Ladies Who Launch

Will The Real You Please Stand Up!

By Coach Joelle Prochera, professional life coach, fellow launcher and creator of the MAKE YOUR LIFE PROGRAM where you get to experience the magic of your life lived on purpose!  To hear more from Coach Joelle subscribe to the Livloud! Newsletter or read the coach joelle blog.   

Do you ever…
1. Spend hours strategizing and rehearsing before you talk to people about your business?
2. Have that feeling like you are a fake, afraid that everyone is going to find you out?
3. Try to be that person you “think” you should be to get respect, to be good enough, or to make the sale?

If any of this sounds familiar then I have good news for you.  With the new LWL profiles, we all have an opportunity to dig deep down inside and share who we really are.  For some this seems fun and easy, for others it may be an arduous quest for the perfect words, the right “spin” and putting out a professional image so people take you seriously.  If you are willing to take a look inside and find the “real you”, your version of authentic entrepreneurship, then writing that profile and living your life is about to get a heck of a lot easier and 10 times more fun.

What is Authentic Entrepreneurship?
Authentic entrepreneurship is running your business as a true expression of who you are, in total alignment with your beliefs, values and natural talents.  It means first identifying the real you and then living and acting from that you. 

When you are acting as an authentic entrepreneur, when you know who you are and own it, a whole new world becomes available:

• You are able to show up at any situation with confidence and ease.
• You become intimately acquainted with who you are and what you stand for and you boldly allow that real you to shine through in every action taken and word spoken.
• You become free from the fear of being “found out” and the burden of having to “look good” and “do it right”.
• It means no more fake, stuffy profiles. No more talking heads. No more “status quo” and a lot more joy and ease!

Sound good?  Well then let’s get down to it! Let’s find the authentic entrepreneur inside of you.

To create your profile, start by asking these authentic entrepreneur questions:

A) What do you value and how are these values expressed in your business?
B) What are your favorite things about you? What makes you – you?
C) Why do you love your business/service?  What do you love about your business/service?
D) How does your business make a difference for people? What does it serve in the world?

Now sit down with your answers in front of you and clear your mind.  Forget everything that you think you “should be”, throw out your concern of looking silly or being “too much” and write your profile allowing these truths to shine through.  Dare to say what you really feel.  Push the limits of “normal” and “appropriate” and let the world of Ladies Who Launch know who you are, who needs to know you and why.

Why be normal when you can be extraordinary? Why be like everyone else when you can be YOU.  To dare to be your very own authentic entrepreneur is a step down the path to greatness. Have fun – I’ll see you at the top!

With love, joy and authenticity,

Coach Joelle

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR COACH JOELLE?:  I am looking for the opportunity to fully serve each of you on your personal adventure.  If you have a life or business challenge that you would like a coaching perspective on, please share your comments below or email me at Joelle@coachjoelle.com.

Make your life a work of art a joyful dance a grand adventure!

Avoid Valentine’s Day disappointment – Treat Yourself!

By Coach Joelle Prochera, professional life coach and fellow launcher!  To hear more from Coach Joelle subscribe to the Livloud! Newsletter or read the coach joelle blog.   

Hello Ladies,

The big day is approaching and married, dating or single, most of us have experienced a Valentine’s Day in silent anticipation of a grand display that never happened.

On this day for love I have a special invitation for you…

Instead of waiting for grand expressions,

Instead of waiting for the perfect day to be delivered,

Instead of waiting for love,

How about you create a little love in your own life with a day designed just for you!

Imagine….

A day off….reading in bed…bubble baths…. a 2 hour massage….

Not for any reason but because you say so and because you are worth it!

In a recent LIVLOUD! Article I shared the concept of creating a day just for you - a mental health day.  As you are gearing up for your day of hearts, lace and chocolate, consider showering yourself with love and sharing that love with the important people in your life.

Read the article: A Day for You: The Mental Health Day Challenge.

Happy Valentine’s Day Ladies! Enjoy treating yourself!

SMOOCH!

Joelle

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR COACH JOELLE?:  I am looking for the opportunity to fully serve each of you on your personal adventure.  If you have a life or business challenge that you would like a coaching perspective on, please share your comments below or email me at Joelle@coachjoelle.com.

Make your life a work of art a joyful dance a grand adventure

Feeling Stuck Ladies? Take Action!

How to jumpstart your energy and creativity in the middle of the winter grays.

By Coach Joelle Prochera, professional life coach and fellow launcher!  To hear more from Coach Joelle subscribe to the Livloud! Newsletter or read the coach joelle blog.   

Hello ladies!

The shorter days, encroaching darkness, and cold invite us to rest, to wrap ourselves in blankets and read books with cats in our lap, to watch tv and to hibernate.   In many ways this can be a welcome reprieve and as with everything, life comes in cycles as much as the seasons, so there is nothing wrong with this quiet time. 

With that being said, for us launchers, being quiet is only fun for so long before we are just itching to see some movement.  A new contract, a new insight, some small success…. Anything!  Sometimes quiet can be too quiet, and life can feel a little stagnant, especially for those of us up here in the north. This is why I wanted to write to you today about how to get an energy and creativity boost when things just don’t seem to be moving the way you are used to.

1) Get out of the house!

Ladies, one of the beautiful things about creating a life and business that you love is that for many of you, you get to choose your environment.  I know for me one of my favorite things about being self employed is that the typical day’s attire is a jogging suite and fuzzy slippers.  The challenge is that when we can run our businesses over the phone and the internet there can sometimes be a distancing from the world. 

Do some work at the local coffee shop or coordinate with a friend to share office space a couple of times a week.  For those of you in cold climates, visit the tropical house at the zoo or a hotel with an indoor garden.  Just getting out and getting a change of scenery and being out in the world can spur renewed motivation and a fresh point of view.

2) Learn something… anything!

I have noticed that when you are feeling stuck, lost or uninspired one of the best things you can do is to expose yourself to something new.  Is there a tele-seminar you can listen to on your lunch…a guest speaker coming to town …a special interest class you could take….or maybe a book that you have been meaning to read? 

The beautiful thing about our well designed minds is that they will take any new information and put it to work in your life.  I find it amazing how attending a riding lesson suddenly spurs an article I need to write or how listening to a speaker about architecture can create new inspiration about the way I want to structure my business.  Don’t think too much about it, just open your email or the local paper and ask yourself, “where can I learn something new today?” and run with it.  You may be surprised by what comes up.

3) Get with your girls!

We have all heard of the emotional and even physical benefits of being with our girlfriends.  I have found that few things get me more inspired than a little wine, some chocolate and good friends.   Invite a girlfriend out to lunch.  Start a mastermind group.  Attend your local Ladies Who Launch monthly meetings.  Creating this space to talk and share company is one of the greatest joys there is and it is always sure to lead you to some new action or inspiration.

4) Take action!

Whether you have the winter blues or a creativity block, inspiration and energy are just moments away.  Action, any action will move you forward.  Get a change of scenery, expose yourself to something new, or share the comfort of friends, it is inevitable that something new will present itself, something new that will lead you to a next step and then another and next thing you know you are well on your way to furthering your dreams and living and working inside a life that you love.

Carpe Diem ladies!

Coach Joelle

SHARE YOUR SELF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: Do you have a special way that you get your juices flowing?  Share your brilliance with the ladies in the comments below.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR COACH JOELLE?:  I am looking for the opportunity to fully serve each of you on your personal adventure.  If you have a life or business challenge that you would like a coaching perspective on, please share your comments below or email me at Joelle@coachjoelle.com.

Make your life a work of art, a joyful dance, a grand adventure!

Dream Along With Me

Goal setting for a year beyond your wildest dreams!

By Coach Joelle Prochera, Certified Professional Life Coach and fellow launcher!  To hear more from Coach Joelle check out the Livloud! Newsletter or read coach joelle’s blog.   

Hello Launchers!!

With a new year comes a fresh start, the promise of new beginnings, and the perfect time for dreaming. 

