The Right-Brain Business Plan®

November 5, 2014

Products: The Next Best Thing to Cloning Yourself

Have YOU ever wanted to make your own info product?

Or have you already made a product but need some inspiration and support to get your next one done?

Stop being stuck in the money-for-time-box and learn how to package your know-how so you can reach more people at once, make more moola, and be a thought leader to boot!

My business shifted when I began to develop products. And yours can, too.

In fact, my first 9-page illustrated e-Book that I created in 2008 became the seed for my best-selling book The Right-Brain Business Plan, which in turn became a foundation for growing my multiple 6-figure business!

Starting November 10th, I’m leading the Right-Brain Product Development Playground and I’ll be sharing my secrets for getting your fabulous product ideas out of your head and into the hearts and hands of your peeps.

Maybe you’ve been spinning your wheels on your product idea for a few months (or years!) but don’t know how to get started. Or you’re soooo busy working with your clients that you can’t find the time to work on your product (hint: You may not realize it, but you actually have been working on your product! I’ll show you how.)

Your next product is ready to be born and your perfect customers are waiting to receive your gifts. Don’t let them wait any longer!

“Thanks to Jenn and her step-by-step strategies for factoring in both sides of the brain I’ve been able to successfully develop and deliver six products in less than two years. Jenn is an amazing guide who has taken a complex process and broken it into manageable chunks that will get you closer to having your product in the hands of your perfect customers in no time.” – Kiala Givehand, www.kialagivehand.com

Grab your spot before the super-affordable early-bird rate expires Friday, November 7th at 9pm PT.

Not only will you learn about how I’ve created my portfolio of creative products, you’ll also get an inside peek into the product development journeys of these super inspiring entrepreneurs.

How cool would it be to have your new offering ready to go before the new year even starts!

November 3, 2014

Join me Nov. 6th for an encore replay of my popular Multiple Moola-Making Methods video class

Are you tired of being trapped in the limiting money-for-time box?

There is a better way…

Whether you’re a service provider longing to earn more than what you can charge by the hour…

… or you’re a crafter or artist wanting to do more than what your own two eager (and exhausted) hands can make…

Come join me for the encore replay of my popular Multiple Moola-Making Methods video class on November 6th at 11am PT.

The last time I did this encore “cloning” format, I heard from so many participants that they really appreciated being able to interact more directly with me in the chat room and that they got a better understanding of what to take action on the second time around because I was able to do some laser coaching in the chat.

In this FREE, content-rich class you will:

Learn 3 main ways to make more moola – it’s simpler than it seems!
Get ideas for diversifying your moola-making methods and insights into what pitfalls to watch out for
Understand the progression from moola-for-time, to leveraged moola-making, to passive income and identify where you currently are on the map
Discover how you can finally charge a premium for your services or products
Create an action plan for increasing your moola-making
And more!

“I love how you ‘chunk’ the process into visuals – it helps me keep every step in mind without feeling overwhelmed by a list.”

“love how you incorporated spiritual practice with business work ethic, fantastic!”

October 23, 2014

Kick the bucket

Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Ho’omalamalama Brown

Let me rephrase that, “Kick the bucket of doubt and bury it in a deep hole.” I get tired
of doubt’s annoying habits like second guessing my work. Especially when I’ve put so
much of my heart into what I create. The worse is having doubt whisper insignificant
ramblings while I’m trying to concentrate. “Stop the insanity!” (If you grew up in the USA
during the 80’s you might remember that commercial.)

Kick the Bucket (In 3 steps)

1. MIND – Read or watch inspirational images, music or words.
2. BODY – Multiple benefits from a brisk walk or workout.
3. SPIRIT – Practice your affirmation, the one hanging on your fridge.
If you’re reaching for the stars “Spectacular” I’m cheering you on because I believe in
your dream. There’s one thing I’ve learned, doubt is a sure sign of success. It usually
shows up just before you make it big. PEACE be the Journey – Ho’o

One more thing, if you don’t have a quote or daily affirmation you can create one. The
main objective is to say it often until your mind, body & spirit aligns with your words.

Enlighten and brighten is the Hawaiian translation of Ho’omalamalama. As a performing artist and instructor of Polynesian culture Ho’o (ho-Oh) found her calling in the health and wellness realm. Today she extends that light into creative coaching utilizing the RBBP method, an effective way to help other creative entrepreneurs succeed. You can find Ho’o here: http://www.hoomalamalama.com/
Ho’o is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.

