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You left your corporate job (or perhaps it left you) and you’re finally self-employed. You get to finally live your dreams of business ownership right. but do you have the right mindset? Are you still treating yourself like an employee of your own business? What are the 3 things you need to do to shift your mindset from thinking "paycheck to paycheck" to thinking like a real employer?

When I said "that's IT" from my last corporate layoff (yes I had 2) I was ready to embrace self-employment head-on. I had clients almost immediately and had replaced my corporate salary and then some. BUT

I was overwhelmed, I didn't know know to set boundaries with my clients, I felt like I had to "earn" every penny they paid me. I was  "crackberry" addict (my Blackberry stayed on 24/7 literally. I spend 40+ hours on client work with little time to actually build my business. Despite the fact I had 15 years+ experience and a solid background in operations and systems. I was still struggling and overwhelmed. Even though I was my own boss, I was treating my business and my value like I was still an employee.

Listen to this latest podcast for the 3 things I learned about myself and my business that literally changed the course of my business.

Multipassionate entrepreneurs often suffer from this...Self-competition - doing WAY too much in your business or having so many visions and passions that it's difficult and challenging to know exactly what to focus on - where and when to ask for help and how to really impact change with your work. What is the key "thing" you MUST know and understand if you desire your visions to truly manifest into real impact?

I'm excited to introduce my new PODCAST show "Liberation Conversations with Katrina" discussing a issue I struggled with for YEARS in my business. The issue that caused me to start a business on Monday and by Friday I'd be "on the next". Or to start a project and then find myself completely overwhelmed (and underperforming) because I was doing waaaay too much and not delegating properly. I got the wake up call and in this podcast I reveal the "thing" we must all do to be both effective and sane. The truth revealed here may ruffle a few feathers and be uncomfortable to hear but often the truth isn't comfortable, but it's always necessary if you intend to grow.

Listen to this podcast, then leave me your thoughts, comments. Do you agree with me? Disagree? Are you challenged in your own business with "Self-competition?"

Until next week

-Katrina

It happened.

Your heart is pounding,

Your palms are sweating

You’re stuttering and fumbling over your words

Your stomach starts to turn flips and you secretly wish the sky would fall so you have a valid excuse to end this situation – IMMEDIATELY.

No matter the level of your business – whether you are new or seasoned, it’s inevitable, you will experience challenges. They may all appear different but they all have similar underlying emotions.

they create fear, anxiety, frustration and even in some cases horrible procrastination (I’m looking at you Dream list that’s collecting dust).

I’ve had my own share of challenges since starting my journey in entrepreneurship over 5 years ago – even in the midst of tremendous success and recognition  I still struggled with work-life “balance”, learning the fine art form of attracting the RIGHT customers (I’ve never had issues in attracting but in attracting the right customers consistently, I learned a while ago is a fine art) The beauty of challenges however that many entrepreneurs often overlook is that they also create tremendous opportunities when you’ve learned to master the art of “CALL & RESPONSE” instead of “REACTION”

READ THE REST HERE

There has been a incredible shift in the world around us.  From the Northeast hurricane, to many people stepping out on pure faith and starting new businesses, ending unhealthy relationships to even finally taking health seriously. We’re all being charged with “purging” something. In the midst of this though…doesn’t mean there are challenges or days when you simply want to “quit”.

YOU KNOW
::The client money isn’t coming in on time

::The husband just “ain’t acting right”

::The kids are a mess at school

::Your stress level is out of wack

::Your business is good…but it’s not “great”

::You seem to be working harder for the same result.

::You feel enslaved to your purpose.

As women we come as a package deal and with that means that often overwhelming feeling of wishing and wanting to just “quit” – to let it all go. To throw in the towel and just let the sh!% it the fan!

I know that feeling and I have to have a “come to Jesus”  meeting with myself. And get real.

It’s time someone offered you a dose of truth…and that is

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Truth be told, women of color tiptoe around our issues in our lives and ultimately our businesses. We don’t invest in ourselves however we expect others to invest in us.

