. Repeat with another 5 or 10 people until you have more work than you can do.

Feel free to join my mailing list www.nedkraft.com/coaching.html (the form is at the bottom of the page). You’ll get my one minute relaxation product for free, plus bonus materials and discounts that you can use when you’re back on your financial feet. I won’t spam you or sell your name to anybody.
Thanks for reading – check back for the next installment.

Ned

www.nedkraft.com

Here’s a story on it:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Distracted-Driving-What-You-Dont-See

To see the other costs of your phone, read on.

Your phone is draining your energy and your attention.

It’s not the microwaves, it’s the interruptions – costing you your life, one instant at a time.

You’ll see it if you decide to turn your phone off when you drive. You will feel like you are missing out on something. You may find yourself wanting to check your texts or emails every time you have a moment. Every stop sign, each time traffic slows. I’m recommending you reconsider and look at those open moments as gifts and use them to allow your head to clear from the busyness of everyday life.

Now – back to the interruptions.

It takes several minutes to recover from each interruption that we experience. If we take every phone call and text and e-mail as it comes in, we will be ground to a halt.

Of course, we will develop coping mechanisms and tell ourselves that we are busy AND productive, but it will invariably grind us down as the days, weeks and months go by.

Remember when we drove home and enjoyed the music or watched the sunset?

Turn the thing off every once and a while and you’ll find the relief to be almost immediate. After you recover from the initial panic of “I can’t be disconnected!”, you’ll feel the extra space that having your phone off offers. If you work for 30 minutes per day with your phone off, you’ll be a better employee. If you turn off your phone and computer for an hour each day at home, you’ll be a better spouse and parent.

Let me know how the phone off test goes and check out more good stuff at my site.

Make your good life great.

Ned

www.nedkraft.com

Do you feel that processes and structure will snuff out your creativity?

Spend one minute with me and your mind may change.

Discipline and process don’t need to be scary or difficult. Discipline is nothing more than putting a structure or process around what you want to do or be. It is a routine that you can repeat with support that you can count on.

When you do a process or follow a structure, it is still your choice. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t do it. But, if you want do do something and can’t, consider using a process and some discipline. If you are resistant to or “against” structure or discipline, your attempts to be amazingly successful may be falling short. Let me explain how

Discipline and process can be your friends, rather that your adversaries.

Let’s say you want to get into better physical condition or lose weight. You have the diet plan. You have the exercise plan. We all know the solution – eat less and move move. So what’s the problem? Why don’t we meet our own goals?

The Secret and the Law of Attraction have been very helpful in helping you “think thin” and clear blocks in getting to a body that you love. But still, the behaviors don’t follow, so the body doesn’t comply with your new thinking.

The missing link is discipline or process. Here’s how processes can work to support you. Once you start following a plan that gets you doing what you want to do, your positive thinking keeps the momentum going.

I’ll use my exercise as an example. I have a process that gets me to the gym 3 days a week for aerobics and weight lifting and 2 days a week for yoga. The process that I use involves my wife Deborah. Close to 10 years ago Deborah became fitness instructor. When I stopped working a regular job I started going to her aerobics class occasionally. As time passed, we started going to class three mornings each week. We have now been doing this for more than 5 years.

Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to start walking on most days. I started out with 15 minutes and let Deborah know that I wanted to add walking to my schedule. Now I walk or run at least 4 days per week when I am home. We also have added yoga two times per week to our routine in the last year. It’s a joy for us to do this together.

Without process, it is easy and almost inevitable that we fall back into our old patterns. With process, we can break free of the invisible shackles of our patterns.

That’s discipline. That’s process. It doesn’t snuff out your creativity, it allows more space for creativity. It can even be enjoyable. Think of that – you can enjoy process and discipline AND do what you want to do.

Decide, get regular support, and build a process and routine around the things that you feel are important.

And let me know how it works for you.

Ned

www.nedkraft.com