Structured For Profits

We all love the relaxed vibe of summer. We don’t have to rush everywhere. There’s no homework to get done, no carpooling to coordinate. Our schedules are less strict and life is easy-breezy. As much as we love the laid-back feel of summer, however, we still need structure in our business.

A lot of us bristle at the idea of structure and organization because it feels rigid and constraining, but structure actually allows for massive creativity and improvisation. We often think of great artists as being spontaneous, riffing on sparks of inspiration. The truth is, talent must be cultivated first, brush strokes perfected, scales mastered before true freedom of expression is possible. You must learn the alphabet before you can write poetry.

Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.–Pablo Picasso

Think of a dam, it is put in place to harness the power of the water. It captures and leverages the flow of the current. Your personal energy needs to have direction as well. As entrepreneurs we have so many ideas, ideas for products, programs, partnerships, but what we don’t have is a PROCESS. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but without execution there are no profits. You have to have a way to organize your thoughts so others can understand and implement them. This is structure.

Structure is not a cage, it is a vessel for your genius. @HeatherPoduska (tweet this)

When I work with clients on creating signature products and programs, the first thing I ask is, “What is your process?” The answer is often, “I don’t know, I just work on whatever my clients needs at the time. We play it by ear.” That answer is fine if you have a one-on-one coaching client, but if you want to create leveraged income, you need to have a repeatable system. You can’t sell a product or program to thousands of people that is customized to one person. When you do that, you are not following your process, you are following the needs of one that client.

If you don’t have repeatable systems in your business, [Read more…]

Love Yourself Rich



I’m in the mood for love…and here’s why.

It’s Valentine’s Day, the day for sweethearts and romance, but the real reason I’m in the mood for love is because it’s the best, fastest way to create a truly abundant life.

I have found over and over with both myself and my clients the biggest impediment to reaching the next level of success is always linked to some aspect of not  fully loving yourself.

It may sound mushy, but there’s just no way you can show up as a magnetic, dynamic force if you are not embracing yourself. You know why? Because human beings are feeling creatures.

Our emotions dictate our thoughts and our thoughts dictate our actions, so if we are being critical of ourselves or not honoring who we are, it shows. And where it shows the most is in our results.

On the other hand, when you are in alignment with your authenticity, you feel comfortable expressing yourself and enjoy being in your own skin, that shows too. You begin to make major strides toward your big goals.

You also experience more confidence, a greater sense of personal power and much more joy. And here’s the kicker, more people want to be a round you. It’s a no-brainer. When you love yourself, you’re more attractive on every level.

We all have our ups and downs, but it’s crucial to protect our self-worth. If we do not value ourselves, neither will anyone else.

Here are some tips to keep the fire burning in your relationship with the most important person in your life, YOU! [Read more…]

You’ve got to believe…

Ah the holidays…

As much as I moan and groan about the frantic pace of this season, there always comes a wonderful moment that makes it all worth while.

It usually happens when the kids are home playing games, Christmas music is playing and I’m making cookies. I get a warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s the feeling we all long for around this time of year, something magical.

Who knows, maybe it’s an illusion. Maybe I am kidding myself into thinking life is grand when really I have just fallen into a candy-coated haze that is blinding me to harsh reality, but I don’t think so.

I know I worked hard to achieve this moment. The tinsel didn’t hang itself. I did it and now we get to enjoy it.

Sometimes it can feel frantic in our businesses too. We worry we’ll never see the light at the end of the tunnel and wonder if what we’re striving for is an unattainable fantasy. Is all the hard work even worth it?

It is worth it. The sugar-plum ending is possible, but you’ve got to believe, Virginia. You’ve got to BELIEVE!

Most of us stop short of our dreams because we lose faith. Things get difficult, we hit a rough patch and start to doubt ourselves. We don’t see results right away and start to think they will never come.

You’ve got to have faith.

Faith requires us to believe in things we cannot yet see. When you imagine what you desire, your subconscious goes to work on your behalf. Like a kid putting an order in to Santa Claus, your mind releases a minion of tiny elves to make your dreams come true.

However, your dreams are powered by consistent belief. Turn off the belief and you cut the plug to the magic. Think about farmers who plant crops in the spring. If they gave up because they didn’t see immediate results, the seeds would never grow. They have faith in the process however, so they keep watering and tending their fields and end up with a bountiful harvest.

As anyone who has dared face the mall in December will tell you, keeping a positive attitude can be difficult, but don’t give up too quickly. Your dream may not turn up exactly as you had envisioned, but it will still be wonderful. You wished for a pony, but Santa knew you’d never clean the stall. Instead, he brings you a Porsche. Don’t you just love Santa?:)

My dream was and still is to sing at the Met some day. It’s unlikely to happen at this point, but I’m not giving up hope. What has come as result of keeping this wish in my heart has been a deeply fulfilling business and new opportunities to use my voice I could have never anticipated.

What is your dream? Are you holding it fast to your heart? Or do you need a dose of inspiration?

Here is my recipe for a truly magical business:

  1. Think like a kid.
  2. Imagine your dream in vivid detail.
  3. Ask for what you want.
  4. Work your patootie off while you wait.
  5. Believe it will come to you.

*A pinch of eggnog never hurt either:)

Do those things and who knows where you’ll be this time next year!

Until next time, here’s to hitting all your high notes.

xo

Heather

 

Do You Want Next Year to be Better?

This is the time of year when we do end-of-year reviews. We look at what went well and what we’d like to do differently moving forward. After all, we want next year to be even better than this one. What often happens, however, is January 1st comes and goes and before we know it, it’s March and things don’t look quite how we’d hoped. Why?

The answer is simple. We tend to follow the same patterns over and over again. We get comfortable with what we know, who we know and how we operate. Although repetition can be wonderful tool in business, it can also become a crutch which stymies our growth. Further, it can make our businesses and brands stale.

So how can you break the repetitive cycle to infuse your business with new life in the new year?

Here are a few tips to help.

1. Decide what you want. Do you want more money? [Read more…]

“It’s a Beautiful Day”

"It's a Beautiful Day"I recently read an article about the rock singer Bono where he talked about the process of finding his voice. Initially, he tried playing guitar, but he did not excel with it. Then someone suggested he sing, but he didn't think he really had a voice and he struggled to know how to do it. However, he gave it a second try and something clicked. He found his voice.

It's hard to imagine a singer who has performed for millions and millions of people not thinking they have a voice and almost panning the idea of pursuing a career in music. However, I understand it because I've seen this phenomenon first hand. In music school we used to sing for each other every week performing the pieces we'd been working on or doing mock auditions for our studio. There would often be a young student who really struggled to sing well. One would wonder how they were ever going to make it as a singer. Lo and behold, a few months later their voice would start to bloom.

So what happened for Bono and my music school colleagues? Why were they able to find their voices? First of all, they stuck with it. When you are struggling with anything it's tempting to give up. You may feel because you failed at your first attempt it means you are not gifted enough to pursue your dream. However, it often just takes a little time and patience to see the results you want. You may already be doing everything right and you are simply in process.

The second thing they did was continue to explore. Bono first tried guitar and then singing. He had to figure out how to make it work. "I had tried before, but I had no voice at all. I remember the day I found I could sing. I said, 'Oh, that's how you do it." (Success Magazine) A lot of people think you can either sing or you can't, but that's not true. Singing is a process of learning to coordinate many internal processes. You have to explore the mechanisms of your body. What happens when I breathe this way? How does my tone change when I focus my sound towards my nose? As you explore, you get information about what works and what doesn't to get the results you want.

Finally, they got feedback. In Bono's case it was from his bandmates who told him he was a lousy guitarist. So he tried something else. In the case of the music students it was from their teacher and their studio mates. They were able to take that information and apply it to tweak their process, refine their instrument and ultimately, blow away their audience.

Whether you are singer or a business owner the same lessons apply. If you have a passion, a desire to share your gifts and be heard by an excited audience, you can't be let fear of failure stop you. You need to keep at your craft, keep learning and exploring and continue to get feedback from your mentors, peers and clients. There have been many stars who did not start out at the head of the pack, but because of their curiosity, their tenacity and their willingness to learn they ended up finding their voice and their success.  If you are willing to do the work, you can do it too.  When you do, like Bono says "It's a Beautiful Day."