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I think fear is so misunderstood these days, especially in business. Fear is getting a bad rap.

In talking to colleagues and clients alike, I’m always surprised by how often people take fear as a reason NOT to do something vs. a reason TO DO something. Maybe I’m a bit weird, but for me, fear is a really big indicator that I need to do something… if I’m scared, that means I probably need to go in that direction.

I believe that as human beings we are meant to grow – and this means taking on new “stuff”. Learning new things, stepping into new roles, taking on new challenges. And of course with anything new comes fear… it’s natural to feel fear when stepping into the unknown, right?

Fear itself can take many different forms, and will vary by individual and situation. Could be fear of failure. Fear of looking like a fool. Fear of losing money. Fear of not making money. Fear of upsetting people close to you. Fear of not knowing if you can do what you want to do… etc.

My mentor David Neagle calls this the “terror barrier” and it is a natural part of life and growth. We all come up against our own terror barriers – especially in business! – and then we have to decide whether we want to work through them or run away. And see the thing is that even if we run away, those terror barriers will follow us, the longer they follow us the bigger they get – darn them!

So we may as well face the fear right?

Now I get it… easy to say, not so easy to do. Believe me I get it. I’ve done my fair share of having to ’stare fear in the eye’ in particular this past year… and put plainly, it can suck at times.

When I decided to sign up to work with my mentor last year that was a HUGE fear moment for me. What I like to call a “think I’m going to barf” moment. I was terrified to take that step, as I knew it was a commitment to me and my business to play a bigger game… and quite honestly I didn’t know if I could do it. Who am I to create a super cool and thriving biz? What if I fail and lose oodles of money? What if I suck at it and people point and laugh at me? (Ah those crazy thoughts that go through our heads…)

But I believe fear is an invitation for us to learn a lesson – whatever it is that we fear has a real gift for us on the other side, but only if we are willing to step into it. And if we aren’t stepping into it we don’t get that gift… sounds cheesy but it’s true in my experience.

It breaks my heart when I see this in my own business. For example when I’m talking to someone about the OBM Training program and we BOTH know it’s a great fit for them and their goals. But they get stuck in their fear, they aren’t willing to invest in themselves or aren’t sure if they can actually be a good OBM. I’m sitting there and I can see – clear as day – that they would rock, but their fear doesn’t allow them to see that opportunity. Those are the sad moments for me in my biz (and I’m working on some ways to help people through that journey… more on that another time).

Facing fear is like building a muscle, the more we do it the more we are able to do it. I don’t think that it gets easier per se, as there is always a s-t-r-e-t-c-h required when facing fear and it can be uncomfortable to say the least. However, I do believe that half the battle is actually resisting our fear – running away takes alot of energy! If we stop resisting fear and instead step into it then the entire process could be much less painful in the long run.

I’ve gotten to the point now that when I have what I call an “eek!” moment – that nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach – I know it’s something that I need to do. This is the main indicator for me of what I need to do next in my business.

So let me ask you – when was the last time you did something that scared the pants off of you? Or had an “I think i’m going to barf now” moment?

What is it that you are most afraid of doing right now, in this moment, for you and your business? (Do share in the comments as i’d really love to know.)

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Chapter 25 from the book Money, Meaning and Beyond

Question: “When you’re trying to sell something to someone, I know it’s important to communicate with people more than once. I’ve already emailed my newsletter readers with four different offers this month, but they still aren’t buying. What should I write in my next email that will work? I’m tired of pounding them so many times.”

With thanks to Aesop, let’s paraphrase a little story. It may give you a new perspective on this as well as other situations where you feel like you’re trying awfully hard.

The Sun and the Wind decided to have a little game. They agreed to prove which one of them was more powerful.

When a man came traveling down the road, they seized their opportunity – they decided to see who could make the man remove his coat, thus proving whether the Sun or the Wind was the more powerful.

The Wind took the challenge and began to blow. He blew as hard as he could at the man, trying to get him to remove his coat.

But the more the wind blew, the more the man clung to his coat and hat, and the wind had to give up.

Next the sun gave it a try and turned up his rays so it began to warm up. As the day grew brighter and the man grew warmer, he naturally found it too hot to keep his coat on and was happy to take it off.

Coming up on a small stream, he even took his shoes and socks off and took a wade before he continued on his journey.

With this story as a backdrop, let’s get back to the above questions:

“How do I stop chasing after customers and get them to try (or buy) my stuff?”

“How do I stop trying so hard to get results?”

These are very common questions for business owners and the answers are in the parable.

Ask yourself how you can be the sun, and not the wind.

