The Self-Employed Life

Mentorship can mean something different to everyone. On Shark Tank often having a shark as a mentor was just as valuable as the investment itself. You can gain confidence with success, but finding that confidence takes courage. And to find courage you need a mentor. Mentors know you are going to fail and that entrepreneurs are defined by their failures. So if you find someone who is willing to be...

Most of us struggle with forgiveness, however it can be a very powerful tool that can unlock future roadblocks. To take control of your life you need to forgive and make a plan. Stop winging it in life and decide on the non-negotiable values in your life. 

With almost all of us making significant changes to ourselves and our businesses in the past several months, it introduces one of the most frustrating things I know of. Waiting. Let's face it. Patience tends to not be one of our strong suits as self-employed business owners. Especially after we've made changes, are more clear than we've ever been, are committed and ready to go, and now we're waiti...

As we start each day as busy self-employed business owners with lots of demands on us, we often think about everything we have to give. And we give it our all every day, don't we?   But what about what you'll gain? What would it look like if as you started each day you considered the energy you were going to gain from other people and from doing the tasks you love? Would it change how you felt abo...

For my first official episode of The Self Employed Life, I'm very excited to share a life-changing conversation with one of my absolute favorite authors, Todd Henry. Today we define something that is often glossed over but is essential, not just for the self-employed, but for all of us trying to tackle some of the world's current major challenges: motivation. Todd and I discuss what it means to cr...

A BIG and very Special Announcement! Be sure to turn in for the big news. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Services and Support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's S...

We are all more than one thing. But self-employed entrepreneurs have been told over and over again that we can't have a division between who we are in business and who we are at home. Studies show, however, that having and sharing other dimensions make you better at your job. When I work with my coaching clients I help them connect the dots of who they are to figure out how they can serve their cu...

It can often feel in business, especially during challenging times that recovery is far away. Or that your business needs a complete overall or change of direction. That is often not the case. It may be that turning your business around is just a tweak or two away. This episode should give you hope! The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join ou...

When you are in business, you are in the wish-granting business. When you really think about it, what you offer is what helps your customers achieve what they're wishing for. And when you can find a way to communicate what you stand for, how you will grant those wishes, and why you are unique in doing so, you will elevate the humanity of your business. But it begins with you; especially for the se...

Cyber attacks are not just against the big guys. The fact is that for a variety of reasons, attacks against small businesses are extremely common. We all need to be concerned, no matter how small or big our business is, especially during times of major distraction or disconnect, like, say, during a pandemic.  We're in a weird social place right now, we're stressed, some of us are even desperate. C...

We face a big challenge as business owners in today's overload of information. What's good information and at what point does that information influence us so much that we lose the ability to be different than the rest? This is particularly true in trade associations which I am a big proponent of. Have a listen for an idea about how to handle the balance of information and influence. The Talking S...

Creativity is iterative. It is about possibility. True creativity is about the everyday making of things; of just doing and refining until we can eventually get to our genius. Sometimes all we need is the discipline to just start. So if we can give ourselves the permission to just start with whatever terrible ideas we have, we can often get into that sought after "flow state" even sooner.  Many cr...

My biggest competition has always been myself. Additionally, I'm a spender. Or, at least I used to be, and I've put a lot of thought into my spending habits and what that means for my lifestyle and business. Entrepreneurs often feel pressure to have as big a business as possible because of the competition or the false notion that a business isn't "real" unless it's a certain size. I battle with th...

Sometimes even when we're working on our 'calling' we don't even realize we're working like machines. Many of us have lost our sense of wonder. We no longer look at the world in awe. We begin to believe that desiring something other than what we have is somehow a negative feeling. We Creative Warriors talk a lot about finding our 'why.' But what about getting to the why of your 'why?' Part of what...

There's no doubt our businesses are experiencing a huge disruption with the pandemic and resulting economic slowdown. But if you look at the long history of disruptions you'll see a few patterns emerge. One is to hang on. With patience, it will come around. Second is that you often end up with a hybrid model. Have a listen. There is likely more hope than you might be feeling right now. The Talking...

I often describe the Creative Warriors community as people who find meaning through their work. Some people are ok with doing less meaningful work because they find meaning in other areas of their life. And others, like many of my coaching clients, are transitioning out of corporate work into that of self-employed to find more meaning in what they do. There is a common concept in the business coac...

As we move deeper into the new normal of our current pandemic-driven lives, we're starting to see precisely how people are pivoting their careers and choices to provide as best as they can for themselves and their families. With that, we're seeing a surge in the entrepreneurial spirit, and many are investing their time into realizing their self-employment dreams. Although it might seem like these...

Pivoting seems to be all the rage these days. Businesses talking about pivoting in order to thrive or survive during the pandemic and subsequent impact on the economy. I propose that most small businesses and self-employed business owners do not need to make a pivot. They need to evolve instead. Listen in to understand the important difference for you and your business. The Talking Stick is in you...

Everyone knows I love a good system. So when I came across a system for naming things, you know I had to do a deeper dive. There is so much more to finding a name than simply finding something you like. Getting the right name that matches your vision and that actually sells can be much trickier than one might think. There are a lot of components to naming things. Whether it's thinking about the UR...

Let's be realistic. When you're self-employed, there are times you work for less than your full value. In this episode, I lay out an actual, realistic process to determine how much less than your full value you should accept and when to say no. The intention is to make you feel empowered, not ashamed. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join...

One of my favorite quotes that I live by is by Jim Rohn who said, "Your level of success rarely exceeds your level of personal development." In many ways what Jim is referring to capacity. Expanding our capacity is one thing. But taking care of our capacity is just as important.  Capacity isn't just about doing more. Capacity is also about making space. I often tell my coaching clients, "strive to...

In times of crisis it's very easy to get caught up in the stress of the unknown. When emotions are running the show, it's important to take a step back and look at data that can help clarify what your next steps should be. So, what is the research telling us about consumers right now? And how can we use that information as Self-Employed business owners? Consumers are feeling more stressed, anxious...

It's my belief that humanity has evolved in the best way possible over all the years I've been in business. These days people make decisions based more on energy than logic. And so I've begun to wonder: have we fundamentally changed or are we the same and what has changed is simply how we talk about business? Regardless of your industry, if you can get to the core of what motivates you, you can pe...