More Than WE Know

Last Saturday, I reviewed Dr. Susan Reid’s book Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Journey to Business Success. I enjoyed reading the book so much, that I asked Susan to let me interview her about her book and about the process of writing a book and getting it published.

Besides being an author, Susan is a fascinating woman entrepreneur. She runs her own business called Alkamae which specializes in branding, niche clarity and Law of Attraction based marketing for Women Entrepreneurs.

Interested in winning a free copy of Susan’s book?  Read the details that follow her interview to find out how you can get a free copy of the book directly from Susan.

But first, here’s her story.  

Tell me about the title of your book - the Inner Samurai.

The use of Inner Samurai in the title of my book may seem a bit strange for a women’s business book. After all, when most of us think of samurai, we think of the Japanese male warriors and their outward expression of themselves as warriors — assassins for hire.

Though what is often missed is the tremendous amount of inner work that the samurai did long before he picked up a sword.

The inner work is the key. Women (men, too) have been taught to gather information from the outside — from books, magazines, experts — and take action from an outside perspective. They are taught to ignore their inner knowing, to ignore their inner wisdom and take action on their inner vision — what I call, your Inner Samurai.

Everything you ever need to know is within you. The secrets of the universe are accessed from within. Imprinted within, not from without.

No amount of outside knowledge will sustain or nourish women — not long-term. Yes, of course, use whatever knowledge you have but see its limitations. Knowledge alone does not suffice; it has no heart because it is disconnected from your Inner Samurai. Women know this, but they often don’t act on that knowing.

I wrote this book to help women get in touch with their inner voice and learn how to take inspired action from this place of inner knowing. To build their business from the inside out. From a place of strength. From a strength that is resolute, flexible, clear, and free of doubt.

Susan, that inner knowing really resonates with the philosophy of this blog that WE know more than WE believe we do.

In addition to the idea of empowering your intuition by labeling it the “inner samurai” three concepts in your book just really jumped out at me.

Can you speak to those, how the following concepts  tie together and how they fit your theme?

• polymaths
• accidental pren-hers
• the deliciousness of wanting more

Discovering Your Inner Samurai was written with the Accidental Pren-her in mind who has already lived a rich and full life. Someone who has accumulated many years of experiences, acquired an extensive skill-set, and been around. Often, this makes them polymathic.

However, their multiple streams of passion, of interest, have often been viewed as a hindrance, a detriment to their success. Then, when they experience the life-changing activating event that rocks their word and catapults them into considering starting up a business, they find themselves wanting more.

They want more for themselves. They want more for their family. They want to show up differently in the world . . . though they often don’t know where to begin or the first steps to take.

What I do as a business coach is help women take that journey from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial woman. I partner with them along their journey. Together, we look at all their life, putting a positive spin on their polymathic accumulation of breadth and depth experience, focus this into the one thing they are most passionate about, and then launch them into their world in the business of their choice.

What do you want women to take away from reading your book?

That they can do it. That they can turn their accident into an accident by design. That they can have the life they have always wanted to live and do it on their own terms. Most of all, that their inner guidance system, their Inner Samurai, can be trusted, depended upon, and the source of their greatest strength and power.

And from this knowing, that they can build their business from the inside out that will bring them the income they want, the satisfaction they crave, and fulfill them in ways they previously had not thought possible. In short, I want them to be happy.
 
That’s very inspiring! Now, let’s talk a little about actually writing the book itself.

What motivated you to write this book?

My Inner Samurai. And the success of my clients.

I wanted women to know that there is another approach to starting up and growing businesses that was based on a different model. That was based on tapping into inner knowing, that was guided by heart and complimented by head, rather than the other way around — One that was propelled from their inner voice, rather than the voice inside their head.

How long did it take you to write it?

In actuality, all my life. As it is a culmination of my life experience.

In practicalities, the first draft took 45 days. I call that my dump. I was so ready to write and had been wanting to write a book for so long, that when I actually sat down to write, I couldn’t stop. It just had to come out.

After that, I secured WME Books as my publisher, then sat on my draft for 6 months. During that time, I had to finish grieving the recent passing of my parents. I needed time to go inward again, to turn my dross into gold. Then, from March 2006 until August 2006, I wrote just about every day, sending off chapters to Yvonne and my editor to look at. Most of the first draft didn’t make it into the book.
 
However, the inner voice and essence of the first draft did.
 
Who are you hoping to reach with your book?

Entrepreneurial women starting up or growing their business.

Accidental Pren-hers

Women wanting to build a business from the inside out, from a place they intuitively know

Entrepreneurial men connected to their heart.

How did you find a publisher?

Yvonne DiVita from WME Books was a guest on a teleclass I was attending. I knew, immediately — Inner Samurai knowing — that she was the one for me. I took inspired action. We visited. I sent her a sample chapter, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What is the biggest challenge you faced in writing your book and how did you overcome it?

Speaking my truth. This book was my coming out. My coming out onto the world stage about who I am and what I am about.

I didn’t over come it. I reached for what I wanted beyond my fear.

I stayed connected to my inner knowing, stayed aligned with my Inner Samurai, and kept walking.

What has been the best unexpected thing that has happened to you due to the book?

