What Does It Mean to Be A Conscious Entrepreneur?

My friends,
over the last two weeks I had over 20 conversations with people about consciousness. I asked every single one of them what it meant to them to be a conscious entrepreneur.

The answers were so varied that I felt shocked. I realized that consciousness is such a broad term, open to interpretations and world views.

Here are some definitions I got:
- I am aware of my inner gifts and I want to bring them out to the fullest
- I feel guided by God and don’t have the need to be in total control at all times anymore
- I work more in harmony with the world, aware of the consequences of my actions
- I work from my soul first, then align my actions with my soul’s desire

Now, this is what I consider a conscious entrepreneur:
Somebody who is committed to aligning their every action with their end goal of contributing to the world.

All of the above show a desire for all of us to combine logic with heart, spirit with commerce, feminine energies with masculine, profit with contribution, basically we are moving towards integration.

Now to you. I’ll set up a little incentive for you to participate:
Anybody who contributes an insightful comment to this discussion, gets a whole 30 minutes with me, 1:1 coaching on subjects of mindset, branding, leveraged business models or marketing.
Also, the winner (as determined by Lydia) will be featured on our blog, Facebook and Twitter and this community in the beginning of May.

Deal?
So, go for it, let’s get a discussion going, shall we?
What does it mean for you to be a conscious entrepreneur?

Why This Crisis Is Good For US (and what this has to do with branding)

Ok, everybody. Here it is….finally…our discussion about branding.

I posted this discussion over on our social networking site at www.InspiredWomenEntrepreneurs.com

Log in or sign up and scroll down to DISCUSSION.

So, why do I believe that this crisis is good for us? (ok, I “borrowed” the title from the latest Time magazine headline)

1) if we don’t want to “swallowed” by this crisis, we need to become innovative, big-thinking entrepreneurs which means we need to find our voice.

2) task-workers are being outsourced more than ever and it will take an “artisan-entrepreneur” (again taken from Time Magazine) to succeed with logical, creativity and heart

3) we have to stretch and reach the limit of our imagination to become somebody of great value to others

4) the world needs solutions like the ones we can offer more than ever to heal their fears, limitations and change the focus of life’s meaning but consumers need leaders, not fellow-sufferers.

Ok, enough of me. I am challenging you to think about what branding means to you.

Are those points obvious to you but you are struggling with accessing your unique gifts in a way that they make sense to you AND others?

Are you having difficulties with the word “branding”? What word works better for you?

Finally, post your brand (where your gifts meet the needs of a specific group of people) + your unique personality. We want to hear about you and I will definitely help as much as I can.

Love Christiane

The Cure for Facebook Overload (cost $2)

The way I maximize my efforts to make connections on Facebook and Twitter is to set up appointments over the phone with people who I want to get to know better. The hardest part about this is the difficult task of deepen the budding friendship with follow-ups.  As my list of friends and contacts gets longer, many slip through the cracks and I don’t like leaving people in the dust.
So, I finally remembered what I did when I tried to keep up with networking in the past.  After I had bought expensive software and finally learned how to use it, I ended up using an index card box !!! Yes, not too hightech, but sometimes it’s just nice to get away from typing.

So, here is the deal.

1) When you make a contact, type in all the information in your contact management software like Outlook or Entourage.

2) Create a subfolder under your inbox.  

3) Then buy the 31 divider-pack for a small index card box and create a card for each new person you just contacted, got to talk to etc.
4) Fill out the card with name and phone number (remember you have the rest handy in your mailing list) and mark down the last activity.  If it was an email, say so. If it was a call, also and if you sent something worthwhile, mark that down too.

5) Then decide when you want to contact the person again and simply place the card under the appropriate date. Then every day just look under that day, and do what you have set out to do last time.  

I hope that works.  I really liked this simple system when I used it.

Committed to your business success and life sanity,

Christiane 

Learning to Cherish Others – Successful “Selling” in Action

As entrepreneurs we are driven, driven to “win”, driven to “succeed”, driven to “make a mark”. What we often forget in this driving mode, is the well-being of others. Those others are our customers and our “competition”. Yet as my Buddhist teacher so kindly teaches me is that the well-being of others is far more significant than the well-being of a single ME.

Wait a minute, you say, “I am important. I am all I have. I have to feed my family.” And yes, that’s true and I am not disputing the need to make a living. What I am questioning is the attitude of “Me versus Them”. So, there you are, having created a wonderful family, a huge house, the newest car and an exciting vacation.

But at what price?

I dare to say that this kind of wish-fulfilling thinking is never going to lead to true, lasting fulfillment and happiness. Vacations will pass, children will grow up, homes depreciate and your car, no matter how great, becomes just another car. The price is disappointment, temporary highs followed by long lows, much pain.

