THE PROFIT PRINCIPLES: THE POWER OF PAIN TO PLEASURE

THE PROFIT PRINCIPLES: THE POWER OF PAIN TO PLEASURE: Personal and professional growth are tremendously accelerated by stepping outside your comfort zone and challenging your status ...

THE POWER OF PAIN TO PLEASURE

Personal and professional growth are tremendously accelerated by stepping outside your comfort zone and challenging your status quo. Typically these growth spurts are triggered by external drivers outside of your own control.  When you graduated from high school for instance, although unsure of the future, you were forced to take the next steps with rewards you are probably still reaping today!

This and other great examples of unsurpassed growth may well be reflected upon especially those that are self initiated as they are the hardest to master. Unless you are firmly behind your initial decision and continue despite uncomfortable situations and unfamiliar terrain, you must hold on to an unshakable belief and muster unlimited perseverance to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Only then will the pain of change eventually share its rewards.

One personal account to highlight the pain to pleasure principle is our own family move to Canada. Taking away everything we knew; leaving behind everyone we love aside from our own close family was a major shakeup to our emotional balance as well as hugely challenging to our own status quo. Many times did we consider to pack it all in and go home. But now, 6 years later, we are eternally grateful for sticking it out [although not often easy] as we have all gained massively from our ‘crazy’ move!

As an entrepreneur you have definitely chosen the path of challenging your professional status quo.  Continuously pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone, you have to face up to your own personal gremlins and professional competency gaps.

Dreaded personality traits like the love to procrastinate or the lack of self-discipline. These of course will come to haunt you when you miss another client deadline.

Adding to that the frustrating competency gaps that seem to creep up at every turn. Be it the lack of understanding of your financial statements, the technology challenges that you're supposed to take in your stride or the fear of having to sell ‘yourself’. Sometimes you may well feel that the stuff you don't know seems to be exceeding the stuff that you do know. Or, that you simply don't have what it takes!

And so this is what I want you to consider: Imagine yourself 5 years from now: 

Either you will have given into the pain and taken a job that may deliver short-term relief but ultimately provides little room for growth or self-fulfillment.

Or you will have created the ultimate success with the ability to write your own paychecks! You will continue to challenge your personality traits and polish your professional skills. Because you remember that accelerated growth will only come as a result of persevering through the pain to finally reach the pleasure returns you so deserve.

Now I don't know about you but I can say with confidence that challenging the status quo has proven to be the most rewarding way to live. So I dare you to join me in stretching the comfort zone a little bit further every day and persevere with your business until you reap the rewards that you should.

I see you in the ‘Grow Zone’!

Conny

THE POWER OF STRONG MONEY MANAGEMENT

You may find this unthinkable; Entrepreneurs, who run their business without knowing how much money they're making. It may come as a shock when I tell you that 89% of small business owners struggle with the financial control of their businesses. This is a shared challenge for start-ups as well as established companies with multi-million dollar annual revenues.

Can you imagine these same people not paying attention to the financial compensation if they were employed? Yet, when it comes to their own businesses, they are seemingly ignorant to what would naturally be of highest importance in any employed engagement.

After so many years of business advisory I have been observing this phenomenon and identified the following 3 key reasons why entrepreneurs shy away from the financials of their business:

1. They are scared that the profits do not reflect the amount of work they are putting in

2.) They fear that the financial performance is a direct reflection of their ability and own value

3.) They blindly trust their bookkeeper and accountant without overseeing, understanding and managing what goes on

I have some heartfelt, tough love for these entrepreneurs. If you don't take care of the financial aspects of your business, you may as well take a job!

The stress that this avoidance causes coupled with the inevitable demotivating factor why the hell you work so hard, will eventually catch up with you. Maybe initially the ‘ostrich’ approach will help ignore the true facts but soon anxiety and fear will creep up. Then a situation will cause you to HAVE to look at things and will send you into a tailspin!

Therefore I teach my clients to make understanding the finances their first major priority. This may well be a little unsettling at first but once you know and start taking control, the power you will gain over what goes on in your business as well as the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge soon turns unsettledness into empowerment.

Once you declare control over your finances you will truly enjoy being an entrepreneur. You will clearly see what works for your business and what should be improved. And even more so, you will finally get to imagine how big this ‘baby’ can grow! 

Ready to take your head out of the sand and face your finances full on? Then it’s definitely time to give me a call.

