Have you read Step 1 and Step 2 yet? If not, be sure to go back and read them. Afterall, we want YOU controlling your time so YOU can make more money, too! Just as I have learned to do.

However, as I’ve already shared, years ago I really struggled with getting things done. What made it most frustrating is I HAD the time, but was getting bogged down in the voices in my own head! Yet I’ve had people for years comment about how amazed they are at all the things I do. But, it’s only really been in the last year and a half that I can still accomplish the things I want to accomplish AND take real time off to enjoy life WHILE witnessing my income increase AND witness my clients achieve great success.

If you have followed Step 1 and Step 2, you already know that today I am living my dream: As my business continues to grow and is strongly in the 6-figure stage, because I’ve been able to follow these 3 simple steps I am sharing with you in these posts, my business continues to grow, yet I’m able to take 3 days off a week to do exactly what I want to do, without thinking about the business all the time. Today I walk into my office with a plan, and I’m able to shut down the distractions and focus.

When you’re able to control your time the way you WANT to, you’re able to better control the revenue that flows to you.

Today is Step #3 of three simple time success strategies that I cover more deeply elsewhere, but they can really can make the difference between working all the time, and feeling you would NEVER really want to grow to 6 or 7 figures (because then you wouldn’t have a life) or enjoying a thriving business, while playing and having tons of fun with family and friends, and feeling fulfilled because you are not only successful but ALSO are a living model of balance for your clients.

Step #3: Manage your social media

You KNOW how this can suck the time right out of your day! And what do you REALLY have to show for it? Not enough to justify hours of your time!

1) Create a plan for your social media.
What outcomes do you want? Write them down and then how you will achieve them. Then track your results. Don’t leave this part of your marketing to chance; it should be just PART of your overall marketing plan. And every one of you reading this should have SOME type of plan for how you market!

2) Create your schedule for social media.
If you scheduled 5 minutes a day on each site (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), it would only take you 15 minutes a day! And you’d STILL “Show up” on them enough to have a presence.

3) Then SET A TIMER so you stick TO your schedule!
It’s really easy to spend a day on social networking sites! That’s fine if that’s how you want to spend a weekend afternoon, but does it make sense to replace working ON the business with this? No!!!

Many new and growing Nutrition and Wellness Entrepreneurs struggle with the same challenge: They feel they spin their wheels all day and don’t get enough done. This directly impacts the amount of money they are making and the quality of life they live! In order to raise YOUR income AND actually enjoy a life, you HAVE to control your time in as focused and methodical manner you approach health and wellness! Yes, you really CAN have both, but, as with your health, you have to be disciplined.

Put these three steps into place in your business, and let me know how it works for you. My clients find them VERY effective, when they implement.

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do YOU struggle with time management? Do your days fly by with you wondering what you did that day, every day, every week? This is costing you money! To learn time success strategies that will instantly leave you feeling in charge of your life, and allowing you to MAKE more, check out “6-Figure Time Success Secrets for Health and Wellness Professionals.”

You’re struggling to get your business off the ground, and every time you have a conversation with a potential client, and it comes to the question, “What do you charge?” they respond by saying, “Oh, that’s more than I thought.”

And it’s off to the next potential client.

It’s getting old, and you’re REALLY ready for things to change!
But you keep hitting one particular wall, your rates and the perception you have around them.

When I suggest that the problem is charging too little, people are SURE this is backwards! And here the top three excuses for NOT raising their rates:

1 – They won’t pay my current rates, so they certainly will not pay MORE!
The real strategy is to RAISE your rates and adjust your strategy so you can help potential clients see your value. Plus, when your rates are higher, people will invest more in themselves when they invest in you.

2 – What I have to offer isn’t that unique, so why should I charge so much?
Oh my gosh! You are not in the business of nutrition or fitness or health; you are in the business of changing people’s lives! What value do you put on helping a person enjoy life again, or feel good again?

3 – Others in my area don’t charge more, so I have to remain competitive.
So, if everyone in your area is undercharging, do you want to be part of the pack?

The biggest reason people hold their rates low has more to do with their own perception of their value than anything else. So, as you consider these three excuses, ask yourself just how confident ARE you in what you offer? It’s my guess you offer an incredible service and are excellent at what you do. Sit down and write down all the things you do well, and then post on here to share what those things are!

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you struggle with what to charge? Would you like to turn your business around this year, but just don’t know how you’re going to do it? Consider a live or virtual VIP coaching session where you will walk away with all the tools and plans necessary to move into success in these next 6 months. To learn more, go to Marketing Plan in a Day.

I had my first book signing event in Arizona for JUST JUMP at the Next Chapter Bookstore in Prescott Valley, AZ last weekend. I had a great time, but the outcome was totally different than I had anticipated!

We had very few visitors to the store. But there were four of us at the event to sign books. And we created what I believe will be an incredible synergy of authors who will support, encourage and motivate each of the others. We are already discussing setting up our first meeting.

We’ll have a second book signing event at New Chapter, but although I put the word out about the event, I realize I didn’t quite do the push I know I should have.

