Are You Building Blocks or Knocking Them Down?

Here we go. Deep breath.

Ironically I used to write posts easily and swiftly every single day on StartupPrincess.com and then I got really super burned out. I solicited the help of multiple guest bloggers to keep up the pace and wore different tiaras for a while (planning events, working on PR, etc.) and wrote occasionally here and there and then last year it became rare for me to write at all. I realized recently how I miss being a teacher through my writing. I missed sharing what’s in my heart and what I’m learning. I interact with you via email, phone, twitter and facebook all the time, but here- the blog where it all began in 2006, I have not been present lately and I apologize.

I decided to look at my business blocks last week in a coaching call with Heather Madder. It was a brave moment to acknowledge to myself and to our group that I have blocks in an area where “I’m supposed to be an expert”. Of course I have blocks! I’m human. We all do! We are all here on a path of learning. So as I opened up deeper and wider I realized what I really wanted. I wanted to create. I wanted to share in this capacity again but there was fear. Big fear with a capital “F” especially surrounding the biz book I started a couple years ago that still nudges me to finish. I had to be very introspective to consider why I lost my desire to write. I realized that my first draft was trashed by an editor and I lost my momentum to refine, rewrite and try again, so I not only stopped the book, I basically stopped creating all together, including blogging. But tonight as I thought about what I’ve been learning about myself and my creative block I was given a gift, a desire to share and be honest so I seized the moment and now I’m here in the trenches again and it feels good to call myself a blogger tonight. And not only a blogger, but a creator. I am a creative being and so are you.

I used to do Tae Kwon Do and my instructor who was an international champion used to say, ‘”every time I step onto the mat to fight (full contact) I am scared, but I feel the fear and do it anyway.” Not that blogging is scary for me but whenever we put ourselves out there to do something where people will have an opinion it requires confidence. Will I have anything of value to share? Hasn’t everything in business already been said? What more can I do to contribute? I’m not enough. I’m not qualified, blah, blah, blah.  Maybe you’ve felt this way… you allow others’ opinions of you shape your decisions or define you. We must breakthrough the block of caring/worrying what others think of us so we can truly have influence and be a leader.

Being a creative genius requires faith and confidence (thanks Seth for Linchpin), A LOT of it. Doing a teleseminar requires confidence. Trusting your gut and giving feedback to a graphic designer requires confidence. Being a business owner requires a TON of confidence. Don’t you agree? And, isn’t it awesome? Isn’t that why we’re HERE? Feel the fear and do it anyway…that’s the first step in knocking down the blocks. And prayer, that’s a big part of it for me. Seriously. I love to pray through all parts of my life, including business, especially business. When I don’t know what’s next, I ask. And when I humble myself to ask, I receive Godly confidence (giving credit to heaven) because He provides me with the answers. I am clear that is precisely the ONLY type of confidence that will result in success longterm…because anything that doesn’t look, feel or act like Godly confidence  is Ego and well, there’s no love in that. My deepest desire is to support and cheer others onto success and that my creative efforts will benefit them on their journey. I’m committed to this mission so I know what I need to do next. CREATE. I will listen and the words will flow through me. I am confident that it will happen when I trust and give faith to the process.

I realize the task of tearing down the blocks boulders won’t be easy and will require time, sacrifice, and humility. I’m up for confronting the fears, what about you? Are you in?  How do you knock down your blocks? Let’s inspire each other.

-Kelly King Anderson, Founder of Startup Princess

How to Cut Your Time at Work, Get More Done, & Stay Close to Your Family

Fairy Godmother Heather Madder shares the following inspired tips:

I’ll always remember the day I went to teach my Sunday School class of 12 year old girls and my co- teacher had hand crafted cute little bookmarks to give to them.

They were cute–just adorable.  And when it came time for the lesson, she said, “I didn’t get to it. I spent all my time making these bookmarks.”

This story reminds me of a principle that some people in business really need to know to be successful.  Do the Essentials First. Take an inventory of all the activities you are doing and select the most important things.

In other words, stop with the busy work.  Really.

“Put–the–glue-gun–down, Sally.”