Do you? Do  you invest in yourself or do you quit at the thought of doing the work

QUIT at the thought of truly asking for assistance and support in growing your business or how women like Cameka Smith (founder of Forbes.com listed BOSS Network) has done by fostering a community of women entrepreneurs who network for good?

QUIT feeling like you can’t really work with other women because “they always want to take what’s mines”. And the hard work of learning to trust your own “GET IT GIRL!” so you can work with other women without the “crabs-in-the-barrel mentality” like LaShanda Henry (founder of Black Business Women Online) did with her girlfriends

QUIT at the thought of truly (and I mean truly) investing in quality mentorship and guidance and humbling yourself to end the thinking that you must do everything on your own or that perhaps Women of Color can’t produce high quality events and workshops that are impactful and profitable like thePOWER CIRCLE Conference & Expo happening Jan 2013.

What’s my point? I’ve been in a “Inner BITCH” release pilgrimage for some time involving releasing all the GUNK that was stuck in my belief system for too long.  My sister on this journey of complete liberation and I have been charged with not only calling ourselves out…but other women. Particularly women of color and Black women more specifically on how our emotional wellness is the TRUE source of abundance.

If you’re still reading I offer that I realize this post is making tons of assumptions about you – the reader – but perhaps it’s not. Perhaps somewhere inside of you, a-lot of this rings true. If not to this extreme, perhaps in your own self-sabotaging efforts to define “success” merely as the sum of your bank account or based on the number of episodes of  Donald Trump’s
The Apprentice” you’ve been able to copy-cat in your own business journey.

Whatever it is…there is a time to call it quits, but not on yourself…but on the nonsense that is causing many of us to live beneath the truth of our possibilities. The truth is that there is another more authentic way of living and creating and this video offers a bit of that truth.

Join me Friday November 9, 2012 here.

ATLANTA, GA — Katrina M. Harrell and Akilah S. Richards have a collective abundance of life and business anecdotes from their personal and professional experiences.  One common thread among their stories is the lack of harmony between sound business strategies and real emotional wellness.  

Frustrated with the trial-and-error approach to success among their own, Harrell and Richards now lead the movement that challenges black women business owners to face the harsh truths about promoting their brands versus building their businesses.  Their solution is 5-step “escape plan” from what they've dubbed "The inner B.I.T.C.H.".

On Thursday, November 9 at 9PM (EST) the two will host a free, live dialogue on Google+ Hangouts based around the focal points of their debut joint venture, How She Got Free: A Spiritual Business Manual for Women Who Lead Through Entrepreneurship.

The dialogue, which will also be live-streamed on YouTube, offers women a platform to discuss their biggest hurdles in business and life planning and income generating models.  Using the 5-Step Escape Plan, black women entrepreneurs can recognize their ineffective patterns, and align themselves with higher standards, sound structures, and effective systems in their professional and personal lives.

During the November 9th dialogue, the duo will tackle frequently dodged topics such as:

• Offering “bargain bin” pricing instead of charging what we’re worth

• How black women look to their white counterparts for marketing models that do not work with own potential markets

• The lack of application of basic business principles and the consequences therein

About the authors

Harrell and Richards are uniquely qualified Business and Life Strategies whose unique approaches to business building and lifestyle design have garnered them the unique approach to lifestyle management has garnered the attention of Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, MSNBC’s Today Moms blog,  and various local and web-based publications.

Register for the live dialogue at http://bit.ly/shegotfree

For more information about How She Got Free, visit www.howshegotfree.com

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MAKE MONDAY MARVELOUS. Don't give your day to outside expectations. The only real "boss" you have to answer to is you. There is no LACK - remember, accept that of courage to LET GO and follow your inner wisdom - Here's some lunchtime musical inspiration-->

Going nowhere fast - Photo credit: Gary Kaemmer

Early on in my business, I was a human tornado (in some ways I still am, but much more strategic and controlled now), I was so excited about my business and the impact it would make on people that I constantly was doing "something" every single day to bring awareness to my business and why it is so "awesome".  