What is a dream but a thought about what could be.  If you look around, what do you see? A building, coffee mug, piece of furniture, the city you live; they all started as someone’s dream.

• Your favorite song started as someone’s dream.
• The airplane started as someone’s dream.
• Even Ladies who Launch started as a dream.

You each have dreams for your life, your family, your business. Dreams of the person you can be and the difference you can make.  Contrary to what some say, dreaming is not just idle fantasy.  Dreaming is the beginning of all things. With clear intention and specific action, your dreams can come true.

So ladies, as you launch this fresh new year….are you ready to dream?

Then here we go!

Step 1 Clear the way.

Before you can get clear on what the year will bring, you may need to first clear some clutter out of the way.  I am not talking about cleaning out your closets or organizing the garage (although those are great ideas as well). What I am suggesting is that you first clear your head.

After speaking with thousands of people as a professional life coach, I can say with confidence that the #1 thing standing between you and your dreams is your own thinking about what you can’t do and why you cannot do it.  It’s time to clear the way for your dreams.

Action:  Let go of…

• what you think you cannot have.
• what you think you could never accomplish.
• what others have told you, you could never be.

In fact…for right now, let it all go.  Yes EVERYTHING!

(Ahhhh, see, it gets nice and quiet when you clear out all that mental chatter.)

Now you have that great big space to create in, let’s fill it up with your dreams

Step 2 Ready. Set. Dream!

Whatever you are moved and inspired to create in your life, those desires are there for a reason. Following your dreams is the path to joy and fulfillment.  So let’s get dreaming!

Action:  Answer the following questions in detail: 

• If anything were possible for you and your life ….what would you want?
• Who would you have around you?
• What would you see out your window? 
• What would you create with your business?
• How would you spend your days?

Write it all down and fill in every detail.  Keep working it until you can read what you wrote and it puts a great big smile on your face.

Once you have created this masterpiece, give it the place of honor it deserves.  Put it somewhere that will demand your attention.  Put it on your bathroom mirror, the door to your office, on the front of your “personal development” binder.  Not a day should go by when you are not reminded of what you have chosen to create.

Need a little inspiration? For examples of other visions visit    www.coachjoelle.com/dreambuilder.html .

Step 3 The path to your dreams is paved with action:

Action is the key to taking your dreams out of the clouds and rooting them firmly in reality.  Your actions do not have to be grandiose, scary or painful they just need to move you forward.  In fact, the most effective actions are usually the ones that follow your interests, come naturally or feel fun to you.

Action:   Write down 3-5 things can you do this week to make your visions reality, put them in your calendar and do them!

• Schedule 30 minutes every Monday to review your vision, celebrate the week’s accomplishments and set 3-5 new actions.
• For the courageous: Call 1 person who you trust, who believes in your dreams and supports your success and tell them what you will be doing this week. I am not kidding. Go ahead, make the call now.

Make Your Dreams Reality

As you head out into this brave New Year, know that you were never given a dream without the ability to fulfill it.  In the months ahead, keep your vision close.  Keep taking action and surround yourself with people that support you and believe in your dreams.  Enjoy the ride ladies, it’s going to be one heck of a year!

To a brilliant new year!

Coach Joelle

SHARE YOUR DREAM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: Declaring your intention is a powerful tool in making dreams come true.  Go ahead and share your dream in the comments below or commit to this week’s actions by sharing them with the Ladies Who Launch community.  Write away!  We would love to hear what you are launching!

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR COACH JOELLE?:  I am looking for the opportunity to fully serve each of you on your personal adventure.  If you have a life or business challenge that you would like a coaching perspective on, please share your comments below or email me at Joelle@coachjoelle.com.

Make your life a work of art, a joyful dance, a grand adventure!

Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Hello Ladies!

As I was thinking of what to write for my first official week of LWL blog contribution, I was struck with the dichotomy of beginnings and endings.  Here you and I are initiating a dialogue so I want to start at the beginning, to set the foundation for consciously creating your business with joy and ease.  At the same time, it is December, a time we usually consider to be an end.   So in the spirit of new beginnings and end of year preparations, today we will be looking at celebrating your accomplishments for 2007!

