At the very heart, a life coach is someone who listens to your dreams and goals and then sits you down and helps you strategize a way to achieve those aspirations. A life coach is often hired for services involving business plans, but they also help achieve other personal successes, such as weight loss and time management.

Now of course, having someone in your life that just tells you what to do isn’t enough to actually achieve those goals. You have to be willing to take action in order to achieve anything in life, which is where the motivational aspect of life coaches comes in. If the coach is a good one, she will schedule weekly or monthly calls or web sessions with you to make sure you stay motivated throughout your journey. If you don’t, she should be able to pinpoint what your holdup is and help you overcome any obstacles that get in the way.

So what does this type of coach actually DO? Do they just call you up every week, give you a spiel about what your assignments are and leave you with a few platitudes to live by? Well, let’s hope not, or you should look into getting a different coach! If she’s doing her job properly, she should be keeping you challenged by helping you set tangible goals that you can achieve daily, weekly and monthly. Of course, she should also encourage you to develop long term goals as well, ones that fit into a larger scale and are more of a hallmark in your timeline, so to speak.

What a life coach should NOT do is take over for you when the going gets rough. It may sometimes be tempting for a coach to do too much – that is, to handle work for you that you could most surely handle yourself. It’s not unkind if they tell you that YOU should do something yourself, especially if it stretches you out of your comfort zone.

Now that you know what life coaches are and what their main objective is in helping you reach your goals, you can decide if hiring one is something you would like to pursue. If you do not have any other person in your life that you can look to for guidance or help with business or personal goals, then I would highly recommend getting in touch with one, as they know the way to help you get from Point A to Point B to achieve the most success in your life.

Register for my FREE WEBINAR – “THE 7 MUST-DO’S OF SUCCESS!” - where we will explore more of “what a life coach can do for your business!” Register HERE.

And you may even have a great start to a brand but, what I find, more often than not, is that the brand that you are trying to create has not been executed in a way that inspires a potential customer to get involved with your company.

What I also find is that most women entrepreneurs, once I ask them the right questions, DO INDEED have the making of an incredible brand – we just need to bring it out of you and make sure it’s executed properly!

For Example… One of my client’s, Heather thought she had a brand. But… she didn’t.

The problem? Her sales were dropping significantly and her customers didn’t stick around and buy once they landed on her website. Not only did Heather want them to buy but she wanted them to be fans of hers and repeat customers.

So, we got to the business of studying her website to find out what the problem was.

Heather had the beginning of a brand: a great company name & great products – she offers freebies for moms from freebies; to coupons; to easy online money-making opportunities; to sweepstakes and more (freebies4mom.com). And who doesn’t want things for free?

But what she was missing was a brand. There was nothing inspiring about her website; there was no obvious vision or hook for her customers to be attracted to her company; no reason for customers to buy from her vs. her competition; no great reason to get on her mailing list; nothing inspiring visually about the site.

Given Heather’s goal, we had to get to the business of “creating a brand!”

First: I asked her why she started this business – she said because she knew what it was like to work hard for your kids and be on a tight budget. She understood the value of coupons and freebies and wanted to do something for hard-working, deserving moms. I said, “why doesn’t it say that on your site? Why isn’t that in your tag-line? That is the reason behind what you do…. The beginnings of a brand that women could get behind!”

Then, we started to look at her website visually. The homepage was so jam-packed with freebies and information that, instead of reading and getting sucked in and involved, I shut down. You couldn’t find anything because there was so much stuff to look at. It made me want to jump off the page. Also there was no consistency with the colors, fonts, or images… nothing that told me where I had landed, what I was going to get and why I should get involved. There was no personality that attracted me – just a jumble of a lot of things.

So we dug in, discussed who her target market is and what type of personality they have and started rebranding. See, you can know what your brand is but if it isn’t communicated in a way that your audience understands, you will lose out on customers.

And that includes how you lay out your homepage and internal pages – it is absolutely critical – there MUST be a hierarchy of things to look at – you must take your customer on a journey – make it easy for them to understand what they are getting and inspire them to get involved.

If I land on a page and am confused and overwhelmed, I will click out as fast as I clicked in. And that is exactly what was happening for Heather!

Now one of Heather’s goals was purchases and repeat business, so we tackled that next.

