Small Business Revitalization Blog

I woke up obsessed with taking a walk through Noosa National Park to Hells Gate.  When I got into the car it was raining (again!)  By the time I was halfway there the rain was coming down in sheets and visibility was pretty much zero.

I almost turned around, but I really, really, really wanted that walk! I could see the tiniest piece of blue sky to the south and I wasn’t allowing a bit of water to stop me.   Arriving at the National Park the rain stopped and midway to Hells Gate it was sunny again! I truly was one excited little bunny!

So what's a walk in the rain got to do with doing business consciously? 

Have you noticed how often we are tempted to give up when we are just a few moments from the thing we truly desire?  What is it you are almost about to give up on, that if you would keep going, would come to fruition faster and sooner than you can imagine?

It’s easy to give up in business.  Sometimes so much has to change beneath the surface before we can see our creations come to life…  That wait can be longer and harder than we desire if we are trying to force something into existence.  If, on the other hand, we go with the flow on the projects that are moving forward and we keep creating and generating lots of different possibilities, our choices expand exponentially.

If I had gone home this morning, I would have spent the whole day looking out the window, wishing I’d been for that walk.  Instead, my willingness to go with my instincts (despite gloomy surface appearances) gave my body some much needed creative impetus and I’m settling in to write for a while!  

And that’s the other part of moving forward to be conscious of… I’m once again working on my book The Mojo of Flow – which I thought would be out last year… but sometimes the flow just isn’t there… so I’ve done a few other projects in the meantime and the last pieces of information that I was ‘waiting’ for have shown up this week – how does it get better than that??

I could have beaten myself up for not finishing when I said I would… but really I always know there is a reason if something isn’t moving forward in the way I would like.  This last chapter will make it the book I knew it could be… that it wasn’t… until this topic came into my conscious awareness!! I am so grateful for consciously allowing the joy which made it all flow with ease (rather than going into the wrongness of me)!

So, let’s do something together…  Would you be willing to stop beating yourself up for anything that’s not working in your business right now… and start playing with whatever has some energy and some momentum? 

And would you put the 'stuck' or 'stopped' projects aside and keep contributing your energy to them, without a point of view as to what will happen next?  What if they could create and generate themselves with an ease you haven't experienced before?

As you do this, ask each project to let you know when it is time for you to play with it again… and know that everything happens with perfect timing.  

I see this ease of moving forward show up over and over with my business coaching clients.  We talk about a strategy, there’s no action, then all of a sudden everything falls magically into place, with an ease that is still astonishing each time it happens!  When we let go of our expectations and just keep moving forward, so much more becomes possible.

Are you willing to operate your business consciously?  Or would you rather do it by force?  How is that working for you?

Have you ever experienced how this flow creates such ease? Tell us about it below!  Or if you are wondering what the hell I am talking about... feel free to ask a question!! 

 Love your work! xox Lisa

Have you noticed how most people are obsessed with getting business ‘right’ – as if there is only one right answer and once they find it they will have the perfect business for the next hundred million years?

What if, instead of getting business right, we start looking at what is relevant and what random brilliance we could create which would contribute to creating something greater than we have ever generated before? Could that be more fun than having to be the control freak from hell to make it all perfect?

One of my favourite tools is having everything be ‘out of control’… so that I can create from the random chaos of everything that is shifting and changing around me rather than the fixed and limited structures that people like to describe business as (you know... like the strategic plan, the business plan, the swot analysis, the competitive advantages, and all the other buzzwords…. yeah yeah yeah… is that just one big yawn for you??)

What if it could be more like shaking a kaleidoscope and creating a new pattern of possibilities every ten seconds…? ‘Oh this looks fun, what could that look like if I institute it into my business?’ rather than ‘Here is a structure that everyone uses and it has been proven to work for them so I know it will work for me…’  Which one of these makes you feel lighter? Which one makes you feel like you’d rather die??  What if business is truly fun and there can be a lightness with it that allows for infinite and playful creation?  

When I operate from the energy that I will put into place only what is relevant to the impact I desire to have on the world, it makes it easy to come up with randomly brilliant and adventurous ideas at astonishing speed... and the implementation is ease and joy too.  When I do it all by the MBA textbook (of which I have a few!!) there is a heaviness which soon translates into boredom and a lot of unfinished projects… oops!  Cute… not so bright!

Is any of this making sense to you?  What if your true state of being in business is a combination of relevance and randomness, rather than someone else’s idea of rightness?  

What if you were to Houdini yourself out of the definition and limitation of what business ‘should’ be? What could you create as your business?? And how much fun could you have?

(Image:  Pinterest)

So you want to start a business following your passion? Here’s the thing… passion is what happened when Christ got nailed to the cross… yes, passion is a killer. Passion has limitations! It’s all about what’s sitting on the outside, it’s noisy, its brash, it’s full of movement and doing… and it doesn’t always make you money - there's a lot of convincing others to follow your passion when your business is based on passion.  

I disagree with Gary Vaynerchuk (and a whole lot of other people who say ‘follow your passion and the money will come’)… that’s the field of dreams folks, not the way to business bliss. Joseph Campbell said ‘follow your bliss’… he didn’t say ‘follow your passion’. You might think I'm being picky with words here.  I am.  Words carry distinctive energies and I know which energy I'd rather play with!

That’s because passion has an energy that is about hustle, about pushing, about coming to a conclusion and then trying to make it come true. Passion burns out…it’s doing business the hard way. Is that the platform you want for your business?  So what else is possible?

 

Building a business that brings you joy has unlimited possibilities. Joy comes from that quiet space within. It’s not dependent on how much money you make. You can simply choose to BE joy… it’s not something you have to do.

When we create our businesses based on joy we create a platform which allows each aspect of joy we create in the business to keep expanding and building. Joy spreads everywhere with ease... because the people you want to work with choose joy... and they share it when they find it!

Joy allows us to reinvent business. To take the path less travelled. To create a business where we can do what we love, in ways that bring us bliss, with people we adore. Joy is a softer and stronger platform for building business bliss.

Joy still requires a business model, it still requires promotion… but take a look at this… Recently a friend introduced me to Sourced Grocer at Teneriffe. Truly, I am in love. These beautiful people have converted an old warehouse into a gourmet grocer flower shop café delight which whispers joy in every detail.

Beautiful produce, delicious snacks, quirky styling… business cards proclaiming ‘local is lovely’… steps and cushions for lounging in the sunshine… great reading material and my most favourite bit of all… a really joyful team – you can feel the vibe as soon as you arrive… people who really love what they are doing…and guess what all of that brings? A steady stream of customers who get the vibe and contribute to the joy… fantastic word of mouth advertising… and heaps of repeat business.

 

What are you choosing?  To follow your bliss or to follow your passion?? 

 

 

This morning a friend sent me a text message saying she was in a café and could overhear a business coach chewing out a client.  Wow - I was more than a little surprised!!  I have never needed to add to a client's stress levels like that and I never will.

Yes, I do believe in tough love when appropriate.  If you ask me to hold you accountable I will – very clearly -  once we agree on the parameters.  But I would never do it in a way that is unkind or disrespectful to you as a person.  I care too much about my clients to behave like that, and I care too much about our planet to bring anger or frustration into my coaching.  What if our earth is erupting because there is so much anger everywhere and she just can't contain it anymore?  Do any of us who are aware and conscious truly need to add to that?

Caring takes a lot more courage than chewing someone out.  What contribution can you be to our beautiful world today? Every energy we create has an impact far wider than just the person we are talking to.  The frustrated energy that coach was splattering around that café was felt by many more people than just her unfortunate client. 

I am more and more mindful of how far energy flows and what my total contribution is to the entire planet - in every interaction I have - with clients, friends, foes,and people I see in living everyday...  So, here’s what you need to know if you choose to work with me:

• Because I care, I will tell you when I feel you need to look at other options.
• Because I care, I will find a way to show you when it’s time to step it up a bit and shine your light more brightly into the world.  
• Because I care, I will tell you when I see greater possibilities for you than you can see right now.
• Because I care, I will be very clear about what it will take for you to have a successful business, even if you don’t want to hear it.
• Because I care, I will create the potential for you to discover the joy and bliss in your business, and sometimes, on the surface, that may not look like what you want it to!

