There’s a very big difference between those two. If you’re only setting your goals according to what you think you should get, you are probably missing out on so much potential for your business.

Here’s one way you can figure out if you’re setting your goals too low. If I were to sit down with you in a coaching session and ask, “Tell me how much money you want to make this year,” how would you respond?

If your answer is vague or your answer is more in the form of a question, your goals are more in line with what you think you should get rather than what you want to make.

When you set a vision for your business, get this kind of thinking completely out of your head. The potential for your business is so far greater than you could perceive if you’re only looking at it from what you think you can do or what you think you have to do.

One way to avoid getting caught up in this mess is to do projects that you want to do; not projects that you think you should do because they might be the right way to launch a program or sell something.

Doing business this way will afford you the life you think you should have – living in a moderate home, making good money while working 6 days a week, always thinking about but rarely going on a real vacation.

Your goals have to be based around what you truly want. When you truly want something, you have what is referred to in Think and Grow Rich as a burning desire. If you don’t have a burning desire to achieve your goals, it is not going to be enough.

Here’s why that burning desire is so important. When you’re setting after something that you haven’t had previously – something that is a big, daring goal for you – you’re going to hit challenges. You’re going to hit obstacles because anything you want and don’t have is outside of your comfort zone.

On your way to achieving the things that are outside of your comfort zone, you’re going to be stretched. That’s the moment when you will be most tempted to give up, unless you have a really strong burning desire.

This desire, that yearning for something more, is like your higher mind calling you to your true potential.

So, when you’re setting your goals – both revenue goals and lifestyle goals – consider what it is that you truly want.

The bigger house? The 3-day work-week? The 3-month dream vacation?

If these are the goals you truly want, set them. Once you name what you want to achieve, once you know what is your burning desire, we can figure out a way for you to achieve it.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

They had to take a step forward before any light went on.

This is quite the opposite of how people really want to move forward. Most of us prefer to “see the light” before we take the next step. We want to know where we are going, and see all the steps illuminated and lined up, so that we can go from point A to point B, B to C, C to D, D to E and so on.

But the truth is, that is not really how we move forward. The truth is that often, only the first step you take will be visible. The only way to see the second step is for you to be one- hundred percent wholly committed to taking step one.

That is truly what change is like. There’s no denying that change is uncomfortable, but if you want to accomplish your goals, you’re going to have to step up, move forward and make changes as you go along. The more comfortable you get at doing that, the more stepping up will be a constant experience in your life.

So, if you are serious about doubling or tripling your income, for example, you could go to Vegas or play the lottery, but the real way to accomplish your goal involves doing some things that up until now, you’ve been resisting.

You may not even realize that you’ve been unwilling or unable to make changes. It’s amazing how creative people can be at avoiding change.

But, whether you want to make ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, or ten million, whatever the level or the goal, the process is exactly the same

In order to affect any kind of change, in your life or in your business, you have to take the first step without being one-hundred percent certain about where your foot is going to land.

That takes courage, and it takes faith. That is what change requires.

Commit one-hundred percent to taking step one. You don’t need to know what’s going to happen after step one if you never get there. You will only know what happens next when you take that step. You won’t ever get there if you keep asking questions.

You’ve got to act, and jump right in with both feet, even when you don’t know where that jump will land you.

Once you master this process of change, and just keep stepping through it, you will find yourself more and more comfortable with moving forward without knowing where the next step leads.

As you find the courage to take one step after another, I promise, things are going to change for you.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

•    Carefully choose the niche that you want to be known as an expert at.

•    Learn everything there is to know about your declared area of expertise. Go through the experiences and learn the lessons, connect with a mentor and then put it into practice to be successful. Only then can you teach and help other people to do the same.

•    Pick something that you’re passionate about; when you’re passionate, that really shows through.

•    You will make a greater impact in a place where you genuinely have some value to offer.

•    Realize that you don’t have to try to get every person you ever encounter to become a client.

•    Build your relationship with the people who have already “raised their hands” and expressed an interest in your product or service.

•    Focus your effort and energy on people who are pre-qualified to buy. It is more pleasurable to work with and for them than to try to convert people who will never be interested or will never be qualified to buy your services.

•    Approach your tasks with the right energy. A positive attitude will resonate with your clients; conversely, so will negativity.

•    Be a congruent model for success by focusing on and being committed to your prospects and clients.

•    Use one-to-many methods for connecting with clients and offering services, as much as possible.

•    Put systems in place to start building your list.  Then continue to grow and improve your lead generation systems.

•    Know the principles behind offering ethical bribes, such as a free report, and have processes in place to handle responses.

•    Incite a call to action by creating a sense of urgency for people to sign up with you or purchase your offer. Deadlines work well for this.

•    Don’t underestimate the value of affiliates and joint venture partnerships.

•    Be consistent. Systematize and automate your process so that you can make money even when you aren’t working.

