Part of the excitement of being an entrepreneur is often in the creation mode of having a brilliant idea, getting the thumbs up from those you admire, and seeing your concept take on a life of its own. Right? A benchmark of "success" could be in seeing that idea fully expressed with products and services being sold at a profit. However, it's how and if you make the journey from CONCEPT to FULL EXPRESSION which really makes all the difference of whether you succeed or not. It's not necessarily about how great your idea is. With that said it's no wonder that many great ideas never make it out there in a big way. Looking back it's often because the entrepreneur just gave up.
So if you have a great idea and you're passionate about what you're doing, here are some strategies you can use to maintain a high vibration around your project and help keep you motivated and moving forward:
1. Celebrate after each milestone is achieved.
Don't think you have to wait for the end of the journey to celebrate as success will occur at many points along the way. So take the time to acknowledge and celebrate these milestones and you'll stay motivated for longer periods of time. Could be that you've finished building your team, prototype being ready, first investor check has arrived, first order, etc.
2. Stay focused on what's driving you.
Keep constant reminders around of why you're doing what you're doing to help you stay motivated. It's easy to lose site of why you're in business during the rough patches. Also, it helps to have a vision that is much bigger than just making money such as helping the community or healing the planet.
3. Surround yourself with incredible people---ditch the downers!
Gracefully let go of relationships with people who do not know how to support you on your journey. Replace them with people who know how to lift you up, have traveled a similar path and can alleviate your fears, will open doors for you and generally make your life easier.
4. Create a routine that fosters creativity, accomplishments, & manageable tasks.
I find my productivity is maximized and I can keep my vibration high if I break my day down into 2 hour activity increments as well as create a priority list that is reasonable. Part of my time is spent in creative activities with no interruptions, specific revenue generating activities as well as operational tasks. I also include daily breaks and quiet time in the mix. Keeps me engaged and motivated throughout the day!
5. Give yourself permission to do the tasks that you love and delegate what you don't.
Entrepreneurs think they have to wear ALL the hats in their business and work on everything all at once. If you're consistently doing activities you don't enjoy, you'll quickly lose your passion and motivation to see it all the way through. Give yourself permission to focus on those activities you enjoy and are good at and commit to attracting the right people who can do the rest.
6. Respect the learning curve.
Chances are you're traveling down a path you haven't traveled before so in addition to having to make the best decisions for your business, you'll also need to set aside some time to learn about the resources so you can make the best informed decision. It's important to add your learning curve into the equation otherwise you'll always feel you're lagging behind and this could be very de-motivating. Another way to overcome this is to make sure you have people around you who possess the very skills you may be lacking.
7. Take time out for self-care no matter what.
No, you won't necessarily get there any faster if you work nonstop. You'll probably burn out first. Even just taking 15 minutes a day to be still, meditate or just process your day can make a world of difference. This is also a good time to maintain a daily exercise regimen and healthy diet. It's also important to have some down time once a week, no less than once a month. Stepping away will keep you fresh, rested, motivated and more productive.
8. Stay connected, avoid isolation.
It's important to immerse yourself in your industry and to network with peers and mentors. This can be accomplished by "showing up" at various events for direct contact to these people and other prospective resources. Besides the relationships, the exposure to people in similar situations will help you stay connected and motivated. This can also be accomplished with the use of social networking tools. I love Twitter for this reason!
9. Take time to acquire the resources you need.
Struggling for long periods at a time on a "shoe-string" can be tiring and will quickly lead to lack of motivation. Take the time to acquire the proper funding, equipment, etc., before you put yourself too far out there on a limb.
Application of these strategies will help you stay motivated and experience more joy as you're ramping up your business! Maria Simone helps those who are in various stages of planning, packaging, and launching their businesses acquire the resources they need AND STAY MOTIVATED at http://www.passion2prosperity.com
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
7 Strategies To Help You Quickly ATTRACT Investors
This week's article is about positioning yourself to become more attractive to capital. If you're not raising capital however, just substitute any comparable resource you desire to have. It still works since the emphasis is on attracting what you need next!
Prospective investors are all around you ---there is no shortage of money. The key is, the more prepared you are, the more compelling your investment opportunity becomes. Raising capital from investors or acquiring the proper resources you need is a right of any entrepreneur and one of the best ways a growing business can assure its success. Learn how to compel others to invest rather than you "chasing" the money. Here are the top 7 things you can do right from the beginning to build value in your business and help you become more ATTRACTIVE to the money. This list is only a guideline and it should not be implied that all these are absolutely necessary to be successful in this process...it just helps to accelerate your efforts.
1. Develop a healthy relationship with money and know that you deserve to have it.
Money is just energy and capital is just one of the many resources necessary to grow your business. If you become too attached to this process or have a sense that your self-worth is tied to how much money you have, you may actually repel investors.
