Tag Archives: entrepreneur

Trello for Ten

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Hello Trello!

I’ve known about Trello for awhile and used it very briefly with a team I was on. And then a team member was replaced and they were off to another application for project management. Even after a little time with it, I thought it was a great idea for my business, so I created a free account. And then it sat there…

For a year or more, it sat there and I really did very little with it. There was a learning curve and that often derails my attempts at adding something new that might actually benefit me more in the long run. So I didn’t think about Trello much at all. And then, a membership group I am a part of started talking about this great resource and how it could be useful in a number of ways. The owner of the group even posted Trello templates that we could play with and customize.

Not knowing a lot about how Trello works, I dug in and started playing with it again. I learned by doing and making mistakes and doing again. I added the Boards I need for my business. Then added a Board for household projects we want to complete this year. I launched into developing a creative hub Board and a Board for vacation planning. I even added my partner to the household and vacation boards so we could coordinate on planning and executing. Honestly, I felt brand new.

And then I did very little with it yet again!! Trello hung out now in the back of my mind frequently yet wasn’t making it it to my Bullet Journal lists. But I’m happy to say, the Boards only hung out unused for about 2 months. I remembered how helpful it would be and figured out how to make it more relevant. I found even more business planning templates that were done for me and figured out how to copy and customize them. I watched video tutorials and gained new understanding of how each piece of the system could work for me.

Fast forward and I’m now adding files, photos and other attachments so that I can find things easily and quickly in one place! My logo, brand colors, bios and more are all in a stack of cards within a board called Brand.

Even more important, I made a usage commitment that was easy to execute. I would set aside ten minutes a day to be inside of Trello. I set a timer, log in and go to the Board that most needs my attention that day. I might not even need the entire ten minutes, but I have it open to me if I decide I do. And if I need more time, I put it into my Bullet Journal for another time slot that allows for another ten minute block.

Trello for Ten

I feel like this may be a game changer! I’ll know where everything lives and can move tasks and set deadlines easily. And Yes, the jury is still out, but here’s the next thing. All of my most successful and consistent habits are built on a few principles. (thanks to the book Atomic Habits.)

Habit Checklist

  1. I have a desire to actually be that person who does that thing (I am a Trello user!)
  2. I’ve stacked it with another habit.
  3. I set myself up for success by having what I need to accomplish the habit. ( I do it after I’ve already fired up the computer and my browser it set to open with Trello)

In this case, I’ve stacked it with daily planner review and bullet journal brain dump, and it fits nicely there for right now.

I’ll check in with you on this from time to time and see how it’s going and whether Trello is still as relevant for me then as it is now. I’d love for you to tell me about your experience with Trello as well. Do you use it? How do you fit in the time and even better, do you have a favorite template? Or is there another application you use that serves you best?

Let’s share and discuss in the comments. And now, I’m headed back into Trello!

An End of Year Ritual

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These last few days of the year are some of my favorites! I spend a lot of time looking ahead and planning what I want to accomplish in the new year. I also spend some time intentionally reviewing the past year and what I want to celebrate and making a list of what I am grateful for. On the flip side, I also make a list of what I want to let go. Weather permitting, (it’s a pretty bleak and rainy day!) I will engage in a favorite ritual.  At some point after dark, I’ll build a fire in the fire pit tonight to release the list of gratitudes and the list of things I need to let go of before the clock strikes midnight. I’ve been writing them down for a few weeks now.

This year was an epic year for me. I’m celebrating a couple of major shifts and changes:

  • I realized a significant increase in the number of clients and in my yearly income.
  • I enrolled in an advanced coach development training program that was absolutely phenomenal.
  • I became a Certified Infinite Possibilities trainer, and subsequently achieved Trailblazer status.
  • I spent a few days in Maui, delivering my first Infinite Possibilities Training.
  • We completed an office re-do that has greatly improved my work flow and organization.
  • I started and finished my first 1/2 marathon.

I’m grateful to all the people who helped and supported me along the way as I achieved these goals. It’s been an amazing year of connections with others, those I’ve known for awhile and some that are brand new to me.

Now for what I’m letting go of:

  • My attachment to place.
  • My attachment to time and the way I use it.
  •  Clutter – both inside my mind and in my environment.
  • Lingering negative beliefs about money.
  • Feeling out of balance, which at times, caused me to unconsciously put limits on my capacity.
  • My feelings of inadequacy.
  • That Perfectionista that lives inside of me and tells me I’m not enough if I’m not perfect.

I’ve worked hard this year, but much of the time, it felt effortless and authentic. My independence as an entrepreneur is something I treasure. So above everything, I’m celebrating that I can begin 2019 still in business! And that I have a bright, shiny new year, with all the possibility it can bring.

You may remember one of my favorite passages to read at this time of year. It comes from a favorite book of daily inspiration – Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

“…but time is the New Year’s bountiful blessing: three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twelve transformative months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons. A simply abundant year to be savored.” 

 

May 2019 bring you all that you desire and are willing to choose.

 

I’m Glad I Keep Remembering This

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Created by Leigh Stanley for DEMDACO, a Curly Girl Design

I bought this lovely little thing from a local shop a long time ago. It’s been hanging on one of my cabinet doors for awhile. I see it every single day. But, I don’t read it every single day.

Today, I turned my head and really took notice of this lovely little reminder. And lately, I have been thinking about this a lot – this sense of doing something that matters to me. That helps me create a wonderful life.

Last week, I was talking to a colleague about how being an entrepreneur has challenges that those who are in a 9-5 position working for someone else don’t always think about. Like if a client is really slow to pay, you have to take out of savings to pay the mortgage until that check finally arrives. You have to work nights or weekends to get things done or because that’s what works best for your client. You’re always looking ahead, adding services or getting excited and ready for a little more networking time. It’s all on you – you don’t answer to anyone but yourself. You decide when – IF – you take time off. And while that sounds divine to some, it can get old some days.

This week, I was at a hospital for several hours and found myself watching nurses, doctors and admin staff while I was going from place to place.  They all had a specific purpose and their days are pretty routine, I’m sure.  “In the mornings, we _______.” “I have to make sure I _____.” “Only two more days till the weekend!” I found myself seduced by their job predictability.  Eight hour days, holidays and personal leave time, this is how we do this, this is how we do that.

But do they really love entering data into computers, walking patients from the clinic the pharmacy, or pushing carts into elevators to deliver something to another department? Are they fulfilled? Do they think their job is wonderful? I don’t know.

Just as I was having these thoughts, I found myself at the pharmacy and saw a woman I worked with a long time ago. We counted money all day in a cage. I was in college, just looking for some extra money and she was in transition from closing her own restaurant to finding steady employment with benefits for her sick husband. Weirdly, I am now the entrepreneur and she’s delivering medications to sick people. Routine. Predictable. Steady.

What I do know is that when I have these thoughts, I am only temporarily seduced. Yes, it might be easier some days to sell books at a bookstore or to take car tag payments at the tax collector’s office. Routine. Predictable. Steady. Maybe even easy! Or it appears to be any way. But would it be meaningful? Or would it feel to me like nothing at all? I remember that feeling well. The feeling that I couldn’t do something new or exciting. The feeling I wasn’t being creative. The feeling I wasn’t doing work that I really loved.

A lot of people find a great deal of joy and excitement in their work, no matter how routine and predictable it might be. Or maybe they just don’t want to take that leap and be on their own. And there are days I think the leap to being in full-time business for myself is wild and crazy and hard and I want to give up. But I don’t.  Because I LOVE to coach people. I LOVE to write. I LOVE engaging people in training sessions. I LOVE working at home with my furry team. I LOVE to create and find resources for clients.

I don’t have a feeling of dread on Sunday nights as I think ahead about going to work on Monday morning. I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready and begin the commute.

I keep moving forward, one client at a time. Yes, it’s slower than I’d like. Yes, I’m ready for more clients – absolutely ready!

My heart and my hands and my mind share an occupation. I am a coach. I am a writer. I engage people in the discovery of ways to do work that they too can love. My goal really is to help their hearts, their hands and their minds find an occupation that creates a rich and wonderful life. I help them discover and give them permission to do work that brings them the greatest satisfaction. Whether that work is routine and predictable or wild and crazy with no limits.

I’m glad I keep remembering this.

The Business Basics

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I have to admit something that I’m not particularly proud of. When I discovered coaching and decided I wanted to be a coach, it never occurred to me that I would also have to become a business owner. I suppose in my excitement and passion about this new venture, I let my left brain lag a little behind on the learning curve. In fact, let’s just be honest – I’m really more of a right brain person in general! I like writing, reading, creating, and self-help.  I’m not fond of accounting, systems, analysis or research. Yet there was something compelling about owning my own business and being my own boss. Looking back, I really think there are really 10 simple, not too left brain things I benefitted from or wish I would have known when I was a new entrepreneur.  I’m going to share 5 of them with you today.

1.  There are a lot of free resources out there. www.myownbusiness.org (just found this one! ),  Women’s Business Centers, SBA workshops, Innovation Centers, and other small business organizations and websites. But take care that you don’t overload yourself with information. I’ve been on information overload for a few years now and it can actually slow you down if you’re not careful. Only take in what you can read and use within 30 days.

2.  Business books abound! The top of my list of must reads includes The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, Linchpin or anything by Seth Godin, Multiple Streams of Income by Andrea J.  Lee, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Good to Great by Jim Collins. Of course, your enjoyment of these books may be lesser or greater depending on what business you are in. Think of a book you’ve enjoyed and then go  Amazon.com and see what similar books were purchased by consumers of your favorite title.

 3.  Get a coach! Okay – I know I AM a coach so I’m a little biased but I truly believe in the value of coaching for new business owners, new coaches – anyone who’s considering a small business venture. I have had a coach and will always have a coach when I need to stretch myself to reach the next level.

 4. Find a mentor. There is tremendous value in sitting at the feet of someone who has been where you are and learned a lot from the process. One of my mentors recently passed away and I still miss popping by her house just to sit and listen to whatever she felt was important to share with me.  Mentors are generous souls who want to see you succeed. They suspend competitive beliefs and really help you on the journey.

 5. Select a method for tracking, noting, recording, posting, reminding, following up or whatever you have to do to succeed. I had no earthly idea how I was going to track leads. For a long time, I just kept a stack of business cards on my desk tied up in a rubber band! I guess I thought seeing the stack would trigger a follow up but it didn’t. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on software systems or consultants who give you what works for them. Start basic and use Excel spreadsheets or Access databases until you evolve into something larger and more specific to fit your needs.

So in the spirit of limiting informational overload, I’ll leave you with these to chew on and begin to implement. Stay tuned for the next installment and be sure to reach out if you’re stuck.  Sometimes asking for help is the last thing we do when it really should be first on the list!