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This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Brenda (Brandy) Hilliard, Biz Star Power

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’’ Action brings your dreams closer. Undoubtedly, accountability is a crucial feature of an action-oriented startup, but perhaps an essential attribute is a propensity to act. Survival skills jumpstart your business and boost your performance. Sometimes, we hold ourselves back. We have these huge dreams of what we want to accomplish, yet we’re reluctant to go after them.– George Bernard ShawThe most common reasons are that you’re just not sure where to begin or are your fears are taking over. This is when you have to remember why you absolutely should chase after your business dreams and empower that ambition and passion to make it happen. You’re always thinking about it, right? I know I’m still thinking about th…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Elena Favaro Viana, Contracts for Entrepreneurs

Plain and simple: your onboarding process sets the tone for your working relationship. It is how you introduce your clients to your business, service or product.

As a business owner, acting from a place of reaction is a bad idea, so it’s important to set yourself up proactively with the help of this winning formula for a Flawless Legal Onboarding process: Proposal Stage + Welcome Package + First Call.

From a legal standpoint, what you do here matters. When executed properly, this flawless legal onboarding process can help avoid the majority of future client-related-headaches. When talking about headaches, think: pesky late payments, fraudulent copycats who steal your intellectual property, tardy time-wasters, or those clients that completely ghost you! (Nobody has time for that). A structured onboarding s…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Engracia Sleeswijk, ESleeswijk Consultancy

Problems are everywhere. The degree to which a professional can solve a problem distinguishes him from the common herd. Problem-solving skills help you determine why an issue is happening and how to resolve that issue. It's one of the critical skills that employers seek in job applicants. If this problem-solving thing is so crucial to daily life, what is it?Consider problem-solving the process to observe your environment and identify things that could be changed or improved. You will have to diagnose "the why" of the current state and its influence. To be able to be successful at problem-solving, you need an open mind. Look at the different angles and choose the best possible option.Each step in the problem-solving process employs skills and methods that contribute to the overall effectiveness of influencing change and determine…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O’Neil, Innovate Media Services

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” —W. Edwards Deming

One of the most critical aspects of leadership is the ability to chart a course and stay focused on it. A good leader will keep their goals in sight and hold steady against distractions that will take your company off track to achieving them. That is why I have always placed such importance on strategic planning. A good plan gives you a road map to where you want to go and makes it so much easier to stay aligned with your goals.

However as with most things, steadfastness must be undertaken with a degree of moderation. We live in a dynamically changing world where unforeseen things sometimes happen. Hurricanes, for instance. Stock market crashes. Pandemics.

When the unexpected happens, we need to respond in ways that minimize po…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O'Neil, Innovate Media Services

People have been asking me all year, “Do you think 2019 is going to be the year of the recession?”

The truth is we just don’t know. What we do know is that there is strong evidence for economic slowdown. International trade has slowed, oil prices are declining, and according to Duke University, 48.6% of US CFOs believe the country will be in the recession by the end of 2019 and a whopping 82% believe that a recession will have begun by the end of 2020.

If this is on your radar, what I am about to share with you will be vital to moving your business forward profitably over the next few years.

SHOULD THIS WORRY YOU?My short answer is, no. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of – unless you don’t prepare.

If you’re not properly prepared this can have a major impact on your business. Even if we …

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Morgan Blackman, Holistic Bucks Coaching

Sometime last year during the overwhelming dullness of this pandemic, I was curiously scrolling down Ramit Sethi's feed. If you don't know, Ramit Sethi is a popular east Indian finance blogger who has written a NY Times Best Selling Book called "I Will Teach You To Be Rich". I quickly shared his feed with a friend, who sent me a video a couple of hours later of him talking about how renting property was better than owning property (definitely another article, for another time).As I clicked the Youtube link to watch more, prior to talking about real estate, he started talking about this concept called a "Money Dial". A Money Dial to Sethi is an area of your life that you value so much that you would spend even more in this area as your income started to increase. This is the area of your life that would d…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O'Neil, Innovate Media Services

“I DON’T JUST RUN MY BUSINESS, I AM MY BUSINESS.”Ever find yourself saying that, or thinking it? It’s a pretty common mindset for entrepreneurs who have started gaining traction.

At first, you might say it with pride. And for good reason—you just built something awesome! But doesn’t take long before reality sets in. Yes, you got your business off the ground, and maybe even flying pretty high. But that lift-off came at a price: now you’re stuck behind the computer or on the phone all day, every day.

There are three major problems with this scenario:

It sacrifices your best interests. Being trapped in the hustle-and-grind of your business will eventually burn you out, if it hasn’t already. It brings your personal growth to a standstill and prevents you from bringing your true genius to the world. And, it ca…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Tineke Rensen, Powerful Business Academy

Successful female entrepreneurs can save time in their business by implementing automation. If you don’t use automation, you are essentially wasting your time on repetitive or manual tasks that you could simplify.

Without automation, you will have to spend extra time on repetitive tasks. You could save up to a quarter of your workweek by implementing automation. Plus, according to Forbes, automation offers cost savings from 40 to 75 percent.

Misbeliefs About Automating

You may be hesitant to start using automation for several reasons, but as a business coach for female entrepreneurs, I can assure you that it is worth it.🙂

Here are some of the common misbeliefs about automation and the truth about each of them.

Automation is expensive to invest in

You may think it costs a …

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O'Neil, Innovate Media Services

As your service business grows, sooner or later you will reach a point where you need to make a choice. You can maintain it as a practice and remain a practitioner working in the business. Or, you can choose to scale it into a larger company—one that will ultimately create a lot more profit and freedom for you.

In Michael Gerber’s book, The E-Myth Revisited, he says that everyone who goes into business has three people within them:

The entrepreneur, or the inner visionary who strategically drives innovation and change towards an ideal futureThe manager, or the inner pragmatist who creates systems and structures that support smooth functioning of the businessThe technician, or inner craftsman, who systematically produces valueIn the early days of running a business, we often spend a lot of time as technicians involv…

This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Pauline Malubay, Pauline Malubay Consulting

Now we all know how important mindset is when it comes to business. As I have built up my experience as a Business Mentor and Growth Strategist, I want to share with you a mini-mindset series all about challenging the way you think when it comes to business. So I want to start off with why limiting beliefs could be the barrier holding you back in your business.

So what are limiting beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are usually thoughts/beliefs you have created about yourself and your abilities, you ultimately put a limitation on yourself. You feel like these limitations are your reality but they simply aren’t true. This set of beliefs stop us from reaching our goal because we believe we are not worthy of success. We fear failure and rejection so we stay stuck.

Often these limiting beliefs are linked back to…