"[Negative thoughts" are like excess baggage on a cross-country hike. Conventional success guides would have you turn them into affirmations or pulverize them with the mallet of positive thinking. But affirmations and positive thinking don't work on core beliefs, have you noticed? When we apply them to our stressful thoughts about business, we feel phony, silly, or--if we buy into the notion that we should be able to change our thoughts--like spiritual dunces. What's more, affirmations and positive thinking keep us from the pearl in the oyster, the realization or insight that awaits us when we question the stressful thoughts." From The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur Buy the book here Live Event The 3 Pricing Mistakes that Drive Business Away A Biznik event hosted by Molly Gordon When: Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM Seattle, WA Are you struggling because clients and customers don't seem to want to pay what you want to charge? It's likely that you are making at least one of three pricing mistakes that drive business away. More info/rsvp here. Paying It Forward You may not have realized it, but as a reader of this e-zine you are making a real difference in the lives of adolescent girls through contributions to Childreach, a program of PlanUSA. We started sponsoring a child in 2003, using a percentage of sales made through this e-zine. Soon we were so excited that we scrapped the percentage program and decided to sponsor two children regardless of how much or little we earned. Three of the girls we've sponsored have "graduated" from the program, and two more are currently enrolled. I've been a lit better about sending checks than I have been at corresponding with the girls, but I do have photos that I will dig up when I return from Ojai. If you'd like to learn more about Childreach. And please forward this ezine to the accidental entrepreneurs in your life. Let's make business an overwhelm free zone. All I ask is that you forward the newsletter in its entirety and/or that you include the following paragraph and copyright line with live link if you reprint the article. This article originally appeared in the Authentic Promotion e-zine and is reprinted with permission from the author. Molly Gordon is president of Shaboom Inc., a coaching and training company that delivers hope, help, and hilarity to Accidental Entrepreneurs so that they can build a business that fits just-right. For more information, visit http://www.shaboominc.com. Copyright 2008, Shaboom Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Your Business Needs a Social Life

Networking. Ugh.

Can I just say that, from the age of 5, I've generally felt that socializing--not to mention networking--was something inferior beings (also known as popular people) turned to for lack of better things to do with their time?

I'm much better now (thank you), and I still find the idea of networking less than appealing. It conjures up images of shaking hands with someone who is looking past your right shoulder to see if there is someone more important they should be talking to.

Besides, I couldn't think of a worse way to promote my work than trying to interest a stranger in what I did while hoping there wasn't spinach in my teeth and wondering if his glazed look indicated over-medication or simple boredom.

The Internet changed that for a lot of folks. We discovered that we could listen and respond to others from the privacy and safety of our offices and homes, building connections through cyberspace that were every bit as real and supportive as those that more socially adept folks forged in meeting rooms.

Even so, for a many years online social networking was largely a matter of coming together in shared interest groups. Then sites like Myspace took online socializing to a whole new level.

A level apparently populated by 13 year olds, gamers, and other aliens.

No Great Expectations

In spite of the culture gap, social networking and small business seemed headed on a collision course. As ringside seats were cheap, I signed up at all the major social networking sites and some of the lesser known ones. I published my profile several times in this ezine, and a few of you invited me in to your networks (Hey, thanks. It felt great to be included.)

After 5-6 weeks, I decided to drop Plaxo (too invasive), made Linked-In my big pond of choice, and adopted a wait and see attitude toward the rest.

But then career coach Heather Mundell invited me to join her network at Biznik.

From the first I felt that Biznik was different. For one thing, you gotta love the tagline, "Business networking that doesn't suck." Then there is the way the site is organized. I could actually see at a glance what they had to offer. And it doesn't hurt that they are using one of my favorite greens in the logo.

Biznik felt like a place where an individual could make an impression without a lot of fuss and bother. So I joined. I even ponied up real money to be a paid member (which is strictly optional).

What This Means to You
There are three reasons why it's worth your time to finish this article and then pop on over to Biznik for a look-see.

1. To find out if you like what you see.

2. To observe what it is you like or don't like.

3. To put what you observe to work in your business.

Are We Having Fun Yet?
How much time, energy, and money have you spent trying to build your business doing things you don't like to do? Signs of this include piles of expensive marketing programs gathering dust, stacks of brochures decorating your shelves, and a Web site that has been "in development" so long you can't remember the name of your Web designer.

Visit Biznik and find out if there is anything there you like. Do it as a research project into what kind of social life your business needs.

What's Wrong with this Picture?
What if the biggest thing standing between you and a business you can love is your belief that you have to do things that you can't or don't want to do in order to succeed?

Take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, and list the things you like about Biznik on one side and the things you don't like on the other. Put your likes and dislikes down in black and white where you can use them to develop a social network (on or offline) that will nourish you and your business.

Wouldn't It Be Nice...?
Knowing what you like, start dreaming up your business. What do you love doing that you can share with other people so they can get a taste of what you do? What kind of support are you hungry for? What kind of person do you simply love working with?

Pay attention to how sites like Biznik capitalize on the strengths and personalities of their founders. Imagine how you might use your own strengths and personality to attract people and businesses that belong to the same tribe.

How Is Unhappiness Working for You?
I have watched dozens of people (including myself) practice misery as if it were high art. In business, this looks like assuming that in order to succeed you need to do what don't enjoy, don't understand, and don't believe in.

That's a no-win situation. If you (wisely) decline to do those things, you end up stalled, doing little or nothing to grow your business. You're like a gardener who decides not to grow tomatoes because it's too late to plant peas. (!)

If you over-ride your good sense and integrity and do what you don't want to do, you end up hating yourself and your business. If you manage to get clients this way, you may well end up hating them.

This Could Be a Gas
In a lot of ways I'm a slow learner. It took me nearly 50 years to realize that life and self-employment could be a gas. If that sounds insane or simply dishonest to you, I get that. And I would love for you to find that sweet spot where hard work and creativity meet peace and gratitude a lot of the time.

So scoot on over to Biznik. I happen to think it's the cat's meow, but that's just because it fits me so well. Studying it can bring you closer to the kind of social life that will give your business life.

And let me know what you think about Biznik and social networking here.

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Publication and Reprint Info

U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1530-311X
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and edited by Molly Gordon, MCC. Copyright (c) Shaboom Inc.(r) 2007. All rights reserved. Visit our extensive archives at www.mollygordon.com .

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