There are essentials in business, and then there are extras.  You need to make sure that you always have time to complete the most critical things. These always get done…First.

You can’t pay your bills and feed your kids with how many people follow you on Facebook.  If you have a thriving business, or a really great coaching program, or stellar products you are already selling….Twitter, Facebook and all it’s social media counterparts, can ADD to what you are doing.

A slow drip of tweets & posts are great icing on the cake.  But if Social Media is your cake–if it’s the only way you think you can people to find you–you’ll be extremely busy, and unless you are Gary Vaynurchek (Crush It), probably poor.  The fact of that matter is that compared to other ways of marketing, like joint partnerships, affiliate marketing or pay per click for example, they are somewhat slower on yielding direct financial results.  Categorize these tasks appropriately where they go…they are not first on your list.

#1: Do the Essentials First; delegate the “extras” or do them as quickly as you can.

Consider perhaps….

**Writing a page or two of posts yourself (so you’re authentic) and have someone else put them up throughout the week. Hire a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT! I love it, I found mine atwww.VirtualAssistants.com.

**Use PING or HOOTSUITE, to link all your social media networks together.  Once you link everything to Hootsuite, for example, which is what I use, it sends the same message to all your social media networks.

One Post at Ping =  a 10 Site Show (FB, Twitter, Linked In, etc.)  Pretty cool.  This is what we call “leverage.”  Same amount of effort, maximize results.  This is the only way for moms with big missions to live, breathe, and be good at all of what they do.

**Also, let go of perfectionism on your Blogs (and tweets.)  Be passionate.  Be real.  Bring Your knowledge.  And by all means, Be You. You don’t have to look a certain way for people to like you and want to hear what you have to say.  It’s like when I used to make sure that every little corner of the house was clean before people came over to dinner.  They came for people & food–not to see my clean linen closet (it was nice though, all those towels folded exactly the same way), but blah…who cares?  Your Blogs, You Tube videos, and posts do not need to be perfect.  Far better that they be done.

I remember when I recently did 4 video takes to launch a new coaching program.  My hair fell in my face twice and the lighting wasn’t great.  I wanted to do another take, but if I did, I would be a few minutes late to pick up my daughter from school.  There was no way I’d make my angel wait for me.  I sent what I had to my marketing manager, Seth, and he said, “It will do.”  (that was not exactly praise 

That video has brought in $15,000 of sales already, whoops, looks like $25K actually.

If you want to be efficient in business learn to have a laser focus on what is essential, and get it done swiftly, as you do it well.

All the other “extra” tasks get put into one of 3 piles.

1. Delegate
2. Do another Day
3. Let go of it

Let’s do some math here. (Math is not my strong subject, but I have a calculator handy just in case)  I recently wrote an article called, How More Conversions Mean Less Laundry for You.  Conversions means the number of people who choose to participate in what you are offering them.

In it I explained that if I sell one program at a $1000 and I pay my home assistant $10 an hour…I just bought myself 100 hours of laundry folding.

Now, maybe for some, that might not resonate.  For a chic like me who thinks matching socks is like serving prison time…that’s fine freedom, baby.

Everyone has 24 hours in a day.

Not everyone has the same amount of wisdom, passion, skills and energy.

L-E-V-E-R-A-G-E is what we are talking about here.

Use your talent, skills and the big beautiful brain of yours in ways that actually bring in people to your company.  Real people.  Real people with real money who really want what you have.  Do those items FIRST.

Then pay people to do the other stuff and get rid of all that you don’t need to be doing. This is the only way that we can grow our businesses and stay happy and present at home.

For a long time people said that you can’t be great at business and great at home, especially if you are a woman.

That’s B.S.  (A Belief System)

You CAN BE.  Only if you cut out all the excess in both places.  If you are wise, disciplined, talented, and you leverage your time–you can spend all your energy in your most important relationships and the most important parts of your business.

Show me a person that can do that… be disciplined with their time, be a visionary who grows their company and shares the burden through delegation, while always being loving, dedicated and connected to their family….

That is ONE POWERFUL CREATOR… the whole world is changed by you.

