The Ultimate JV Partner

Joint Ventures.  Partnering with like minded people and people you trust to cross promote products is a fantastic way to build relationships and business at the same time - all the while offering great value to customers.

I have not always partnered with others to promote products and services - simply because I like to try out their products or services before I pass them along to people I know.   However today - I realized that I have the ULTIMATE joint venture partner - that I rarely have made a point of partnering with.  I know in the past we have worked together - and this partner is always sending me the best energy - but I just have never thought of becoming a joint venture partner with them.

But today I was speaking with a colleague who reminded me that there were things I could be doing to bring financial abundance my way.  And that's when I remembered this JV partner.

Who is it? 

The Universe of course!  

Who better than the Universe - who is always sending great things my way, and conspires daily on my behalf!

And so I sat down to write a letter to the Universe - asking it to partner with me on a specific project. (oh yeah - I really did it)   I laid out all the details of the project and asked that it send me the specific things I needed to achieve my goal.

Now I don't know about you, but when I partner with someone on a project - I give them specific things that I want them to do.  And then I let it go.  Well I did the same in the letter to the Universe.  And now I have let it go - trusting the Universe to do its part.

The neat part is that - I know the Universe has always delivered exactly what was needed - when it was needed in the past.  So I have every belief that this JV project that I have asked help with with be crazy successful - simply because - I have the ultimate J.V partner!

Thanks to Gail at www.quantumsuccesscoaching.com

Like Gail's web site - get one at a reasonable price here - http://www.mswebconsulting.com

The awakening of a new 'business' world.

I was recently re-reading Ekhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth" and was prompted to think about the changing of human consciousness. - as it related to business.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freefoto.com

Tolle speaks of the ego and greed and the madness that is humanity - and how the world is awakening to a more enlightened state.  I think of how this has affected business.

One of the key principles we have a Roaring Women is that there is enough business for everyone.  In that spirit, despite my financial circumstances or the health of my business I have always maintained that each of us has the ability to attract the 'right' customers and that the transactions that occur for the service we provide will ALWAYS sustain us if not bring incredible abundance.  But this can only occur when we live (and function) with the understanding that 'there is always enough'.

However when we come from the understanding that we must 'compete' - it really reflects a scarcity mentality.  When there is competition there must always be a winner and a loser.  In the abundance mentality - there are no losers - we all are blessed with what we need.

So where does marketing and advertising fit into this picture?  Both of these activities really do support the abundance theory.  Marketing is a process of educating your market on the products and services and how they will benefit your potential clients and also of making them aware of the value that you offer.  Advertising is the posting of special offerings or the activities that will notify and make your target market aware that you exist.

Is marketing a competitive activity?  No.  Not if you believe that there is enough business for everyone and there are clients who will prefer you over other suppliers.

In an example I like to use - I buy my groceries at Safeway.  Do I read all the flyers from all the other grocery stores?  Yes - but my preference is to shop at Safeway.  I like their service, their corporate philosophy and the fact that they identify me by name - even if it is something they collect through a loyalty program.  There is nothing nicer than hearing "Thank you for shopping at Safeway, Mrs. Crawford".  (I'll have to remind them, many women prefer MS. to Mrs.)  But that is just my preference.  Some people I know prefer to shop at Sobey's. For them - this is their 'right' choice.

It does not matter what specials exist other places - I choose to follow and buy the specials at my favorite grocery store.

The same thing happens in your business - whether you understand it or not.  There are people who will use your services or products regardless of other similar services that may be easier to access or cheaper, simply because they prefer to.  Isn't that cool?

If there is one customer out there like that - then there are likely hundreds of others just like that.  So now instead of the frantic attitude around marketing and advertising, a business owner can now focus on finding, educating and notifying their customers of what they have to offer.

With the abundance principle at work it stands to reason that if you are not making enough money to make ends meet - then you have 'customers in waiting' ready to buy your product or service but may not yet be aware that your business exists.

Think about it.  Customers in waiting.  If you knew that there were customers waiting just for you - would this change how you ran your business?  Would you market with a different attitude?

I guarantee it would.  Practicing and thinking abundantly changes our businesses from competitors racing to beat 'the other guy' to a customer service based business - focusing instead on finding those clients in waiting and providing them with the services they need.

Wow.  A new business world.  I wonder what Eckhard Tolle would think of this?

Nickle and diming ourselves to death - Shrinking thinking!

When I was a little girl, I remember my Dad using the expression "nickle and diming ourselves to death". The Beatles were becoming popular, Twiggy was in vogue, my allowance was ten cents a week and I still had a pixie cut! Over the years I heard that expression may times when my mother and father were shopping, or talking about finances. My understanding was that pinching pennies could put one in the poor house. Today we understand much more about the universal laws that govern personal finances. I am careful not to fall into scarcity thinking, but also not to carelessly live outside my means as well. It can be a fine balance. However over the last 12 months, I have watched as business owners became fearful of their financial situation and began to 'cut back' in places where they thought it would help their businesses. Unfortunately, this hurt them more than they may know. I was at a business dinner last week when I heard someone say, "Hey, why don't we just all meet here for a dinner, order off the menu and save ourselves $15.00. I just shook my head in disbelief. Why? Many psychological reasons and universal principles come to mind - but logically there is a dollar and cents (sense!) reason. Had these ladies gotten together for a meeting and all paid their own dinner - it may have cost them $25.00. Unfortunately, according to CRA, only half of that amount can be written off as a business expense. However if they attend a meeting that is catered, the full amount of the ticket is tax deductible. In other words their business can write $40 off (or whatever the ticket cost) against $40 worth of income. If they had paid for their own meals, they could have only written off $12.50 off of $40 of income - AND they would have had to suck up the other $12.50 as personal expense. So in other words, someone who 'cheaped' out and paid for a meal instead of attending a meeting spent $12.50 of personal money instead of being able to write it all off on the business! Not only that, but the ever searching attitude of 'look, look, look, oh let's find it cheaper somewhere else' energetically sets a person or business in a negative process. It is scarcity mentality. It is not expanding and creative thinking - it is negative, penny pinching, shrinking thinking! It will bring us nothing but more need and want and will lead a person into poverty. Now I know what my dad meant when he talked 'nickle and diming ourselves to death." BTW, Join us for a great event where business and creativity meet: Rebuilding the Dream - in Hamilton Ontario. Read more here!