You want to start a business. You have dreamed of this for years, ever since graduating or starting school. So what’s been holding you back?

Do this: Close your eyes and imagine you are at the edge of a huge cliff. You are looking over the Grand Canyon. There is a huge expanse of air in front of you and below you. And I am asking you to jump, spread your wings, and know that you can fly! Can you? Only YOU can answer that question. You really can do anything you want to do. It just takes will and planning.

Many times I hear from people who tell me they will contact me for help in starting up their business ‘when I’m ready’. There have also been times when these same people finally call out of desperation: Their need to ‘just do it’ has become stronger than waiting for that ‘perfect time’. And they are able to create their dream business, afterall.

Does this sound like you? Are you waiting until things are just perfect before you seriously start working on creating the business of your dreams? You have every certification you can think you might ever need. You attend every educational seminar on every topic you think people might ask you about. You’re sure there is something you are missing, however.

But what is really holding you back? Is it fear of failure? Many people are petrified that they will step up, or jump from that cliff, and fall flat on their face. They will look like a fool and feel like a failure, but imagine the regret they live with as they look back on their life and didn’t even give it a try. You will never look back and wish you had NOT taken action to live your dream. Many people do think about the things they did NOT do, however.

Yes, it is true that over 50% of the 600,000 new businesses that start each year fail in the first year. What is more important to know, however, is that many of those failed businesses didn’t even start with a serious plan before they opened their doors! No wonder they failed! Have you heard the phrase, ‘failing to plan is a plan for failure’? This means that if you don’t know where you’re going, you are unlikely to get there. Would you plan a cross-country trip without mapping out your plan? Then why would anyone consider starting a business without setting up goals, objectives and action steps to make it happen?

Fear of failure is the most often sited reason for hesitation to starting up a business. But, what people seldom talk about, which is a much more real concern is the fear of success! What if your business grows and becomes more than you ever imagined? What does THAT mean? Many people find that more frightening than failing. If they fail, they can at least go back to what was safe and easy. If they succeed, they will experience even more challenges as their business grows and becomes more than just ‘them’.

Margie
MEG Enterprises

Do YOU struggle with the planning to make your success happen? If so, let me help you set your entire 2012 plan up, which includes what you have to offer and how you will promote it. We can do this in the “Marketing Plan in a Day” VIP intensive coaching session. To learn more, click here.

You have been accepted to speak at a professional conference and the organization wants your materials and slides in 2 months. You have added this task into your marketing calendar and today you will start working on it. And – business is booming! In fact, you just heard from a potential client who has decided that she would like to start working with you next month. This means she needs your welcome packet and invoice. And you received a notice while checking email that one person bought your book and another person purchased some materials from your website. You realize that you need to take care of these things immediately, so instead of working on your materials, you take care of these items.

Stopping to handle product fulfillment, client management and accounting are HUGE time zaps! Not only can they disrupt working on projects that will bring in money for the company, but are actually costing you money! How is this so, you ask? If you consider what you charge, you have to realize that that is what you are spending for your OWN work. So, if you charge $100/hour and spend 3 hours on the tasks above, you have just cost the company $300.

Hire it out
When growing a new business, it is scary to consider hiring people, but when you consider the savings AND that this then frees you up to make MORE money, it’s almost a no-brainer (I didn’t say it’s not scary, though!).

If you find an assistant who can not only answer the phone, but also do your entire client billing and scheduling, what is that worth to you? Many assistants might charge between $20-45/hour, so you again are saving money if you had to pay your assistant for 3 hours for them to take care of these tasks, while you write your speech and work on other programs, services and products for your clients. And today that assistant can either be right there in your town, or across the country!

There also comes a time when you will be ready for a bookkeeper to handle all of the accounting for your company. If your business is NOT accounting/bookkeeping, this is another task that can be hired out. Imagine not having to ever go into your accounting software, again! The same thing is so with an accountant, which, if you are already in business, you should have, anyway. Take advantage of the expertise that these people have to help you grow your business.

