I want to take a few lines to thank my coach, Christina Sestan, of Citrus Coaching Solutions. She is Coach Extraordinaire, and Queen of the Metaphor.
In addition to giving me important insight into my inner red-wearing tall poppy so I can go out and promote my business, Christina helped me to transition my former inner Girl Scout, Miss Suzy Q (who tended to be rather critical, conservative, and judgemental), into my own personal cheerleader, Betty Boop. ("Rah Rah, Sis-Boom-Bah...") This was the key to my understanding and overcoming my procrastination so I could get my Business Plan written.
Christina has also helped me to perceive my Freedom Tree and with her help, I found the path to reach it - this is how I decided that O2S2 will become much less database management and much more creativity.
She encouraged me to post photographs so I can revisit and be reminded of my motivation often, and with careful attention.
These insights have given me so much more confidence to handle all the responsibilities and challenges of running O2S2, but also in handling the responsibilities and challenges of living my life.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
Tall Poppies and Me
I'm tall. I have always been the tallest for my age, tallest in the class, tallest at the dance.
I certainly didn't want to be. Being tall meant I didn't quite fit. Being tall meant that I was always noticed, and, if you read my earlier blog on networking, you may remember I'm on the shy side - when I was a child I was way far over on that shy side.
So, the fact is I'm tall. I'm noticed. I stand out from the crowd. Oh, yes, and I'm also a substantial person. Nothing willowy or wispy about me. Two ways to impress the world I grew up wishing wouldn't notice me.
Over the years, I guess I've gotten used to it. It's not like I could go get a couple of inches sheared off. I stopped living life in flat heeled shoes, started wearing colour (Hooray for RED!!!), and...
Somewhere along the line I became a red-wearing tall poppy.
Tall Poppy: It's a term I've only just learned from my coach, Christina Sestan, of Citrus Coaching Solutions.
It seems that there's a syndrome about tall poppies. Apparently it's well known in Australia that tall poppies don't last. In a field of poppies, the ones that lose their heads are the ones that grew too tall, and stick out for the wind and whatever to lop off. The trick to survival for poppies is to not exceed the height standard. What that means is, don't excel... don't stand out... don't attract attention... above all, don't call attention to yourself. Don't toot your own horn.
Well if I got used to being noticed, maybe I can get used to tooting my own horn.
I must practice tooting my own horn, proclaiming my value, loudly. It is the way for me to promote my services, to build my business, to gain new clients. I must state aloud, often, "I am very good at what I do. My skills have value."
Surprisingly enough, I've been doing just that at all these networking events. And guess what! I still have my head. Apparently, I'm too darned substantial for anyone to threaten me.
So maybe my shyness was a hindrance when I was a child, but I'm all grown up now. It's not holding me back anymore - I guess I'm a LATE BLOOMING TALL POPPY.
I certainly didn't want to be. Being tall meant I didn't quite fit. Being tall meant that I was always noticed, and, if you read my earlier blog on networking, you may remember I'm on the shy side - when I was a child I was way far over on that shy side.
So, the fact is I'm tall. I'm noticed. I stand out from the crowd. Oh, yes, and I'm also a substantial person. Nothing willowy or wispy about me. Two ways to impress the world I grew up wishing wouldn't notice me.
Over the years, I guess I've gotten used to it. It's not like I could go get a couple of inches sheared off. I stopped living life in flat heeled shoes, started wearing colour (Hooray for RED!!!), and...
TA DAH!
Somewhere along the line I became a red-wearing tall poppy.
Tall Poppy: It's a term I've only just learned from my coach, Christina Sestan, of Citrus Coaching Solutions.
It seems that there's a syndrome about tall poppies. Apparently it's well known in Australia that tall poppies don't last. In a field of poppies, the ones that lose their heads are the ones that grew too tall, and stick out for the wind and whatever to lop off. The trick to survival for poppies is to not exceed the height standard. What that means is, don't excel... don't stand out... don't attract attention... above all, don't call attention to yourself. Don't toot your own horn.
Well if I got used to being noticed, maybe I can get used to tooting my own horn.
I must practice tooting my own horn, proclaiming my value, loudly. It is the way for me to promote my services, to build my business, to gain new clients. I must state aloud, often, "I am very good at what I do. My skills have value."
Surprisingly enough, I've been doing just that at all these networking events. And guess what! I still have my head. Apparently, I'm too darned substantial for anyone to threaten me.
So maybe my shyness was a hindrance when I was a child, but I'm all grown up now. It's not holding me back anymore - I guess I'm a LATE BLOOMING TALL POPPY.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
The Stanley Park Disaster
Oh, Wow. I knew it would be bad. The News did say, after all, "thousands of trees" had fallen. I just didn't understand what "thousands of trees" means.
