In with the New...Out With the OLD.

As 2008 comes to an end its a great time to reflect on the past year and evaluate what worked and what didn't....personally and professionally. But in this blog we are talking about your business. I hope you had many successes, but when we breeze over the failures we lose the lesson! So take some time to examine what you are doing in your business that is working, what do you need to work on and what do you just need to let go of (letting go of unsuccessful marketing campaigns...letting go of employees that are hard to work with...maybe even letting go of a business that just doesn't bring you joy anymore).
Letting go isn't always easy, but when we do this we open the door to new things that really do work.
2009 has been labeled as one that is going to bring CHANGE. Well change is inevitable, its what we do with it that makes the difference. I've recently heard Multimillionaire Warren Buffett say ..."that Success is getting what you're trying to get...and Happiness is liking it when you GET IT!"
So I am encouraging you to look back briefly and consciencely decide what you what to bring into 2009...and then intentionally succeed!!

Happy New Year!
Laure

Surround yourself with winners.

Surround yourself with winners! Honestly this is one of the best things I have done for my career (and my sanity!) I have mentors and I have mentorees. There are always people out there willing to help guide your success and (of course) people out there that need your guidance (you might have been where they are now...reach out, the rewards are HUGE!)

This is a picture from last weeks SDP Trainers Retreat. I never want to stop learning! So I challenge you today...what are you reading to grow? Who are you surrounding yourself with to grow? Who are you helping to grow?

Truly "working" from Home

For many busy women (especially moms) working from home sounds like the ultimate way to "be two places at once".....Often with visions of Superwomen dancing in our heads ,we enthusiastically try to work from home. The problem for most is the constant desire to multitask...loading the laundry while listening in on a conference call, answering personal email while trying to get out the door to a client appointment. Often we don't achieve the highly productive work time we expected..instead I hear from many of my coaching clients things like "I have been working day and night and still haven't invoiced that client......or finished that press release"

This summer I read Julie Morgenstern's book..Never Check Your Email in the Morning. This book was really aimed at corporate workers..yet the point was still clear, AMERICA GETS SIDETRACKED! Our lives our more complicated than ever and we are getting less done in our day...not more.

As a Coach I often help women create schedules that help them focus, here are a couple of tips:

• create a clean functional space to work in (of course I recommend a beautiful space)
• plan your time, schedule productive work blocks
• schedule a LIFE for yourself (after all we are working to live, not living to work!)
• make lists that are prioritized (knock out the important ones, BEFORE the easy ones)
• Money & clients are a priority over coworkers & tasks that will never produce $$
• honor your family time, don't answer the phone when its time to focus on your family/friends.

Being self employed is truly a freeing opportunity, just be careful not to get "tied up " in the endless requests of others for your productive time.

Guiding your success,

Laure

Well Designed Biz seeks blog!

Greetings, My name is Laure Gill and I am business coach for women who create careers out of their talents. I have had the privilege of creating two thriving businesses, one in Interior Decorating (the field of my degree) and one as a Certified Career trainer teaching women of all ages & backgrounds to create a business of their own in the decorating field. This gave me the opportunity to meet with , speak to (professionally across the nation) and train hundreds of women and I began to see that the winners were all doing the same basic things and those who wanted to be winners needed just a supportive guide to strengthen their weaknesses and they too could soar to meet fabulous goals. I am now focusing on coaching not only those in the design field but all self employed women that wish to grow a thriving business, and could use the help of a mentor...someone that has been there and will challenge them and of course applaud them as they succeed.
Please join me in this exciting jouney of blogging, send me your questions & and join in on our mission....celebrating women who work FOR themselves ...not feel all by themselves.

Laure Gill
www.welldesignedbiz.com