From the category archives:

Musepreneur

Beware the Pretty Plan

by Jennifer Lee on October 26, 2011

in Entrepreneurship,Musepreneur

Right-Brain Business Plan

How you approach creating your Right-Brain Business Plan® can provide you important clues to how approach running your business. Remember the RBBP process is not about making a pretty plan. Rather, it’s about making something that’s meaningful to you and empowers you to take action to make your vision real.

Below are some common scenarios I’ve come across. Do you relate to one or more?

Is your first thought to head over to the art store to pick up supplies for your RBBP? When setting out to make your RBBP, do you rush over to Michael’s to stock up on fancy paper, new ribbon, a set of colorful markers, and anything other goodies that catch your eye. While you’re there, you might even grab a book to learn about visual journaling because you’re thinking about doing collage and mixed media for your plan, but you’re not really sure how to do that. Or maybe you should take a class instead so you can get more hands on instruction? Believe me, I hear these comments a lot!

If this sounds like you: You are always thinking that you need something else before you get started. There’s always one more training intensive or yearlong certification program to take before you can offer your services or raise your rates. Or maybe you think you can’t move forward with making your products because you don’t have quite the right equipment or tools yet.

Suggestion: The reality is you can start from wherever you are. So just start!

Are you spending too much time trying to figure out the best format for your RBBP? You waver back and forth, “Hmm, should it be an art journal or an accordion book? Or would a big wall sized collage be more inspiring? Oh, but I need it to be really creative and unique, so maybe it needs to be a 3-D diorama made out of a shoebox and construction paper.” Sound familiar? If you find yourself spinning over how many choices and ideas you have, I bet this pattern shows up in your business, too.

If this sounds like you: You probably are the type of person who has so many ideas for products you can make and services you can provide that you’re so busy brainstorming that you haven’t gotten around to actually implementing any of your ideas.

Suggestion: Pick the simplest format (even just a piece of scratch paper and a colorful pen to make mind maps) and start from there. You’ll gain momentum and clarity the more you get into it. The other thing to realize is that just like your vision and your business, your RBBP is going to grow and evolve, so don’t get too attached to how it looks now. You can always add to it later.

Are you getting hung up on the details or seduced by the process? Perhaps you’ve picked your format, but you’re obsessed with getting that decorative ribbon to attach just so. Or you’ve become so enamored with adding sparkly embellishments that you’ve delayed taking any real action and you’ve lost sight of why you’re making your plan in the first place.

If this sounds like you: You may be too heads down designing a product or program without ever taking action. Or you’re focusing only on the bells and whistles and not on why your customers would benefit from what you have to offer.

Suggestion:  Work on your plan while listening to a 30-60 min. fun and inspiring playlist. Once the music is up, put your supplies down and then ask yourself what’s an action from your plan you need to take now and do it. You can do the same practice with working on your product or program. Spend an hour or two working and then stop to ask yourself what’s one action that will move your project forward and take that action now. Also, keep in mind how your plan and actions fit into your bigger vision.

Are you not ready to show your RBBP until it’s totally complete and 100% figured out? Maybe you’ve been making progress on your RBBP and you’re feeling pretty good about where it’s heading. But, it’s not totally finished yet so you avoid sharing it with anyone else. Geez, you wouldn’t want anyone to see something half-baked, right?! Well, here’s the thing… your plan will probably always be a work in progress and will never be 100% done or figured out. And in fact, the more you share your ideas with others and get feedback and support, the clearer and more real things will become.

If this sounds like you: You avoid talking about your business, engaging with others, getting customers, etc. until you have the perfect thing to say or show. Unfortunately that means you’re most likely missing out on opportunities now.

Suggestion: Stretch yourself and share your plan or idea with at least three supportive people this week. You could ask for some specific feedback, you could make an offer to someone to be a beta tester, or you could request some encouragement or help. Your plan, your business, and your life don’t happen in a vacuum, so make sure you’re getting others involved

Even though the above scenarios describe working with your Right-Brain Business Plan®, these can also apply to your life in general. The RBBP here can be a metaphor for one of your personal goals and how you might be preventing yourself from bringing that dream to life.

