Dear Entrepreneur, The other day a client contacted me because although she had written a business plan, she wasn’t ready to take the next step and start her venture. She was stuck! It is common to feel that way when there is so much going on or when you are taking a risk, either to [...]

By moving through and letting go of our fears, we can envision and create the life that we truly want for ourselves. By contrast, when we let our preconceived notions about ourselves and our fears take control, we can be paralyzed by them. Marilyn Ferguson, author of the global bestseller “The Aquarian Conspiracy,” sums up [...]

We all procrastinate, and, while doing it sometimes helps us, often it hurts our productivity, our results, and even our self-esteem. Most of us realize that we’re doing it, realize that it’s probably taking more energy than actually doing the task would, but we don’t know how to deal with it. Fighting procrastination is actually [...]

Most writers, artists and entrepreneurs know that getting stuck sometimes just comes with the territory. When stuck happens, we all have different ways of dealing with it – pulling our hair out, gritting our teeth, breathing, taking a vacation or avoiding it altogether. Here’s a simple mnemonic system that I like to use to get [...]

Since we are all creatures of habit, the prospect of making changes can be unnerving. The good news is that every business owner faces challenges, setbacks and roadblocks, and have come up with solutions that may help you get unstuck “I think that the first and most important change was in my attitude! I had [...]

One of the most frustrating experiences for a career changer is knowing you want to make a change but not being sure what you want. You can end up feeling like you’re stuck in a room behind a locked door and you don’t have the key. What can you do? 1. Take a break. This [...]

Rise in female-owned businesses No one would disagree that recent statistics about growth in female-owned businesses are encouraging. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, “nationally, women-owned firms continue to grow at twice the rate of all firms. Between 1997 and 2006, the number of majority women-owned firms grew 42% to 7.7 million from [...]

It was turning out to be a great year. As a filmmaker and a company owner, opportunities and resources were coordinating in unison. In April 2006, I just finished working on a feature film that was headed for major distribution. A week after the production of the film, I was in DC networking with investors. [...]

It’s time to start thinking about who is going to actually BUY from your business. Most companies have more than one type of customer. Take a moment to think about one of these customer groups, or “target markets”. Do these customers share any physical and/or behavioral characteristics? Why are they attracted to your product? What [...]

The Thursday morning started calmly enough. In the office early, a fresh cup of steaming coffee by my side, I was ready to dive into the day’s work. Then “Alice” called. The wife of a client I had served in a small matter several years earlier, she had an urgent situation: she needed to sell [...]

OK, so you’re stuck. You’re stuck more than a band-aid was ever stuck on your finger. You’ve been sending out emails, mailing postcards, and printing brochures, you’ve built it, but nobody’s coming and nobody’s responding. What do you do? The three keys to an effective direct marketing campaign are: LIST, OFFER, and CREATIVE. It’s like [...]

When Others Bring You Their Problems… Dear Jill, I seem to attract people who want to tell me their problems. This is a pattern that happens at work, as well as in my personal relationships. I started my own business three years ago, and I still get calls for help from people at my old [...]

It’s been a few issues since I’ve had the time to write an article for this magazine, but when I was recently asked to submit a piece on ‘getting unstuck’ my first thought was “…How appropriate is that!” You see, the past few months have been rich with remarkable change and achievement for me, not [...]

Get into the spring swing of things and make a fresh start! This is the perfect time to get unstuck and achieve prosperity and success. Reflect and Review Dust off that initial business plan and review the company goals and objective you set in 2006. How many goals and objective did you achieve? If you [...]

In the last 21 years, I have coached and counseled more than 2,000 people individually and in group/workshop formats to achieve dreams and reach goals. Staying self-motivated is a challenge for many; requiring decisions and action to sustain momentum. Most of the time, clients come to me because they feel stuck. They feel stressed, frustrated [...]

Write it Out NOW! Take out a piece of paper and write down as many words as you can think of to describe how great you are. There are no wrong answers, so don’t censor yourself. Are you loyal, smart, dependable, internet savvy, a fast learner? Do you have 10 years of experience in book [...]

Deciding to Start Write Communications and WomenCentric.org How did you spot the opportunity to start your business? I knew that my combined experiences and expertise were languishing at my last job – I was not able to implement ideas and strategies that I knew would work – so it was borne out of frustration!! I [...]

Debbie Mumm – Background * Please tell us about your education and professional experience My education was a combination of liberal arts, and many art courses over about 4 years. I did end up with an associate degree in Visual Communication Technology. I did an assortment of freelance art jobs and Craft shows along the [...]

Lena L. West has been a guest writer for WomenandBiz.com since 2004. For a long time we only knew each other through email, but soon started running into each other in New York City. Lena L. West, Founder and CEO of xynoMedia Technology, is an incredibly dynamic entrepreneur, and I have been following her success [...]