I recently enjoyed a talk radio show where the guest discussed the future of unions in this country. One of the things he recounted was the air traffic controller strike that occurred in the 1980's. President Reagan ordered the striking workers back to their jobs under threat of termination. Those who did not heed his order were fired. Those who stayed on are now headed for handsome retirement packages.

The workers replacing them today are being offered jobs that pay only 70% of the outgoing workers' salary. Mind you, inflation is rising far faster than wages, even when wages are headed in a positive direction! The handwriting is on the wall, and it's not in pencil or subtle black ink. It's in bold fluorescent colors and blinking wildly to get our attention. No matter where you work, who you work for or what you do, now is the time to start your own business.

I used to date a guy who had trouble holding a job. When I expressed my concern about this, he told me, "Don't worry about me. I'll always have a hustle." I had visions of him pimping and selling drugs on street corners. I don't know what he's doing today, but I think at least part of what he was trying to say was that he would never rely on other people to meet his needs.

It's great to have a job, but these days, you also need a hustle.

What's your hustle?

Posted by Donna Maria at 12:02 PM | Permalink

When I was in high school, I played a lot of tennis. In fact, I was so obsessed that my parents used to bring my dinner to the tennis court. My tennis coach told me that the secret to hitting a winning shot every time was hitting the ball when it was in the center of the racket where the "sweet spot" is. When a tennis ball hits the sweet spot, it makes a specific noise -- a kind of solid "pop," and you know even without looking that you have made a good shot.

In business, everything you do must be designed to hit your sweet spot, the place where your passion, your knowledge and your action intersect to create a solid "pop," letting you know that you have hit a homerun. You can't have a sweet spot without passion, knowledge and action. Lack of any of the three will create a chasm in your business that will be difficult to overcome. You can have endless passion and unquestionable knowledge, but if you don't take action, you won't be successful. You can have knowledge and take action, but if you don't have a passion for what you are doing, you will become bored and burned out. If you have passion and action, but are without knowledge of your capabilities, your market or your product, you will be shooting in the dark.

Passion. Knowledge. Action. Combine the three and you'll hit your sweet spot every time.

Posted by Donna Maria at 10:06 PM | Permalink

Sometimes, it's hard to continue to move a business forward simply because of the sheer number of things we have to do to keep it afloat. As chief cooks and bottle washers, we wear most (if not all) of the hats, and we can become so buried in daily tasks and details that we forget what we're doing it all for in the first place.

When that happens, repeat this mantra:
I am in business to help you while I pursue my passion, and also make money.

It's simple, but it works. When you become bogged down in a particular task or detail, repeat this mantra. If in doing the task at hand you are not helping someone, not pursuing your passion or not making money, then do something else.

Posted by Donna Maria at 12:24 PM | Permalink

I recently attended a meeting of women business owners. Each of us was asked to stand and tell the group a little about our businesses. One woman said in a very soft voice, that her business provided products and services to mothers. Someone asked her to be more specific, and she said she was just getting it off the ground and didn't want to share details yet. Hey, I'm all for keeping secrets secret, but if your business is a secret in a hotel conference room, it will also be a secret in a trade show filled with potential buyers. And then, you won't have much of a business at all.

You don't have to give away commercial trade secrets to share a bit about your business with a group, and you should always be ready to do so because you never know where the next business opportunity will come from. Always have a 3-4 sentence summary of your business stored away in your head and be prepared to share it when asked.

In business, what you don't say can hurt you. So get your 30-second "elevator speech" together and practice it until you can say it like a yoga mantra. Use active words and practice saying it with gusto and ease. Here's mine.

Lifestyle CEO Media Corporation helps women combine home management and business ownership. We do this through an annual conference, radio show, television show, books, articles and other branded materials that provide nuts and bolts business advice. If you are a woman in business, we can inspire, encourage and equip you for success, so check us out at lifestyleceo.com!

Your elevator speech should hit all the high points of your business:

1. the name of the business
2. who you serve
3. your mission
4. where to go for more information

What's your elevator speech?

Posted by Donna Maria at 03:31 PM | Permalink