There are a lot of things that get into our inboxes without our wanting them there. So many Facebook notifications (and I was sure I’d turned my off!), salesy newsletters, bulk emails… if you’re like me, you might be on a listserv or two, as well. But there are also so many gems! There are lots of great newsletters that I like a lot but still don’t read every issue. What I am sharing here is my very short list of emails I open EVERY time one comes in. Sometimes I read them right away and sometimes I save them to savour the read. If you subscribe to one of these (or all of them) it may give you a whole new love for your inbox.

Do you always mean to start – or keep – a gratitude journal but never quite manage it? Happy Rambles almost does it all for you. You get a daily email asking, “What are you grateful for?” and all you have to do is reply, listing five things. It’s all stored for you. (Almost) instant gratitude journal!
Read more.

Mike Dooley is an author several-times over and he’s also created these daily delights. Each day, you receive a personalized note from the universe. They’re so fun – and, often, so eerily “on.”
Read more.

Stephanie St. Claire is a coach and “start-over strategist” in New York City. Foremost, though, she’s a writer and she publishes to inboxes. Her Diaries is the only paid email subscription I have – for good reason. It’s delicious and poignant and sexy and elegant too. Every two weeks, there’s a new diary entry and a window into a most interesting soul and life.
Read more.

I can’t explain quite why but I find Ev’s daily notes fascinating. His style is highly edited and I find that, alone, interesting. (All the things he must choose to cut!) He conducts online “experiments” and “reports back.” It’s worth signing up to receive a few just to see what I’m talking about.
Read more.

Question: What are your must-read emails? What am I missing? Tell me in the comments section below, pretty please.

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

While my first wish would be that we get to design your business cards for you, if you’d like to try your hand at your own design, this lovely infographic provides some great guidelines and inspiration for do-it-yourself designers. (I especially love the cookies idea, all you bakers out there!)

Ultimate Guide to Business Cards

via coolinfographics.com

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, novelist-in-progress, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a website writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

guest post by Viv Barclay

Getting your business off the ground, into orbit and then upwards into the stella-stratosphere is, so they say, akin to a rocket launch. 

95% of your entrepreneurial energy and effort is focused on the lift-off — the vertical push phase — and targeted at breaking through that 14 mile-high Thin Blue Line to income and profitability.

Once you’re up there and used to circulating at your new altitudes, maintaining that is less effort.   Then you start thinking about the “What Next” – the charting of even further new territory, the “boldly going” (and other split infinitives) as you develop ideas, products and services to captivate your market and woo more clients.

But what happens if your launch experience was not as expected?  What if it was more nauseatingly bone-shaking than rocket-fuelled excitement that propelled you into stratus-FEAR rather than stratosphere?   You’re up and running but your experience has left you uncertain of the future and unsure of what’s best to do – turn back or keep going.

Well…you could stay where you are and continue to do what you’re doing now so that nothing much changes.  At least that way you’ll know what to expect and it’s safe and familiar.

Or you could take notice of that voice in the back of your head that keeps you awake at night and prompts you to wonder what if you’d taken that risk to turn your face to the sun and allow all the shadows of doubts about the future fall behind you?   What then for your business – for your loved ones  – for YOU?

With the general consensus built of recessive doom and gloom, is it any wonder that we find it hard to believe that we have a place within us that is beyond the stuck-ness of uncertainty and fear?  This place is where we just HAVE to know the answer to the “what if?”  Accessing it gives you the ability to tap into your reserve fuel tanks of inspiration, creativity, drive, resilience and purpose that will propel you into your entrepreneurial heaven.

Here’s how:

1. BREATHE.  We all do it, have to do it even, (but only if we want to stay alive) and it’s so underrated!    Breathing consciously means an increased intake of one of your body’s fuel types – oxygen.  It also means a slowing of your heart-rate and a quietening down of that incessant mind-chatter so you can listen to yourself – to your own wisdom.  Let that wisdom guide you.  It’s your wisdom, it knows what’s best for you.  An excellent way to facilitate breathing consciously is to get out into nature and let the intelligence for life that exists there fill you up and soak through your skin.  The thing that nature doesn’t have that we do is free will.  And look at how successful Mother Nature is.  Our own free will takes us down all sorts of rabbit holes and how many of you reading this have said to yourself, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that” or “I wish I had!” and all whilst ignoring that voice of wisdom in your head?  So, breathe, energize yourself and listen past the chatter.
2. TRY SOMETHING NEW.  Model successful entrepreneurs, take advantage of all the info there is available across the web, try new stuff  –  A-LOT!  This pushes you but it will also ignite your imagination and creativity. Finding and following specialists like Carrie here, to help you with your marketing and selling is essential.  By employing her ideas, my creativity has soared and that’s just fab for my business.
3. GET A COACH – the best one you can afford.  Being an adult in business can be a lonely and vulnerable place at times, but I liken it to walking up a mountain.  You can give up as many times as you want as long as you just keep going and it’s much easier to do when you have someone supportive at your side.  A good coach won’t tell you what to do, a good coach will create the space for you to find your own answers and reconnect you with your incredible wealth of resources.

One of the coaches I work with says, “You’re not afraid of what you think you’re afraid of, you’re afraid of what you think” (Michael Neill) and I take that with me to my own place beyond fear to answer my own what if’s and set my course for entrepreneurial heaven.

You coming?

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Viv Barclay is a Coach and NLP Practitioner based in the UK. You can find out more about Viv, her life and work here.

By guest expert Tanya Geisler

In July I relaunched my website. You can see the “how” here but in a groovy nutshell, it was OFF. THE. HOOK.

The core of my work as a Business and Life Coach is about having my clients step into the starring roles of their lives. Which became the narrative of the new site. And so naturally, it was the theme of the launch. I invited visitors to submit short videos articulating what having them step into the starring roles of their own lives would open up for them. And the winning submission (based on judging from my personal panel of experts) would receive a glorious swag bag teeming with digital products from some of my very favourite women entrepreneurs (including the sublime Ms. Carrie Klassen).

Value of the swagbag = >$1100.

What a blast it was…AND filled with great learnings.

Carrie asked me to share them with her beloved readers. I’m honoured to do just that.

There are about as many ways to launch (a website, product, offering) as there are launch experts. That is to say, like a billion (give or take a million).

When I’m feeling confused, overwhelmed or unsure (frankly, about ANYTHING), I always lean into my core values.  Doing so helps inform how I want things to go down…in the most “authentic Tanya” way possible.

Here were my parameters…am pleased to report we hit each one outta the park.

I wanted it to be fun.
I wanted it to be inclusive.
I wanted it to be generous.
I wanted it to be unique.
And I did not want it to be all about me.

Which brings me to my next learning.

Get used to being all about you. Given the last point above, this was a hard one to swallow. I got mighty sick of seeing my photo, my name and myself everywhere with all the FB shares and RTs. I was incredibly grateful for all the accolades, and started to get a little shy about all the attention. This was surprising to me and bit problematic particularly in the days following the launch. And given there was a competition component to the offer, I really did need to keep the momentum going. And I just didn’t really have it in me.

Lesson: next time I launch ANYTHING, I will automate. I will pre-write tweets, posts, etc and have them queued up so that they’re doing my work while I can hide under my duvet.

It’s beyond fabulous to have goals (I’m a coach, so that much I do know). Make up a number for what you want to aim for: 150 new subscriptions, 50 people signed up for your offer…whatever. (Don’t forget to get clear about why that’s important to you). And go for it.

Then celebrate who DOES show up, even if it’s not your goal number. These people want to be here. For what YOU have.

Ultimately, try not to get bogged down by the numbers, be they high or low. Hoopla is hoopla. Your people are the ones that stick around once the confetti’s been swept up.

No launch (of anything) can be done in isolation. That’s just a fact. The good news is that people want to see you succeed.  They want to help.

You just need to ask. {Did those words strike terror in your heart? Read on.}

There is an art to the ask and it’s very simple.

Ask concisely, clearly, respectfully, and in integrity.

Who? Well, someone who will be amenable to the request, natch.

Be aware that a “no” is likely more of a reflection on the askee’s time constraints than anything to do with you and your launch (and they’ll say so…believe them). And while we’re talking about time constraints, be specific about how much time you’re asking for AND make it as easy as possible for them to say yes: if you’re looking for support in getting the word out, pre-write them some tweets for them to tweak and plug into their Hootsuite. They want to support you, not strategize your execution.

It’s not gonna be perfect…you can take that to the bank (though cash is oh so much more elegant). Here’s the thing: you’re so much more prepared than you think, and it’s probably already 90% there.

And let’s get this straight, 90% is still an A grade. If a 90% isn’t good enough for you, you can always make up the extra credits down the road. And by golly, your people will be grateful you got over yourself. Your good work is what they’re waiting for. Dare you deny them what they want simply because of 10%? Didn’t think so, Sunshine.

Learn from the 10% and rock it out differently next time.

+++++++++++++++

Tanya Geisler is a CTI-certified coach (also known as “a catalyst, not a therapist”), the author of The Joy Pages, creator of Board of Your Life, a speaker, and champion of clarity, action and achievement. Life is a grand production…and it’s time for you to step into your starring role. www.tanyageisler.com.

Not to brag or anything, but as far as mothers go, mine is waaay impressive. Where I write pretty websites for a business, my mother made and sold steel. (Steel!) She’s the daughter of an entrepreneur (Grandpa Daly) and a woman who worked when women didn’t work (Grandma Daly). It was only natural that she’d be a pioneer in her own right.

When I decided to feature an interview series with business experts and entrepreneurs I admire, I knew Mom would have to be the first. Here’s the first question I asked my mother, steel maven Lynda Herring, to answer for us:

Mistake #1: Handing over responsibility

I hired an accountant because I assumed he knew more about financial responsibility and accountability than I did. Worse than that, I allowed him full autonomy in his responsibilities without any appreciable oversight, creating a deadly environment that almost resulted in bankruptcy.

I learned that no-one knows, understands or cares more about your company and its health than you do. Entrusting any employee with full responsibility for an important area of the corporation without your own serious oversight is downright irresponsible for any owner and can end up destroying everything you’re trying to build.   I also learned that necessity creates an environment where you can literally learn how to understand and do any task related to your business….no matter how scary it may seem at the outset. After that incident, I learned in great detail all matters financial, but I also learned not to fear what I didn’t know.  Peace of mind came from learning the mechanics of that discipline but total comfort came from knowing how to “keep score” within the corporation no matter how many professionals joined our team as the company grew.

Are there areas of your business that you’re afraid to look at? Those are precisely the ones you want to turn your attention to. It’s smart to bring in reinforcements but that doesn’t mean you should abdicate responsibility. This is especially important when it comes to your money. It deserves your care and awareness.

Mistake #2: Not always articulating company policy consistently

In the early days, when the company and its policies were still evolving, I was often faced with interpreting a policy for someone or making a judgement about application of a policy in what were at times grey areas of our rules and regulations.  Inexperience sometimes made me adjust my application or interpretation of a rule based on who was asking the question.  If it was a good, reliable, valued employee, my interpretation or application could be softer or kinder than it might be for a less reliable and less valued employee.  Eventually, I learned that no one ever actually won in this situation.  Policies don’t have emotions and can’t be interpreted for the person who is asking.  The issue really is fair and equitable application of policy regardless of which employee is involved.  Getting that issue straight in my own mind made future decisions of this sort much easier and fairer for all concerned.  Policy became the answer. If the fairness of the policy came into doubt, then we revisited and perhaps revised the policy but never again chose to ignore or apply it based on particular circumstances.

Mom’s advice here applies even if you don’t have employees. Think of your pricing. That’s a policy. How often do you deviate? How much energy does that take? How about your schedule? Your work hours are a policy too. Put thought into establishing your policies and they’ll save you a lot of thought, angst and time down the road.

Mistake #3: Having a totally unrealistic vision in the startup phase

This is one that probably every entrepreneur on earth has been guilty of … and perhaps always will be.  When we put together our initial business plans we totally overestimated our own capabilities and competencies. This resulted in disappointments for us, for our customers and for our bankers.  It took at least three years for us to actually figure out what we were good at and what services and products the marketplace actually wanted or needed from us.  The learning curve was steep but eventually our planning and vision became much more realistic and attainable.  That made everyone involved much happier.

I rarely look at my first business plan but when I do, the projections always amuse. I was awfully optimistic when it came to estimating the number of billable hours available and how little time admin stuff would take. (I’ve since learned about 25% of your time in business is revenue-generating; the rest supports the revenue generation.) None of us has a crystal ball when we start out. The answer is to be flexible, hear what your clients are telling you (even if it’s not what you expected) and to get really focused on what you do best and what you love most. Which is good strategy, and more fun.

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Writer Carrie Klassen is a green tea enthusiast, amateur poet, fine point pen aficionado, INFJ Scorpio, and president of Pink Elephant Creative, a writing and design boutique for inspired entrepreneurs. She also writes workbooks and teaches workshops at Pink Elephant Academy for Entrepreneurs.

Your turn, dear reader: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made so far? (And what’d it teach you?)