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Why Most Women in Business Struggle to Succeed

By lorraine | December 1, 2008

Alison Basson from Business Women Unite recently asked thousands of business women what their challenges were to succeeding.  Most of the answers basically came back saying they didn’t know what to do next to make their business succeed. 

 

When you look at what what the business model most women in business have ..the list of what they ‘do’ looks something like this:


1.  General administration
2.  Email
3.  Website maintenance
4.  Phone calls
5.  Sales Strategy
6.  Social Networking
7.  Banner Advertising
8.  Customer Services
9.  Bookkeeping
10. Running errands


plus much much more.

 
Not only do they have to make their business work, they are responsible for the personal side of life.  Having children and partners plus take care of the household can consume your day.
 
The biggest barrier to their success is they often try to ‘do’ everything themselves, which is impossible.  While they are ‘doing’ the day-day basics, there’s no time to work ‘on’ the business.  There’s no time to look after their no. 1 asset… themselves.
 
That’s why getting help is essential.  If you’re a woman in business, you need to look at letting go and asking for help.  ‘Superwoman’ is a myth.
 
I recall one lady who had three pre-school children who was spending every possible minute working on her business.  Well she really wasn’t working ‘on’ it, she was working ‘in it’.  Mary did everything including packaging orders, bookkeeping, delivery of orders and all the paperwork.  She wanted to make more money but she was very reluctant to let go of anything. 
 
She also had the mentality that she couldn’t ’spend’ money on the business, until she made some first. If Mary outsourced the menial tasks, she would have easily freed up her time and tripled her current income, and been much more happier.
 
The business was a heavy noose around her neck.  She was a perfectionist and felt that if she didn’t play the part of Superwoman, she would have failed. 
 
Freeing up your time is crucial, however what do you do with that free time?  You see most women in business (and also a lot of men) are unsure of what to do next and that’s why they keep themselves busy buried in paperwork and general daily busyness.
 
Identifying what type of help you need is also vital.  I recently came across a woman who was struggling to keep her holistic health centre viable.  She thought by investing in a special machine for an additional $25,000 which can diagnose various ailments she’d make more money.   A new machine wasn’t the solution.
 
The truth was she had no idea how to run her business.  She needed a business coach. And it wasn’t all about marketing that she needed.  Her self-esteem and personal image needed to be addressed for her to be seen as credible.
 
Lisa thought it would be a ‘good idea’ to start a small retail store.  That way she and her friend could be in business together.  So thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of blood, sweat and tears later she was left with:

a.  Her friendship destroyed.
b.  A nervous breakdown
c.  Her marriage broken up
d.  $75,000 of additional debt
e.  No chance of having the baby she so desperately wanted
 
The pretty brochures, advertising costs and flashy website didn’t bring in the business.  And unfortunately  a lot of women in business ’fluff’ around and spend time and money in the wrong areas.
 
So if you want to stop struggling, find out what successful business women do.  Every successful business woman I know continously gets help through coaching, attending seminars, reading, finding mentors etc.  They are on a constant personal and professional development journey.
 
They also outsource their weaknesses and use their strengths.
 
The Final Word


So what can you do to change your situation?  The new year is fast approaching and if you want to achieve different results in your business, you need to do something else. 

 

Make sure you download a copy of the free report “Why Most Business Women Struggle In Business….And How To Make Sure You Are Not One Of Them!” by clicking here.

 

 

 

Need some resources on how to succeed in your business?  Then get a copy of The Productivity and Profit Home Study System™ .  It includes everything you need to know to free up your time, master your marketing so you make much more money and get a life!

It’s laid out in a very simple way: do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, move on to step two etc.  It’s so simple and yet so powerful, it’s changed the lives of many solopreneurs and small business owners. 

You can read the success stories and get your own copy at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html (why be time poor and struggle in your business, when you can easily get much more done, make more money and have time off?

Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of http://www.productivityqueen.com/,  and creator of The Productivity and Profit SystemTM … the proven step-by-step program guaranteed to free up your time, organise your systems, master your marketing so you make much more money and have a life! To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits, visit http://www.productivityqueen.com/ 

Topics: Delegating, Getting Organized, Home Based Business, Life/Work Balance, Personal Development, Personal Effectiveness, Small Business Management | No Comments »

Networking for Women

By lorraine | November 25, 2008

 
I’ve just spent 2 days at the Melbourne event of “Essentially for Women” and discovered I’m actually 20 years younger! How?  One of the women, presenting showed statistics that in this day and age that 50 has now become the new 30.  It’s like the fashion spiel when ‘purple’ became the new ‘black’.  (The women reading this will know what I mean.)

