–> Remember, these posts are better with your involvement, so please share your thoughts in the comments.

Every year, I share my latest method for making sure that summer is productive for me and for my kids. The kids are home. I have to get some work done, although I typically only work an hour or two each day during the summer. Still I don't want to be constantly interrupted or feel like the house is falling apart while I'm on the computer, right? That's not exactly a great boost to your creativity or productivity.

My kiddos are now 13 (daughter) and 18 (son), so things have sure changed in the many years that I've been sharing our summer plans, but this is the general system that we’ve been using since they were each toddlers. Why? Because it’s the closest thing to sanity that I can come up with here.

We have a daily checklist that the kids must complete before the TV goes on, the computer goes on, phones come out, or any game systems get turned on. They also must complete their daily list before friends are allowed in the house. I found that, if I left the time limit open, that the lists wouldn’t get done. However, if they know they can work through their tasks faster and be free of my tyranny – they work through it better. Of course, it is flexible if we make fun plans or if they have some sort of camp or we're traveling. This is just the day to day schedule.

Here’s their list that I posted four years ago when the kiddos were 9 and 14. It’s changed quite a bit since then as you'll see in a bit as they've gotten older. You can click on it to view it in pdf format.

I printed it out weekly and they just checked off the days as they went through them. If everything got done during the week, they earned bonuses.

For instance, my son has a Gamefly account. He keeps it as long as the backyard is cleaned up daily. If there is an issue, he gets downgraded from 2 games/month to 1 and then to zero. It really never becomes an issue. He’s really very self-motivated when he knows the rules. My daughter on the other hand… is a bit more stubborn.

Why were these systems so important to me when the kids were younger?

1. The kids knew what the expectations were in advance. They were better equipped to succeed and we were less likely to fight.
2. My husband and I were on the same page, because the rules were in black and white. (Again, less of a chance for misunderstandings.)
3. I didn't spend the days chasing the kids around saying “Did you brush your teeth?” or “Have you cleaned up the backyard?” I looked at their chart and it was right there in front of me.
4. It taught the kids that habits are important. And, that a family works on routine. And that running a home is a group effort. All good stuff.

So how has this changed over the years?

1. Now that the kids are older they have better habits. They brush their teeth on their own now and don't need to be reminded.
2. I want them to be their most awesome selves and I know that the days are long but the summer is short so if we don't plan and set goals at the beginning of summer, then we'll blink and have wasted an amazing opportunity to get more awesome.
3. My daughter will be going into Algebra in 8th grade and will be in a lot of honors classes. My son is going into the honors program in college. I want to do as much as I can this summer to help them to grow in a variety of ways to learn new skills and to sharpen their existing ones so that when life gets crazy again in the fall, they'll hopefully be a bit ahead of the game and won't have to be as stressed.
4. I still need to work a little bit during summer — even with a houseful of kids and friends over.

Here's what I've come up with…

The daily lists for the kiddos are now more about their own personal growth and their responsibility to the family this summer. As I said, they're old enough to remember to take their vitamins and brush their teeth. But I do want to help encourage them to become their best selves.

On that note, here's what I've come up with.

• 13 Year Old Daughter's Summer List (pdf)
• 18 Year Old Son's Summer List (pdf)

As you can see, my daughter is going to be working on her Algebra a bit this summer on Khan Academy while my son will be refreshing his calculus (since he's majoring in Physics, and he is expected to have his skills polished going into the fall). He also will be going through codecademy.com as he wants to learn to code and do some work for me.

My daughter is also taking a few classes through Florida Virtual School. She's taking Guitar and hopefully PhyEd, too. She wants to take  their photography course, too, but that might have to wait until next summer.

One last tip for battling the crazy. 

I've also added a sheet of House and Pool Rules to the front door so that all neighbor kids and friends know the rules without me having to go over them or deal with messes after the fact. Less stress for me, less misunderstandings, and I get to relax and enjoy the kids more.

• Dean Summer Rules (pdf)

Is it perfect?

By no means. But it does help me to get on the computer, do my work and more importantly get OFF the computer. It also helps me to have less stress, the house to be quieter and happier overall, and for me to feel like a better mom than I would if I was running around after everyone all summer.

I hope this gives you some ideas to make your summer run smoother too.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. What books would you recommend all teens read for personal success and growth? Help me add to our list:

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

PS again.  Another way to survive summer when you're not able to work as much as you'd like is to use PLR to help you to get your content written easier. Too subtle? lol. Click here for some that's running low and on sale.

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“What is your most productive time of day?

How do you optimize and plan for that?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

I'm a night owl and usually get a second or third wind at 11pm. By then the kids and dogs have finally settled in, the house is quiet, and I can hunker down for a couple of hours of productive time. I set aside the late shift for creative work like copywriting or video editing – stuff that requires the focus I don't usually have during the day. (Did I mention that I have the attention span of a gnat?)

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

My most productive time of day is late morning before lunch – usually 9 to 12 AM.

Since I'm an early riser, I will usually handle client emails before this. Then I'll exercise, eat breakfast, and get ready.

Then depending on the day, usually I spend that entire 3 hour period writing on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Tuesday and Wednesdays I do phone clients.

Any ‘routine' activities are usually done in the afternoon.

Everyone always seems to tell you not to do email first in the morning, but that all depends on your energy levels. I find email works well for me first thing and then run my most creative periods a little bit later in the morning.

You need to find a system that works for you personally, and then flow with it instead of forcing yourself into someone else's model.

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

I find myself most productive at either mid-morning or late night. When I want to take advantage of this productive time, I do one of the following:

Walk away from my computers and go somewhere quiet to write. This may be my kitchen floor, on the roof of our building, or on a train to one of my favourite hiking spots.

Hop on the computer at my studio (the only Windows computer I have – exiled from my Mac-only office, but loaded with my old MX Flash software) and draw the character drawings I need for my new videos.

Do whatever is on my ToDo list.

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Every Book You Write Onto The First Page Of Kindle says:

I am definitely best in the mornings. I love working from 7am to 12pm.

Some of the ways I optimize are:

– I aim to go to bed before 10pm so when I wake up, I feel rested and ready to go.

– I have my to-do list written out the night before so that I can hit the ground running when I get to my computer.

– I aim to have healthy and nourishing breakfast foods on hand so there's no wasted time thinking about what to eat.

– I don't schedule any phone calls or interviews during that time.

– I do my best not to check email in that period.

– I schedule all of my hardest tasks from 7-12, and do the hardest one first, while I have the most juice.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

My productive times are split. I'm highly functional between ten in the morning and two or three in the afternoon, then I'm back in action after eight at night. In between I may nap or run errands, read and poke around websites ‘for fun'.

I've found it important to embrace the flow of my focus. If I try to push through and work in the afternoon, the work product is not going to be great.

There are exceptions. Sometimes a project is so exciting I can't turn away from it no matter what the clock says. Follow your bliss I say!

Tiffany Lambert of Work Life Balance says:

For me, I have a split level of productivity.

I am most productive on menial tasks in the morning, having coffee, checking email, checking sales stats, etc.

I am more creative and productive with products in the evening.

So I go with the flow on that. I work early and then break for lunch and sanity and then get back to work in the evenings for fun stuff I enjoy doing, like working on my Kindle fiction.

Shannon Cherry of Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events says:

I'm a morning person… I always have been. So I work on my most creative tasks in the morning (the ones that need a lot of thought). I plan my week very carefully to optimize my time. Things like social media posting are automated so I only pop on while waiting for the school bus or another time when I am doing something else.

People ask me all the time how I get so much done in my business working only 15 hours a week. It all comes down to this: I choose to make the hours I work as productive as possible. I've created a video with some tips on how to be more productive:

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I am so NOT a morning person that it's not even funny. But, I've always been that way and love being a night owl.

That said, my optimal working time is between 10am-6pm. Of course, I don't work that straight through though. I come and go from my computer depending on other obligations: kids, puppies, husband, appointments, eating, and overall energy level.

This means that I schedule all interviews between 10 am-3 pm. That works best for me hitting my peak brain time, without conflicting with family time. I've made the mistake of recording interviews in the morning and WOWZA. I had major word soup. Just not a great idea.

I also know that I work really well in bursts so I'm ok with that. However, the bursts are usually determined by me, and not the people around me. If I have interruptions while I'm actively trying to focus, I am not as productive.

What do I mean exactly?

Well, I got on the computer this morning around 10 am, and worked a bit on CoachGlue.com stuff. Now it's noonish and I just took at shower and came to sit down and finish this post. When it's done, I'll reward myself by getting out of my office and checking in on the kids or seeing if some laundry needs to be moved, or checking the mail. Then I'll head back to write my email and get it scheduled, too. I may take a few minutes to check in with Facebook or catch up with texts/calls on my phone, take a bathroom break, get a big glass of water, and  head back to my desk for my next big task – or I may call it a day and work on stuff around the house that's more important.

That works really well for me – and my family can usually handle not interrupting me during those spurts.

What does NOT work, as I mentioned, is constant interruptions.

Thankfully my kiddos are old enough to know that I'll pop out of my office in a bit, after my interview, or my writing spurt is done and they'll leave me to work.  Whatever they need, they can usually get on their own, and things like their friends asking to come over can wait 20 minutes. But, that also means that I choose to ignore my phone while in a work burst unless it's a “911” text from a family member or close friend. They know I'll ignore phone calls while I'm working, but if there's an emergency, to text me “911” and I”ll call them back immediately. That's for instances where it's time sensitive and they feel I need to know right away. Everything else can usually wait and can't come ahead of me making a living.

I used to try to sit here in front of the computer and work all day, but I found that I wasn't nearly as productive as when I work in those focused bursts. I've given myself permission to come and go from my office, as needed, rather than forcing myself to sit here so I felt “busy”. Busy and productive are not the same things – especially when running a business.

So, I sprint, recover, sprint, recover, and sprint again. It's what works best for me.

What if I'm working on a BIG project?

Well, when I wrote my book, or when I created larger courses, I break them down into “single sitting' pieces. If I know all I need to do is knock out one chapter or one module or one webinar and then I can go to lunch with my hubby, I can do that. To sit and say “finish this book” – yeah, that's not going to happen.

I hope this has been helpful. Now comment, share, and then do a money task so you can do something fun to reward yourself.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Recommended Resource:

The Unstoppable Productivity Software Can Help You to Quit Spinning Your Wheels and Double Your Productivity!

When you use Unstoppable Productivity, there’s no complicated time-management ‘system’ you need to learn or remember. The goal behind our software is simple: To give you a way to visually structure your day in a way that you feel absolutely compelled to focus, take action, and get things done, once and for all!

In addition to being built around a system designed to motivate you to take more action, the interface helps you get absolutely clear about your day, allowing you to easily visualize your time and accomplishments at-a-glance.

Here’s How This Software Can Help You:

• Plan Your Day In Less Than 30 Seconds – Unstoppable Productivity comes pre-loaded with dozens of common tasks, and you can add as many of your own as you want. With all your tasks readily available, you’ll have your day planned in no time!

