Get Educated Before You Start Your Holistic Business

Get Educated Before You Start Your Holistic Business

GET EDUCATED BEFORE YOU START YOUR HOLISTIC BUSINESS

Article by John Scardina
Photo Credit: Spell & the Gypsy Collective
Magazine: Issue #33

Lessons learned from running a Holistic business can sometimes be the hardest, but they do teach you well. Many people hold dreams of owning their own business and rarely understand everything needed to know prior to starting. This is exactly what dreams are, we manifest deep in our souls the delightful thoughts of entrepreneurial freedom, the removal from the daily 9 to 5 grind that we have been brought up to expect.

One of the first steps to being a holistic business owner is to be a visionary. You need to see in detail what problem you are able to solve for a niche market of some of the most open minded, intelligent, spiritual, and well-rounded customers. This is where education comes in, this is not your average type of business. Clients and customers in this realm are not main stream, they are also thinkers and visionaries searching for answers to natural problems with natural solutions. Knowing just this alone allows you to have an edge on others looking into the same type of business. You need to be educated with your problem solving and comfortable presenting it.

Educating yourself may sometimes require a business coach (highly recommended).

This is something I did not start out with and looking back, I wish that I had. I have learned so much almost too late with amazing coaching from Holistic Fashionista. By the way not just my opinion, but the opinion of many who have utilized their services.

You need to be educated and connected to your community whether virtual or actual. Those that you meet through networking depending how you approach it usually are in or near the same type of business realm as you and hold valuable information and experience. Talk with these contacts, check your area and see what similar businesses are there and see what they are missing, (services not offered). Introduce yourself, approach them. Ask if they are interested in sharing about their journey in business, you will be surprised of this openness from other business owners.

There is so much to share in regards to being educated in a holistic business, these are just a few of the highlights to remember.

1| Know the problem you are going to solve/educate yourself in this solution.
2| Check trends in natural health services/educate yourself in these trends.
3| Understand adaptation in these trends/educate yourself in adaptation.
4| Research the marketing needed for this solution/Are clients looking for this solution?
5| Will services be completed online/in person or a combination of both/Educate yourself on how this will suit you and your business.
6| Know the client that you are looking for/educate yourself on this.
7| Present yourself as a professional that has all of the answers/educate yourself on all of the answers.
8| Network with like businesses/educate yourself on their business.
9| Do get a business coach, such a Holistic Fashionista (Highly recommended)/yes education can be purchased, universities do it all the time!

Educating yourself in these events and hiring a coach will bring your holistic business success a lot faster than trying to tackle everything yourself. “Educate yourself”, I just needed to say it one more time!

Top 3 Lists Every Entrepreneur Needs for a Successful Year ahead

3 LISTS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS
FOR A SUCCESSFUL YEAR AHEAD

Top 3 Lists Every Entrepreneur Needs for a Successful Year

Article by Yetunde Taiwo-Shorters
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #31

With social media and what may seem like access to the whole world, entrepreneurs are inundated with contacts with not real system for cultivating those relationships. Learning to maximize the power of your network is one of the ways to build support and wealth for your passion or purpose. Below are 3 lists every entrepreneur needs to plan and prepare for a successful year ahead.

POWER LIST

Your POWER LIST should have the full names, phone numbers, emails, websites, social media links etc. of 15-20 of your top influencers/6-7 figure earners in your network. These are people you should have or be cultivating a relationship with. Look into your LinkedIN, take the time to sit and think about people you hang out with. You’re probably connected to powerful and influential people. You need to learn to tap into and foster relationships with your power list. They have skills that you don’t have and you can be of value to them if you are more intentional about the connection you build.

WISH LIST

Your WISH LIST should have the names of at least 5 people that you want to meet, learn from or build connections with in the next year. Write their names down, follow them on social media, and spend the time to engage them on things that are of interest to them. Respond to their feeds. Share thoughtful insights on their post. People remember people who engage their interests. It’s about sincerely engaging them. As you build those online relationships, your wish list can cross over to your power list or even to real true friendships where you both provide value to each other. No one is too big for you to wish to meet. NO ONE. Get on it. 

TRIBE LIST

Your TRIBE LIST is one of the most powerful lists you will ever have. Your tribe list should have 20 -10,000+ people who love, like, engage are interested or are fans of yours. They are champions for your cause that you should engage with frequently, to build your “tribe culture”. They see you as a leader in whatever it is you’re great at. They have the same values or close as you do.  They may not be related to you by blood, but they are related by virtues, ideals and a sense of culture. Your tribesmen and women will be the ones to buy your book, come see you talk at a live event or toot your horn to the world even if you never asked. They are the ultimate village.

noun: tribe; 
1. any aggregate of people united by ties of descent from a common ancestor, community of customs and traditions, adherence to the same leaders, etc. 

These top lists require you take the time and sit to prepare them. Spend those 60 minutes to brainstorm on them. Have an excel sheet for the Power List and Wish list and you can use a mail service (awber, malchimp etc.) for the tribe list. In The next year you get to tap into your lists and build that business empire you’ve been talking about. IT IS POSSIBLE.

The ABCs of Embracing Your Unique Business Culture

THE ABCs OF EMBRACING YOUR
UNIQUE BUSINESS CULTURE

Article by Darlene Dunn
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #31

The ABCs of Embracing Your Unique Business Culture

Too often we, as entrepreneurs, try to mimic or model our unique business after another business we have observed. This practice is definitely not conducive to stepping into your own unique purpose. We need to be careful about trying to mimic others because, inevitably, it cause us to fail or at least have major setbacks.  

We are ALL unique!!!

Here are a few key points to help you embrace YOUR unique business culture:

A: Attitude - As an entrepreneur you obviously have a winner’s attitude. Embrace it, use it. An attitude of success and excellence will go far in developing your business culture. Keep your attitude in check- be sure you maintain a positive, move-it forward attitude.

B: Belief - Believe in yourself. This is an area many entrepreneurs struggle with. You want your business to succeed but you often question yourself and hold yourself back. When you believe in yourself, it shows. This belief is evident to others and is a vital part of establishing your business culture.

C: Commitment - Commit to your business endeavor. Don’t do it half-assed. Be known for your commitment- to yourself, to your business and to your customers/clients.  

D: Dare - Dare to be you!! This is what makes YOU you! It is your uniqueness that will attract the clients/customers that you are meant to have. This daring to show and to be authentic will set you apart in the business world! 

E: Embrace - Embrace your uniqueness and show the world through your Attitude, your Belief, you Commitment and your Daring!  

These five areas will aid you in establishing yourself as a force to be reckoned with in whatever industry you choose for your business to serve.  

Get Your Mind {and Soul} on Your Money

GET YOUR MIND {AND SOUL} ON YOUR MONEY

Get Your Mind on Your Money

Article by Cinthia Singleton
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #31

Our culture that tells its citizens to go out there, go for the gold and bring back lotsa it. Some do quite easily while others coast along bringing back not as much. A few stumble along and never get ahead. No piles of shekels under your bed? Popular belief is that you’ve not …

… applied yourself
… found the right course of action
… learned and/or know enough to warrant the money
… manifested enough to conjure up the opportunities for making money
… don’t feel that you’re good enough for money

There are many reasons for not making big bucks. They vary from economic and market demands to luck and timing. Often it’s a magical combination of these things. But we seem to need this money - from pocket change to big bucks - as a goal to perform when it is, most basically, to help us provide for ourselves and those we support. How successful our writing [painting, interpretive dance, flower arranging, consulting, etc.] is also based on how much we show on Line __ of our tax return? How interesting.  But it’s just money, honey. Relax. Culture tells is to make it but we don’t need to run ourselves down doing so.

For what do we need it, really? Get a piece of paper and a nice, sharp pencil. This needs to be seen in print.

1 :: What are your basic expenditures? Not that you have to only make this but to survive, what is the base and range of funds you need? The more realistic you are about your needs, the easier it is to make the money. Less scrambling.

2 :: No one is exempt from financial anxiety at one time or another. It happens to us all, no matter how rich or poor. How we endure, overcome, and eliminate the anxiety is part of the battle. Clear problem-solving doesn’t always occur on the high wire. More often than not, the best thing anxiety will do for us is ensure we make huge decisions far too quickly. RELAX.

3 :: Do you have issues with money?  Uh, are you not human? lol It’s normal to have issues on one end of the spectrum or the other but letting them control you and trip you up is not good. These we get from our upbringing and how we were nurtured…. or not. The child missing something will seek it out as an adult. Example? Having to have the best so others can, therefore, see that YOU are the best… because the wolves who raised you only seemed to [acknowledge, pay attention to, reward, love] those who did; the best things made them better people. 

4 :: It’s okay to budget, to not spend, to say NO or Not Now to a potential purchase. It’s not the end of the world to have not or to save. Our culture, as much as it tells us to make the big tacos doesn’t do as much to encourage us to just slow down and think about what we need. Black Friday sales have become a social outing and a source of fulfillment for some. We get a buzz standing in that line, pushing people aside to get to the discounted electronics… why, many shorten our holiday family time for that buzz. As if we need more DVD players and credit card debt.

5 :: Review your needs on a weekly, monthly, annual basis. Needs change and so can the times. Bend and flex with the financial times.

6 :: Remember that what you need isn’t what the next ‘guy’ needs; do not compare yourself to others.

7 :: Learn how to talk about money. It’s not your feelings. It’s not your childhood. It’s not your baggage. It’s not your value. If it is one or a combination of these things, on one end of the spectrum or other, get straight with it or you will be money’s servant. Money is just another energy and a means to an end, a tool. Get comfortable with it. As a topic of conversation. As the necessary element it is. As a part of the game of life. Should you find yourself going through a rough patch and lack it (or credit, resources, help paying for something) occurs, get comfortable asking for help. “Help” though doesn’t necessarily mean more tacos to toss at the problem but the means to solve the problem in the Big Picture.  

8 :: Enjoy the money you have or what the money has afforded you. A little gratitude goes a long way but so does associating with that dirty money the energy of JOY. Consciously thank the Big Guy for what is there afforded you, from nickel to Andrew Jackson.

First step? Take it down to the basics: money is necessary energy not necessarily power. Get what you need. Enjoy what you got. Too much will never be enough if the energy isn’t understood.

"… Gather your cheddar ‘round this world, there’s nothin’ better but keep it booming’ like a system, thru any weather." -Youngbloodz, Mind on My Money

A Business Culture of Your Dreams

Business Culture of Your Dreams

A BUSINESS CULTURE OF YOUR DREAMS

Article by Denita Austin
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #31

Instead of looking for what you want, create it. I am a strong believer of creating your own rules, ideas and concepts. Why not? Creativity is everything! Some of us have spent years trying to find the perfect group, tribe, or culture that resonate with our souls. The perfect group that understands our rhythm and flow or should I say, speaks our language. Instead of chasing, or sitting back wanting and dreaming, create a culture of your own for your brand and business. A culture that will empower people to have more freedom within themselves.

Creating solutions instead of problems. 

As an entrepreneur, there is nothing sweeter than having the freedom to create. When building your empire, it’s not about micromanaging. It’s simply about encouraging and building a team who will be more involved in the brand itself by having the ability to create speak and create freely. The more freedom individuals have to take on tasks and create their own solutions, the more they feel connecting to a culture that they can believe in. 
Creating a culture that will include a communication style based on mutual respect. With a well-designed structure, we all can create magic within our assignments and contribution to the overall vision. 

My passion with any project would be increasing team ownership and empowerment. I thrive off teams who are free to apply judgment to situations that fall outside your traditional rule of thumb. Although I promote creativity and freedom, this also requires balance. We do not want to leave the team unclear about taking ownership.

Five Steps to Creating your dream business Culture 

1 :: Be a Leader   
Lead by example of course. The more you speak on your vision, you will become closer to your reality.

2 :: Become your vision
Everyone is looking to you for guidance so with that being said stand in your truth and become your vision.

4 :: Learn Balance
If you want your business to thrive, you must find balance in order to succeed. Example: Inquire about how much fun your team has while working with you. A rating system would be ideal!  When you’re able to track this information, you can talk about what to do to improve going forward.  Note: This is great for clients as well. 

5 :: Token of Appreciation
A common problem in every business is showing appreciation. Verbal or Tangible! In some cases, the issue is just an absence of acknowledgement. Take the time to acknowledge those who support you and dedicate their time to the vision. 

Remember, it’s about how well our words match our deeds. Thanks for taking the time to connect with me.

The Secret to Finding the Best Mentor

THE SECRET TO FINDING THE BEST MENTOR
{The Ultimate Success Strategies}

Article by Marinna Rose
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #30

The Secret To Finding The Best Mentor

If you have read the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, then you know the importance he places on mentoring. Napoleon’s conclusion was that, if you want to grow beyond where you are presently in any area of your life, mentoring is a must to proceed in a timely fashion. 

I cannot stress enough to you how important mentorship is. Once I made the decision to take action and hire a mentor, my life changed tremendously, as if all-of-a-sudden I was in the flow with the Universe for the first time; we were in sync and synchronicities became a norm in my life…Keep reading if you want the secret, it’s not all about the mentor…  

There are many factors that Napoleon mentions on importance of mentorship, but I want to address the top 3 Success Strategies:

Success Strategy 1| Always Listen to your IGS
IGS stands for Internal Guidance System. Simply put, your gut instinct or your intuition. This needs to become your #1 mentor before any other mentor in your life. Being able to respect your mentor’s teachings, yet being able to discern what is best for you in the end. Using your IGS is imperative to your success and moving forward. Being able to tap into this innate knowledge of your soul is one of the more important strategies you should use in everything you do.

Success Strategy 2| Hire a Mentor that Values Himself or Herself
Remember you are hiring a mentor to emulate their energy, their values, and their genius. If your mentor is not currently valuing himself or herself by asking what they are worth, then how do you expect to ask for what you are worth? If the person that is guiding you has a hard time doing it, then you might want to ask yourself if they are the right mentor for you. 

There are a lot of mentors that are still having a hard time valuing themselves and what they have to offer. This becomes contagious and you may find it hard to value yourself or your work for your mentor will be guiding you from a place of lack. 

When you are unable to see your worth than the world does not see it either. 

Hire someone that has a good sense of value, self love and self-worth. You can always learn other pieces you need from others, but this one is something that can not be learned it has to be cracked open and only a great mentor can guide your inner self-worth out to shine to the world. After that everything starts falling into place.

Success Strategy 3| Making Authenticity your Mantra
There are a lot of mentors out there that are not authentic. They may put on a face that they are at first, until you find out that their whole program was someone else’s, just tweaked to use as their own. 

Do your research on the mentors you want to work with. Start with connecting to your own IGS and see what it tells you- you know your first instinct is usually correct. When you feel that uneasy feeling when someone talks about something… This is your IGS in overdrive screaming run the other way!

Authenticity is key. This will be the key to your own success in life and business and it is key in finding the perfect mentor.

When they are not connecting with you at your level and come off as too perfect, they are inauthentic. They are not confident in what they do, so they can’t be authentic. When a mentor is confident in who they are and what they do there is no need for them to be inauthentic. They simply know that by being their authentic true selves, what needs to be said and created will be.

As you can see, these 3 Success Strategies are not just for hiring a mentor, they are also success strategies to live by on a daily basis. 

I want to leave you with one last thought… You are the best mentor that money can by. You know your needs better than anyone else, no matter their education or experience. Always trust your IGS, but be open to mentorship, for it is a must to take you beyond your comfort zone- and this is where the magic happens!

Here’s to YOU, the best mentor you can find and being open to the magic of what unfolds by working with the right mentor.

3 Marketing Mistakes Made by the Multi-Talented Entrepreneurs

3 MARKETING MISTAKES MADE BY
THE MULTI-TALENTED ENTREPRENEURS

Article by Ling Wong
Photo Credit: Dasha & Mari
Magazine: Issue #30

3 Marketing Mistakes Made By The Multi-Talented Entrepreneurs

The multi-passionate, multi-talented entrepreneurs often have a creative streak in them that makes stuffing themselves into the “usual” marketing box not only frustrating but also the cause of patchy results.

They face a unique set of challenges, which leads to 3 common mistakes they tend to make in marketing their businesses:

Mistake 1 :: Lack Cohesive Message

For those creative spirits, they are bursting with new ideas all the time. They are always learning and improving themselves, adding new skills and tools to their arsenal. All of these are great – when new ideas, skills, tools and experiences come together, alchemy and magic happens. However, if they don’t have a way to communicate all these with a cohesive message, they often appear like a Jack-of-all-trades. When they lack focus about their expertise and niche, they have a tendency to go on and on and on when talking about what they do for their clients… until their readers/audience/potential clients just glaze over.

Fix it :: Find the golden thread that ties all your conviction, superpowers, passions, talents, experience and skills so you can weave them into ONE cohesive message that is unique to YOU. Side effect – you will stand out and make competition a non-issue.

Mistake 2 :: Failure To Connect

Many clients I work with do really well when they are making connections in person. However, when it comes to written marketing materials, they hit a wall. Their copy and content not only fail to make a meaningful connection with their ideal clients, but also miss the mark in connecting THEM with their life’s work. When they say those “marketing communication” out loud (e.g. an “elevator pitch” kind of thing), they don’t feel connected with the words. The communications do not strike a cord for THEM, resulting in misaligned energy, and lack of excitement that do not serve in attracting ideal clients.

Instead, they constantly worry if they are “saying it right,” putting a break on fully expressing their personality and conviction.

Moreover, they have taken trainings and programs, and sitting on a bunch of templates and checklists that led them to using generic words too superficial to connect with their audience personally and emotionally. They stifled their own voice, trying to sound “right.” They use buzzwords or jargons that are devoid of meaning and make them sound like everyone else. They stuff themselves into the copywriting box because of their fears of not being good enough, of being criticized/judged (which leads to conformity) and that of missing out.

Fix it :: Get personal, get emotional.
Find the words that make YOU tick. Get into the psyche of your ideal clients to understand what they need to know in order to work with you.

Mistake 3 :: A Me-Too Marketing Plan

We take trainings and programs with the good intention to further our businesses. But so often we grab a strategy here and a tactic there, then string them together without considering how they come together holistically and synergistically so they talk to each other and put us in the best light possible. Even worse, we sound like a schizo from one platform to the next. As a result, I see many coaches doing a lot of busywork and chasing bright shiny objects… wasting time, energy and money.

They got themselves into marketing activities that don’t tap into their genius, or executing tactics that don’t resonate with their value. The misaligned energy behind the actions is not attractive to clients, and the fact that they are dragging their feet just sour the whole perception about marketing.

Fix it :: Having a plan is good for business.
Instead of getting caught in the “how it should look like,” consider how your plan is going help YOU cut the busywork and do want truly matters.

3 Power Habits to Help You Stay Focused

3 Power Habits To Help You Stay Focused

3 POWER HABITS TO HELP YOU STAY FOCUSED

Article by Yetunde Taiwo-Shorters
Photo Credit: Hailley Howard
Magazine: Issue #29

There are so many distractions in our world today. If it’s not hours spent on social media, it’s getting engaged in the lives of others and taking time away from focusing on our own lives.

Here are 3 Power Habits to help you stay focused doing what you love, helping people and building profits.

1| De-Clutter
Spend 2 hours this week going through all your social media profiles and deleting or blocking anyone you know in your gut is not in alignment with where you are about to go. It is important that as you get aligned with your purpose, your power circle affirms your path. Yes some would hurt, and some would even confront you and ask why you deleted them. Your answer should be sincere, respond with love and kindness. I find that a great day to do de-cluttering is on Saturdays. So take out your calendar now, plug it in "de-cluttering my social media". This will prepare you to know those in your power network. You'll need it on your purposeful journey.

2| Intentional Sharing
I invite you to be more conscious of yourself. From today on, anything you say, reply to, share or post online has to be in alignment with your core values and the best version of you. E.g. on Instagram, decide how often you would post, plan out your posts and do your best to stick to it. What this does psychologically to your followers is allow them to identify you with what you do  and it helps with brand association. Be yourself, but above all BE YOUR BEST SELF AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. Even when people upset you, Think "What would my higher < your name> do?  then do it with love and kindness.

3| Affirm yourself
Yes, we all look crazy when we talk to ourselves in the mirror, but we can all name at least one quote that inspired us. Find your power quote and repeat it to yourself as many times as you can all week. I actually schedule mine for 10am every morning. It pops up on my phone alert. Mine is  "I will be relentlessly helpful to others", "I am grateful for good health and loved ones" and "I am  blessed and highly favored". There is power in words, embrace it and marinate in it unapologetically.