So if anyone asks my age, instead of telling them I’m 51 (and proud of it), according to statistics I am officially 31 !  I like that.

Anyhow here’s me with Lyndsey Baigent, the Founder of Essentially for Women.  She was very inspiring and boy what a story she had to tell.

 

Regards

Lorraine

 

Topics: Getting Organized, Life/Work Balance, Personal Development, Personal Effectiveness, Small Business Management | No Comments »

How to Outsource to Free Up Your Time and Increase Your Income

By lorraine | November 22, 2008

How many tasks do you take on in your business?  Do you pride yourself on doing the bookkeeping, reacting to email, preparing your own proposals and presentations, attending networking events, making appointments, keeping on top of the paperwork, providing your service, packaging and delivering your products, running around doing all your errands, looking after children, taking the dog for a walk…and then fitting in time to take care of yourself?  How about marketing and developing your business?  Where does that fit in?If you’re doing everything yourself, you’ll never have the time or make the money you want while you take control of it all.  You may think you can do it better, faster and more effectively than anyone else, however you’ll eventually drive yourself into the ground.It’s very sad to see many entrepreneurs and small business owners run themselves ragged and constantly struggle trying to make their business a success.  And yet, one of the easiest ways for them to remove  the pressures is by outsourcing.

Before coming to me for coaching, a client of mine was so sick and tired of the long hours she had been working she just wanted to give up. Sarah was a one-woman business.  She’d struggled needlessly because she could not see how she could change her situation without hiring an employee, which she was loathe to do (and said she couldn’t afford to).

We found she was spending 20 hours a week on general paperwork that could easily be done by an administrative assistant in a quarter of the time.   Sarah was snowed under in administrative tasks. Instead of doing what she enjoyed which was designing clothes, she had become an office worker. Not only that she went into business so she could have time with her children yet because of the pressures of doing everything herself, every spare minute was spent in the business.

Even when Sarah was ‘with’ her children, she wasn’t ‘present’. Sarah was trying to ‘have it all’ but in actual fact she was getting more miserable by the day.

That all changed when she asked for help.

In Sarah’s case that help came in the form of a virtual assistant who handled the majority of the paperwork for a few hours a week, a bookkeeper who came in once a fortnight for the afternoon, a friend who minded her children 2 mornings a week. She also had some additional childcare from her family so she could spend time looking after herself.

A cleaner and gardener were hired to come in and help as well. Sure it cost Sarah money, but because of the time she freed up she was able to use her talents and triple her profits while working a whole lot less. Plus she had a much happier home life. 

The Final Word
So what can you do to change your situation?  The new year is fast approaching and if you want to achieve different results in your business, you need to do something else. 
 
 

Need some resources on how to increase your productivity and profits by outsourcing effectively?  Then get a copy of The Productivity and Profit Home Study SystemTM

.  It includes everything you need to know to free up your time, master your marketing so you make much more money and get a life!
It’s laid out in a very simple way: do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, move on to step two etc.  It’s so simple and yet so powerful, it’s changed the lives of many solopreneurs and small business owners. 
You can read the success stories and get your own copy at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html (why be time poor and struggle in your business, when you can easily get much more done, make more money and have time off?
 
Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of http://www.productivityqueen.com/,  and creator of The Productivity and Profit SystemTM … the proven step-by-step program guaranteed to free up your time, organise your systems, master your marketing so you make much more money and have a life! To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits, visit http://www.productivityqueen.com/

 

 

Topics: Delegating, Getting Organized, Life/Work Balance, Time Management | No Comments »

Ezines Do Work

By lorraine | November 18, 2008

I was interviewed by Janet Beckers on Wonderful Web Women today, and as soon as I had completed the interview, the phone rang.

One of the listeners had been on my database and receiving my ezines for more than a year.  It just so happens she publishes a women’s magazine and wanted to do a feature article on me.  She was going to call me weeks ago and didn’t get around to it.

The interview was the catalyst, however it was the ezine that had kept the relationship alive.

This is one story of many that occur as a direct result of consistently sending out an ezine.

So when will you get serious and send out yours regularly?

Topics: Success Strategies | No Comments »

Managing Your People

By lorraine | November 18, 2008

 

I was listening to an interview with Jack Canfield, co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.

 

He was saying how he has various coaches for many areas of his life.  He even had a ‘Joy’ coach to help him enjoy more of his life, rather than be stuck doing things he didn’t want to be doing.  Jack’s always learning and growing.
 
You’re probably thinking, well if you were as rich and successful as Jack you could afford to do that too.  Well guess how he’s reached this level of success in the first place?  There’s many people around who do have the money and obviously don’t invest it in themselves…cause it shows!
 
Anyhow, I thought I was doing ok with my fitness regime…after all I was in the fitness industry many years ago and have always kept fit.  It wasn’t until I decided that I wanted much better results that I sought out a personal trainer and changed my exercise regime… and you can see the results.  Those muscles are rippling!

 

It just goes to show you that no matter what background you come from, skills and knowledge you attain, there’s always room for improvement and no-one knows it all!

Regards

Lorraine

 

 

 

 

Topics: Coaching, People Management, Personal Development, Personal Effectiveness | No Comments »

How to Manage People Effectively

By lorraine | November 16, 2008

I recently met up with a friend of mine who was telling me how little time he had working on his business due to the people problems he was constantly experiencing.

 

He always complains to me that if he could run his business on his own, he would. Unfortunately this is not a reality so he constantly wastes at least 50% of his working week trying to overcome staff issues. 

The problem with Gary is that he’s a ‘know it all’. 

He likes to do things his own way and believes that having been in business for 15 years, he knows all about recruitment. 

The reality is the opposite.  

He’s very disorganised, works long hours and wouldn’t have the time to pro-actively look after his people. Sure he’s a nice guy and that’s probably why some of his staff hang around, but the chaos he would cause in his business would be too much for most people to handle. 

Gary doesn’t ‘get it’ that he’s the source of his problems.   

He has to learn how to free up his time so he can focus on the people issues. Of course I’m the best person to help him but I’ve learnt that it’s not always a good idea working with friends and family.

There are many aspects involved with the recruitment process and then when you’ve found the right people you need to know how to keep them so they remain a valuable asset in your business. 

I’m constantly amazed about how little most business owners (and most people for that matter) know and really understand about others. 

To have the right people on board with you, there are so many areas you need to know about including personality styles, values, attitude, their strengths and weaknesses. You cannot afford to get it wrong. 

Studies by the U.S. Department of Labour revealed that a poor hiring process can cost your business 30% of the first year’s earnings,

and this loss can be even higher if not corrected within 6 months (Abbasi & Hollman 2000). So if your business makes $100,000, then this could represent $33,000 in lost profits by hiring the wrong people! 

Here’s another interesting statistic: 

Staff who receive formal training can be 230% more productive than untrained colleagues (Return on Investment in Training, Smith A. 2001), and top performing employees deliver 12 times the value of mid level performers (Aberdeem Group Report 2001). 

So what does this all mean to you?

 

It means you cannot afford to ‘wing it’ when it comes to recruitment.

You need to get organised so you can free up your time to manage this key area of your business.

Getting feedback from your people would also be an eye-opener to how they see you.  In fact I’ve developed a very powerful tool that allows your team to provide anonymous feedback about you. 

It does take courage on your part to face the real truth.

The results of this proven program “The Powerful Productivity and Leadership Profile” is guaranteed to pinpoint key areas that you’ll need to address to increase the productivity of your team and in turn will boost your profits.                                                                        

Of course you can just ask them what they think about you,

however it’s highly unlikely you’ll hear the truth… and even if you received honest feedback, you will then need to know how to overcome the problems. 

So here’s 6 simple ways to manage your people more effectively:

 

1.  Weekly team meetings
2.  Train and develop them constantly (both internally and send them off to external
programs)

3. Get coached and keep developing yourself.

4.  Plan time regularly to focus on your people

5.  Get feedback from your team

6.  Get organised… otherwise you have no hope of having a high performing team and
keeping them
 

The Final Word

You can get on top of people problems, if you learn how to attract and retain them.  When you have a high performing team and know how to manage them effectively, you’ll be much more happier, more productive and more profitable.

 


OK, so you know the challenges of managing people, but how are YOU going to be more effective at doing this? You know you need help to get on track to run your business much more smoothly and profitably but what if you don’t have the time, don’t know where to begin or what to do first? 

 

Then it’s time to take action and invest in a proven step-by-step system . The Productivity and Profit Home Study System™ avoids all the unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most import ant things to do to give you more time, organise your systems and master your marketing, so you consistently make much more money, with less headaches and enjoy more time off…

 

It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done wit h that, you move on to step two, and so on. So easy. All the proven tips, tools and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. You can get it at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html

 

 
 

 

 

 

 Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of http://www.productivityqueen.com/,  and creator of The Productivity and Profit SystemTM … the proven step-by-step program guaranteed to free up your time, organise your systems, master your marketing so you make much more money and have a life! To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits, visit http://www.productivityqueen.com/

Topics: Delegating, Getting Organized, Life/Work Balance, People Management | No Comments »

Stop Procrastinating and Get Moving

By lorraine | November 9, 2008

How are you progressing with the goals you set yourself this year? Have you made a start? Or are you still procrastinating or caught the very popular “I’m too busy” epidemic?

Let me tell you about Mary…

 

 

Mary runs her own publishing company employing 5 people.

She is married with two teenagers. When I first met Mary she told me how stressed out she was trying to juggle work and home effectively. Her business although surviving (just) could have achieved major growth except for one major factor… Mary. She was very disorganised and ran her business that way. 

 

Mary was always complaining about the pressures of running her business and having a life. I suggested to her that by having a business coach she would dramatically improve her situation…guaranteed, providing she actioned the ideas, insights and solutions she would gain through the process.

Mary was a ‘gunna’. She was ‘gunna’ do this and ‘gunna’ do that.

Unfortunately all she can and still does do is talk about it. She won’t make a decision. Money wasn’t the issue, after all she had invested thousands of dollars attending an American guru’s week long “life changing” bootcamp. She thought that would be her “magic lifechanging pill”. 

 

Unfortunately Mary did not action what she had learned.

She got caught up in her chaotic life immediately on her return. 

 

It’s interesting to note that many people believe that the more they spend on some of these seminars, the better the results will be. However they will only achieve the results if they take consistent action on what they learn.

I have spoken with Mary a few times and suggested the best course of action

to take and she always responds with “not right now, I have this to do and that to do (and everything else to do)”. Mary always procrastinates and says to call her back in a few weeks’ time when the current major crisis should be over. 

 

One month her database was completely wiped out.

It had mistakenly been deleted by a temporary assistant she had hired. Of course there was no back up. It took many hours to reproduce it. Mary had to hire an extra person for the next month to establish a new database. In real terms this latest crisis cost her business thousands of dollars in lost productivity, not to mention the effect it had on her stress levels. 

 

People often only think of having a back up when something goes wrong.

They don’t worry about their own business and systems. As long as they are ‘busy’, who needs to ‘waste time’ on systems? 

 

Specialist skills are required and they are not just acquired by experience.

Mary needs to equip herself with some basic life skills so she can live and work effectively. She has to be able to put those skills into action! At the rate she’s going, she won’t be living long enough to enjoy the years of hard work she has contributed to her business. 

 

Mary’s chaotic ways have had a massive impact on her family. 

She’s never ‘there’ for them.  Oh sure, she occupies the same house, but she’s ‘not present’ .  She doesn’t listen or pay attention when you have a discussion with her.  You can see she’s thinking about other things.  And it’s such a shame as that’s why Mary started her own business in the first place, to feel she was achieving, have work/life balance…and make money. 

 

It’s been a couple of years since we first spoke and I’d forgotten all about Mary

until I bumped into one of her former employees who had stayed with her for six months. Jan told me it was extremely stressful and unrewarding working for Mary. She could never complete her work as her duties were always changing. Mary made promises to clients which she would often break and Jan, being her personal assistant was the person the clients would go to make sure the work was done on time. She was also the key person who kept the peace with the rest of the staff. 

 

Jan had given Mary one month’s notice when she handed in her resignation

, so Mary had plenty of time to find a replacement. When Jan left, Mary still hadn’t found a replacement as she left it to the week before Jan exited to advertise the position. Of course she did all the recruiting herself, advertised in the local paper and had 50 replies. No doubt she wasted the next month interviewing suitable applicants. . 

 

Procrastination and her disorganisation made such a dramatic impact

on all aspects of her life. 

 

When is the right time to take action? Is it at Christmas, the new year, the beginning of the financial year, when you’ve got nothing else to do, when your spouse leaves you, when your business is on its last legs, when the kids finally go to school or leave home or when you become so sick from the stress of your life that you cannot get out of bed?

The Final Word

Henry Ford said “The hardest work known to man is thinking”.

I say “the second hardest work known to man is taking action”.So take a stand today. Stop procrastinating and get moving.

 

 

OK, so Christmas is around the corner and you are so busy, stressed and overwhelmed.  You know you need help to get on track to run your business much more smoothly and profitably but what if you don’t have the time, don’t know where to begin or what to do first?

