Lisa Angelettie

Bestselling Amazon Author

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Are You Afraid Of Change In Your Business?

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Are You Afraid Of Making A Change?

afraid of changeAre You Willing To Make Changes In Your Business To Reach Six Figures?

In 2003, Bobby and Renatta worked with me in my psychotherapy practice for over 16 months to try and save their relationship. They both wanted to get married, but Renatta wouldn’t say yes until Bobby secured stable employment. Bobby had a dream of being an actor and wanted to continue to pursue it until he got work or until he accepted that it wasn’t in the cards for him. They were miserable, and they were both getting on each others nerves, but no one wanted to make a move towards change. They were afraid to do something, because they didn’t want to lose each other and they also didn’t want to lose themselves. So they stayed right where they were for the entire 16 months and are probably in that same space today. It was awful. It was unfulfilling — but it was all they knew and it was safe.

I saw this type of couple over and over in my work as a psychotherapist. I worked with many couples who sought advice for marital problems but were unwilling or unable to do what was required to make progress — and that was to make some sort of a change.

If you think about it, it seems to make perfect sense. If you’ve doing something for a year, for 5 years, for 10 and your situation isn’t improving — then what you’re doing isn’t working. You’ve got to do something else. That same principle holds true for anything in life — including your business.

If you have been trying to attract new clients and make more money over the last 6 months, a year, 2 years or more and you haven’t filled your practice yet then it’s obviously time to try something else. So why do so many entrepreneurs have trouble with this–with change?

Because business owners and perhaps you as well — are afraid. Afraid to make a change. Afraid to accept change. Afraid to embrace change. What you are doing and what you have always done is familiar to you. It’s safe. There is some comfort in knowing what to expect. I have seen many entrepreneurs throw their hands up and give up because they felt that it just wasn’t in the cards for them to succeed.

But I think that’s absolute rubbish.

I think that if you’ve felt a strong pull towards entrepreneurship and your niche — especially if you have a unique gift or in demand skillset — then you are absolutely suppose to and will succeed if you ask for guidance, accept direction, and implement! In order to do all of that though you have to be willing to make tweaks, adjustments and changes. Are you willing to do that this year?

If change makes you uncomfortable, ask yourself:

How long have I been stuck in the same place?

What do I think will happen if I try something different?

Do I believe that bigger things are meant for met?

Can I truly reach my income potential if I do exactly what it is I am doing today?

Your content marketing assignment this week:

Is to take a long look at your business. Your marketing message. Your website content. Blog posts. Articles. Videos. Audio. Branding. Your work ethic. Commitment level. And ask yourself, is there a place in my business where I’ve remained stagnant? Is there an area where I need to be open to change? It there an area where I need to actively seek and implement change? And then go out there and make it happen! The only way you will RISE to the income level that truly rewards you for your talents is to know when to welcome and embrace change.

Is Fear Of Criticism Getting In Your Way?

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Is Fear Of Criticism Getting In Your Way & Stopping You From Creating The Business Of Your Dreams?

Fear Of Criticism

I have always prided myself on the fact that I give personal and speedy customer service to my clients and customers. While I do have several virtual assistants for specific things, I try to answer many customer service emails myself, because I remember being on the other end of that. Heck, I still am! And I always appreciated when a business owner contacted me directly. Not for everything though – not like a change of email address or something small — but for the bigger issues. Say when someone has a question about a product or program I have. I created it, and I’m asking you to trust me & pay me to teach you something, so why can’t I take out a few moments to answer a few questions about it? Hey – that’s just me🙂

But the other side of this – is that this opens me up to ALL the customer service emails. The ones that thank me (which I love:), that ask me questions like I’ve already mentioned, and also the ones that have something negative to say. The critics! And for a long time – those were the emails that use to truly bother me.