• Discover Where Your Time Is Going – At the click of a button, Unstoppable Productivity will go to work generating a report about all the actions you’ve completed, helping you quickly see how and where you’re time is really being spent

• See Your Day With More Clarity Than Ever Before – Instead of your day being some blurry, abstract ‘thing’ of stuff you need to do, Unstoppable Productivity uses various graphical elements to help you actually visualize it, making it more real and more achievable to you

• Feel A Stronger Sense Of Accomplishment – As you finish tasks using Unstoppable Productivity, the interface will provide you with visual feedback of their completion, giving you even more momentum to continue moving forward

• It’s Your Full-Time Coach – Unstoppable Productivity is a very lightweight application, meaning it takes up very little of your computers’ resources so you can use it all day every day knowing it’s not standing in the way of getting other things done on your computer

• Plenty Of Room, Even For Your Busiest Days – With the ability to display up to 12 timers at once, from 5 minutes to 3 hours each, you’ll always have plenty of flexibility to manage and plan even your busiest days

• Spend More Time Using It, And Less Time Learning How To Use It – With an intuitive, simple interface, mastering its use usually takes less than 3 minutes!

Click here to
Get More Productive!

PS. Remember, if you want me to keep getting awesome smart peeps to answer questions here, go check out their stuff.

• Lou Bortone – Video in a Day
• Terry Dean – My Marketing Coach
• Kevin Riley –  Blogpreneur Training
• Rachel Rofe – How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again
• Kelly McCausey – Solo Smarts Podcast
• Tiffany Dow – Work Life Balance
• Shannon Cherry – Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“We all at some point have to deal with a time sucker in our industry. It may be someone who we started a friendship with who wants more time or information than we can realistically give, a family member, or it may just be a friend who you've outgrown.

How do you value your time, set boundaries, and still be the best YOU possible?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

This was always a really tough one for me, because – like most of us – I love helping people and I hate saying “no”.

However, I've learned that “access” to me is my most valuable asset – and now when someone asks “Can I pick your brain?” I say, “Sure, I charge $300 per hour, how much time do you need?” I can also refer them to my online scheduler, where they can purchase a quick consult.

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

I honestly don't have to deal with this problem much anymore. But I had it BAD years ago. I wasted hours every day in unpaid conversations by email and phone with people who never even became customers.

The disease I had was “Nice Guy Syndrome.”

One of the subtle symptoms is a feeling of responsibility to answer every email and every phone call that comes in personally. It meant I invested myself in thousands of people…many of which had never even purchased anything from me.

I thought all this free advice would really help people, but the reality was I simply didn't understand human nature.

Rarely do we value what's given for free. For example, have you ever tried to give business advice to a friend of family member?

Sure, you may have that rare gem who takes what you share with them and runs with it, but much more common is the nodding head where they then walk away and do what they wanted to anyway.

I had it so bad back then that's one of the reasons I had to take a break from the Internet completely for 18 months.

But I haven't had to deal with this issue much in years.

And it's because that experience was so miserable for me that I figured out what I had to do to escape the possibility of this ever happening again.

The first thing you have to do is value your own time. Just by setting up an hourly consulting rate or an organized coaching program, you've solved half the battle. Because now you can point to your consulting or coaching whenever anything veers into that territory. Once you value your own time, others will start valuing it as well.

On the rare occasion a business friend or client goes a little too far… you can and should set clear boundaries. This is important! Make sure to set the boundaries BEFORE you're aggravated by it. Don't respond in anger and frustration. Once that's likely to occur, you've waited too long.

Instead, it's good to remind people of how you operate. For example, with new clients I always tell them how and when I will respond. If I'm on vacation or something changes, I let them all know in advance how my schedule is changing.

I do the same with joint venture partners and business friends. They know when they can expect a response from me and when they can't.

A lot of this comes back to knowing what you want your Lifestyle to look like. If you're not clear on this yourself, how can you explain it to anyone else?

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

Fortunately, I don't have any offline friends who are time suckers. My best friend, outside my wife Rieko, is my old buddy from my house-building days, Toriu. We get together about 3-4 times a year. The rest of the time, we are rarely in contact. That's normal here.

However, online, I could easily be time sucked by a few things: The rare customer who fires off question after question, Facebook, and YouTube.

By setting aside a short (10-15 minute) window of time in my mornings to answer e-mails, I don't allow any customer to suck my time, yet they receive an answer to their query (making for happy customers).

As for Facebook and YouTube, I don't always win the battle – allowing myself to lose time to fun. But then, that's why I do what I do – so I can have fun.

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again says:

As a recovering people pleaser, I can see why this is such a great question to ask.

And that being said, I think a lot of people in the personal development world can be quick to say they've “outgrown” someone, or that they're “further ahead” than people they once loved.

I don't know if that's always the truth.

With that said, I'm going to answer this question from the perspective of someone who's considering leaving a friendship that was once fulfilling.

So… my answer:

From experience, I've found that unless someone is mentally unstable, having an honest conversation (coupled with diplomacy, grace, and humility) is the best policy.

I like to think that people are smarter/more emotionally available/willing to grow WAY more than most of us give them credit for – especially when we're in a space of being annoyed with them.

So I'd look at having a conversation with my friend. It starts with however I'm feeling, and might sound something like:

“There's been something I've been wanting to share with you. I've been holding it back out of fear that I'll upset you, when really, I just want us to be able to understand each other better. Would you be OK with you if I share some messy thoughts?”

After you get their buy-in, share that you know where they're coming from. I might say something like: “I know that you're in a place with your business where you're really wanting to grow. I admire your focus and excitement for getting things done, and you're making real strides forward. It's awesome to see.”

Then where I'm coming from: “And from my perspective, while I love your business enthusiasm, I'm feeling like you want more information than I feel good about giving. I find that we talk about business more than I desire and I leave feeling drained.”

Then ask to come to a solution together: “I would love to find a way where we can both feel really good about this friendship. Can we talk about what that might look like?”

In most cases, if you are completely honest, share both perspectives, and look to find a solution TOGETHER — you'd be absolutely amazed at what can happen. You may end up deciding that the friendship has worn its course, or you may find that you have a newfound container for a more fulfilling friendship where you both feel even closer.

The main thing is to give BOTH people the opportunity to have a voice instead of just writing them off.

Of course, if this is with someone you were never really that close with in the first place, a simple “I've scheduled time to work on some things that are really important to me and unfortunately don't have free time to chat” also works.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I've a friend I've seen potential in for ages. Over the years I've invested a lot of energy into encouraging, equipping and pushing her into action. When I'm not actively motivating her, she drifts off into the demands of every day life.

Last year I finally admitted that I wanted it far more than she did. I had to let go.

I love her so much, I didn't want to lose our friendship. I went to her and apologized for pushing. I promised to leave it alone and just enjoy our personal friendship from now on. It was important to me that she know I don't need her to be entrepreneurial to be my friend.

This is an area of issue for me in a lot of relationships. I often want someone else's success more than they do. I'm working on it!

Tiffany Dow of Work Life Balance says:

I've had to do this a lot lately. This is the first time I've put strict boundaries on my time and space. I've gotten to where I'm just blunt or more apologetic about doing what's in my best interest.

I grew up a people pleaser. Never wanted to come across as “rude.” But it's not rude to get your work done before chit chatting with a friend. That was all in my head.

I have found it very freeing to tell people honestly, “I have to focus on work, so I won't be able to visit much until (whatever time).” Nothing at all rude about that.

And truth be told, if someone didn't respect my boundaries, I wouldn't feel very valued by them.

Shannon Cherry of Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events says:

Of course, this happens to everyone. ​ And sometimes the lines blur so much that you have difficulties seeing the issue until you realize how bad it really is.

That recently happened to me and it got to the boiling point. A friend, was consistently asking business questions, which at first I didn't mind answering. But soon, I was realizing that any advice I gave her was disregarded. (She was a ‘bright-shiny-object' type who jumped from idea to idea.) I was getting annoyed to say the least. It was time for ‘the talk'. Essentially, I shared my concerns and more importantly how I felt. It cleared the air and we have remained friends who only focus our chat about your lived, not business.

Although that one has a happy ending, not all do. I find this especially true when it comes to social media ‘friends' (those who only know you online). Of course, it starts innocently – a quick question about something, but soon you might find yourself coaching or consulting (something you get paid for). Here's what I've done to help stop this:

1. I make rules for myself and keep them. For me, it's answering one question and that's it.

2. I've created canned responses so I don't have to fumble for words when feeling awkward. For example, on reply is this: “I appreciate your trust in my advice, and I value our relationship. I want you to know that what you are asking is something I get paid to do. It's how I make my living. And because you know how limited availability is, I need to focus on paying clients with my time. However, here are a couple of blog posts that may help…”

3. If all else fails, ‘Bless and Release', meaning wish them the best and ignore them, block them or whatever you have to do so they don't suck your time.”

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I'm so glad my smart friends sent in so much great insight for this post.  I know that I, along with my coaching clients, have struggled at times with this issue over the years.

Like most, I'm much better at telling others how to regain control over their time than I am sometimes in owning my own.

But truly the thing that I end up saying oftentimes when I'm talking with them is “YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM HERE! So QUIT IT!!!”

Don't pull the “Nobody respects my time” line, if you haven't set the rules first. Otherwise, it's not their fault. It's yours.

Draw the line in the sand and have options for people who want more of you. Options that you are comfortable with.

Granted, I failed majorly at this initially. I'd be resentful of people who were “using me” until I realize that it was my fault!

1. They didn't know any better because I hadn't told them, and

2. they didn't have a legitimate option for paying me for my time. DUH.

Once I realized that I was putting THEM into a pickle, I kicked my “woe is me” mentality to the curb and I took control of my time.

What did I do to fix it?

1. I created a coaching page.

2. I wrote and published my book.

Now, people who ask about making money online are referred to my book. And, people who want ME are referred to my coaching page. Easy peasy.

Granted, I still do find myself slipping at times, and I have to put up barriers in those instances.

I think the thing that I finally figured out is that EVERY moment of EVERY day that I give to someone else is a moment that I'm taking from taking care of me, spending time with my kids and my Joe, or being with my family and friends.

Your time (as with your energy) is like a bank. And, the minutes go where they are allocated. Make sure you're INVESTING them wisely.

My favorite quote for over a decade has been “The days are long, but the years are short.”

I encourage you to think of that when you're giving your time to others. Because we blink and a year passes.

It's a lesson that's been one that's taken me a while to learn, so I hope this perspective helps.

Warmly,

Nicole Dean

Recommended Resource:

If you need an energy boost – check out Energy Jet Pack by my friend, Lain Ehmann.

PS. Remember, if you want me to keep getting awesome smart peeps to answer questions here, go check out their stuff.

• Lou Bortone – Video in a Day
• Terry Dean – My Marketing Coach
• Kevin Riley –  Blogpreneur Training
• Rachel Rofe – How To Get Never Have a Bad Day Again
• Kelly McCausey – Solo Smarts Podcast
• Tiffany Dow – Work Life Balance
• Shannon Cherry – Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“About” pages. What is your #1 tip for a great ‘About' page on your websites?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Kristen Eckstein of Get Published on Kindle in 30 Days says:

A PR expert once told me to sprinkle testimonials throughout my lengthy bio on my About Page. I did that by taking screen shots of social proof and inserting those throughout. I've gotten many compliments from people who decided to hire my team because I was gently guiding them through why they should hire me.