How can you step into the river of your customer’s natural desires, rather than chase after them waving your company brochure as they go down a different path?

The saying goes, the only smart place to put a hot dog stand is in front of a crowd of hungry people.

Between the wind and the sun, which would you rather be, as you pursue the natural, effortless, stress-free growth of your business?

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A couple of cool things that I wanted to let you know about:

1) “Short and Sweet” Alternatives to the Long Copy Sales Page.

Are you sick and tired of LOOOOOONG sales pages? I have to admit, I rarely (if ever) read a long sales page… and I certainly struggle with having to create them as well. The thing is, are they necessary? What can you do instead that will still get results?

My friend Karri Flatla is tackling this issue head on in a new call on October 7th where she’ll be sharing:

1. Why the long copy sales page isn’t always a good fit for your offer and for your people.
2. The short-and-sweet “feel-really-good” ALTERNATIVES that are available to you. (This is Web 2.0 that makes SENSE.)
3. Three key THEMES you must get if you decide NOT to do a long copy sales page (so you succeed despite what those “other copywriters” say).

Relief is on the way! Register here >>

2) Chef’s Table for Entreprenuers Telesummit

This virtual event kicks off on September 30th delivering tasty entrepreneurial tidbits so you can grow your business with ease! Discover the latest information and get expert advice on how to market and grow your business successfully.

There are lots of cool sessions with 13 guest experts, including one from yours truly. Here’s a quick taste of what is on the menu:

• How do you add the giving ingredient so your clients feel kneaded?- Bob Burg
• Does your personal fitness flatter your business enough to help it rise?- Chalene Johnson
• Money Mystery: Unlock the Key to Financing Your Business in Tough Economic Times… – Denise Kirk-Murray
• Leveraging Internet radio and Podcasting to Establish a Sustainable Brand …. Jon W. Hansen
• The 7 Keys to Hiring a Virtual Support Team that Boosts your Income (and doesn’t just drain your bank account)… with me!

>> Reserve your spot at the table

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I’m tickled pink to introduce you to the amazing gals in my Online Business Manager Mentorship program. Each of these ladies has invested a significant amount of time, energy and heart in becoming an Online Business Manager and serving their clients in the best way possible.

I’ve done a short video interview with everyone in order for you to see a “smiling face” and get to know them a bit better. And of course for you to be able to connect with your ideal OBM should you be looking to hire someone to provide this high-level of support for you and your business.

>> Click here to meet them 

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I’m actually fascinated by confidence and the role it plays in our success. On one hand it is the *key* to being hired and paid well for what you do. On the other hand a lack of confidence can actually be a good indicator of what is next for you and your business…

Check out this video for my own journey with confidence and where it is leading me next.

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Have you heard of the story of the Cobbler’s Children? It refers to the fact that a busy cobbler is so focused on making shoes for his customers that he has no time to make shoes for his own children.

There is a bit of a Cobbler’s Shoes epidemic going on when it comes to our websites… as Online Business Managers, Virtual Assistants and other online support professionals, we are so focused on finding and working with clients that our websites often fall to the bottom of our lists!

As much as we love our clients, it is important to also set aside some time for US – to work on our websites and get them into tip-top shape so they can do their job in attracting our ideal clients.

Yet the thing is that I know this is easier said than done… and if we don’t purposely set aside the time to work on our own websites it probably will never happen. This is exactly why we created our latest program:

“Write Your Site in a Week”
September 13 – 17th

A Get-it-Done Program Exclusively for Online Business Managers,
Virtual Assistants and other Online Support Professionals

If you are struggling with your website copy in any way this is the course for you… don’t let your ideal client slip through the cracks because your website isn’t doing it’s job (eek!)

>> Click Here for full Details

We start next week, see you there?

Tina Forsyth

PS – Just to be clear, this is not a training program… this is a “get it done” program where we take you by the hand and give you exactly what you need (including fill in the blanks templates) to get the 3 key pages of your website done in a week. Woo hoo!

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When I’m hiring someone for my team one of the key things I consider is:

How HUNGRY are they for the opportunity?

Most business owners are looking for experience – they want to know if someone has done something before, how successful they were at it, etc. This is certainly an important consideration in hiring people imo, BUT it might not be quite as important as you think.

When it comes to adding someone to my team I am a huge fan of looking at how “hungry” someone is for the opportunity. How excited are they about the opportunity? What do they love about my business and what we do? Can I feel their energy and enthusiasm? Are they chomping at the bit to work with me and my team?