I wouldn’t lose sleep or stop eating, but I could hear the words in that email if I went to write something or try a marketing strategy. It was a nagging little voice that had me second guessing myself about many things. And second guessing is simply a waste of time and permits a lot of bad energy into your business. Next thing you know, you need someone else to cosign on every major decision because you aren’t sure if you are making the right ones. Ugh! What a mess!

Or here’s another example — have you ever had a great idea but then talked yourself out of it by the next morning because of the criticism you anticipated from others or from one particular person? Do that enough and you will have left enough great ideas behind that could have made you a millionaire 10 times over.

Or how about the “professional” critics? Are you a service professional in a licensed or certified profession and you’ve got colleagues constantly questioning your philosophy, your marketing, your ethics, your new income stream? These are people who either fear the unknown or fear you becoming greater than them. Cutting you down is their quickest solution for feeling better about playing small or safely. Imagine if Dr. Ruth listened to her colleagues?!

So How Did I Get Out Of Criticism’s Way?

1. I realized that there are just some people who have allowed the fear of criticism of others to seep into all parts of their lives. If you’ve grown up in a family of critics – chances are that you fear it, will do anything to avoid it,  but that you also have had your fair share of giving it as well. (This was me.) So it was important to realize first that this was a part of who I was and it had to change. You know — you cannot change what you do not acknowledge.

If you find yourself criticizing others in your niche, in your mastermind group, in your family — then I’m talking especially to you! You know who you are. Recognize it and decide today that it’s just not acceptable any longer. You will not be able to grow the business that you were meant to have if you fear other people’s criticisms and if you criticize others. Let it go.

2. I know now that people who criticize are really dealing with some of their own issues. It has nothing to do with you. For instance, if a fellow entrepreneur criticizes how much you are charging for your new product or program — it’s probably because they have their own issues around charging and cannot get what you are asking or are afraid to even price their stuff at that price point. Their criticisms are stemming from their own fears, inadequacy, jealousy, etc.  — not from anything you are doing or not doing.

3. Criticism is not truth. Just because someone said it, doesn’t make it so. When you take it on – you are validating it’s truth. Therefore the real key here is to not take it on as truth. Drop it. Forget it. Ignore it.

4. Work and play in your business fearlessly! Fear of criticism should never stop you from being creative, for trying something new, for stepping outside the box, for being uniquely you. Try to remember the big WHY you’re in business to begin with. Why do you do what you do? Who do you do it for? My big WHY is my family. And all I have to do is look at a picture of them in my office or look outside in the yard and see my kids playing to remember that my fear of criticism is unfounded and not real. Keep your big WHY in mind and you’ll be able to push criticism completely out of your way to greatness!

 

How To Stop Implementation Overload

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How To Stop Implementation Overload

implementation-overload-for-coaches

As a writer and business owner, I do a lot of research on the web. That is how I discover new experts out there, new strategies, and innovative products or programs to try. The flip side of this is that this type of research distracts me from the task at hand, as I purchase a “new” product to try and go totally off track in my business that day with the implementation of my “new goodie.”

So as a remedy for this, I decided that if I saw something that looked interesting, that I wanted to try, I’d buy it and download it, but then save it my “Stuff To Do” folder on my desktop for later. I figured this way I would get the product that I needed but could continue with my work for the day by saving it for later. Unfortunately, this created a new problem…

Periodically I would take a look inside that “Stuff To Do” folder and could not believe my eyes! I had invested hundreds if not thousands of dollars in software, ebooks, plugins, etc. that I hadn’t used yet. I was sick to my stomach because at that time in my business, I could not justify the expense of all of these goodies because I was not implementing any of them and therefore not seeing any payoff or results.