In addition, I recently added a super fun graphic as my headshot on the page.

I got the idea partially from the word clouds that used to be so popular on websites and my VA, Natalie Collins, who was playing around with adding words to her photos. I created a really fun graphic that captures exactly what I'm all about in a way that draws visitors in and makes them stay longer, then of course, want to get to know me better.

What I've learned is an About Page should never be stuffy, unless that's the market you're trying to reach. Being myself on my About Page, even when it was sometimes against the better judgement of some critics, has helped me build my business in the way I want and attract the types of clients I want to establish a long working relationship with.

Lynn Terry of How to Get Social Marketing Results in Just Minutes a Day says:

I'll make this short & sweet. My top tip for your About page is to make sure you include a call-to-action on that page! Put yourself in the shoes of your visitor. Click on your own About page and read it. Now – what should you do next? What do you _want_ your visitor to do next, after reading this page?

Make sure that “next best click” is very clear and super obvious!

Tiffany Dow of Work Life Balance says:

My #1 tip for an About page is to weed out your non-audience by being highly transparent. I like an About page that uses first person, not something that reads like a sterile biography someone else created, such as, “Tiffany graduated from…” Boring!

I love to use a combination of video and text. Video is GREAT for an About page because it helps people get a feel for your personality better than plain words on a screen.

When I create my About pages, I don’t just talk about what I offer – I talk about what I don’t, or why the visitor may NOT like me. Why do I do that? Two reasons.

First, it helps those who will get offended by me leave early so we don’t have to end up arguing about anything. Second, it helps those who like my style instantly appreciate that I’m going to be myself – and not phony.

On one of my About pages, I specifically tell them upfront “I’m motivating for many people and offensive to a handful.” I tell them I’m blunt.

Tell people what you’re like in terms of teaching – what do you share, why do you do it, and how? Give them a reason to love or hate you – but most of all, avoid being boring and middle of the road. Nobody is attracted to that.

Lou Bortone of Video in a Day says:

I think “about” pages represent a huge opportunity for business owners, but I also think many people miss the boat on this opportunity. An about page is a chance to show off your personality, and give prospects and partners a better sense of what you're all about. An about page is also the perfect place for an “about me” video to show off your skills and connect with your web visitors. My tip for entrepreneurs is to make the most of your about page, and don't settle for the typical (boring) bio and head shot.

I have a ‘one page' website, so my opt-in video doubles as my about video, but I also use a pretty cool LeadPage template that serves as a “bio” page.

Alice Seba of The 30 Day List Challenge says:

Even though an about page is about “Me” or “Us”, it's like any other marketing piece you put together. It has to be about the reader. So while you may be singing your praises and giving some more insight into who you are, you have to show how this benefits your audience. The goal of your about page should be to show your visitor why they should pay attention to you and stick around to learn more.

I cover this in our Persuasive Writing Course and here is an excerpt from that course:

—- START EXCERPT —-

If people are thinking about doing business with you, they’ll often look at your About Me page. They want to know who they’re dealing with and if you’re qualified to help them with what they need. If you don’t have an about me page…make one. If you do have one…let’s see if we can make it better.

Start with a headline other than “About Me” – what can you do for your visitor? What’s in it for them?

Focus on your reader and not you. Obviously, you’re still going to talk about your qualifications and experience, but you’re going to relate that to your reader. So if you have a degree or background in an area, you’re going to show why that matters to them.

For example, “With 20 years experience as a personal chef focusing on healthy foods and promoting weight loss in my clients, I’ve brought together some of my favourite recipes and approaches to meal planning, so you can follow your own path to nutrition and optimal health.”

Include a call-to-action. Where should they go next? I’d recommend sending them to an opt-in offer. Something they can get for free to get to know you better before they buy anything…but they also get on your list, so you can email them some more.

A lot of About Me pages are in the third person and I think that can work, but personally, I think it’s a bit dull and puts a space between you and your visitor. Speak in the first person and use words like “we” and “I” and more importantly, use the word “you.”

In most cases, you can have fun with it…share your own opinions and personal philosophies. Show your personality and let them get a great sense of what you’re all about and why they should stick around for more.

—- END EXCERPT —-

Sorry, I think that was more than one tip, but they all fall under the main idea of showing your readers what they want to know.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

My best tip for an effective and memorable ‘About' page is to always think of it as a work in progress. I like to share a little about how I came to be an online entrepreneur, but I also include up to date information and details about where I will be speaking, my latest published book, and other activities I am involved in. We are so much more than what we do in our businesses, and readers want to know more about our activities away from the computer.

I recommend setting up your ‘About' page with a picture that really looks like you, along with a couple of paragraphs that explain something about your background. Keep it light and informative. Don't let your page get bogged down with details of a job you had during the 1980s! Use this as a starting point to share as much or as little as you are comfortable with to the people who are interested in getting to know you better. I have two main sites and strive to keep both of my ‘About' pages current and interesting.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

Whenever some great web content grabs my attention, I jump over to the site's About Page to learn more about the site and the author. Knowing I do that, I'm pretty sure lots of others do it too, so I've taken time to keep my own About Page updated. I want to make sure it's ready to represent me when someone comes to learn more about Solo Smarts and me.

I've decided to keep the opening focus of my About Page on how I got started in an online business. I'm trusting that many of my About Page readers are new and seeking hope and resources. By sharing how I started small and found success, I'm trying to make a connection.

After my opening, I share a testimonial from a customer. I change this out every so often.

Then, I move into sharing links that I'm proud of under these headings:

• Kelly is Hosting Events: (Beachpreneurs, Exposure & Profit)
• Kelly is Speaking: (Live in person events)
• Kelly is Guest Blogging
• Kelly is Featured

It might seem odd to link out to other sites from my About Page, but I see it as opportunity to show social proof that other smart marketers think I'm smart.

Finally, I invite my readers to curate me. I link to articles and videos they're welcome to take and republish on their own sites and encourage them to do so with an affiliate link back to my site. I'm planning to plump up this area of the page with fresh content that promotes my new courses. Curation is a popular practice these days and I want to make sure my community realizes how easy it is to curate me for profit.

P.S. You can learn more about curation from my course, Smart Curation Skills.

Shannon Cherry of Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events says:

I hate most ‘About' pages. Why?

Too many people use it to brag, when an about page is clearly a selling tool.

You see, you should have different about pages that target different audiences. It is impossible that one size can fit all your audiences' needs. If you are a coach, for instance, you should have an about page for your potential clients. It should tell them why they should hire you. But if you also speak, your about page should be geared to those who are looking for a speaker. And if you want media coverage? It needs to show a journalist you have got the right stuff to be interviewed.

For example, here is my about page for my blog.

And here is my info directed at event hosts and those who hire speakers.

Do you see how they focus on the audience needs?

Also, did you see that the bios I shared have separate calls to action? After all, this is a selling tool, so you need to work it!

The bottom line is to remember: it's not about you, it's about the audience.

Yes, some of the information will overlap. But if you have focused on the AUDIENCE's needs, you are more likely to get the response you want.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

One of my goals for this week was to polish up my “About page” on this site. Mission accomplished – although I know it could use another bit of elbow grease to be even better. Hence the reason for asking this week's question.

Here's what I've come up with as of today..

The intro with my main goal for anyone coming to my sites, buying my products, or hiring me as their coach.

I then lead into my Official Bio to show off my mad skillz. 

Then I go directly into the “here's me in real life” pics, like this one:

And on to… 

Where I’ll Be Speaking Next:

• NAMS- Atlanta

Events I’m Hosting:

• Beachpreneurs Live – Daytona Beach
• Beachpreneurs Retreat– Pensacola Beach

Then some of my favorite testimonials that I've gathered over the years – 

A way to connect with me on Social Media – 

Connect with me here:

And I finished with the most important part…

All of the above is important to me, but this is my “Why”:

I'm thinking I'll switch things around a bit, but I'm already much happier with it than I was before.

What about you? Care to show off your “About” page or share someone's that you enjoyed reading? I'm all ears.

Talk soon.

Warmly,

Nicole Dean

PS. If you're interested in this topic, I wanted to tell you about a PLR package that we have at CoachGlue.com about “About Pages”.

It's called “From Lackluster to Blockbuster: Revamp Your ‘About' Page for Increased Credibility and Promotion” and it comes with the following:

* Report: From Lackluster to Blockbuster: Revamp Your “About” Page for Increased Credibility and Promotion (15-pages, 2983 words)
* 10 Checklists to help you revamp your “About” page

Note: This IS PLR. We just call it “Done for you Content” over there.

And, the price can not be beat. Whether you plan on reading this and applying it or creating a coaching workshop around it, it's a steal.

Check it out here:  http://coachglue.com/coaching-content/revamp-your-about-page/

The checklists that you'll get include:

* Your Blockbuster About Page Call to Action
* Your Blockbuster About Page Checklist
* Your Blockbuster About Page Inspiration
* Your Blockbuster About Page Killer Headline Brainstorm
* Your Blockbuster About Page Links and Resources
* Your Blockbuster About Page Opt-In Offer
* Your Blockbuster About Page Social Media List
* Anatomy of an About Page Testimonial
* About Page Video Script
* Your Blockbuster About Page Vision

Here's that link again: http://coachglue.com/coaching-content/revamp-your-about-page/

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“Working at home with kids (summer time). If you have kids at home – how do you manage your home during the summer to actually get work done?”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lynn Terry of Get Social Marketing Results in Just Minutes a Day says:

My youngest child just graduated high school. I've been working from home for more than 17 years though, and started my first business when my two children were just 5 months and 5 years old.

My daughter (the youngest) was on my hip or in my lap through much of that first year. When it comes to babies, you'll do best to work with their schedule. Work or rest when they're sleeping (your rest is important too, Mom!) and learn how to type one-handed.

With older children, I found two things worked really well for me. The first is the “if/then statement” such as “If you clean your room(s), then we'll go to the pool.” It's very simple but very effective. This only works if you always stand by it, meaning you only do your “then” after they do their “if” – and you always move to the “then” after they've completed what you asked. It can't be something abstract like “if you're good” but rather something tangible and measurable. Works like a charm!

When my children were younger, I woke up earlier than them by a couple of hours to knock out my priority tasks for the day. That gave me a lot more free time with them to get out and do things during the day. I often made up for those hours with an afternoon nap, while they also had some downtime reading or watching a movie.

Of course there are times you need to work, and that's where the second tip comes in: I used an egg timer. While there are many programs and apps that do this now, nothing beats an old fashioned egg timer sitting right on your desk in plain sight. I believe my children were 5 and 10 years old when I first started using this method of “time management” and it worked beautifully!

When the kids would walk up to my desk to ask me a question (like “Where's the red ball?” or “Can we go to the park?” or – the questions are endless as you know, lol) I would simply say, “I have 23 minutes left on this work I'm doing, and then ___ (“we can discuss it” or “I'll help you find it” or whatever the case). After just a few days of this, they started waiting to ask questions until they heard the timer ding.