Using technology
The final important aspect of managing your time is taking advantage of the technology that is available, today. Examples include:

• Autoresponders
• Shopping carts

Assuming you already have a website, just as essential is an autoresponder. The LAST thing you want to spend your time on is manually sending out emails when someone buys from you or signs up for your newsletter! And this is not what you want to be paying your assistant to do, either. An autoresponder is a program that automatically sets up to send particular people emails. When you sign up for a newsletter, or you purchase something online, if you receive an email, that usually has been generated by an autoresponder. Most assistants today can set up autoresponders.

Although it’s free and easy to set up a PayPal account and generate ‘buy now’ buttons for your website, once you offer more than one item on your site, it’s time for a shopping cart. A shopping cart works much like a shopping cart in a grocery store: If you want to buy more than one item, you put it in the shopping cart, and when you’re ready to buy, you ‘check out’, thus pay for all the items at once.

What is important to know about shopping carts is they must coordinate with your merchant account. Again, this is where a knowledgeable assistant can be INVALUABLE. Not only can they perform tasks that would take you hours or days to learn, but while they’re setting up such systems for your company, you are again making more money by seeing clients or working on new products and services.

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you struggle with getting things done? Do you have a vision for your business, but are unclear how to make it happen? Come join us for the Prosperity Secrets Platinum for 2012 and move from chaos and analysis paralysis to balance, clarity, structure and prosperity.

You’ve been DREAMING about what it would be like to open your own private practice. It’s been on your mind since you were in school, and there are times, especially on Monday mornings, that you daydream about it.

But, you’re not really sure what it would look like. You don’t have the first clue how to get started, and of course you’re AFRAID that you would put your heart and soul into it, only to fail and look like a fool. You barely even talk about it out loud, because you don’t want family and friends to laugh at you.

But, anything is possible! The only limitations we have are the ones we put on ourselves! With planning and learning the steps, and doing your homework, if this is something you really want to do, you can do it, AND succeed greatly at it, too!

I’m not saying it’s easy! Nothing worth having is. I have had to learn a great deal; about myself, about business, about my clients and potential clients. And it never ends, because my interests and passions change with the years. But, how exciting!

When my daughter started kindergarten, I returned to school. It took me five years to get through school, but I had a vision: I wanted to help people become healthy and fit in the privacy of their own homes. After school, I didn’t have that plan fully in place, even in my mind, but after 6 years working in a hospital, I was ready. I opened MEG Fitness in June, 1996. It’s been an incredible ride! I’ll never look back at my life with regrets that I didn’t pursue my dream. I really have learned that the only limits are those I impose on myself, too! So, I continue to dream BIGGER and allow my vision to become more grand. Why not? What’s the worst that can happen??

That’s what you have to ask yourself. If you never try, will you be happier? If you never try, how will you know if you could have done it? Consider some of the well-known names in sports, such as Michael Jordan, the basketball player; he has thrown more MISSED shots than those that have made their mark. What if he had not taken the chance to see what was possible for himself?

Ok, so now you’re ready to take the next step! First, in order to help you focus, I recommend that people start working on their business plan. The Small Business Association has invaluable resources on their website. This was the route I took. A year before I quit the hospital, I started working on my business plan. It helped me determine exactly who I was, what I offered, why, who my ideal client was, who my target market was (at that time), who my competition was, where I would offer my services, how I would offer them, and so on. As I coach other registered dietitian’s who want this dream, I now use a 3-page business plan for clients who don’t plan to look for outside funding. Regardless of the type of business plan, it will help answer many hard questions for you.

There are resources specific to dietitians, too, including other great dietitians who help others get started. Of course, the Nutrition Entrepreneurs DPG is an invaluable resource with the different specialty groups within the DPG, as well as the private listservs for each group.