It became very clear to me once I found myself worn-out, exhausted stretched but not any more profitable when I began, that there is a difference between  "BUSY-ACTIVITY" and "BUSY PROFIT-GENERATING Activity"

BUSY-WORK-ACTIVITY is what alot of business people do in the very beginning or it's an easy trap to fall into at some point in the first 5 years or so of being self-employed. It's when you realize the excitement of your business but underestimated how much work it would take to truly promote, advertise and market your products and services. True there takes time for momentum to build in your business so every business has to be in a state of alot activity that may not product immediate return but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about creating so much activity that it never reaps any return in the long run.

Common examples of "BUSY-WORK-ACTIVITY":

• Not treating social media time the same as face-to-face networking (you wouldn't linger at a networking event for hours and hours would you?)
• Checking and responding to every single e-mail as soon as you receive it instead of carving out time to check those that resort in new profit opportunities (I'm still at times guilty of this)
• Checking email and voice mails as soon as you wake up in the morning, before you have breakfast or
• Your networks are based on your personal needs and not the needs of your business
• You spend a ton of time each month on tasks that can be delegated to someone else while you focus on generating new revenue streams (I'm talking about your EP-Entrepreneur Personality)
• Spending TOO much time researching and networking - there comes a time when the next step simply just needs to be ACTION!
• and I could go on...

But I think you get my point,

Do any of these seem familiar? Where do you fall? What should you do next?

1. Follow my D.E.T.O.X steps to gain new clarity. Learn to get rid of the unnecessary noise and gain new focus for yourself and business.

2. Don't fall into a Love affair with your business. Meaning it's easy to get so infatuated with the new found attention or too pulled into the power of networking that you essentially loose focus on your main goal of your business. It's always best to build quietly. You don't need ALL the attention right away especially if you are doing the business alone.

Click here for the other 3 steps to help you get clarity in your business now.

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Katrina M. Harrell is author of "Embrace.Your.Journey.: 180 Day Journey to Unlocking Your Wisdom, R... (The Sum of Her Publishing, 2011). President of the KM Harrell Group, LLC a Strategic Business Development & Management firm supporting minority and women-owned businesses. She is the creator of the "Under the Hood" Business Mastermind Group which is helping business owners get actionable and profitable business strategies. Her firm’sconsulting services have helped many minority and women owned businesses establish foundational structures and exit strategies within their businesses that have aided them in selling for profit or obtaining investor funding. Passionate about entrepreneurship education, Katrina’s insight and expertise is highly sought after both online and off. She is also founding CEO for Your Simple Bookkeeper, outsourced national bookkeeping company for micro and small business.

In my latest blog post, I share the importance of understanding the difference between a profitable lifestyle versus building wealth. Not that having a profitable lifestyle is bad because it isn't but that we shouldn't confuse the two and that focusing too much on a lifestyle in sacrifice to your wealth journey isn't what our purpose is for. I encourage you to check it out...great food for thought!

While you're checking that out, check out Part II featuring 6-10 of the 10 ways you need to get your personal "Act" together in pursuit of your entrepreneurial success. 

Let's start a dialog! Tell me what you think of these post. How do they relate to your life, do you agree disagree? 

Depending on the goals of your business, crafting your exit strategy can take on a varied of shapes and forms however there are some key things that every strategy should include. The first step is to identify your goal in your exit strategy.

1. Are you the ultra creative type that just loves creating innovative business ideas that you have no problem having someone else manage and run for you?
2. Are you seeking to create a business that you can pass on to your children or heirs to run and manage?
3. Are you seeking to amass a large amount of wealth as fast as you can for your idea sell it and run off to your private island?  
4. Do you want to build your business up just enough to make it wealthy and attractive enough so your top competitor would want to purchase it?

Regardless of your goal, there are many things one should consider when crafting your exit strategy. Below are just 5 to get your brain ticking to have you begin thinking and planning your glorious exit.

1. DOCUMENT PROCESSES. Make sure your processes and systems are well documented. When I say documented I mean written down on paper in some sort of manual. Not a series of accounts and programs that you log into that help you MANAGE your processes. But an actual procedures manual that is independent of the actual tools and technology you use. Think of it as your “for dummies” guide for your business. Could someone pick up your manual and know exactly how to run your business? I mean everything? If not…among the first steps in planning your exit strategy is planning on how you plan to create this.
2. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART. Who are the key players in your business? Sure you business may now just be a single solo-enterprise where you are everything. But as your business grows or as you plan to grow your business, be proactive and create a simple organizational chart of the key players in your management structure. What are their roles, what type of background should they have? Yes I know, this is SO not the fun part, but again, if your goal is to build a business that can have wealth that can grow without you and not just streams of income that will eventually run dry then you gotta put in the work.
3. BRANDING THE BUSINESS (NOT YOU).Ok this is a tricky one especially for many coaching and consultants. I recall when I started my consulting business in 2008 the name of it was Harrell Financial Solution. I did well with my name on the business but eventually I and my name (even with systems) couldn’t really seem to catch a break! Eventually I needed to have a huge mind shift change. I separated my consulting business from my bookkeeping business and created Your Simple Bookkeeper. It put me in a different mindset on how I viewed my business and therefore how I talked about it and thought about growing it. When planning your exit strategy, consider the psychology of how the name of your business effects how you run it! Selling “Kates yummy cupcakes” is more difficult to brand (though not impossible) than “Delectable Cupcakes” .

Read the entire post to receive the rest...

Thank you for liking this post and wanting to share it! If you do please be so kind to include the following:

Katrina M. Harrell is President of the KM Harrell Group, LLC a Strategic Business Development & Management firm supporting minority and women-owned businesses. Her firm’s consulting services have helped many minority and women owned businesses establish foundational structures within their businesses that have aided them in selling for profit or obtaining investor funding. Passionate about entrepreneurship education, Katrina’s insight and expertise is highly sought after both online and off. As founding CEO for Your Simple Bookkeeper, she successfully lead the company to obtaining investor funding in under one year of operation and has grown the company to multi-state clientale. Katrina's consulting services to women entrepreneurs who are seeking to create sellable businesses or restructure their existing business with solid exit strategies by building practical structures and entrepreneurship education. Learn more about KMHGroup Services and to schedule a consultation visiting www.katrinamharrell.com or www.tungle.me/katrinamharrell

That was actually what I told myself after I planned a webinar for my new program launching soon.

So since 2008, I've been consulting privately with small business owners helping them craft business models that have helped them reach and exceed the million-dollar mark, pitch million dollar business ideas to investors and just become better business people. In 2010 I decided to stop private consulting though and started working on my own million-dollar vision. So far so good.

Over the course of 18 months I've been heavily using social media, I've begin to notice the need for many business women in particular who could use my expertise so it seemed natural that now I get back into private consulting but this time virtually. So I decided to host a free webinar to introduce my platform and knowledge and to truly add my value to the entrepreneurship conversation.

Making a long story short, the original goal of the program was to give high value content away for 60 minutes and completely free and then do a follow-up webinar with even MORE high content and charge $37. And then a series of follow-up marketing strategies. People were signing up and getting so excited about both webinars, and even paying the fee and enlisting others to join. I created a discount package and everything. It was working but something about it though felt just WRONG!

NO NICKELS AND DIMES AND WASTED ENERGY ALLOWED!

Sure I know the marketing experts would say “well maybe you didn’t go about it the right way” and yes I noticed a few things, but what made me NOT want to move forward with a different strategy to sell was the fact that I didn’t “feel” right selling $37 product.

Even though I knew what I was offering was worth $300,000 or more in potential for the attendees, it felt like I was nickeling and diming and it just felt wrong. I knew that I could easily earn a modest monthly salary off just one webinar, but it felt like I was excerting the wrong energy looking to see how many people registered, if I’d met my profit goals, would I put another announcement out, etc. Yes all the things you should do if you’re launching a product but all the effort I put into it for just a few thousand dollars felt well..like a waste of energy when I knew ultimately what the attendees needed I had to offer them and no I couldn’t offer it for $37 even if 100,000 ppl registered.

THE CLASH OF THE EGO VS SELF-WORTH: ONE WANTS SURVIVAL-MODE THE OTHER LIVE IN WEALTH-MODE

In short, my ego had a major clash with my self-worth and value. And I would argue that many of you solo-preneurs, coaches, infopreneurs, etc have had the same issue (well maybe after this blog post you will). Where my self-worth which has been developed to what it is to day after 15 years was saying “Katrina just give it way please dahling, you don’t need to nickel and dime for quick cash” my ego was saying “but this is good stuff! I need to charge for this are you kidding me??? I’m not going to miss an opportunity to make $3000 in one hour” but here’s the thing, that methodology which I KNEW at the time was against what I truly believed is what many solopreneurs subscribe to. It’s what I call the survival mode or the “me” mode. It’s difficult to see yourself as powerful beyond measure, you’ve just figure out how to get comfortable working for yourself. Now you have to start thinking about millions? Me? All I have is just my brain power and a few skills.

Continue the blog by reading here.

And while you're there, grab my FREE ebook!

Let's be real, no matter the mindset shift, strategies you create and implement or how successful you may be, being a business owner is a tough job! It has it's ups and downs. I don't have to tell you the number of snafu I've averted or how much my prayers and faith have evolved and strengthen through perseverance. At each new level I achieve as an entrepreneur comes the same challenges just dressed up a little fancier. Sure I've learned to master many things so that I can continue to build exponentially, but there are things in which I cannot control that throw a nasty little wrench in the operations! 

There have been times when I wanted to not just throw in the towel but cut that sucker up in tiny little pieces then burn it to ashes, then take the ashes and place it in the grill under  lip-smacking ribs, burgers in my backyard of "Normal" life with a 9 to 5 job and predictability. Of course those thoughts are fleeting as I'm passionate about what I do, but there are times when you wonder about a life of predictability.

Real talk...no matter where you are, at each new level, comes new set of mindset shifts that you will need to master to move on to the next level. Therefore we all need a little dose of Affirmation, Confirmations, and inspiration to remind us why this journey is all worth the fight.

SO! This list of my 77, compiled while I was cleaning my bathroom, making the kids lunch, trying to figure out where the heck these fruit flies came from, AND responding to client emails, checking on book orders, confirming speaking engagements (WHEW!), is for all the women entrepreneurs, regardless of your level. This is for those who have embraced a lifestyle that you wouldn't trade for the world! but recognize that we all need a little pick me up every now and then.  ENJOY ;-)

77 Affirmations, Confirmations & Reminders why You're AWESOME!

1. You Rock! Yes you do! Why? Just because you rock ;-)

2. You were made for this! Everything in you tells you are, you got a strategy (if not get one) so WORK it!!

3. Your Time is NOW! Not tomorrow, not yesterday, just NOW (see#2)

4. Let it all go! Whatever is hurting you, bothering you, holding you back, just... let it go! You can't bring carry-on on this Success journey you're on!

5. Remember what counts! You deserve a break today! Go for a walk, have a bowl of (low fat) ice cream, don't forget about you!

6. Keep on dreaming! Even when others think you're crazy or simply don't notice you...keep on doing what you do! Blaze your trail and let other's catch up to you!

7. You are beautiful! You were made uniquely and out of love. Your eyes, your smile, you skin, your curves, whatever, celebrate your awesome beauty!

8.You are a natural leader! Women by design are natural leaders! You have the ability to lead nations with your power and influence.

9. Remember to smile! You know the song! Even when you feel like you can't, find a reason to smile.

10. Let the dishes go! And go indulge in a hot bath! Take time for you!

11. You know what? Stuff happens! It's bound to happen and it will. So, go with the flow, roll with it and keep on pressing!

12. You are gifted and talented! And you can use those gifts to make as much money as you can and create the lifestyle you desire.

13. You're skillful and genius. Use those skills and gifts to build your generational wealth! 

14. You DO know what you're doing! You may not have all the tools yet but that's part of the process, keep pushing you will find your chord.

15. You are not your past! Your past is just that, keep it there. Learn what you MUST learn from it accept it and use it as fuel to ignite your future!

16. You are worthy of love! Simply because you exist. There is nothing else you need to do to earn it.

17. You are an incredible multitasker! Even though at times you shouldn't, the fact that you CAN and HAVE makes you genius at building an awesome business.

18. Your business is wealthy! You have the ability to create a foundation in your business that will leave a legacy to your family, children, and other women (and men) throughout the world.

19. Your Business IS successful! Whether you wanted to earn $100,000 but you've only earned $10,000 or you earned $1,000,000 but you are still at $500,000 girl you EARNED those dollars using your OWN genius, skills, influence and talent. You better celebrate that! And keep moving forward

20.  You are a QUEEN! And you deserve to be treated as such! Don't except anything less!

21. You got this! Trust your instinct and gut!

22. You are a master communicator! 

23. Your Emotional IQ is high

24. You Survived! Whatever happened, if you're reading this that means you survived it and you have the ability to conquer anything.

25. You are open minded and willing to try new things.

26. You embrace your haters. They aren't really haters, but all the naysayers or those who doubted you, love them anyway!

Click here for the rest! I promise they won't disappoint!!

Copyright 2011 Katrina M. Harrell www.katrinamharrell.com (Please include FULL author credit if you repost or share!)

Wanna find out how I failed miserably at starting my multi-million dollar business back in 2009? I got the biggest wake-up call of my life when it came to starting a business and growing it to the six and seven figure mark. What do you think is the REAL reason many business won't ever make it or surpass that level? I share it here in my recent blog post.

Talk to me, leave me your comments in the blog, let's begin pushing past GO!

-Katrina

Your Wealthy Business Series: Learn my 10 Step Business Strategy Secrets when it’s time to move beyond Solopreneur and into Enterprise building.

Join me Thursday August 18, 8pm est where I share with you my Top 10 Secrets to building a wealthy business model at home and how I went from simply owning my job (or rather it owning me) to a thriving and profitable business that most people don't even know I own! Let's face it, YOU can't run your solo-business forever! It's time to work even SMARTERand start making your business work for YOU! Let me show you how!

Your Business will Die when you do if you don't adopt Wealthy Business Strategies

You've build a profitable Solopreneur Business but you really desire to build a Wealthy Enterprise that relies less on you over time but still increased wealth. It's Time to go from simplyOwning your Job to Building a Entrepreneurial Enterprise

As a business person you figured out how to go from an "Expensive Hobby" to "Profitable business", now it’s time to learn from big corporations and take your profits from just managing living expenses and a profitable lifestyle to six (and even seven) figure wealth by building a company versus a solo practice so your money keeps making money for you long after you've stopped working! I share what I learned in 12 years of Fortune 500 Corporate America that I carried with me as an entrepreneur and why you should adapt these strategies in your businessRIGHT now!

In my 60 minute (jammed packed! I have SO much to share!) I share my BEST strategies in building my business and how I've helped others achieve six & seven figure status in theirs.

I must admit, I'm only best at being the CEO of ME. That's why my company is named "KM Harrell Group" I'm best when I control and manage only the things I'm interested in and can control. Call me the classic control freak if you want, but I have no interest in control others or things around me, but myself...I excel! As an entrepreneur and a creative person by nature finding how this works for me has been an epic journey. One that I hope (and wish) other entrepreneurs embark on.

The journey in entrepreneurship is truly every evolving. I like to look at it like a sphere or a spectrum, it has many phases, and elements. It's certainly not linear and certainly not  a destination. One mistake I've found in both myself in the past and in business associates, clients, and the like is that there is this misconception that entrepreneurship is something that you DO or it's simply a matter of saying "I'm an entrepreneur" like it's a destination as if one’s arrived. Anyone who's ever created a business will tell you that entrepreneurship comes in spectrums and it's not a linear path. An accomplished Entrepreneur named Olalah Njenga  distinguishes this journey as going from being self-employed, small business owner, THEN entrepreneur. Michael Gerber (author of E-myth) separates it as theTechnician, the Manager and the Visionary. I offer another perspective:

The Creator

The Founder

The CEO