The key is to always be available after that “ding”. This accomplished two great things for me. It taught me to work in “time blocks” which forced me to focus on getting tasks done in a set amount of time, which I found much more efficient than “winging it.” And it also took all of the “heat” off of me – and put it on the egg timer. The children never asked “when this” and I never had to say “in a minute” (which is *never* just… a minute!) again. They simply looked at the timer, and waited for it to go off. It totally got me off the hook and made our lives SO much easier!

Working at home with young children is a challenge, but being a full time parent and having a successful career – under the same roof – is such a great thing! It's definitely worth it. Above all, clear communication is the best thing you can practice in your home. The if/then statement and the egg timer both worked well because they were clear and easy to understand. They also both really helped me to strike a good balance between being a good parent and running a business.

Tiffany Dow of  Work Life Balance says:

I have two kids at home this summer – a 9 and 14 year old. I also love to spend my summer working less, but oddly enough, I get more done. Might have something to do with not having 2 hour carpool treks anymore.

I try to relax about my schedule more during the summer. Some days, I work hard so we can play hard on other days. Some days are a mix. If I know we want to go swimming the next day, I will wake up early and get a bunch of work done by mid-morning (from 6-10 AM for example).

Then we’ll go swim, and come home around 3-4 o’clock. I might do a little more work that evening if necessary – or just relax. It’s important to have things for your kids to entertain themselves with.

My kids love arts and crafts and video gaming (my oldest runs a gaming blog). My youngest writes stories and uses stencils to create fashion stories.

If I invest in anything, it’s outings for the family (we recently went to an animal wildlife center and a wax museum) – or, toys for them to play with.

In the evenings, since we don’t have to wake up super early, I try to have family time every night – a movie, grilling out, and some chocolate fondue.

Summer is my favorite time – especially with my babies! We need to practice lots of self care and relaxation during these moments.

Alice Seba of The 30 Day List Challenge says:

I actually love summer because it's much more relaxed. I don't have to get up early to rush people off to school. There are no lunches to prepare ahead of time or homework to worry about. Still, keeping business running through summer does take some planning.

Here's what I do to get ready:

• Ramp up my outsourcing. I give more hours and responsibilities to my VAs, which not only helps free up my time, but usually increases my profitability at the same time.
• Work in batches. When I’m getting ready to go on vacation, I will write all my emails at once and schedule them. Then I’ll do blog posts. I find working through blog posts and checking off the items off a to-do list very motivating and I can get through everything quite quickly.
• Plan my distractions. I know I'm not going to work all week long, so I plan trips to the beach, for a hike or whatever I want to do ahead of time. Then I know how to plan the rest of my week accordingly.
• Bring my laptop. I know some people won’t do this and it requires some discipline, but it works if you can manage it, bring your laptop on vacation. I find bringing my laptop to catch up on about 15-30 minutes of well-defined tasks daily means that I can get away more often and I’m not running myself ragged trying to get everything done beforehand.

All in all, it's a balancing act of work, chaos and fun. Having a plan and help on hand means I can get through it with a smile on my face…at least most of the time.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

My kids are 12 and 17 but this is the system that we’ve been using since they were each toddlers. Why? Because it’s the closest thing to sanity that I can arrange here.

We have a daily checklist that the kids must complete before the TV goes on, the computer goes on, or any game systems get turned on. They also must complete their daily list before friends are allowed in the house.

I found that, if I left the time limit open, that the lists wouldn’t get done. However, if they know they can work through their tasks faster and be free of my tyranny – they work through it better.

Here’s their list that I posted three years ago. It’s pretty much the same today.You can click on it to view it in pdf format.

The other benefits are this…

1. The kids know what the expectations are in advance. They are better equipped to succeed.

2. My husband and I are on the same page, because the rules are in black and white.

3. I’m not chasing the kids around all day saying “Did you brush your teeth?” or “Have you cleaned up the backyard?” I look at their chart and it’s right there in front of me.

4. It teaches the kids that habits are important. And, that a family works on routine. All good stuff.

I print it out weekly and they just check off the days as they go through them. If everything gets done during the week, they earn bonuses.

For instance, my son has a Gamefly account. He keeps it as long as the backyard is cleaned up daily. If there is an issue, he gets downgraded from 2 games/month to 1 and then to zero. It really never becomes an issue. He’s really very self-motivated when he knows the rules. My daughter on the other hand… is a bit more of a battle.

My kids also take some classes through Florida Virtual School to which keeps them busy.  I challenged my son to work through Codecademy.com this summer (and he will receive a bonus if he does it on his own.)

Plus, they both have the opportunity to do some work for me in our business, but I’m not utilizing them enough yet.

Also during summer, I try to limit work to 1-2 hours per day – Monday-Friday. Some days, I work 10 minutes – just to quick check email for emergencies. Others are closer to 3 hours Am I letting some things drop? Yes. But, I’m finding that the important things, like getting a pedicure with my daughter – are getting done. And, it really helps me to sit down and FOCUS on projects and tasks that make me money.

Please share your tips. I’d love to hear them.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS.  I’m working on a book about working from home. So stay tuned for that soon. 

Remember, if you want lots of posts like this, check out my friends:

Lynn Terry – Get Social Marketing Results in Just Minutes a Day
Tiffany Dow – Work Life Balance
Alice Seba – The 30 Day List Challenge

The next question is submitted by Kelly McCausey:

“I got busted by a subscriber for offering a discount because she thinks it is training my peeps to wait for them.

So, how do you create a ‘special offer' without lowering the value of the offer??”

I think you'll find the responses interesting.

Lynette Chandler of Tech Based Marketing says:

This question is so timely because one of my goals this year is to not give discounts but to pile on the value instead. Some I've thought up for our WordPress Plugins that you can Resell (plugins with PLR rights) are:

1. Provide an unreleased (or never sold) plugin for purchasing a plugin during the promotional period
2. Get a bonus reseller tools add-on package when you buy during the promotion
3. Get X amount or percentage of store credits when you buy 2 plugins

Of course, I'm always looking for more ideas and can't wait to read this post to add to my list.

Kevin Riley of Blogpreneur Training says:

I occasionally have sales on my products, but only on occasion and for a limited time. For example: Every year, I have my Jack O'Lantern Package at Hallowe'en. For that, I bundled a few products that complement each other (put them inside a Jack O'Lantern) and put the whole package on sale at a super-discounted price. However, it's only on sale for a few days (this year, I believe it was only 2-3 days), and if they miss they would have to wait another year. I don't think that many are going to wait a full year for something they need now.

I also give some purpose to my sales.

For example: Right now, I'm running the Cabin Fever sale. Since I saw so many of my Canadian and American (esp. northern states) friends complaining about the snow, cold, etc. on Facebook, I decided to do something with that. Since people are stuck indoors during the winter freeze. I thought, “Why not use that time to build an online business,” and created a massive 90%+ discount package for the Biz-Builder Challenge. I regularly sell this package for $197, but I decided to sell it for only $1 per lesson (or $36). And, as soon as the snow goes, so does the sale. Now, anyone missing this sale is not going to be waiting for another sale on this product, because it most likely will never happen.

So, does a sale devalue a product? Does seeing your favourite doughnut shop have a one-week “Buy a dozen doughnuts at 1970s prices” (or other such sale) make you not want to buy their doughnuts at full price ever again? Does getting a half-price movie ticket during “Oscars Special” lower the value of the movie or make you not want to pay full ticket price next time?

Tiffany Dow of Squidoo Quick Commissions Guide says:

I’ve had the same thing happen to me. I periodically host $1 PLR sales (per pack, not per page), and I had 1-2 affiliates get annoyed by them but what it all boils down to is only *I* know what helps and hurts my business (and affiliates), so I stand by the sales as I want to run them.

I think it would matter whether or not your normal offers are overpriced. Because (in my case) the PLR is sold at such a good rate normally, people don’t have to “wait for a special” – they buy year-round and when it’s on sale. If I had priced my products too high, then yes, maybe people would be trained to wait.

Most of my affiliates appreciate being able to offer their customers a great deal – and those are the kinds of people I’m doing it for – people who are thinking about how they can serve their audience (by finding them a deal), not the ones solely in it for money and nothing else).

I know as an affiliate myself, I always appreciate it when I can let my list know about a discount and help them save money.

David Perdew of NAMS says:

She may be right. Sales do train people to wait for discounts. But that's not the point.

They also motivate people to go to the store…and BUY lots of stuff NOT on sale. That's why every store always has a sale of some sort going on.

If they have a sale on jeans, they want you to buy full price shirts. If they have a store-wide sale, they want cash to meet a quarterly report or some other reason.

That's the point of a sale, right… So, when you see something from me on sale, you'll also see other stuff not on sale and we sell a lot of that too.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

So  many thoughts. And, my friends are so smart.

I run special offers frequently, but I'm always mindful of a few things.

1. Will this undervalue what my loyal customers (especially members) have already paid?

2. Will this undervalue fast action takers and make them second-guess their purchases with me? Or will it solidify that they want to jump on offers that I mail?

What I tend to do is to release products at a “Fast Action” price to get my most loyal people to buy quickly (and they do). Then, I raise the price once, twice or more, depending on what I've added to it. And, anything I add, I give my original customers whether they were smart and paid $10 – or whether they waited and paid $97.  I think that's fair and it reinforces that taking action quickly is rewarded – at least by me.

Here's an example from CoachGlue.com

If I do a sale, like Kevin demonstrated, later, I try to make it a bundle that brings in at least one or two new things. For instance, at CoachGlue.com we do bundles frequently.

BUT – in those bundles, we'll include some tools, maybe a plugin, a bunch of content, and then something else that may have been released by us elsewhere – and we price it at a really great deal.

What this does is to get people who've already purchased several of the items in the package to buy a second time because the other items included are such a great deal. It's a win-win. And that's what matters.

We'll also do a re-release of a product that we've already sold and add a special plugin (usually one of Lynette's that we get with resale rights) so that people who didn't buy before are encouraged to get it the second go round.

This keeps our customers happy, our affiliates thrilled, us well-fed, and everyone feeling like they got a great deal.

Where can you get products to ADD value to your existing programs?

1. CoachGlue.com Templates – these were designed to help you to add checklists and all kinds of fun stuff to beef up your uniquely you programs. You'll even get PowerPoint slides in most packages so that you can quickly and easily create webinars to add more value to your products.

2. If you want to add cool affirmations and personal development stuff to your programs, check this out. Personal Development Content

3. Lynette's plugins – get these with resale rights and add them to your programs. I did this at BlogCPR.com and people love them.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

If you've missed past Expert Briefs, you can click on the undies to see them all –>

I just found a new coach that I'm working with and am super happy about that. (You can find out who it is at the end of this post.)

That led to this week's question.

Do you currently have a business coach or mentor?
If so, are you brave enough to share who it is and why you chose that person? 

This week the experts will name names, point fingers, and give shouts of kudos where appropriate.

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Plan Your Online Business says:

My business coach is Armand Morin. I'm a part of Armand's Platinum group, which meets monthly on the phone, daily via email, and 3 times per year at Armand's home. I've enjoyed Armand's business advice since 2005, so it must be working!

I chose Armand because I liked the way he does business. I always learn something new from him. He truly loves what he does and is always learning and sharing the latest and greatest information. He also has the ability to diagnose problems quickly and offer a solution. Armand attracts people just like him – no pretense, no hype, 100% above-board business owners – many of whom are not “internet marketers.” Armand himself operates several businesses outside the IM space, so he has broad experience that pays off for us.

Most importantly he genuinely cares about my success. He is a patient teacher and even better mentor. I highly recommend him as a business coach!

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

I work with several coaches for various reasons. My business and internet marketing coach is Bob The Teacher who helps keep me focused on my money-making activities while helping me make decisions about my business direction. In my business I interact with A LOT of coaches and I chose Bob because he's everything I'm not in many ways: he “gets” technology like no one I've ever met, he's uber-organized, and is amazing at connecting with people (ok, well I do that, too, but Bob is fabulous at it!). Not a week goes by where I don't learn some new tip or trick that is useful! I met Bob when he was a speaker at an event in 2008 and we've been friends and business associates ever since.

I also have a wealth coach, Kamin Samuel, who has helped me stay focused and grounded in my business. Working with her has helped me open up areas of wealth and income I would never have experienced without her coaching and guidance. We started out in a program together in 2006 and all these years later still work together regularly.

Finally, I have an ADD coach, Tina File, who, having ADD herself is adept at helping me prioritize and gives me useful strategies for getting everything I need to get done without feeling too overwhelmed. Tina was a client who wanted to learn more about speaking for her business and when I heard about how she helps so many entrepreneurs with quieting the noise inside their heads long enough to be productive, I knew she could help me.

The point is, there are different coaches for different skill sets. One of these days I'm going to hire YOU, Nicole, to help me get my passive income and affiliate programs running as they should because YOU are the hands-down clear expert on that. I find the best and work with them. It's always served me well!

Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course says:

Why, yes! I do have a business coach, Nicole. And it's YOU!

I have some very specific goals I'm working to accomplish and you have proven systems in place where these goals are concerned. I knew you'd be able to get me through to where I wanted to be and give me the know-how and resources to be able to continue down the path long-term.

Plus, you're just a fun person! I knew I'd enjoy my time with you and have a few laughs along the way. Nothing better than making money and having fun doing it!

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

The idea of coaching has never appealed to me; instead, I have chosen to work with several mentors since coming online in 2006. I think of a coach as someone who cheers you on to do your best and challenges you to do more, while a mentor guides you toward success by sharing what's working for them and then showing you exactly how you can do something very similar for your own business. During my first two years online I worked with two different mentors, and each of them helped me to move forward. One mentor I still work with to this day is Armand Morin, someone who continues to help my business grow by leaps and bounds. I'm in his Platinum program, which is limited to twenty-five entrepreneurs from around the world. I've been with this group since 2008.

Several years ago I was asked to join a Mastermind of my peers and I enthusiastically agreed. We meet in person several times a year and via Skype or webinar at other times. Unlike the mentor relationship, Masterminds are by invitation only and include the opportunity to joint venture and recommend each others best products, programs, and courses. This group has helped me to grow on both a personal and a professional level and to achieve goals I never thought possible.

I would encourage you to seek out like-minded people to put together your own Mastermind, and to choose one person you admire and respect to be your mentor. Having multiple mentors does not seem to work for anyone, and my own mentees experience the best results when they work exclusively with me for one or two years. Knowing that someone cares about your success as much as they do their own can help you to move up by leaps and bounds and will help ensure that you reach and surpass your wildest dreams and goals. Going it alone does not work, so get involved with the right people and be willing to do the work to achieve great results in record time.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I have had some short term coaching in the last year, but I don't have a full time coach right now. I do have smart friends who I welcome input from on a regular basis though.

What I'd really like is to be part of a Mastermind. I want to spend more time with people making more money than me. I want to soak up their attitude and submit my brain for regular stretching sessions. I respond well to firm accountability (I can't bear reporting a missed deadline!) and enjoy the mix of a mastermind environment.

If I can't find a mastermind that fits me soon, I'm going to circle back to the coaching question. I know I can't get from where I am to where I want to go without some steady outside influence.

Tiffany Dow of  Work Life Balance says:

I have an online business coach who started out as just someone who saw potential in me and reached out to help me go from ghostwriter to marketer.

His name is Craig Desorcy . He currently works with both individual entrepreneurs as well as coaches or niche leaders – but the thing I love most about him is how he teaches people to “come to the table, ready to serve.”

As most of us know, greed gets you only so far. You build a solid reputation and a loyal fanbase that converts well through your efforts in helping others, and he excels at helping you tap into that.

What started out as a simple friendship discussing Internet Marketing has evolved into official coaching calls with my mentor. During these sessions, it almost always turns out to be something personal holding me back from professional success, and he takes me to that place that reveals what it is and shows me a simple way to address it.

One thing I find myself doing during times of extreme stress is becoming paralyzed or scrambling to get things done. Craig is the voice of calm and reasoning that shows me that if I breathe through it and think things through with a calm, clear mind, it all works out effortlessly.

I also love that he doesn’t have a cookie cutter approach to his coaching. He might ask some of the same questions to get insight, but he recognizes each individual as a separate entity and doesn’t try shoving his personal ideal business strategy on anyone – he tailors what you need to you because we’re all unique in our set of skills and talents, available time, and obstacles that we’re overcoming. 

Shannon Cherry of Learn How I Get *Paid* to Attend Events says:

Currently I don't have a business coach, but want one. It's difficult for me to find the right person, as I am an out of the box, fast thinker which can annoy some, and can challenge someone who is coaching me. (Rebellious anyone?) So finding a person who gets my values and can go with me toe-to-toe has been a very long, very hard process.

That said, I am quite lucky as I have several very smart friends who help me on occasion, whether I need help or just an ear to listen to me whine.

And if anyone is up for the job, here's my help wanted ad.

Help Wanted: Smart Coach or Mentor to Help Successful Marketer to Expand Her Reach and Increase Her Profits

Established entrepreneur with a rapidly growing client base is currently seeking a dynamic, driven, and experienced individual to be their coach or mentor. This position will have the primary responsibility for providing ongoing support and ideas to the entrepreneur to grow the business.

Specific responsibilities for this position will include: help with the development of new business opportunities through analysis and interaction with the entrepreneur, coordinate and conduct regular mentoring activities which may include live meetings, phone calls and email support. The position will also assist with providing guidance to promote revenue growth. This position is highly visible and requires working in an effective and professional manner.

The ideal candidate will have a combination of real world and coaching/mentoring experience. In addition, he or she needs to:

• Provide a reasonable contract with an ‘out’ clause for both parties. (I refuse to be sucked into a contract for a ‘lifetime’ or even a year, unless specific guarantees are in place.)
• Listen to entrepreneur when the advice given isn’t working, without blame.
• Be unique and not use a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to coaching/mentoring. (I see through that quickly.)
• Understand how to work with a strong personality who sees through BS pretty quickly.
• Uses and comprehends fundamental marketing principles… not too much of the Law of Attraction and woo-woo techniques unless you like my eyes to roll.
• Recommend only additional products/program that you see as a benefit to the entrepreneur (as opposed to something you get a kick-back on or have a back-end agreement to do.)

Divas, kings, queens, gods, goddesses, emperors, mavens, and other self-important titles that have nothing to do with your abilities need NOT apply, unless you have been officially coronated or ordained in some way. (Please provide appropriate documentation, if needed.)

Compensation is commensurate with experience and proven TYPICAL results. (Not your best results… results, on average, for all your clients.)

Melissa Ingold of Time Freedom Business says:

My personal and business coach for this year is Jennifer Longmore, and I’ll share more about why I chose her in a moment, but first…

I say “this year” because as I grow both personally and professionally, my needs change.

Choosing the right coach shouldn’t be taken lightly. I don’t go out looking for a coach to be my personal cheerleader, I have friends like Nicole for that and mastermind groups. I choose a coach who is going to help me get to where I want to be next.

And I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong with coaching. They hire a coach who isn’t in a place to get them to the next level, or they think a coach is going to be all “rah, rah” and so they don’t hire one.

If you’re not hiring a coach for the right reasons, you’ll end up disappointed.

If you’re not hiring a coach because you don’t think it’s for you, you’re missing out.

The right coach brings more to the table than just helping you one-to-one in your business, they can bring:

• Connections – They can personally connect you with the movers and shakers in your industry, and get you in front of people you’d never get in front of on your own. Whether it’s to get you an interview, some kind of promo, a speaking engagement, or for a JV.
• Resources – They’ll share their personal recommendations for people and tools that they wouldn’t share with their list or blog readers publicly. You know, the kind of stuff they normally hold close to their chest, but as their high-level coaching client, they’re more than willing to share them with you.
• Money – They’ll become invested in your business, and they’ll really get to see what you’re doing and the value you’re bringing to the market. And so, more often than not, they’ll promote your products and programs to their huge lists, exposing you to a whole new group of people that can result in a lot of money for you.
• Smarts – They’ll, more often than not, have their own business coach, and so there’s a trickledown effect that happens because of that. They learn from their super-duper successful coach, they try and test new things, and then that knowledge ends up trickling back down to you. They’ll tell you about all the things they’re doing in their business, what’s getting results, what’s going on behind the scenes, and more. You’ll get an inside look at how they’re running their own business, and why they’re doing what they do. Plus, they always have so many crazy good ideas for you, so you’re going to make a lot of money.

You see, you don’t get all those things in a mastermind group. When people are in a group setting, they’re not as open and trusting as they would be with a private coach. And the mentor running the group, isn’t likely going to lay all their cards down on the table because some stuff will only be shared with their private high-level coaching clients.

Think about it. If you were running a group of 25 people, would you send an email to your list promoting every single one of them? Would you send them all to your best writer or VA? Would you connect them all to the go-to people you worked really, really hard to build a relationship with? Would you really share all of your hard-earned top secret tricks and strategies?

Maybe with one or two of them, but I guarantee you won’t open yourself up to all of them. It’s just human nature.

Now I’m not saying there isn’t value in mastermind groups, there totally is. But a group like that by itself, won’t get you to the next level as quickly as a well-chosen coach can.

At the end of 2010, I hired Carrie Wilkerson as my coach for 2011. She was more successful than me, she had a ton of connections, and I really wanted to see what she was doing and why.

I invested $20,000 in her yearlong program, and what do you know, I added another $100k to my income that year. It ended up being my best year up to that point, for all the reasons I mentioned above.

I don’t pick coaches to cheer me on. I pick coaches who have what it takes to make me money and grow my business.

In 2012 I didn’t work with a coach, because I took almost the whole year off.

Then in April of last year, I purchased some info products from Jennifer Longmore, which then led to private one-to-one sessions with her for the remainder of the year. At the end of 2013, I made the leap into her yearlong coaching program, so I’ll be working with her all of this year.

I chose to work with Jennifer this year because I’ve been working on a lot of inner personal / business stuff that was stalling me out. I say “was”, because since working with her, my business has taken a quantum leap in growth and income. But I still have a lot more internal work to do.

But what I’ve found, is that as you get ready to up-level your business, fear and other niggly’s will come up, and if you don’t work through those and clear them, you’ll stay stuck below the glass ceiling instead of busting through.

I really can’t explain how Jennifer does what she does. I just know that she’s freaking brilliant, and she’s changed my life in so many incredible ways.