What does it mean to to “Go for it 100%” and what holds us back from doing so? Let’s take a look at this and how YOU can JUST JUMP in and go 100%:

First, why do you hesitate to really GO FOR IT 100%?? Usually it’s one simple thing: Lack of confidence or self-doubt. Sure, it may not be HUGE, but it tends to linger in the fringes of what we could make possible. We all suffer from it at one level or another. We can SAY it’s lack of time, but we all find time for the things we most want to spend time on. We can also say we don’t know what to DO. Again, this is just another excuse. So, if you took away all of these excuses, THEN what do you do?

• Put your marketing plan together. I realized it’s time for an updated marketing plan for my book. Yes, I created one when it was in the production stage, and I have an updated (2010) plan for my business, but not for my book!

• Implement your plan. I could go into all the strategies to use to GO FOR IT 100%, but they are in your plan! Who must you contact, how will you contact them? How will you use social media? How will you manage your time around each of these activities? All of this must be included in your planning.

• Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen? It’s all well-and-good to tell you to make the plan and then implement it, but then the limiting conversations come up that we mentioned above! So, how do you move past those voices of doubt? If you knock on a door or make a phone call, what is the worst thing that can happen? Seriously, usually it’s just that they say no! The worst is your ego is bruised, but you move on.

• Ask yourself, who must you be to make this happen? If someone told you they wanted to climb Mt. Everest, you would encourage them to do what’s necessary to make this happen, right? Why are you different? There is a part of you that might be holding back.  So, if you were to pretend you were someone ELSE, who would that person be? How can you step into those shoes, even for an afternoon or few minutes?

I totally believe that with the planning and vision, we can make anything happen. My goal is to enjoy the fact that I’m now in a new state/location and can spread the word about my book, JUST JUMP,  and how it can help people. I’m ready to GO FOR IT 100%!

Are you?

I challenge YOU to come on and post what you are willing to GO FOR IT 100%! Putting it out there means you WILL make it happen! You DO have a choice! It all depends on you and how willing you are to GO FOR IT 100%.

Margie

Does it seem like an oxymoron to say ‘time control’ these days? Do you feel totally OUT of control of your time? Why is it that NO one has ‘time’? Where did it go???

This is such an important issue these days that I had to come back to it. Sort of as a Part 2, in a sense, since my last blog was on this topic. And, because I ‘ran out of time’, myself, it’s taken me two weeks to write this!

You know; you have millions of things to do, and to make things even worse, the kids are out of school, which REALLY puts a crimp in what little time you THOUGHT you had! What to do, then?

Well, there’s only one thing TO do – that’s take CONTROL of your time! How? Silly; I’m going to TELL you!

FIRST – I said it before, set up your goals. You should already have a marketing plan, but maybe things have fallen behind, and what should have been done already has not… because you keep running out of time! So, shorten the goals. Take a step back and ask yourself what ONE thing is the most important thing to accomplish in the next 4 weeks.

SECOND – Now that you have a bit more focus, and have created a MANAGEABLE goal, it’s time to make a list of how to accomplish that goal. But, before you make that list, determine if you want the list to be for the day, the week, or for the full 4 weeks. If you make it for the full 4 weeks, you then will need to make ‘mini’ lists. If you spend 4 weeks looking at this HUGE list, this isn’t going to move you forward; it’s going to further hold you back. Then, on your DAILY list, prioritize. Yep; you’ll have to make a decision. If you could only accomplish ONE thing that day, what would make the biggest difference. Start there. Maybe you’ll only be able to seriously list the top three items. That’s ok.

THIRD – Now, this is CRUCIAL: turn OFF your email. Shut off Tweetdeck, and every other social media madness you have. This may also include shutting off (or putting out of the room) your cell phone. But trust me; these distractions MUST be eliminated! Do you believe me? Take a second and ask yourself what happens when you go into your workspace and try to get some ‘work’ done.

Now you are ready to take control of your time. Try it just one day and let me know how it works! Works for me every time!

So, one more thing off my list. I FINALLY have this blog written. Time for item #5 on my list…

Margie

If I don’t literally hear it from my clients, I sense it. I tell them they HAVE to complete their business plan, and I hear “YUCK!!!” It’s even worse once I start discussing the cash flow projection worksheet.

But, I have to say, TO A PERSON, every single client who completes the entire process – business plan (including SWOT analysis and cash flow projections), marketing plan and marketing calendar – come out the other end THRILLED with the clarity and focus for success!

I work with health professionals who are extremely knowledgeable in areas of health and fitness. But business is NOT their thing. And, they don’t HAVE to become extremely knowledgeable in it. But they DO need to be clear what they want to create, what milestones they’d like to see to help them track their progress, identify exactly what products and services they want to offer, and where they would like to be in, say, ten years from now. Then they have a template from which to create the plan to market these services! And this is the plan for success.

Sometimes we have to sweat in order to achieve our goals. For some, this sweating is sitting down, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and hashing out the plans for success. It works every time!

So, if YOU find yourself avoiding the planning process, don’t fall into the trap that too many other companies fall into (which leads to failure); do the planning for success so you avoid failure!

Margie

http://www.meg-enterprises.com

If you want to get your business up and running NOW, and need intensive help getting going, check out the MEG Enterprises Intensive 8-Hour Strategy Session program.