We drove into Stanley Park today, just to have a look. A branch fallen here, a tree there, oh dear. But as we approached Prospect Point we were absolutely shocked by the destruction.
They're just trees, you say. Oh, no. To see them toppled, splintered, and strewn like so many "Pick Up Stix" is devastating. It grips the heart, boggles the mind.
While it's easy enough to say that natural disasters like fires and storms are part of Mother Nature's way, what Mother Nature did to Stanley Park in December is almost beyond forgivable.
(I'm sorry I can't give you better pictures. I wish I'd had my "real" camera with me, but all I had was my digital phone, with photo-taking function that leaves a little too much to be desired.)
This is the parking lot at Prospect Point. With the piles of logs awaiting transport to the lumber mills, it looks like a logging camp.
It was so strange - many parts of the park were perfectly fine, and many others showed some evidence of that a storm had passed by leaving one or two trees uprooted, certainly shocking enough, but Prospect Point is truly a disaster area.
This picture was taken near Second Beach. Like many others, this tree had been ripped out of the ground, roots and all, and dropped on it side. I don't know the lady who stood next to it to pose for her husband but I was more than a little offended. She didn't seem to understand that she was standing in the middle of a tragedy. ("Look, Honey, isn't it HUGE?")
Ah, well. She probably didn't ride her bike past these points with her sister, play hookey and spend an entire sunny Wednesday in the park flirting with a new boy.
Yes, she probably thought I was a bit of a nut, with tears streaming as I took a picture of her standing next to what had once and for many years been a magnificent guardian of the most spectacular park in the world.
We drove into Stanley Park today, just to have a look. A branch fallen here, a tree there, oh dear. But as we approached Prospect Point we were absolutely shocked by the destruction.
They're just trees, you say. Oh, no. To see them toppled, splintered, and strewn like so many "Pick Up Stix" is devastating. It grips the heart, boggles the mind.While it's easy enough to say that natural disasters like fires and storms are part of Mother Nature's way, what Mother Nature did to Stanley Park in December is almost beyond forgivable.
(I'm sorry I can't give you better pictures. I wish I'd had my "real" camera with me, but all I had was my digital phone, with photo-taking function that leaves a little too much to be desired.)
This is the parking lot at Prospect Point. With the piles of logs awaiting transport to the lumber mills, it looks like a logging camp.
It was so strange - many parts of the park were perfectly fine, and many others showed some evidence of that a storm had passed by leaving one or two trees uprooted, certainly shocking enough, but Prospect Point is truly a disaster area.
This picture was taken near Second Beach. Like many others, this tree had been ripped out of the ground, roots and all, and dropped on it side. I don't know the lady who stood next to it to pose for her husband but I was more than a little offended. She didn't seem to understand that she was standing in the middle of a tragedy. ("Look, Honey, isn't it HUGE?")
Ah, well. She probably didn't ride her bike past these points with her sister, play hookey and spend an entire sunny Wednesday in the park flirting with a new boy.
Yes, she probably thought I was a bit of a nut, with tears streaming as I took a picture of her standing next to what had once and for many years been a magnificent guardian of the most spectacular park in the world.
My Motivation...
I found this image and it defines my motivation. I see myself, one day, thriving in my home on the beach where I will look out over the ocean because...
the ocean is my soul,
the sound of the waves restores me,
the constancy of the tides is my comfort,
the sunshine glistening on the surface
reflects my joy,
and the pathway of the moonlight
leads me to my destiny.
the ocean is my soul,the sound of the waves restores me,
the constancy of the tides is my comfort,
the sunshine glistening on the surface
reflects my joy,
and the pathway of the moonlight
leads me to my destiny.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Happy New Year!
Isn't it amazing what happens with a New Years Resolution ... well for those of us who make them, anyway.
Last year, one of mine was to launch my own Virtual Assistance business. Lo and Behold! This year, one of mine is to make this Virtual Assistance business a success.
So January 2nd, I went out and began working with a little extra oomph to make sure it happened.
And January 3rd, I had two new clients, and a new strategic partner.
Just a little impetus, and... TA DAH!!!
Resolve. See what happens for you.
Last year, one of mine was to launch my own Virtual Assistance business. Lo and Behold! This year, one of mine is to make this Virtual Assistance business a success.
So January 2nd, I went out and began working with a little extra oomph to make sure it happened.
And January 3rd, I had two new clients, and a new strategic partner.
Just a little impetus, and... TA DAH!!!