As women leaders and entrepreneurs, being busy, taking it on, and charging ahead are a regular part of your day to day, but how often do you really stop to notice all you have done? 

With new dreams always being created, new projects to launch, it is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind.  I always find it amazing how without proper attention and care, the very thing you launched, the very thing you love, can feel an awful lot like the rat race that you thought you had left behind.

One way to keep balance, focus and energy as you build your empire is to take time to stop and celebrate your accomplishments.

Whether you have just launched, are thinking about launching or you are in your fifth fabulous year, you have things to celebrate. The fact that you are an entrepreneur, a leader, a launcher, means you are unique and special. You are willing to take risks, go for your passion and follow your dreams. This in itself is remarkable.

So before you launch down a new path; before you run headlong into holiday preparations and dreaming for the New Year, let’s take a moment to celebrate what you have already created.

Action:  Settle in, clear the schedule, grab a fuzzy blanket, get your favorite mug of coffee and let’s get started!

(One thing you will learn about me as we get to know each other is that I am huge on “setting the stage” for intention and enjoyment in everything you do.  I will often invite you to surround yourself with the time, space, and environment to have a great experience.  Some of my favorite accoutrements are anything fuzzy and the perfect mug with yummy tea or coffee. You find what works for you but the point is not just to get through it but to enjoy the ride!)

Write a list of your accomplishments from the past year, big and small:

• Celebrate accomplishments in business – goals achieved, milestones met, financial success (I once celebrated making my first $1.23 in residual income, a milestone for my business.  If making your first $150 as an entrepreneur is a milestone for you, write it down! You get to decide what is worthy of celebrating!)

• Celebrate accomplishments in life – losing that 5 lbs, renovating the bathroom, setting one night a week as date night and keeping it, actually making it through a whole month of daily meditation. Remember, nothing is too silly or too small to celebrate.

• Celebrate moments of courage or extraordinary effort – as a launcher you know you have had moments this year where you pushed the envelope and stepped outside of your comfort zone. This is no small thing and it deserves to be celebrated.

• Celebrate the woman you have become – often our greatest accomplishments do not show up as something that we built or something that we did, but as something we are.  Some of life’s biggest reasons to celebration come from the work we do on ourselves to become the person we imagined.

• Stop, breath, and let it all sink in.  Yep, I knew it.  YOU ROCK!

To get you going, here is a little excerpt from my list:

• Successfully did a 21 day cleanse!
• Somehow actually got my head around the idea of having a baby (Feb 2008 we go for it!)
• Was asked to be a monthly columnist for “Inspire” with Pure Romance, bringing inspiration and insight to 10,000 + female entrepreneurs each month.
• Invested in a sailing cruise line with Jeff (my husband).
• Found an awesome graphic designer for the LIVLOUD! Newsletter so I am really proud of each issue I send out.
• Created a spot in the sun for reading and meditating to support me through the dark, cold Cleveland Winter (dark and cold relative to AZ anyway.)
• Kitchen renovations complete! (12 months late but done done done!)
• Checked out Austin, TX, Los Angeles, CA and Sedona, AZ and decided none of them are quite the place for Coach Joelle to call home.
• Sent out the holiday party evite! (Planning the first real celebration since I moved to Cleveland is a huge step to making Cleveland Home.)
• Started painting again….

Alright Ladies!  Have a blast celebrating yourself!

As a bonus: share your list in the comments below! We would love to help you celebrate!

Huzzha to you!

Coach Joelle

Inspiration from Shiloh Sophia McCloud

Shiloh Sophia McCloud is a reverend and an artist.

This work of women

Yes. It is time for a revolution in women and path, women and money, women and business, women and art, women and marketplace. We do not choose to give our works of any kind away for nothing. We are not starving or frivolous artists. We are creators whose creations save lives, heal the world, heal wounds. This work of women, priestesses and practitioners of every kind is VISIONARY WORK. Your work is vital. Essential. Needed. This work of women must include creating livelihood. This is not easy, quick, fun nor likely. This is not accepted or encouraged. But this is what we must do:

Cause an abundance revolution. We must create our own path. We must create our own money. We must create art. We must create our own marketplace. We must be compensated.

