What is an expectation: (Webster Dictionary?)

1: the act or state of expecting : anticipation <in expectation of what would happen>2 a: something expected <not up to expectations> <expectations for an economic recovery> b: basis for expecting : assurance <they have every expectation of success> c: prospects of inheritance —usually used in plural3: the state of being expected

So what makes is great:

It’s YOURS. By day 5 YOU should have figured out the focus of this seminar is:

YOU!!!!

Any business owner new or seasoned needs to realize that YOU are the only thing that can make or break a business.

Do YOU believe in tomorrow? Do YOU believe in total success?

If YOU start with the fear of the future, such as the fear of no customers, or lack of cash flow YOU are setting YOUrself up for failure. If on the other hand, YOU have faith in the future and believe the customers will come or that there will be an abundance of cash flow. GUESS WHAT!!! YOU are 1/2 there.

When YOU have expectations something YOU are consciously and subconsciously triggering the anticipated results. Positive or negative.

SEEING AND HOPING

There are no hopeless situations just hopeless people. Don’t be that person. Only YOU know what YOU want. Before YOU can realize a positive outcome YOU must visualize it. In other words see in YOUr mind how it will play out.

Or Elaborate on what YOU want to become or what YOU want to happen, make it as vivid and specific as YOU can, imagining how YOU will feel with that income or large customer base. Visualizing is learned skill. When people form an image of the desired outcome, an amazing thing happens, actual events seem to happen to make it true. BELIEVE IN YOU

When YOU mentally see the future it has a positive spin on all aspects of YOUr life.

SENSE OF WONDER

There are two types of people

Magnetized – People with the power of positive expectoration.  They usually attract success and happiness based on their goals. (Wow we read about that in day 4)

Demagnetized- are normally pessimistic. They tend to say I might fail, or I might lose money.

YOU have to be positive and once YOU do and believe in the positive outcome it will become natural.

YOU cannot move forward by looking backward. The moment YOU allow Past experiences dominate YOUr thoughts or YOUr present or future attitudes or situation YOU are headed for trouble. LOOK AHEAD AND IMAGE THE POSITIVE OUT COME.

Clients, Money, Success.

Believe YOU Can

I know YOU have probably heard this many times and in many different ways. But as I stated before some of the old tricks really do work.

Now take a pen and paper.

Write at least 10 Statements about YOUr business starting with I believe I can………. Be specific. Look at YOUr goals YOU wrote down in day 4.

Now take the next step. Imagine all the things YOU believe YOU can do.

I took this a step further. I went to the office supply store purchased Business card stock and a business card holder (one that fits my Day planner)

Then I wrote my goals/ and statements one on each card as well as I added a graphic or picture to help me visualize. Then I put each card in the card holder and I view it every time I open my planner, which in my hectic world is many times daily.

Try it it works.

What do YOU See

I want YOU to try a small test.

Take something small like a visit with a client or a trip to the doctor.  Roll play in YOUr mind how YOU want this to turn out. Take a view minutes and really really think about it. Focus on the positive outcome. Focus on YOU and the feeling YOU will have.

And See what GREAT EXPECTATIONS can do.

Once YOU do move on to bigger things.

Let me know how it goes.

There are tons and tons and tons of books on Goals and goal setting. Again I am going to throw my twist to the mix. Remember to consider these targets and helpful hint in two ways A) business goals and B) personal Goals.

According to Bryan Tracy, Author of “The Psychology of Achievement”, Less than 3 % of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite these goals continuously.

Where are you? Do you review your goals? How often do they change? What are they based on the moment or long term vision: Looking ahead is the key a leader in the automotive industries say:

“My interest is in the future, because I will spend the rest of my life there:”

Hopefully these 7 tricks to goal setting will help you on your way:

1.     My goal is specific

Any one can say I want to be rich, or I want to be successful. But that leave the world open and hard to focus.

A goal should be precious and measurable (see below): Try these

I want to be rich                         Try                I want to have $100,000 in the bank

I want to be successful             Try                 I will be acknowledged in the field of XXX

I want to be an adventure         Try               I will travel the Amazon.

2.     Is my Goal Measurable

As with the statements above it is rather difficult to measure the moment of victory if your goals are not precise.  The best achievable goals are measured by quantity not quality.

As you think about your goals Always ask yourself is this goal measurable by time or quantity.

3.     Is my Goal challenging yet achievable

The goals you set are to be demanding yet doable. However if a goal is achieved in a day is it really a goal> did you really work for it. Did you have an opportunity for failure?

Remember Failure is always the best teacher. When you work hard for something it is worth the effort and time.

And be sure your goal is not something you have already achieved but something a with a challenge.

4.     Is my Goal mine or someone else’s

Growing up you hear I want you to be a Doctor or lawyer? Or a mother says to a daughter you should do this activity to get you closer to becoming X.? As the child does this so called activity he/she does it grudgingly, which fosters hard or bad feelings. Will this make you happy being the Doctor when deep in your hart you may want to be an inventor or an electrician? Then you are setting yourself up for a life time of unhappiness.

Always make your goals YOUR’s not someone else’s.

Ask yourself

How am I doing against the competition and then Set your goals toward achieving excellence in what YOU want to do. Or How far have I come since the last time I tried this?

It is YOUR achievement that is measurable to success not someone else’s view of what they want for you.

5.     Do all my Goals reinforce each other

Most everyone has more than one goal, the to tell you the truth to be successful in anything you do you SHOULD have more than one goal. But always make sure the goals complement each other. There are many aspects of YOUR life. Personal, professional, education, spiritual and Financial. And when one goal in achieved in any one area of your life it builds and adds momentum to the other areas.

KEEP THEM IN CHECk

6.     Does my Goal include a plan

Ok I am not going to harp on this one too much. You have heard over and over again plan plan plan.  Or take a goal and break it down.

So yes take each of your goals and make a game plan to achievement.

Break the specific goal down into Doable and measurable segments (oh, yeah we talked about this in step 2) you will be surprised how quickly and easily even the hardest tasks get accomplished.

7.     Have I written my Goal down?

It’s a form of account ability to yourself. Write down your goals, and then break them down.  And as you go thru life mark of each accomplishment.

Review your goals daily-this will help you stay focused.

I am not telling you anything you have not heard before. I am just reminding you of how to dream big and be a winner.

I am confident that you have heard from many sources the power of the mind, the power of affirmation, and the power of positive thinking. Many philosophers as well as successful entrepreneurs live by this belief.

We are all born positive thinkers, but those traits become clouded by the inevitable stresses of our lives. Being  positive can lead to incredible success.

Ten crucial traits for success — and some strategies to make it happen…

1. Optimism

Before starting any project, write down several compelling reasons why you should be optimistic. Review the list whenever you feel yourself shift toward pessimism.

Too often, I see businesspeople begin a project with great hope pinned to a single factor, such as a head start on their competitors. If that lone advantage falls through, negativity and hopelessness set in.

1. Enthusiasm

-Positive energy, passion or personal motivation.

-Connect mundane tasks to a meaningful purpose.

Introduce game-playing into unchallenging projects.

1. Belief

Trusting in oneself, others and/or a higher power for support and guidance. Belief drives optimism .

Act as if you already possess the traits you lack or want to improve upon. You achieve what you and others expect you to achieve.

1. Integrity

Personal commitment to honesty and openness… living by and for one’s standards.

Run your situation through a personal ethics checklist.

Is it legal and in line with the organization’s policy?

Is it fair to all concerned — both short and long term?

How will I feel about myself in the end?

1. Courage

Willingness to take risks and overcome fears, even when the outcome is uncertain.

Consider the worst-case scenario, then develop a plan to deal with it.

Conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

To identify your strengths: What skills, experiences or beliefs do I have that will help me meet this challenge?

