Remabulous

The Black Swan on Video Friday.

      I cannot tell you how much I wish we had shot this BEFORE I went swimming in the ocean- dig the hair!-but I still think the message is important. And I kind of look like a black swan in this clip.

How many times have you taken a break and celebrated what you have accomplished this past year? Are you truly enjoying the moments when you hit your goals?

Plus, the concept in the Black Swan that unexpected convergences of events are what make huge changes in the world reminds us that following the same old routine day after day doesn't leave a lot of room for new breakthroughs.

Have a great Friday!

Find Your Flock and Keep Growing!

This past year has been one of huge growth and change for everyone in business. I am sure you have felt the changes and shifts that happen on a near weekly basis. For entrepreneurs, keeping up with what your customers and clients are looking for can be a full time job in itself. 

 

How can you keep on top of all of this evolution? 

 

Find your people. 

 

What this means is that, even though many of us end up holing up inside our homes in pajamas, working behind the screen and the keyboard until all hours of the night from when we first get up, you still need to leave the house, meet people who work in the same field as you and talk to them.

 

Why? 

 

Because they struggle with all the same challenges you do and odds are you each have come up with different solutions to these challenges and pooling your resources will make things better for both of you.

 

A real live example... after I had a dinner with my mastermind group of lady entrepreneurs recently I had the best week of business Remabulous has ever seen. 

 

Why?

 

Because I had talked to my people about where the stuck points were and these four other amazing and talented entrepreneurs told me what they would have done if they were in my position in my business. I went and did it and had an amazing week.

 

So how can you do the same?

image: Shahriar Erfanian

Guy Kawasaki's Microscope/Telesecope principle on Video Friday.

I have been listening to Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start in the car as I drive around LA this past week, and I really loved some of the concepts in the book. It is a great manual and reference for a beginning company, especially if you are in the tech sector. This week, I discuss one of my favorite ideas he shares: the difference between the microscope and telescope perspectives and why you need both to succeed.

Have a wonderful week!

Ask Remabulous: How do I do my best work using methods that are effective for me?

This week, our Ask Remabulous column is covering a topic that comes up eventually with almost every single one of my clients: working methods. It is amazing to me how harshly we judge ourselves and the way we work, even when we are getting a lot done. I am so grateful for the following letter, since I get the opportunity to encourage each one of us to breathe a big sigh of relief about how we each get things done.

"Dear Ask Remabulous,

I am having a very strange problem with my working process...

I have these methods of doing things that seem to work well for me, but I feel like there should be a better way to do them. Like lately, I am doing a lot of work late at night and getting tons done, but I can't help but wonder if I should be getting up early and working then instead?

Working for myself, I am having a hard time really embracing making my own schedule and seem to keep trying to cram myself into the old 9 to 5 model I was in before. Is it ok if I go totally off the grid with my time management and try really strange hours, or should I be trying to get something standard in place? Help!

Time Traveler"

Dear Time Traveler,

Thank you for bringing this up. We entrepreneurs and business owners sure have a guilt complex about how we use time, don't we? Here's what I suggest to make this work issue an asset for you...

image: Evil Erin.

Monday Mindfulness: Who are you doing business as?

  Who are you doing business as?

I first asked this question when I was setting up my business license and Tax ID for Los Angeles several years ago and had to fill out a DBA for Remabulous. 

 

When we start a company, we really are starting a new identity and are then working under it, no matter what our entity is. When you think about your business, it's important to get clear about what your vision and goals are for that business, so you can move ahead and reach your goals in the most effective way. 

 

So what do I mean by this?

 

It's essential that the way you do business and who you are when you do business lines up with the identity you create for your company. 

 

Here are 5 questions you need to answer to ensure you are doing business as your best:

Video Friday: Why breaking the rules is good for you and your business.

Hello and welcome to another installment of Video Friday! Today I decided to break the rules of my series, 7 Steps to a Successful Video Segment and step outside my usual practices. I was excited this week to see another great installment of a vlog I love, Angela Jia Kim's Savor the Success Vlog. She regularly takes risks with where she films and what she shares in each episode and I realized that while rules help you to get started, breaking those rules in a conscious fashion is what makes memorable and effective content.

