Archive for September 2010

It’s IAWBO’s birthday and YOU get the gifts! Including 30 days of How Does She Do It? Interviews on the blog like this one:

Today’s How Does She Do it? Mentor is Katrina Sawa, K. Sawa Marketing International Inc. http://www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com

Blog:  http://www.KatrinaSawa.com

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/KatrinaSawa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/katrinasawa

Fan page:  www.facebook.com/JumpStartYourMarketing

Fan page:  www.facebook.com/LoveandMoneyClub

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ksawamarketing

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/katmarketingexpert

FastPitch – http://www.fastpitchonline.com/katrinasawa

How long have you been in business online?

8 years in business, 5 of that selling online and globally

Provide a brief description of your business a) who do you love to work with? b) what is the #1 greatest benefit they get from working with you?

I work with highly motivated women entrepreneurs who want to design a business around their passion.  They want to make a bunch of money doing what they love as well because they have so much to give and share with the world they know they need to make more to give more.  These women know their business, product or service yet they either aren’t sure HOW to start, grow or market what it is they want to do or they are working way too hard IN their business now and are searching for an easier, better and more effective way to run and market their existing business.  Typically they want additional residual streams of income that leveraged business models can provide yet they don’t usually know how to go about implementing those.  The #1 greatest benefit my clients tell me they receive is that they absolutely get that kick in the butt they desperately need to get the RIGHT things done in their business set up and marketing PLUS they end up with increased amounts of clarity, faith and confidence in themselves and can really step into their bigger, greater self from then on.

What does being a woman in business online mean to you and what is your favorite thing about it?

It means that I have flexibility and power.  I have flexibility to do whatever I want when I want and the choice to choose how and who I want to work with.  I have power because I can reach and inspire so many people, it absolutely amazes me sometimes.  So many people could do a lot of ‘wrong’ with this kind of power but I love that I can inspire, motivate and educate hundreds of thousands of other entrepreneurs, new or seasoned, young or ‘experienced’, rich or poor to be the best they can be, to live the life they want and to make the money they want to make.

Who or has been your greatest mentor and how have they impacted your success?

I’ve had many friends and peers who’ve made a huge impact on my life, my mindset and my business – some more so than the mentors that I’ve actually paid.  But I must say that the mentors I’ve had along the way have truly led the way and opened doors and opportunities for me to not only get exposure but more importantly to allow me the space to experience my own inner self growth and shifts.  These shifts have been the single most important thing on my journey that has helped me transform my business and life into the passion and love-filled, money-making business and life I have today.

What is the one achievement are you most proud of as an entrepreneur so far and why?

Taking huge leaps of faith all throughout my business life and even before.  I only realized I was doing this a few short years ago actually when I took a step back and saw that every decision I had made on my journey was based on the fact that I KNEW that it would all work out in the end; I KNEW that I was doing what I was meant to be doing and I had NO PLAN B.  I continue to take big leaps of faith both in investing in myself monetarily and with learning more; I believe this is the ONLY way those of us who are making over 6+figure incomes HAVE to be in order to keep moving forward and the ONLY way any of you will get to 6+figures if that is a goal – you’ve got to have complete and utter faith in yourself.

What does “authentic in business” mean to you and why is it important?

This is one of the most important things in business.  Being authentic to me means showing your true colors, saying what you believe in all the time, standing your ground, having an opinion, walking your talk, practicing what you preach and being open and personal with those around you and those who follow you. It happens to be one of the best marketing strategies around too in my opinion; it increases your ‘like, trust, connect’ factor tremendously when you’re authentic and immediately decreases it when it’s obvious that you’re not.

What is your favorite & most effective marketing strategy that you use to grow your business?

My favorite marketing strategy is networking; primarily networking in person.  It really is the fastest, most affordable strategy out there because you can get to know a whole bunch of your target market prospects at one time AND you can build relationships with them faster by meeting in person.  Online social networking can be very effective too but I feel like it’s more of an interactive numbers game online.  You need to have systems to reach MORE people online faster with an authentic and personal message and then the people who choose to reply or respond to that personal message of yours are the people you want to then personally spend time interacting with.

How do you stay off of (or minimize the extremes of) the proverbial cash flow rollercoaster?

Well the cash flow issue is always a struggle I think for any level of business owner.  We have to leverage our credit when needed so you don’t want to freak out if you have to charge something, just know that it will be ok and you’ll pay it off later.  It’s also helpful to offer payment plans on your offerings which helps the customer but also helps you spread out the income coming in.  Another thing I’ve done more of this year is offer more interactive conversations, I call them JumpStart Your Business Strategy Sessions; this helps to speed up the buying process in a way for the RIGHT people who are clearly more ready to buy.