To identify your weaknesses: What skills do I lack? What negative attitudes might get in the way?

To identify your opportunities: Why is this important to me?

To identify threats: What do I have to lose?

1. Confidence

Being personally assured of one’s abilities and potential. Belief is the foundation of confidence.

Use confident language. Eliminate negative phrases, such as I can’t… impossible… I’m afraid that

Think positively about past successes. Learning from success and how to repeat it is just as vital as learning from failure. Deconstruct the experience. Ask yourself, What factors led to success in that instance?… How do I apply them to the next situation?

1. Determination

Tireless pursuit of a goal.

Attack doubt immediately.

Stay committed to — and disciplined about — deadlines.

Know when to quit. If you get too caught up in the pursuit of a goal, you may miss signs that you’ve drifted off course. Answer these questions to determine when to abandon or redirect a goal…

Is it in the best interest of my company to find closure and move on to the next project?

Are the costs of the endeavor exceeding the benefits?

Is the project having a seriously negative effect on my personal or professional relationships?

1. Patience

willingness to wait for opportunity or results from oneself and from others. Don’t take delays personally. They rarely have to do with you directly.

1. Calmness

– maintaining serenity and balance in response to difficulty.

Tackle the problem you least want to address first thing each morning. You’ll free up enormous psychological energy by not fretting all day.

Quickly deal with physical symptoms of stress.

10.  Focus

attention directed on preset goals and priorities. Concentrating on one priority at a time is critical to success. Keep a portion of your desk uncluttered. Use that space to work exclusively on your current task. Keep your mind uncluttered, too.

If  you have a business you want to succeed in, why not apply the power of thought Try these techniques to your business? There is no need to follow a specific formula, you can adapt to your own needs.

1. Find a quiet place and time to think in broad terms about how you would want your business to turn out. Once you have a clear vision, write it down. Visualize it as you write it down. See yourself as you would hope to be when the business is a big success.

2. Think of the major barriers to your success, and write them down. Then, for each of those barriers, visualize how you would ideally break down those barriers.

3. Think of the new skills you need to acquire to aid your success. Write them down, and visualize yourself as being in command of those skills.

Once you have completed your list, hopefully you will have 6 – 8 items..

The power of thought can be used to clear the path to the future you desire, and any detailed aspects of that future. Each time you practice the the power of thought as I have described above, you are making it that much easier for yourself to walk that path in the future.

No this is not a psychiatrist getting into your head; I am just an accountant who realized business and self worth go together more than you know. I have seen many businesses fail just because the owner or principles are not confident in themselves and what they represent. And yes I am going to tell you what you already have heard time and time again. When you have bad self worth it shows in every aspect of your life even business.

Do you really want to go to a dentist who is unsure about him self if he is unsure about him that does not give me confidence that he is sure about what he is going to do inside my mouth? NO WAY.

Do you want people or clients to think that way about you NOT ME and I definitely would not want that for my clients.

So Yes I am going to talk about YOU the root of your business.

What is self worth?

Definitions of self worth on the Web:

• dignity: the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect; “it was beneath his dignity to cheat”; “showed his true dignity when under pressure”
• In psychology, self-esteem reflects a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth.
• The value one assigns to oneself or one’s abilities in self assessment

Most people put grossly underestimate their actual value. This is because they focus on the their weaknesses not their strengths. The same goes for their business plans/dreams they focus on what has gone wrong instead of why they decided to go into business in the first place.

People believe the do not have enough talent or someone has more. Or they do not have enough education or experience. Or I do not have enough finances. When you focus on what you don’t have instead of what you do. You start to belief it. Yes I know you have heard that before but I am telling you it is the truth. BELIEF in YOURSELF. BELIEF IN WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO.

When potential business owners are not satisfied with themselves they look at the bottom line in everything from their assets to their liabilities and enter a big -0- in their mind, which ultimately transforms to a poor self esteem and emotional pain.

