Climbing to success

I guess being a solopreneur is like free-climbing. It takes strength, balance, determination and a bit of disregard for what's "safe", all while looking for the smallest hand-holds and tiny ledges that can support us on the climb up the wall. No belay ropes, pitons and other hardware to make the climb any safer!

After all, being in business for oneself is not "logical"... there are far easier ways to make a living!

Found this breathtaking video about the freeclimber Alain Robert through a Facebook link from Jeff Osborne.



YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wmLzS3dt4

Our speed advantage has pros...and cons

Being a solopreneur, if decisions need to be made, the chain of command is simple. The buck literally stops (or starts) when the boss, me.

Being able to respond quickly is a great advantage because we can jump on opportunities as they arise, and shift direction to avoid major obstacles or pitfalls.

The flip side of our speed advantage is the need for patience. So if you are waiting for a response from someone, especially an organization, stop and take a deep breath.

The rest of the world will eventually catch up to you.

"From Passion To Profit" Action Hour: How To Be The "Go-To" Person Tues 1PM East

Join the "From Passion to Profit Action Hour" Tuesday at 1PM EASTERN (10am pacific):

THIS WEEK'S THEME: "How To Be The 'Go-To Person'"

How do you stand out from the crowd and become "the" person people naturally think of for a given situation?

Your positioning is what images or ideas come to mind with people think of you, and what people say when they talk about you. You have the power to shape those images and words.

In this call we will discuss strategies to plant the right seeds so you become the answer to your prospect's question.

This discussion and open coaching session focuses on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. These are ideas you can put to work right away!

With Coach Davender
Tuesday 24 March, 1PM-2PM Eastern
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE - you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

BookYourselfSolid Radio Friday: The Care and Feeding of Ideal Clients

Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Megan McKenzie on the topic of "The care and feeding of ideal clients--getting booked solid one client at a time."

To borrow from a Jimmy Buffett song -- Ideal clients...we all want 'em...what do we do when we get 'em?

This webradio show will take place on Friday 20 March from 2PM-2:30PM Eastern at http://is.gd/nXQL

Megan McKenzie successfully used the Book Yourself Solid System to increase her company’s gross revenue by over 600%. She believes that theories are great, but results are better and is committed to coaching professional service providers to get booked solid, achieve their dreams, increase their revenue and have fun doing it. As a Book Yourself Solid coach, she brings over 10 years of coaching experience together with 20 years of experience in leadership development, process improvement and management within numerous professional service environments. Megan is a published author, a polished speaker, with an educational background in psychology/ organizational behavior and a limitless amount of energy and commitment to her clients.

Find out more on Megan through her website at www.getcertainty.com and her blogs www.resultsarebetter.com and www.byscoaching.com

This session is hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Trish Lambert. Check out Trish's site at www.4rmarketing.com

Listen to the show live at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid . This show is also available as a podcast after the live air date at: http://is.gd/nXQL

Book Yourself Solid Radio is a webradio show based on the bestselling book by Michael Port, focusing on helping you get more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling! The show takes place every Friday at 2pm Eastern. Hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Davender Gupta, they interview fellow Coaches to help you succeed in filling your practice. Check out the latest guests at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid

A thought about Business and Vision

Here is your thought of the moment:

To create sustainable business success,
instead of 'competitive advantage' where I win, you lose,
think 'mutual advantage', where we both win.
- Coach Davender

The economic turmoil we are experiencing right now, painful as it may be, is a wonderful opportunity to reconstruct the concept of capitalism towards one that focuses on creating real, sustainable value. Business, when we get down to its core, is how we organize ourselves to move humanity forward. I believe business ranks alongside agriculture as two of the most significant civilizing forces in our history.

Unfortunately many have lost sight of what business is about by focusing on short term gain. Looking only at the next step causes one to drift randomly, ending up in a survival cycle.

To break out of the survival cycle requires that we look up, focusing on a vision that is larger than just me-me-me. In a sustainable model of business, profit is generated by an exchange of something of value that helps you succeed in a way that helps me succeed. Prosperity then becomes proportional to the size of the vision, its positive impact on the world, and our success in making the vision come alive.

To make a sustainable model of business work, we need to make quantum shifts in our thinking:

- shift from "business models" to "transformative vision" ...how does this vision make the world a better place?
- shift from "markets" to "communities" ...how do I engage people in a great conversation about the vision?
- shift from "sales" to "leadership" ...how do I encourage people to take action to make this vision come alive?