When you want repeat business, you must build a relationship with your customer – it’s not enough to send coupons. That doesn’t give a reason for someone to be loyal to you. You can get coupons & freebies anywhere.

So, I asked her how often she communicates with her mailing list outside of sending them freebie offers? She said, “I don’t.”

So what she didn’t have, which is critical for repeat business, is brand loyalty from her customers. They didn’t really care whether they got “freebies” from her company or someone else’s. She had not established any sort of relationship with them.

THE RESULTS: Her new website launch happens in May. Stay Tuned for the results!!!

Learn how to “shape-up” your brand on our upcoming FREE WEBINAR, “The 7 Must-Do’s of Success.” Click HERE to register!

Many of the world’s most profitable entrepreneurs and inspirational speakers all had a coach or mentor at some point in their lives. In a mentorship study by Harvard University, celebrated figures such as Maya Angelou, Clint Eastwood and Sting revealed that mentors/coaches they looked up to in their lives were largely responsible for inspiring, motivating & helping them to become the successful people they are today.

Each of us has the potential to achieve the level of success we are looking for if we seek out advice and direction from a trusted & successful source. And how do you find such a trusted, successful source if you don’t know one already? Well, that’s a good question.

You can actually choose who you want your mentor or coach to be by hiring or purposefully meeting someone who comes highly recommended. For example, a simple search engine query for coaches and mentors will draw up page after page of life & business mentors for hire. Everyone has his or her own style, tried and true technique (or so they say), and price point. And while invaluable instruction doesn’t always come cheap, it shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg, either. But if you want coaching with results, you will certainly want to hire someone who has “been there, done that” and won’t waste your time.

Now you’re probably wondering how to just “pick” someone like this to coach you. There are a number of ways to see if there is a good fit, but first, check their recommendations. Most coach/mentor types post testimonials from real people on their websites, often with links to projects they have had a hand in helping over the past years. If they don’t come with recommendations that can be backed up, you probably want to keep looking.

Next, be sure they are willing to take time to help you, not just email you a bunch of reading materials and have you “self start” all on your own. Perhaps they offer a free strategy session to help brainstorm which of their offerings is right for you. Most will offer phone calls or Skype sessions in weekly or monthly increments so that they and you are always kept up to date on the progress being made and can help you with any problems you might run into. All in all, a coach and/or a mentor is an invaluable tool in your toolbox as you begin & continue to make your mark in the female entrepreneur world.

Register for my FREE WEBINAR – “THE 7 MUST-DO’S OF SUCCESS!” - where we will explore more of “what MUST happen for people to buy your products/services!” Register HERE.

So what am I talking about? I am talking about branding the content you use on your website,

packaging, brochures & other assets. If you don’t speak the language of your ideal client, they won’t know to buy what you have.

EXAMPLE: A rep for an incredible “online business-plan program,” that prepares you to raise money for your business approached me. They wanted to create a partnership with me where I would offer their biz plan program to all of you – entrepreneurs.

After checking out the product, I thought… YES! It’s awesome. You will LOVE IT! However, when you go to their website here’s how they describe the program: The revolutionary solution for equity crowd funding reporting: quick, easy & compliant.

I said, “WHAT???? I thought this was business planning software for those interested in using crowd funding to raise money for their company?”

They said, “It is!” I said, “I can’t offer your product to my customer, it’s not ready.”

Meaning, you would NEVER buy this product because,

1) You would think it was something other than what they are saying it is, and,

2) Unless you are an expert in crowd-funding, you wouldn’t even know what they are talking about.

However, you, an entrepreneur, are their ideal client! And, they are going to lose your business and mine. Make sense? What they must do is understand their ideal client and speak to them in their language.

For example, if the copy read, “Need money for your business? Been thinking about crowd-funding as an option? We can help you prepare a simple, straightforward, accurate & enticing business plan that will attract the crowd-funding investors you are looking for…” or something like that. You get the point.

The messaging you use is absolutely critical!!

**Does your message inspire your ideal client to buy? Not sure?

**Register for my free webinar, THE 7 MUST DO’S OF SUCCESS to uncover 7 things you MUST DO to get people to buy your products & services!

As a female entrepreneur, you will need such a strategy no matter what you plan to achieve. Whether you plan to market a product or sell your skills as a life coach or public speaker, you need a branding battle plan to set yourself and your goods apart from all the rest. Creating it yourself or hiring someone else to do it is up to you, but you need one if you want to be successful!

But why do I need a branding strategy for my product or service? – You might be asking yourself. After all, aren’t a website and some paid advertising enough to get started? The answer is simply, no. There’s no way that by putting up a website – no matter how well you’ve got it optimized for the Web – and buying a few ads here and there, that you will stand out from the rest. Just think about how many other female entrepreneurs, just like you, are trying the same thing! If you were a potential client, which one would you choose? You would have no idea until you were persuaded one way or the other by the perfect branding strategy.

Your company’s branding strategy will help you accomplish a number of goals. First, it’s a chance for you to create and perpetuate an image for your company that will enable you to build up your brand for years to come. After all, you’re in this for the long haul, not to be a random flash in the pan.

Next, branding strategies help you maintain consistency throughout your company’s marketing, advertising, website and social media. It’s very frustrating to potential buyers when they visit a website and look for a company elsewhere online and can’t differentiate the logo or tagline or color scheme or messaging from one social media network to the next. Consistency is key when communicating with your customers, and branding enables you to do that.

Product branding also makes it more difficult for others to copy you and compete with you. By developing, integrating and maintaining a consistent image and voice throughout everything your company has its hands in, you will look more and more appealing to niche audiences, making it more likely for you to land a sale than your fellow entrepreneur wannabes who did nothing special to make themselves stand out. You’ll become recognized by your brand, which will make it harder for others to use your same strategies and get away with it.

So before you carve out a significant budget for web advertising, email blasts or direct mailings, consider the message your company purveys, and make sure you’re making the most of every aspect of your brand.

*Want to learn more about how to up-level your branding?

*Register for my free webinar, “7 Must Do’s of Success” and learn more about what you MUST DO for people to buy your products & services.

*Register HERE now

To your success,

Mistake #1: Put up a website BEFORE you’ve created a crystal clear brand. People think that they have a brand because they have a logo and maybe even a tag line. But those two elements do NOT make a brand. And, they certainly will NOT make an engaging website. When someone lands on your website, they should, right away, know what your company is, it’s vision/purpose/mission, and be able to describe its personality. And, they should see, hear and feel that personality throughout the website… through the copy, images, etc. A brand is not something that a logo alone can describe. When I say “NIKE,” you know exactly what the company is and what it does and what it stands for. You can see, feel and hear the brand. There’s a story and message and you know what it is. You could just see the “swoosh” and you’d know what it meant – that’s because they have created a brand and it’s stuck in your mind. And, before you can create a website, you have to be that clear about what your company does, who it does it for, how it solves a problem, what it offers, how you plan to engage your potential customer & partners, what your price points are, etc. If you are not clear, your customer won’t be clear.

Want to know if your brand is clear? Take the “Website Conversion Quiz” HERE…

Website Conversion Quiz: Get 10 people in your target market to answer these questions – they must be able to answer each question in 5 seconds or less:

1. What does my company do?
2. Who does my company serve? Who is the customer?
3. What problem does my company solve?
4. Describe the “personality of my company.”
5. How do you get involved with my company?
6. Is my offer to get involved engaging?
7. What is the vision of my company?

If your target market couldn’t answer these questions quickly and their answers were, “I’m not sure” or anything that sounds like that, time to do one of the following: 1) create a brand; 2) re-brand or, 3) a website make-over.

Mistake #2: No inspiring reason to engage. 

How do I get involved with your company? And, is it compelling? A newsletter alone isn’t going to get someone to give you their email. Why should they give you their email? I see it everyday, “get my newsletter filled with tips” and then, there’s a form to fill in your name and email. Who wants to be on another newsletter list? You’ve got to have a great brand that engages and then offer something that they are excited about. Just because you think your “offer” is great doesn’t mean your potential customers do.

Example: One of my clients, Lisa, was having a difficult time selling her private coaching packages. The reason? People didn’t know her work well enough to spend big money on a coaching package.  The offer on her site was, “put in your name and email and I’ll send you free “life tips.”

Problem? We can find free life tips online, and what are “life tips?” It isn’t even clear.

