What is your mindset about your small business today? I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that whatever your mindset is about money overall is the exact mindset you have about your own business. Whatever that mindset may be it will also be exactly how you view and experience our present economy.

Most people view and experience our present economy from a place of fear and uncertainty. Understandably so given the unending rhetoric of the media talking heads that carry on about doom & gloom 24 hours a day with the enthusiasm of a school of piranhas over a fresh kill!

Recent Headlines:

CNNMONEY – “Jobs Worse than You Think”

FORBES – “Stagflation is Knocking at the Door”

THE ECONOMIST – “The Civil War in Washington DC is Damaging American Business”

Every day the news attempts to point fingers and create blame (as do our politicians) instead of creating solutions and collaboration.  The vortex of negativity and fear is palpable everywhere you go.

It’s time for a grass roots, home-grown (r)evolution of entrepreneurs, small businesses and sales leaders to stand up and say, “ENOUGH”. We’re not going to take it anymore; we’re going to create our own wealth, based on a new economy of trust, transparency and relationships.

There are so many topics to cover here but for now I want to share how important your small business is and the impact you and your business can have on healing our economy.

Here are 3 positive steps you can take with your small business in order to contribute to the health of our economy and the wealth of your own life…

1)    Up level your mindset and turn off the talking heads (Do this NOW)

2)    Expand your vision and grow to hire help

3)    Refer someone you love (or like a lot) to someone you trust

Believe

The first step requires a review and a re-wiring of current thinking and beliefs. Even if you are a glass ½ full kind of person it’s easy to get caught up in the mass consciousness of the glass is ½ empty and dirty as well! It’s imperative; now more than ever that you get crystal clear about what you want for a happy, prosperous business and hold that vision for all it’s worth, which is a LOT!

Expand

The second step requires you to expand your vision beyond your immediate needs and add the intention to hire at least one new person in the next 90 days, even if it’s only part time. The growth and expansion of your business can actually mean food on someone else’s table and sense of well being and stability in their family.

Blogger and coach Sandi Krakowski says, “Sadly, many … will say if THEY could just earn $15,000 per month for themselves they would be happy, let alone helping someone else.” This is an impoverished and quite frankly, a selfish way to live. The fastest way to get to your own personal goals is to make the benefit of others your focus as well! Our economy needs business owners who will seriously plan and prepare to create jobs.”

Refer

The third step to making a positive impact on our economy is to think about the people you know who could benefit from the services of other people you know! We all know how powerful a professional internet presence is and all of the blogging, social media, etc… that goes along with it. However, when it comes right down to it, people need people and trust their friends and colleagues when it comes to who they should do business with. 90% of my business comes from referrals and I teach people how to create a professional internet presence!

Sending someone you care about to someone you know and trust will do right by them is a great and immediate impact you can have on the well being of two (or more) people with one referral. And you know that kind of positive vibe will ripple on and on throughout the community, the world and of course your own business!

In the bestselling book, “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the authors illustrate The Law of Reciprocity through the giving process; “Receiving is the natural result of giving. If you give and then try to stop the receiving that comes back, you’re like King Canute watching the tide roll out and commanding it not to come back in. It has to come back in, just as your heart has to contract after relaxing.”

Those 3 simple steps, Believe, Expand and Refer will transform you business, your life and our economy and when the tide of prosperity comes in again, you can say, “And, I helped!”

You are invited to join me, Schelli Whitehouse, Mr. Bob Burg, Mary Michele Little, Pat Howlett, Helen Graves and other evolutionary business leaders on September 30^th, 2011 for a day of information, exploration, relationship marketing and creative networking for today’s small business. Visit here for more info: http://GivingAndGaining.com

Resources:

CNNMoney – http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/08/news/economy/unemployment_jobs/index.htm

Forbes Article – http://news.yahoo.com/stagflation-knocking-door-192819664.html

The Economist – http://www.economist.com/node/21525839

Sandi Krakowski – http://www.arealchange.com/blog/coaching

“The Go-Giver” – http://www.thegogiver.com

If 2010 was the year which left us feeling down and out, 2011 is the year to learn how to achieve greater happiness in a life that we love.

In a recent Dr Oz show, the “Intensati Workout” was featured.  The exercise trainer wore a t-shirt which said, “Live A Life You Love” as she demonstrated how to sculpt your body while strengthening your self esteem (http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/intensati-workout).

Oprah’s new OWN network has taken on the mission to provide positive programming which helps its viewers achieve their best life.   The network’s programming includes Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love where Cristina Ferrare lovingly prepares soul food, Miracle Detectives, where the network embarks on a mission to find substantiated miracles, and Oprah Presents Master Class where people who have reached the top of their professions detail their journeys, inspirations, and happiness.

And my own mission at The Next Highest Version of You and Your Business continues to be assisting people with their soulful purpose so that they can build a life that they love and create happiness based on the expression of their gifts and talents.

We all understand intuitively that building a life around a soulful purpose is likely to increase feelings of self-confidence and joy, but what are the components of building that life that are most likely to increase feelings of happiness?

There is a growing body of empirical evidence that happiness can be achieved and sustained with some very simple steps, but surprisingly or perhaps not so surprisingly, research has found that it is most likely found in relationship with others.

In his groundbreaking A Primer in Positive Psychology, Chris Peterson summarizes positive psychology in three words: “Other people matter.” Happiness resides in the individual, in one-on-one relationships, and within groups. Although we can achieve happiness alone, we are biologically wired and evolutionarily selected to find happiness in our relationships with others. Pursuing happiness with others is the surest – and easiest – path to happiness and well-being.