Which rules do you break on a regular basis with your business that take you to the next level? Please do share them below in the content.

Want to get my video series sent to your inbox? it is a free gift for you when you sign up for my weekly newsletter... come join the Remabulous Community!

Have a wonderful weekend...

Daniel Pink on why creativity will be king in business.

I have been reading- and loving- Daniel H Pink's A Whole New Mind: Why RIght Brainers Will Rule the Future. I am very excited by the concepts that he shares, especially the idea that the ability to construct meaningful and engaging story is a required skill at this point to success in business.

Think about it... you can farm out many repeatable tasks once you have the capital to do so, but you can't farm out your vision or the dream that got you going down this path in the first place, can you? More emphasis needs to be placed on meaning and the way we transmit it in the new world of business.

So please do enjoy the story straight from the horse's mouth in this video above...

Meetup makes a great video segment!

As many of you have noticed, we are loving video as a communication format over here at Remabulous. Some exciting things are underway... a whole new site is in the works, new packages and new opportunities to learn how video can transform the way you market your business. Video has the power to show who you are and what your business message is in a far more intimate format that both inspires and gives valuable information to your potential customers and clients.

I have organized a meet-up knitting group in West Hollywood for almost two years. I have loved all the wonderful people it has brought into my life and the chance it provides for people to share over a common love of crafts. Teaching knitting to this group has been my way of giving back.

The video above is an amazing example of how one minute and a half can supercharge your marketing. Who doesn't want to be a part of meet-up after seeing this video?

If you want to talk about how video can help you and your business... my coaching now includes video instruction as well... sign up for a consult to talk more.

Monday Mindfulness: Letting a crazy schedule help you.

 Each week, we lay out some kind of agenda for what we hope to accomplish and have the greatest intentions of how that will go, how easy it will be and how great we'll feel when we get to the other side. And some weeks, this happens and it's magic, isn't it? 

 

But what about those weeks when the washing machine explodes, we lose all that data just before we planned to back the computer up, we get sick, our car suddenly needs work or any other of countless last minute annoyances pop up?

 

A good schedule, just like a good budget, knows that life is not always smooth and simple. Here are three tips to employ to keep the productivity just as high as the unexpected interruptions. 

 

1. Don't jump to the conclusion that your week/day/month is wrecked. Often the only thing that has to be adjusted is your time table. Just because you might need to shuffle some things around doesn't mean you failed to accomplish your goal. There are worse things in the world than running a little behind, so don't add stress to the mix by being hard on yourself. Get out your calendar, look at how much time the interruption created, and reassess the priority level of your tasks for the week. Shift the time around to get the top priorities finished and then get to the less necessary items as you can and fit them in the next week.
2. Look for opportunities in the interruption. Yes, everything can be an opportunity if you allow it to be. Stuck in a waiting room somewhere? What about all those people you haven't had time to call back- find a place that doesn't disturb others and check those off your list. Need to get some reading done? Bring a book or articles you've been saving to that unexpected doctor's appointment. Surprise expense? Use that as the motivation to start the emergency savings fund you keep putting off taking care of. When I had to wait at the Apple store to get my phone screen replaced, I got to play around with a new computer, and if there had been a longer wait, I would have written this newsletter from a fancy iMac. Viva web-based technology!
3. Pay attention to how long your tasks actually take. Often when we are under a bit of pressure, we can accomplish amazing things in a short period of time. Have you been scheduling more time than is necessary for some things you need to do? Does laundry really take all afternoon? Could you write that blog in 30 minutes instead of an hour? Look at these surprise times as a way to test your theories about your time requirements and make it a game to see if you might actually be able to get the outcome you require more efficiently. Don't use this as a way to stress yourself with unrealistic expectations, but rather as a way to fit in a treat because you got all your tasks done in record time on a week that doesn't have nasty curve balls in it.

How do you save time and deal with unexpected schedule busters? Share this article with anyone who you think could benefit and please share your own tips with us below.

Video Friday: How Video Content Can Boost Your Business!

So... This week I was working on a video series that will go out to all new subscribers to the e-newsletter Remabulous puts out once a week, and I realized that this process is an extremely useful one for people to go through and utilize for their business. Watch this week's vlog to find out why video is the next best thing to try for your business!