We are creating our own mystical cosmic luminous overflowing BANK. A bank that does not cause, contribute or condone the suffering of others for profit. A women's bank. Believe it. Create it. Deposit into it. Draw from it. Invite other women to it. Enter the income stream in your little golden boat and dream and work and pray and play and do not stop. Keep going. It will almost always seem impossible. But we will make miracles. Miracles are organizing themselves around our dreams, our work, right now.

Believe it.

How to Unleash your Inner Sexpot

Would you like to unleash your inner Sexpot?
Pole dancing is the latest trend in workouts it is true. It is Audacious. It is bold.

And fun.

It makes me feel juicy, bodacious and empowered. It trims my waistline and causes me to think differently about who I am being in the world. All that from 2 hours in a very intense and pleasurable workout?

Yes.

So consider this.
If all matter is energy and the Law of Attraction says that like
energy attracts like energy, then imagine the kind of gorgeous
energy you can create by giving the pole a whirl?

There is much to be said for my pole dancing classes and I have
noticed a change in how I approach everything in my life.

As Sheila Kelly, the founder of SFactor has said, "Soak in the
pure, unadulterated flow of your life. Breathe it in and exhale
everything in your mind until your entire being is just bliss. Let
your body float with soft, languid moves that are simply organic to
your being. When you step outside into your day you will notice
something has shifted."

I think I am (finally!) becoming the exquisite creature I was meant to be.
When you uncover your inner sexpot you also uncover your creative
center, which helps you to think of great new ideas for your
business and gives you the lift-off to actually complete what you
start!

Imagine that?

One of my coaches, Andrea J. Lee of Vancouver, British Columbia often speaks about doing activities that open you to your most sensual and creative self. For me it comes from movement and there is nothing like gathering the courage to dance with a pole...and do it gracefully. And also not be afraid to flop on the floor and try again.

If you are looking for a way to shape up your body, mind and spirit
then the Sfactor may just be the thing for you. They have intro
classes and studios are opening all over the place.

Even Oprah loves it.
You will too.
It's Pure Audacious power.

Go on check it out. You know you want to.

http://www.sfactor.com

Nancy Mindes, Chief Audaciousness Officer
Audacious Ladies Coaching Company
http://www.NancyMindes.com

In a Service Business? Ten thing to do NOW

Recently I received a note from a new coach wanting to know how to get off to a good start...when I looked at what I shared I realized this would be good information for any person in a service business where the emphasis in on YOU! IF you are the business YOU are in trouble....here's why

In a service business, you cannot make money unless you are available. I have been coaching since end of 1999  and I quit due to burnout...it's all about you and you cannot make money with out you. YIKES.... You MUST change this to generating other streams of passive income or you will be exhausted, frustrated and will give up eventually. I can teach you about this and I highly recommend you do this.  Read the Secrets of the millionaire Mind and attend  a Millionaire Mind Intensive.  This has literally changed my LIFE.

2. Get yourself help as soon as possible whether you think you can afford/deserve it or not. I did NOT and started to DROWN. Now I know better. Hire yourself a Virtual assistant and or live- in-person assistant so that you can work on only that which you love and focus energies on marketing not paper pushing.  As you grow get a bookkeeper, a lawyer and a business manager.

For peace of mind resign NOW as the general manager of the universe. Some places to shop for a VA check out AssistU.com for Virtual Assistants also the IVVA Get creative, hire college students, interns, your neighbors' kid or a friend who needs a job right now while she looks for a new one.

Rule: Hire slowly. Interview carefully. Make sure it's a good fit. check out: www.collegehelpers.com, elance.com or guru.com

3. Network, network, network. Make yourself well-known. Join Ladies Who Launch and other organizations where your ideal clients are. Get out and meet people. Ask questions find out what they need and want. Build relationships. See how you can contribute to others. Get a simple website if you are not online, do that NOW. As you grow update and change. A website never stays static anyway (or shouldn't) so just get one up there for starters if you haven't. If you like to write a shortcut would be to get a blog. Oh and start building your email database.