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There are 3 Keys that appear to be the underlying foundation of happy people…

• They are able to connect their heart’s desire to their relationship with others
• They are not afraid to ask for help and support
• They learn to live without (or to minimize) judgment and criticism of self and others

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Try and Discover Your Heart’s Passion and Begin to Live It in Relationship With Others

Peterson goes on to describe that we all have strengths – strengths of the mind and strengths of the heart.   The mind tends to be self-involved whereas the heart tends to be involved with others.  In my own coaching, one of the principles of achieving a life you love is that my clients discover their heart’s passion.  It’s the heart’s passion that moves us ever more deeply into service and relationships that encourage validate and inspire us.  So the first step in achieving greater happiness in 2011 is to discover your heart’s passion, or to begin to live it in relationship with others if you already know what it is.

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Enlist The Support of A Life Coach

If a positive relationship is the ultimate step to happiness, then enlisting the support of a coach might be the ultimate expression of positive relationship.  A life coach’s mission is to help you discover your gifts and talents through their passionate and creative motivational techniques.  A relationship in itself, the client-coach relationship is among the most treasured for its support, validation, and encouragement to grow and experience more positive relationships with others.  In my own practice, I absolutely love to watch the progression of happiness to joy to elation as the soul finds its voice and the whole person begins to live authentically.  For these reasons, enlisting the support of a life coach is the 2^nd step to achieving greater happiness in 2011.

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Perception Is Reality

Is your cup half empty or half full?  Each is a valid observation, but those who live a life of half full are profoundly happier than those who live a life of half empty.   Your thoughts control your reality.  Your reality controls your level of happiness.  When you wake each morning is it with dread for the day to come, or is it with excitement of the magical possibilities that could occur?   Each viewpoint is a choice.  Literally.  You can choose to think dark thoughts or you can choose to think happy thoughts.  I’m not really talking about the power of positive thinking, although thinking positively is powerful.  What I’m talking about is controlling your mind through your thoughts, and therefore controlling your life, and enhancing your happiness by expecting and creating happy days within a happy life.  What makes you happy?  Or perhaps more appropriate, what will you allow to bring you happiness?  Learn to live without judgment. When you can live without the constant evaluation of whether something or someone is good or bad, and instead simply accept and appreciate what is, then you are experiencing  the 3^rd step to achieving greater happiness in 2011.

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Live Your Best Life

Oprah Winfrey has a point.  In my practice we call it Live Your FABB Life.  Either way, the idea is to take your soulful passion or purpose and create a life with it.  It’s amazing how thoughts turn happy with this one step as you begin to look forward to each new day with inspired and excited anticipation of what you might experience and accomplish in relationship with others.  If we take this thought a step further and create a life by creating a business of our own based on our soulful purpose, then we begin to live our own happy life within our own principles and viewpoints and brilliance, vs. living for or through someone else’s mission and vision which most likely limits our happiness.  In my practice, my clients are guided through several steps to achieving financial abundance through their own branded brilliance (FABB).  We help people build happy lives through soulful businesses every day. And as a last step in achieving greater happiness in 2011, the ultimate achievement of happiness is most likely found through living your soulful purpose in relationship with others as you build your life around a business that you love.

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To Your Heart & Soul Success,

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Sources:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/intensati-workout

http://www.oprah.com/own

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/want_to_achieve_greater_happiness_research_reveals_happiness_is_a_team_sport

The Push-me – Pull-you is a character from the 1967 film “Dr. Dolittle”. I was enthralled with the animal that had a front end of a llama on both ends of its body! 

Of course, as a six-year-old at the time I was most perplexed by how in the world did it go to the bathroom?

Now all potty jokes aside, my thoughts of the Push-me – Pull-you are how in the world did it ever decide which way to go? Do you ever feel a bit like a Push-me-Pull-you yourself? Are there times when you have two diametrically opposed ideas pulling your attention in opposite directions? Or perhaps you have started something that no longer resonates with your greater good, yet you keep pushing it forward because you just don’t know what else to do (or you don’t want to be a quitter).

In our very busy, flash driven, super multi-tasking society we are required to make swift decisions around multiple subjects numerous times a day.  More times than not those decisions are made solely from either our re-active mind doing what it always does or an emotional ‘knee jerk’ reaction to a past experience that we project into our present experience rather than taking a new positive perspective.

In order to effectively direct the well-intentioned yet highly disruptive Push-me – Pull-you within, we must allow ourselves the opportunity to thoroughly and honestly evaluate our heart’s desire for its greatest good. Sometimes the self-honesty part is the hardest part to get in touch with because it has long been the least examined and most denied piece of our identity.

As we enter a new year and a new decade there is great opportunity all around to re-invent ourselves, our relationships, and our businesses-as-usual, with a measure of clarity and decision making that integrates the wisdom of our mind, heart & emotions based on what wants to emerge for you TODAY.

I invite you to ask yourself 3 questions (without any “ya buts” or beating yourself up, please)…

1. How do you feel about where you are today in your life and business?
2. How do you want to feel about your life and business this time next year?
3. What are you going to do about it?

Do you presently feel frustrated or sad, just okay, pretty good, great or stellar? Acknowledging ‘what is’, is the first step in deciding ‘what will be’!

Once you determine what you WANT to feel about your life and business this time next year then make all of your decisions going forward based on that which is in alignment with how you want to feel!

For example: what habits or relationships need to be let go of, what actions, mentors, number of new clients, assistance or learning may be needed in order to feel satisfied, expanded, needed, accomplished, wealthy, helpful, acknowledged, important, self-sufficient, or HAPPY?