So believe it or not, once again I returned back to my old ways and started using my new stuff as soon as I bought it (plus all my old goodies), therefore distracting me once again from my income producing tasks for the day. As a psychotherapist, one might call this “self sabotage”, and I began to recognize this (go figure:). So I made the decision that I had to do something about my implementation overload once and for all. I was spending way too much time on the implementation of all the new tools I purchased and not enough on tasks to bring in money to pay for them! So if you find yourself in the same position, here is what I did to turn it around, and what you can try too:

1. Consider The psychology Behind Why You Are Constantly Distracted With New Marketing Tools.

At that time in my business, I didn’t have a system in place for getting all the marketing basics done in my business successfully. I was always searching for the one thing to solve a specific problem in my business like list building or copywriting. Of course later I realized that there is no magic pill or one particular solution, and I figured out the strategies that worked best for me and my clients — but understanding that I had to change my way of thinking about my marketing was critical to eradicating my implementation overload issue.

2. Designate A Specific Time When You Read Emails

It was very easy for me to find new things to buy because I’m on so many marketing lists. I think it’s crucial to know what’s going on in the marketplace for one because I may want to promote something as an affiliate, so I didn’t want to eliminate that, but I did have to put some limits in place. Reading emails whenever you feel like it is solopreneur suicide! Don’t do it.

The best thing to do is to either outsource emails to a virtual assistant or designate a specific time to read, respond, and explore emails — and do it only for that specific amount of time. I used this strategy and I also found that by assigning my email reading time towards the end of my work day – I was much more productive and less distracted. When I checked email first thing – next thing I knew – I had spent an hour or two just reading and cruising the web. Save it for the end of the day and you are much more focused because you will only deal with the “important” emails.

3. Dedicate A Certain Amount Of Time To Research

Most experts (myself included) will often recommend to entrepreneurs to try and only do tasks related to income generation. That means that you should try to outsource administrative tasks, technical tasks, etc., but what about research in your niche and the general marketplace? Honestly, I think it’s pretty ridiculous to think that we are not going to take a look at what’s going on in our marketplace. You have to. And in order to do that, you have to spend one of your most precious commodities “time”. There’s no getting around that fact.

So what I’ve learned to do is to set a specific amount of time that I will spend per week on *research; because unfortunately if you allow yourself to organically search based on something else you may be doing in your business, or because you have a quick question you want answered, you may look up and you’ve lost an hour of your day. For example, I use a basic kitchen timer or the timer on my iPhone and set it for 45 minutes twice a week. That’s my time to read marketing emails from other mentors, other experts, and competitors and then visit any related sites.

*Just a note that I use this time for non-income related research only. If I need to do a few searches for an article, a product I’m creating, etc. then that doesn’t count.

So What Were The Results?

Well by implementing these few techniques, I was able to manage my implementation overload by basically slowing things down. With only a limited amount of time to read and conduct research, I was exposed to fewer marketing messages, and therefore I was selective about what I spent my time reading and what I invested in. For example, I was able to buy and implement a cool new premium WordPress plugin like this one because I uploaded and set it up ONLY during the time that I set aside time to do so. If I get stuck somewhere along the way and my time is up – my time is up. I move on to my next task. I can get back to it during the allotted time.

I know for some this may sound a little rigid, but sometimes a few boundaries is what we “creative types” need to build successful businesses. So stop spending your entire day reading a 300 page ebook on building your list! Get your mind right. Limit your exposure. Limit time spent. And you’ll be right as rain:)

 

 

3 Reasons Why I Write

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3 Reasons Why I Write

Why Do You Do What You Do?

If you’ve ever had a career change or career evolution, I’m sure you’ve experienced the pangs of self-doubt. It’s common practice to question yourself after you’ve made a BIG move. This happened to me when I decided to step back from traditional psychotherapy and focus on entrepreneurial writing.

Many of my peers or family members who liked saying that I was a psychotherapist wanted answers. They wanted to know why I rather write then do therapy. So here it goes — these are the reasons…

REASON 1
It’s What I Like To Do (Even When No One Is Paying Me)

I have always been a writer. I kept quite detailed journals since about 7 years old. I earned a degree in journalism and worked in that field for several years before going back to school to get my masters. I have always enjoyed writing and sometimes writing is the only way I can accurately express myself. I fall back and lean on writing all the time.