4. Rule about what to be doing: If it's a Hell YES do it, if it's not it's  a Hell NO...so pass it, delegate it or dump it.

5. Rule about cash flow: Do not give up your day job until you have your cash flow in place or get another day job that is less demanding but gives you fuel to pay for all the pieces of parts of ensuring your success as a business. A service business such as coaching or massage is not just a calling it is also a Business with a capital B.  I kept my job as special event director at the Fashion Group during my 4 years of training at Coach U and beyond.

6. Make sure you have a coach to keep you in action and accountable. My coach Margit, is TOUGH and I love her for it.

7. Never-ever undersell yourself. Do not be afraid to name your price and get it. If you put yourself "on sale" or bargain with people you will attract people who you may not want to work with and kick yourself later for agreeing to accept less. Watch for this.  People who serve others have a tendency to undervalue themselves.  Avoid it. You have much to offer the world.

And another thing: I learned this from Kendall Summerhawk...Raise your prices from time to time, especially if it makes you uncomfortable. If you have spent years training, as I did,  for what you do and you have life or business experience that is of value, monetize it. Believe it or not your clients do expect to pay you. If you want, have a scholarship for a few clients who are deserving and cannot afford to pay you at the  moment when they get successful guess what happens?, I do this and it's great.

7. Ask for referrals and refer to others. This is an important revenue stream and way of creating your business community.

8. Ask for the business when someone calls you. Service people often leave this step out and wonder why they have no clients. ASK, "so when would you like to get started?"

9. Enjoy yourself and if you are not, STOP and regroup. I left coaching for 18 months to go work on the 2004 Democratic presidential camapign which really gave me a new perspective on life along the way I used my coaching skills for enrolling people.  After a stunning defeat, I joined the Ladies Who Launch Incubator in 2005 and began my coaching business again.
LWL gave me the uplifting and the  liftoff I needed in a very big way.

10. Here's my business plan: Simplify my life. Connect with others. Have more fun.
Have an audaciously fabulous day!

The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind and the Millionaire Mind Intensive changed my life. It will change yours especially if you are in a service business or a solo practitioner of any kind...

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Book>>>get this!
http://www.secretsofthemillionairemind.com/a/joyful_deliciousness

The single most important step you take no matter WHAT service you offer is to keep learning about the business of business along with deeply understanding who you are from the inside out and who do you get to be when you are doing the work you love.
Come and see who I am at my website
http://www.NancyMindes.com/

The home for Audacious Ladies and the men they love

Entrepreneur Magazine's Woman Of The Year Contest

From Nichelle Stephens, Blog Editor:

Submit you and your business for the 4th annual Entrepreneur Magazine Woman of The Year award.

Entrepreneur magazine will honor one outstanding woman entrepreneur as Woman of the Year.

If you are the woman business owner who best exemplifies the qualities needed to be truly successful in business today--competitiveness, compassion and clarity of vision--you could be our winner.

To qualify, a woman business owner must

• be a founder of the business
• own at least 51% of her business
• be actively involved in day-to-day operations
• have been in business for at least one full year
• have 2006 sales of at least $1 million, and
• have less than 100 employees.

The deadline for entry is September 15, 2007

Barons Before Bedtime

Last week's New York Times features an article, Barons Before Bedtime about young (kids and teen) entrepreneurs. It is never too early to get kids interested in businesses. You may want to check out more teen trends at YPulse.

Since the rise and fall and rise again of the new economy, the face of the American dream has gotten younger, richer — and more homebound. With the news full of 20-somethings who are making millions of dollars with ideas hatched on their laptops and in their dorm rooms (as the founders of YouTube, MySpace and Facebook have done), more and more teenagers are hoping to become the C.E.O.'s of their own companies, without ever leaving their bedrooms.

To read the full which is now under the velvet rope of Time Select, click below.