Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience (more) magic in your business?

To have everything run smoothly and effortlessly?

And is that even possible?

Well…yes and no.

Yes, magic does happen.

And no, it’s not something you can simply wait for and expect all of your problems to be solved without any action or work from you.

Magic can only happen when you step out of the way.

When you stop planning too much. When you stop trying to control everything (and everyone) around you.

Being a solo-entrepreneur is not always easy. 

If you want to have a successful business you need to know a lot about a lot of different things (marketing, sales, finances, copywriting, etc.).

You need to motivate yourself and always keep going, whether you feel like it or not.

You cannot hide behind excuses and you cannot blame anyone for your mistakes or (lack of) results: as a solo-entrepreneur, you ARE your business.

Which can be great: nothing is more fulfilling and gives you more freedom than having a successful business that is an expression of your life purpose.

But that is not always what it looks or feels like.

Do you believe it is possible to have it all? 

To have and experience everything you want and need at the same time?

Most people don’t believe this.

It’s even a common saying in both English and Dutch (‘You can’t have it all’ / ‘Je kunt niet alles hebben’).

This belief (or rather disbelief) is one of the major stuck points I have seen with my clients over the past 9 years.

And it is my own major stuck point as well ;)

A lot of people, and especially heart-centered entrepreneurs and change agents, struggle with the fear that their mission is bigger than they are.
It’s one of the things that can really hold you back and keep you playing small in your business.

I know from my own experience how overwhelming your mission and purpose can feel – and how this feeling can paralyze you.

If you recognize this fear I invite you to keep on reading – I might scare you a little more at first but I’ll fix that later on, I promise.

It’s just like Gloria Steinem so eloquently put it:

“The truth will set you free.

But first it will piss you off.”

So, let’s get started with the latter ;)

When you’re a solo-entrepreneur, it sometimes feels like your work is never done.
There is always something to do and it never stops:

You need to update your website, return a call, write your ezine, market your services, etc.etc.

Especially when you’ve set some ambitious goals, like I did for 2012, the feeling of overwhelm can easily creep up on you.

These 3 tips really help me to stay relaxed and productive at the same time.

Try them out, they might work for you too:

Are you truly happy and satisfied with your fees and prices? 

Or do you feel underpaid and undervalued?

If you do, you are probably not charging enough. You may need to raise your fees (or offer less for the same price).

Charging what you’re worth starts with knowing the real value of your work. 

You need to focus on the results people get from working with you. You’re not selling a process or a portion of your time.

You are selling results, solutions for problems and transformations.

Being clear on these exact results is the first step to charging what you’re worth.

But after that comes the hardest part:

You probably want to grow your business this year.

Most entrepreneurs do.

Wanting to grow is one thing. Actually making it happen is quite another.

It begins with deciding you WILL grow your business this year – and committing yourself to do what it takes to make this happen.

When you’ve made this decision, these 3 tips help you move forward:

This week’s article is a beautiful poem written by Nadine Starr.

I hope it inspires you as much as it does me.

It reminds you there is more to life than work and all the things you want to accomplish.

Enjoy your week and have a great New Year’s Eve!

In this third and final article about making 2012* your best year ever, I’ll share three golden tips with you that help you make sure your actions lead to the results you desire – as effortless and as fast as possible.

Tip 1: recognize your pitfalls (and prepare for them)

What are your pitfalls? What kind of behavior or thinking can keep you from reaching your goals?

We all have pitfalls.

One of mine is I like new things so much that I can have a tendency to start too many projects at the same time.

I know the warning signs. One of them is feeling bored and thinking: been there, done that – even before I actually did it ;)

What’s your pitfall?

How can you recognize it? And how can you prepare yourself so you don’t walk into your own trap?

In a documentary on Dutch national television about life choices and the stress this causes you can see a glimpse of my book ‘Ontdek wat je echt wilt – en maak daar (je) werk van’ ;)

This is what it looked like on tv:

Read more about this book here

You can watch the documentary below: