Why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your success?

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”
― Thomas Paine

Accountability.  No one wants to hold themselves accountable, but everyone else should be.  And you are the only one who can pave your way to success...or failure.

So why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your own success?

There are 4 fears that cause a lack of accountability:

Fear of failure -
Are you so afraid of failure that you cannot hold yourself responsible or liable for your own actions?  Do you lack trust or faith in yourself?  Fear of failure is a deep imbedded, nagging thought that can stop us before we even start a task.

Fear of success - 
Some of us are afraid of what would happen if we are successful.  Will we be able to keep up with family obligations?  How about a social life?  Will you be more scrutinized if you find success?  Fear of success is just as debilitating as fear of failure.

Fear of being thought of as a fraud -
Imposter's Syndrome impedes success.  The fear of being seen as not qualified enough by others, or not feeling like you know enough yourself can cause stagnancy.  Even when you have an MBA and 12 years experience, you can feel like you aren't enough of an 'expert.'

Fear of not being taken seriously -
Ideas and products die before they are even launched due to the fear that others won't understand or see value.  People are afraid to talk about their business plans or ideas, thinking that they'll be laughed at or ridiculed.

And all of these fears can be cured by one important resource: your business coach.

A business coach listens.  A business coach leads.  A business coach gets you from the current level, to the next, by teaching you to hold yourself accountable.

Clearing the 4 fears: failure, success, Imposter's Syndrome, or not being taken seriously, all happen with the right coach.  There will be a future post about finding a business coach and what other added benefits they add, but for now understand that before you start that next business, launch your next product, or decide to jump ship from a corporate life to an entrepreneurial one, check in with your coach.

Success is waiting - and it's not terrifying.  It's attainable.  Build your support network, and include a coach!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

P.S. Be sure to sign up for "Become a LinkedIn All-Star!"  The Google Hangout will be held on Wednesday, July 23rd at 1pm EST - and a lucky attendee will receive 1 hour of FREE entrepreneurial coaching!

Breaking up with social media

“Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier.”
― Katerina Stoykova Klemer

Today, I decided to break up with social media.

Wait, that doesn't make sense.  I thrive on social media; I teach others about social media; I grow my business and others' businesses with social media.

But I need a break.  I need a break from cheap, meaningless connections.  I need a break from sub-par content and dialogue.  I need a break from mediocrity.

http://www.elsaelsa.com/astrology/2012/05/22/what-if-someone-breaks-up-with-you/

How often do you audit your connections?   

Do you scour through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any other social media sites and remove contacts that aren't worth your time?  Do you make mental notes about where your connections are on your radar?

Why not?

So the truth is, I'm not breaking up completely with social media; I'm breaking up with how I use it.  Fact:  I'm typically not a "friend" or "follow" collector.  Take Facebook for instance: today I decided it was time to clean through my friends.  I don't use Facebook for business often, so it's just my social circle, and it needed to be cleaned out.  I was at my highest amount ever, 308, and judiciously and without regret eliminated 127 people.  Not because I didn't think they were good people; not because they did something wrong; not even because they don't post funny things sometimes.  No, my reasoning was simple and precise - short of family members, I deleted people who didn't enrich my life.  I kept people who I would call if they were absent, or at the very least email by normal email.  I kept people who I interacted with.  People whose stories and pictures were meaningful.  People who I would miss if they no longer posted.

So how does this translate to business?  

If you're a Twitterer, what are you getting out of your news feed?  Are you clicking the links excitedly because you love the content you're receiving?  Or do you just follow everyone who follows you?  Are you bored with your content?  Are you tuned out?

The same goes for LinkedIn, Pinterest, and the others, as well as newsletters.  It's important to look at how you distribute your content: B2C through newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Pinterest, or Instagram, YouTube; or B2B through newsletters, LinkedIn, Twitter, Vine, Pinterest., or YouTube, but it's also important to look at how you receive feedback and content relevant to you and your business.  If you're digging through hundreds of nonsensical posts hoping for that one golden piece of information that will push your business forward, then you're doing it wrong.

Take 5 minutes a couple times a week and weed out that bad information!  Unsubscribe to unnecessary newsletters; unfollow people on Twitter; break a broken connection on LinkedIn, and unfriend people who don't enrich your life on Facebook.  De-clutter your information pipeline, and you'll see that viable leads and information are all that's left.  And then, all that's left is the follow up and close.

How often do you weed through your social media and newsletters?

Nicole  
The Restless Entrepreneur

P.S. Learn more about making LinkedIn work for you in "Become a LinkedIn All-Star," a Google Hangout on July 28th!

What is your purpose in business

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it”
― Gautama Buddha

You want to start a business.  You're working through your first draft of your business plan, when you're suddenly stumped: 

What is my mission statement?

What should you do?  You haven't given this much thought.  What do you want people to know about your business?  

What is your purpose?

http://www.stjamessantee.org/our-mission-partners.html

A mission statement should include your goals.  Your mission statement can, and should, be an elevator pitch for your company, or at the very least, the start of one.  Your mission statement should capture attention and make a person want to know more.  So how do you get that into a succinct phrase or paragraph?

