Linda Stanfield - Owner of Ben Franklin the Punctual Plumber

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Linda has tons of advice for switching over from being a “technician” in your business to a true owner. She talks about keeping work fun for employees (by using her ticketing system) and creating an amazing customer service experience.

She was a joy to interview, and I think you’ll really enjoy it!

Check out Lindastanfield.com and Benfranklinplumbingaz.com.

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Tom Mills – CEO of HS Brands – A Mystery Shopping Company

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Tom Mills has a great story of working at Staples, and then creating his own successful company. He talks about what he learned in sales, (how his Boston accent helped at first, and then hindered his sales skills) and what traits and actions made him successful.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• EO – Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Check out Hsbrands.com

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David Heinemeier Hansson – Partner at 37 Signals and Co-Author of Rework

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David has an awesome perspective on business and dispels common myths about the way an entrepreneur “should” work. He talks about setting yourself up so you don’t need to be scared, how he handles personal finance, why you don’t need a lot of time and his thoughts on why start ups need patience. You need to check this out!

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Maverick by Ricardo Semler
• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
• The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor

Check out Heinemeierhansson.com and 37signals.com.

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Dani Johnson – From homeless to millionaire in a few short years, now and Author and Speaker

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Dani has an amazing story of being homeless and then earning millions of dollars. She talks about changing your mindset, taking action, and inspiring stories of others who have done it too.

Check out Danijohnson.com.

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Kevin Kaufmann – President of Property Adjustment Corporation

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Kevin went from being an employee to starting his own business. He has a great story and discusses how he works best with employees, and how he uses word of mouth and referrals to get business.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Michael E. Gerber
• Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need by Harvey Mackay
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Check out Propadj.com.

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Jim Bellacera – Founder of Successful Thinkers, Speaker and Author

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Jim wrote the book Within the Millionaire Mind, he also is a great speaker and founded the national networking group called Successful Thinkers. A free networking group that is changes the way networking is done.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• An Uncommon Freedom

Check out Jimbellacera.com and Successfulthinkers.com.

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Doug Guller – Owner of Bikinis- 12 Restaurants and 600 employees in 5 years

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Doug was a corporate employee for many years before he started his restaurant Bikinis. He has grown it, learning everything from scratch, to 600 employees in 5 years! Plus he also talks about a failed business venture, and what he learned.

Check out Bikinissportsbarandgrill.com.

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Michael Burcham – Serial Entrepreneur and CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center

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Michael has some amazing advice based on many of his companies and helping many other startups. We talk about the best ways to start, whether or not to get funding, and mindset that you need to be successful.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
• The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
• Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable–Includes new bonus chapter Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable–Includes new bonus chapter by Seth Godin
  

Check out Michaelburcham.com and Entrepreneurcenter.com.

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Ryan Blair – CEO of ViSalus Sciences and Author of Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur

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Ryan Blair has an amazing story of overcoming the odds and turning his life around. Not only that he turned around ViSalus Sciences from the brink of failure to over 150 Million a year in 16 months. He is completely honest and open and has amazing advice for you.

Check out Ryanblair.com and Nothingtolose.com.

Here is more info on ViSalus Sciences- Ryan's company:

Are You Up for The Challenge? With thousands of people joining every day, the ViSalus Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge is a health revolution that can help you achieve any weight loss or fitness goal! Brought to you by ViSalus Sciences®, the Body by Vi™ 90 Day Challenge can transform your health in as little as 90 days thanks to great ViSalus products and a simple system that works for everybody, and every body.

Check out:  http://visalussciencesusa.com/

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Brenton Hayden – CEO of Renters Warehouse and Serial Entrepreneur

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Brenton owns many company, his largest, Renters Warehouse was ranked one of the Top 5 Emerging Entrepreneurs of 2010 by Entrepreneur Magazine! He has great information on how he starts each of his companies, and gives advice on radio and other advertising.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
  
• Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series) by Brian Halligan , Dharmesh Shah, and David Meerman Scott
  

Check out Brentonhaydenonrealestate.com.

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Amy Applebaum – Success Coach and Owner of Amy Applebaum Inc


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Amy is the creator of the Release Your Inner Millionairess Coaching Program and tells her story of growing her business. She has great energy and passion for helping female entrepreneurs.

Check out Amyapplebaum.com.

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The next millionaire interview will be coming at the end of this week. One of the most important things mentioned was about visioning. Visioning is key! (Stay tuned for the awesome interview with Adrian from 7Million7Years.com)

We all know that we need to have a goals for the business we want. If we don’t know where we want to go, how will we ever end up there?

Many people I interact with create goals for their business and either something comes up to change them or they just never look at them again. That’s not what a vision is. A vision isn’t just a few goals.

A vision is who you will become, the culture, and what your business is recognized for. It’s a paragraph or two of the whole point of your company. Do you want to change the world, or just make a lot of money? (Both can be included if they are both important!)

If you don’t have a vision yet, start one. It may take time to refine, but it’s one of the most important things you can do in your business and life.

You Have a Vision, Now What?

You need to be completely committed to your vision. I know this sounds crazy but you don’t even need to be committed to how your business runs today. A huge opportunity might come your way and change the core of your business. But you need to be committed to your vision because it will tell you whether or not the opportunity is for you.