10 Ways to Evaluate your Self Worth

1. Get acquainted With yourself:

Do you truly know yourself do you know.

How do you see y ourself?

Would you be your friend? Be honest with yourself when answering these questions.

1. Laugh at your handicaps:

Don’t let your handicaps or flaws become your brick wall.  If it is something you cant change turn it into a positive attribute some how.

1. Put Failures Into perspective.

How many stories have you heard about a successful entrepreneur’s failures just to see him on top. What these people did was take their mistakes and their failures learned from them made the changes. (yes there is that word again) and transformed it to the positive

1. Develop a love  of self:

Simple you can’t love your business or be happy if you can’t be happy with your self and what you belief SIMPLE AS THAT

1. Find someone who needs your help:

Helping others is the best way to boost your self worth. Again when you feel good about you you feel good about your future business plans.

1. Change your behavior.

Make changes in your life to act as if you are already where you want to be or play the game this is how I would act and feel if>>>>>>>

1. Challenge yourself

Do something out of your box. Start with something small. When you accomplish this you are one step to boosting your self esteem

1. Accept Complements

Say thank you to a complement instead of telling the person what you could have done better. Be happy for a job well done.

Do the same with criticism as well. Words that others say to you are not PERSONAL until YOU make them personal.

1. Revalue your worth

A piece of clay can be just a clump or it can be a masterpiece. It is a matter of how you see it.  Some ones worst can very well be YOUR Best. And it  is YOU that matters and is what we are concerned about.

Avoid thinking I AM NOT WORTHY. You mostly likely have much more to celebrate than to fret about. BE HAPPY

1. SEE THE NEW PICTURE

The easiest and most effective way is to a better self worth Is to SEE your self and Believe YOU are what YOU want to be. No one can do it but YOU. Be a child and Pretend. How many children after playing all day as princess or fire fighter really believe they are!!! It works for adults too.

Johann von Goethe said “Treat People as is they were what they ought to be not what they are and you will help them become what they are capable of!”  Do it for your self treat your self like what you desire and soon it will be. And You will see a change personally and be on your way professionally.

What is your Value?

Are you a rock or a diamond? Are you a drawing a painting?

Work on these 10 steps and you can face the world with a new and brighter out look. And Yes you will see a drastic change in your business.

I can’t wait to hear about the NEW YOU

In this 24 post Blog we will discuss the Thought process of starting a business then afterwards we will then get into the Actual Process of starting one. In my 15 years of advising clients in starting their business I have seen a majority of them fail. Yes they have had great ideas, jumped right in with all the legal papers, filings and business plans just to see their dreams slowly or in some fail as quickly as they began.

I soon came to realize it is not the legaleses or the process itself; it was the actual person that made the business fail. Seeing this, I revamped my approach to advising prospective business owners.  Start with the owner FIRST not the Business. ATTITUDE IS THE KEY

So here we go-A NEW ATTITITUDE

Your decision

First let me say congratulations on your decision to make this leap into the economic arena. You are going to be faced with lots of decisions from what is your business going to do, where are you going to get financing, and where am I going to reside my business. But let’s face it these decision are important but will be total waste of time if you do not get to the root of why do you want to start a business.

And that begins with YOU.

Once YOU are straight, YOU will succeed if YOU are honest with yourself.

Ask yourself

What made you start this journey? Was it a loss of a job, the economy or your present unhappiness with your present situation? If you are like most it is the latter. You want a change, well change is what you want change is what you will get. Some ask How long will it take? Read and see.

Can you change in a day?  The answer is yes.

The greatest changes that affect your life happen in a split second. It is the second YOU decide to do something.

Now YOU have made the commitment. Let’s move ahead, did you know that  all you decisions are linked and layered. As you make one decision it affects the next and so on on and on gaining momentum to accomplish your dreams with each decision. This results in the power and the strength that is so deep inside of you will do nothing but succeed.