2. People invest in PEOPLE.
Make sure you've taken the time to attract the right mentors and advisors to support you during this process to help you attract the resources you need. There are others who have made this journey successfully before you so find out who they are and attach them to your project somehow. Investors and sponsors are more inclined to put their money into a project with a management and advisory team that has a proven track record. If they've done it once, they are more likely to re-create their success.
3. Do what you can to prove out or VALIDATE your concept.
Includes developing your markets, monetizing some aspect of your business, building a database of prospective customers, forming strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures, and/or obtaining purchase orders and letters of interest whenever possible. Bottom line, investors and sponsors are more inclined to take notice if you can show that there really is interest in your products and services.
4. Develop a Business Plan.
One that illustrates the market you're serving, describes your products and services and details how you plan to get them in the hands of your customers. A plan is also a great visual representation of what you desire to have and that alone will help you begin manifesting whatever you need to make it happen.
5. Obtain as much protection for your Intellectual Property (IP) as possible.
Having a patent, or the opportunity to patent your IP, is generally the most attractive IP opportunity to an investor. If not a patent, make sure you have the opportunity to create future IP such as trademarks and copyrights to show that your products and services will not become obsolete. Protect what you can up front to assure interest from investors but if that's not possible now, make sure you have a plan to do so in the near future.
6. Get connected!
Investors will have a higher degree of confidence and interest in an entrepreneur who knows how to network and easily connect to the resources he or she needs. Join groups that support your agenda, connect with your community, show up at industry related events, tap into the power of social networking.
7. Make sure you are passionate and invested in this process yourself and be able to clearly articulate that to investors. Investors want to know how much time and money YOU'VE invested, how passionate YOU are, how far YOU'RE willing to go with it and how stable YOU are emotionally and financially so that they know you'll have staying power. The more committed you are to making the "journey", the more attractive you will become to investors.
Application of these items will help you become super-attractive to money and other resources! Maria Simone helps those who are in various stages of planning, packaging, and launching their businesses acquire the resources they need at http://www.passion2prosperity.com
Prospective investors are all around you ---there is no shortage of money. The key is, the more prepared you are, the more compelling your investment opportunity becomes. Raising capital from investors or acquiring the proper resources you need is a right of any entrepreneur and one of the best ways a growing business can assure its success. Learn how to compel others to invest rather than you "chasing" the money. Here are the top 7 things you can do right from the beginning to build value in your business and help you become more ATTRACTIVE to the money. This list is only a guideline and it should not be implied that all these are absolutely necessary to be successful in this process...it just helps to accelerate your efforts.
1. Develop a healthy relationship with money and know that you deserve to have it.
Money is just energy and capital is just one of the many resources necessary to grow your business. If you become too attached to this process or have a sense that your self-worth is tied to how much money you have, you may actually repel investors.
2. People invest in PEOPLE.
Make sure you've taken the time to attract the right mentors and advisors to support you during this process to help you attract the resources you need. There are others who have made this journey successfully before you so find out who they are and attach them to your project somehow. Investors and sponsors are more inclined to put their money into a project with a management and advisory team that has a proven track record. If they've done it once, they are more likely to re-create their success.
3. Do what you can to prove out or VALIDATE your concept.
Includes developing your markets, monetizing some aspect of your business, building a database of prospective customers, forming strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures, and/or obtaining purchase orders and letters of interest whenever possible. Bottom line, investors and sponsors are more inclined to take notice if you can show that there really is interest in your products and services.
4. Develop a Business Plan.
One that illustrates the market you're serving, describes your products and services and details how you plan to get them in the hands of your customers. A plan is also a great visual representation of what you desire to have and that alone will help you begin manifesting whatever you need to make it happen.
5. Obtain as much protection for your Intellectual Property (IP) as possible.
Having a patent, or the opportunity to patent your IP, is generally the most attractive IP opportunity to an investor. If not a patent, make sure you have the opportunity to create future IP such as trademarks and copyrights to show that your products and services will not become obsolete. Protect what you can up front to assure interest from investors but if that's not possible now, make sure you have a plan to do so in the near future.
6. Get connected!
Investors will have a higher degree of confidence and interest in an entrepreneur who knows how to network and easily connect to the resources he or she needs. Join groups that support your agenda, connect with your community, show up at industry related events, tap into the power of social networking.
7. Make sure you are passionate and invested in this process yourself and be able to clearly articulate that to investors. Investors want to know how much time and money YOU'VE invested, how passionate YOU are, how far YOU'RE willing to go with it and how stable YOU are emotionally and financially so that they know you'll have staying power. The more committed you are to making the "journey", the more attractive you will become to investors.
Application of these items will help you become super-attractive to money and other resources! Maria Simone helps those who are in various stages of planning, packaging, and launching their businesses acquire the resources they need at http://www.passion2prosperity.com
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