More Than WE Know

Were you intrigued by the recent book review of Discover Your Inner Samurai?

 Would you like to hear more from Susan Reid?

Phil Gerbyshak at SlackerManager.com is also participating in the Discover Your Inner Samurai Virtual Book Tour.  Recently Phil published an interesting article written by Susan Reid, Recession Proof Your 2008 with 7 Sure-fire Tips to Boost Productivity. 

Phil is also giving away a free copy of Discover Your Inner Samurai at his blog. 

To enter - submit your best productivity tip.  Winners will be chosen at random on Friday the 18th.

Also on Friday I will be publishing an interview with Susan Reid.  She will be answering questions about her book, as well as giving tips on how she wrote it and how she got it published. 

Look for another opportunity to win a free copy of the book as part of that interview!

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One of the fundamental premises at More Than WE Know is that as Women Entrepreneurs, WE Know More than WE Believe WE Know.  Dr. Susan Reid has taken a similar premise and expanded it  in her book Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Journey to Business Success.

What I think of as that small, still voice within, or our intuition, Susan has described as “Our Inner Samurai”. 

Too often, as Women Entrepreneurs, we allow our intuition to be devalued  as not being serious or business-like enough.  WE feel embarrassed to admit that we are making decisions based on our intuition rather than data and facts. 

The flaw in this way of thinking is that we can never gather all of the facts in a short amount of time.  And if we take too much time, the moment for the opportunity may have passed.  Timely business decisions must be made in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Therefore, the most powerful business leaders gather all the facts they can, and then trust their intuition to make the final decision.

By describing our intuition as an Inner Samurai, Susan gives that inner voice power and credibility.  She makes us realize that a well-developed intuition is  a powerful secret weapon. 

In her book Susan describes how to distinguish between the “rational mind…with lots of chatter, explanation, and convincing and the yes-or-no pulsing of our intuition.”

Once she helps you connect with your inner samurai, Susan walks you through how this connection can serve you in every step of starting and building your business. She understands that many Women Entrepreneurs never intended to start their own business.

Instead, many Women Entrepreneurs are  “Accidental Pren- hers” who may have stumbled into owning their own business unexpectedly due to a job loss, personal disappointment, family crisis or overwhelming passion for a hobby.  (This is certainly true for many of the Women Entrepreneurs I work with). 

Susan reminds us that “there are no accidents” and that “everything that happens in your life happens for a reason…even if you don’t recognize it as such at the time.”

Susan’s book has been described as “The Secret for business” (Muzetta Swann).  Which makes sense because in addition to being an author, Susan runs a business called Alkamae which specializes in branding, niche clarity and Law of Attraction based marketing for Women Entrepreneurs.

There was a lot in Susan’s book that resonated for me - so much so that I have asked her to let me interview her for More Than WE Know.  Look for that interview next Friday.

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Note: Today’s book review and next week’s interview are part of a Virtual Book Tour for The Inner Samurai. I’m pleased to be a part of this tour along with many other bloggers. To learn more about Susan’s book, check out the other  ”stops” along the way on the book tour by visiting Inner Samurai Virtual Book Tour.

If you’re a parent and you’ve ever wondered whether you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur

or

If you’re an entrepreneur and you’ve ever wondered whether you have what it takes to be a parent

reading Julie Lenzer Kirk’s book The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business will reassure you that if you have done one, you probably have a lot of the necessary skills to do the other.

I’ve long thought that parents make great business owners because they are calm in a crisis, are experienced negotiators and are used to functioning well on very little sleep.

Julie takes these analogies further by paralleling the stages and skills of parenting with those of running a business - from conception through learning to growing pains and exit.  

Julie started her own business shortly after the birth of her two children. Soon, her husband joined her company and they simultaneously built a happy family and a successful business.  Eventually, Julie cashed out of her multi-million dollar business.  Her book is based on first-hand experience with being a successful business owner and mother.

Julie’s book is chock full of amusing anecdotes and wise advice about both parenting and business mishaps, challenges and successes. She draws upon her own experiences as well as the experiences of other parentpreneurs to illustrate her points.

What I liked best about Julie’s premise is that in business, as in parenting, you can read all the books you want, take all the courses you can, and do all the planning you are able, and still you find that life happens and much of your learning will be on-the-job and just-in-time.

Julie says that parenthood and entrepreneurship are both the hardest jobs you’ll ever love. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll make mistakes, and you will grow along the way.

This implies to me that a lot of success in parenting and business comes down to trusting ourselves and our intuition. As I’ve said before, Women Entrepreneurs know more than WE believe WE know. In many cases, WE simply need to learn to trust ourselves and that small, still, voice within.

So, read Julie’s book. If you’re a parent, the tales of diapers, tantrums and homework will seem all too familiar. Their relevance to entrepreneurship will be enlightening.

Conversely, if you’re an entrepreneur, the tales of pulling all-nighters, negotiating with clients, and meeting challenging deadlines will ring a bell. Their relevance to parenting will be surprising.

And if you are already both - a parent and an entrepreneur - first, take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back for how hard you work every day and night.

Then read Julie’s book to remind yourself how powerful and amazing you already are.

I have a question for you.

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According to Peggy Collins, author of Help Is Not a Four Letter Word many women find it much easier to give help to others than to ask for it themselves. She calls this the “self-sufficiency syndrome”.

As a Business Development Specialist for Women Entrepreneurs, this tendency disturbs me. Failing to ask for help can lead to unsustainable business practices. Ask many Women Entrepreneurs and they will tell you that they are “a one-woman show” or a “jack of all trades”. They take pride in their ability to run and manage a business, a family and other responsibilities all on their own.

While WE should be proud of our accomplishments and progress - WE must be careful not to get caught in a trap of our own making.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been reading Guy Kawasaki’s book The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that Guy is one of my sources of inspiration. I admire his message that the best reason to start a business is because you want to create a product or service that makes the world a better place.

Guy’s new book has a lot of great advice for entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-wannabe’s.  One topic he discusses is the value of mission statements (little) and mantras (a lot). 

A mantra is a short, pithy statement of what you are all about, intended to inspire and focus your employees and yourself. It is different from a mission statement in that it is short, powerful, and focused. It is different than a tagline because its intended audience is internal, not external customers.  You may never write it down, but you will live it every day.

As an example, Guy gives the official mission statement of several well-known companies and then his  hypothetical mantra.

ex.  Southwest Airline’s real mission statement: “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company Spirit.”

Guy’s hypothetical mantra: “Better than driving”.

You choose - Which one is more powerful, more emotional, and more focused? 

After reading Guy’s book, I gave some thought to my own mantra. 

I came up with:

Strengthen Women

At first I thought of “Empower Women” - but when I looked up the definition of empower I read that it means to grant someone power.  This implies to me that I have power, you don’t, and I am being so kind and generous as to grant it to you.  Not.

Then I read the definition of strengthen which means to help someone increase their strength, and is synonymous with buttress, reinforce, fortify, and support.

So to me this implies, that you are already strong and that through the support of this site, you can grow even stronger.   That sums up what More Than WE Know is all about - WE already know so much more than WE realize - WE just need each other to remind us.

So, what is the mantra for your company?  What words make your toes tingle, your eyes light up and a smile come to your lips? 

And if that sounds like love, you’re right.

What do you love about your business, your goal, your life and the difference you are making to the world? 

I’d love to hear your answer.

And if you’d like to read more of Guy’s book, The Art of the Start, he is giving away the first chapter (cause that’s the kind of Guy he is).   click here-> Art of the Start.