That people, some I don’t even know who, for whatever reason, purchased multiple copies of my book and feel spontaneously pulsed to just give my book to someone else. Then, that person emails me saying how perfect this book is for them, how right the timing is, all the while sharing the story of how they came to be in possession of my book.

I love hearing Inner Samurai stories and seeing what happens when people follow and trust their Inner Samurai knowing.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

How amazingly delicious this experience of writing a book would be for me — then again, no one could have told me that . . . it was something I had to experience for myself.

What advice do you have for other women hoping to write and publish a book?

Go for it. Trust your process — whatever it may be.

That your first draft may be more of a dump then an actual draft, and to allow your subsequent drafts to unfold naturally, even if it means most of your first draft is jettisoned in the process.

That your book is not about you. It’s about the people who will be reading your book. So, find a way to have your target market in the room with you when you write. Write as if you are talking to them, sharing with them, and bringing things to life in your book that is of value and interest to them.

Go inward for guidance and outward for support.

Just shut up and write. Enough with the excuses.

————-

And now, to help reach more Women Entrepreneurs,  Susan has been kind enough to share a copy of her book Discovering Your Inner Samurai with 1 lucky reader of MoreThanWEKnow.

How can you win a copy? Answer 1 question in the comments, and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday January 25th, 2008.

Here’s the question:

What motivated you to start your own business, or is motivating you to want to start one?

Just leave your answer in the comments by 5 PM Pacific time on Friday January 25th, 2008. I’ll pick the winner at random, and announce it next Sunday, January 27th. Winner will need to provide a valid mailing address (it’s a book, not a gift certificate) and I reserve the right to select the winner by random number using the integer generator (first in the list) from Random.org

Disclaimer: The winner of the Discover Your Inner Samurai book giveaway will be selected from the comments submitted by 5 PM pacific  time on January 25th, 2008 by Liz Fuller, whose decision is final in all matters relating to this book giveaway. Of course, your odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible comments received. The Winner will be notified by the email address provided with the comment. Upon initial notification and verification, the Winner’s copy of the book will be shipped to the address provided by the Winner following notification. Approximate value of book is $24.95. No warranties are expressed or implied. Void where prohibited. 

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  One of the reasons I enjoy working with Women Entrepreneurs is the passion they have for their businesses.  My biggest reward comes from helping people tap into their passion and realize that they can actually make their living doing what they love.

Passion is particularly important for service professionals, because it is what draws their clients to them.  Clients buy the energy and enthusiasm as much as the advice and information.

Robin Matuk, owner of My Digital Coach has passion for empowering women by teaching them to be technologically savvy.  Robin’s passion is so palpable that you can feel it jump off the screen during her interview.

Here is her story.

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Women Entrepreneurs that I speak to about the value the internet can have on their business, often cite the following barriers to their success:

• “I’m too old to learn about computers” 
• “It’s too confusing”
• “My products won’t sell on the internet”
• “I built a website but no one comes”

While all of those reasons might feel like true barriers, the following interview with Donna Rug, owner of Akron Grove Bath Products, and her husband, Norbert, Akron Grove’s Webmaster, will demonstrate that they are not.  

Donna’s grandchildren inspired her to initially start Akron Grove in 2002.  In the beginnng it was an all offline, word-of-mouth, friends-and-family business. Norbert, who knew nothing about computers, spent a year teaching himself to build a website - and presented it to Donna as a Christmas present.  

At first, they were thrilled when their site got only one or two visitors per week.  Now, more than 95% of their sales come via the internet. 

And if you do a google search for “Bath Products” (try it!) - there at #5 - is Akron Grove!

Here is their story.

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A recent survey of over 3000 Women Entrepreneurs conducted by ewomennetwork found that the biggest challenges facing businesswomen at this moment were sales and marketing.

This aligns with what Women Entrepreneurs consistently tell me - marketing is their least favorite aspect of running their own business.

They don’t like selling or networking. They feel like it forces them to be pushy, insincere and even rude. They’ve heard that adage that they should be selling to everyone within 5 feet of them. Those that are following it, feel uncomfortable and those that aren’t, feel guilty.

Frankly, this type of selling doesn’t fit well with most Women Entrepreneurs. And according to Shama Hyder, Founder and Chief Marketing Consultant of After the Launch, a Dallas based marketing firm, this traditional type of marketing no longer fits at all with today’s marketplace.

Shama says that traditional marketing was characterized by being loud, pushy, and focused on selling to everyone you met. Today’s marketing techniques are clear, consistent, and focused on educating selected individuals who have a real need for your services.

Shama founded After the Launch in August with clients from around the world. Since then she and her global team of SEO experts, web developers, copy writers and virtual assistants have helped numerous service providers obtain more clients, gain more media exposure and achieve more profits.

Here is her story.

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According to a study by the U.S. Small Business Association, only two out of three small businesses survive the first two years. More than fifty percent close within four years. That’s why, when I see a small business that has been around for 19 years, I stop to take a closer look.

What were you doing in 1988?

One thing is for sure, you weren’t surfing the internet, twittering, or pimping your MySpace page. Eunice started her business, The Little Things long before business 2.0. In that time she has successfully transitioned from 100% brick and mortar (or craft sales and boutiques!) to 100% online.

Here is her story.

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