Are you one of those people that slow things down because we are close to the holidays? If you are, how do you feel in January? Are you fighting to find business, feeling frustrated, stressed about bills? I used to be one of those people and I hated January, it was a new start but I sometimes felt like I was starting over.

What if you did not slow down? What if you continued to give value, connect with people, create collaborations with complimentary business owners, and went out of your way to meet new people and understand what their challenges are? Now, I am not saying don’t take a vacation and enjoy time with your family. Business owners that keep business on a high level during Nov and Dec have amazing January’s.

Karen is in the investment and insurance sector. She is all about giving value to her clients, go above and beyond to connect them with the right people to support them in the challenges they may be having. She had been building her...

50 may just be a number, but its also how many years I’ve been on this beautiful earth.

50 Lessons By 50 

1.  You are the only one that can make what other people say mean something about you.
   
   
2. If you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything. (My Mom)
   
   
3. Other peoples opinion of you is non of your business
   
   
4. Your relationships matter, you need to put time into them.
   
   
5. Practice Gratitude, every day it will change your life.
   
   
6. Every day is a new chapter in your book of life. Decide how it will be written. You get to decide. 
   
   
7. Other people's opinion only matters if you let it
   
   
8. Never put your life on hold for business. Your family may not wait for you.
   
   
9. What ever...

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. They are the kind of people that don’t give up.   They are told ‘they can’t do it’. They reply, ‘thank you for sharing’ - and quietly say to themselves, ‘watch me‘.  They know anything is possible and that they need a powerful vision and a plan. They are not afraid to take on the unknown and ‘figure it out’ as they go. Being a business owner is not always easy - but it is rewarding and does not need to be as hard as we some times make it.   

10 things you need to be a successful Entrepreneur:

1. A Purpose – Your Why 
2. Determination and Focus
3. The ability to see the big picture - and the details 
4. To recognize what ‘you do best and delegate the rest‘
5. The confidence to ignore the naysayers  
6. The ability to think outside the box
7. To be a strong, active listener
8. The ability to lead so others want to follow you
9. An understanding that your...

The growth of all business comes from customers and meeting the needs of those customers regardless of what you are selling. So how do we attract them, where do we find them, how do we show them we have the right solution for their needs! 

Knowing what you do, what you have to offer and who wants to buy your product or service is the key. The clearer you are, the easier it is to clearly identify who is your ideal client/clients. 

I really liked this article that lays out 7 ways to attract new customers. It is simple and to the point. It also reinforces the importance of stepping back and working on your business. Industries change, target markets can also change so knowing your business, your market place/industry and target market sets you up powerfully to stay in front of your competition.  

Enjoy the read.

Carolyn Dickinson
Executive Coach
Carolyn Dickinson Success Coaching
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As stated in many articles we spend 80% of our waking hours in some form of communication. That is a lot of time and leaves much room for misunderstandings, and assumptions.  What people perceive becomes fact for them. Their past and life has taught them to think and listen in a certain way. Now we can’t be expected to understand and know what everyone’s past or life experience have been. What we can do is improve our way of communicating with others so our information lands in a way that could be heard and understood in the way it is being presented.   

There is always room for improvement in anything we do and communicating is definitely one of those areas we need to continuously work on, especially because we spend 80% of our time doing it.

I found the article below by Calvin Sun to be very helpful and informative. It is in alignment with what I teach my clients and how I practice my communication.  

Enjoy the article and if there is...

I did not realize how important LinkedIn is for my business until a couple of years ago when pitching to a client and the first thing he did before we met was take a look at my LinkedIn Profile. I had one but it defiantly did not portray me or my company in the way it should, and the potential client called me on it.

Well that was all it took. So, I hired an expert in LinkedIn to create my profile. I provided her with all of my information, links, pictures, etc. We talked about target market and who I wanted to connect with. It was done in a few days, I was happy that I did not have to do it and it was professional and properly represented who I was and what I was capable of.

I really like this article as is provides information on how imported LinkedIn has become to business owners. It also identifies the importance of your profile depicting who you are and what you have to offer, in the right way.

Enjoy the read.

Carolyn Dickinson
International Success Coach, Speaker, and...

This is one of my favorite articles.  It embodies the simplicity of be successful yet most of us make it very difficult.  Own and running a business is not easy but it definitely does not need to be as hard as we tend to make.   I was watching a show with my 10-year daughter Myia, there was a couple that liked each other but were I guess kind of uncomfortable and unsure.  She turned to me and said, “mom why are they making it so difficult.”  It was a great observation and lead into a fabulous conversation on how we choose to look at situations, react to them and the importance of communication.     

When we are in the middle of everything it is sometimes hard to have perspective.   This list 13 simple things we could give up to have the success we want.  Enjoy the read, I did. 

Carolyn Dickinson
International Executive Coach,
Speaker, Trainer & Author
www.carolyndickinson.com

Character building experiences happen all the time. Recently I had a full week planned with dead lines, client calls and appointments outside the office. Well Tuesday of that same week my 10-year-old daughter woke up quite sick and was not able to go to school for 3 days. The week had to be adjusted.  Being an Entrepreneur and a mom like many other women, I am always multitasking and looking for ways to be more organized and efficient with my time.

We all have those days or weeks when life happens and stuff comes up: strategy meetings, training new people, kids starting school for the first time, teething, family challenges, lack of sleep, and life to name a few.  Sometimes all of these things happen in one week.  The bottom line is, as an entrepreneur regardless of what is going on in life, we still need to run our business.

In my 18 years in business I have learned a few things and want to share with you 10 tips I live by:

1. Never put off something you...

I love hanging out with my kids because they are always teaching me lessons and allowing me to see the results of my reactions.  When my eldest daughter was 4 she was always pushing the limits and has been doing so since she was two years old.   It’s her job.
 

When I was pregnant with my second daughter I had to go shopping for a pair of open back shoes as my feet were swelling and I could not fit into anything.  I brought my eldest daughter with me who was 2 ½ years old at the time. She found these shoe horns and space pads under the seat I was sitting on.  She pulled some out and was playing with them when she then looked at me and said “Mommy can I have these?”.  I automatically said “no they belong to the store and they are not for us to take”.  She looked right at me and said I can ask.  I was just about to say no again and something reminded me about a training I took a while back that in life...

Many people think they cannot make a difference.  They might not have the money or the contacts to really create an impact that will really matter.  Well I am here to tell you that every little bit helps and small donations can make a huge difference in someone’s life. 

I was chatting with an amazing lady by the name of Teresa Kruze and how we might be able to work together.  Before I have a call with anyone I do my homework and look up who they are what they do and the kinds of organizations they are affiliated with.  I came across a blog she wrote and I asked her if I could share it with you.  Teresa shared a personal experience she had and the impact of how a small donation can make a big difference.

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“I had one of those “moments” last night that I’d really like to share with you.  I belong to a women’s book club where we meet monthly...