And more importantly, although I am paid well to help others write effectively, I write even when there’s no one paying. Even when there’s no one looking. And that’s really the whole “Oprah” idea I’m trying to get across.

Hopefully your business is something that you would do for free. For nada. Which means ultimately that when you do make money, it will be even sweeter.

REASON 2
Writing On The Web Packs A Powerful Punch

Digital writing a.k.a. ePublishing packs a powerful punch for entrepreneurs. Personally, I think that writing on the web is one of the most strategic ways to build credibility, generate traffic, and make passive income. There aren’t many marketing strategies that you can do and gain that type of traction from them – for little to zero cost at that!

Every entrepreneur and every service professional should have some sort of web presence that is primarily “content based”: articles, blog, ebooks, short reports, e-courses, teleseminars, etc. If you are not establishing yourself, your brand, and your marketing message on the web with content, then you better already be a celebrity, because no one is going to notice among the thousands of other competitors in your niche.

REASON 3
People Kept Asking Me For My Help

Sometimes you just have to look at not necessarily what you think you should be doing, but what people are asking from you. People have continuously asked me for help with writing and tech work — and they probably do because I have put out in the world that I am always willing to help.

I soon realized that I’m always willing to help (back to reason 1) because it’s not really work for me. It’s interesting and fun. And while I am “good” at a lot of different things like every other person, there is a way that I am able to explain a tech issue or pull a good story for an ebook out of some one that is unique to me, and that which many people are drawn too. So why fight the power?

So my advice to those who haven’t quite figured out their life’s work: pay attention to what advice people in your circle ask you for. What do they want from you? What do they refer you to others for? If there is a way you can make money at it — then I suggest you go for it! I did and haven’t looked back since.

Have you found your entrepreneurial passion yet? If so, what are the reasons why you do it? Do you have any other inspirational or common sense tips to pass onto others? Share them here. You could inspire someone today:)

Don’t Panic When Someone Unsubscribes!

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Don’t Panic When Someone Unsubscribes From Your List

One of my coaches told me a long time ago that not everyone was going to like me and I remember saying “Oh of course I realize that”, but that wasn’t really the truth. The reality was that every time someone unsubscribed from my list – it made me feel a little sad – like “aww they don’t like me”. I didn’t like to read the reasons why they unsubscribed, but when I did most people were polite and kind and said basically that they were on too many lists and had to clean house. Yet I didn’t believe them:)

Then I had another discussion about a year later with another coach who basically told me the same thing, and this time I was ready to hear what she had to say. So I hope that I am that coach for some of you today. If you’re ready to hear it, here it is…

First Of All, You’re Doing Great!

You are competing with a lot of clutter out on the web. You are dealing with your competitors. The newbies. Social media. Celebrity gossip. Regular news. Reality television and much, much more. It’s a struggle everyday for the online soloprofessional (as many of you are) to cut through the clutter and get noticed. So first of all I want to say bravo to you for even getting the person to sign up for your list in the first place! BRAVO!

Why Someone Is Unsubscribing From Your List

With that in mind you have to understand that not everyone is going to stay and that’s okay. It really is fine. Because this is the reality:

1. That person was not ready to invest in you now or maybe even ever.

2. That person was not the ideal client for your product or service.  They realized it and jumped ship.

3. That subscriber really was on too many lists and probably wasn’t reading anything you were sending them.

4. That reader didn’t make a connection with your content which is fine. The only people that will buy from you are people that “get” you and trust you.

5. They joined your list just to get the freebie, not to stick around. In that case, hope you enjoyed it but good bye!

Other Possible Reasons That They Unsubscribe Which You Could Test

1. You may not be sending enough content consistently. So when people receive content from you, they don’t remember who you are or why they signed up in the first place and they unsubscribe. Sometimes they even list your emails as spam – ugh! You must communicate with your readers consistently. At the least – once a month. At the most – weekly. Test this by sending content more regularly.