Solution: Since she is trying to sell more private coaching, I suggested that she offer a free 30-minute coaching call so that someone could “try before they buy.” Now for those who are scaling to the “masses” – this would not work because you’d be overloaded but she wasn’t, so it was a perfect strategy to give people a taste of her work and build trust and rapport with her potential customers.

Bonus: I helped her craft a valuable upsell offer so that after the free coaching session, she could sell her private coaching packages.

The Result: In 90 days she sold TEN $2500 dollar packages. That’s an average of 10K per month. Now that’s what I’m talking about!!

Another option I suggested was for her to do a free “virtual training” so they could experience what she teaches. This would not only create more of a relationship with her audience but trust and rapport.

Mistake #3: You have an awesome brand, but the execution of the lay-out & design of your website has been done poorly.

Problem? Your audience doesn’t understand how incredible your brand is and what they will gain from getting involved with you because your website doesn’t communicate to them affectively.

Solution: Get some outside support. Whether it’s a focus group, a consultant, a designer… you can’t afford NOT to engage your audience once they land on your site. Unless you can afford to lose business. And most of us cannot.

Example: One of my clients, Linda had an incredible coaching business but you would never know it when you landed on her site. She failed to establish credibility with her clients, it was unclear what areas she focused on, there was no clear reason to engage with her or buy her products, and the lay-out/design was very poor thus diminishing her credibility further. Again, it takes seconds for someone to determine whether or not you are worth investing in.

Bottom Line – Your Website is Critical to Your Success!! And your website will not be affective if you don’t have a clear, focused, engaging brand!

Need help getting clear on your brand… join my RYIM Level 2 Coaching Club and I will personally answer your questions every week.

When I first met Cyndi, she didn’t feel like she had a real company.  She had a product that she loved, and a vision for her life, but no plan for how her company/product could help her achieve that vision. Her sales were inconsistent and she lacked the confidence to do anything about it. And… she didn’t know it at the time, but she definitely did not have a brand.

When you have a product like Cyndi that can be used consistently, that has plenty of competition, you have to stand out. And to stand out, and be the “one” that the consumer buys, you have to have a “BRAND!” It’s not enough to have a great product. You need the “UMPH” around the product. You can sell a diaper, or…. You can sell an “Honest.Com” diaper. The reason most would pick the “Honest.Com” diaper is because of what surrounds the product: the story, the look, the feel, the personality, the images, the celebrity, the catchy messaging that “attracts you.” Those “branding” elements are what attract customers and keep them coming around.

So, we set out to create a brand that could attract the types of clients, like Whole Foods, that she imagined would sell her product.  Here’s how we did that:

We started off having Cyndi create a vision that inspired her. This way she would have a reason to get up everyday and work hard. Entrepreneurship is challenging and it takes time and commitment and courage. Having a compelling vision can really help you get through the rough times.

Cyndi’s vision initially was to sell more wool dryer balls. Sounds like a great plan but her vision didn’t sound very exciting, motivating or compelling.  However, things started to get really exciting when she created a vision that made her “shake a little.” First she changed the name from Wooly Rounds to LooHoo’s. LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls. Then, she changed her vision… “A LooHoo” wool dryer ball in every household in America.” Now that was a vision she could get behind. It’s a big vision. It’s a compelling vision. And, it’s a scary vision. And your vision should make you a “shake a little.” Shake with excitement, enthusiasm, and some fear. Otherwise, what’s it all for? All the hard work better be for something exciting!!

Then we got to the task of creating a “brand!” After studying her competition and determining what made her unique – she began creating the “personality” of her brand. Then, She teamed up with my art director & branding expert, Lee Parent, and the personality of her brand began to come alive. Suddenly she didn’t have a wool dryer ball anymore – she had a “LooHoo!” And an incredibly catchy tagline, “Simple changes can be felt.” And colors, packaging, price points…oooo, it was getting exciting. This was no longer “just a product” – LooHoo’s had arrived – a bona fide brand!!  Cyndi’s initial fear of going out and “selling” her product to partners was a good fear. Her product wasn’t ready to sell. Her product, once it became a brand, was.