When asked how IBM achieved its phenomenal success Founder Tom Watson said I had a very clear picture of what the company would look like when it was done. I then asked myself how a company which looked like that would have to act. Then I realized that we would never be able to act that way unless we acted that way from the beginning.

Once you have your vision, you can’t put it away. It determines how you act right now. It determines what is most important to you and your business.

The Vision is the Strategic Intent of the business owner. It should be considered the ultimate goal. It captures the essence of success, is stable over time, and is deeply motivating at all levels.

Put yourself into the future. Who are you in your vision? Are you confident and conquering the world? Is that how you act now? Write a list of 10 characteristics that describe you in the future.

(If you are having a hard time with this, find someone who you respect now, and embodies the characteristics you want and write those down)

You can use these characteristics to grow. Daily work on each of these characteristics will move you forward fast. You can make amazing changes in a year to become the person that runs the company you want.

Use your vision to make decisions. You will face a lot of decisions in your business. Use the vision as a guide, and ask yourself “If I were that person in my vision now, what decision would I make?”

I like to say that I have a goal of million dollars, not for the money but for the person I’ll become. You can start becoming that person right now.

If you aren’t working from a vision you might be headed in the wrong direction, and never know it. You might be pulled to a place that sounds pretty good, but isn’t truly what you were meant to do.

Start with the end in mind, and not only will you have a better chance of achieving your dreams, but you will be more clear now.

Do you have a vision? Do you work from it often or does it sit in a word doc on your computer never to be looked at again?

Take some action on your vision today!

Is that perfect name stopping you from moving forward? We are told that marketing and branding is so important. It can make or break your business!

Well they are right, it can. But guess what. When you first start all you have are ideas and opinions. If you and the people you ask are not experts at branding they might not even be very good opinions.

Plus you might find the ideal company name, but all of the domain names are taken. Do you only pick a name where the domain is available? Who wants to be MyCompanyIsTheBest.net?

If you are chief branding officer for your new business, use these steps:

Brainstorm. Write anything down that might work. Even if it sucks, you can cross it out later!

Rework. Generally a few will pop out at you. Take those and rework them until you have 5 options.

Feedback. Ask other business owners what they think. Try to get a few opinions to see if they are similar. (remember they are only opinions!)

Pick one. Just pick the one that seems the best to you. (you are the one that needs to live with it)

Ask. Does this sound like a brand name? Is this a million dollar company?

Start. Do something with it. Buy the domain name and start working with potential logos.

Feel it. Usually after really living with the decision for days or even weeks you will start to get this gut feeling. It will either be a good thing (where you marvel at the opportunities and hear the name in the media) or it will be bad (where you don’t want to tell anyone the name, and it doesn’t FEEL like you or your company). If it’s the latter, change it and start again!

Beta Testing Your USP

When you first start, you won’t be completely sure of your unique selling proposition. You can write down all of your benefits and try to set yourself apart from your competition but what matters most to your potential customers?

You can have the perfect target market. You can write down their fears, their hopes, and dreams. But until you have spoken to them and asked them what is most important to them, all you have are ideas.

To make the ideas concrete you can do survey’s, or find people that you know in your target market to ask. Personally I like just getting the first few customers and learning from them.

So a little while back when I created a new service I launched it in beta. I knew I had all of these ideas that could work. They would only be possibilities though. I’d had to ask and find out what did work.

So armed with an outline and a general idea I started. I started selling and I took on 4 beta testers.

They gave me so much amazing information. I changed the worksheets, I changed the format, I added more time with each client at the beginning. I asked what worked best for them and what didn’t work. In the end I knew what they wanted and what they cared about. I was armed with so much more knowledge than when I first started.

There Is Always a Choice – Choose Action!

I just read a great article in Inc magazine that stated that most successful entrepreneurs don’t do market research. They don’t look at the demographics. They have a feeling that their product or service is solving a need, and it will do well. Then they bootstrap it.

Your market will tell you what it responds to. You cannot predict your market. This includes naming and branding! So pick a name that totally works for now, (so you have something to call it) then start moving.

Keep in mind that within a few months you can do an awesome relaunch with your new branding. By then you should be making some money and learning a ton.

You’ll be smarter then, so leave the big decisions for your smarter self.

Many people say that want more money but how many people are willing to accept all of the problems that come with it?

We  want all of the benefits, the money, or the freedom and we don’t want all the hard work, or the problems.

Are you willing to accept that if you become a millionaire you will have a millionaire’s sized business problem too?

Do you think the business owners making more money than you have bigger problems than you do? Are you willing to take on their problems?

Problems like:

• Taxes
• Employee Issues
• Debt
• Having a bad month, or year
• Laying people off
• The weight of wrong decisions
• Letting people down on a massive scale
• Bigger fears
• Insurance
• Bigger projects
• Bigger failures
• Not controlling every part of the puzzle
• A board of directors
• Protecting Your Company and Legal issues
• People wanting to sue you
• Working more hours

Woo, that sounds fun doesn’t it? Not all of these will happen of course but some of them will. One of the reasons why people shy away from bigger and better things is because of the unspoken problems that come with them.

We hold ourselves back in decision making and taking bold actions because of these problems.

What if you could just accept them all at once? What if you never had to hold yourself back because of the fear of problems?

Let’s start 2011 off right. It’s not necessarily about excitement or motivation. It’s about moving forward knowing there will be problems ahead.

Just say, “In 2011 I will play it bigger, and accept all of the sucky problems that will come with it!”