Whenever I'm tasked with helping a company create their mission statement, I always look for inspiration.  I work to weave in a story of where the company started and where it's going.  I try different ideas out loud alone, and then in front of my closest and most beloved critics.  I come up with idea after idea, carefully crafting it piece by piece.  And more often, I look to the great mission statements and see what works, and to the worst to see what doesn't.

Let's look at Starbucks:

 "Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."  Do they hit their mark?  As a quick mission statement - kind of.  They give you the feeling of comfort and community, and I get that from their company.  Thankfully, they have an extended mission statement on their site that goes into the important parts that their original statement is lacking.  They let us know about the products, the service, the clients, the employees, their overall vision, and what they do for their shareholders.  Overall, their albeit short quip is fulfilling.  It makes me want to know more.  It makes me want to partake in their culture.

Let's try another, General Motors.  

"G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment."  As a mission statement, it fits in alignment with what should be there: products, quality, customers, employees, shareholders.  Everything is summed up quickly and informatively.  Does it invoke emotion?  Aside from their current issues, yes.  I want to know what "superior value" their quality products offer.  Personally, as an aside, I hope that they are able to overcome their current trials so that they can maintain this mission without fear of it being seen as tongue-in-cheek.

Inc Magazines "The 9 Worst Mission Statements of All Time" has a wonderful list of the bottom of the barrel mission statements, my favorite (or least favorite) being McDonald's "McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat and drink. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience."  Yes, they meet some of the qualifications for a good mission statement, but instead of being forward-thinking, they're fluffy.  Full of air.  It does not make me want to learn more; in fact, their "global strategy" sounds a bit lame and cheesy.

So what's the takeaway?  

First, don't just throw your first idea on your business plan and call it good.  Your mission statement needs to say something; something about the company, where it's going, what it's offering and to whom, how it's offering those services or product, and what you're offering your community.  Just remember: who, what, when, where, why, and how.  Second, involve people in on the planning of the mission statement.  Work out a few ideas, say them out loud, see if you can spin an elevator pitch from it.  Work the top risers with a team of people who understand your business.  Shine it up like a new penny.  And third, make sure you're hitting your mark.  You get to pick what journey your mission statement takes people.  Make sure it's a journey worth taking.


Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Resources for the restless entrepreneur

“My soul is impatient with itself, as with a bothersome child; its restlessness keeps growing and is forever the same. Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.”
― Fernando Pessoa

As a restless entrepreneur, I like to have my hands in a lot of things.  I like to read a lot of material and talk with different people.  My introverted, hyperactive, attention deficit mind allows me to constantly, and efficiently, bounce between ideas in order to get work done.  This has worked out well for me with my involvement with start-ups.  They don't need someone around long term.  They need guidance and ideas, then for the purse strings to be cut so they can flourish on their own.  It plays well in my need to create businesses and then have others run them.  I plan and push and prepare, then I step back and let whatever team I put together handle the business so that I can move on to something new.

I love industry.  I love new ideas.  And more than anything, I love digging through my vast supply of resources that inspire me.  I'd like to share my five current favorite resources with you.


1)  The Solopreneur Hour Podcast

Michael is a freelancing pro - so much so that he has branded the word "solopreneur."  His podcast is attractive sounding, with informative nuggets of business knowledge, and his tagline "job security for the unemployable" hits a note with me (I am quite proud to be unemployable by traditional standards).  On top of that, his "resources" page is a good start for those of you thinking of venturing out on your own.

2) The Middle Finger Project

Ash and Jess are hilarious.  Not only that, but they know business - and they're not going to beat around the bush to get that info in your head.  Aside from their hilarious banter and waxing poetic about vacations (they started a company for that too!), they blog about all aspects of life and business, and they give it to you straight.  These ladies are fun, informative, and chock-a-bock full of good information.

3) Freelancers Union

Freelancers Union is the kind of company that would almost make me uproot my family to move to New York.  Sara has the kind of ideas that allow freelancers to work for themselves, including an amazing insurance program that, in my humble opinion, should happen everywhere.  I became a fan of Sara's after reading her book The Freelancer's Bible, almost 10 years into my career as a freelancer.  Let me tell you - I didn't know what I didn't know until I read that book.

4) Joan Garry

 A good portion of my consulting clients are nonprofits, so being a faithful reader to Joan's website and blog are necessary.  I thought I understood how boards operate after sitting on them for the past few years...until I read how they are suppose to operate.  And don't get me started (seriously, not yet) on what I learned about Founder's Syndrome (and why I will not sit as chair of my own nonprofit's board)!  Joan blends humor with sound, practiced advice, and should be required reading for anyone looking to start a nonprofit, join a board, or accept a position as executive director.

5) Entrepreneur Magazine

True story - when I was putting this list together, I was trying to find not-as-mainstream resources.  I dug through bookmarked pages and articles, open tabs and browser histories, and what I found was that Entrepreneur Magazine is, by far, one of my favorite go-to resources.  I follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, plus get email newsletters and have a subscription.  They provide solid information about so many different aspects of business that I seriously cannot think of a better magazine to reference.  They seem to publish articles about topics that resonate with me, the people I mentor, or groups that I'm working with such timing that I sometimes think they have a live feed into/out of my brain.

What are your favorite go-to resources for all things business, entrepreneur, freelance, nonprofit, or life?

Let me know in the comments!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur