Kendall Summerhawk asked:


You’ve heard it before, right?

How you’re supposed to work on your business instead of in your business? Sounds good, but how on earth do you make that happen when you’re already stretched thin trying to get everything done in your day?

Carving out time to consistently work on your woman-owned business is actually quite simple if, instead of trying to “fit it all in”, you shift your outlook about this important time.

Trying to “fit it all in” is a left-brained, logical way of looking at your time. It’s a distinctly masculine viewpoint of time, which works great when you need to powerhouse your way through a project. But, it does not work as well when you find yourself butting up against the competing needs of clients, family, exercise, down time and other priorities.

Here are four tips for turning your marketing strategy time into sacred time so you can accomplish what matters most, even on your busiest days:

Small Business Marketing Tip #1: Create a ritual of beginning and completing your marketing tasks.

Days that seem to run together are missing the important ritual of beginning and completing, a ritual that actually helps you feel like time is slowing down. So instead of letting your marketing tasks bleed through to everything else, create your own personal ritual that signals the start of your marketing for the day. One of my favorite rituals is to close out my email program, unplug the telephone and pull out my marketing to-do list. When finished, I just reverse my steps for a satisfying feeling of completion.

Small Business Marketing Tip #2: Clear space on your desk, even if just for ten minutes.

If your desk is normally piled with papers and sticky notes, try moving everything off to one side so you have a nice, clean welcoming work space. You’ll be surprised at how much more creative you are with your marketing plans when you (literally!) make space for them!

Small Business Marketing Tip #3: Keep it pretty.

Who says marketing has to be unattractive?! I use pretty marking pens, colorful folders, pretty paper clips and sticky notes with inspiring messages printed on them to keep my marketing ideas and projects organized and fun. Making what we do a visual treat is an important part of creating a feeling of the sacred.

Small Business Marketing Tip #4: Don’t let the needs of others trample your sacred time.

Sacred time inspires feelings of abundance, importance and quiet. Think of it this way: you wouldn’t play loud rock music in the middle of a sanctuary, would you? Of course not. So it makes sense that you wouldn’t let other people interrupt your sacred marketing strategy time either.

By thinking of your marketing strategy time as sacred time you’ll find it simple and easy to honor working on your business, so that your woman-owned business grows and thrives into the true expression of your Soul’s Divine Mission™ that it’s meant to be!

Kendall Summerhawk asked:


Do you know what most women entrepreneurs bring with them when they start their own business?

The notion that being busy means being productive.

Nothing could be farther from the truth!

As I warn my business coaching clients, this faulty (and even dangerous) notion is a hold-over from the days of working at a j-o-b.

You see, at a job, you’re paid to show up and stay busy. What people do at their jobs is rarely connected with actually bringing in new clients or making money.

But when you work for yourself, EVERYTHING you do MUST be tightly connected to getting and keeping new clients. Period.

Which means handling things like most emails, filing, problem solving (unless it’s solving your clients’ problems), administrative trivia, surfing the ‘net, sorting your Outlook files, paying bills, fiddling with your website, creating brochures… are a waste of time. These tasks don’t put women entrepreneurs closest to the money; they pull them away from it!

Here are my top favorite tasks that I do nearly every day to put me closest to the money:

Small Business Marketing Strategy #1: Write an article.

Not crazy about writing or not sure what to write about? One of the tips I shared in a recent Success Circle Marketing Makeover call is to write like you are having a conversation. Pretend you are chatting with a good friend about a very specific topic.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #2: Send a “thinking about you” card…or two!

Why not surprise a client, referral source, another woman entrepreneur or prospective client with a friendly “keep in touch” card? They will feel special…and think you are too!

Small Business Marketing Strategy #3: Send a press release written as a mini-article.

Think a press release is only to announce an important event? Nope! Take one of your articles, trim it down to 250 words and add your author’s bio. You can use this strategy to send one a week.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #4: Record a free audio tip for your website.

Even better, transcribe it and post it on your website as a viewable option. Google will love your site for adding fresh content.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #5: Make your first (or next) information product.

Keep it simple and get your information product done now! The credibility and leverage you gain will tremendously boost your business. Example: one of my Platinum Inner Circle clients created a $9.95 eBook on a popular topic. The result? This woman entrepreneur received dozens of sales and several new clients worth many thousands of dollars. Nice!

Small Business Marketing Strategy #6: Ask to be interviewed or to interview an expert.

Interviews are easy to set up. They increase your credibility, widen your exposure and raise your expert status, whether you’re the expert giving the interview or conducting the interview. Choose someone you respect. Call to ask for the interview (you’ll be surprised how often you’ll hear “yes”.) Then record the interview and offer it as a mp3 file on your website.

My business coaching challenge: make a stand for doing ONE small business marketing strategy each day, and then integrate your action into your daily routine.

This is how you’ll go from being busy to becoming successful… with a lot more time to enjoy!