This need not be simply wishful thinking or dreaming. The resources of the world may be finite, but our capacity for imagination, innovation and ingenuity is infinite. Our brain power can multiply our resources many times over, if we focus on creating sustainable, win-win value.

The world needs people like you and I who aim for the stars with our feet on the ground. How will you create "mutual advantage" today?



This thought is inspired by an article on the Harvard Business Blog
by Umair Haque, "Why Ideals Are The New Business Models"
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/03/ideals.html

This article is from my newsletter archived at http://www.davender.com/newsletter/20090316.htm

Sign up to receive my newsletter
and get a FREE 6-Part e-course on how to Get More and Better Clients:
http://www.getmoreandbetterclients.com

"The Perfect Referral" - From Passion To Profit Action Hour Tuesday 1PM East

Want More and Better Clients for your service biz? Join the "From Passion to Profit Action Hour"
Tuesdays at 1PM EASTERN (10am pacific):

THIS WEEK'S THEME: "The Perfect Referral"

What would you do if you found a "Networking Genie" who was ready to grant you ONE wish... who is the referral that you would ask for?

Are you ready to describe your Perfect Referral? The clearer you are, the more help you will get in gaining that referral. In this session, we will review the elements of asking for the Perfect Referral, and give you an opportunity to practice.

This discussion and open coaching session focuses on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. Report your successes big and small from the previous week, and share your Big Hairy Audacious Action Step for the next seven days!

Your action step should be focused on Getting More and Better Clients, using the Networking strategies based on "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port (Networking, Direct Outreach, Referral and Keep-In-Touch)

Bring your questions, we'll discuss them!

With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE - you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

This accountability call normally takes place every Tuesday at 1pm Eastern, same number. Join us!

How do you answer "What do you do?" (Telediscussion Tues 10 Mar 1PM East)

Want More and Better Clients for your service biz?
Join the "From Passion to Profit Action Hour"
Tuesdays at 1PM EASTERN (10am pacific):


THIS WEEK'S THEME: "What do you do?"

What do you answer when someone asks you this question? Better be ready... your conversation partner will base their split-second decision on the words that you speak.

This discussion and open coaching session focuses on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. Report your successes big and small from the previous week, and share your Big Hairy Audacious Action Step for the next seven days!

Your action step should be focused on Getting More and Better Clients, using the Networking strategies based on "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port (Networking, Direct Outreach, Referral and Keep-In-Touch)

Bring your questions, we'll discuss them!

With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE - you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

This accountability call normally takes place every Tuesday at 1pm Eastern, same number. Join us!

Get More And Better Clients Accountability Discussion **NEW TIME 1PM EAST

Want More and Better Clients for your service biz? Join the Open Accountability Group Tuesdays at 1PM EASTERN (10am pacific):

"Get More And Better Clients" Accountability Group with Davender

THIS WEEK'S THEME: Be The Conversation

To attract people who value what you have to offer and who are ready to commit, you need to be at the center or a conversation. What is the message you are most passionate about? How are you creating a conversation out there?

This open coaching session focuses on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. Report your successes big and small from the previous week, and share your Big Hairy Audacious Action Step for the next seven days!

Your action step should be focused on Getting More and Better Clients, using the Networking strategies based on "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port (Networking, Direct Outreach, Referral and Keep-In-Touch)

Bring your questions, we'll discuss them!

With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE - you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

This accountability call normally takes place every Tuesday at 1pm Eastern, same number. Join us!

Distinctions between Facebook and LinkedIn

I've been getting questions lately from my clients about the difference between Facebook and LinkedIn, two major social networking sites. This is how I distinguish between the two:

- Facebook: Informal network, encourages personal connection through games, photos, videos, links, other entertainment. Promoting your products, services and activities is permitted and encourages through Group Pages and (in a different way) Fan Pages. The links between you and your Facebook Friends range from strong (you know the person well In Real Life) to weak (you did not know the person before they friended you on Facebook and you would not recognize them on the street).

- LinkedIn: A formal, professional network for business and career networking. Little if any personal information is acceptable. Your profile reads like a resume. No selling of your services, activities or products is allowed. The connections between you and your LinkedIn contacts are strong, meaning that you know your contacts In Real Life and you have worked or collaborated with them, or can otherwise provide a credible testimonial as to their professional performance. Mainly for business-to-business connections.

Personally, I recommend that solopreneurs be simultaneously on Facebook and LinkedIn, and to keep a consistant positioning between both networks. On Facebook, please maintain a decorum, it's okay to loosen your tie a bit but don't take off your shirt.



Go ahead, friend me on Facebook: http://profile.to/coachdavender
and see my profile on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/coachdavender