Once you have your business plan in place, it’s not time to celebrate, yet! How are you going to accomplish the goals you have come up with in that plan? You next need a marketing plan. Now, although the marketing plan is also part of a business plan, it’s really just the intro! The marketing plan will become your template, your schedule, and will spell out the actions you will take to make those goals reality. If you use it seriously, it will be your day-to-day guide to making your dreams come true!

You’ve been dreaming about what it would be like to open your own private practice. Now that you have a few tips on how to get started and what you need to do, the only thing stopping you from investigating further is you! Just imagine if 50% of all registered dietitians were in private practice! I KNOW we could not only change our industry, but we could change the world! Yes, I do have a grand vision…

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you dream of a thriving wellness business? Are you a health practitioner or registered dietitian who imagines not only changing the course of people’s lives, but enjoying a successful business at the same time? Then check out the Prosperity Secrets Platinum program for 2012 and see if that’s the course YOU need to take to achieve greatness for yourself. To learn more, go here.

I talk all the time about balance. And it’s something I help my clients with, from the moment we start to work together. And even while working with clients over a long period of time, we continue to come back to it quite often.

What is YOUR picture of balance?

For me, it’s being very clear how much I want to work and how much I want to play.. and how much I want to just relax and NOT think about work.

But I have to admit something: I was just as caught up as the rest of you in TRYING to achieve balance!

How did I achieve it, then? I have a system!

1. I create a clear schedule, so I know when I have time to work in AND on the business. This includes blocking off my personal time from the start.
2. I create a weekly list (based on my marketing and promotions plans for the month) of things to do.
3. I prioritize my weekly list and ONLY work on one thing at a time.
4. I walk away when it’s time to remove from work!

Sure, I get caught up in adding just a little more here and there sometimes. I don’t think anyone with a successful business DOESN’T! But, I’m able to quickly take check of what’s happening and go back to my system.

What systems do YOU have in place to achieve balance?

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you struggle with balance and success? Do you wish you could enjoy a life WHILE also enjoying a thriving wellness business? Then you need to check out the Prosperity Secrets Platinum program for 2012. To learn more, go here.

I’ll always remember doing a ropes course and, in the middle of an oncoming hurricane, climbing a 30 foot pole. The temperatures were warm, but the rain was falling and the wind was blowing. As I climbed up that pole, the higher I got, the more it swayed. As I got to the top and realized I would have to let go of the pole with my hands in order to climb to the little platform, all my confidence and sense of adventure dissolved. Even with a harness on, and logically knowing I couldn’t get hurt, I froze.

But I’ll also never forget the thrill of power when I jumped off the top of that little platform into the air. That’s when I realized my true calling of empowering people to achieve whatever they imagine achieving. That jump again reminded me and reinforced my belief that all of us can achieve whatever we can imagine.

Until that time, I hid out. Yea, I may have known what I was capable of. But what if I FAILED?? What if I risked and fell flat on my face? But while hiding out, although my business did “okay”, it wasn’t “amazing.” It wasn’t until I was willing to REALLY step up, and RISK, that I saw amazing results. Not just results in my own business, but results for my clients, too.

I’ve always believed that we are all here for some purpose, though, and the last thing I EVER want to do is look back at my life… wishing I had…. wishing I had whatever it was I dreamed of doing.

As an example, I still remember my grandmother the year before she died telling me she wished they had traveled more. This was a woman who, after my grandfather sold his business, was never home! They took their motor home to every corner of the US and Canada and Mexico. And when it was too hard to drive, they then started to explore the world through cruises. Yet here she was, telling me she wished she had done MORE!

What do you fear doing, yet dream of? When will YOU jump off that pole of safety and risk greatness?

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you dream of a thriving wellness business? Are you a health practitioner or registered dietitian who imagines not only changing the course of people’s lives, but enjoying a successful business at the same time? Then check out the Prosperity Secrets Platinum program for 2012 and see if that’s the course YOU need to take to achieve greatness for yourself. To learn more, go here.