What’s your best advice about how to achieve work-life-self balance?

Plan ahead for fun and schedule it into your calendar first.  For example when I was in a relationship and he had kids I would always schedule the family activities and/or vacations first into my calendar and then any other outings with friends or business trips, then I would schedule in work around my life.  I think this is very important otherwise your business could take over your life and you’ll have none and then your marriage could suffer, etc.  For example now that I’m single, I spend some time with online dating and leave some evenings open now for dating rather than filling them up with networking events because it is important for me to find a partner; almost as important to me as having a successful business (not everyone needs that).

What is your favorite technology that supports your online business and why? (i.e. how does it support you?)

I have a few: I love my shopping cart, it’s so easy to use to be able to offer and sell products and services quickly and easily.  I love the logmein.com service so that when I’m out of town I can check in (if need be) and log into my desktop and it’s just like I’m right there at my desk with everything at my fingertips.  I also love the online data backup service that I use, Mozy.com; you have to backup your data with any business, especially an online business and Mozy makes it easy, it’s done for me while I sleep.  I also really like the ning.com forum platforms and although I loved them much more when they were free to use, they are still by far one of the best online forums I think; easy to navigate, upload and interact with my coaching group members in a private online area.

What is your best productivity tip? i.e. how can our readers get more of the right things done quickly and with less struggle?

Delegate and automate everything you possibly can, seriously; it’s totally worth paying someone to get something done or do something that you don’t know how to do, don’t want to do or if they can do it faster and better than you – you want to delegate it or automate the function.  Developing systems for how a task or project is to be completed can be much easier than most people think; you don’t have to do it yourself and it is worth having someone like me help pull your systems out of your head onto paper so that they can be handed off to someone so they will actually get done – like your follow up!

What has been your biggest breakthrough, mindset shift or top lesson learned so far?

My love for self.  I used to have that head trash playing in my head too – oh you’re too fat, too new, you aren’t good enough, who do you think you are…etc.  I used to belittle my abilities and downplay my strengths and make fun of myself in front of others but no longer…. Now I KNOW that I am sexy just the way I am and the right guy is going to love me for who I am.  I KNOW that I am really great at what I do in business; I change lives and inspire thousands and no one is going to stop me!

Remember to claim your Virtual Birthday Gift Bag

It’s filled with 30 EXCLUSIVE GIFTS (not available free anywhere else) hand selected by our team of experts for success-driven women like you!

As a matter of fact, Katrina has contributed her teleclass recording of “Simple Start-Up Strategies – What You REALLY Need to Know About How to Get Clients and Make Money NOW” (A $47 value and remember this is just 1 of the 30 gifts you get in the gift bag. Total value is over $1300

Once you have registered for your gift bag you’ll be directed to a SECRET PAGE where you’ll discover a MEGA secret we’ve been keeping. You’re really got to see it to believe it!

Be sure to share your comments on the blog! What did you like best about Katrina’s interview?

It’s IAWBO’s birthday and YOU get the gifts! In addition to all of the valuable goodies inside the FREE Virtual Birthday Gift Bag we’re giving away during the month of September (did you get yours yet?) you will enjoy 30 days of How Does She Do It? Interviews on the blog like this one:

Today’s mentor is Kim Page Gluckie of MPowered Marketing http://www.mpoweredmarketing.com

www.twitter.com/kimpagegluckie

www.facebook.com/mpoweredmarketing

How long have you been in business online?

9 months online, 3 years as an entrepreneur

Provide a brief description of your business a) who do you love to work with? b) what is the #1 greatest benefit they get from working with you?

I love working with women entrepreneurs who are new in business, or feel like they still are! In particular, I really enjoy helping super motivated, part time entrepreneurs who want to make a great idea work no matter what!

I am committed to teaching these passionate entrepreneurs how to grow a big business no matter how limited their resources.

What does being a woman in business online mean to you and what is your favorite thing about it?

Being a woman in business online allows me to shift a career of marketing experience into a fun format that allows me to reach and teach more women than I dreamed possible. As a marketing expert that teaches “integrated marketing” … traditional, grassroots strategies blended with online opportunities… my favorite thing about being a woman in business online is proving continually that building a business on “word of mouth” is still the queen of strategies in any format.

Who or has been your greatest mentor and how have they impacted your success?

Truthfully, Gina Bell of IAWBO has been my best and only mentor in my online business. Hey – when you need to to do something right, you find the best! Gina, as a smart marketing gal herself, has made it extremely easy to learn how to shift my live, face-to-face learning model and solid marketing knowledge/networking/training events into an online system of success.

What is the one achievement are you most proud of as an entrepreneur so far and why?

I am thrilled to be an advocate for the success of women entrepreneurs, but I’m particularly proud to prove it is possible to be super successful as a part time entrepreneur. I am a part time entrepreneur by choice. There are extremely unique challenges that directly impact marketing choices, and I am really happy to be a living example of what can be done with a great plan and extremely good use of time!

What does “authentic in business” mean to you and why is it important?

Authenticity in business saves women money and helps them succeed faster. It’s true! Being authentic in business to me, means letting your personal unique qualities and personality quirks SHINE in your brand personality too. A woman entrepreneur starts a business from a personal passion and that passion is key to differentiating from the competition. When your authentic self becomes part of your brand, it takes less time and investment in marketing to “convince” people to buy what you’ve got. In fact, it becomes a no-brainer. An authentic entrepreneur is instantly likable… a marketing success waiting to happen very very soon!

What is your favorite & most effective marketing strategy that you use to grow your business?

My number one rule in marketing is to look to your existing network first. I continually grow my business from who I know… and who they know. The adage that most new business comes from existing clients holds true more than ever. And while you repeatedly need to infuse a business with new potential customers, if you haven’t talked to those who already love you lately, then you are missing out on your fastest and easiest chance at new business.

How do you stay off of (or minimize the extremes of) the proverbial “cashflow rollercoaster”?

As a part-time entrepreneur, the cashflow rollercoaster is even more challenging to avoid, as time often allows only one focused campaign at a time. However, I do practice and recommend using a combination of products and services to have multiple revenue streams. Ideally, an entrepreneur has one core product or service that their time and effort is invested in, but there are also complementary “no work” products or services in place that are fulfilled with very little investment of time or money after created the first time.

What’s your best advice about how to achieve work-life-self balance?

Balance is a word I haven’t embraced yet. I tend to think of work-life-self as a juggling act. As long as I am holding one ball and can still see the two in the air, and know when they are coming back, then I feel tethered to a sense of normalcy. My philosophy of entrepreneurship has actually evolved from my own challenges through my blog series “How to grow a business and not lose your mind” which is my personal dialogue behind my “7 Essential Resources” program. In essence, life is not perfect. There is never enough time and money. But you are rich with other resources and when you focus on those, you can really be successful in work-life-self. The key to balance, or juggling, is knowing you can be happy even when you drop the ball(s).

What is your favorite technology that supports your online business and why? (i.e. how does it support you?)

I use a social media/customer communication tool called Mailchimp. It has opened the door to a more streamlined approach, in multiple timesaving ways, to communicate with existing customers and entice new ones. It also enhances my social media relationships in measurable ways. And, it is rich with information on every email campaign I run, which is extremely useful for making marketing decisions. It eliminates time-wasting processes and guess-work. I am in love with this technology.

What is your best productivity tip? i.e. how can our readers get more of the right things done quickly and with less struggle?

My best productivity tip is to set goals, write them down, identify all the action steps required to meet those goals and evaluate if they are realistic… then get to work! I teach how to do this through my 7 Essential Resources free webinar, which is focused on embracing and making decisions on the resources you have in abundance! Because there is a tendency to struggle by setting goals that require us to fulfil it on scarce resources. I then show how to build a marketing map action plan that honors these resources. Knowing what you need to do SPECIFICALLY, and then doing that and ONLY that is a focused way to grow a business faster and easier.

What has been your biggest breakthrough, mindset shift or top lesson learned so far?

Learning new technologies that are the backbone to the systems I now have to deliver my training classes/products and communicating them has been an uphill road of new learning. It took longer than I would have liked as a part time entrepreneur, but it was SO worth the effort. It has literally shifted my business from a traditional, community based program to that PLUS a rich online community and set of programs. Great use of technology and tools is and will continue to be the great differentiator of success for women in business online.

Remember to claim your Virtual Birthday Gift Bag

It’s filled with 30 EXCLUSIVE GIFTS (not available free anywhere else) hand selected by our team of experts for success-driven women like you!

As a matter of fact, Kim has contributed her “7 Essential Resources for Part Time Entrepreneurs” webinar (A $97 value and remember this is just 1 of the 30 gifts you get in the gift bag. Total value is over $1300

Once you have registered for your gift bag you’ll be directed to a SECRET PAGE where you’ll discover a MEGA secret we’ve been keeping. You’re really got to see it to believe it!

Be sure to share your comments on the blog! What did you like best about Kim’s interview?