What needs to be examined or expressed in order for you to fully resonate with the mind, body and soul of your work and your purpose, so that the Push-me ‘should’ and the Pull-you ‘have-to’ disappear altogether and the REAL YOU is allowed TO SHINE in 2011 and beyond?

This process doesn’t have to happen in a vacuum. If you’ve never had a strategy session with me, I urge you to schedule one A.S.A.P! Your session is completely complimentary and most effective in helping you get the clarity you need for determining what is the most important next step for you and your business. I believe the best time to access that kind of clarity is NOW!

Visit: http://iNeedAStrategy.com and let me know what time works best for you.

To Your Heart & Soul Success,

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PS – I only have 6 slots available for consultations available over the next two weeks so don’t procrastinate!

Go to: http://iNeedAStrategy.com and register now ~ xoxoxo~

Are you ready to accept and allow more income into your business and your life?

These are 4 powerful strategies that I’ve learned, applied and teach from studying with Kendall SummerHawk. They will help give you a quick infusion of cash just when you need it the most. Like now?

Get Creative!

Entrepreneurs, like many people, get used to creating income in certain ways. If you want to grow your business to that next level, there are times when you have to be a little more creative. Service businesses especially can benefit from the ideas I’m going to share with you although what I’m going to reveal can be used by any kind of business.

The key to creating a quick infusion of cash is to understand what motivates people. What gets them to move into action? People like services that are delivered in one of four different ways. They are either intensive, elite, offered at a great price, or bundled together into a new, fresh package.

Knowing there are four different things people like is going to help you choose what to offer your clients to generate quick cash and boost your sales.

The Super Savers!

Let’s take a look at services offered at a great price. We know that everybody loves to buy things on sale. One option for you is to offer a sale. You can offer a one-day, three-day, holiday or special occasion, like a birthday, sale. Be sure to keep your sale period very short, no more than five days. I would recommend one to three days.

Please stick to your deadline on this. When the sale is over, it’s over. If you don’t stick to your deadline, you’ll lose credibility the next time around with your clients and prospective clients.

When you’re having a sale, you need to be sure to promote your sale in advance so your clients are prepared to take action on the day your sale starts. Don’t make the announcement, “I’m having a sale today,” and wonder why you didn’t make any sales. You need to let people know in advance there is going to be a sale.

You can send emails telling them to mark their calendar. Do this up to two weeks in advance. Send out notices a week in advance, the day before, and the first and each day of the sale through the last.

You can do this via email, postcards or a combination of the two. Make phone calls or different things to get people’s attention. I would not recommend just one thing. I would do all of them.

People love to make a purchase at the very last minute, and they love to save money. Having multiple contacts throughout the presale and actual sale period is going to help you drive a lot of sales. Don’t worry about annoying them with too much contact. A few people might get annoyed, but that’s okay. The sales you make will make up for it. Trust me on this.

When it’s for a purpose like a sale, people tend to not get annoyed and they won’t get overwhelmed at all. Don’t hesitate or shortchange your sale by under-contacting people.

I feel a need for “speed” VIP Client!

Let’s talk about appealing to people’s desire for receiving services in an intensive format. People love speed and will pay very highly for it. Anything that is faster tends to be more expensive unless you’re in the pizza business. Then faster seems to be cheaper.

Very often people will pay a premium to receive a service or have something done for them in a faster way. Think of one-day service at the dry-cleaner, for example, or instead of taking six months to learn a new skill, you can learn it in three days.

One of the things you can do is offer VIP services. VIP service is your service offered in a VIP, intensive type of format. For example, this is where you offer your signature service in a very condensed, intensive format over the course of one day.

This can be done in either a virtual or in-person format. If it’s in person, that day may be from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. If you’re doing it virtually, which means it’s over the telephone or using Skype or a webinar, that day is not going to be a seven- or eight-hour day. It is more likely to be a four and a half- to five-hour day.

It is typical to charge anywhere from $1,500 for a virtual VIP day up to $15,000 or even $20,000 for an in-person VIP day. If that sounds like a lot to you, believe me, you can do this. These are rates I’ve charged. I know a lot of people who charge these kinds of rates as well.

You may be starting at the lower end. That’s fine. As you get more experience, you’re going to want to increase your fees. The fees and structure of the day will depend on the kind of service you offer.

Almost every single service I have ever seen can be offered in this VIP, intensive type of format. People love it. They’re easy to sell. People get very excited about it.

You can launch this with a few simple emails, a teleseminar, a letter, or just picking up the phone and calling a few people. You can easily pick up one to four VIP clients very quickly for a very nice cash infusion.

What’s super about VIP days is that you don’t need to have a big list. You just need to be able to talk to one person. Typically, VIP days are done privately.

The Exclusive, Platinum, Elite, Premium Plus Client!

Another way to rev up your cash flow is to offer an elite, exclusive package, a premium level of your service. I call this a platinum-level service. I’m going to talk to you for a minute about the private platinum type of service.

Not all of your clients or prospective clients will be willing to step up into platinum, but I guarantee that you have right now in your database, even if it’s small, 10% to 20% of your past or prospective clients who want and will pay for a higher-end service, a premium version of what you do.

The reason is that they want specialized treatment with greater access to you. They want the exclusivity, prestige and intensity. That’s what they want. There is always 10% to 20% of your audience that want this.

In case you don’t think this applies to you, let me remind you that many industries offer an elite, premium level. Think of flying first-class. This has been around for decades. Think of the penthouse suite in an apartment building or specialty valet services.