There. Now you can move ahead. Being scared of all of the problems and fear of potential problems can be moved off your plate. You’ll deal with them later.

Now go out and do what you know what know you need to do to kick ass in 2011.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”-Winston Churchill

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”-Anatole France

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”- Karen Ravn

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”- Mark Victor Hansen

“Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.”- Denis Waitley

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.”- Tom Krause

“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.”- Calvin & Hobbes

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”-Anonymous “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”- Marianne Williamson

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”- Wayne Dyer

“It has never been so bad, that it couldn’t be worse…”

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”- Benjamin Spock

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”- Rabindranath Tagore

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.”- Tom Krause

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”- Mary Anne Radmacher

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” -Anonymous

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”- Confucius

“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”- Frank Tibolt

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”- Mark Twain

“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”- Orison Swett Marden

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”- Zig Ziglar

“The road to success is always under construction”- Lily Tomlin

“Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”-Anonymous

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”- Winston Churchill

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success”-Napoleon Hill

What makes us believe in our own abilities when we have no proof yet? My daughter didn’t want to start walking. I knew she could do it. She would walk with almost no support but needed to hold my hands. She didn’t even try to walk on her own. It was as if she didn’t think she could, so she didn’t try.

It can take time and encouragement to build up confidence.

One she took the first few steps, she looked at me, and looked back at her feet. I persuaded her to keep going. The expression on her face looked like, “Hey I’m kinda doing this!” I nodded to tell her she was doing it. You could see her confidence building.

Business Confidence: Outside Proof

We need outside proof to build confidence. When someone says that we are smart, talented, or amazing we can look back on those things as examples of our awesomeness. It can take someone else to give us proof of our own talents and amazing abilities. (This seems to especially happen with women!)

Side note: Confidence issues can be directly related to low self esteem. A great book for that is The 6 Pillars of Self Esteem by Nathaniel Branden.

I have been listening to the audiobook Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh. He said that after he sold his company for $65 million his friends commented on him being more self confident.

I thought this was an odd statement at the time. Wouldn’t someone that created a $65 million dollar company be pretty confident whether or not he sold the company? I think that while wealth and business building is a process, events solidify confidence.

Since I’ve been in the press I have had a lot more opportunities. I can feel my confidence building. I’ve always been a pretty confident person, but it’s as if I’m the main character of a video game and I’m leveling up.

When I first started coaching I heard a suggestion about creating a special box. When you first start a new skill, you can feel a bit lacking. I created one of these (actually mine was a folder in my filing cabinet) and it helped me build my confidence when I was learning a new skill.

Increase Your Business Confidence – Action Item:

Create a confidence building box. Create a place that contains cards, letters, testimonials, inspiring stories, and impressive things you have accomplished.

If a customer sends you an email saying how awesome you or your product is, print it out and put it in your box. If you have a day of record sales write a little note about it and put it in the box.

A business owner deals with enough negativity. When you are having one those days and you need motivation, go through the box. Remember how awesome you are and how far you have come.

The box also helps when you want to grow bigger than ever before. There may not be outside proof for something that big yet, but you can go back and see your history. You have so much outside proof for something that used to seem hard. It’s just logical that you can do it again.

Have there been times in your business when you have felt your confidence growing?

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I have a scheduled session with my coach on Monday mornings. They really start my week off right. Returning to work after having 4 days off this weekend, I was scattered and not sure what to do next.

I was discussing different ideas about what comes next for my business. My coach, Kurk, graciously asked if he could tell me a story.

Have you ever really wanted an ice cream cone? You see it, and you figure out a way to get it. Finally you have it in your hands. You look up and see a different treat. You decide that you want that, and you start  to figure out how to get that.”

Did you notice something? You never even licked the ice cream in your hand.

I know! And I know I’m not the only one who does this since I have clients who do this too. I thought it was funny listening to the story because, I KNOW! I tell stories like this to my clients. Even a coach can get stuck in their own head and not be able to see what is really happening.

The need for achievement is important to me. It’s like a program that constantly runs in the background.

Wikipedia says this about the Need for Achievement:

“People high in N-Ach are characterized by a tendency to seek challenges and a high degree of independence. Their most satisfying reward is the recognition of their achievements. Sources of high N-Ach include:

1. Parents who encouraged independence in childhood
2. Praise and rewards for success
3. Association of achievement with positive feelings
4. Association of achievement with one’s own competence and effort, not luck
5. A desires to be effective of challenged

Does this sound like you? Is achievement a need for you too?

The need for achievement has probably earned you a lot of accolades and success stories. But sometimes we need to let go of our need for achievement because it can never be fulfilled. There will always be the next big thing on the horizon.

You will constantly push, and push and find that no matter how big the accomplishment your need for achievement will not end. It’s great to have a goal to become a millionaire, but at the end of the day it’s just numbers in a bank. The need for achievement will still be there.

Tips to Override the Need of Achievement:

• Relax. Keep working the plan you already started and don’t worry about the next steps.

• Realize that you have an amazing history. If you are like me, and love to achieve, you have an amazing history. You already have accomplished great things. Looking forward you will most likely achieve more great things. So let go of the constant PUSHING and let things flow.

• Enjoy where you are. You have  already achieved so much. You have a lot to be thankful for. So enjoy it. Think of your life story, and be thankful for the person you are today.