October 21, 2014

Feeling the Love!

Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Accountability Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

So many great things have happened in my world this year… from becoming a best-selling co-author of Succeeding Through Doubt, Fear and Crisis to being a finalist for the 2014 Business Leader in the Arts Award from the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance and the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region. I’m definitely feeling the love!

So I started thinking about how I got here? Of course it’s a combination of lots and lots of things, and here are a few that I’m consistently doing:
1. Showing up
2. Working hard without any expectation of recognition
3. Choosing to be kind

Showing Up

Being an introvert, it’s sometimes difficult to get up the gumption to attend events. But I make the effort and I go. What happens is that people get used to seeing me and it becomes much easier to start building relationships. Over time, we get to know each other and discover each other’s wonderfulness.

But simply showing up doesn’t mean much if you don’t show up authentically. By this I mean show up as yourself, as someone who is happy to be in her skin and who is fully engaged. It took me a while to understand this, but once you embrace your authentic self, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to be you than to try to be someone else! Then showing up becomes easy and fun.

Working Hard Without Any Expectation of Recognition

I’m a behind-the-scenes kind of person. I love being a coach because I love helping my clients shine. The fact that I work hard without the expectation of recognition means I can truly revel in the moments when I receive recognition. And that makes life my juicy!

Think about it. If you expect other people recognize you for everything you do, you’re setting yourself up for lots of disappointment when that recognition does not happen. Why not just eliminate that unrealistic expectation and celebrate your successes yourself? Fill your Cool Stuff Jar with your own personal recognition of a job well done. Then, when you get recognized for something, it’s like a wonderful surprise that you can fully appreciate and enjoy. And that makes your life juicy!

Choosing To Be Kind

Kindness is a wonderful gift you can deliver to people around you anytime, anywhere. It costs nothing, but it yields a fortune in terms of good will and good relationships. When you choose to be kind, you choose to offer respect and, as a result, you tend to get respect and appreciation in return.

Here’s a great example. I was standing in line with a lot of passengers after our flight got canceled. One after another, the people in front of me were treating the airline employees like it was their fault the flight was canceled. The lady in front of me let out all her frustration and anger by yelling and being extremely rude and demeaning to the agent. I was amazed that the agent didn’t fly over the counter and whack her! My turn came and I chose to be kind to the agent. I told her that I admired her restraint with the lady in front of me. I told her that I was not going to yell at her and that I would be patient and pleasant while she helped me find an alternate flight. I gave her a chance to breathe and collect herself and we parted with a smile.

Oh, and I ended up flying in first class that day.

So what are you doing to set yourself up to feel the love? Are you showing up authentically at your events? Are you working hard without expecting recognition from others? Are you choosing to be kind? Are you filling your Cool Stuff Jar?

Thanks for reading this post. Why not share a few things you do that help you feel the love!

Cass Mullane’s calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. She’s a best selling author, textile and mixed media artist and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar coaching program. Visit Cass on Facebook!

October 17, 2014

Creating Your Own Water Cooler Community

Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator and Associate Coach Kiala Givehand

Let’s face it. If you are a creative entrepreneur who works and creates solo, it can get a little lonely working from your laptop or your studio all by yourself. If you worked in an office and you had co-workers, you’d likely have some sort of gathering place onsite where you all had your community conversations, check-in, and chats. In the traditional office setting, you can run next door to your colleague and brainstorm or bounce ideas off one another. But if you work solo, you’re likely not in conversation with others very much, if at all.

Yet, it’s just as important (if not more important) to have those connections when you work alone. Creating your network with intention can give you countless ways to share, grow, and learn as a business owner. Here are a few ways you can build your own “water cooler community”!

1. Accountability Buddy — find another person that you have a connection with and who you feel will be a good fit for keeping you accountable to the things you say you want to get done in your business. Accountability buddies can work together in a number of ways — like checking-in on a weekly basis to say what they want to get done and report back on what they actually did. Sometimes just stating your intention and having someone witness your forward movement can be powerful and affirming.

2. Blogging BFF — Whether you are a professional blogger, a newbie, or a fledgling start-and-stop blogger, having a blogging best friend can help you take your blogging to the next level. Being able to brainstorm, share resources, and proofread for each other can be a lovely blogging relationship. You might even have a small group of 3 – 5 bloggers who gather around each other to help the blogging feel less isolating.