Because I care, I will do this with humour, kindness and playfulness - not judgment, anger or frustration.  I will do it with sensitivity to where you are right now.  I will do it with awareness that you may not like me for a few moments because you weren’t expecting to hear what I have said (and I’ll never take offence, even if you do for a moment or so!!)

It’s this simple.  You need to care more than I do about your business.  If I found myself in a place where I had to chew you out over something, then I would be caring more for your business than you do.  If I ever find myself caring more than you about your business, then you need a different business or a different business coach.  (Of course, if you are one of those rare souls who love getting chewed out, it would be way easier for you to get a job and get paid for it, rather than paying a coach!)

Your business will thrive when you really really really desire thrival to show up.  When you make the demand of YOU to do whatever it takes!  I am here to mentor you, to contribute to you and to show you what is possible…what are you willing to receive?  What are you willing to contribute... to you, to your business, to the planet?

Love Your Work!
Lisa 

P.S. If this resonates with you, you are welcome to join us for the New Energies of Business events where we explore how we can change business consciously... or if you are looking for a business coach, you could enjoy a free 30 minute business coaching session to see if my business coaching style works for you!

Would you like to listen to my recent interview with Suzi Dafnis from the Australian Business Women's Network? We are talking all things Mojo of Flow!

In this herBusiness podcast, I share :

•  how we sometimes sabotage the flow in our own lives
•  how we can superpower the way that life flows for ourselves
•  and tips on how to get others to willingly support us to reach our goals.

Download your 20 minute podcast and Mojo of Flow tips here!

And if you would love some more free tips, please sign up for free book chapters and more here!

Love your work!
xox
Lisa

Once, at a mentoring event, I was placed in a team with another business coach and a person who was previously my boss (a very long time before, under oddly competitive circumstances).  The target was to take an issue in our business and have the other team members make suggestions.  

When the reality sunk in, it is fair to say in those first few seconds I was not overjoyed by the team I was in – it felt confronting, competitive and constraining.  What was I going to talk about without feeling compromised in some way? 

By the time the session was finished, I was beyond grateful.  Here’s why… this situation gave me the experience of putting aside all my normal feelings about ‘competition’ and actually living the energy of contribution instead.  

I had the opportunity to look at all the old ‘stuff’ I had subconsciously held onto about my ex-boss and let it go.  I had the opportunity to see that the other business coach has skills and interests in different areas to me… and so could be a worthy collaborator at some point… and I had the opportunity to experience the total abundance of the universe.  There is more than enough for all of us.

More than enough ideas, more than enough clients, more than enough joy in discovering new possibilities through different points of view…

I actually received a lot of bliss out of being able to be the contribution to those people.  How often do we operate from the paradigm of where we fit, win, lose or benefit, rather than operating from the space of where and what can we contribute?

If each of us contributed to allowing others to be the best they can be, whether they are our ‘competitor’ or not, imagine how amazing the world could be?  So the next time you are holding back or holding out through fear of loss or fear of missing out, would you ask yourself where you could be more of you?  Where you could shine your light brighter in the world?  Where you could speak up and shine?

There is no-one like you.  There is no competition unless you create it.  No-one can serve your clients like you do.  No-one can create products like you do.  No-one can BE YOU except YOU!  So where could you show up and be the contribution like you never have before?

(And yes, of course I know all the business BS about everyone is your competition… please!! What would it take for business to start operating from collaboration and contribution instead of separation and segregation?  I would like to make the world a better place through more conscious business practices… starting with being the contribution!)

What would it take for you to be the contribution in your workplace, rather than the competition?

(Image: Pinterest)

My business coaching clients often ask how they can be better leaders… of staff, suppliers, partners, in the community and with their family.   

There are many leadership theories that could keep you enthralled for at least a couple of minutes, until you realize that in these times of extraordinary change these models are incredibly challenging to use effectively and rarely create the visionary results you are looking for!

Look around.  There’s traditional command and control leaders, servant leaders, transformational leaders, charismatic leaders - the list goes on...   Traditional leadership styles mostly rely on various forms of force, exclusion, competition and separation - managing and shaping people in ways that inadvertently limit their contributions and stop the business from being extraordinary.

Traditional leaders almost always work from a paradigm where their experience gives them many past reference points, which leads to a habit of triangulating their beliefs, expectations, judgments, projections and obligations so that they can ‘make sense’ of their world.

This approach creates a set of decisions and conclusions which paint the leader into a fixed position where they become vested in a specific outcome and then they are faced with layer after layer of limitations instead of new possibilities, creativity and innovation!  Does this really sound like something you would like to have in leading your business?  What if there was another choice?

Conscious leadership allows maximum creativity, contribution, collaboration and flow.  Conscious leadership allows leaders to be expansive, to use their full capacities, to approach business with ease, joy and a sense of abundance.  

When you are leading consciously, you have the ability to perceive what’s possible, to know where change can create and generate more expansion and ease, to be the greatness of who you truly are, and to receive and actualize the unlimited possibilities that the universe offers up anew in every moment!  

Conscious leaders have insight, energy, vision, creativity, joy, caring, spontaneity and the ability to dissolve conflict with ease.  When you connect what is happening right now with the infinite possibilities the universe offers, you are leading consciously.

Conscious leaders create results through the power of their presence, their choices and their personal actions. They expand possibilities rather than contract them.  They BE the change they desire to see in the organization, first, whether anyone else follows or not!

Would you be willing to claim, own and acknowledge your infinite capacity to be a conscious leader?  We can all be conscious leaders – even children can lead consciously - it is just a choice!    You can start right now:  for every choice you need to make today, ask yourself:  “Will this expand or contract the possibilities for this business?”  The path has already opened for you!

Questions or comments on conscious leadership?  Please share below!

Right now you are probably thinking your business mentor has gone completely  mad – how can there possibly be a downside to upselling?  

Well here it is… the thoughtful and gracious Natalie Alaimo made a comment on Facebook this week about how unblissful it is for a client when they’ve just had a beautiful relaxing facial to have the beautician then do the full-on upsell  to the client on the products they have just used.  The Facebook discussion ran rife with the girls all commenting on how awful the process is and the blokes not seeing it as a problem…. Hmmmmm maybe the blokes need a little more nurturing!  

Upselling skincare products at the end of a nurturing experience is pretty much the fastest way to bring your client out of bliss and into a burdensome space where they need to say no to you (not easy for many people)!  

Day spas, is this really the way you want your clients to remember you?  So what do you do as a business owner when you are in the business of nurturing and your clients are resistant to the upsell?

My tip is to look at your entire sales process – is there a better place or a better way to upsell than how everyone in your industry does this?  

For example, I would be perfectly happy if a day spa asked me to rebook another appointment – more nurturing?  YES please!  More product?  NO thanks – I already have product I love and there is no joy for me in discussing and justifying my choices with you Ms Beautician!!  

I have also seen forward thinking day spas offer clients a short questionnaire at the start of the relationship where you can choose to identify that you are looking for new skincare products – that allows the sales process to be a natural part of the consultation instead of a clumsy afterthought that gets in the way of the clients bliss!!

What needs changing about your sales process?  Are there more intuitive places to upsell than you are using right now?  Go play with your sales experience from your customers perspective and see what gives… you may just open the door to a whole lot more sales!!

"no matter what the cost to our people..." is the bit that most organisations conveniently forget to add!!


Recently I had a fit of curiosity and asked my LinkedIn connections for ideas on how they would reinvent business.  I had a heap of thought-provoking responses, including the fellow  who wrote back and pretty much said it’s been a fabulous system for the past few hundred years and there’s no reason to change a thing! 

After I got over wondering where he keeps his blinkers while he sleeps, I started thinking about what an interesting response it was – I’ve been searching for years, how could I possibly have missed the Centre of Utopian Business?  Does it exist or is it yet to be created?

Here’s the top 5 things I’ve seen since I’ve been in the workforce that really don’t work…  (hmmm the word ‘workforce’ does not exactly exude joy does it? Could we call our people ‘peopleflow’ or ‘playflow’ instead??)

1.   Since the industrial revolution business has put profits well in front of people, leading to record-breaking levels of bullying, stress, depression, death, slave labour, environmental destruction and many other non-joyful outcomes, all for the benefit of the few at the top.

2.   The business world has a really severe case of ‘meeting-itis’ – apparently no drugs have been found to cure it yet and the virus is confusing people into believing they are leading rich, rewarding, purposeful lives.

3.   The insanely competitive race for profits, efficiency and productivity has seen the death of honesty, integrity and authenticity at pretty much all levels of many organizations, leading to a talent exodus from big business.  The structures that have sustained us for hundreds of years are disintegrating quickly!

4.   There is a lack of innovation and creativity in most businesses – real differentiation is rare except in the new-fangled creative accounting departments which sadly surprise us with their financial ingenuity far too often!

5.   There is little sense of true connection or community, even though bank advertising would have you believe it’s all about the love they have for us (LOL!).  There is mostly surface level connection between shareholders, senior managers, staff and customers – instead it is all about secrets, sabotage and scarcity.  What if there could be true non-competitive collaboration instead?

What would it take to reinvent business in ways that allow new and more blissful business choices?  The good news is, some of the real leaders in business (and generally that’s NOT the CEO’s of big business!) have already started paving the way…  times like these create massive possibilities for those willing to be different!!

Some businesses are choosing to make their workplace an engaging and enticing place to spend 8 hours a day rather than worrying about every last cent – think Google, Red Balloon Days and Carmen’s Fine Foods - (funnily enough they are all growing businesses.)

Some leaders are smart enough to know that ‘meeting-it is’ can be cured using holistic approaches – apparently simply holding a stand-up meeting will bring massive relief to sufferers!

Smart, intuitive, creative people are leaving big corporations to start their own businesses in droves because there is no bliss, love or joy to be found in traditional business and spending 8 – 12 hours a day doing something you hate just doesn’t cut it anymore.  Many are now building their own authentic, collaborative, inspirational communities so that business can be reinvented to sustain purpose, people and profits!  

I predict that over time these new leaders will be teaching the old leaders how it’s done…  Every day I connect with courageous, interesting, creative business owners and employees looking for ways to reinvent business that are ethical, blissful and sustainable… what would it take to be the change you want to see in the world?  (Or you could keep on with groundhog day… how’s it working for you??)

Want to join a conversation of real leaders?  Here’s a couple of choices for you:

Connect with people who are ‘different like you’ for two blissful days of Unconference presentations and conversations at The Bliss Connection in beautiful Maleny (Qld, Australia) on 30/31 October 2010…

or connect with BlissTribe on Facebook!

Staying positive in business is about getting and staying unstuck! The easiest way to get unstuck is to create change in the area of “stuckness” – it doesn’t have to be the ‘right’ and perfect change… just enough change for us to see the situation differently!  At that point magic can happen!

When I’m stuck (yes it still happens occasionally!!) I like to ask… ‘What other possibilities could I consider here?’ and list at least ten.  If we are willing to have ease in our life and business, our choice can always be for change rather than challenge!

When you are choosing which of these new possibilities to play with, always go with the one that feels the lightest – it will have the most potential for creative change.  When something feels heavy it is usually a less than joyful choice for us.  So what would it take for you to choose to shift the energy of your business just by making different choices?  

Sometimes these choices look tiny but can swing big possibilities!  Sometimes choices that feel really big actually make little discernable difference.  (This is one time when size doesn’t matter!!!)  Be brave – when everything changes, you can change everything!!

Ask which choice will create the most possibilities for bliss and head in that direction.  It may look like a detour, but sometimes those less-travelled routes are far more scenic and enjoyable than we can ever imagine at the start of the journey.  

Here’s a few other questions that can create more possibilities in your life and business…

•   What would it take to change this?
•   What else is possible that I haven’t thought of yet?
•   Who can help me change this?
•   What would I change if I could change anything in the universe?
•   What possibilities have I not thought of yet?  What would it take to see these possibilities with clarity?

Scientist have proven that when a butterfly flaps its wings the changes are felt on the other side of the world… what are you willing to create and change today that can change your world?  It’s just a choice you know!!

(Sometimes it takes someone else to help us see these possibilities – if you want to harness some group energy in creating change – come play with us on the Gold Coast on October 19th – we’re creating a whole lot of new possibilities for all who attend!!)