2. You may be sending emails, etc. too often. It’s important that you know your niche as the “how often” part of this rule can fluctuate between niches. But for the average non-internet marketing niche – sending out something weekly is quite enough. Any more than once a week will probably get an unsubscribe. Test this by slowing down your publishing schedule for 60 days and see if you recognize a difference in the subscribe/unsubscribe rate.

3. People may be changing the way they read your information, so they might unsubscribe, but may want to follow you another way. Make sure readers know how to find you via Facebook, Twitter, RSS feed, etc.

Conclusion

Like article marketing and any other marketing technique, list building is a numbers game. People are going to unsubscribe, and don’t worry — you are not a failure because people unsubscribe. People unsubscribe from EVERYONE’S list. Just understand that the more people who subscribe – the higher your subscription stats as well as your unsubscribe stats. As long as one is balancing out the other — you’re fine.

If you stats are off kilter and your unsubscribe rate is higher than your subscribe statistic – contact me and we’ll discuss how to change that around.

 

Is The Economy Affecting How You Do Business?

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Is The Economy Affecting How You Do Business?

economy affecting business

source: greeleygazette.com

In many gas stations in the suburbs of Pennsylvania where I live, gas has hit the four dollar mark. When I shop for groceries, I must admit that for years I did not pay attention to prices that much. I have certain things that I buy every week – and I buy them. Regardless of the cost. But I must admit that in 2008 I paid attention to the price of milk. It was outrageous. And now I am paying attention to the price of the block of extra sharp Cracker Barrel cheese that my family and I just love. It’s a little over four bucks. Maybe more depending on the market I’m at and the neighborhood that market is in.

My point here is that the economy is precarious. People who may not have normally paid attention to the price of everything that they bought (like myself) are now paying attention and making discerning choices about what they are going to spend their money on.

Now more than ever we have to be a bit more selective about what marketers and business owners we are going to spend our money with to further our own businesses. We are a little more careful about what products, books, coaching programs, and membership sites we join. And the same goes for our customers. They are going to be a little more hesitant to click the button and so they are going to need to see further “social proof” and other credibility factors to feel comfortable doing business with us — if they’ve never done business with us before.

Perhaps you are not doing all of the things that you did a year or two ago to gain traction in your marketplace. Maybe you’re going to skip that seminar you were thinking about attending or passing on that cool workshop that you wanted to take. Perhaps you are only making enough money to sustain the costs of doing business and you just don’t know where you would find the money to get the word out about your latest service, product, or event.

Are you so paralyzed in your business right now because you are afraid of spending money on the wrong things? Or are you petrified of not making money this month because you don’t think you can convince anyone to spend money with you right now? Well here are a few of my thoughts on that…

1. The economy should not stop you from moving forward in your business. In fact, what it should do is make you think how you can move much smarter. What tasks could you eliminate from your everyday routine that are not really moving your towards your business goals? What fat could you trim? What things really worked for you last year? The year before? Whatever they were, think about how you can do more of that; maximize that marketing strategy.

2. There is no ONE answer for anyone and everyone on how to make even $1 online. I know this is scary, but I bet there is someone out there who is reading this article, has been in business for over a year, and has not even made $100. That’s usually because they are listening to 10 different experts teach them 10 completely different strategies, which may have worked for those individuals, but probably won’t work for them. Find the one strategy that resonates with you — and run like hell with it!

3. Scared money don’t make no money. I know that’s some old-school gambling saying or something — but it’s kind of true. If you are scared and skimpy with your investments in yourself, you probably will see very little reward. It’s a karmic rule. You basically get back what you put in. If you smartly invest in yourself — you should see your investment come back to you with interest. So what I’m saying here in a nutshell is now is not the time to completely stop investing in your growth – just be selective with what you buy and what you do. And whatever you buy — implement! Don’t just let the knowledge roll around inside your head for a week and then just move on to the next thing. Use it!