Resolve. See what happens for you.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
How I know I'm doing the right thing
Any new entrepreneur goes through frequent highs and lows. Doubts are part of the process. But today is one of the NO-DOUBT days.
At the lunch meeting on that two-networking-event-day a couple of weeks ago, I met Eden, an actress, acting coach and workshop leader. She's a creative person, very intelligent, and very talented, but she does not have a great deal of experience with computers. She was not feeling particularly confident about using her computer to manage the administration of her business, so she asked me to help her migrate her business from a paper-based system to electronic files.
We spent a couple of hours together this morning creating a customized system so Eden can stay in touch with her students, track their workshop activities and homework, and manage her books.
In the first hour, we built her contact database - very simply, in Excel, so it would be useful on its own, or as a data repository to be used in concert with Word for merged letters, or in concert with Outlook for email correspondence.
In the second hour, we built the accounting workbook, again in Excel. In the first worksheet, we created a list of standard accounts as suggested by SimplyAccounting for a business like Eden's (exported directly, and then customized for Eden). Then we created one Worksheet to track her expenses and another to track her revenues. We labeled each of the worksheets and formatted the cells, and then explored the various functions like hiding columns, freezing panes, summing, sorting, and filtering.
By the time I left, Eden had not only a workable accounting system and contacts database, but also a very good understanding of a handful of Excel's best features and exactly how they benefited her in managing her business.
Eden thanked me, wrote me a cheque, and sent me on my way. But as I closed the door and turned to walk down the hall, I could hear her squealing with delight. (I'm pretty sure she said "YIPPEE!" Too cute! But I was saying exactly the same thing - in my head!)
The thanks was nice and the cheque was really nice, but that squeal will stay with me forever!
At the lunch meeting on that two-networking-event-day a couple of weeks ago, I met Eden, an actress, acting coach and workshop leader. She's a creative person, very intelligent, and very talented, but she does not have a great deal of experience with computers. She was not feeling particularly confident about using her computer to manage the administration of her business, so she asked me to help her migrate her business from a paper-based system to electronic files.
We spent a couple of hours together this morning creating a customized system so Eden can stay in touch with her students, track their workshop activities and homework, and manage her books.
In the first hour, we built her contact database - very simply, in Excel, so it would be useful on its own, or as a data repository to be used in concert with Word for merged letters, or in concert with Outlook for email correspondence.
In the second hour, we built the accounting workbook, again in Excel. In the first worksheet, we created a list of standard accounts as suggested by SimplyAccounting for a business like Eden's (exported directly, and then customized for Eden). Then we created one Worksheet to track her expenses and another to track her revenues. We labeled each of the worksheets and formatted the cells, and then explored the various functions like hiding columns, freezing panes, summing, sorting, and filtering.
By the time I left, Eden had not only a workable accounting system and contacts database, but also a very good understanding of a handful of Excel's best features and exactly how they benefited her in managing her business.
Eden thanked me, wrote me a cheque, and sent me on my way. But as I closed the door and turned to walk down the hall, I could hear her squealing with delight. (I'm pretty sure she said "YIPPEE!" Too cute! But I was saying exactly the same thing - in my head!)
The thanks was nice and the cheque was really nice, but that squeal will stay with me forever!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Hey! I didn't sign on to become a collection agent!
It's becoming clear that I'm going to have to change my business model. I've been invoicing my clients, and then monitoring the mailbox. And checking the mailbox. And checking the mailbox. And sending reminders. And re-reminders... And now I have to make collection calls?!?!
Today, I have less than a dollar in my wallet, and sitting out there somewhere is about $1500 in receivables that are overdue by 2 and 3 months, from clients who have the money - I know, because I've been doing their books!
The only client who's paid me this month is the lady who opened the doors to her business two weeks ago. Here's a plug for Sam, proprietor of Cabbages and Kings, children's consignment and other interesting goodies - art, jewellery, handmade toys and furniture - on Dunbar at 17th. Great lady, Great stuff, Great store.
(Update Dec 14: I finally picked up a cheque from another client today. Whew! What a relief!)
Today, I have less than a dollar in my wallet, and sitting out there somewhere is about $1500 in receivables that are overdue by 2 and 3 months, from clients who have the money - I know, because I've been doing their books!
The only client who's paid me this month is the lady who opened the doors to her business two weeks ago. Here's a plug for Sam, proprietor of Cabbages and Kings, children's consignment and other interesting goodies - art, jewellery, handmade toys and furniture - on Dunbar at 17th. Great lady, Great stuff, Great store.
(Update Dec 14: I finally picked up a cheque from another client today. Whew! What a relief!)
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