Even physicians are jumping onboard by offering concierge services. This is where their patients pay a fee and can call the doctor whenever they want. They can get an appointment the same day. They get special treatment and they’re willing to pay for it. This works across the board. It will work for you.

Platinum-level services are also perfect cash-flow boosters. Typically they are a minimum of two to three times your current fee, and often even more.

They’re an easy kind of package to put together and cost next to nothing. Premium-level services don’t cost you more to deliver. Sometimes the costs are even less. There are reasons for that, which I would be happy to explain to you during our strategy session.

The other reason they’re great cash-flow boosters is that very often if you use certain pricing strategies (I can help you with), you can see “paid in full” for your premium-level services.

There are also specific tips and strategies you need to know in order to quickly and easily add a platinum, or premium, level service to your business. There are tips on pricing, as I just mentioned, and tips on accepting deposits. How much should your deposit be?

There are tips on insuring that clients stay committed to their payment schedule if they’re taking the payment plan, what to include and what you can skip. It’s all very simple once you know how.

You can easily sign up one or more platinum clients to your business within the next 30 days, which means you could instantly double or triple your revenue during the next 30 days. That’s an exciting prospect.

Re-Package, Re-Purpose, Re-Fresh!

Let’s talk about the fourth strategy for how to increase your income in 30 days. That’s by repackaging your services. If you haven’t done this for a few months, then it is likely time to take a fresh look at what has and has not been selling well. What needs to be let go of? You may need to de-clutter your services.

I have found for a lot of service-based entrepreneurs that over time their services start to get cluttered and junky-looking with too many different things. The packages are too labor-intensive because they were designed months ago, and you were different back then. You had a different mindset. Your requirements and needs were different back then.

I highly recommend every few months taking a look at your services and seeing where to simplify. Update them to meet the needs that people have today.

Take a look especially at a service or offer you’ve been doing for a while that feels time-consuming or like it’s draining. This is often a signal that it’s time to offer it as an automated course, raise the price or offer it one last time.

This is a great strategy if you offer a training course or some kind of program. Make a big deal that it’s the last time ever. That’s going to help you drive a lot of sales before it disappears. It’s a great way to create some wonderful cash flow in your business.

You’re going to be amazed at how, by letting go of some of the things you’ve been doing, you’re going to create fresh, new energy to invest in things that excite you, new opportunities and places you want to take your business.

These four ways of increasing your income are fast, fun and very simple to do. You can have a sale, start offering VIP days, offer premium, or platinum-level service, and redesign your packages so they have a fresh, streamlined and more “now” appeal to them.

Get Help!

Please don’t try to do this all on your own. It’s too hard. It’s very difficult to have perspective about ourselves and our business. It’s a lot easier and you will generate more sales if you get the help of an experienced coach who is familiar and trained in these areas. They’re going to help you make the most of this initiative. And make a lot more money!

Contact me today for a Complimentary Strategy Session and we’ll get you on the road to an infusion of cash in 30 days or less! http://INeedAStrategy.com

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If you could define your business as a vehicle what do you think would be the most accurate description?

What kind of condition is the body in? Are there a few dents and scrapes? Has the paint faded or chipped? Any rusty patches underneath? Do you like the color and did you choose it for yourself or did it just happen to be available?

What about the interior; are the seats vinyl, cloth or leather? What grade of leather? What color? Are they clean or worn? Any signs of duct tape holding the seams together? Is the dashboard hard plastic, leather, vinyl? Are there any special features like inlaid wood, GPS, or a spectacular stereo system?

What about the mechanics of your vehicle; when you start the engine does it sputter and cough, rumble or snort? Or does it engage so smoothly you wonder if it is even on? How about when you accelerate on the highway; does your vehicle sound like a wind-up airplane trying to get off the ground, does it roar and backfire or does it purr like a sleek cat, happy to be alive?

Finally, is your vehicle a sedan, convertible, SUV, station wagon, cross-over, sports car, antique, classic, practical, sexy, cute, hatch-back, rugged, economical, rare, high maintenance, reliable, cool or smart?

What kind of business do you want to drive?

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If you were to drive up to the home of your perfect client and offer to transport them to the other side of the transformational experience they about to share with you, what kind of ‘ride’ would you provide for them? What form of compensation would you expect in return for that experience?

Your business is your vehicle to not only manifest wealth in your life but it is also an expression of who you are in the world and how you express yourself! This is your personal brand – a promise of an experience.

Your fees are an extension of your brand.

Did you know that what you charge for your service is a reflection of the quality of service perceived?

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Here is an example of two highly competent and effective spiritual teachers who teach the same type of practice; one teacher runs all over the country doing 2-day trainings with small groups for $425 per person. The other teacher has created a vehicle that delivers the same initial training yet she has created the content in the form of tools and ongoing training through a workbook, audio, tele-coaching and group support for a price of $947. This is more than twice the fee of the first teacher and the second teacher never has to leave the comfort of her own home.

Of course the second teacher also offers in-person training with her at an even higher fee because in this scenario she is offering her undivided attention and personal time. And as you know, our time is our most precious commodity.

If you were to visit the individual websites of the two teachers you would immediately feel the difference in their level of professionalism and how they present themselves as the leaders of their own businesses.

Both are highly capable, excellent teachers who deeply care about their clients and the level of service they offer. The only difference is that the second teacher aligned herself with a mentor who guided her in designing a business vehicle that would not only reach and teach a far greater number of people, but would also align her with a system to be able to charge what she and her service is worth and get it!