4. Don’t fall for the okie-dokie. Okay, even people on “fixed incomes” are buying Kindles, iPads, and flat screens. Don’t fall for the okie-dokie and believe that no one is buying anything in this economy. That is far from the truth. In fact, just recently I read that online retail sales were up like 16% in March of this year. There are customers and clients that are willing to give you their hard-earned dollars, you just have to convince them a little more than before that you are trustworthy, that you know what you are talking about, and that money invested with you will be money well spent.

*Tight Economy Tip
One of the easiest things that you can do today to not only maximize your visibility in today’s economic climate as well as build your trustworthiness among potential prospects is to publish. Digital publishing is free and it’s one of the easiest things you can do to establish yourself on the web today. Publish content that people in your market want to read and you can conquer the world in any economy! People will always search for answers, for knowledge, for solutions. Remember that if you provide those answers, that knowledge, and those solutions that you are well ahead of your competitors in the trust department and the credibility corner.

Over the next few days, I will be discussing strategies for building your online credibility and your trust factor via free, digital methods. I look forward to freeing you from the thoughts and actions that may be paralyzing your progress and start moving you forward to a better business with more profits. You can make money in this economy no matter what the niche. It’s all how you position yourself.

Have any questions on this topic? I’ll answer them in the next article. Just leave them in the comment section below.

What’s Your Writing Inspiration?

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writing in snowstorm Writing Inspiration

I took this picture of my yard out of my kitchen window today, so it’s not that great, but a good snowstorm puts me in a creative mood for some reason.

I have always loved the look of fresh snow especially when I don’t have to go right out into it because the kids have a snow day. I can just hunker down, sip on some hot tea or Pepsi :), and write a few articles or bank out another chapter in one of my books or infoproducts.

Sometimes I am not so “self aware”, so when it hit me that I love to write when it snows, it got me thinking about other sources of writing inspiration as well as a few writing rituals.

1. I love to write when singing.

2. I write better at night.

3. I sometimes write best when writing first in freehand then editing it at the computer.

4. I prefer to write on a desktop vs a laptop.

5. I like to write on summer days with the hum of a window unit air conditioner.

6. I like to write after a shower.

7. I must have something to drink when I’m writing. Either ice water or Pepsi. Occasionally tea if my office is too cold.

8. I like to write when a dog is laying by my feet.

9. I often write more, believe it or not, when I’m tired.

Think about the last time you really got into a groove writing? What was your backdrop? Where were you? Were you listening to music? Did something make you happy that day? Or sad? What are some of the things or circumstances that inspire you to write your best and produce the most?

I’d love for you to share them in the comments section below…

How To Pick An Authentic Niche Like Elin Nordegren

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Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods have finalized their divorce, and Elin gave an exclusive interview to People Magazine about it. In the interview she talked about her divorce, Tiger’s infidelities, and the degree in psychology she has almost completed. It made me think. She may have picked an authentic niche if she works it right.

There are two kinds of entrepreneurs on the internet. Those who are about making money regardless of the niche or the product, and those who are making money selling something that they truly believe in. This of course is the same in the offline world as well. We all have friends who have great money working at jobs they hate, and then we have those friends who have discovered the “sweet spot” and make good money doing something they love. You know like Oprah:)

So how do we pick an authentic niche? How do we choose a business idea that we can pay the bills with but also enjoy doing? A good mix of what you love, what people will pay for, and right time – right place. This is what I mean…

1. Elin Nordegren is famous. There is nothing she can do to change it. She just is. She could use that.  (Right place, Right time)

2. Her husband was a BIG cheater. Infidelity is a big reason couples come to therapy. (What people will pay for)

3. Elin has almost completed a degree in psychology. (what she loves)

At this point, Elin could write a book about infidelity, divorce, moving on, etc. and build a practice around it. Instant authentic niche. So now all you need to do is apply these same principles to your own life and then you will know and not have to wonder if you have picked an authentic niche. One that will change your life.

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