3. Nurture Huddles — In her book, The Right Brain Business Plan, Jennifer Lee talks about the nurture huddle as a kind of safe and sacred space for creative entrepreneurs to support one another. Three to six people who connect on a regular basis just to share, speak, and support can prove especially empowering when you start to hear that others are dealing with the same kinds of concerns and situations that you’ve been facing on your own. In this kind of community each person has the chance to be heard and seen. It’s such a lovely way to acknowledge the ups and downs and the ins and outs of working solo.

4. Master Mind Groups — This is similar to a nurture huddle but tends to be more focused on the business side of your business (instead of the more personal side of what it means to be a business owner and how that shows up in your personal life.) The mastermind can often be more lengthy than a phone call can sustain and might even been a day long event depending on the number of people in your group. It’s a lovely way to get multiple perspectives on a new project, offering, or product you are planning.

Of course there are many other ways you can create your very own “water cooler community,” but these should give you a good place to start. The point is that even if you start a solo business, you don’t have to function in isolation. There are others just like you waiting and wanting to have conversations about creating a thriving business.

Keep in mind that these connections don’t have to be bound by place. In each of the above scenarios you can find ways to bridge the time and space divides. Using SKYPE, Google Hangouts, and other video streaming options can provide an alternative to having a face-to-face requirement. But if you find that you want to be in a face-to-face community, there are likely others in your area who want the same thing. Will you be the one to initiate the conversation?

Kiala Givehand, EdS, MFA, MA is the founder of Giving Hands Creative, Generations Literary Press, and HowToArtJournal.com. She has a unique perspective on what it means to be a multi-passionate business owner. As an empowerment & accountability coach for creative female entrepreneurs, introverts, writers, & artists, Kiala uses her fierce energy to help her clients identify and embrace their gifts so they can empower their lives with passion and intentional success. You can visit her on her Website. Kiala is one of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators and a Right Brain Business Plan Associate Coach.

September 19, 2014

The Beauty of Setting Boundaries

Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator and Associate Coach Kiala Givehand

If you are a right-brained business owner who loves what they do, you will likely understand when I say there is both pain and pleasure in doing what you love. And if you work from home, you’ll likely agree with that sentiment even more. Most small business owners are striving to build the lives they want and that often means moving out of the traditional workforce and into entrepreneurship.

But what happens when there are days that don’t allow you to spend time creating or connecting or sharing? What does it look like when you find yourself drowning in your to-do list and feeling overwhelmed by the demands and requests from family, friends, and even from your perfect customers? By the time you get to this feeling, you might think there’s no way out. Like you don’t know where you business stops and your life begins. One surefire way to pull yourself out of this space is to make sure you are setting clear and realistic boundaries.

Boundaries can take on many forms. From setting specific work hours for yourself each day to saying no to spontaneous lunch dates and last minute requests from loved ones to “handle this” or to “take care of that.” You put boundaries in place so that you can stand firm on the values you’ve identified for yourself and for your business. The one thing that is true for most creative entrepreneurs is that we love what we do and so we could likely do it all day, every day without issue, but we still need to hold ourselves accountable to prevent burnout and overwhelm.

The first, and maybe the most important, is setting boundaries for your work day. Working from home requires a special kind of boundary setting strategy. Let’s face it, when you work from home, you never really leave the “office” — you’re always at work. So having clear boundaries around your work hours and your home hours is a good place to start.

If it helps to reframe the word “boundary” you can think of it as bookends or as a container. It’s fine to say that you value time freedom in your business, but what does that look like for you? Does that mean you work traditional hours of 9AM to 5PM? Or does that mean you get to create your own work hours that allow your work day to start at 6AM and end at 2PM with a one hour break at 9AM?

Whatever your work day looks like, it needs a container or a frame that only you can create. Once you have these hours established, you may want to post them somewhere visible to you everyday. You might set a reminder in your phone that tells you when your work day is done. Do whatever you need to do in order to have a definite end to your work day so that your life and your work don’t become one. Keep in mind that you can change your work hours as you see fit. It’s the act of setting a start and end time that will empower you.

**If setting a start and end time feels too stifling for you, try thinking about it from the other direction. Set the times that you want to play or the times that you must be available for your loved ones or other set engagements, then build your work schedule around that.

Next, boundaries can prove extremely helpful when dealing with your perfect customers. Knowing when to say no or when to walk away is just as valuable as knowing when a client isn’t the perfect fit for you and when they are.

If you run a service based business, you are likely dealing directly with your customer. That could mean you are exchanging time for money. When this is your business model, it’s really easy to give more than you are actually getting paid to give. This is common for heart-centered creatives who get joy from helping others. Here are a few ways you can set clear boundaries with your clients/customers:

Know your boundaries. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it’s a lot harder for some than you might think. One way to know your boundaries is to write them down. What are you willing to do and what are you absolutely not willing to do? For instance, if you do not want to hold meetings via Skype, but the client insists, how will you handle it? While you cannot anticipate every possible scenario, you likely have some “deal breakers” — start with those.
Create a contract, memorandum of understanding, or a customer agreement that clearly states your work hours, fees, what you charge for rush jobs, last minute appointments, cancellations, tasks not listed in the original agreement, etc. This sets the expectations from the very beginning.
Don’t respond to emails outside of your stated work hours. This gives the impression that you are available any time. You might state your email response time in your customer agreement to help in this area.

Finally, setting boundaries is really important with family and friends. Often times the words “work from home” don’t properly translate for people who have worked traditional jobs or no jobs at all. They may picture you sleeping till noon every day and spending time watching television while they are busy going about their work, school, or other activities. Only you can know what feels right for you, so spend some time thinking about this and create clear boundaries that you then communicate to those closest to you.

For example, maybe you hang a special ribbon on the door knob of your office when you don’t want to be disturbed. Or maybe you have your siblings or best friends text before calling you during work hours. Whatever it looks like for you, it’s imperative that you communicate clearly what they can expect from you and of you. This can reduce a great deal of anxiety, guilt, and resentment down the road.

The bottom line is that It takes practice to set and stick to your boundaries, but once you commit to the practice, you can turn your boundaries into your best friend. Boundaries can be the things that help you embrace more ease in your day-to-day business. Which boundaries do you know you need to set but haven’t?

September 12, 2014

I LOVE MOTIVATED PEOPLE

Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Accountability Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

I just spent a lovely week in Vail, CO at a business retreat with one of my mastermind groups. Here’s the weird thing… we never left the condo except for a few very short walks, a couple of dips in the hot tub and a couple of grocery runs. We planned it well, and, most importantly, we were all in the right mindset to really delve deep into our businesses.

This particular group is all artists who are also business-minded and has been meeting monthly for a couple of years. We’d originally planned this retreat in conjunction with a teaching gig one of the group members had in Puerto Vallarta. But that didn’t work out for a number of reasons. Looking back, I think it was a good thing as we would have been very distracted by the fun of Puerto Vallarta and not terribly focused on our business planning and strategizing. Our trip to Vail was great because we’re all from Colorado and we hang in the mountains a lot, so the lure of Vail was not a huge distraction.

So, we each found a comfortable spot in the condo to spread out and do what we came to do. It was quiet and productive. We generally came together for meals and talked over where we were and bounced ideas off each other. We started off each morning with an exercise that got us in an expanded frame of mind and in the evening we either played a crazy fun game or watched a training type video or just worked until it was time to wind down. We each marched to our own rhythms, we were happy and we were focused.

As a business coach it was great to watch the earbuds go in, the flipchart paper go up on the walls and see the colorful sticky notes starting to appear. I saw mind maps, colorful shapes and arrows, I saw research being done, budgets being considered, calendars being filled in. I watched these ladies buckle down and do the work necessary to have a successful business.

And I felt very proud of them. They’ve got it. They understand what it takes to make strategic decisions about their businesses. They know how to get clear on their vision and set strong goals to go after their vision. They know how to look big then break it down into small, manageable steps to take home and implement.

I’m also proud of myself because I took the time I needed for ME to work on my business. Lots of coaches experience a similar problem: we spend so much of our energy on helping everyone else work on their businesses that we neglect to make the time to work on our own businesses. Well that was not the case in Vail. I got some much needed focus and attention on where I’m going in the next 18 months and it’s exciting.

The point is that amazing things can happen when you hang out with motivated people. So, who are you hanging out with? Are they supporting you and challenging you? What are you proud of in yourself and in those around you? Look for your own group of motivated people. Find them, get to know them, work with them. Get yourself a quality accountability partner… or two, or four. Then get to work on finishing out 2014 strong and enjoy cruising into 2015 surrounded by great people.

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