What Needs Changing

Nothing is permanent. Your thoughts, personality and situations are ever changing. What most not realize is that change is happening right under their noses. Take a look around There are two types of people those who embrace change and those who resists. Which one are you personally and professionally?

Take co workers for example there are some who can’t stand and fight new rules or the new boss then there are others who take the change with a positive attitude and thrive. OR how about this Corporations are always embracing change. Example how many times have you seen New and Improved. Yes sometimes it is just marketing but most of the time it because their clients requested some change to make the item or service better. This same concept works for you personally. Take inventory and Change what needs to be changed and change it positively.

Where Do I begin

Well that is easy YOU YOU YOU. Ask yourself these questions! Think and ponder be honest It is you and only you who can make the changes you want. Remember the end goal a new business and It begins with YOU.

Where am I now?

What frustrates me the most?

Am I willing to look deep inside myself to find what really the root of my desires?

Am I willing to make the commitment to change?

We are going to blog for 24 days on how to start a business using these premises.

We will hit topics like

1. Your greatest decision
2. revalue your self worth and the worth of the business
3. transform your thought process
4. New look at your goals
5. what your your expectations
6. Attitudes
7. Choosing your team
8. Being flexible but don’t break
9. saying goodbye to the old
10. Winning my quitting
11. Taking charge
12. Revolutionize your data
13. Reorder your day
14. Making the most of your Dollars
15. Visualizing your Dream
16. Playing like a winner
17. Discover Excellence
18. Brand new Outlook
19. Going from the Master to the Servent (yes that is back ward stay tuned)
20. Using Laughter to recharge your business
21. Enthusiasm
22. Daily Renewal
23. Persistence
24. Celebrate

So come join me as we together look at the journey of new business develeopment and self awareness.

Visit Office with a view Software for uptodate technology to help you as you start your journey.

Source: Wikipedia
In today’s business world, telepresence is a set of technologies working together to bring multiple locations to the board room with visual presence and the ability to see and hear all participants without actually being there. Thus a major cost saving product.

Although telepresence is a technology aimed at medium and large sized corporations – due to the present cost of its implementation. A small company can still use the same technology on a smaller scale see Office with a view for details how the small businesses can use this same technology.

Whether you are new to video conferencing or are looking to upgrade your current solution, you have probably come across the term ‘telepresence’ in your research. Telepresence is a groundbreaking telecommunications offering which is setting new standards for visual collaboration.

A virtual meeting experience unlike any other, telepresence creates the illusion that remote participants are in the same room together. This effect is created by a close configuration of large screen video monitors, hidden high-definition cameras strategically placed to create the appearance of direct eye contact, consistent furniture arrangements across locations, and limited user interaction with the technology. All the participant has to do is walk into the room, and a life-like meeting between participants across the U.S. or the globe can begin.

The cost of a telepresence solution has recently come down slightly, and will vary depending on the manufacturer. And of course, to work effectively you will need to invest in more than one telepresence room. However, many telepresence solutions are now standards based, so they are compatible with other desktop or room based video conferencing solutions that may already exist within your organization

Come see how this up and coming technology can work for you.

1. What are they
2. What do they do
3. Why is it good for me?

Well over the next few blogs we will be posting about telepresence, telecommuting, and conferencing. But most importantly how Office With A View can help the small business compete in this high tech market at an affordable price.

Office With a View is Raleigh, based company. Working toward helping the small business owner compete with the big businesses in a high tech world at an price even small businesses can afford. Please look for the launch of our first product On May 20th 2009.

* Ask your customers

* Avoid the common failure route

* Know when to change

* Don’t panic

* Strategies and plans

1. Provide exceptional customer service.

2. Pamper your existing customers.

3. Consider collaborating with similar businesses.

4. Use “loss leaders.”

5. Develop a niche and focus on it.

6. Take care of your employees.

7. Use technology to your advantage.

8. Present a very professional image.,

9. Emphasize the uniqueness of your products.

10. Give your store character.