I know I am not alone when it comes to time management…I know there are tips and techniques to manage your time better – heck, I’ve even written about it! HA!

What happened to Days 9 and 10? Their reporting, although not the original goal of creating new revenue streams, got engulfed in the following cool things that are coming up:

I created a new product, a Meaningful Work meditation audio that is going to be used as a bonus for Joe Vitale’s upcoming release of the latest Attactor Factor. Buy Joe’s book and get tons of bonuses, or alternately, you can get my audio for free through the month of September.

I completed another product: Web Traffic 101 – a beginner’s guide to understanding the basic lingo and concepts of search engine optimization, keywords, traffic, etc.  It’s designed specifically to help you get the mindset needed to begin making money online, presented in fun and easy to understand language.  This is a bonus for Joe Vitale’s Operation Yes charity event, where he is working to end poverty through knowledge and self-empowerment. Again, this is a September freebie special, whether you get involved with Operation Yes or not. You can sign up to receive the audio by going to my parent site, SmartWoman Publishing – sign up box is in the upper right corner.

I attended the COOLEST meetup with other Austin-TX area internet marketing entrepreneurs – some of my heroes, like Craig Perrine, Pat O’Bryan and too many others to name. I actually fit in and made many friends and picked up several Twitter friends (follow me @smartwoman). Any time you can attend a physical gathering of like minded friends, do it. I was able to meet some of my Twitter buddies face to face and it enriches and deepens the relationships even more.

This week, I saw my name and face on the same webpage as some of my favorite spiritual speakers and thinkers, like Jack Canfield, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Mark Victor Hansen, and so many more (it was just a mock up but will be real on the 16th).  I am offering the Web Traffic audio mentioned above as a bonus for Eldon Taylor’s upcoming drive to help raise charitable funds to support women worldwide to become financially self-reliant. It’s quite a thrill and I tell you this more to promote the event than brag on myself (I am still dumbstruck that I am involved with a project that has so many people I admire  – it’s a hoot!). More details will be forthcoming very soon.

The theme? Giving. We get what we give away. I am offering products that I believe in, that I intend to charge for, and that I gave my best effort to produce. There was nothing ”tossed off” about them. My intention is to not only provide service, but to strengthen the energetic pull of people who would enjoy my story, my point of view, and the community I am working to build here. 

So, what have you done today to continue the flow of money toward you?  What have you given away?

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

My love affair with John Cow continues. I am a staunch supporter of his blog and what he does. I encourage you all to fall in love with the CowBoy too. The site is actually a three way partnership effort from some of the best internet marketers in the business so their advice is totally worthwhile. They are generous with their support and advice and on the leading edge of what works and what doesn’t (without any of the bull, shady techniques of some other marketers). Yes, I am biased, but don’t take my word for it – find out for yourself!

I’ve offered this before, but if you haven’t already, get your 130 pg. free “Building a Business Not a Blog” ebook on how to start a new blog from the ground up. It’s straightforward and relatively easy. Like following a recipe! I can recommend it without reservation. (Hint- I also get amazing, high quality traffic when I post to the JohnCow blog with a link back – you could too if you just got involved!)

John Cow also has great resources to help you promote your blog once you get it going, so take a taste of their style by getting the free stuff and then see if it piques your interest for some of their other products, like CommentKahuna and TrafficKahuna. They’re affordable and effective – I use them and find them easy to use and very helpful.

Enjoy the goodies and contact me if I can help you further!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Today, I am launching a new fun project for myself. We talk about leveraging our time, being gutsy, building momentum and taking one small step here at SmartWomanGuides, so today it begins.

I will be adding a new revenue stream to my life (on this website or others) every day for the next 30 days. I will keep you posted on my progress.

The rules I will follow are simple:

Must be leveraged, passive, or residual in nature.
Must be something I believe in and can recommend with integrity.
Must be in keeping with my audience’s needs.
Must be fun, easy, and now.

I am open to your suggestions on what you’d like to see available here, so feel free to add your input in the comment section. And, if you’re inspired, do the same month of products for yourself and let us know about what you’re doing.