•    Use articles, teleseminars and social media to increase your exposure and the perception of you as an expert.

•    Use quality software to build and maintain your websites and blogs.

•    Always offer an upgrade with every sale.

•    Build relationships by following up with the people you meet at networking events right after the event.

•    Offer something for free or do a product giveaway at an event, collecting contact information in exchange for entry.

Implementing just some of these strategies today will add many more prospects to your list and take you closer to a more profitable business.  When you’ve applied them all, you will be a true client magnet.

Do you have a plan mapped out inside your head?

Do you dream about creating an amazingly successful business?

Do you have a plan mapped out inside your head to get it started?

Or are you looking for miracles to make your dream a reality?

Whether your starting out with your business or planning for growth, both of these seemingly conflicting concepts
need to co-exist inside your head.

It is very important that you have realistic expectations.

If you don’t have a budget and you don’t have any spare time, can you really expect to make an extra £20,000 a  month from your business? While it is certainly possible to earn that much money, you’re going to have to invest a certain amount of your time, effort, and money to make it happen.

But before you do anything at all, you need to have a plan. What I would like you to do right now is to take a moment, grab a sheet of paper, and draw a long line on it.

At the first end of that line, write the words “me today.” This represents where you are now. At the other end of the line, write down the words “1 year” and “revenue target.”

Write down whatever that number is that you want to reach in one year’s time. It could be £100,000, £250,000, £500,000, or even a million plus. When you have this goal clearly expressed on paper, then you can work out the steps you need to take to get there.

The first step toward reaching your revenue target is to take stock of your current assets. Think about your time, resources, and money.

If you find that you don’t have an abundance of all those assets, don’t panic. Consider the marketing concept that addresses the balance of money and time and creativity. If you’re short in one area, expect that you will need to put in more effort in the others.

So if you’re short on money, for instance, you will probably need to spend a lot more time to get your business going. If you’re short on time, then you’ll probably think about outsourcing from day one in order to maximize the hours you can devote to reaching your goal.

If you’re short on both, then you need to put your creative juices to work.

Don’t let any of these scenarios deter you. Building your online business and earning the income you desire is a very realistic and very attractive prospect for you. An online business has a very low in startup cost. The overheads are low. And, the percentage of profit that you get to keep is high. Keep your expectations and your evaluation of your assets realistic.

At the same time, it is also important to remember this other concept –

Believe in miracles.

In fact, plan on them. This may appear to contradict keeping your expectations realistic, but really, it doesn’t. It is harder to quantify, but there’s definitely a magic in just getting started. Doors are going to open that you can’t even imagine right now.

Until you get started down that road toward your goal, you have no idea where it is going to lead you. Once you actually take physical steps on that path, the universe will take 10 steps toward you.

Balancing your realistic expectations with your belief that miracles await you will tip the scales in your favor and assure you a very successful year ahead! Go ahead, set your expectations high, plan for the future AND always remember miracles await you.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Your support is like scaffolding. It’s the first thing that’s needed when a building is going up. And it’s the first thing you need to help you grow your business.

There are several different types of support structures that you can put in place. These are the things that will protect you and help you to focus on your business.  With these 5 support structures in place, you will be ready to grow your business to new heights.

1.  Set Boundaries… It can be very useful to set boundaries in your client relationships.

Do clients ring you whenever they like and expect you to drop everything for them? If that’s the case, you can’t have the time and energy you need to focus on working on your business. You need to have some boundaries in place, where you allot certain times for responding to clients’ calls.

2.  Manage Your Time On Your Terms … You can be so much more productive if you set definite times for when you are working and when you are not working.

For example, I work three days a week. Everyone in my house knows when I’m working, so they don’t interrupt me. People don’t ring me during those hours. If they do, I won’t answer the phone And when I’m in my time off, I’m not working. These are really clear structures that I adhere to.

3.  Work With A Schedule… This is be a great way to stay on track and focused on getting things done.

Put everything that you need to accomplish on your calendar. Make sure to block out enough time for the task, and stick to it. Whether it’s a meeting, a phone call, working on your blog – include it in your schedule. When you see that each item has its own set block of time, you will be able to focus more clearly. This is amazingly helpful in keeping from feeling overwhelmed.

4.  Build A Team… If you are mired down in day-to-day tasks that keep you from working on your business, consider hiring an administrative assistant or virtual assistant.

You may think of this as an expense that you can’t afford. Reverse that line of thought and consider it as an investment instead. By delegating the routine tasks to an assistant, you will free yourself to do the work that will bring in clients and grow your business.

5.  Get Emotional Support… Encouragement and support from the people in your personal life goes a long way toward keeping you motivated in your business.

Perhaps your partner is busy, or your family doesn’t understand what you are doing. If the people close to you don’t offer enough inspiration and support, you may begin to feel frustrated and become less productive.