Now, as a brand, her product became something to talk about it, with a story and a message and a personality. And you can experience her brand whether she sends you a product or you go to her website. Her product is now ALIVE! Now she can stand on a platform and sell something that she’s excited about. Something that stands out. Something that makes her product special over the others. The conversation of offering her product to Whole Foods would not have come up earlier because she wasn’t ready. You can’t sell to a customer like Whole Foods if you don’t offer something that would entice them and make sense for their audience. And now that she had that, she had more confidence to go out and start talking.  And that’s what she did.

Now, Cyndi is on her way to achieving her vision. She has tripled her revenue and retail partners. She landed the Whole Foods Account. And she will be featured in the May edition of In-Style magazine. More importantly, Cyndi has a new confidence that will help her get through all the challenges to come.

Bottom line… everything starts with your “brand!” Without one, you are just another product or service.

Be a Brand!

P.S. Ready to turn your product/service into an enticing brand? Want some help getting there? Give us a jingle and let’s talk about how we can help: 310.376.1046

Are you attracting or repelling potential clients to your business? Attracting clients has little to do with how much money you’re spending on marketing and a LOT to do with whether or not your potential clients are attracted to your company and want the products & services you are offering.

So…. How do you create a company that is attractive to your clients?

CREATE A “BRAND!” There’s a huge difference between a “brand” and a “product.” Essentially, it’s the difference between starting some generic computer company, or creating Apple; being “just another expert chef,” or Rachael Ray. If you don’t create a brand for your company, your products & services won’t stand out. They won’t “stick” in people’s minds.

I work with a lot of female entrepreneurs who are just starting out or have been on the entrepreneur wagon for a while and are still struggling to achieve their target income. The problem is, they don’t think about their companies as brands. When you brand the right way, you create a personality that your customers can relate to… that will entice them because they relate with the story behind your company, your mission, and so forth. And, we aren’t just talking about your “logo.”  Your brand is the “entire package.”  Your brand is your company’s personality, story, and logo. It’s the images that you use to reflect that personality. It’s the difference between “Trader Joes” and “Whole Foods.” Or “Lee” jeans or “Seven” jeans. And, at the end of the day, we repel clients if we are not branded properly or not branded at all. They go to the company whose “personality” they relate to instead.

Meet Zee – A Branding Success Story

I have a client, Zee, who started an information-based business as a business coach/consultant. When she first came to me, I visited her website and realized immediately that she had no brand. When I visited the homepage of her website, I was not drawn in. And you only have a few seconds to draw your customer in. The site was outdated, confusing and read “cheap.” I didn’t quite know what her company did or how it could help her customer. There was no clear product or service that I could see. And, there was no clear message enticing me to get involved with her company on any level. And the messaging and images she did have did not market to her target audience. She was appealing to an older audience than she was going for.

When I arrive at a storefront whether it’s a brick and mortar shop or website – I want to be “drawn” in and immediately “feel the personality” of the brand so that I can determine whether it’s a company I want to get involved with. I want to know the message of the company and be drawn in by the images, tagline, logo, colors, messaging and offers and that was not the case with Zee’s company – she was lacking a brand in every sense of the word.

Come to find out…Zee is brilliant. She is an incredible sales-woman, insanely passionate and was ready to serve her community. And, she really knew her area of expertise and was ready to create a company dedicated to helping women “price themselves right!”  But… you would have never known that from looking at her company. And, I am a perfect power partner for Zee but I would not have known that from looking at her “website.” In fact, I was immediately turned off because the site had a very old fashioned feel, and no compelling message or credibility in my eyes. I did not see ANY “power partner” synergies between us.

So we got to the business of creating her company “personality.” We identified her vision for her company, her target market and the problems they suffered from and, how she wanted to help them. And then we carefully developed all the visual elements that reflected those things.

When we were finished – Zee had a “brand” that was enticing and attracted her target market. Her website showed off her company personality! It had an inspiring new logo, a beautiful color scheme that her target market would like, incredible images, simple navigation, and compelling messaging that inspired potential clients to get involved! And, she created products & services that her customers wanted. How do we know they wanted them? We asked!

The results? Zee’s company is growing! She started making money through her consulting services; she wrote a book that her community loves; she is in the process of launching two new products; and, is building relationships with power partners, like the SBA, to expand her reach!

None of this would have happened if she had settled for a “brandless” company!

So to sum up, if you want to attract potential clients to you instead of repel them… create a brand that your target market MUST be involved with!!