Wish me luck!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. If you want to keep posted on the monthly progress, be sure to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on twitter @SmartWoman

Deciding feels empowering.  When you finally make up your mind that you are going to achieve a particular goal, you are filled with a calmness. It’s only when I sit on the fence that I feel trepidation. A dear mentor of mine used to joke “Do you know what sitting on the fence will get you? (answer = splinters in your butt)”. There’s just something about making up your mind that helps.

Too often, though, the next stage is “but how do I do that?” and all kinds of personal doubt and fear begin seeping into your decision. The “who, what, where, when, how?”, creeps into your rosy decidedness and your calmness flies out the window.

When this happens, I do several things. First, I mentally stand firm – get determined – to take whatever actions it will require to accomplish the goal I decided on achieving. I commit to myself that I will go the distance. I act like a coach, telling myself I can do it, that I have what it takes, and that I’m “in it to win it”. Mentally, it sounds like a high school track meet rally. A little cheesy perhaps, but I would recommend you try it for yourself before you knock it. It works for me.

Next, I make a list of what I think it will take to accomplish my goal. I do this lightly and creatively, capturing all I can (see the project management 101 post to get more detail.) I include in this listing an honest recognition of my abilities. Just like the children’s story about the little engine that could, I tell myself “I think I can”. I don’t count on mantras or positive self talk to make me a gold medal gymnast if I can’t even do a cartwheel, but if I’ve done tasks before (or know someone who can do it for me), I mentally check off that part of it. By mentally setting it aside, the weight of the challenge lessens. I only really have to evaluate the difficulty of the unknown, of what I haven’t done before or don’t have a resource to do it. Usually about 75% or more is already a controllable and managable known item, so really it’s only the balance of the issue that needs to be investigated or resolved.

Secondly, I develop the habit of always returning to my decision. Not to reevaluate it, or question its validity, but rather to commit to it, again and again. Declaring your faith in yourself, in your abilities, and in your decision is valuable. It gives you and your ideas energy.

To declare my faith, I take some deep breaths and I say that I embrace and respect my decision. I claim my devotion to seeing my decision manifest. I reiterate that I stand willing and ready to be shown how my decision can come to be. I restate that I believe this can be. I use my spirituality here too, but you don’t necessarily have to do that if it’s not what you believe. It takes faith in yourself first and foremost but any help you can receive is good to get if it helps you.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. It can get tricky when you have to take action before you have the evidence or proof that it will work. And, faith won’t necessarily make it all work out how you think it will. But, it’s the engine of change. It’s the start button for new stuff. And, it helps reinforce your determination of action. So, start with faith in your decisions, have determination in your actions, and I have no doubt that it will work for you. Chime in here with any experiences where your faith and determination has helped you in your business. It always helps to hear how others do it.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

I watched a very sweet and quirky movie last night entitled Lars and the Real Girl. On the surface, the movie seemed like it might just be strange, but the characters and writing and message quickly drew me in. How they told the story and the underlying compassion beneath it is what has really stayed with me through today.

The story is about Lars, a painfully shy, yet very good-hearted man who has been seemingly damaged to the point of no repair by his family history. He lives in the garage apartment of his childhood home with his older brother and pregnant sister-in-law, both of whom care very deeply for him and try to help him overcome his less than fully fuctional state. He has a job, but he is very inept at socialization, and compulsively keeps to himself.

Lars decides to purchase Bianca, a life-sized girl doll, as a companion. To Lars, Bianca is alive and very real. Unlike the more typical uses for an anatomically correct doll, Lars treats Bianca with love, respect, and dignity. He compliments her, tells her jokes, opens the door for her, and they sleep in separate rooms because, being that their relationship is so new, to do otherwise would be a violation of trust. Any woman would yearn to be treated with so much care.

Of course his brother, who carries guilt with him for their childhood years through hard times, goes bonkers with worry about Lars seemingly going off the deep end. The sister-in-law hatches a plan to get Lars to accompany his new latex girlfriend to see the local doctor (who also happens to be a psychologist) to make sure Biana stayed healthy during her travel. The doctor uses the time during Bianca’s “treatments” to help Lars untangle his psyche. The doctor further suggests that Lars is not mentally ill, but rather having a delusion designed to help him work through his childhood trauma. She encourages them all to go with it, to treat Bianca as a person until Lars is able to move on without her.