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Here is a little fuel additive to help alleviate a clunky engine…

• Identify exactly who is riding in your transformational vehicle
• Understand the real value of what you offer and release the money blocks holding you back from sharing that value
• Connect with a mentor or business coach to help you design and build the vehicle of your dreams that will provide you with miles and miles of fun, style and comfort!

Just because you are a master at what you do doesn’t mean you have the marketing skills or business savvy to build and create a sustainable, joyful, soul satisfying enterprise. If you go it alone for too long and do not stop for help, you are sure to break down or run out of gas, and the road really does get lonely when that happens.

Now let me ask you this; if you could define the business vehicle of your dreams, what would be your description?

I look forward to your comments!

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As our world and our human consciousness evolve more and more, people are seeking ways to build soulful and heart-based businesses.   Their business building steps often take them down the wrong pathway when they try to build their businesses from traditional, linear based marketing techniques–most of which are built on very different values than the values needed to build and sustain these new soul-centered businesses.

Building a soul-centered business from a traditional place is at best not using all of your resources, and arguably, not using your most powerful resources!

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Today, we need new information and a new marketing plan that are congruent with our new services.  We need to begin to embody our businesses in everything; branding, content, our relationship with our customers, and the way we interact with making money.  To create a vibrant business out of our passions, we need to authentically ‘be’ and express that ‘being-ness’.

To embody something, for the purpose of this article, means to feel and know it with your entire body.  It means using your body as a sensory device and an organ of perception that connects with your cognitive processing in a way that creates meaning—meaning that informs powerful action because it is coming from all of you; mind, heart and soul.`

How do we embody the heart and soul of our business?

 This is where horses can play a key role.  Horses are consummate teachers of how to use our bodies as sensory devices and organs of perception.  We like to say that they make conscious for us what is currently unconscious.  For the most part, we have no idea what we are putting across to others, what we are blocking from our teams and ourselves, and what we are attracting and how that is impacting our lives and businesses—things that to build and sustain a vibrant business you must know!!

Horses help you learn…

You could spend time – lots of time absorbing information via traditional tele-conferences and even attending live workshops and seminars, but as you come away inspired and knowledgeable, you will not come away embodying that new knowledge in a way that informs powerful and authentic profit-building action, in the way that horses can provide through equine assisted training.

Your new business building lessons will only ‘stick’ for you when you physically & spiritually engage yourself with your new learning in a meaningful way that validates your actual evolution in the way that horses can provide.  Then the lessons become a part of the next highest version of who you really are!

Some of you who don’t quite get this new evolution for your business (and life!) may read this and completely turn away. But the rest of you are beginning to vibrate with excitement, and intuitively understand that you are ready to truly embody the power of your ‘self’ with nature and share it with the world!

As children we were more open to learning with our entire being—we did not yet  compartmentalize our learning opportunities.  When we were kids, everything and everyday was a learning opportunity.  Guess what?  It still is…. and horses are wonderful and extraordinary teachers and team mates as we go about the “play” of embodying the heart and soul of our businesses!

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I hope you will join me and my collegue Lisa Murrell and learn more about Equine Guided Business Design for the Conscious Soul-o-preneur.

For more information and to listen our Tele-call visit –> HERE <–

No horse experience required – only the desire to truly connect the soul of your business to the heart of your clients!

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To Your Heart and Soul Success,

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PS – If you want to know now how to work with me and Lisa this September just jump over to this –> PAGE <–

“Milk those Business Building Events & Programs for Everything They’ve Got and Leap to the Next Highest Version of Your Business!”

If you’ve ever attended a business building seminar, weekend or tele-summit with multiple presenters sharing their savvy success secrets then you will be familiar with what I have to share with you.

You know the old riddle, “How do you eat an elephant?”

The answer is, “One bite at a time, of course!”

The elephant I’m referring to is the 2-tons of information you receive by attending business building workshops and seminars. The last event I attended I noticed so many beautiful soul-o-preneurs begin to shake with apprehension at the magnitude of what was before them with regards to creating a “successful” business.

There was a feast of excellent information, strategies and resources provided. But like any feast, it’s easy to pile our plates so high we lose the distinction between the individual helpings.

As a previous closet personal/business development junkie I can personally speak to information overload. The symptoms are easy to spot now that I’ve experienced them first hand more times than I can count.

Phase One:  there’s the eager, expressive anticipation of what’s to come.  Clean blank journal pages just waiting to be filled with the transformational wisdom poised on the lips of the austere presenters. We are hungry for this information, starving for the answers to our questions. Bring it on! Give me all you’ve got, I can take it!

Phase Two:  the light bulbs above the participants’ heads are blazing with ideas and a-has for implementing the new pearls of wisdom so generously presented to them. Pens are flying across the page inking out the tips and strategies being shared. People ask questions, share revelations and begin to make connections with other like-minded soul-o-preneurs.  This is GREAT!

Phase Three: Wow! There’s MORE! And more and more and more incredible must do, must have, must implement powerful business building tools and strategies. By now, some of those light bulbs have actually exploded leaving nothing but a twisted piece of glowing, buzzing filament dangling above some people’s overstuffed heads. Eager anticipation has turned to furrowed brow, “OMG – how am I ever going to manage all of this?!”

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! –  Information overload!