Together we will not only tackle the present but plan the attack for future profits.

Can’t wait to show you the incredible power of being an excellent money manager and the returns you can expect from turning your passion into profits :-)

Yours in tackling business challenges,

Conny

THE POWER OF AUTHENTICITY

It’s a wonderful thing – authenticity! Many speak about it; few practice it. Maybe this is because most of our lives we have been told to fit in. 

Take my child who is somewhat of a free spirit with massive imagination and personality to match. Even the school system is pushing to conform to the daily grind with little patience for own personalities. 

So how can we expect authenticity when individuality has been challenged throughout our whole life?

Yet it is this quality that is so vital to creating a successful and unique business model with the real prospect of being remarkable. Few are finding the courage to truly ‘step out’ of mainstream thinking and expectations. Rather they’d replicate what is already offered in case they are too far out from conforming to what the industry has come to expect.

I met with an incredible female entrepreneur this week and she is the living truth of what I have outlined above. She has been in the financial industry for two decades and has already started, grown and sold one successful business. As she is in the process of starting her new company, this time she would like to challenge the old paradigm.

After going through her passionate vision coupled with her extensive experience, she is still questioning if she should dare to go through with doing it ‘her way’. She has studied the industry extensively in her specific line of business and knows there are some key things that simply aren’t working well. So guess what I told her?  ‘Allow yourself to BE AUTHENTIC in creating the business you WANT. It will be this uniqueness that will be your greatest asset!’

The most successful businesses have challenged the old paradigm to create a new future. Now you have the choice – fit in with mainstream or

LET YOUR AUTHENTICITY MAKE YOU REMARKABLE!

So, AMD, are you ready to challenge the old to shape the new?

Dare to be authentic!

Conny

THE POWER OF MELTDOWNS

Not sure what’s been up with this last week. Many people have been finding the past few days really challenging. And this is across the whole board of industries, sexes and demographics. So I feel compelled to reach out to all of you because there is one very simple solution:

STOP TRYING TO GO IT ALONE!

With the second month of the year nearing the end, entrepreneurs are feeling the pressure. Regardless if they are finding it hard to find business or if they are struggling to keep up with demand, somehow it is all too much.

Even clients have come into our sessions a little frazzled around the edges and I had to stop them in their tracks when trying to discuss business development. We moved the discussions to where things were at with them personally to get to the bottom of their frazzledness.

I let them know that within our sessions they are in a sanctuary – their protected zone where it was ok to drop their guard and armor and simply be themselves for a moment. Within a short period of time we managed to discuss what was making them feel so anxious and overwhelmed and put all of their self imposed pressure into perspective.

Afterwards I received emails and messages to say ‘thank you’ for helping them cut out the noise and focus on what was really troubling them with a path to overcome. They could not believe how a constructive conversation could make them feel so much better and clear on what steps they needed to take.

So if you have experienced a week of havoc and are not sure why, first understand that many are sharing your pain.  Then secondly take advice from my clients and seek your own sanctuary. Where for a moment you can go into full-blown meltdown just to come out within minutes feeling cleared, understood and empowered.

Meltdowns are great to clear the air, let go of un-serving stuff and refocus on the real priorities. Give in to the weakness to come out stronger!

Meet you in your sanctuary,

Conny

THE POWER OF GOING FOR IT

I have a wonderful new client that came to me through a special referral. The first time we met, she was telling me how she regretted not taking opportunities in the past due to her self-restricting comfort zone and maybe even a little fear of failure. Today she wished she had been more audacious.

Since my initial conversation with her, I seemed to be meeting lots of people from different walks of life in the beginning of this year, who share the same regrets.

One gentleman had the chance to become a Commercial Diver like his brother in-law. While he was tempted at the time, he found enough excuses not to take the training.

When I met him last week, he was still reminiscing about what could have been. Today he is struggling financially whilst his brother in-law has already retired, enjoying the rewards of his earlier courage.

For those of you sharing the feeling of regret about what could have or should have been, I have one simple message:

‘As much as we can’t change what has been or can control what will be, we have the power over ourselves as well as our choices. Therefore stop looking back and move forward by going for it today.

YOU ARE THE CHANGE!

Conny

THE PROFIT PRINCIPLES: THE POWER OF APATHY

THE PROFIT PRINCIPLES: THE POWER OF APATHY: My 9 year old son came home from school with some pretty tough questions just before Remembrance Day. He wanted to know from me as someone w...