I don’t know what the next year will bring. Maybe I’ll want to keep working with her, or I may be on the lookout for someone else. Again, I choose a coach based on what my goals are and where I want to be in the next year.

So my last piece of advice? Figure out what your needs are, and where you want to be personally and professionally, and then find someone who can bring a crap load of benefits to the table for you.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

As I mentioned, I just started with a new coach and I'm happy! happy! happy!

Note that I said “new coach” as I feel that the coaching/client relationship is a fluid and evolving thing. In my opinion, to stick with the same business coach or mentor forever will limit you.

The problem that I'd been having was finding a coach for ME.  Once you get to a certain level of income/success in your business, it can be very difficult to find a coach who you trust and who is someone that you can be honest and direct with – as well as who has knowledge in areas where you want to get stronger.

Could I have found a coach to help me become a better speaker? In a heartbeat. I've definitely got room for improvement at that.

Could I have found a coach to help me write and publish my book? Absolutely. In fact I have one.

But, someone to teach me to be a better marketer? Well, I'm kinda awesome at that – so it's a little more difficult.

One normal alternative, and what I'd been doing was to create private masterminds with peers which worked well.

But, I really wanted something different. And, I've tried to coach friends and be coached by friends — it just doesn't work as well as I'd like. I wanted to work with someone who I admired – but who wasn't a girlfriend (and someone who I was paying so they had to be honest instead of just being nice).

So, I'd been on the hunt for a coach for me. And, I knew several other friends who were looking as well.

My criteria at this point in time for a coach included:

1. My coach must have built at least two successful profitable businesses, and also have a great relationship with his/her list.

2. My coach could not be working 80 hours a week. I've built my business so that I can work when I want to but I have plenty of recurring income streams and systems in place so I make money ongoing. Having a coach who was flying all over the country and working 8-18 hours a day wasn't going to be a good fit.

3. Similarly, I wanted someone who doesn't work off a jam packed calendar. I like to have my schedule mostly free except for a few coaching calls and any interviews that I'm doing. Otherwise, I feel trapped by my business.

4. Someone uber-productive.

5. A businessperson with low overhead. I didn't want someone who had a staff of 15 employees and an office building. I wanted someone running a tight, lean, profitable business.

6. A person who rocks at positioning. I felt stuck in a decision about rebranding and how to move forward with it.  So, I wanted someone who was very clear in his/her positioning and in putting themselves out clearly in the marketplace.

7. A great public speaker/presenter. I am getting more and more speaking opportunities and I know that I can improve in this area.

8. A person who I trusted to not blab to others and who I felt comfortable being honest and open with. (Someone safe and kind.)

9. Someone who was familiar with and who would understand my business model, with EasyPLR.com, CoachGlue.com, Beachpreneurs.com as well as my other areas of business.

10. He or she must offer email coaching. Again, I'm not a fan of scheduling calls and I prefer flexibility. Plus, I wanted private coaching, not group. Sometimes more opinions are not necessarily better.

11. Funny helps. I wouldn't mind having some laughs, too.

12. My coach must also have MASSIVE amounts of integrity in business and in personal life. This is not optional.

13. He or she must also be making the world a better place with the platform that they have built. (Using the opportunity of having an audience to get the word out about ways to impact the world.)

Not too hard, right? Well, when I was stuck in Icelanta during the storm, Kelly and I brainstormed and one person JUMPED out at me as the right person. And, I was so sure that I was making the right decision that I jumped on the lifetime coaching option. It was the best and easiest money that I've spent in a long time. (Watch for new greatness to happen soon.)

Click here to find out who I picked!

I do hope you found this post to be interesting and informative.  

Please share your tips for finding an working with a coach below. Also, feel free to give a shout out if you have a coach that you are working with that you love.

Big hugs to you!
Nicole Dean

Before we get too late in the month, let's find out how my friends juggle it all. I asked them this.

“The holidays are such a busy time of year, so it got me thinking about balance.

Between shopping, decorating, business… family – how did you handle it all? Got tips for my readers?”

I think you'll find the answers this week interesting and helpful.

Jason Fladlien of Wishy Washy Guru (<-You know you gotta click that one) says:

For this busy time of the year… I actually get more done believe it or not. Because everyone else takes a break, they are not lined up to speak to me or need my time as much… plus with the family off of work they have more free time

I like to focus more on internal stuff and preparing for next year instead of going external marketing. But December is a great time to launch products because most people don't do it…

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Plan Your Online Business says:

Balance between business and personal lives is a challenge at any time of the year – but particularly during the holiday season. I've found that I prefer shopping late in the evening, after I've finished “work” for the day and had dinner with my husband. The stores are less crowded at that time of day and that's a high energy time for me. Other people are in bed at midnight as I'm closing down the stores!

I'm also doing most of my first round shopping online. As a family we “post” our Christmas lists on Thanksgiving day, so it makes it easy to pick out things you know people will like. Since we encourage everyone to be specific in what they want, they sometimes even include the store and catalog number! So right now my living room is piled with boxes of gifts to be wrapped (my husband's job – did I mention delegation?)

For my business, I preschedule blog posts and tweets. Plus my assistant tweets reminders on things several times per week. I also preschedule email broadcasts (to coincide with the blog posts and other announcements). I try to work a couple hours a day, generally in the morning, so I have the rest of the day “off” for personal fun. After all, we're working this business to have more personal freedom. NOW is the time that pays off!

Starting around the 20th of December, my assistant will only check the help desk once a day and go through email once a day. On Christmas we don't turn on a computer (except for video games with the grandkids!). Then the “quiet week” between Christmas and New Years I'll crank back up full-time. It's a GREAT time of year to get things done!

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts says:

I don't believe in balance in the sense that many people talk about it. Sure, you can forecast a perfect balanced schedule, but life doesn't usually fit into your expectations. Rather I believe in having well considered priorities and making choices based on them.

For this empty nest season of my life, I get to be my main concern quite a lot and I'm taking advantage of it. I focus a lot of time on my self care, going to the gym, eating right, etc.

My family is always a priority. I have a whole day every week set aside to be available to them. My calendar booking tool won't let you set up an appointment on that day. I have breakfast or lunch with my step-dad and I'm free to visit other older relatives.

These loved ones are precious and I've no guarantee that they'll be there for me to visit next year or the year after that – so they've got to be a priority now.

As far as the holidays go, I've played it very low key up to now. Not a lot of shopping, definitely not spending a lot of money. My gift to others this year is my time and undivided attention – and home made goodies of course. Future holiday seasons may not be so laid back so I'll take advantage of this one for sure!

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

Fortunately, I live in Osaka, Japan, where we aren't affected by the whole Christmas madness. However, the commercial aspect of Christmas has been making inroads over here in the last few years.

Rieko and I only buy one present each for each other – just something small that we know the other person will enjoy. In this way, there's no pressure to get some big gift, just for the sake of giving a big gift. I'm very happy to be away from that whole gift exchanging thing, and just buying each other a little treat. It really frees up Christmas for just enjoying the season. BTW, this year, I bought Rieko a DVD of a season of Friends, which she loves (Shhh. Don't tell her.)

As for decorating, we only put up a tiny tree and a handful of decorations. When I say tiny, I mean tiny– about 18 inches tall. Next week, we'll make a gingerbread house, which rounds out our decorations and also gives us something to nibble on.

Tips for you? Keep it simple. Focus on just having an enjoyable time with your family. Take stress out of the equation and you can have so much more fun this Christmas. Rather than big presents, give your family your time.

Tiffany Lambert of  Work Life Balance says:

Balance is a tough one for me, but I handle everything so I must be doing something right!

For me, what works best is an all day work schedule. Some people prefer to have a set business time, but I feel less stressed if I have the luxury of starting and stopping work in between other tasks that need to get done.

Some days nothing much gets done. The Thursday before Christmas, I spent the first part of the day at my younger kids’ school participating in school events – and then brought them home for my oldest son to watch while I went and did more shopping for six hours.

How did I manage work that day?

My iPhone. I approved and responded to blog posts while standing in those long, grueling lines at the mall. I answered emails when I got back in my car between stores. If I don’t stay on top of things, then it gets out of control and becomes overwhelming to me.

Doing a blog reply here and an email reply there is easily doable.

Regardless, the key is not to beat yourself up if something doesn’t get done – whether that’s part of your home life or business world.

Guilt is debilitating, and you have to enjoy the fact that flexibility is what this career is all about. No one tells you what to do or WHEN to do it. If you need to push work aside until 8 PM because you’d like to enjoy decorating the Christmas tree, then do it! Those are precious family moments and no amount of work or productivity can replace that.

I will say that balance is much more achievable when you have residual income streams that work for you when you need time off for other things. If you're always working as a service provider, then every second you spend not working is a boulder of stress on your shoulders.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

This is the most wonderful time of the year… and the most stressful, too.

In addition to all of the craziness that I already have, my daughter is in the annual production of Christmas on the Coast, here in town. So, I'm in the dressing room under the stage by the pit – and my hubby is doing props for an entire week. But, she loves it – so it's worth it.

By the way, if you're in Pensacola, come see the show.

So here are some things that I do to try to keep myself mostly sane this week.

1. Cut me some slack, Jack.

I try really hard to cut myself  a break during the holiday season, and just flat out do what I can and not stress too much over what is left undone.

2. Take Advantage of Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime is truly one of the best inventions on earth. I can order pretty much anything and get it shipped anywhere in the USA in 2 days for free. This means that even if I don't start my holiday shopping until mid month, I'll be fine.

3. Presell a New and Exciting Course.

I'll be teaching a Passive Income Course in January with my friend Melissa Ingold. So, we started preselling it this month.

That gives four big benefits:

• I get to finish the year strong,
• My affiliates have a way to easily earn some quick money promoting something NEW that people will love,
• My students get the tax break of paying by the end of the year (and also a discount for buying during the launch), and
• We all get to start the next year with a fun and exciting project to look forward to.

4. Embrace Routine, but Call it Tradition.

I've read that some of the most successful people on earth have a very limited closet of clothes. Like they buy the same darned thing so they don't have to waste valuable brain power on such menial tasks as deciding which socks to wear.

I've realized that I do much better if I do the same.

For instance, this Christmas, I won't be searching Pinterest for a  new and fun way to make mashed potatoes. I'll use the same recipe that I've used every year for the last 10 years.

Now that's not to say I don't LOVE Pinterest and enjoy trying new things, but with everything else going on, now is not the time for me to be messing around with new stuff. You follow?

So, I'll be making my SAME spinach dip that I make every year, my same mashed potatoes, my same green bean casserole, and the same old can of wiggly cranberries out of the can.

Now, my husband and kiddos are totally free to come up with whatever dishes and desserts they want to eat.  But, as for me, the one who is responsible for all the holiday shopping, plus the business, plus the kids school and staying on top of everything? I have to just let myself have the “tradition” of knowing exactly what I have in front of me for Christmas dinner.

5. As for Business – Follow the Money.

I encourage my coaching clients to do this and I'll encourage you, too. KNOW where your money is coming from and focus on that, especially in times of added stress.

• If you make your money from publishing a new Kindle book – then do that.
• If you mail your lists daily and that's where the majority of your income comes from, then by golly, don't be messing with a webinar this month.
• However, if you know you can run one webinar with a trusted partner, make enough for the whole month and then be done with work – then do that.

Of course, the above also applies to where you're investing your outsourcing dollars. Put them where you'll get the highest ROI.

6. Planners Profit.

PLAN out the rest of the month now, if you haven't already. In writing. You know, with a paper and pen and a calendar of some sort – so you know what you've got to do and how much time you need to accomplish it.

7. Your VA has a Life.

Understand that your helpers have a life, too. Make sure you're setting them up so they have a happy holidays, too. Do this by planning ahead, posting your hours on your customer support site, and being extra careful of the timing of new promotions and coupons – so there isn't a glitch on the 24th of December that puts everyone in a panic.

8. Take Care of You!

The extra holiday stress can bring your immune system down. Take care of yourself so you're not spending Christmas morning with a thermometer in your mouth instead of a piece of pie.

9. Remember the Routine? Recycle, too.

I post the SAME blog posts this time every year with minor edits.

For instance, you'll see these posted here nearly ever year since 2008:

• Blogging Calendar
• Save on Taxes

Streamline and make your life easier – by hitting that ‘copy post' button on your blog and reworking your eagerly anticipated Annual Posts. (Remember Tradition is a good thing.) Or as my friend, Sean Platt said in a presentation that I heard him give. “Become a habit”. I hope and pray that my audience looks forward to these annual posts and anticipates them each year.

10. Don't forget to Spend.

Spend some extra money in your business by the end of the year for tax breaks, but I meant something different.

SPEND time with the ones who you love. Put down that blasted phone (unless you're taking pictures with it) – and experience the moments that you are blessed with. Work can wait and it will be there when you get home.

11. Have your Priorities Straight. 

I always tell my coaching clients this:

Remember, it's freaking ONLINE BUSINESS. We're not the ones flying the heart to the transplant. We are web publishers, social media managers, authors, coaches, and bloggers. The world CAN wait to hear back from us in 99% of the cases. But you only get one shot at Christmas 2013 – so enjoy it!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. This is a great opportunity to tell you about Tiffany's new product. Check out Work Life Balance to get a good butt-kicking about making sure you keep your priorities in line

This week I asked our panel of experts…

“This one is for those of you with older kids. What are you actively doing to encourage their entrepreneurial spirit – and increase their financial IQ?”

I think you'll like the ideas presented below.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

My step-kids are so old they have kids of their own now, and we have encouraged them to be entrepreneurial since they were little tikes.

My oldest grandson is seventeen now and has a variety of projects he is involved with. This includes some niche websites, but also businesses he has created to help offline companies where he lives. He has aspirations of being a film maker, so he makes videos and sets up YouTube channels for his clients. He does so well that he paid for one third of his new car a few months ago, making me and his parents extremely proud.

As far an increasing his knowledge of finances, he reads books and magazines on this topic, as well as taking courses geared for young entrepreneurs at the local community college. I've even learned some valuable things from the information he has shared with the family.

Dr. Mani of How to Set Goals says:

The key to entrepreneurial success, imho, is pursuing something with passion which will add value to others. The money typically follows, but the desire for profit is a good motivator to get past the hurdles and pain of starting out.

My teenager doesn't get an allowance – she gets tips, advice and guidance on projects that can help her raise the money she needs for whatever purpose is top of mind at the moment.

I still recall with amazement when she was 5, wanted a Barbie doll (Princess Anneliese, anyone?), and when promised a ‘matching contribution' to what she raised, coming up with the staggering sum of Rs.1250 – in just 5 days! (She crafted hand-made cards, and sold them at “extortionate” rates to grandparents, btw)

The philosophy of “singing for your supper” continues to this day, with very encouraging results. Baking and writing are the new card-making – and prices are more “real”

We discuss money and finance, both in the abstract and in terms of tangible impact it can have – on lifestyle, on attitude, on belief systems.

Nothing is “out of bounds” in these discussions, and by being forced to justify expenditure choices/decisions, we (parents and teen) both have gained better insight into financial/fiscal responsibility.

Another technique we started (but didn't sustain) is the 3 envelope method I learned in a guide.

You divide the monthly allowance (what's that?! we replace it with project profit) into 3 equal parts, to go into 3 envelopes… labeled ‘spend', ‘save' and ‘give'.

The first is to enjoy now. The second is to invest (an opportunity to teach investment principles here). The third is to donate to worthy causes and those in need.

In the few days we did practice it, the impact was dramatic – especially in the last category. Imagine a 7 year old buying her favorite candy bars… to distribute to street urchins near a temple. The joy and smiles on those little faces is priceless… as is the knowledge that my little one learned a very precious life lesson.

Tiffany Lambert of Squidoo Quick Commissions Guide says:

Kids are funny! I have three kids – ages 20 (Dylan), 13 (Shawn) and 8 (Scarlett). They would LOVE to have the money I make, and they get all inspired to launch something, but they only want the tip of the iceberg – not the hard work involved.

I think part of the problem is that during my hard working, struggle years, they were too young to see the elbow grease I had to put in just to earn enough to pay the bills. They see it as “automated” now.

The other day we went swimming at my Mom’s and (as a kick in the pants to my Mom), I said, “While I’ve been swimming for 2 hours, I’ve earned $343 in my PayPal.”

But that automation was from previous working hard to develop residual income streams. So what my kids will do is get all excited about Squidoo or a blog and they’ll launch it, post content for a little while, and when the money’s not there, they quit, get bored, etc.

Now Dylan did see some success a few years ago. He wanted an air soft rifle that cost $300 and I wasn’t going to do that. So he created three lenses on Halo – the video game. They ranked SO high because he was a gamer and spoke their language.

He asked me to sell them to my list and I did – he got $100 per lens, enough for that rifle. Right now, he works at a local restaurant/bakery in catering and he’s very happy with his pay raise – but what he makes in a month is what I make in maybe half a week.

He thinks it’s insane, but yet he doesn’t sit down and say, “TEACH ME!” I think kids have to do their own thing for awhile and I hope someday he’ll want to learn. Every time he complains about co-workers or a boss or a customer, which is rare for him, I do nag him about not having those problems as an entrepreneur.

Shawn has his own gaming blog. He’s diligent about developing content. He was so proud of his header – he did it himself – but it needs a professional one. It also needs some sort of monetization strategy other than the AdSense on the sidebar.

But I don’t have time to go through and link to each game. He created this site: gamingscout.com and he enlisted the help of two of his classmate friends to create content. They review games they like, etc. Shawn initially wanted to be a game tester, but I explained that he wanted to follow in John Reese’s footsteps and launch his own gaming company.

Scarlett wants a fashion website – but I haven’t launched it yet for her. She wants all sorts of fancy stuff I have no clue how to help with, like games for girls, etc. And I know she’ll be disappointed if it’s not earning the same kind of money my sites do.

All three of my kids are watching my “Debt Dragon” journey. Although I’ve been earning six figures for awhile now, we spent beyond our means – and they’re learning about that, about paying cash, etc. My oldest is already a saver and an earner – not a wasteful spender.

It takes time, and we can’t get frustrated when our kids don’t have the same entrepreneurial spirit that we have. They’re just kids. But I do hope one day they learn the ropes so that they’re never at the mercy of the job market.

Lain Ehmann of Crafting Your Business, Step-by-Step says:

I've asked my kids to pick a topic they're excited about and we've been creating content — blog posts, videos, etc. They each have a WordPress blog they toy around with, and I'm actively helping them learn the skills I wish I'd known.

Also, just exposure to entrepreneurial ideas helps a ton. We watch “Shark Tank” and talk about the investors' decisions and the pitches. We also listen to business podcasts together. Not every day, and not religiously, but enough so they are familiar with the ideas and terms.

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I started working at home when my son was eleven and I remember how impressed he was when I started to ‘make money out of nothing' at the computer. As my online success grew and I said goodbye to the day job, he was proud of me.

We're both stubborn and a bit rebellious which can make working for others difficult. I thought for sure he would follow in my footsteps and pursue self employment but that hasn't happened yet.

Every now and then I try to sow seeds of interest. I know he has what it takes to be a solopreneur like me – I just don't see the hunger yet and to be honest, that frustrates me a little. I can't ever remember a time in my life when I didn't want ‘more' from my work.

This is where I remind myself that he's young, there's plenty of time for that spark to develop. When and if it does, I'll be so happy to lend support. Until then I'll just keep building and improving my own business – making this self employed life look GOOD from the outside

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I  have a 16 year old son. He’s smart. But, he can be a slug.

Seriously. Like a video-game playing slug who doesn’t shower.

We’ve done a few things to help him to have a productive summer – while still having time for fun – and hopefully learning a few things about productivity, scheduling, intelligent financial IQ, and entrepreneurship. (Which, in my opinion are topics that are seriously lacking and under-taught in schools.)

Here are a few ideas for you to steal from me.

1. Daily Task List.

My kids, as I’ve mentioned before in my “Surviving Summer with Kids at Home” have a weekly task chart broken up by days.

It’s just an excel spreadsheet that they check off every day as they are accomplishing their tasks.

If my son takes it upon himself (takes initiative) to complete his tasks daily without being reminded – or comes up with extra tasks to do – he gets a cash bonus. However, if I have to ride and remind him to do things from his list, he gets nothing extra – just room and board.

2. Learning Basic HTML Skills.

My son is currently going through the CodeAcademy.com training. (It’s free.) It’s a great program and he’s picking it up pretty quickly.

My husband wanted to pay him hourly to do the CodeAcademy training but I flat out refused that. Instead we are going to give him a big bonus at the end, if he can demonstrate thorough knowledge of coding when he finishes.

(Translation: If he takes his time and initiative to go through the course, he will be rewarded – no matter how long it takes him. To me that's much more of an entrepreneurial attitude than an employee mindset. Don't you agree.)

3.Reading.

As part of my kids' daily tasks they must read a “mom approved” book. My 16 year old reads two hours a day and my younger daughter reads 45 minutes a day.

Mom approved books are getting much more practical over the years. We rotate fiction with a non fiction book, like “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” or a book about “Teen Entrepreneurs” or a Steven Covey book about Time Management – all good stuff that I wish I had been asked to read at a younger age.

Considering the kids have reading on their lists, they have to do it before technology comes on. Pretty sneaky, right?

4. Exercising his Most Important Muscle.Both of my kids also doing Lumosity.com – which is a brain training program. I’m doing it, too, and we’re competing on our progress. I'm pretty impressed at our progress. My memory has improved tremendously already.

Your turn.
What are you doing to encourage independent thought and initiative and financial knowledge in your teens?

Best of luck.
Nicole

PS. I'm getting so many good ideas reading this that I'm thinking this should be a Kindle book. What do you think? Want more of these ideas?

This week I asked our panel of experts…

We all reach plateaus.

What do you do to burst through yours?

I hope you find this information helpful and inspiring, especially if you're stuck in a rut right now in your business.

Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course says:

When I hit a plateau in my business, I reorganize.

For instance, I hit one not too long ago and needed a way to break through to the next level. So I began looking around my business to see how to accomplish this quickly.