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End Result:

• Many of those great connections made with other soul-o-preneurs fall by the wayside because you’re not sure where they fit in.
• You don’t know what to do with all of that information so you don’t do anything
• You try to implement some of it but you don’t see immediate results so you figure it doesn’t work for you
• You sign up for every course offered hoping to learn how to implement this great information and realize you can’t keep up with all of it
• Or you don’t sign up for anything because you don’t know which one will best serve what you need to have happen next because you’re not exactly sure either!
• You start to compare yourself to other people who you believe are more successful than you and begin to feel anxious and dissatisfied with your own business development
• You start the search all over again for the “answer” you believe will set your business free! Because you’re sure you didn’t learn enough or learn the right “thing” for your business from all of the other events and courses you’ve attended or purchased.

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I could go on and on here but I’m sure you get the point. If you see yourself in any of this, I want to assure you there is a way out, a quantum leap out of this cycle of information overload and inertia.

Business Building events, in and of themselves are excellent resources for learning new strategies and technology as well as meeting other passionate entrepreneurs. They are not the be all and end all of helping you to create a sustainable, thriving soulo-practice that will provide you the satisfaction and lifestyle you are attempting to create.

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Here are a few best practices for gaining maximum benefit from your workshop, event or tele-summit experiences:

Research the presenters ahead of time. Is there one or two that may be able to help your particular business in a way that you have been struggling with? Make sure to connect with them directly. See if they offer any private coaching before or after the event. Or they may offer a great package price since you are attending the event.

Set a clear intention for yourself before you attend. What specifically do you want to gain as a result of attending based on what the various presenters have to offer? Pick one or two areas of your business that you feel will have the greatest impact on moving you forward.

Network, network, network! Meet other soul-o-preneurs, find out what they are up to and see if there are some ways you can help each other out. When you meet someone who may be able to complement what you do and vice-versa there is a great opportunity to create a joint-venture program or tele-call.

Be prepared to offer your own ‘free-give-away’ to the other attendees of the program. This could be in the form of a simple postcard or separate business card with a link to your splash page for that offer. You may actually pick up a client or two (which should certainly help cover the cost of your attendance) and build your list as well.

Take all the notes you want but focus on what you came to learn. Once you understand what needs to happen to implement that information get the help you need to do it right away. That help may be in the form of a mentor, a virtual assistant or a certification course. It depends on what you discover needs to happen next to move your business to the next level of success.

Implement! Implement! Implement! Once you have what you intended to get into place for your business think about what you feel needs to happen next. Go back and visit your notes and see what there is to be implemented next! Re-visit that presenters website or books, see if they have a program based on the specific set of skills or knowledge that you are seeking, then implement, implement, implement!

Follow up with the people you meet, visit their blogs, friend them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, wherever they hang out. You won’t stay in touch with everyone but you will connect with a few that you may stay in contact with for a long time to come. Offer your own pearls of wisdom on their sites and blogs and they will do the same for you. Thus, the conversation begins…

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Before you know it your business will be a well oiled machine churning out programs, products and information on a systematic platform that you assembled! You will have the assistance needed that will allow you to ‘deliver the goods’ of what you do best in a way that also provides the space for family time, dream time and personal growth.

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Remember, just because you’re a soul-o-preneur doesn’t mean you have to do it all ‘solo’.  But you do have to get into action. You have to get into inspired right action that will lead you to the next step and the next and the next. Get out of your head, stop planning everything to the nth degree and do the scary thing first – make the phone call, write the proposal, book a speaking engagement. Proclaim your service to the world and then SERVE (just remember to charge what you’re worth in the process!)

The quantum leaps you want to experience in your business ONLY happen when you are in action with a focus on where you want to land. Price Pritchett writes, “Most people confuse wishing and wanting with pursuing. You must place your trust in action.”

Merely accumulating information is like continually filling the gas tank without ever using any of the gas to fuel your vehicle. Set the Garmin to where you want to go and step on the dang gas pedal (it’s the long skinny one on the right!) 

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There’s a beautiful Quaker saying that goes something like this:

“God rewards those who pray. But, while you pray, move your feet!”

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What are some of your best practices for attending workshops, events and tele-summits? How do you eat your information elephant and get into action?

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Did you ever see the movie “Phenomenon” with John Travolta? One night after celebrating his 37^th birthday his character, George Malley walks out of his favorite pub and looks up into a star-filled sky. While he’s marveling at the magnificence he sees a ball of light hurtling toward him, growing in intensity as it gets closer until it seems to completely envelop him in a flash of blinding white which causes him to double over and reel from the intensity of it.

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George quickly begins to realize that he has phenomenal learning powers that he hadn’t possessed before. He can suddenly read any ‘how-to’ book or manual and be completely competent in that subject. He learned to speak fluent Portuguese in 20 minutes! His understanding of the Universe expands exponentially every day until he is literally performing tele-kinetic miracles as simply as reciting the alphabet.

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I remember being totally mesmerized by this movie. My heart was racing the whole time as I watched him evolve into a voracious student of life. How can he comprehend and implement so much so rapidly and so accurately? Can anyone do that if they want to?

I want to!

Watching George Malley piece together the meaning of our cosmic connections filled me with a desire to become that astute, to seek, learn and apply in a way that refines my own gifts and talents in a way that would in turn inspire others to do the same. Each inspired person is like a fuse igniting the flame of potential in those who are ready to carry the torch.

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A Metaphorical White Light

This past weekend I was blessed with the good fortune to attend the Radiant Success Event right here in little ol’ Raleigh, NC. The event was hosted by 5 phenomenal women business leaders, Ellen Britt, Kathleen Gage, Marnie Pehrson, Janis Petit and Denise Wakeman.

As I reflect on the amount of information and the various styles of presentation that each woman shared I realize that I have been handed the “torch”! That white hot light of understanding what needs to happen next and WHY!