{ 7 comments }

Developing Your Personal Curriculum

by Jennifer Lee on September 8, 2011

in Entrepreneurship,Musepreneur

Learning and Personal Growth

It’s back to school time and even though I haven’t been in an official classroom in many years, I consider myself a life-long learner. One of my top core values is learning and personal growth. I find that many of the creative souls and entrepreneurs I work with value learning as well. Investing in your own personal and professional development helps you stay creatively stimulated, hone your craft, and enhance your business.

In a sea of information it can feel overwhelming to know what subject or what resource to dive into. Sometimes us life-long learners trick ourselves in thinking we need to go for that next certification, Masters, or PhD to truly know our stuff when all we really need to do is be creative and develop our own personal curriculum.

Mix and match resources that work for you and design your own learning plan. Here are some ideas on how to do that:

Make a list of the topics you want to learn more about. What are you curious about? What do you need to know more about to grow your business - marketing, finances, social media, hiring a team, or maybe product development? And hey, what would simply tickle your creative fancy?

Be clear on your desired outcome. Do you want to be an expert? Are you just broadening your horizons? Do you need to learn a specific skill to do better on the job or to grow your business?

Take into account how you learn. Are you an experiential learner? Do you do better with visuals or audio? Do you prefer an intensive program where you can stack everything back to back and get it done quickly or do you like to have things spread out so you have time to absorb? Would you prefer to learn solo at your own pace or together in a community? Is there a particular teacher who you resonate with?

Decide on how much you’re willing to invest. Focusing on your education means dedicating some level of time and money. Would you rather find free content online that you skim through 30 minutes each day? Or are you so super serious about building this skill that you’re willing to put down several thousand dollars for an intensive program?

Develop a timeline. Most likely you won’t be able to tackle all of the topics at once, so prioritize which ones would serve you best now. What are you 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and 5-year personal curriculum plans?

Research options, identify your top choices, and take action. Based on your desired outcome, learning style, investment level, and timeline look into the different ways you could brush up on the topic(s). Maybe reading a book from the library will do. Or you can take an e-course, attend a seminar, or register for a teacher training or certification program, or hire a coach or mentor. Pick one or two resources and take action – sign-up, show up, do the work.

Find a study buddy. When my husband is learning a new programming language, he does video chat sessions with another coder and they program and problem-solve together. Carving out the time and having accountability with another person can accelerate your comprehension.

Apply what you’re learning. Don’t feel like you need to take every single class on the subject before you can actually do the work. Start using your newfound knowledge and skills now. In fact, you’ll most likely get better with practice, so practice away.

{ 2 comments }

Mid-Year Check-in

by Jennifer Lee on June 29, 2011

in Entrepreneurship,Musepreneur

Stop/Start/Continue: Mid-Year Check-in

It’s hard to believe that June is almost over and that we’re halfway through the year!  Have you reached your business goals so far?  Are you on your way to achieving your targets for the rest of 2011?

Either way, now is a great time to review the first six months of your Right-Brain Business Plan® and make adjustments for the next six months and beyond.

Below are four simple steps for conducting a mid-year check-in:

1.  Celebrate your accomplishments.

Ask yourself, “What’s working?” Whether you have a solid plan in place or not, I bet that you have made progress in your creative businesses.  Perhaps you started blogging, posted new items to your Etsy store or landed new clients.

As you reflect back on your accomplishments, you might even notice that some of them weren’t in your original plan.  That’s okay.  Maybe you didn’t anticipate some great opportunities that have come your way.   These could be valuable clues to where you want to go next.  How do these successes align to your overall vision?  How can you proactively invite more into your business in the future?

Now, if you’re saying things to yourself such as, “But I don’t even have a business plan” or “Ummm, I haven’t even finished anything I said I would,” I challenge you to write down at least one achievement per month for the past six months.  I bet that you can find small things to celebrate!  The more you acknowledge your forward movement, the more momentum and clarity you’ll gain.

2.  Course correct, if needed.

Ask yourself, “What’s not working?” Don’t worry.  Plans aren’t perfect.  You don’t have a crystal ball (or if you do, I’d love to borrow it!).  It’s totally reasonable that you didn’t take into account some unforeseen challenges.  Maybe you need to adjust your marketing efforts.  Or perhaps you need to look into updating your offerings or re-jigging your pricing structure.