Should this happen to you, look to other sources for the motivation and encouragement that you need. A mastermind group or other similar group of like-minded people will boost your confidence and help you in countless ways. In addition to emotional support, they can offer specific business knowledge and advice.

So consider all of the structures that can support you as your business grows. It’s critical to have these in place so that you can be productive and concentrate on your talents and expertise.

Comparing Related Products
One way in which you can justify your price is by preparing your product to related products, but highlighting how your product differs in order to justify your price. For example, if you’re giving a copywriting workshop for $200, you might compare that to the cost of a copywriting book at $20. The copywriting book could provide prospects with some static information, but a copywriting workshop would provide prospects with coaching and insight into applying good copywriting practices to a specific business to boost sales. A copywriting workshop is like taking the book to the next level, so it’s logical that it would cost more than the book. Alternately, if you’re selling the copywriting book, compare it to a workshop to emphasize cost savings.

Comparing Seemingly-Related Products
Another useful comparison technique is to compare seemingly-related products that aren’t actually related. For example, if you’re offering the copywriting workshop, you could compare it to the cost of an English or Communication degree from a four-year college. It’s really not the same thing, but a copywriting workshop would be much cheaper, and would provide people with a focused skill set to boost their business in just a weekend, as compared to a four-year degree. With the right language, you can make a copywriting workshop seem like the only practical solution, and one that’s much more useful than a degree program.

Comparing Unrelated Products
Even if you can’t think of something that is related to your product, you can use the comparison technique to compare your product to unrelated products. For example, with a copywriting workshop, you could also compare it to how much prospects spend on business expenses every year, how much they spend on advertising, or even how much they spend on vacation. The idea is to point out that people spend a fair amount to a lot on other things in their daily life, so spending on your product is inconsequential compared to their spending in other areas. Combine the comparison to other expenses with the return on investment for purchasing your product, and you’ve got a ready-made sales pitch.

You can be as creative as you need to be with comparisons in your sales pitch. You can compare your product to related items, seemingly related products or even completely unrelated products. Don’t worry about having trouble thinking of related comparisons; any comparison can help sell your product. All you have to do is present a good value proposition, and utilizing the comparison technique can help you boost your sales!

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Would it surprise you to learn that one of the most important things you can do to achieve success in your business is to consider what you need to stop doing?

When you move from one level to another, whether in life or in business, there is always something that you need to leave behind. You have to figure out what you need to let go of.

Letting go can be a huge stepping stone. You might even find that much of your growth comes from the things you stop doing, rather than those you start doing.

For example, if you are overly involved in every detail of your business, you risk creating a bottleneck. When this happens, the business slows down because you have to take the time to personally oversee everything.

Let something go. Give up some of the specific tasks that create the bottleneck. Change the process so that you are less involved. You’ll find that not only will things run more smoothly, but that you will have more time to do the work you want to do.

When you are starting out, it’s usually possible to control everything that goes on. In a smaller business, you can see all of the e-mails and every correspondence. But as your business grows, you have to give up some of that control. You simply don’t have the time to be involved in every single thing. But again, when you give up control, what you get back is freedom.

Work smart rather than harder…  One of the behaviors you need to let go of is working so hard. Driving yourself into the ground and flogging yourself to the bone really won’t get you anywhere.

You are the number one asset in your business. It is built around you – your skills, talents and time. You have to take care of yourself as the valuable asset that you are. Rest and recovery are essential to your success.

In his book The Powerful Engagement, Tony Schwartz writes about how we humans are not like machines. We can’t run for eight hours straight. We have from 90 to 120 minutes of energy at any one time.

Begin to block out your time in segments of 90 to 120 minutes. Totally focus on one thing for that time period, and then take a break. Make sure it is a proper break – stand up, walk around, do something different. Staying at your desk and checking e-mail is not a proper break.

Working this way will increase your productivity because it helps to conserve your energy. You are no longer driving yourself like a machine, but using your energy efficiently and treating your body well.

One of the best things you can do is to spend the first 90 minutes of your day focusing on your most important goal. Before you start to work, before you do anything else, concentrate on working toward that goal. Do this every day, and you will probably meet that goal before the end of the year.

Begin to let go of the things that keep you working too hard. Learn to work in shorter blocks of time in order to stay energized and fresh. Focus each day on your goal. You will be amazed at how much more productive you will become.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

This is a question that I encourage you to ask yourself. Too often, we don’t allow ourselves to do something because we’re worried about the sky falling in. When you feel that way, consider the worst case scenario.

For instance, perhaps you are uncomfortable making cold calls, but that is your primary way of generating business. As terrified as you may be to pick up the phone, think about the worst possible thing that could happen.

The prospect might shout at you or hang up on you. While that’s not pleasant, it certainly isn’t the end of the world. Because after that, it’s then over. The person isn’t going to start a Twitter campaign telling the world that you called him and he didn’t want to buy from you. Nothing else will happen.

Considering the worst case scenario will help you to learn how to take risks in your business. It will toughen you against the possibility of any little thing going wrong, and will give you the confidence to move forward in spite of that possibility.

The thought of losing money holds a lot of people back from taking risks or making changes. They are afraid their investment won’t pan out and they’ll look foolish for having lost money.

One thing I have personally learnt from considering the worst that could happen is that it’s impossible to lose money. If something doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would, don’t consider it as lost money. You just didn’t get the expected return on your investment, but you didn’t lose.

When this happens, view it as an educational experience. For example, a few months ago we had a mistake happen in my business that cost $20,000. While, yes, that is a lot of money, it was also a $20,000 education for me and the team members involved. That mistake will not be made again. We didn’t lose money; we learned a valuable lesson.

In fact, we couldn’t have bought that particular education. There isn’t a $20,000 seminar that could teach us what we really learned through that one mistake. We didn’t just learn it in theory; we learned it in the muscle, where it will always stay.

When you are considering making an investment or a change of some sort in your business, don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Face the worst case scenario head on. Once you realize what might go wrong, you can handle it. And, if it does, view it as a learning experience, not as a loss.

You will find yourself moving into areas of growth that you never thought possible.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

You are the only person on earth who can answer that question. But, the catch is, you have to answer honestly. There is no point in trying to fool yourself.

Somewhere inside of you, do you know that you could be playing a bigger game, reaching more people, raising your bar, thinking bigger, and getting bigger results? If these feelings resonate with you, you have to be honest with yourself about whether or not you’ve been playing small.

I had to do this myself some time ago. I realized that I had achieved a good deal of business success by most people’s standards.  But, I also knew that I had been playing it safe, that I hadn’t been putting it all on the line as I had in earlier years of my business. I had become a little bit complacent.

So, I made the decision to step up.

If you discover that you have indeed been playing it safe, the first thing you must do is make a decision. Make the decision to step up.

If you want to reap the huge rewards, you need to take the big risks. You need to make that leap of faith.

I highly recommend that you read Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich, to help you make this decision to step up. It will give you the insight and inspiration to help you recapture that feeling of burning desire.

How long has it been since you’ve really felt a burning desire to do anything? Not just a desire, but a burning desire.

Last year, that feeling inspired me to set a goal for myself – to make a half million dollars from a single project. I knew how to make that much money working all year, but I had never made that much from a single project before.

I ended up exceeding my goal by $130,000.

Focus on the aspects of your business that truly excite and inspire you.  Think about the goals you’d most like to achieve – the ones that might seem more like wishful thinking to someone else – but that you have a burning desire to accomplish. If you’re willing to set those big goals, then you must be willing to step up and do what it takes to achieve them.

The results you want to achieve are within your reach. In order for you to reach the fruit of the tree, you’ve got to make the decision to step up and go out on a limb.

—–

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. Read about her amazing new programme, Stepping Up! http://www.clientmagnets.com/steppingup

Fear is your biggest foe. It will not only try to conquer you, it will have you fighting against yourself to overcome it. Your own fear is your toughest opponent, in your personal and your business life.

But, overcoming your fear is well worth the fight.

Imagine the tremendous feeling of not being afraid anymore.

The rewards you receive when you face challenges and obstacles, when you overcome and conquer your fears, will step up your life and your business.

Throughout the past couple of years, some of my own worst fears have manifested. But, I’ve dealt with them, and the beauty is that I’m no longer afraid of those things.

Every time you bust through a fear, other things will happen that allow you to put that fear behind you.  You’ll gain emotional energy because your subconscious energy won’t be tied up in that fear any longer. It’s like getting more energy every day.

Think about it. What would you offer the world if you could stop being fearful? What would you do if you weren’t afraid? What would you do if ridicule or rejection or losing your money or losing your family didn’t scare you? What would you do?

You would be unstoppable.

Another reward of facing your fears is the confidence you get from doing that. Don’t misinterpret confidence as being equal to cockiness or arrogance. The kind of confidence you gain when you stand up to your fears and challenges isn’t like that at all.

Confidence, in the true meaning of the word, literally means “with faith.” That’s what is on offer as you learn to step up.

What would it mean to you to live in total faith? What would your life be like knowing that whatever happens is for the best? You wouldn’t be afraid of anything. Even if something unexpected should happen, you would know that it’s actually a blessing in disguise.

Imagine living every day of your life like that.

Of course, monetary reward is another huge benefit you reap when you step up and take on the challenges and fears head on.

But to be perfectly honest, I think you will find that the emotional gain you get when you’re playing a bigger game – when you realize the game can only grow bigger and bigger because you’re unstoppable – that is the real reward, the true victory in winning your battle against fear.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com