I would much rather have someone who is oozing enthusiasm on my team than someone who doesn’t have much enthusiasm but knows how to do stuff. It’s their enthusiasm that will drive the work - if someone has lots of experience but they aren’t excited about the work they are doing it will show (and can actually cause big problems.) Someone with enthusiasm is willing to learn on the fly, figure things out as needed in order to get the job done. They are willing to go the extra mile and want to have fun in the process. They are also the ones who tend to stick around the longest, because you’ve given them an opportunity to learn and there is a loyalty that comes alongside that.

Now the thing is, quite often the people who are “hungriest” for the opportunity aren’t always the ones with the most experience (that’s actually true in many cases.) So what to do? How do you know if you should hire the person with more experience vs. the person who is “hungrier” and more excited?

If you hire someone with less experience that might require some more attention and patience from your end as the business owner – there may be additional training involved, and it could take a bit longer for some things to get done in the learning stage. Depending on what you are hiring for and how quickly you need them to be able to engage this could be a consideration.  

There are a few things to look for to make sure that you don’t hire someone who is excited but might sink instead of swim:

• What kind of training (or certification) do they have? Have they invested their own time, money and energy in learning new skills? This can be a good indication of how serious they are about the work they want to do and what they are willing to invest to bring it to life.
• What kind of support system do they have for themselves? Are they part of a community of peers or do they work with a mentor that they can turn to when they do have questions? As I always say, as virtual support professionals we don’t need to know everything… we just need to know where we can find the answers.
• What kind of business structure do they have? Have they set themselves up as a professional business? If they have invested in getting themselves incorporated, registered or whatever is necessary to setup an “official” business (which can vary by location) this is an indication that they are dedicated to their business and in it for real (vs. just giving it a try.)

Curious for your thoughts? Would you rather hire someone with experience or enthusiasm? When have you done either one (and how has it worked or not?)

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Are you an OBM, VA or other online support professional who is looking for new clients?

Then allow me to give you a bit of “homework” – this is something that I ask of the gals in my Online Business Manager Mentorship program (if their business isn’t yet full.)

Respond to any RFP (request for proposal) that is appealing to you – with the intention of getting to have a conversation with the business owner to learn more and determine if there is a fit.

Just to clarify – an RFP is where a business owners submits their request for “help”, telling you what they need help with and giving you some insight as to their business, projects, budget and such. If you are a fit for what they need then you respond with your “proposal” letting them know how you could be a fit for their needs. There are some really great RFP services out there these days (like the one here at our OBM Association) - if you haven’t done so already be sure to join to be notified as new opportunities arise.

And yet I have to admit that i’m surprised when I see a great RFP come through our OBM Association website – and then hear from the business owner later on that they didn’t get any response. This happens alot more than you would think – what’s up with that? I KNOW there are members who are looking for new clients, and yet they aren’t responding?

I decided to dig a bit deeper and found a common theme among what was stopping people from applying:

“Tina, I’d love to apply for this but don’t have everything that they are looking for…”

If you’ve ever looked at an RFP and thought this allow me to give you a reframe. When a client submits their RFP it is essentially a “wish list” on their part – they may be listing anything and everything that they would love to have, BUT that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t settle for someone who has *most* of what they need.

I would put the 80/20 rule to work here – if you are interested in something and have 80% of what they need, then by all means apply! See the fact of the matter is that you won’t know for sure whether or not something is a fit for you until you get to have a conversation with the business owner – and you won’t get to have a conversation until you apply to the RFP. It is only in the conversation that you can really learn what they need, what is truly important to them and see if/how you can help.

As a business owner shared with me a while back (after not getting a response to her very detailed RFP):

“Tina, I don’t actually expect someone to be able to do all of this… but would love to hear where they can help me, and how they could help build the team to take care of the stuff they can’t”

Which is exactly part of the OBM role anyways right?

I also want you to keep in mind that sometimes the business owners who are submitting these RFPs don’t always know for sure what they need themselves. And so they put everything they can think of in an RFP. Again, a conversation here is vital as you can educate the business owner on how you can help, what you can (and cannot) do for them.

Remember that we are pioneers – I think sometimes we forget that not everyone knows what an OBM is (gasp!) So keep in mind that education may be necessary in this process, and could potentially lead to a really great client if you are willing to have that conversation.

Your Assignment: If you are looking for clients, proactively respond to all RFPs that could potentially be a good fit for you and your services. You won’t know for sure if it’s a fit (or not) until you have apply and have a conversation.

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Seems so many people focus on the dream of “passive revenue” and “making money while you sleep” – which is of course a lovely thing. But this is only part of the story when it comes to building a business – there are actually 3 types of income generation and to build a balanced business we need to make sure we are doing bit of each.

And of course, your comments, thoughts, yeas or nays are always welcome.

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