Around Thanksgiving we start to realize more how grateful we are for everything we have. One way to demonstrate how grateful we are is to stop pursuing so hard. There is no need to overtake or capture achievement. Just relax. Realize that you have an amazing history, and enjoy where you are.

Keep working and creating amazing things, but stop pursuing that next achievement rush.

These tips are for me as much as they are for you.

Do you have any other suggestions to override the need of achievement?

We are only here for 80 or so years if we are lucky. If fear is stopping you from accomplishing your goals,  ask yourself, “How big is my fear?”

Sometimes when I am fearful or going through something that is tough, I like to put life in perspective.

I go outside at night and stare at the stars. It’s hard not to feel really small when you are thinking about how huge our universe is.

Watch this and think about your fear.

If you think about issues like money or even business they are dwarfed by the universe.

If you have ever felt humiliated from someone that seemed better than you, realize, that they are ridiculously small too. (Like an ant!)

Now I like to use the universe example to propel me forward. I don’t feel bad that I am small. What changes for me is that my problems are now small too.

Whether I feel like an idiot when I said something wrong in a meeting with very important people, doesn’t matter in the long run. A million dollars means nothing out there. (I’m going to be recording a TV segment tomorrow, and I if I screw it up I will be coming home and watching this video again!)

Everything we experience is temporary. So live your life the best you possibly can.

If part of that plan is learning more about money then sign up for my posts via email.

Image by kevindooley via Flickr

Yakezie is a group of about 100 personal finance bloggers that I have been a member of since March. They are a great support network that are helping others learn about personal finance and handling money.

Here are a few links from the group:

My favorites:

From Frugal Confessions – What Kind of Grade Would You Get on Suze Orman’s “How Am I Doing” Segment?

From Smart on Money – The Most Expensive Bottle Of Wine Ever Sold. Would You Drink It?

From Darwin’s Money – Black Swan Investing – Making a Fortune off Rare Events

Money Mindset and Tactics:

From Kristia at Family Balance Sheet – Our Wisest Money Decision

From Simple Financial Lifestyle – Simplify your personal finances by building a financial fortress

From Car Negotiation Coach – How to Find the Best Price on Car Tires

From Money Green Life – How Many Credit cards Should You Have?

From Bucksome Boomer - 3 Top Reasons to Have Credit Cards

From Financially Poor -3 Debt Elimination Mindsets You Need To Have

From KNS Financial – 5 Things You Can Still Do To Increase Your Tax Refund!

From Barbara Freidberg Personal Finance – Book Review & GIVEAWAY: PSYCH YOURSELF RICH

From Neal at the Wealth Pilgrim – The Best College Savings Plans Just Got Better

Other:

From Saving Money Today – Resume Writing Tips

From Bugeting in the Fun Stuff  – Fit in a Fun Friday – Scary Movies

From Frugal Zeigeist – Stay Healthy in the Office

Enter to win $100 from me (and more!) from the Spendster Second Chance Giveaway!

It has been a crazy week behind the scenes at Eventual Millionaire. I was on CNNMoney.com, interviewed on CNN Newsroom with Tony Harris and was featured on Yahoo.com.

While I was sifting through all of the email I received, I found a lovely email from Megan. She wanted to give my readers $100 for creating a short video talking about ways you have wasted money, and what you should have done instead.

The contest deadline is in THREE days on November 4th!

Take a look at Spendster.org to upload a video and see others videos.

Not only can you win $100 from me, you will be entered into the second chance giveaway.

First prize is $1,000

Second Prize: $750

Third Prize: $500

Plus 97 runners up get prizes too! Just have friends vote for your video. I heard through the grapevine that your chances are really good to win at least something!

So to enter, upload your video on Spendster.org and then email me ( jaime @ eventualmillionaire . com ) with the link to your video.

I’m sure none of us are exempt from money mistakes. So I’d love to hear your story. Here are the details:

• Create a video (less than 3 min)
• Talk about a way you wasted money and what you should have done instead.
• Go to Spendster.org and submit your video.
• Email me the link to the video by November 4th!
• If you want to win the Second Chance Giveaway get your friends to vote on the video (100 people will win a prize!)

That’s it! I’ll pick the winner on November 5th. Thanks for playing!

This is my first day back in the office since Blogworld Expo. It was an amazing time with amazing people. People that didn’t go to Blogworld seem to ask the question, “Is it worth it?”

That’s a great question. So I’ll go through my expenses and ways to find out if a conference like Blogworld is worth it.

List of expenses:

More than one third of my expenses were taken up by my plane ticket. Flying from Maine to Las Vegas gets pretty pricey. I searched for every deal possible, and used FareCompare to wait until the right time to buy but I still spent almost $500. (and that was for a red eye!)

I have been told that food is really expensive in Las Vegas. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. Most normal dinners were around $20.

I also don’t gamble, so I didn’t lose (or gain) any money!

The Stratosphere is a very tall building that looks out over Las Vegas. It wasn’t a business expense. Erica (Erica.biz) was a great tour guide and showed us the Bellagio and other sites in Vegas. She had a car so we were able to save cab fare! (thanks Erica!)

Total Spent $1207.49

Are Conferences Worth It?

It depends. (don’t you love my non-answer?)

My mentor loves to say that networking isn’t a long term investment. If you do it right it’s a short term strategy. He was in Las Vegas the same weekend for a different convention. He looks to create revenue short term by creating strategic relationships and finding clients. Revenue is usually the only reason he goes to conferences.

He wanted me to get at least one new coaching client from the trip. In order to do that I would have to have at least 10 conversations about my coaching with people. But my reasons for going to the conference wasn’t to gain clients. I didn’t want to spend my whole time selling and not be able to meet and form real relationships with the people I wanted to meet.

(and while I sell very ethically and non-intrusive, I didn’t want to push my wares the entire trip)

My mentor calculates the exact ROI (Return on Investment) of the conference based on how much revenue he received from the event and how much he spent. He wanted me to do the same.

While I like this approach, and think it should be part of the picture, I think it’s missing intangible benefits. ROI isn’t the only method to test if something is worth it. If it was, I would still be stuck at a job I hated.

You cannot measure how much you grow as a person, how many quality relationships you have made in your industry or how much better your life turns out to be because of one event.

I suggest you do the following to decide if it’s worth going to a conference:

Write down the best that can happen if you go. If everything were to happen perfectly, and you were able to get out of it exactly what you expect, what would it be? Include intangible benefits, and how much fun you might have.

Write down 3 other things you could spend the money on. Guesstimate the cost of the conference and travel expenses. Then brainstorm three different ways of using that money to achieve your business goals.

Write down the worst that could happen. Your business goes haywire while you are away, or you don’t make any contacts or get anything out of it. You spent a lot of money on nothing.

By now you might get a small feeling in your gut of whether it’s worth it or not. While you cannot predict the future, if it feels like the right thing to do, do it. You will not get more business or create more opportunities unless you are out and cultivating them.

If your answer is yes, then next question is: How can I make the most out of my trip?

Planning ahead of time what will make the experience worth it can help tremendously. Set goals for being there, whether you want to cultivate new relationships, get sponsors or new clients. Then do your research on who will be there and plan accordingly.

Was BlogWorld Expo Worth It?

Since I love what I do and the people around me, it could have been considered a vacation.

But the amount of learning, business and networking that was completed makes the trip worth it on it’s own.

It was still worth it even though I wasn’t a fan of most of the sessions. My favorite one was a keynote with Darren Rowse, and it wasn’t so much for the education but for the inspiration of it.

I could tell most of sessions were aimed at a new blogger. The funny thing is, I am a newer blogger! I started earlier this year but I felt like I already knew the content in the sessions.

Here are a few things I got out of Blogworld:

• The inspiration I received to push my business even bigger than I thought possible because of talking with like minded people and seeing the amazing Cirque Du Soleil Show Mystere. Cirque can make the impossible seem possible.

• Free consulting from the awesome Catherine Caine.

• Meeting friends in person that I have been speaking to for the past 6 months. I talk with Pat (SmartPassiveIncome.com), Maren (Escapingthe9to5.com), and Nathan (NathanHangen.com) weekly and it was great to actually meet them in person. They are amazing and you should check out their sites!

• Free stuff! (I brought home 6 t-shirts, 10 tubes of Chapstick, a membership to Shutterstock, a journal, a book on social media, and a few toys for the kids)

• Ken, a social media business owner I met in the hotel that wasn’t going to Blogworld, and I are discussing ways to work together. A client of his is another business coach I know in Maine. (Ok, you are right, Maine is really small and apparently I know everyone from the state)

• Relationships created with entrepreneurs from all over the country, and discussing the state of viral videos, or their plans for growing their business. I’ve already spoken to a few people about doing joint ventures.
• Finally getting to see Las Vegas!

Inspiration was a big part of this trip. There were amazing stories at Blogworld. Stories of people hating their jobs and quitting to start their own business. Stories like the one I heard from Darren Rowse, when his wife said he had six months to start earning a living blogging. There were people that made a million dollars in a year.

My final answer is, YES. It was completely worth it and I am looking forward to going next year.

Trying to figure out what you want to do for a living is tough. It’s easy to admit, “Well I don’t want this!” but it can be difficult to put your finger on what you do want to do. The options are endless. If you can think of a need that can be filled, there is a  title waiting for you out there. So what do you want?

I remember awhile back I bought the book, “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was” by Barbara Sher. This was many years ago when I had no idea what I wanted to do, I just knew that I didn’t want to travel around the country every week as a project manager. While the book did not give me any answers, (which I was hoping it would!) it did open possibilities for me. It can take a lot of introspection and trial and error to find out what you are passionate about.

A few things I tried that helped in the process were:

To realize it is a process: I wanted so badly to pick something and let it stick. I tried on many hats before I finally settled down. Just know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be right now, and that you will learn from each career attempt you try.

Start a list of all of the possibilities: I created a “What would be a cool job?” list. I decided to write down everything that sounded fun. I put no restrictions on it regarding my educational background, or if I would be any good at it. It was a never ending list for a few months, and had things added and subtracted as I went along.

‘Date’ a few of those possibilities: A great coach named Michael Neil suggests to ‘date’ a career. He relates choosing a career to marriage. He says that we don’t pick a random person that looks good and marry them next week. If you give yourself time to date a career, you can decide if you like it without the risk. If you think you want to start your own business as a jewelry designer, then take a class in jewelry making and see if you like it. Try to make these ‘dates’ reasonable financially. It may not be the best idea to spend $3,000 going to school for something that you don’t end up liking. Each attempt will allow you to learn more about the possible career and see if it would be a good fit long term.

Ask people that already know. Go through your list of possible ideas and see if you can find people already doing that. I’d suggest talking to someone who is in the business currently if you can find one. If you want to be a pet sitter, call up and ask a pet sitter to chat for a bit about it. You would be surprised how many business owners are willing to help you out.

Specifically ask about what they love, what they don’t like, how they transitioned and any advice for you. This will give you better information than any book!

Start testing the waters: Once you have found an idea that seems to suit your passion, start to test the waters. It’s a good idea to try to start getting into it on the side of your current job so you can really see if you want to accept all of the pieces of it. Most careers or businesses have a lot of different tasks that go into them besides the work itself. If you want to start your own business, most business ventures require you have sales skills too. (to get the word out about your product or service!) There may be underlying skills that you may want to learn about before you jump into your new career.

A word of note, you may find a passion you love, but you really don’t like every single piece of it. That is normal. It is up to you to decide what you accept into your life, so if it feels right at this stage then that should be a good indicator that you have found something you want to start as a new career!”

Image by TW Collins via Flickr

Welcome to the Carnival Of Money Stories Labor Day Edition!

I used to love Labor Day. My excitement would increase as I got closer to the three day weekend. I thought, “A Sunday night that I didn’t have to dread going into work the next day, yay!”

Now, it’s completely different. I love working. My mastermind group isn’t meeting today because of the holiday and I’m a bit disappointed. I am looking forward to the parade with my children but am planning on working while they take a nap. I am already excited to check things off my list.

If you love Labor Day like I used to love Labor Day, take some time out today to think about how you can make next Labor Day a disappointment (because you love what you do so much! )

Now take a minute to realize how nice it feels to sit and relax, and dig into the links!

Editors Pick:

Khaleef @ KNS Financial presents CVS Shopping for the Week of 8.29.10 “ Saved $158, Spent $6, Made $36 posted at Faithful With A Few.

CVS actually owed me money after my latest shopping trip “ until the Jersey Devil came to steal it. See how I was able to convince them to pay me to shop (ok, I think the coupons helped a little), and find out how you can do the same!

J. Money presents What’s Up With Your New Year’s Resolutions? posted at Budgets Are Sexy

How are they doing? Have you been nurturing them and helping them grow? Is this the first time you’ve thought about them in 9 months?

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Before Purchasing a Bigger Home Consider These Steps or Go Broke posted at Good Financial Cents.

If you are considering buying a bigger home you need to read this article before starting the process. There are some things that you need to consider.

FMF presents My Comcast Saga Continues posted at Free Money Finance

The latest on my on-going battle with Comcast. (Note from Jaime: Comcast was a client in my previous career, and I’ve heard a lot of similar stories! That might be why I have bunny ears and only a computer cooked to my plasma TV )

Amanda L Grossman presents Deal or No Deal or Which Deal?: Our Timeshare Update posted at Frugal Confessions – Frugal Living.

We won a 3 day, 2 night vacation to Las Vegas with airfare from a timeshare presentation. Or did we? Read about what happens when we try to cash in on our deal.

Career:

BWL presents Salesperson? How Honesty Improves Your Sales! posted at Christian Personal Finance.

Leineriza presents How to Start Freelancing Online – What Rates to Charge posted at Freelance Grind.

Christina Crowe presents 17 Practical Ways to Make a Living Online posted at Cash Campfire.

Credit:

Connie Prater presents Banks and credit unions bottom feeding on debit card overdrafters? posted at Taking Charge.

Debt:

Steve presents American Tax Relief, A Consumers Story | 2008 Taxes posted at 2008 Taxes.

Housing:

Leave Debt Behind.com presents Bi-weekly mortgage payments posted at Leave Debt Behind.

BudgetSnob presentsRefinancing a Mortgage, But Paying it Off Early posted at Budget Snob.

Madison DuPaix presents How Far Would You Go to Save Money? posted at My Dollar Plan.

David de Souza presents Landlords: 3 Ways To Reduce Your Tax Bill posted at UK Tax Blog.

Investing

freefrombroke presents Seven Ideas To Set Up SmartyPig Goals posted at Free From Broke.

Neal Frankle presents 401k Performance – 5 Tips To Turbo Charge It Now posted at Wealth Pilgrim.

DR presents How To Buy Gold And Silver Online posted at The Dough Roller.

Ken presents Some Valuable Tips We Used When We Establish Our Emergency Fund posted at Spruce Up Your Finances.

Arjun R. presents Investing In The Markets With The Threat Of A Double Dip Recession posted at Investing Thesis.

John presents How to Build and Grow a CD Ladder posted at Passive Family Income.

Net Worth

Kim Staudenraus presents I Need Extra Money posted at Life & Finances.

Other

Barb Friedberg presents NO-BRAINER MONEY MANAGEMENT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.

PT presents The Cost of Owning a Car in the City posted at PT Money.

debt kid presents Medical Bills Hurt posted at Debtkid.

BeThisWay presents No One at AmTrust Bank Seems to Know Jack About Their Minimum Balance Policy posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?.

Donna Freedman presents What do we want to be? A few thoughts on labor. posted at Surviving and Thriving.

Super Saver presents Remembering Dad’s Generosity posted at My Wealth Builder.

Kristina presents Born Again DINKS posted at Dual Income No Kids.

Lauren presents Judge Not, Lest Nobody Like Ye posted at Richly Reasonable.

Nathan Richardson presents Overdraft Protection: Are You In or Out? posted at ComplexSearch.

Craig Ford presents Start a Budget and Open the Door to a Debt Free Life posted at Money Help For Christians.

Shopping

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Get Cheap Clothes Online or Elsewhere With These Tips posted at The Digerati Life.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents The Power of Asking For A Discount posted at Canadian Finance Blog.

Squirrelers presents The $600,000 Dog | Squirrelers posted at Squirrelers.

Crystal presents Food and the Nostalgia Factor posted at Budgeting In the Fun Stuff.

SimplyForties presents Gift Cards – More Than Meets the Eye? posted at SimplyForties.

Money Beagle presents I Could Never Work In The Airline Industry posted at Money Beagle.

Buck Weber presents Four Leading Causes of Overspending posted at THE BUCK LIST.

Next weeks carnival will be at Complex Search!

Image via Wikipedia

There is something to be said about having hectic schedules at work, they leave no time for peace! Most of us cannot find the time to relax, or even find time to be alone. Here are a few key ideas for bringing more peaceful moments into your life and work.

Breath with awareness. Conventional wisdom says to take a deep breath when you are stressed. I would suggest not only take a deep breath but breath with awareness.

Bring a deep breath in and concentrate on how it makes your body feel. Hold it for a few seconds, let it out, and again notice how your body feels. Bring awareness to the parts that feel especially good after the breath.

Be an outsider. Pretend you are an outsider looking in at the situation. Imagine yourself looking down on the situation years later. Most of the stress comes from being in the situation, but if you can remove yourself and imagine yourself outside of the situation it can give you a moment of peace.

If you are dealing with constant work, and overwhelm, think of yourself 20 years from now looking back on the situation. What do you think? Do you want to laugh at how important you thought it was at the time? What would that older you tell you?

Concentrate on one of your senses. Choose one of the 5 senses, and really pay attention to it. If you are near freshly cut grass, pull yourself away from the stress and concentrate on how it smells. If you are stuck in a traffic jam, really concentrate on how a cloud looks, or how the steering wheel feels. Concentrating on one of the five senses grounds you in reality. It can bring about an almost meditative state, which can bring that peaceful moment you need.

A peaceful moment may only be a few seconds, but if we keep seeking these moments throughout the day they will get longer and more frequent.

What do you do to find peace during hectic times? Any tips?

This is a guest post by Matt Bruns. Beforehand I didn’t know much about surety bonds. Thanks for educating me too Matt!

If you’re starting your own business, you probably already have a to do list that’s several miles long. From getting your business licenses and permits to establishing your company’s structure, the process can often be difficult and stressful at best. However, beginning your own company can have huge rewards, not the least of which are financial.

Successful business owners can expect to reap substantial gains from their companies and between the business’s equity and earnings, owning your own business can often be the surest path to financial success and prosperity.

Ensuring that your company has all the applicable surety bonds in place before you begin any type of business-related activity is a critical step to being rewarded with top earnings. The process is a fairly simple one. Surety bonds are required by law for a variety of businesses and are in place as an assurance that you will abide by federal, state, and local laws and regulations concerning your industry.

What’s more, bonding is a reasonably easy and inexpensive process, with most bonds costing just a few hundred dollars. But keep in mind each state sets their own surety bond rules. For example, a surety bond in Illinois that is required may not be required in another state, or may have a different bond amount. If you’re unsure about the type and amount of bond that you need to purchase, contact your state’s small business administration or bonding agent of choice and inquire about the bonding requirements for your industry.
One crucial step to purchasing a surety bond is finding a company from whom to buy your bond. Surety bond companies are numerous, particularly online, and it’s important to find someone who is accustomed to selling bonds to companies in your industry, since the challenges associated with running a business are often unique from industry to industry. Your new bonding agent should be knowledgeable about the challenges you’re facing and should also be able to offer a fresh perspective as well as a support system for you in the early days of your company. Look for someone who makes you feel comfortable and seems to take a genuine interest in your company and your success. The more allies you have on your side, after all, the more likely your business will thrive.
It’s also imperative that your new bonding company have a stellar reputation. After all, you’re trusting them with your finances and, essentially, your reputation should there be a claim on your bond. The bond company should be secure, established, and trustworthy above all else. It’s a good idea to ask other companies in your industry about their chosen bonding company, and to also check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure whichever company you choose has a clean history.

Keep in mind that you’ll be providing detailed financial information to the bonding company so that it can make a determination of your credit standing and financial strength. Surety bond prices rely heavily on the bonded company’s credit score and financial statements, so it’s critical that you provide accurate and up to date information. Since surety bonds are a form of credit (not insurance), the bonding company needs to make sure that you’ll be able to cover the full value of the bond should it come due because of a claim. If your business has poor or little credit history, you can expect to pay more for your bond and may have to use a bonding company who specializes in subpar credit bonds, which can be both a hassle and an expensive proposition. Therefore, it’s important that you clean up your credit as much as possible before seeking out a surety bond.
After you’ve purchased a bond, make sure to advertise the fact that you do maintain legally-required bonds to your customers. As they become more and more savvy, consumers are looking for companies who are licensed and bonded and often, this fact will win you more business over your counterparts who may not advertise their bonding status.
Keep in mind that surety bonds are not only a legally-required part of many industries but can also be a good selling and conversational point for your company. Maintaining a bond is an inexpensive way to ensure that your business is complying with state, federal, and local laws and will therefore protect the time and money that you’ve invested to make your business functional, reliable, and above all, profitable.

This is a guest post from Matt Bruns of SuretyBonds.com, as part of their Surety Bond Education Program.

Just a warning: This post is completely off topic.

I work with Fritz and Stephen of EepyBird.com doing all sorts of fun things. My husband works with them as part of their creative team too. So I had to write a post about their new video, The Coke Zero and Mentos Rocket Car, which was launched yesterday.

They already have 250,000 views and were featured on YouTube’s homepage today. It’s been very exciting. My husband is in this video (and so is my father in law) and everyone is hoping they can go back on the David Letterman show! They were on Letterman in 2006 for their first viral video, The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think! And visit EepyBird.com for other videos on how they made the Rocket Car, and how the geysers moved thousands of pounds of cement blocks.

Who doesn’t want to be more productive? I’ve realized with only 25 hours per week to work, productivity is a priority. It’s essential to create as much income in as little working time as possible. 

1. Don’t Roll in Your Own Filth.

Clean up your workspace. Physical clutter really does promote mental clutter. Clear off your desk, and surrounding area. Even a cluttered computer can make you feel overwhelmed. Clean up your email inbox and virtual desktop too.

2. Get Moving!

Energy feeds energy. If you are tired each morning at work, try going for a brisk morning walk before you step in the office. LiveScience.com has an article that is called ”How Your Inner Athlete Makes You Smarter” It says that people who exercise regularly are able to learn more, remember more, and think more clearly.

3. Map Your Time.

Create a time map. This consists of breaking your day into hour increments and deciding ahead of time what you are going to do and when. For example, Monday morning from 9:00am until 10:00am is dedicated to replying to email. You don’t need a time map for every minute of the day, but schedule large chunks of your time so you can really concentrate your efforts.

4. Write it down.

Our brains tend to pop up with things to do randomly. Start to write them down. The book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen explains you should write down every thought you have about a To Do item on a piece of paper that you carry with you. Then you can transfer all of the things you need to do into your list, and the thoughts won’t linger in your head. (The brain tends to try to keep reminding you about tasks, even if you know you are going to do it on Thursday at 9am!)

5. Eat that Frog!

In the book “Eat that Frog”, Brian Tracy explains how doing the hardest task first is the best method for productivity. He explains that the boost you get from completing your hardest task at the beginning of the day will propel you faster than doing any other task first. Go through each task one at a time, and complete it without any distractions.

6. Before You Start.. Plan.

Planning is one of the best uses of your time. Take time the night before to go through the to do list for the next day. What are the 6 most important tasks you need to accomplish? Prioritize these items, and have a plan on when you will complete them.

7. Create a System for New Tasks.

If something new pops up on your radar after you already have your whole day planned, don’t automatically rearrange your schedule and do it right now. Determine if it is important (even if it sounds urgent it might not be important!) and schedule it in your day based on that scale.

8. Learn to Say No.

During the day we are asked to do so many things. Most of the time we do not want to do them! The next time someone asks you to do something, ask yourself “Is this an absolute yes?”. If no, then say, “No thanks.” If that sounds too harsh to you, just explain that you are in the middle of something and need to check your schedule first and get back to them. Then you can put it in your plan if it’s important.

9. Remove Distractions.

It is much easier to check email than it is to ‘Eat Your Frog’. So remove all of your common distractions. Do you always want a snack to avoid work? Do you check your email, or social networking sites? Get yourself a snack before you start, and try disabling your internet connection.

10. Time your Tasks.

Knowing how many hours you spend checking your email can be eye opening. Use a timer to see how productive you are being. Try RescueTime.com which keeps tabs on how long you are in a particular program. It will show you how long you are on specific websites, or email. Another great technique is the Pomadoro Technique, which is setting up 25 minute increments to work then taking a 5 minute break.

I admit, I don’t always do all of these, every time. But even using them 70% of the time promotes progress!

What ways do you boost productivity?

Did you know that Steve Jobs, Ted Turner, and the three founders of Netscape are bipolar? 

This is an amazing video from a TEDx conference, Cameron Herold on how to raise your kids to be entrepreneurs.

If you do not want your kids to become an employee, watch this video!

Key Lessons to Raise an Entrepreneur

Don’t waste a penny: Cameron threw a penny into the road and his father made him go into the road and pick it up, he said, “I work too hard to waste a penny.” Teach your kids the value of money.  

Allowances teach kids the wrong habits: Allowances teach children to accept a regular paycheck. Instead have them figure out ways to make money themselves.

 Have your children tell you stories: Don’t tell them stories every night, have them tell you a story. It uses their imagination, creativity, and critical thinking skills.

Make your children speak in public: An entrepreneurial trait that is highly needed!

My husband has been speaking on stage since he was thirteen. I asked him how hard it was to learn, and he said, “I didn’t realize it was supposed to be so hard then. I knew it was scary but so are a lot of other things when you are thirteen. I just did it.”

Cameron also suggests that we shouldn’t medicate kids for attention deficit disorder, bipolar or depression unless it is really bad. He said that bipolar is nicknamed the CEO Disease, and a lot of great things can come out of a different way of thinking.

Hope you enjoy the video!