One of my previous products (“Writing With Keywords“) was due for an update. I'd just done an interview with Google's Matt Cutts about how much keyword optimization has changed since Panda and Penguin so I organized that interview with a bunch of examples and other new material and took “Writing With Keywords” from an ebook to a mini-video series. Within a matter of about 2 weeks I had a totally revamped product to sell which has brought thousands of dollars (and growing) into my biz f-a-s-t!

Another thing I do to overcome financial plateaus is re-evaluate my affiliate offerings. I keep a running list of affiliate products I sell. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a handful of them can fall to the sidelines. Reviewing the list is a good reminder to promote the ones that I might have gotten slack about.

If we're talking about emotional plateaus, what works best to get me over the hump is time off. Even if I'm not in a position to take an entire week off completely, sleeping late in the mornings or taking a long weekend can give me the break I need to rejuvenate and come back fresh.

Want to Learn Copywriting from Karon?

Check out more from her here:
Step-by-Step Copywriting Course

Dennis Becker of Earn1KaDay says:

When I've hit plateaus in the past, I've found it was due mental conditioning.

For example, inside my 5 Bucks a Day book, I talked about setting a daily income goal in the beginning when I was tweaking my 5 Bucks a Day strategy.

I've always posted my daily goals on a post it note which is stuck to my printer, which is beside my monitor, always in range of my peripheral vision.

When I reached my first daily income goal, I raised the number quite significantly in fact, and started working towards my next goal.

When I reached that number, I forgot to change the post it note, and I was stuck for weeks, until I realized that my subconscious was satisfied because it had reached the goal that I had set.

Once I changed the post it note again to a higher number, things started to improve again.

The mind works in mysterious ways, but who am I to argue?

I always like to talk about the fact that I settled on the name of Earn 1K a Day for my site, because it's all about the glass ceiling concept, and I was inspired by what had happened to me, but also because of the Roger Bannister story.

Roger was the man who first ran a mile in less than 4 minutes, and back in his time scientists swore that it was physically impossible for a human to run that fast. Roger didn't listen, did it one day, and not long after that, other runners achieved the same result of a sub-4 minute mile.

Plateaus are meant to be stepping stones, ceilings are meant to be broken through, and goals are checkpoints so that our mind keeps us on track.

Want Dennis to Help YOU to Set a Daily Goal?

Join his community here-> Earn1KaDay

Tiffany Dow of The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome says:

When it comes to business plateaus, I love it when I hit these because it means I’m about to break through to a new level of either financial success or personal satisfaction.

I usually realize I’m in one of these when I start feeling boredom. When I recognize it, I start looking at my business and I’ll see that everything’s at a plateau – comments, income, satisfaction, etc.

I like to sit down and map out my business on paper with a pen – just crude drawings. It might have PLR Store, minisite eBooks, Kindle, Squidoo, Affiliate sites, etc. on it.

I quickly look to see which ones are thriving and which might be dipping in traffic or sales or just leveled out. I also gauge my interest in each one at that moment (because I’m fickle and sometimes I show more love to some parts of my business than others).

Once I zero in on whatever it is I want to work on to break through it, I look at coming up with a new way to recharge the income or enthusiasm or attention on that business model.

For example, I recently realized I had stagnated with my PLR store – so I categorized all my packs according to topics so I could see how much I had in stock for each one. Then I decided to start a series of 72-hour sales where I create 10 new pages and sell them for $7 (customer gets discount) and then add on some existing packs that I had categorized as freebies (customer gets something for nothing).

The sales are going amazing, I’ve broken through a stagnant phase and everyone’s happy! I also wanted to do more with Kindle, but I wanted to incorporate something with my daughter, so we’re building a series of kids’ books and I’m very excited about it.

Plateaus are always about analyzing where you’ve grown complacent and then energizing yourself to do something new or different.

“Love this post? Pin it!”

Think Tiff is Terrif?

Check out more from her here:
The Guide to Shiny Object Syndrome

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

I can't say that I've been at a business plateau in recent years, I've had too many challenges to deal with and have spent a lot of time just trying to dig my way out of a valley. I did recognize towards the end of last year that I felt like I'd hit a ‘people plateau'. It'd been awhile since I had met someone ‘new' in my business.

With nearly ten years of podcasting under my belt, I'm used to meeting new people all the time. I believe I'd begun taking it for granted there'd be someone new around every corner. Alas, I turned a corner and ran into the same faces and voices.

It's a big world but we tend to live in small neighborhoods, even here on the world wide web.

I determined to break out of the rut and pursue new neighborhoods, new people and new experiences. One of the ways I've done it is by being more involved in content curation. I made an effort to find new people, subscribe to their blogs and podcasts and engage them in their circles. It's been powerful.

Another thing I've done is to get out from behind the desk. I'm traveling more this year than ever before and trying to say yes to as many opportunities to meet new people as I can. I should finish the year with lots of new friendships that open exciting new doors.

Whatever plateau you might be dealing with, I bet it could be busted by reaching out to new neighborhoods and forging new relationships.

Note from Nik: I'm thrilled that Kelly will be joining me at Dennis' live event in Vegas in a few weeks.

Join us? Details are here: Earn 1 K a Day Seminar.

Think  Kelly is Cool?

Check out more from her here:
Solo Smarts Podcast

Alice Seba of Step-by-Step PLR Guides says:

When I think of plateaus in business, I think of two things:

• Getting to a place where you’re not sure what to do next
• Reaching an income plateau where you can’t seem to get to the next level

Both of those can be very frustrating, but that’s when it’s time to sit back and get away from the computer for a bit. This is usually where I grab a paper and pencil and write down everything I have going on. My plateaus often result from being overwhelmed by everything that’s going on and sometimes I just need to take stock of everything to see a clearer path. This is the time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t and what could be better. I often use a mind map app on iPhone for this process as well. I personally don’t find reading mind maps helpful, but I do find the process of creating one makes it easier for me to compartmentalize the different parts of my business so everything is clear in mind.

After writing everything all down, it’s time to come up with a few action plans that include:

• A list of activities or projects that aren’t fruitful and should be discontinued.
  This isn’t always easy, but if we want to keep moving forward, we have to be able to let go of things that just aren’t helping us grow.

• A list of things that need to be done to improve my business.
  I particularly look for ways to connect things together, so I can sell more of our products and services to our customers, no matter how they found us.

• A list of necessary tasks that are dragging me down.
  These are tasks that will be outsourced to a VA or other qualified professional. I often find a plateau comes from my taking on more things in the business that I just don’t enjoy doing or I simply don’t excel in.

I know a lot of people beat themselves up over plateaus. They just sit in front of the computer and wonder what to do next or they just keep doing what they’ve always done, hoping to make a breakthrough. For me, I find if I’m in any type of rut that is the most critical time to give myself a break and do more thinking for a while. Then I can start working again when things are clear in mind.

Awed by Alice?

She's got shortcuts that you can use in your business here:
Step-by-Step How To Guides

David Perdew of NAMS says:

Got the MullyGrubs?

Here in Alabama, we have our own language that creatively stretches words and meanings that are not really found elsewhere – to my knowledge anyway. And I’ve lived all over the world.

One of my closest older friends (he was 76 when he died a few years ago) was a born-and-raised Alabama hellion. He had a fiery temper and a heart of gold. Never was he depressed.

So, when I noticed he wasn’t all that perky one day, I said, “Tommy, what’s wrong with you?”

“Got the MullyGrubs,” he said.

“Huh? What’s the MullyGrubs?”

“Ain’t nothing right. Ain’t nothing wrong,” Tommy said. “I just got the MullyGrubs!”

I completely understood that. It was his word for when we’ve hit that spot that just seems like we’re stuck in goo. It might be emotional or business or social or even spiritual goo, but it sure has us stuck.

Stuck, and we’re not sure why?

At least, that’s the way has been for me.

It’s a really uncomfortable place for me. And it shows up as inertia. Something just isn’t moving in the right direction. And as my spiritual hero, Albert Einstein, said,

“Nothing happens until something moves.”

So, to get unstuck, or climb off that plateau, I’ve got to move.

If it’s a spiritual plateau, I start investigating new writers and new ideas – expanding my mind.

If it’s a relationship plateau, I plan a getaway – some way to spend some intense time with my honey talking, planning, resolving. (I personally like long, captive car trips.)

If it’s a business plateau, I look for three things that need to change and find the right people to help me change them ASAP. This year, I focused on:

• Tripling my income
• Building real assets
• And exploding my list

My list size has remained the same (give or take 20 percent) over the last two years. It’s an awesome small community that is very responsive and loyal, but I had been completely and totally focused on delivering commissions to my affiliates and not growing the list except by adding buyers to our membership sites. (Not complaining, a list of 40 percent buyers is pretty great.)

But this year, I’m focusing on additional list building opportunities – not just affiliates. (Love affiliates, but I don’t want to wear them out…)

I was obviously stuck. So, I started the MyNAMS 30-Day List Building Challenge with just a few days of planning and diving right in.

I set bold goals and published them.

I opened my business to about 320 people showing them exactly what I was doing. I worked like a demon doing 3 webinars a day creating lessons, tools, content and challenges to the folks.

And, of course, I’m creating an awesome crew of JV partners through our 30 expert interviews for the launch (at a much higher price) during the post July 4^th weekend.

Movement! We have movement. My list is growing. Income is increasing. And I’m building more assets.

And guess what? I don’t have time for the MullyGrubs.

There’s too much work to do climbing this mountain at the end of the plateau. I’ll see you up there.

Digging My Friend, David?

Check out his free training here:
Free Weekly Webinars

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Great minds think alike.

Here are a few things that I do regularly to avoid plateaus and to overcome them.

First, I take a look and see where my income is actually coming from.

Then I look to see where my time and resources are being spent.

The quickest way for me to get over a plateau is if I can spot a place where there's little money coming in with lots of resources going out (time, money, and/or energy).  I usually let those projects go. (Although sometimes I get stuck because my heart is still in a project or it needs work before I can sell it off… in which case, sometimes I really need a boost to release it.)

Another strategy that works really well for me is that I grab pen and paper and go sit outside and plan what I want the next year to five years to look like. I basically brainstorm with future Nicole and see which path that I can take to make me happiest, and most profitable at the same time.

I also have my “big hairy” goals on a post-it, like Dennis suggested. The number originally scared the pants off of me, but now I'm thinking of increasing it again as I know that I can blast past it.  Having earned more in a month than a lot of people earn in a year has really shown me that I wasn't thinking big enough at the time that I wrote down that number. So, I'm on to bigger and hairier things.

This basically comes back again to my “R.E.A.D.” system.

1. Ruminate.

2. Eliminate.

3. Automate.

4. Delegate.

But it all starts with the Ruminate part – which is the planning stage. Without having a clear picture of where you stand and where you want to be, you can work your little butt off, outsource your heart out, and still be sitting on that same plateau in five or ten years, wondering why everyone else has blown by you. And, we certainly don't want that!

Your turn.

What are your tips? What are your struggles? Talk to me.

Best wishes, as always.
Nicole

PS. Remember, ya'll. If you want me to get awesome people to answer these questions, you've got to be leaving comments, sharing and checking out their sites.

Here they are one more time:

• Karon
• Dennis
• Tiffany
• Kelly
• Alice
• David