Whether you are just getting started or have been running your business for years, entrepreneurs all experience uncertainty and doubt.  Is entrepreneurship right for me?  Does this ever get easier? What if I don’t reach my goals? These feelings are a natural part of an entrepreneur’s journey, but there is a remedy. You need a good friend to tell you how amazing you are and that you can figure anything out.  And that good friend is Marie Forleo.   But wait you say – I don't have a friend named Marie Forleo. Well you should and you can.  Read Forleo’s book Everythi ..read more

Recently I was chatting with a consultant who mentioned that he rarely does any marketing.  Then a week later, I was talking to a different consultant, and she said the same thing.  They both told me that they have such great relationships with their clients that almost 100% of their business comes from referrals.  I had heard of this before, work just magically appearing at your doorstep from oodles of referrals, but honestly it seemed more like a myth than an actual possibility.   Don’t get me wrong, referrals are an important part of my business, but to be able to ..read more

The arts don’t have a claim on creativity; it’s also essential for entrepreneurs.  You need to find creative solutions for your customers, creative messaging for your marketing, and creative strategies for your team to be effective.  Entrepreneurship is all about creativity, and luckily for those of us who don’t feel naturally creative, there are systems to help enhance your creative thinking.  In the book Creative Confidence, design thinking pioneers Tom and David Kelley, help everyone better understand why creativity is so essential for business success and how to design crea ..read more

In America we like things big and flashy.  Whether it’s homes, trucks, boats, yards… we are led to believe that bigger is always better. And the flashier it is, the more we can show off to others.  But this need for more, more, more creates stress, envy, and financial disasters.  This is true for our lives, but also our businesses.  We are led to believe that bigger is best.  Every penny our business makes needs to be reinvested for growth.  Rather than worrying about the bottom line (profit), we only think of the top line (revenue), and fully ignore all those pe ..read more

If you’re like me and adult coloring books are your version of being artistic, you might be wondering why you should read the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.   The truth is, I was skeptical too, but I got so many recommendations to read Big Magic, that I thought I should give it a shot. And while I didn’t walk away compelled to pull out my middle school flute or start watercolor classes, I did realize that entrepreneurship and being a creative have very similar demands.  Elizabeth Gilbert’s advice in Big Magic has a universality to it, and much ..read more

If you’re anything like me, you run yourself ragged trying to do everything on your own.  You manage oodles of daily tasks , and then every time you have a new idea or face a new challenge, you think ‘How can I get this done’.  You research on the internet, scour message boards, listen to webinars, or just learn by trial and error. And while all that may find you the answer you need, there is an easier way. In Who Not How, authors Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy argue that trying to do it all yourself is bad for you and your business. If you’re prone to doing it all on your own ..read more

Networking – we all know it’s important, but if you’re anything like me, you dread it.  If asked to choose between going to the dentist or chatting with a bunch of strangers in a noisy conference room… I’d choose the dentist in a heartbeat.  Even if you don’t dread traditional networking as much as I do (I’m a card-carrying introvert), business-card-exchange events rarely return great results. There are less awkward, more impactful ways to build your network.   To get started on your effective networking journey, I recommend following some great advice from Dorie Clark’s S ..read more

Rejection Proof is our April book club book (reading the book is optional). If you’d like to connect with other supportive, kind entrepreneurs while learning valuable strategies for your business, join us in April! We’d love to meet you! Become a Member If you’re like most people, rejection is something you dread.  Hearing no can be painful and drains your confidence and enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, rejection is an inevitable part of entrepreneurship.  There is no way around it.  Potential customers will say no, investors and lenders will say no, potential partners will say ..read more

It’s hard to believe, but March is here again.  That means the days are getting longer, spring is springing, and best of all, women are getting a bit of the recognition they deserve.  In honor of Women’s History Month, I want to share some of my favorite business books written by female business leaders. 8 Books by Female Authors That Will Elevate Your Small Business 1. For the entrepreneur just getting started  If you’re just launching a business or exploring the possibility, Jefa in Training by Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda is a great introduction to the ins and outs of running ..read more

Last week I met with a client who plans to open a spa in her LA neighborhood, and she told me she was confident it would work because she had asked her friends and family if they would like a spa in the neighborhood, and they said yes.  That was all the evidence she needed. While difficult, it’s my job as a business coach to make people think about the hard truth.  I asked, “Are you surprised that everyone said they would like to go to a spa in their neighborhood? Because I’m not surprised at all.  The idea of a spa always sounds nice.  But thinking something sounds nice ..read more