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Motivational quotes to inspire you.

"There is an art to living well, a meaning for our lives. The careers we choose are our pathways to mastery. They are to amplify our capabilities and values, our character and courage. Answering three questions continually, no matter our age or station, will keep us on a course of productivity, integrity and fulfillment: Who am I? Where am I going? Why am I going there?"

"...God wants [you] to have [your] reward. Prepare to claim it. Have a vision for yourself and others far beyond the present reality. Declare it and work toward it."

- Susan L. Taylor

For more posts like this, check out my blog, Mocha Writes.

To say that there’s a “learning curve” when starting your own business is a true understatement. And sometimes, no matter how manybooks you’ve read, seminars you’ve attended, or coaching you’vereceived, there are still many lessons that you will simply have tolearn along the way.

Since starting my business back in 2007, I have learned many tough, yet important lessons that can only truly be learned through experience.These lessons learned have helped me to become much wiser and moresuccessful today, and I’d like to share them with you. This is part 1 ofa 3-Part series that will discuss the “hard knock life” of anentrepeneur/business owner, and share some useful insight and advicejust for you.

Here are the top 3 lessons I’ve learned as a business owner:

1) Don’t Chase Money, Build Relationships.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but in fact, when you’re starting out,you’re spending a lot of money on advertising, operational expenses,etc. So you have business expenses that have to be covered, and if yourclients aren’t covering them, that leaves you to handle it on your own,on top of your own personal expenses. This reality is one of the majorreasons why most businesses fail within the first 3-5 years. That beingsaid, no one wants to do business with someone that they don’t trust, orwhom they feel is simply after their money, and not interested insolving whatever problem they have, or providing them with greatservice. Additionally, by building a relationship with your clients,they turn from one-time clients, to long-term clients (which of courseleads to increased income for your business over time). Not to mention,happy clients tell their friends, family, and colleagues about yourbusiness, which helps to build a successful and reputable business foryou in the long run.

2) Don’t Chase Money, but Don’t Give Your Services Away either- Although it’s great to offer promotions, specialdiscounts, etc. for your services or products from time to time, it isalso important to keep things in perspective. Sometimes when you’restarting out you think that by lowering your prices you will ultimatelywin, because this will make your customers happy. But this poses twoproblems. One is that, if you don’t have a financial model in place foryour business that will allow it to survive and thrive over time, youare doing your clients a disservice, because your business won’t bearound long enough to help them. Secondly, people tend to place value onthings based on how much they cost. So, if you provide a specializedproduct or service, then your rates should reflect that. When youprovide superb service/products for your clients, they will be happy topay your rate, and appreciate it all the more. Do keep in mind that yourrates/prices should be within reason according to the type ofproduct/service you provide. However, you should never undervalue yourproduct/services in hopes of satisfying your customers, at your expense.This leads me to lesson #3…

3) You can’t please all of the people all of the time. The reality of business is this, there are two types ofclients/customers; a) the ones you can please, and b) the ones youcan’t. Your focus should be on doing your best to provide usefulresources to your clients, offer excellent customer service, conflictresolution, and a pleasant attitude. Give your best to your clients, andthat’s the end of it. Don’t waste energy on those who feel that yourbest isn’t good enough, because chances are, no matter what you do, youwon’t be able to please them. So, do your best, handle your businesswith honesty and integrity, treat your clients with respect andconsideration, and the rest is out of your hands.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this series…Also let me know if there are any specific topics you’d like to see me write about withinthis series. I look forward to your suggestions and comments.

This article added from my blog on Wordpress, http://danceprosusa.wordpress.com.

I believe that when it comes to your life, your career, or your business, you can not afford to be passive, or a bystander, and expectothers to recognize your talents and create the blueprint for you thatlead to success and prosperity. Only You can do this.

Here are 5 Deadly Thoughts on the Road to Success:

1) There just aren’t any opportunities out there.
2) I don’t have the money.
3) What if I fail?
4) No one’s ever done it before.
5) I don’t even know where to start.

Here are my responses to these statements:

1) “There just aren’t any opportunities out there.” – Yes, there are. If you feelthis way, you probably need to do more research, and even enlist theassistance of someone else to help you. If the opportunity isn’t there,then that’s even better! That means that you can be an innovator, andcreate something completely new!

2) “I don’t have the money.” – With the internet, do-it-yourself websites, and the explosion socialmedia, which is totally free, you don’t necessarily need a ton of moneyto get started. Now granted, I don’t recommend starting a business withno capital, but, don’t let that minor obstacle stop you. Save up, getcreative, start small, and go from there.

3) “What if I fail?” - There’s a good chance that you will. Let me rephrase that. There’s somethingcalled a “learning curve” in business, which is basically a fancy way ofsaying, “I failed a bunch of times along the way, and learned from mymistakes.” Remember, failure is not permanent. It is part of a learningprocess. There’s ALWAYS a way to bounce back from failure, and the mainway is, get up and try it again (a little differently).

4) “No one’s ever done it before.” – This is a no-brainer! Obviously, that means that there’s a greatopportunity for you to do something really special. And guess what,since you have no competition, you have a really great advantage! Whatare you waiting for? Do a little market research to find out if peoplewould be interested in your idea, and discover if it’s a viable conceptor not.

5) “I don’t even know where to start.” Ok, this is a tough one (Not!), so let me help you…grab a piece ofpaper, and a pen, or better yet, go to your computer, and put on paperwhat your ideas are. That’s how you start! After that, ask yourself theWho, What, Where, Why, and How about your idea; Who would be interestedin this product/service? What will it be used for? Where will people goto access this product/service? Why would potential clients beinterested in this product/service? How will I market it to my target audience?

See, how easy that was? Now you’re on your way! I would also recommend doing some soul-searching to determine themotivation behind your particular idea. Is it something that you’repassionate about? Are you good at it? Do you have a lot of knowledgeabout that particular industry? Do you think it’s a way to make somefast cash? Are you willing sacrifice and deal with the stress,instability, and pressure that you may have to face along the way?

Answer these questions, and don’t be afraid! Step out on faith, and walk in your purpose. Anything less would notonly be sad, but boring!

This article added from my blog on Wordpress, http://danceprosusa.wordpress.com.

Further to my previous posting about Why We Need to Heal, click here for the next part of this article, which addresses how this affects our businesses and the economic life of our communities.

Click here If you missed the first two parts.

My work is all about solutions.

Maplewood, NJ February 2010-On Tuesday February 9, 2010 Ms. Boss Academy whichis a collaboration between Ms. Boss International and My SistahzKeeper held a small ceremony for Zoey Wiggins who was the first personto graduate from the pilot entrepreneurship program. Zoey attends MySistahz Keeper in Jersey
City, New Jersey through the AWEP/CWEP program for women who are onpublic assistance. There were 13other women who also attended the program and who were enrolled in Ms.Boss Academy, but only Zoeycompleted the 8 week business start-up program. Thewomen who are also on public assistance dropped out of theentrepreneurship program for a variety of reasons. The program walkedZoey through the basics of starting a business right up to creating apresence on the Internet bysetting up a website.

By some standards some may view the entrepreneurship program as a failure because only oneperson graduated,but to Audrey Bell-Kearney who is the CEO of Ms. Boss International andthe creator of the Ms. Boss Academy program she views that one graduateas a success. She states that you have to understand the population thatyou are working with. The goal here is tohelp these women learn how to become self-sufficient so that publicassistance is no longer needed. By helping one person learn how to startand run their own business successfully, this will open updoors of employment for others. Small businesses fuel the economy andright not that economy needs some fuel with thenational unemployment rate around 10%. Kiwan Fitch who is the ExecutiveDirector of My Sistahz Keeper has gone a step further by turning one ofthe office spaces inside the My SistahzKeepers headquarters into a small business incubator for the graduatesof Ms.Boss Academy. Kiwan who is one of the co-founders of My Sistahz Keeper anon-profit organization understandsthat small businesses need to be nurtured so that they can grow. This iswhyshe has opened up another door for these women offering them the spaceso that they can stay connectedto positive people who have goals and dreams that they want to see cometrue. To keep the graduates connected there will be ongoing mentoringfrom Audrey and also from Stephanie Wilson who is theProgram Director at My Sistahz Keeper. Zoey who has only been anentrepreneur for about two months already understandfrom going through the Ms. Boss Academy program how important mentorsare that is why she has stepped up to be amentor with GEN (Gurls Empowerment Network) another program offered byMySistazh Keeper for teenage girls.

The next Ms. Boss Academy is scheduled to start on March 2, 2010. Audrey who created thecurriculum andfacilitates the program hopes that more women take advantage of theprogram this time, but if they don’t as long as we can graduate at leastone the program is still a success.