Heather Madder is a professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host turned business coach. She is the successful owner of HeatherMadder.com. In her own words, “The mission of my organization is to empower humanity to awaken to love, peace, joy, power, abundance, and freedom by offering educational and hands-on tools in the form of books, audio CD’s, articles, and live presentations.” Connect with Heather on twitter @heathermadder

How Did I Get Here? …A Spiritual Teacher and a Business Coach

Fairy Godmother Heather Madder shares the following:

I live in Arizona where it’s been said that there are 2 seasons.

Heaven and Hell.

Well, It’s August.

So, in the nicer meaning of the word….I’m in hell.

I happen to be a big fan of the great outdoors and because it’s never truly cold here, I can ride my bike 4-5 times a week all year around. (I love my bike just a little less than my children.)  There’s just something about being close the earth that makes me feel connected, happy…and totally alive. However, around 8am in August it’s already about 100 and one million degrees, which means that for a good ride, you get to be spinning and HOME by 7:00am, or you might be in trouble.

Last week it was about 6:15am when I hit the lake by my house and decided to stop for a few minutes.  I love this little lake.  It’s dotted by trees and a small band of ducks that always seem to be waiting for food (which I never seem to have.)  I propped my bike on a bench, began to walk and think about the big turns my life had taken this year.

I’m in a place that I never thought I’d be.

Until 12 months ago, I’d been working real hard at being a real small spiritual teacher.  I planned to write a bunch of books and teach as many people that would listen about life, love, God and a whole lot of other good stuff. I even used to get teased by some people that I’d never have to deal with real life because how can you get stressed when you’re “meditating in the mountains singing ‘feel good’ songs all day long.”  (welI, I didn’t really see it that way, but you get the idea.)

So, how does a nice, peace-loving stay at home mama like me end up teaching a bunch of people about money and business ??

In all my flower child time in the mountains, I never saw myself here.  Never.  During that time, if I would have seen a spiritual teacher start talking about business and money I might have had a quick thought pass through my mind …”fall off the true path much?”  Of course, I would have dismissed it right away because we all know that spiritual seekers aren’t judgmental

In that limited life picture, of course, I was missing two really important–no, essentials–parts of my own panoramic life view.
Aside from oh, let’s say, 100 healthy beliefs about money (that are God-centered), I was missing something else….the POWER TO CREATE.  It was a part of me, but it had not yet awakened, which meant that  I always felt ill at ease, even anxious, about my life’s work.  Even though it was “good” it was terribly limited…and deep inside I knew it.  So, while I was wholeheartedly dismissing all the business strategists and coaches all around me as “worldly,” I was stuck in a small, self-righteous prison reaching a mere handful of people.  Kind of hard to reach the world with a moving message, when you can’t pay your bills.

Unlocking TWO things made the difference.  
1. Healthy, God centered beliefs about money 
2. My own CREATION CAPACITY.  

Those are the things that changed the game for me.  Forever.

When I was able to take what I loved (teaching spiritual principles of transformation) and build a real, true business around it (not a nice little hobby)…I came down from that lonely mountain and jumped onto a highway of forward motion.

That is what made all the difference. For me, the POWER to CREATE is a primal drive.  The same drive that wants to push my body as fast as it can ride is the same fuel that drives me to build something big because of how it feels.  It’s a crazy rush to propel past my own limitations.  It’s exhilarating to face my fears, jump off a cliff of possibility and create something along the way for a safe landing.

Building big things is where we find our power and truly refine ourselves.  It’s where raw capacity moves to meaningful action.  It’s where desire finds an outlet and turns from being a dream in our heads to true reality.  It’s that pivot point where we must face our blind spots and start to see or we’re going to crash.  And….it’s where we do the impossible because we want to, and because, deep inside, we know we can.

This is why I love to build things.   I love creating my home so it’s happy, healthy & organized. I love it when my kids learn often from Scripture and they can all find matching socks in the morning.  I love to build things in my business, too.  It pushes me to places I’ve never been in my life.  Building a real, true business made me face every fear, every doubt, and a whole gamut of limiting beliefs I didn’t even know about.  Being a small town feel good spiritual teacher was awesome. I loved it at the time.  But I was kind of up there on the mountains saying great things to a few people, but not really pushing myself to grow and reach as many people as I could.

It is one thing to know something in your head….and another to put everything you know on the pavement and move forward in CREATION.

That’s why I love spirituality and business and why I teach other people about both of them.

This is the movement that I am a part of–making more out of people  and  more out of humanity.
Spirituality and business DO belong together.  It’s like two long lost   brothers who have been separated for awhile, but came from the same   home.  If you will open your mind just a crack you can see GOD in both   places.

It’s pretty basic.
1. KNOW what you love & what you’re good at.
2. CREATE a solution out of what you love, that improves other people’s lives.
3. BUILD something BIG around it to get it to as many people as you can.

Those three simple things are the exodus from a small limited life … into your own promised land, whatever that may be for you.

Maybe it’s time for you too to be do something bigger with what you’ve got.  Something that will change more people’s lives and not just the handful you’ve reached so far.  Build it baby, and know that it will REQUIRE ALL the belief, knowledge, skills and gumption that you can muster… and then more.
Every person has something inside of them that will make the world a better place.  EVERYONE.  Even you, especially you.  It lives inside of you as a dream, a book idea, a song, or a special gift or talent.

If that dream is still alive, maybe it’s time to come down from your own mountain and get to work.  BUILD Something.  Do it.  Go for it.  I say this with love, but some of you need to just stop whining about why you can’t and really get moving  

You will be a better person for it…and the world will be a better place because of it.

So, in 1000 words or less that’s how I got here. (Even though it was more like 10,000 miles  
That’s why I am here–and why you’ll see a whole lot more of us in  the near future.  Suzanne Evans, David Neagle, Steve D’Annunzio, Garrett Gunderson, are  some well on their way.  More are coming.

I’m one of the people acting as a bridge  between what has been two separate worlds.  Bringing God to the business  world; and bringing business tools to a lot of spiritual people who  don’t need to be so limited to follow God.

Time to hop back on my bike, get back on the trail, and drive this baby home.

If you are reading this, I have one last burning question ….

Will I see you on the path?

Heather Madder is a professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host turned business coach. She is the successful owner of HeatherMadder.com. In her own words, “The mission of my organization is to empower humanity to awaken to love, peace, joy, power, abundance, and freedom by offering educational and hands-on tools in the form of books, audio CD’s, articles, and live presentations.” Connect with Heather on twitter @heathermadder

How Sales Conversion Could Mean Less Laundry for You

Guest Author, Heather Madder shares the importance of sales conversion:

Hello, I’m just in from being at the pool with my kids….
and my hair is still dripping wet!  
But I am so excited about something that I learned 
this week and I wanted to take a second and write.

As a mother of four kids (that I am absolutely 
in love with), I am always looking for ways to cut
down my time and maximize my results!

SO….How do some people get MORE done?

Everyone has 24 hours in a day … right?

Yes.  But not everyone has the same amount 
of passion, skill or WISDOM to know how to 
effectively use those hours to maximize production.

An hour folding laundry is one thing. 
An hour closing a $3,000 sale is another!

Same 60 minutes …. totally different result.

(& after you close that $3,000 sale–
do yourself a favor and pay someone 
$10/hr to fold the laundry bc you just bought
yourself 300 free hours!

=========

We’ve got to learn how to maximize our production, 
so we can spend time with our families & sharing
our messages of change.

What is SALES CONVERSION?
Sales conversion is the percentage of prospects that you
turn into, or convert into, buyers (i.e.: paying customers,
clients or patients.)

For example, of 10 prospects, how many will become paying
customers? If you convert three into customers, you have a
sales conversion rate of 30 percent. If seven of your
prospects become customers, you have a sales conversion
rate of 70 percent. Consider this: Whether you convert 30
percent or 70 percent, you still took the time and energy
to talk to 10 prospects
See how this plays out!

Imagine 100 people coming to your intro call or

presentation. You can either convert 20 of

them or 40 of them into being your clients.

You can quickly see that focusing on

conversion is a surefire way to double your business while

doing the same amount of work, expending the same amount of

energy, taking the same amount of time, with the same

amount of words coming out of your mouth.

Like everything else…it’s a learnable skill (all of this is!)

The only reason you may not have big results…is that you haven’t

had the tools yet.

Remember, when people don’t buy it doesn’t mean that they
are not intrigued. You might be the most polished presenter
or the most charismatic teacher on the planet, but if you
are not giving people what they need so that they can make
the choice to buy what you have to offer, your Million
Dollar Value is not available in the world… and it costs
everyone!

The bottom line of where I’m coming from is this: You
possess a wealth of valuable gifts, talents, products and
services, but no matter how fabulous you are at presenting
these, if you are not paying attention to what converts
people into buying your offering, it’s a rip-off to you and
them.

So that’s what sales conversion is and why you should pay
attention to it!!

Heather Madder is a Life Coach, Author, and Business Strategist and will be speaking at this year’s Touchpoint Conference.  She can be found on Twitter @heathermadder and on her site, http://www.mybestlifebydesign.com. Heather frequently hosts live events and tele-seminars, sign up for her email list to get more details.

Living as a Creator with Limitless Capacity

Fairy Godmother Heather Madder, Life Coach and Author shares a message about how to creat a life and business with limitless capacity (clip from Startup Princess Touchpoint Conference 2008).

Accountability Lessons: A Dialogue with Heather Madder, Coach and Author

A few weeks ago I started a coaching program with Heather Madder. I decided it was time to do a coaching program because I wanted to work through some personal concerns and to make a leap forward in my life–in all aspects. I chose Heather because I’ve heard her speak a number of times (she was our Keynote at last year’s Touchpoint), listened to all of her audios multiple times and read her book. I knew Heather’s personal values and life purpose aligned with mine, plus I have a great deal of respect for her as a friend and especially admire how she balances her family and personal time with how she’s grown her professional career.

I signed up for a 5 week program with Heather after she assessed my goals and what I wanted to accomplish. Read more

Heather Madder Joins Kelly King Anderson as Co-Author on Book about Spirituality and Entrepreneurship

A couple months ago I announced that I was embarking on a new project, a book about faith and entrepreneurship…wanted to update you on my progress. First of all, I asked my dear friend and mentor, Heather Madder (2008 Touchpoint Keynote Speaker) to co-author the book and she accepted. We’re both excited to work together on this project.  She’ll offer a great deal of depth with the spiritual-aspects as she speaks and writes regularly about the subject and helps individuals connect to their divine purpose. We anticipate that the book will take at least a year to be completed as we intend to find a publisher and seek distribution. Read more

Highlights of Heather Madder’s Touchpoint Presentation

Our lovely and inspiring Fairy Godmother Heather Madder just sent over an outline of her keynote presentation for Touchpoint THIS FRIDAY if you haven’t already registered for Touchpoint …time is running out. Register NOW!

Take a peek at Heather’s presentation: Living as a Creator…without Limitations!

*Your external results are arising from Your internal beliefs–change first begins inside of us!
*Our cultural has a conditioned mindset of limitation and scarcity.
*Our birthright is infinite abundance without limitations.
*The purpose of your life is to wake up to who you really are and claim your purpose.
*You were born to be a powerful creator in every area of your life. (Stop blocking it!)
*You are a part of the field of creation–when you awaken, you live from it’s infinitude.
*You are already connected to everything you seek, allow and attract it to you.
*If there is a vision inside of you, the perfect path, place, and people will emerge to receive it (otherwise you wouldn’t have the desire to create it.)
*Creating is spontaneous, easy, fulfilling and a natural part of who you are.
*There is no end to how successful you can be–in your work, your relationships, and your life.
*The more you create and live in abundance, the more you honor and lift humanity.

Aren’t you excited to hear more?? I AM!! Meet Heather at Touchpoint, she’ll be there all day. Transform your life.

Meet Touchpoint Event Keynote Speaker Heather Madder!!

Oddly enough/divinely arranged I met Heather Madder, professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host in the bathroom at the Miller Innovation Center in Sandy, Utah in September of last year. It was just after she spoke to my heart at a women’s event. I was drawn to Heather’s energy and spirit at once and wanted to connect with her. It became one of those rare moments Read more