What ensues is a deeply humorous and insightful journey about attachment (or lack of it), the very human need for companionship, and how each of us uses symbols of some sort to not only cope with our traumas, but also to define who we are in this world. We all have our delusions and we all have a need for acceptance.

Here is a scene where the brother and his wife are telling their church family about Bianca and Lars’ need for understanding:

By the end of the movie, the entire town has befriended Bianca with an unconditional love and patience unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. There are no “kill the bully to get the girl” undercurrents here. No one particularly makes fun of Lars. They seem to buy into the idea that he is working through a healing process. Even if he never “gets better”, he is happier than they’ve ever seen him and is interacting with them more than he ever has before.

I don’t want to spoil the story but suffice it to say, Lars works through his issue and returns to humanity able to love and interact with real people like other better adjusted adults. What seemed like a crazy little movie turned out to be a shining example of a new way of treating each other, a new formula of communicating and sharing.

Your first response to this story might be to reject it as unrealistic. Bullies are a given in this dog-eat-dog world and everyone makes fun of those who are different, right? It’s just human nature to be competitive….right? I don’t happen to believe that, but maybe so.

So, how do we create change? I think our world changes, in part, by movies like this. To see such a well done representation of love in action moved and inspired me. It touched my heart because I long for this type of world. And, when people are moved and inspired, they act differently. They change.

So, finally, we arrive at our business. How can we effectively change our world in a way that moves us from war and hate to love and peace? How do we do that through our business? What is our current metaphor, the symbolic story we tell, that defines us and how we conduct our business? What is our coping delusion and how can we heal and move past it?

What is your business Biana, your delusion for coping? What do you choose as your companion in business? Is it stress or worry? Is it food or tobacco? Is it procrastination? Or something positive, yet still a delusion? Would you be able to serve another by understanding their need and allowing for their differences without ridicule? Would you have voted Bianca onto the school board (yes, the story humorously goes that far…)?

Every day, as business people, we are given the opportunity to reach others and serve them. yet often we are focused only on our own viewpoints and needs. When we look beyond the “norm” and truly see another for what they need and how we can help, lives can be transformed. It’s the stories we hold sacred and the metaphors we live that guide us.

What is your business metaphor? How can you soften your grip on your own delusion to move forward in a better and faster way? I challenge you to find out and to do it. Not only is it good business but you will impact others in a way you can barely imagine yet. Go rent the movie and see if inspires you too. Then, go do your thing. Even if this world isn’t idealic yet, do your thing. It makes a beautiful (even if quirky) difference.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Enjoy this 15 minute interview with mega-entrepreneur Evan Carmichael.

As my loyal readers know, I am a huge fan of EvanCarmichael.com. Since my first day of finding Evan’s entrepreneur resource site, I am been enamoured. It’s thoughtful, it’s jam-packed with helpful and relevant information, and it has the best interviews of historical and current day mega-entrepreneurs available. If you need inspiration and know-how, it’s a must see.

Imagine my excitement when the company’s founder, Evan Carmichael, agreed to an interview!

Evan is a down-to-earth, well-rounded man with big dreams and the smarts to make those dreams come true. We discussed his beginnings as an entrepreneur and how he has built his business to where it is today. He shared how he approached the development of the software company he grew, the marketing research methods he applied, and then how EvanCarmichael.com blossomed out of his original personal website.

I also asked Evan to be frank with my readers about the specific challenges and opportunities that affect female entrepreneurs today. Evan has interviewed dozens of successful women and I felt he would give us a fresh perspective. We discussed finding inspirational role models, and the value of leadership and high self-esteem. We discussed the need to share and support each other in the entrepreneurial community. And he also told me where he hopes to take his business next.

Enjoy the interview and go visit Evan’s site. You won’t be disappointed!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

It’s essential, as the lead visionary entrepreneur of your business, to review the impact of what you are spending your time on and then prioritize the most leveraged activities first. Here are some suggestions to help you make some shifts to improve your business:

1.  Do an inventory of your highest use skills: Does it make sense, if you are an expert at business consulting, for you to be programming websites? No. Does it seem a smart use of resources for you to learn how to program websites from scratch when the genius high school kid down the street can already program circles around you and needs a summer job? No, no, no.