So, then, where is true happiness to be found?

How can entrepreneurship become our ultimate spiritual practice? Can we find true happiness and livelihood through our work?

Yes, we can. We can if in effect, we start cherishing those we work with, those who trust us, those who look for us to deliver real solutions to their problems. Here is the trick, we have to drop the “ME” lens through which we tend to see our world of commerce. We have to abandon self-talk like: “What do I have to do so she buys from me?”; “When will he finally say yes to my offer?”; “What if she doesn’t buy?” etc. etc. I don’t need to go on because we all have enough practice in formulating those questions for ourselves.

There is no magic bullet here then, there is only one thing to shift and change, and believe me, nobody will see it but everybody will feel it.

That is our attitude.

If we can make get to a place of gratitude for the existence of all the people surrounding us, if we start to understand that we only exist because they do (“I am because they are”, is an old African saying.), then we can let go of our fear and really, I mean really serve the people willing to interact with us.

Yes, willing.

Today we all have more than enough choices and they happen to give you the time of the day. Now, that alone should be fuel to let go of the “ME” attitude and adopt the “YOU” attitude. Then, when you shift that little piece inside of you, you can listen, you can solve real problems, you can ask the right questions, you can share your wisdom, not for an outcome but for the joy of sharing, for the joy of giving, for the joy of helping.

And then, what happens? Magic…

People today are not used to that attitude, they will startle and wonder why in the world you would be so generous. They don’t understand that you are doing it because really, it makes you happy. It gives you so much more than the vacation, the car, the latest movie or the expensive dinner. It gives you true joy, a true sense of love for somebody you might just have met.

And then, something even more magical happens…

They start trusting you, they start listening to you, they pay full attention to you, they will want more of you. They are still wondering why, but it feels so good that they will drop their guards.

And then, something even better happens.…

You two become ONE mind for a bit, you join your thoughts, you feel real intimacy and then…when your solution meets their needs, truly and deeply, they will want to work with you…and nobody else. Why would they? For the first time in a long time, they don’t have to keep their “façade” up, they can stop scanning for danger, they can stop worrying about being taken advantage of. They feel safe with you.

So, if you want clients who become your life-long fans, your best friends, your supporters, you have to do something very courageous. Something, almost nobody does these days… Something that is even more difficult as well as more required in this economy…

You need to become a peaceful warrior, strong and quite, deep and focused, not on you, but on others. Take yourself out of the equation and become a servant. Be here on this earth for the benefit of those you serve and you will be taken care of.

No, you probably will not make a Million overnight, you will not want to…but with persistence and courage you will make a dignified, respectful living while solving your clients true problems and in turn allow them to live with renewed trust, faith, and love for the human race…and that will all need to be really happy.

May you all find happiness, real happiness,

Christiane

What Defines Success For You?

A few minutes ago I was reading comments on a discussion group blog. The question was:

“What defines success to you? Do you experience any physical ’symptoms’ of success?”  I thought you might like to read my thoughts.

“Nina, thanks so much for starting this discussion. For me, success is the privilege of being allowed to live through my deepest held values. To live with integrity, service, courage, truth, love and also excellence is what success is all about for me.

More I work on “taming” my ego…

…letting go of outcome for the sake of doing the right thing, more I feel successful. Not for myself but for the betterment of the planet. I am because we are!

As I work with purpose-driven women entrepreneurs…

…all over the world who too want to stay true to their values but feel frightened by the economic hardships of this “crisis of trust”, I find my fulfillment and holding a strong arm out for them. Making products and services available at costs THEY can afford even if that means a bit less for me and my partner.

May you and all the readers find their definition of success and in my heart I hope that it will include the good of world.”

So, I have  a little bit more space here to expand.

It was such an interesting question because I had been pondering it for some time now myself.

How can I combine success for myself…

…with my deep wish for the well-being of others on this planet?  Can I or do I have to sacrifice my well-being for the well-being of others?

In the end, I believe it’s about our intentions more than anything.  I am still blogging on my business blog, I am still attending network meetings, I am still charging for my services…but I do it with all my intent on service, checking in with myself over and over to make sure that I have the best of YOU on my mind.

Only then can I be authentic and true to my values.

Leaving fear about my personal profit behind, having faith that when done right I will have built relationships for life.  Believing from the bottom of my heart that my “security” doesn’t sit in a bank account (as proven very clearly lately) but with those who I love, cherish and care for.

This is a hard concept for such a recovering “individualist” and yet brings warmth and peace to my heart,

Love to all of you
Christiane