Then it’s time to take action and invest in a proven step-by-step system . The Productivity and Profit Home Study System™ avoids all the unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most important things to do to give you more time, organise your systems and master your marketing, so you consistently make much more m oney, with less headaches and enjoy more time off… 

 

It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done wit h that, you move on to step two, and so on. So easy. All the proven tips, tools and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. You can get it at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html

 

 

 

 

Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of http://www.productivityqueen.com/,  and creator of The Productivity and Profit SystemTM … the proven step-by-step program guaranteed to free up your time, organise your systems, master your marketing so you make much more money and have a life! To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits, visit http://www.productivityqueen.com/

Topics: Delegating, Getting Organized, Life/Work Balance, Personal Effectiveness, Small Business Management, Time Management | No Comments »

How to Get Organised for Christmas

By lorraine | November 2, 2008

With the Melbourne Cup just a few days away, guess what?  It’s already time to think about Christmas and plan for what can be a very hectic time of year.  Instead of being enjoyable and profitable,  if you’re not organised the ’silly season’ can be a nightmare for you. 

 

Getting your act together now

will ensure you maximise your opportunities and feel relieved that you are ahead of the game. 

Already I’m in planning phase for next year, as well as keeping an eye on current activities. 

With the Productivity and Profit Bootcamp commencing in 2 weeks, savvy and smart business owners have joined the program knowing it will give them a massive boost to their business and have them focussed, motivated and determined to achieve far more than ever before.  They’re prepared before Christmas has even begun.

So what do you need to have in place

to ensure the next few weeks are productive and that you know exactly where you are going? 

To make it easy for you here’s a simple checklist to use to ensure you enjoy the coming weeks instead of racing around like a headless chook telling anyone who cares to listen “I’m soooo busy!”  

¨     Have you planned and booked the venue for your team break-up?

 

¨     Do you know who will be having holidays and who will be working?

 

¨     Do clients, suppliers, colleagues etc. need to be informed of your opening hours over Christmas? If so, when and how will you notify them?

 

¨     Do you need to find out the availability of clients and suppliers over Christmas?

 

¨     Have you organised personal and professional development for the New Year? How are you going to motivate your team after the holiday break?

 

¨     Have you arranged a planning day to set your goals for 2009?

 

¨     Who will you give gifts to this year?

 

¨     What marketing activities need to be organised in the lead up to the end of the year and afterwards?

 

¨     What else do you need to do to ensure you are as prepared as possible both at work and home?

The Final Word       

Take action now.  If you haven’t already done so, start preparing for the end of year NOW so you will be able to enjoy this special time instead of stressing yourself out,

When the invitations to attend the inevitable Christmas functions come pouring in, instead of saying ‘no’ because you are snowed under, you’ll be able to go to the events of your choosing.

 

OK, so Christmas is around the corner and you are so busy, stressed and overwhelmed.  You know you need help to get on track to run your business much more smoothly and profitably but what if you don’t have the time, don’t know where to begin or what to do first?

Then it’s time to take action and invest in a proven step-by-step system . The Productivity and Profit Home Study System™ avoids all the unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most important things to do to give you more time, organise your systems and m aster your marketing, so you consistently make much more money, with less headaches and enjoy more time off…

It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done wit h that, you move on to step two, and so on. So easy. All the proven tips, tools and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. You can get it at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html
 

 
Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of http://www.productivityqueen.com/,  and creator of The Productivity and Profit SystemTM … the proven step-by-step program guaranteed to free up your time, organise your systems, master your marketing so you make much more money and have a life! To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits, visit http://www.productivityqueen.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics: Getting Organized | No Comments »

You just have to be in it to win it

By lorraine | October 30, 2008

Hi everyone

Last night I received a ‘Highly Commended” award from Marketing Communication Executives International (MCEI).

Initially I couldn’t be bothered with the paperwork, so passed it onto my virtual assistant Kathie to do the entry.  And guess what?  It worked!

I was also in great company as Sandy Forster from Wildly Wealthy Women was also a finalist.

Just goes to show that with a little bit of effort (and delegation), you can win too!

     

Have a great day

Lorraine

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

How to Avoid Costly Mistakes

By lorraine | October 26, 2008

Even when you’ve planned and double checked everything, sometimes things happen that are out of your control.

We had a big turn-out for my teleseminar on “How to Unleash the Hidden Profit in Your Business” this week which also previewed my upcoming group telecoaching program “The Productivity and Profit Virtual Bootcamp”.

When I went to press the ‘record’ button on my phone… nothing happened!  My heart was racing and I had to think quickly.  I had over 70 expectant people on the line waiting to hear from me.  

The recording of the event was crucial as most people would download the file afterwards and listen to it a few times to pick up the tips, tools and strategies to help them boost their own businesses.  More importantly hearing the interviews I had with some of my clients on their p