What have you learned from what’s not working in your business?  As you think about where you want to head, what will you shift or do differently?  Yes, plans provide structure but they are not cast in stone.  This is an opportunity to discover creative solutions and since you’re a right-brain entrepreneur, I know that you’re creative!

3.  Go where there’s flow.

Ask yourself, “What brings me joy in my business?” If you’re enjoying yourself, having fun and following your passion, running your business will be a lot easier and fulfilling.  Light-bulb moments often come when you’re in a creative flow, so feed your Inner Muse with inspiration and joy.  After all, you started your business because you love what you do, so honor that!

And sure, running your business also includes some not-so-favorite tasks that you would rather avoid.  But don’t wallow in the yucky stuckness and don’t bury your head in the sand.  Both will just cause frustration.  Instead, call upon your Inner Muse to help you move through the tough spots with grace and flow.  What can you outsource or barter?  Where can you ask for help?  Having a support system in place can certainly help keep things moving forward.

4.  Set an intention.

Ask yourself, “What do I want for my business in the next six months?” Whether you’re continuing to march down the path of your original vision or you’ve tweaked your plans, make sure that you’re explicit about your intention.  Having a simple, clear focus will help you make authentic and aligned choices in your business.

May the next six months and beyond be filled with creative flow and business success!

If you’d like a simple tool to help you do your mid-year check-in, download the Stop, Start, Continue illustrated play sheet shown above along with eight other play sheets plus more free Right-Brain Business Plan® goodies.

{ 0 comments }

When DIY Just Doesn’t Cut It

by Jennifer Lee on June 8, 2011

in Entrepreneurship,Musepreneur

Right-Brain Business Plan®

When I practice yoga on my own, I do all of my favorite poses. I listen to my breath. I follow my flow. I let my body lead me and that can feel really good and rewarding.

But sometimes I get lazy. I avoid poses I hate. Those challenging ones that remind me how inflexible my hips and hamstrings can be. Or utkatasana (chair pose) because it really makes my quads burn. I don’t stay in poses long enough. I don’t push myself that extra bit to get the full benefit of an asana.

However, when I’m in a yoga class, the teacher gives cues to help us with alignment. He might even give me an adjustment to show me how I can go a bit further in the pose than I would’ve expected. I still need to pay attention and have awareness of myself, but having someone to guide me makes a big difference in developing my practice.

I find the same in my business when I’m in DIY-mode versus when I’m working with my business mentor. When I’m trudging along on my own, I can get easily sidetracked. I have trouble focusing because I’m trying to do too much. I procrastinate. I can play it safe by avoiding projects that seem too ambitious, advanced, or out of reach for me.

Having a coach or mentor is like getting adjustments from my yoga teacher. They give me gentle nudges toward where I have the potential to go but may not see for myself just yet. Just like I might attempt an intricate arm balance during a yoga class, when I’ve got the support of a mentor or coach, I’m more open to go after a big stretch goal or project that I thought was only for other people. The Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit I hosted for my book launch earlier this year is the perfect example of that.

Sure going to a yoga class or working with a coach costs more than going it alone. But there are times when I find the investment worth it. I see results faster. I master things that I had no idea I could do.

If you’ve been a DIY entrepreneur but are finding yourself stuck or frustrated, ask yourself how is this working for you? What would having access to expertise and experience do for you? Think about times when you did have support – maybe a tutor, an older brother, a teacher, or a trainer. What was different for you when you had someone helping you, teaching you, and holding you accountable?

{ 0 comments }

Avocado

You either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I’m not a fan of the avocado. Or at least I haven’t been up until not that long ago. You see, I find them kinda gross – the mushy texture, and the reptilian, bumpy green skin. (Sorry, if you’re an avocado aficionado!).

Despite my aversion to this green power food, I know that avocados are good for me. So, I tricked myself by hiding them in my morning smoothies. They sure add lots of creaminess and extra nutrition. While I would never eat an avocado alone, I may stop picking them out of my California rolls, and I for sure will continue having them as smoothie companions.

Learning to get along with a food I once despised has helped me realize that I don’t have to avoid things I thought I “hated” in business and in life. In fact, that’s just an old story I’ve been telling myself and I had been missing out! So here are some ideas to help you try something new:

  • Make it palatable. Blueberries and squeeze of agave nectar help to mask the avocado taste and tell-tale green tint. If there’s something you don’t like doing, what’s a way to make it more appealing to you? Hate using spreadsheets? How about adding fun colors, fonts, and even graphics. I do that to mine and it makes them a whole lot easier to look at!
  • Make it a game. The more I experiment with my smoothie recipes, the more I learn about how to tell when an avocado is ripe and what the best avocado to banana ratio is for optimum richness. By making it a game, I’ve stayed engaged and gotten to know my “tools.” I find that to be the case, too, when I’m doing things like budgeting or pricing. If I stick with it long enough and look at it like a game, I can start to feel more comfortable with all the variables and I can often find more creative solutions.
  • Invite others to play with you. I started to take pictures of my smoothies and avocados and sharing them on Instagram. I was amazed to hear how many other people put avocados in their smoothies and how fellow avocado haters were willing to try it in their smoothies, too. I felt supported in my new avocado adventures! It reminded me of the camaraderie that developed as creative souls who disliked the traditional way of doing business came together during my Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit.

So, I’m curious, what’s your “avocado”? And how can you start to make friends with it this week?

{ 2 comments }

The Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit

Here is the last part of the Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit Q&A from the chat logs. Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.

Q: How can you justify hiring people for things you’re not good at (e.g. accountant, etc) when you’re not really making money yet?
A: This can certainly feel like a chicken and egg situation. Here are a few ways to look at this. First, prioritize who you hire. Right out of the gate I chose to invest in an accountant because you can’t avoid taxes and I wanted to make sure they were getting done right. He also helped set up my Quickbooks. I didn’t hire a bookkeeper or virtual assistant until about three years into doing my business full-time, although, I could’ve probably invested in these services sooner. If you’re needing any legal assistance, hiring a lawyer is a good idea. I didn’t hire one until 2010, prior to that I made due with the less expensive LegalZoom.com and TMExpress.com. Also, realize that you do need to spend some money to make some money. For example, I hired Jeremie Miller to help with the webinar. It was an upfront cost, but I made that back and much more through doing the summit, and I couldn’t have done the summit without his expert involvement. So think of it as an investment if it’s toward something that can bring in a profit. If you need to hire someone but are short on funds, you can consider working with students, interns, or someone just getting started whose rates may be lower.

The next place to look is the statement about “not really making money yet.” Ask yourself what are some ways you can start bringing in money now, even if your business is brand new. If you know there’s someone you need to hire, set that amount (plus a little more) for an income goal. For example, when I knew I needed to hire a lawyer to help do some trademark work and agreements, I decided to run another e-course to help cover the costs.

Q: Do you and Kate Prentiss (your graphic designer) have a formal business agreement?
A: Yes, Kate and I create formal business agreements for our projects, typically a work for hire agreement (here’s an example of one) and a project estimate. For our first couple of projects we were a bit more casual, but now it’s helpful to be clear about expectations about deliverables, payments, ownership, etc. and to have it officially in writing. And we still make sure we keep lines of communication open if things are taking longer than anticipated.

Q: How do you balance working on your biz. with doing your own creative work? What is your daily schedule normally, Jenn? Your most creative time?
A: My business is a wonderful outlet for my creativity, so I feel like I get to express that in most of what I do. I’ve designed my work and my life to honor my creativity so I don’t necessarily feel like I have to balance between the two in that sense. For smaller, personal creative outlets, I enjoy taking pics on my iPhone, doing a doodle every know and then, and sometimes going to painting class.

In terms of my daily schedule, it actually varies day to day. You can read about my morning routine in Goddess Leonie’s How to be a Morning Goddess free Goddessfesto. During the late morning/afternoon I might coach, write, work on projects, or plan. I take breaks throughout the day. I’d say my most creative time is probably in the afternoon at about 3 or 4 and then sometimes in the very middle of the night. But then there are times I can be highly creative because I’ve just sat my butt down to do the work. And what helps with that is using the application Concentrate – it’s how I wrote my book!

Q: Do you do separate RBBP plans for different aspects of a business, like a book?
A: I have a Right-Brain Business Plan for my business and I did create separate pieces of an RBBP for my book because there were certain things like the business landscape and getting the word out that were more specific to the book. You can certainly do separate RBBPs for different aspects of your business. Instead of taking a deep dive on all of the sections, you might want to focus on the pieces of the plan that make the most sense. For example, the Business Landscape is a good exercise to do for different offerings to make sure you’re clear about what customer needs you’re meeting and how you can stand apart from your peers. You might have specific getting the word out and managing the moola goals, too.

 

{ 0 comments }

The Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit

Last month during the Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit, participants asked lots of great questions on the live chat. I posted some answers a while back and I wanted to catch up on writing a few more responses. I’ll be posting another round of Q&A from the summit next week.

Q: How do you handle, when you’ve done all the planning and pieces that you need to get your creative endeavor working and no one shows up?!

A: That can certainly be discouraging and I’ve definitely been there. One of the things that can help avoid that disappointment is to test things along the way so that you have a better sense if it will fly or not. That might mean asking some people to give feedback on a prototype of a product or test run of a service, conducting a survey with your target market, running price points by some trusted colleagues or clients. And if and when you do find yourself in that situation of no one showing up (cuz yes, it does happen!), you need to be flexible and resilient. Sure, you can give yourself a little bit of time to pout, vent, or whatever it is that you need to get the frustration out of your system. But don’t stay there long. Find a way to quickly move on. Ask yourself what did you learn from this situation? How else can you meet your perfect customers’ needs? Do you just need to tweak your approach or does it need an overhaul? Check in with your creative cohorts for some outside perspective and insights. Readjust your plan and get out there and “test” things again.

Q: How do you manage it mentally and business-wise when you pour a lot of time and energy into a dream or goal and then realize that your goal has changed mid-way through?

A: I’m kind of in the midst of this right now. I had goals about how I wanted to expand my business for the rest of the year, but I’m rethinking those right now due to some shifts in my focus and also some new potential opportunities. Well actually more like I have the same goal of how much money I want to make, however, the strategies to get there might change a bit. Mentally (and emotionally), it can feel like a roller coaster ride. Business-wise, it can be tough if you realize that one approach isn’t working for you and money isn’t flowing in. That is certainly an indicator that something needs to change. I find it super helpful to work with a coach to 1) help work through the mental/emotional swirl that can emerge during a transition like this and 2) help brainstorm and implement new approaches to reach the goal. Similar to the answer above, as an entrepreneur you do need to be flexible and resilient. Tweaking things mid-stream can actually be the best thing you can do for yourself and your business if you’re being responsive to the environment or proactive about new opportunities.

Q: Jenn, what criteria do you use to personally prioritize your goals?
A: I use sequencing as one criteria. If there are multiple products or offerings I’m wanting to implement, I ask myself what makes sense to deliver first. Do things build on each other? Will doing one first help inform the next? For example, one of the goals that’s been on my list for quite some time is launching a licensing program for The Right-Brain Business Plan and my Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit. Even though I’ve been anxious to release these, it made sense for me to focus on getting my book out first the licensing would include material from the book. That’s more of a left-brain answer. Sometimes it’s a right-brain answer of just paying attention to where my energy, passion, and interest is and to follow that flow. That approach helps me gain momentum when I’m feeling stuck or overwhelmed. It at least gets me moving and checking to-do’s off my list.


{ 0 comments }

We completed the first week of the Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit on Friday. Wow, I’m so blown away by this community of creative souls coming together to make a difference and to pioneer a new way of doing work!

During these free sessions there are plenty of questions that get asked in our chat room. So many questions zoom by that it’s pretty dizzying to keep up when it’s live (and even to read in the chat log, for that matter)!

I’ve made the commitment to answer some of the questions via a blog post at the end of each week since we can’t get to all of the questions during the live session.

How the questions get filtered

Given the amount of questions that get asked and the range in complexity and focus, I’ll highlight a handful here that seemed to have the most interest (asked multiple times in different ways) and/or that seem most relevant to the topics at hand and the audience at large.