To your Success,

Some women handle change well, and others don’t. Whenever I think of this distinction, I’m reminded of a friend of mine who has a daughter that couldn’t handle even small changes very well. One time, my friend had an interior decorator over to redesign their living room, and when her daughter saw it, she broke down in tears. Yet, all she had moved was the couch and a coffee table!

This is probably a bit extreme for grown-up women like yourself, but it’s not far off the mark when you take larger changes into account. For instance, how do you handle moving from house to house, city to city or even state to state? Have you ever done this before? Is it a change you welcome or avoid?

A lot of women do not like change in their business because it often leads to success. What???? – you’re probably gasping. Isn’t that the whole point of being in business? To succeed?

While most people start a business because they DO want to succeed, many women fail to even take the first step because they are afraid of what might come with it. As a general rule, success comes with responsibility. You have a responsibility to your family, to customers, to clients, to partners, to yourself – the list goes on and on. And while it might not be as big of a fear as the fear of failure, this fear of success is a change that many women don’t want to deal with.

But I’m willing to bet that YOU are not that woman – at least, I hope you’re not. And if you are, there are steps you can take to change that. All it takes is a choice, and that leads me to a couple important tips about change.

Make change YOUR choice. Don’t wait for someone else to push you into changing if it involves a decision you could have made yourself. For example, don’t wait for the landlord to kick you out on the street when you received fair warning three months ago and could have started a website or local business to bring in some extra cash. Don’t wait until your hand is forced! Make a choice to change now. Your attitude about the whole situation will stay positive as well as long as it is your decision.

Make a change before it’s too late. Most things in life have a deadline. Not everything hangs around forever while waiting for you to claim it. Opportunities will pass you by if you do not act on them soon enough. Yes, some decisions involving change are tough to make, but chances are, sitting on a choice for two weeks won’t accomplish any more than sitting on it for one week. Your life will contain a lot more happiness if you seize opportunities when they arrive, rather than making the decision a day too late and suffering a letdown.

You might notice that I never once said “change is easy.” In most cases, it’s not, and I realize that. I also know that making changes all on your own present even more of a challenge, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what I’m here for! I want to help you achieve your goals, and if that means making drastic changes in your life, then bring ‘em on! As your mentor, I make it my duty to help you with just that. I encourage you to check out my “Release Your Inner Millionairess” coaching club for more about how I can help.

To Your Success,

You can look at your situation in one of two ways. You either have an albatross around your neck that needs to die, or you have a potential gem that just needs a bit of polishing to really sparkle. Using some of these tips, you’ll have a better grasp on how to turn your business into the latter of the two.

• Does your business have enough existing clients or customers? Sometimes small businesses have all the clientele and traffic it needs, but the business isn’t producing the right kind of . If you have enough, and you need to focus your efforts elsewhere, then you don’t have to worry as much about drawing new traffic just yet.

• Does your business have a decent brand? This is especially important in the online world. For example, if you sell a killer product, but you have a website URL that is 25 characters long to fit your enormously titled company name, chances are you need to amend that to a name that lends itself to better branding.

• Do you overpromise and under-deliver? Don’t stretch yourself just to make a sale or land a client. If they find out you can’t deliver what you promised and in the timeframe in which you promised it to them, they’re going to get pretty irate. And trust me, that will do nothing to help your existing struggles.

• Is your product priced competitively? Have you fully researched the competition? Unless your product is vastly different or better than that of your competition, you may be asking too much – or even too little – for your product or service. And remember, part of the decision-making process will be determined by perceived value, not always the actual value.

• Are you stretching yourself too much? For example, let’s say you are a writing coach, and you coach students for an hour per session, twice a week. You have 25 clients that keep you busy around the clock, plus you manage the website, write the bonus curriculum, and respond to client emails. You may be asking too much of yourself, in which case you might need to hire an assistant, or you may need to raise the price and drop the clients who aren’t willing to pay as much for your services.

There are many assessments you can perform on your business to determine where your leaks are and how you can plug them before your ship sinks for good. And as always, I’m here to help if you find that you can’t do it alone. Not many entrepreneurs can do it alone, so don’t worry – you’ll be in good company! As your mentor, I make it my duty to help you with just that. I encourage you to check out my “Release Your Inner Millionairess” coaching club for more about how I can help.

To Your Success,