Start releasing your need to have your fingers in everything. Build a team of  people you can rely on. Trust people who know better than you. There is nothing wrong with outsourcing your weaknesses. Your lesser skills are not a disease. They don’t need to be cured. Play to your strengths only. Those skills are your specialty–insist on utilizing your highest skill.

2.  Reduce your availability: It’s a myth that human beings are capable of multi-tasking. If you are having to apply your creativity to create a proposal that has a looming deadline, it doesn’t help for you to hear every ding from emails coming into your inbox, your cell phone ringing, your pager going off, and your latest training seminar flowing out of your computer speakers.

You need to shut it all down and focus. Check your email mid-morning after you’ve had a few hours to get some work done. Let your calls go to voicemail (with the ringer turned to mute) and return calls at specified, limited times of the time. Chunk your time so that you can focus on one important task at a time. One of your chunks might be “miscellaneous to-do’s” so you can catch up on all your loose ends, but don’t intertwine them all together. It negatively impacts the quality of all of your work.

3.  Know your rhythms: If you struggle to do analytical thinking first thing in the morning (or at least until you’ve had 2 cups of coffee), don’t. You will make more mistakes and your task will take twice as long. If you are sharp as a tac in the morning but at 2-4 pm you can’t focus anymore, don’t plan meetings where you have to be “on” during that time. Be honest in your evaluation of yourself and your preferences. You didn’t choose to be an entrepreneur to limit your choices. Live and work the way that fits your personality best.

4.  Dump the meetings: Traditionally, face-to-face meetings have been a requirement. Salespeople would go to cold calls where they had no clue if they were even welcome to be there at all, let alone could hope for a sale to close. But go they would. It’s very old-school and it is not automatically the only way to do business. It’s often the least productive way.

Same goes for employee meetings.  Ask yourself if a face-to-face is really the only and best way. If it’s not, do something else. Don’t let travel and perceived tradition restrict your productivity. Try webinars, tele-conferences, phone calls, video conferencing, IM and maybe even don’t have any “check-in” at all. Let your employees impress you with their initiative rather than report in on their compliance.

5. Systematize and automate: If you are doing the same task over and over, the same way, in the same circumstance, figure out a way to systematize or automate that task. Computers totally shine in these circumstances. Email autoresponders, automatic downloads, sales scripts, order entry checklists, outsourced virtual assistants, website FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) and interns work great. Use them. It’s fun once you make the adjustments.

I know I might sound harsh. I also realize that these suggestions fly in the face of traditional approaches.  I can own that. But, there is a method to my madness.

Why do I feel so strongly about this? It’s because I know what you are capable of, the  brilliance that is there to be tapped. Playing small does no one any good. Fully stepping into the best use of your best skills can literally revolutionize your world. And my world. Our world. Start today examining what you can leverage so that we can all enjoy the wonderful fruits of your labor. Please? Pretty please? 

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

My Favorite Books About Leveraging and Outsourcing

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

This book made a huge difference for me in organizing my office, desk top, filing system and my focus. It’s an gentle read with practical, step-by-step processes to help you get going and keep going more productively.

 
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

I’ve recommended this book before–it has changed my entire work philosophy. Don’t let your skepticism stop you from embracing the idea that you can design and live the life of your dreams, with time to do as you will and deep job satisfaction too. 

                                       Be sure to check out Tim’s blog entry about “Time Bind”

Sometimes you have to make your commitments out loud, to an audience of supportive people, to make their outcome real. My goal with today’s post is to review our first month together and make my commitments to you for the upcoming month.

In our first month, over 1300 people have visited SmartWoman Guides!  I had my first interview and also had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Brown about being a female entrepreneur. I’d like to double our number of visitors in June, so would you help me spread the word? It would be much appreciated. The more, the merrier, right?

For June, I already have two exclusive interviews scheduled with some heavy weight entrepreneurs (I’m keeping their names a surprise until reveal day!). My goal is at least 4 interviews this month. If you know someone who would be inspiring to our audience, and/or if you’d like to be presented here, please contact me.

At this point, our community here has been visited by women in the United States, Russia, Korea, Japan, the UK, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Austria, and Germany. My goal is to facilitate an international community so I wholeheartedly welcome the women around the world who have joined us here. Thank you for visiting.

For June, I’d like to add 10 more countries. I intend to add an international post weekly and am looking for female ambassadors from every country who could report to us on her country’s progress in supporting the goals of women entrepreneurs. Is that you? If so, please contact me.

In May, I provided the 50 Female Resource Sites listing, the Emerging Woman Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Workbook, and a free Your Internet Cash Machine book sampler from Joe Vitale and Jillian Coleman Wheeler.

In June, I will provide more free resources and training, at least one write-up per week. I will also be adding more free articles, at least 3 per week and I will continue to recommend great websites every week. Please contact me with the specific types of help you need, as it’s important to me to give you what you need the most.

In June, I will begin releasing a weekly newsletter. It will include special bonuses and product reviews that give you a deeper look at the resources available to you as a female entrepreneur.

I am developing a Web Traffic 101 Study Course, a beginner’s guide to creating web traffic and I’ll be adding free monthly teleseminars so you get the chance to talk with me live with your questions and issues. I will announce the first teleseminar date later this week.

Thank you to all of you who have made me feel so welcome. As always, I am available if you need me.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. Watch for an upcoming Female Entrepreneur Makeover contest as well…do you know anyone who could use that? If so, keep your eyes peeled for the details!

I learned many lessons about Life from my beloved little dog, Killer. A constant companion and devoted friend for over 20 years, when he passed last year, I struggled. It has taken some time for the heartache to finally fade back to be replaced by fonder memories of walks in the woods, the perpetually amusing antics, and “The Little Man’s” joyful “Hollywood smile”. I thought it appropriate on Memorial Day to share one of my favorite memories.

Killer loved chocolate covered donuts. I mean, LOVED. He would do nearly anything for them. Yes, sadly, some dogs (about 10%) die from eating chocolate but Killer was not one of them. He would run around like a pre-school youngster on a sugar buzz high when he ate them, but that was about the worst of it. He could not get enough of those yummy things.

Now, Killer was a dog of distinctly discerning taste. He didn’t prefer just any old chocolate donut, no. Those waxy little minis that your mother put in your lunchbox would not do. His donuts of choice were Entemman’s and they were full sized and deluxe. Only the best would satisfy Killer. He wouldn’t eat any other kind.

One night, a showdown was brewing between Killer and my human companion, Kevin. There was only one donut left in the box. Kevin loved chocolate donuts too and knew how Killer felt about them. We both treat our pets like people, but actual people still get priority, so, politically speaking, that last donut was Kevin’s. The battle of wills was on.

As Kevin claimed the last donut, Killer became single mindedly transfixed. He would not–could not–take his eyes off that donut. Kevin started playfully egging Killer on a bit, making a real show of it, humming, saying “Oooh, MMMM, this looks so good”. The good-hearted teasing only amplified Killer’s resolve. He intended to get some of that donut.

Killer tried everything. He flashed his award winning smile. He sat and stayed at attention with perfect, well-behaved precison. He did each of his trained tricks one after another, hoping for a reward. He gave it his all. He resorted to relentlessly following Kevin around, his little doggie mind working as fast as it could on a strategy. 

Finally, as Kevin plopped onto the sofa to enjoy his snack, Killer launched his plan. He scurried up Kevin’s outstretched body from the floor when Kevin’s feet touched the ground, making a full speed beeline for his goal. Kevin was so surprised (and hysterically laughing) that he could barely recover. He instinctively reacted by pulling his arms (and the hand that held the tasty morsel) over his head at the edge of the sofa, where that chocolate prize now hung inches from the floor.

Killer immediately hopped off Kevin and dove for his heart’s desire, now enticingly available to him at his 12″ height. Victory was within reach! Kevin realized his treat was in true peril and snatched it back to safety just as Killer was reaching up to take a bite.

This all happened within just a few seconds, and we were in tears from laughter. Moral of the story: Kevin was so impressed with Killer’s, well, doggedness, that he gave that scruffy little canine a full half of the last donut. Killer was officially dubbed “The Mighty Donut Hunter” that day and we got a story that still makes us laugh. And, most importantly, I witnessed a real life, real time demonstration of passion, focus, and determination.

So, I ask you. As an entrepreneur, what drives your passion and determination? What are you willing to give your complete, focused attention to? What is YOUR chocolate donut?…

God speed and love to all who have gone before.
Together, we are stronger.

Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman