Thanks for ALL the wonderful comments and happy birthday wishes to Brian yesterday.  He had a wonderful birthday and felt incredibly loved and celebrated.

Today, we’ve got our first Business Coaching Exercise for the SOAR! year!  Karen Buckley, one of the SOAR! Business Coaches from Wisdom Connection, has put together this wonderfully challenging exercise.  Grab your journal, find a quiet place and sink in to “What is So”.  To get your juices flowing, you can read “What is So” from Rachel, Charisse and Ali, at the SOAR! blog as they start their first week of SOAR! blogging!

xoxo,

m

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from Karen

Congratulations to Rachel, Charisse, and Ali. Each of your videos were so beautiful and touched our hearts.  And, as always – we love you Me Ra, you are such a wise woman doing great and wonderful work in the world that benefits so many. Deep appreciation.

Today is Business Coaching Blog #1 of 2011. While you’ll see some repeated themes and even exercises, you’ll love your new answers because you’ve accomplished more than you know in the past year (and what a year its been!)

We heard you in the videos – you want to business know-how, skills, new perspectives, and actionable next steps. We’ll be sharing tips, exercises and insights with every one of you who read this blog to help you soar as you build your businesses.

Once a month, we’ll give a business building exercise to Rachel, Charisse, and Ali. The first Monday of the month we’ll share the same exercise with all of you. Each exercise is designed to help you give a big boost to your own business.

Women business owners and women just starting businesses run into some unique problems. We’re all about setting you up for maximum success – your way!

Let’s start at the most powerful beginning place: What is So. What do you have in place in your business?

Too often we all focus on what we don’t have, on what isn’t enough, on what we desire or think we need to have a “real” business. We spend our time wishing we had more, were more, had done more. (Anyone of you ever done this? We sure have!) The only problem is that then we feel wobbly, unsure, insufficient to the task, and without a firm place to stand.

Instead, let’s get a handle on what you do already have in your business by taking an inventory of what you do have in place.  When you see clearly how things really are, you free yourself from diminishment or delusion. Both of these really equal confusion! Through calmly and courageously acknowledging things as they are we begin to free ourselves from the doubts, anxiety, fears and all the rest. Our hearts begin to expand with dignity and self-respect.

Are you ready to move ahead with a strong foundation under your feet? Let’s discover what is so in your business and in your life that supports your business.

What is So Inventory Exercise:

Write at least three items under each of the following categories. Add more than the 3 lines if you want. Ask your husbands, colleagues and family  – they might have ideas of what is already part of the foundation of your photography business.

No modesty! This is the time to be truthful about your talents and skills (whether they are proven or just growing). This is the moment to appreciate the money, people, systems, agreements, and mission impact that are in place.

Once you do this you’ll know what you have to build on into this coming year. No one starts with nothing! No one has too little in place to grow.

What is so concerning these aspects of your business:

Talents & Skills

Money

People

Systems

Agreements

Mission impact

Need a couple of examples to get you started? Here you go:

Talents & Skills – out of the green box photography, uploading, blogging, contracting, wrangling kids, etc.

Business Money – receivables (money due to be paid to you), payables (bills due), reserves, debt, contracts, etc.

People – help, vendors, suppliers, colleagues, media contacts, etc.

Systems – computer, printer, camera, software, calendar, etc.

Agreements – client contracts, agreements with other photographers, studio leases, etc.

Mission impact – what is your mission for the business, who do you want to ‘serve’, what does a satisfied client feel or receive, etc.

Challenge yourself!! Stretch and admit what is so. Bring tender and tough love into in your assessment. You deserve both from your self.

Celebrate all that’s in place! Can’t wait to hear from you – what surprised you? What is an “aha”?

Most of the small businesswomen we coach get caught up in what else they need to do, and criticizing what they haven’t done. Anyone relate?

That makes it hard to be proactive. You might feel lost with an overwhelming number of things to do. Instead, let’s feel solid in “What is So” and then grow from there.

We look forward to a year of getting to know as many of you as possible and we’ll keep offering lots of ways for you to reach greater business success.

C’mon out!

Karen

What’s coming up where you can work with Fay and Karen?

SOAR! Teleconference for ALL SOAR! Applicants with    Me Ra and Wisdom Connection. Set your calendars ladies for Friday, February 18th at 10am PST / 1pm EST.  If you applied to SOAR! this year or last year, an email invite with the call-in details is coming this week!

Business Boost 101:  from Start-up to Real Momentum. Personal Coaching and solid business building. 5 Thursdays from 4:00-5:30 PT starting March 3rd. Re-find your momentum or get a boost! Powerful results guaranteed plus a lot of fun and confidence building.

The Wisdom Connection Personal Coaching – a free 20-minute coaching session with Karen or Fay! Send us an email today to info@thewisdomconnection.com. Let’s get scheduled! Get a small group together and we’ll do a series just for you!