More Than WE Know

(Note: This was sent to me via email and  I have no idea who to credit for either the poem or the picture.  If anyone knows, please contact me. )

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don’t take ‘no’ for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they

think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They’ll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have the compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their

family and friends.

Women have vital things to say

and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Please pass this along to all your women friends

and relatives to remind them

just how amazing they are.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

“Remember that children, marriages and flower beds reflect the kind of care they get.” 

                                     - H J Brown

I read this quote today and thought - if it were up to me, I would amend it to read,

“Remember that children, marriages, flower beds, and small businesses reflect the kind of care they get.” 

What does the state of your small business say about the amount of care you are giving it?

• Are you happy with the return you are getting for your time?
• Is your business continuing to grow at a steady pace or do you feel like you are stagnating?
• Are you spending as much time as you would like planning for the future as you are solving the crises of today?
• Are you finding yourself continually having new challenges or are you struggling with the same problems week after week and month after month?

What one thing could you do to increase your customers and your revenue? If you’re not doing it, why not? And how could you get started today, right now,  to move yourself forward?

Remember: No one will ever create the business that is in you to create - take care to let it reflect the very best of you.

Do you ever feel like your life is a chaotic swirl of lists, demands, to-do’s and missed-do’s?

Does everyone from your children to your spouse to your friends to your customers look to you to make decisions, take actions, and give answers?

In short, do you ever feel like you are caught up in a perfect storm of crises, challenges and opportunities?

Many Women Entrepreneurs I work with struggle with all of the demands on their time, energy and talent.  Although WE love our lives for their multi-faceted color, excitement and flexibility - it can sometimes seem a bit overwhelming. While WE wouldn’t trade any of it, WE do sometimes wish for a chance to catch our breath.

The key I have found is to carry a vision inside of yourself as the “eye of the storm”.  All the chaos, clutter and confusion can be swirling around you, but you are in the center - the calm eye of the storm.

You are the leader of your business, your family and your life. Others look to you for direction. If you are calm, they will become calm. Likewise if you are upset, they will become even more upset.

Think of any world leader during a crisis. The one thing they do is present themselves as calm and in control.  They may be trembling inside but outwardly they don’t show it. 

The reason is that their followers all take their cues from them. If the leader is calm, fact-based and positive, then their followers can be too.  They relax. They think to themselves, “Someone is in charge. We will get through this.”

If you are a mother, you probably have experience with this. If one of your children gets hurt - you force yourself to remain calm and handle the situation. Instinctively you know that if you appear calm, your child will calm down as well. You rise to the challenge.

You don’t react to the crisis. You respond.

You are centered.

You are the eye of the storm.

Today, as challenges hit, take a moment before you simply react to the situation, so that you can choose to respond as a leader.

1) Take a deep breath.

2) Repeat to yourself words that resonate with you.

- “I am the leader in this situation.”

- “I am the eye of the storm.”

- “I am the calming influence.”

2) Picture yourself responding as a leader instead of reacting emotionally. 

3) If at all possible, stall for some time before you react. 

• Take a walk.
• Write your emotions in an email (that you don’t send).
• Schedule a discussion for later.

The point is to separate your emotions from the situation.  Give yourself a chance to distance yourself from the crisis. 

Don’t get caught up in the drama.

Lead and others will follow.

How do you handle the chaos and crises of your business and your life? What works for you? Are you the leader of your own life? Are you the calm center of the storm?

I received a lot of good feedback on the recent series of profiles of Women Entrepreneurs. I also got a few questions, such as this one:

Liz,

Why are all of your interviews with retailers? I’m a Virtual Assistant so I really couldn’t relate to articles about selling merchandise. I would be interested in hearing about other women with service based businesses like mine.

D.B.

It’s a good question - and here is my response.

D.B.

Thanks for bringing up your concerns. I chose to focus on retailers during the holiday season because I thought it would be an interesting tie to the holidays. But I never intended to exclude service businesses.

I will be running interviews in the future that profile women entrepreneurs who run service-based businesses, such as coaches, marketing professionals, web designers, virtual assistants and others.

I also want to underscore the importance of learning from all types of businesses. WE shouldn’t limit ourselves to looking at businesses that are similar to our own.

WE can learn from all sorts of businesses. For example, there’s a lot to be learned about branding from Harley Davidson, about customer service from Nordstrom’s, and about viral marketing from “I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?”.

None of these may be the same businesses that you or I are in, but there are lessons to be taken from their successes and shortcomings.

So, when you read the interviews, look at the underlying themes of how these women were able to get their ideas, take the first steps, convince others of their dreams, raise funding, market their businesses and sell their products. There are lessons there for any entrepreneur, retailer or service professional, wanting to improve their own business.

And look for additional interviews of Women Entrepreneurs every Friday in More Than WE Know. I promise there will be Women Entrepreneurs who have both retail and service businesses.

Regards,

Liz

——

If you have a business you would like to have profiled on More Than WE Know, please contact me at Liz(at)morethanweknow(dot)com.

In surveys, Women Entrepreneurs state that our top motivations for starting our own businesses are because WE want:

• a more flexible lifestyle
• a business culture that reflects their own values
• an income

Women Entrepreneurs want to earn money but WE want to do it our way. WE want a business that allows us the freedom to have lives as well. WE want to integrate our work with our family, our friends, our hobbies and our health. WE want to build businesses that honor the integrity of our souls as much as the quality of our work.

The profiles of Women Entrepreneurs that I’ve conducted over the past few weeks have been consistent with these survey results.

As you read the articles, were you struck by the way that they were each living with passion?

Read the rest of this entry »