Twenty-five years! I can’t believe it myself, but there it is: I started my first business, Corporate Habitat, June 1, 1999. What I have learned in all this time would fill a book, maybe a series of books, but here are a few nuggets that have served me well.
MoJo Pro-Tip #1: “You don’t need any of that, all you need is–.”
When I started my first business, I was of course very excited and I called my dad, who was self-employed most of his life. I told him, “I’m going to need a new computer, an email address, a designated phone line, plus one for faxes and internet (it was 1999), and business cards, probably letterhead—”
Daddy stopped me. “Wait, wait. You don’t need any of that. What you need is a client. Until you have a client, you don’t have a business.”
Ohhhh.
Daddy conceded that I probably needed business cards (again, it was 1999), but I could go down to Kwik Kopy (remember?) and get those pretty cheap.
I’ve never forgotten that little nugget. You can put all the window dressing on your business that you want, but until you have a client, ya ain’t got nothin’!
MoJo Pro-Tip #2: WFH Basics
Starting my first business out of my home in 1999, I was fresh out of corporate, and my clients were corporations, so I set some ground rules for myself based on my corporate experience. Even though many things about business, and my business in particular, have changed, I still stick to these for the most part.
Set a schedule and stick to it. (Overtime notwithstanding.) Back in the day, I had school-aged children, so I got up about the same time I did when I had a job-job, got them off to school, and then went to my office. I usually knocked off about the time they came home from school, then headed back for a couple of hours after they went to bed at 8:00.
Dress like you would if you were meeting people in person. Working in your pj’s is fun and comfy, but in the same way that a smile can be heard over the phone (I learned that in all that sales training I went through!), the way you feel about your appearance, as well as your competence, worthiness, and more, will come through in your voice, in your emails, and in your marketing copy.
Don’t watch TV (movies, video games) during the work day.
Designated a separate space, no matter how small, for your office. Don’t try to work at your kids’ homework table, the breakfast table, or where you pay the bills. You need a corner or a closet or some space to call your own, preferably with a door. (I have not had a door for almost my entire career as an entrepreneur, but I am about to get one and I could not be more thrilled.)
And speaking of being alone while you work, get out of the house at least once a day. When I first started, part of my service was to visit job sites for my clients, so I had to get out. Later, when most of my clients met with me over the phone, I still made sure to get out and about, because stir-crazy is a thing.
Find a way to socialize at least a little. During some of my slower times, the free networking group I attended (and led for two of the seven years I was there) every week was like church without the religion. The group became like family, and during both prosperous times and leaner times, that group was where I got the majority of my business.
Give yourself comp time. In my first business, among other tasks, I managed large corporate moves. For the days of the move, we started Friday evening, worked all weekend, and then met the client’s employees at the new offices early Monday morning. It didn’t take me long to figure out that working a full week after that did not work! And I was still young! So if you have to work a late night or a weekend, if you run seminars or retreats, if you sell your wares at fairs, be sure you get some time off to recuperate.
Don’t forage for food all day. This may not be an issue for you, and it wasn’t for me, as I don’t eat when I am not hungry, but if you tend to wander into the kitchen to graze if you are at home, set a plan for yourself to keep from overeating or eating too much junk food.
MoJo Pro-Tip #3: My Secret Shame
I hate to admit it: I have never been very good at “sales.” With my first business, I didn’t have to sell at all, because I was filling a niche that architects loved me for, and I was good at it, so architects (and many of my contractors) sent new business my way without my even have to ask.
But the truth is, from my first sale of a box of cookies as a Brownie Girl Scout, through leasing apartments, to selling office furniture… I confess, I’m not much good at it. (But I was really excited to sell that box of cookies!)
No, you can’t “fix” it for me. I have attended countless sales workshops and trainings and gobbled up a bunch of books on selling.
I understand all the concepts. I know the right words to say and all the types of “closes.” I know about “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I know how to create a call to action.
But it doesn’t matter. People have never bought from me when I use those old-school, bro-biz methods.
So yeah, I’m not so proud of those long-ago jobs that made me feel like a failure. But I can set that aside, because I am proud of the way I talk to people, connecting with them like I like them—because I do.
You may have heard me say that my favorite thing in the whole tired world [sic] is sittin’ around and vistin’.
Well, when people sit and visit with me, they want to buy from me. Or they don’t. I make a client-friend or I make a friend-friend. I win either way–and so do my clients.
If you’re not great at sales, try this “relationship marketing” thing. And that brings us to
MoJo Pro-Tip #4: Networking
For some, it’s bliss, for others a necessary evil. But, as I mentioned in the “Secret Shame” section, it can be very effective for growing your biz. I happen to be an extrovert, which makes it easy for me to network, and I became really good at it when I was leading a large networking group in the early 2000s. I even taught a networking workshop! However, even introverts can become effective networkers.
The reason networking works is that we have entered into an era of marketing with divine feminine values. In other words, this ain’t your grandpa’s Rotary Club.
Networking now is about connection and community, business owners supporting one another through their personal relationships. If you can be a friend, you can use networking to build your business.
Now, some of the old “rules” still apply:
Don’t come on strong, handing out metaphorical business cards before someone asks, expecting to receive referrals of perfect clients immediately.
Yes, give referrals to get referrals, but at the same time, keep in mind that the people you give referrals to will probably not be the ones who give you referrals.
The old 30-second elevator speech is still good to have in your pocket:
Name
Business name, if any
What you do
Who you serve
And asking for referrals should be as specific as possible. We had a chiropractor show up one day who said, “I’m looking for anyone with a spine.” He got some chuckles but no referrals. Now, if he had said, “I have openings in my practice for women who have new babies three months old or less, and had a c-section,” people would have come up with someone. Because that kind of request will make you go, “Oh, my neighbor…!” or “Yes, my daughter-in-law!” True story.
MoJo Pro-Tip #5: Contractors
Note: Be sure to check your state’s hiring laws about the difference between a contractor and an employee. Many states have strict laws about what makes an employee, and you can get into big trouble for violating them.
VA’s (Virtual Assistants, ICYDK) to coaches, bringing a contractor onto your team can be priceless. You don’t have to “manage” a contractor at all. Depending on your relationship with them, they will likely do what they do with little input from you (after onboarding, of course), and/or tell you what you need to do.
For example, I hired business manager/coach/emotional support human Lindsey Lopez (https://VirtuallyLindsey.com) a while back to help me get organized and find focus for moving my business forward. It turned out that she knew everything about business that I didn’t know, and then some. Keep in mind, I have been self-employed now for 25 years and somehow, Lindsey knows much more, so that is saying a lot. She also knows the latest trends in business of all kinds, but it seems to me like she is a specialist in exactly what I do. She has become indispensable to me, so I keep her on retainer!
Now, every business owner comes to the point of “I can’t get bigger until I can hire help, but I can’t hire help until I get bigger.” But that’s why contractors are so helpful. You can hire someone for a project or a launch, to write content for you, or to teach you how to do things for yourself instead of adding an employee before you are ready.
Comment below: Which of these tips did you find helpful? If you have been in business awhile, what other good basics would you add to this list?
We all want to be happy, right? Of course. I have created my life and my work around the idea of happiness.
And happiness is “pretty”, it looks good, a smile “increases your face value”…
In a personality assessment I took as part of a job years ago, I was told that one of my highest values was “aesthetics”. In other words, it is very important to me for things—and for me—to be “pretty”.
A friend once told me that I like for everything to be “pretty”. That is literally the word she used. She said, “You want everything to be pretty. And you don’t like XYZ, because that’s not pretty.”
More recently, my therapist has helped me to understand that, because of my upbringing, I regard negative feelings as “ugly” and therefore unacceptable. Positive feelings are, conversely, “pretty”.
And I do love pretty things, which is part of why I am always dressed cute, with my hair and nails and makeup just so, and why I love clothes and interior design and movies with lush cinematography.
My husband is very intuitive about people, their personalities and their emotions. And he can peg me in my anger or sorrow or feelings of inadequacy every time.
Well, dang. Ya caught me.
And you know what?
I hate that.
I hate being transparent.
I hate not being able to control what you see about me.
I hate my own fear that, if there is something in my mind or heart that isn’t “pretty”, you might know it. And then you won’t like me.
Brilliant sociologist and thought-leader Brené Brown says that shame comes from the fear that, if someone knew or even suspected a “not-pretty” thing about you, you would not be allowed to belong. You would be rejected.
And community and connection are what we humans are all about. It is a biological fact that we need one another. Early humans rarely survived for long by themselves. Like wolves and apes, we instinctively crave communion with others of our kind.
And now I get to my own Ugly Truth, and if you reject me, I’m gonna have to figure out how to live with that:
I am not perfect. I am not always happy. I am not always pretty. My feelings are not always something I feel proud of. There are aspects of my life—what I do and have, or don’t do or have—that I feel shame about.
But here’s my big problem: it’s not only important to me personally that my life be pretty. My being happy—or “pretty”—is vital to my work, my mission in life, and what I believe and understand to be my destiny.
Specifically, how can I inspire you if I am not happy most of the time?
How can I serve you if I don’t have it all figured out?
How can I guide you to be happier if I am not utterly, perfectly, and “prettily” happy all the time?
Those are hard questions for me. Oh, sure, I know you’ll “forgive” me for having a negative thought. You’ll understand that I am not perfect—nobody is, right?
But it is so important to me to be such a shining, brilliant example of joy and beauty and how great life can be that I am loathe to let you know that there’s anything about me that isn’t “pretty”.
And honey, I gotta admit, there’s plenty.
I struggle with my closest relationships and communication within them.
I am still learning how to feel like I am acceptable (and how to function without loads of anxiety) as an ADHDer in a neurotypical world—the revelation of which I came to very late in life. And that is a whole other “not-pretty” thing in itself, which I will spare you right now.
I worry about money. No, I don’t worry about how I’m going to eat, but I do worry about paying for things I want, and how I am going to take care of myself and others I love if I don’t make enough money. And there are many things and experiences that I want very dearly that I don’t have the money for today.
I often feel like a failure in one or more areas of my life, sometimes in all of them.
And, although I have worked hard to banish shame (because it tried to kill me!, but I will save that for another time), it still rears its ugly head from time to time. Like right now. I don’t know if I will ever be able to show this essay to anyone. At least not without enormous trepidation.
Worst of all, I’m afraid that, if I don’t show up for you all rich and doing all the Richie Rich things, you won’t be inspired to make your life “pretty” too.
Go figure–even MoJo gets the blues.
P.S. Here’s a little disclaimer to wrap this up, lest you think I am on the verge of tears or worse:
Much of my life experience has been and continues to be beyond pretty.
I really do consciously manifest what I want, love, and enjoy.
There are many aspects of my Self that I love and adore and feel confident about.
I love and am loved by many beautiful people.
I have had tons of experiences that have enriched my life and given me pleasure and happiness.
I know, at least on a conscious level, that I do belong.
I am very confident in Destiny and my place in the world, even though I can sometimes be shy about “letting my light shine”.
I know in my heart that I am here to help a few or several or thousands of people to be and do and have “pretty” in their lives too.
And, finally, I love that I have the privilege to do the work I do, even when I feel like I’m “not pretty right now”.
This “Revelation” may not make me very popular with some people. But I feel it’s important to share. So here goes.
I talk to lots of dead people.
Lots and lots.
Into the thousands now, after well over ten years in the business of being a psychic medium.
My clients want to know: Is my loved one all right? Is he mad at me? Is she sorry for what she did? Is he happy? What does she do in Heaven? What is Heaven really like? (Click here for a little info on that last question.)
First of all, I assure you, your RIP (loved one who has passed away) is definitely all right, okay, happy, fine and dandy, carefree, out of pain, and all around copacetic.
Some of the answers I get from RIPs are similar to the answers from others. For example, many heavenly folks tell me some variation of “Heaven was everything I hoped it would be.” Many answers vary widely, such as the former police officer, whose answer to his wife’s question about what he did in Heaven was, “You’re not going to like this–I ride motorcycles.” (I assured my client that, in spite of her not wanting him to do that in life, he was perfectly safe in doing so.)
One lady announced joyfully, “I get to teach like I always wanted to!” Some have indicated that they take classes. One of my best friends in Heaven went to “special ops” training (he was in the military in life), and usually appears to be helping other souls in Heaven do whatever they need to do, along with guiding some living people, myself included. One woman, whose son died young, showed me her son beside her in Heaven, and asked me, “Have you met my little boy?”
Many people seem to “hang out” with others who have passed, often just one person with whom they had a connection of some kind in life. I see many mother/daughter duos, as well as husband/wife, brother/sister, etc. Sometimes, they are in groups of three, but I seldom see large groups of souls hanging out. Still, I’m often told they “play bridge” or “play golf” or other activities that would seem to involve others, so I can’t tell you for sure about the size of groups.
One man told me that he was surprised that Heaven wasn’t “more churchy”. He apparently expected streets paved with gold and constant worship of God, which is not what he discovered. He wasn’t disappointed–on the contrary, he was delighted by Heaven–but he was surprised, because he had been a devout Christian all his life.
Which brings me to this shocking revelation. Are you ready for it?
No one in Heaven, not one RIP, has ever said one word to me about God, Jesus, Mother Mary, the Holy Spirit, Buddha, Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, saints, prophets, Roman gods, pagan gods, or any other entity associated with a religion. Ever.*
Now. You might argue that because I, Susan, am not religious, the RIPs wouldn’t mention it to me. But what if their living loved ones are religious? Many of my clients are. In fact, I would say a majority at least believe in God. Wouldn’t their RIPs use me as a medium to give them religious information? That’s what a medium does–passes on information. I don’t have anything to do with what the Heavenly Ones say to their living loved ones. And for those clients who are religious, don’t you think they would be comforted and awed by learning that their RIP was holding hands with Jesus or meeting with God every day?
Also, I was raised Christian (half Presbyterian, half Baptist, if you’re counting), and am very well-versed in Christianity and the Bible. Why not tell me about it?
As of this writing, a friend’s wife is dying of cancer. For weeks now, her Facebook page has been flooded with prayers and mentions of God, Jesus, “Our Lord and Heavenly Father”, etc. Of course. I would never discourage any of that. I know the people who posted these things are giving love to the dying woman in their very best and most loving words. And I know she appreciated it tremendously while she was still conscious, and probably now that she isn’t. Prayer is very powerful, whether there is a Jesus or not.
I also feel that religion has its place and that believers are perfectly right to believe. I have my own beliefs and hope that they are respected.
I have offered up prayers myself, as is my wont, although I don’t feel that I am praying to the “church God”, rather to the love and source energy of the universe. It’s an energy, not a being.
So what does this mean? Is there no God? No Jesus? No Moses?
I’ll refer you to this message I channeled some time ago, when a client asked who her angels and guides were. There was a mention of an archangel or saint, and this is germane:
“You mentioned that you think of the archangel because of being born on that celebration day. He is a human creation, although there is nothing wrong with the idea of him. His energy, as believed by human beings, exists, just not quite as people make him to be. He is not a person with wings! For example.”
And that is the answer I can offer as explanation – the energy of each entity exists, but that energy is not human. It is energetic in nature, and maybe it’s something we cannot yet fully understand.
Now. Comment away. What do you think? How do you feel?
*(There do seem to be helper spirits, that I call angels, but that is another topic for another day.)
“God is in the ‘unknowing’. Be glad of what you don’t know,
because that is where God is, that is where the magic happens.
“It’s in the curiosity,
the study,
the research,
the search,
the wishing,
the motivation,
the impetus,
the desire to know —-that is where creation occurs.”
A dear family friend passed away recently. He was the patriarch of a family that I grew up with, even though they lived in another state. The night before I was to leave town for his funeral, I asked him how he was doing in Heaven. He came forward willingly and we chatted a little. Then he gave me this quote. He stayed with me until I memorized it. Then I went to sleep.
In the morning, I wrote it down and posted it on Facebook. I sent it personally via text to a family member, who was moved to tears by it, because it meant something very personal to him. So I had to make a meme of it.
At the very end of the reading, I asked the client, is there anything else you need to know?
She said, “Just if there is anything else, maybe that I don’t even know to ask.”
I felt around psychically, like I do, and got a clear picture of a button AND the WORD “button”. I told her about that, then added,
“It could be a name.
Yes, is there someone at your work who is called button?”
Yes. Yes, there is. And the person’s LAST NAME is BUTTON.
I am crapping you negative.
What the heck? How bizarre is this ability that I have been blessed with?
One of the questions a lot of people ask me is, “How do you receive information?”
Maybe you’ve heard of the “clairs”:
Clairvoyant
Clairaudient
Clairsentient
Claircognizant
I am all of those psychic “clairs” and more. But I find it is easier to understand when I just say it like I feel it.
I see pictures in my mind’s eye. If I told you to close your eyes and picture… oh, the first school you went to, you would conjure up that image, right? (I know that not everyone is good at visualization, but I do think you’ll understand what I mean.)
That’s how it is when I am working, except I am not coming up with the pictures–they are being put there. By whom? Well, first, the people who have passed away and are now in heaven, my clients’ RIPs.
Besides their pictures, the other ones come from… I honestly don’t know. I like to think they are from the clients’ angels/guides and mine, but maybe they are straight out of the clients’ memories or from the energy of the objects and people they have known. Or somewhere/someone else.
I also “hear” in my “mind’s ear”, in the same way you might get a song stuck in your head. And I get feelings, and “movies” play in my head, and many times, I just have thoughts that turn out to be pertinent.
Many years of practice have allowed me to interpret these images, words, thoughts, movies, and feelings. It’s been a long time since I have had to ask those Powers That Be (angels/guides, energy, etc.) to help me understand what they are showing me.
But HERE IS WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND:
I can’t do any of it without a living person to pull it through. The clients always help me figure out what these messages mean to THEM.
Yes, I can and do often talk to my own Powers That Be, and that is when I pull energy and information through myself–or I will focus on someone else. (And yes, there are also times when I have a dream or other vision that comes to me unbidden.)
But this kind of work is very collaborative, and that makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? We are all working together to learn what we came here to learn and to get the messages we need, as well as to help everyone around us get their own messages.
An elaborate and intricate tapestry, that’s what it is. Namaste.
You know about Vision Boards, right? I think they were more popular a few years ago than now, but they are still around. Featured in “The Secret” and about a gazillion teachers’ and gurus’ blogs, Vision Boards are a manifestation tool that simply put your dreams on paper, in visible form. Supposedly, doing this allows your dreams to manifest into reality. There are hundreds of stories of people’s visions coming to fruition, thanks to putting those visions onto boards.
Awhile back, I decided to create my annual Vision Board for New Year’s in a digital format. Instead of poster board and pictures and words cut from magazines, I designed a pretty version in Pic Monkey, an online photo-editing application. (www.picmonkey.com) Here is the second digital Vision Board I created, for 2016.
Then, in November, 2015, I had a new idea: Shrink that baby down to wallet size! I used a 3×5 index card (mine is unruled), created a little border, gave it a title, and proceeded to fill in all the words that described what I wanted out of that title. I admit, I am a Word Nerd, so this is really easy for me. You may need pictures–maybe you can draw little pictures on your Vision Card. (Here is more information about the Vision Card. It includes a story about a Vision Board I made that came true.)
And here is what is super-cool: They work! Apparently, when it comes to manifestation, size doesn’t matter! My fiance, Don, and I just moved. This move has been pretty different from what we had originally expected. We listed our condo for sale back in October or November, just before I created my “our home” Vision Card. I was already shopping online for houses in one of Houston’s suburbs, and I was getting great ideas about what I wanted when we moved. I got really specific about it on my Vision Card, titled “Our Home”.
Fast forward six months, and we have just moved into our new apartment. That’s right, not a house, as we expected. The buyers were in a hurry, so we didn’t have the time we needed to find a new house and get closed before they needed to take possession of the condo. We decided to rent an apartment for six months and then buy a house. Well. Here we are. We found an apartment that we love. Both of us are just crazy about it!
And here’s the Big Happy: Almost everything on that Vision Card is a part of this new home. The few things that are missing we don’t miss too much–and we can save those for the next home. We are already talking about staying here longer than our one-year lease. Yes, it’s that good.
I know you are ready to run right out and make up your own Vision Cards. Happy Visioning!
ntly, when it comes to manifestation, size doesn’t matter! My fiance, Don, and I just moved. This move has been pretty different from what we had originally expected. We listed our condo for sale back in October or November, just before I created my “our home” Vision Card. I was already shopping online for houses in one of Houston’s suburbs, and I was getting great ideas about what I wanted when we moved. I got really specific about it on my Vision Card, titled “Our Home”.