The third day was set up for an intimate morning of mastermind time with each one of the presenters on a rotational basis. This was what I had come to this event for and I was not disappointed!

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Here are my personal “take-aways” from this experience…

It’s about YOU – I used to worry that I wasn’t ‘savvy’ enough or ‘famous’ enough or ‘worthy’ of the gifted clients I set out to serve.  This kind of fear and worry makes what happens next in my business about “the little me”, which often resulted in uninspired action and giving my power away to others. When I focus on the ways that I can help you define and monetize your spiritual gifts in the most authentic way possible then I am completely operating from my own highest self where there is no room for fear and worry.

Validation – I got it! Though my tribe is still small, the family is growing (and thriving!). I am vibrating at the next highest level of my own business that is calling me forward to step into a bigger arena of powerful, progressive, provocative women who are leading the charge toward conscious evolution through self expression!

Incredible connections to brilliant soul-o-preneurs – Denise, Janis, Marnie, Kathleen and Ellen attracted a broad range of entrepreneurs who genuinely want to build a life-style business that not only feed their soul but contributes to the lives of their clients and customers in an impactful way. The numerous people I connected with were proof that the old model of “selling” is dead. It’s ALL about relationship and a knowing that you as a client are having your best interests looked out for at all times.

Strategy – I came away with a concrete plan to launch a powerful conversation in the form of a tele-summit to take place in the late fall, “Conscious Evolution and The Next Highest Version of You!” There will be much ‘evolving’ on my own part as this comes together over the next several months.

The Book – “Conscious Evolution and The Next Highest Version of You!” This book has been following me very closely for the last year and half. Though I have much research and partial chapters created I have been terrified to commit to the project because it feels so much bigger than me! When I was actually able to articulate that with Ellen Britt it occurred to me that I needed to collaborate with other consciously evolved leaders and share their stories throughout the book as examples and inspiration to the readers. Hence, the Strategy!

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Grow into the next highest version of your business – you don’t have to do it alone!

I know this article was a lot about “me” today, but I hope this sharing will inspire you to step out from behind that entrepreneurial belief “I can do it myself” and get out and get connected. Go to a workshop, meet some like minded people, join a coaching program, seek, learn and apply.

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If you’ve attended a great event or coaching experience lately I’d love to read about your “take-aways”. It’s always inspiring to share the ‘a-has’!

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To Your Heart & Soul Success,

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PS – Stay tuned for the next edition of “Fabulous News” where I will highlight best practices for getting the most out of attending live events and workshops for growing your business!

This post is particularly topic related to women but I know some of you spirit-rich men will relate to this as well.

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I’ve spent the past two days helping to coach a room full of fabulous female entrepreneurs. Each one has her own special brand of transformational service. We spent a good portion of yesterday on the topic of money. WoW – You’ve heard the expression “Shift Happens”? Well the Shift definitely hit the fan for several of these women yesterday! It was electric!

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This incredibly important subject often gets left out of so many business building programs and seminars because the presenters don’t know how to help their clients through the breakthroughs required in order to expand their ability to receive more money in their lives! All of the tips, techniques and tools necessary to build a successful business will not get you to a sustainable income if you don’t first become crystal clear about the beliefs and patterns that have been running your ability to receive and keep money in your life and business.

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There are 3 whopping obstacles around creating money in your business that the majority of women soul-o-preneurs are not even aware of. The first one is so critical that without getting over, around or through this obstacle on a deep and permanent level, no amount of business savvy will take you to where you want to go!

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#1 – They don’t believe they deserve it.

It has been ingrained in the collective psyche of women for millennia that money is the matter of men. Intellectually of course, we understand that it is no longer true. But it’s our underlying beliefs that dictate our actions and the circumstances we attract into our lives. These circumstances either block us from receiving or create events that over-come our in-come!

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#2 – They don’t have a plan!

Too many women are brilliant at what they do yet have no plan to take their business to a sustainable level of income that will actually provide the lifestyle they crave. They have a definite desire to reach more people with their special product or service yet they rarely create a specific monetary goal with definitive benchmarks and action steps to manifest that goal.

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#3 – They don’t implement.

Growing your own business requires growing yourself both professionally and spiritually. It requires a balance and integration of being equally comfortable with giving and receiving. Women are remarkable at supporting others, offering a hand, volunteering, lending a shoulder to cry on and bending over backwards to make sure others get what they need. However, we are notorious for not asking for the help we need for ourselves – especially with regards to moving our businesses forward.

If you are a soulful service provider with a talent for helping others heal, create order in their lives, express themselves, achieve physical, mental or emotional balance, harmony in their environment, loving relationships, systems for their business, self-esteem or any other life and soul enhancing product or service then you must find a way to get your message to the people who need and are seeking you!

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If you are not ASKING you are not RECEIVING!

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Every successful soul-o-preneur I know (including myself) has achieved a breakthrough in all of the above areas of their businesses through the accountability and mentorship of working with a coach that can help them recognize and move through their limiting beliefs about money and deservability, help them to create an exciting and achievable plan for their business and guide them through the implementation and execution of that plan with practical action steps, love and an occasional kick in the rear!

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I had the privilege of witnessing a spectacular breakthrough yesterday during a spotlight coaching session with Kendall SummerHawk. Kendall is one of my mentors and happened to be a guest presenter at the Passionate Profit Inspired Income event here in Tucson with Helen Graves.

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One courageous woman shared her frustration over the fact that she couldn’t invest in a coaching program to help her grow her business due to the fact that she had inherited her mother’s estate upon her death and was unable to pay the tax bill that came along with it. Not only is the estate now in foreclosure but her business has completely fallen off during this time period and her savings is completely wiped out! Pretty terrifying circumstances for anyone to be in.

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Kendall invited her examine the fact that this might be a deep seated pattern in her life that became ingrained her during her childhood.

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Although the woman couldn’t identify anything right away, Kendall asked her what monetary goal she would like to achieve this year. She said $80,000. But when asked what she would do with that money, everything she came up with had to do with giving it away and taking care of other people – including the IRS!

There was no mention of taking care of herself or her business. The exercise opened a floodgate of aha’s and a new awareness of where she needs to heal and replace some extremely detrimental beliefs and patterns around money in her life.

You deserve to RECEIVE!

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This was a beautiful example of a deep seated belief that the money coming into her life is not for her. Of course, it is wonderful to have the freedom and finances to give and do for others, it’s in our nature. But when that belief excludes giving to ourselves because we believe it is selfish or even that we are not worthy, then the Universe has no choice but to deliver the circumstances in our lives that will substantiate the beliefs that we are resonating with.

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This is TRUE, even if you are not consciously aware of it!!!

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I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get a new awareness around money in your life and business. Money is part of our spiritual path, just as the contribution we make through our work is part of our spiritual evolution. You cannot ignore it and expect to receive it at the same time.

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Are you READY to RECEIVE?

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 You have the perfect opportunity to examine some of your own beliefs and uncover some hidden patterns around money this coming Wednesday May 5^th.

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The longer you delay looking at this issue – the bigger the issue will become in your life.

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Visit: www.MoneyandSoulWorkshop.com for more info and to register.

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If you can’t be on the call live – it will be recorded. I will be offering an opportunity to work with me privately as well but this course is a pre-requisite in order to maximize and accelerate your results!

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I’d love to know what you see as your greatest challenge to receiving money in your business is today! Leave your comments below ~

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Heart & Soul Hugs,

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PS – I’ve extended registration through Sunday in order to receive your Money Archetype cards in time for the call on Wednesday. If you register after Sunday you can still particpate in the workshop, you will just have to refer to the cards later when they arrive. Unfortunately, at this point I cannot guarantee Tuesday delivery anywhere outside of the USA.

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Entrepreneurs who want to serve everyone (especially women) absolutely hate to leave anyone out. I know, I struggled with this myself. The pitfall here is that when you describe your business or service to others your language and ‘feeling’ of commitment is vague. You don’t get specific enough because you don’t want to ‘exclude’ the prospective client.

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Here’s the catch… by not being specific, you’ve already excluded the prospective client because they will never feel like you are speaking to them directly. This is whether or not you are having a live conversation, they are visiting your website or even looking at your business card!

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If you have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on marketing materials to ‘brand your business’ yet you haven’t clearly connected to your own perfect client then you might as well toss that cash out the window!

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There are 4 Things you need to consider with regards to identifying your client “Tribe”

1. How to narrow you niche
2. Create a perfect client profile
3. Know what you want and Who you really are
4. Know what your Tribe wants and who they really are!

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For those of you who believe what you have to offer benefits absolutely everyone I want you to realize that even if that’s true – you’re not going to benefit ANYONE if no-one can find you and hire your expertise to solve their problem.

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To attract your perfect client first means that you need to clearly identify who that person is for yourself.

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Niche = What you do.

Market (Perfect Client) = Who you do it for.

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All of you know what you do – now takes some time to clearly define who you most want to serve. A group of perfect clients can further be defined as your ‘Tribe’.

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Here’s myself as an example:

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My niche = What I do = Coach/Consultant or CoachSultant!

Narrowing that further = Business Coach

– again = Business Coach for the Entrepreneur

– again = Business Coach for the Solo-preneur

– again = Business Coach for the Soulful Service provider

– again – Business Coach for the Woman Soul-o-preneur!

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Could I take my principles, tools and methodologies and help any business? Yes.

Could I do the same for any type of entrepreneur? Yes.

The same for any solo-preneur? Yes.

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The other question here is who do I want to spend my time with? I have my own criteria as to how I want to live my life and who I want to help achieve their own dreams and personal best. The soulful service providers like you are the ‘tribe’ of people that I resonate with, that I want to see become successful because what you do actually enhances and transforms the lives of others!

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My focusing on a small tribe of people becoming financially stable so that they can share their gifts with a broader audience is my contribution to the WORLD.

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Remember the cliché- “Think Globally, Act Locally”?

Each of us is the catalyst for a greater ripple throughout humanity – but not until the slice of humanity that will best be served by our expertise can find us!

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“There is no value in being a best kept secret.” ~Helen Graves

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For a comprehensive look at your own business I invite you to connect with me personally, or through one of the many programs offered.

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What is YOUR Criteria and WHO do you want to spend your precious TIME with? It’s your LIFE!

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Don’t put this off any longer – in order to serve many, you need to connect with WHO you are meant to serve; the ones who are actually seeking YOU!

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Quick ~

Today (April 1st, 2010) is the last day to save $200 on your investment in the Branding with Archetypes Virtual Intensive.

As an additional bonus ~ every participant will receive the audio recording of the intensive PLUS an 80 minute audio workshop on “What the Heck’s My Niche?” complete with practical breakthrough exercises, notes and transcript! (Value = $694!)

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Be sure to use the coupon code SPEC200 when you register!

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I can’t wait to connect with you and your Archetypes!

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~to Your Heart & Soul Success,

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