Some questions asked in the chat will actually be touched upon in future sessions, so hold on to them and see if they get addressed during the guest interviews or the webinars.

AND some questions are just so deep, juicy, personal, and philosophical that a blog post answer won’t do it justice. Those might be some great questions for a coaching session!

Also, if you have very specific questions about resources that don’t get answered in the webinar, feel free to ask the community via the #rbbiz Twitter hashtag and/or the Right-Brain Business Plan Facebook Fan Page. You guys have a lot of collective wisdom to share, so continue helping each other out – it’s part of being in the #rbbiz community!

Questions:
Q: Where do we get that post it note calendar behind you?
A: Paper Source. Here’s a post I did about my favorite creative planning tools.

Q: How do you distinguish the various forms of fear from redlight signals? What about the difference between good fear and excitement?
A: There were several of these types of questions that came up. This to me is one of those juicy personal questions that only you can truly answer for yourself but since it came up so much I’ll try to address it somewhat here. Have a dialogue with your fear and get curious about what its motivations are. Check in with your body and listen to how it’s reacting. Talk the decision through with trusted advisors and your creative cohorts. Ultimately trust your higher self to make the decision and also know that if it’s not the right decision in the end you are resourceful enough to recover and learn from it. Also, I did an interview a couple of years ago that talks a bit about big visions and fears.

Q: How to know the first place to start, when I have so many ideas?
A: I’d say use Andrea J. Lee’s Hell Yes, Hell No filter as a start. For the Hell Yes’s which ones are your quickest path to money? What are some quick wins? Sometimes it helps to have some momentum with smaller quick wins before tackling the bigger projects.

Q: For vision, do you mean the larger ideals you’re working towards, or concrete goals/milestones you want to achieve?
A: When I talk about vision on the summit and in the book, yes, I’m talking about the bigger, overall picture of how you want things to be and how you want to feel. The concrete goals, strategies, milestones, and actions are what support making that vision real.

Q: I am in transition and am playing the ‘”lone wolf”‘ can I still use the RB Bus. plan and if so how?
A: Yes, the RBBP can be used to help you get clear on where you want to transition to. You don’t need to be full-time in your business yet to have a plan. And just because you’re a one man/woman show, doesn’t mean that you don’t still need a plan. You still need to know what products and services you’re offering, to who, for how much, and how you’ll get the word out. Also, as you do your plan you might find places where you need to bring in some additional support so you don’t have to be the “lone wolf” anymore.

Q: How can we really zero in on what makes us unique to offer in a business sense?
A: Do the business landscape work, ask clients (or friends/colleagues if you don’t have clients yet) for feedback – there’s exercises in Chapter 3 for this, and pay attention to what is resonating with people. I think this is something that get clearer over time and putting yourself out there and getting feedback is a great way to hone in on what makes you stand out.

Q: What is the best way to find TRENDS?
A: There are several resources listed on pages 58-59 of the book.

Q: How do you research small niche markets? How do you find information about non-traditional markets?
A: Find out where they get their information from, where do they hang out, do searches online. If you can’t find actual numbers, do the Perfect Customer Portraits on pages 79-85.

Q: Can you find your target market a la carte? As you go along, researching?
A: As with any part of the business planning process, you’re always learning as you go, so sure you can “a la carte” it as you say!

{ 0 comments }

Do you love your business? And does your business love you back?

February 9, 2011 Entrepreneurship
Thumbnail image for Do you love your business? And does your business love you back?

Valentine’s Day is almost here and love is in the air. So speaking of love, I’m curious… Do you love your business? Or if you work for someone else, do you love your job? I mean really, really love it? We spend so much of our time working, why not be absolutely head over heels [...]

Read the full article →

Build on What You Know

February 2, 2011 Entrepreneurship
Thumbnail image for Build on What You Know

As you grow your business or expand into uncharted territory, you might not always be sure of what steps it will take to get there. When that happens, how about using something you’re already familiar with to gain clarity about tackling an unfamiliar task? For example, how is baking brownies like building a blog? What’s [...]

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Read the full article →