How To Be Fearless Not Fearful

Published October, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* 1. Featured Article: How To Be Fearless not Fearful.
* 2. Born to Read Book Club with convenient Amazon.ca link: Giving by Bill Clinton.
* 3. Think About This Question. How are you fearless about or in your business?
* 4. Comment On My Blog Posts at my blog called Marketing to Small Business – at  http://www.trudyvanbuskirk.typepad.com
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TRUDY’S NOTE

Hi There

It’s on tv, radio and the internet and in newspapers around the world. I’m talking about the “falling” stock market and how it affects everyone in a global economy. Many of the ezines I receive are about how you can benefit from this. Many people are afraid and don’t know what to do. Read on to find out what YOU can do for yourself!
(Go to and comment on my blog at http://www.trudyvanbuskirk.typepad.com for more of my thoughts on this and many things that relate to marketing a small business.)
Thanks for reading.

My Happiest Wishes for you,
Trudy
Marketing Mentor for Small Business  mailto:trudy@smallbizbuilder.com  http://www.smallbizbuilder.com
Please print or forward this ezine to your friends and colleagues – I have lots to tell you and would like you to give this info as a gift to yourself and others. Enjoy.
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1. FEATURED ARTICLE. How To Be Fearless NOT Fearful.
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Recently I talked with a former business partner (from the 80s) and a small business owner like me. We began our Apple computer dealership in 1980 when mortgage rates in Canada were 18% and everything we heard was “doom and gloom”. AND we grew our business from $0 to over $2 million and 20 staff over the next 8 years. We know that business ebbs and flows.
How did we do this? As small business owners and proponents of a “possibility” attitude (positive not negative) we have a real advantage. We ALWAYS have a choice. It’s OUR decision.
Here’s what he and I did then and are doing AGAIN NOW – and you can, too.  Set the foundation for future growth!

* Be fearless and not “full of fear”. Feel happy and positive about the possibilities we have in our business. It’s all about attitude. If you feel afraid then everything around you is a fearful thing. Be realistic and honest with yourself AND see the opportunities at the same time.

* Have very specific goals and do what you need to reach them. For example “increase my sales” is weak but “In 3 months, get 5 new clients who each buy at least $250” is stronger. Be clear about what you’re doing and move forward. Have a plan and look at it. Change it if necessary but take action.

* Keep marketing. Someone may say “I can’t afford to spend money on that email campaign right now.” Keep known and do the things that acquire clients and retain them. If you need to cut expenses, resist your daily Starbucks purchase – you need to be marketing anyway.

* Pick up the phone. This isn’t the time for passive efforts like a new PR campaign. Call people NOW and ASK for their business (have something for them to buy.) Go through the business cards on your desk and set appointments.

* Don’t listen to or watch news that is negative. Turn off or change channels or read a book when this comes on. That doesn’t mean that you wear blinders but listen to and see that you and your business have chances in front of you all the time.

* Move quickly (as we DO since we’re a small business). We’re used to not having a lot of money and to taking action quickly and with little. We have resources in the form of people and skills and can act on them.

* Launch a promotion to get clients buying. Grow your business.

* Get out there. Be seen: attend networking events, offer free consultation meetings or conduct teleclasses. Put your name and face in front of potential clients and have an ideal sales opportunity.

I can’t say enough about this. You can see opportunities in everything if you look.
What you focus on is what you create.

Be positive and see the openings you have. Remember your dream and go for it. It’s easy to create abundance in your life when you focus on what you have and what is possible. “This too shall pass.” Embrace this ride!

** See my “Services” page on my website to get some of my time and I can tell you exactly how to do it! **

Keep learning, … and until next time. © 2008 Trudy Van Buskirk
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2. BORN TO READ BOOK CLUB
I’m writing a book review of one book this time. It’s both practical (can be either for business or personal) and spiritual. Read it please. We can all do something.

GIVING. HOW EACH OF US CAN CHANGE THE WORLD by Bill Clinton (former President of the U.S. )

I saw Bill Clinton speak about this topic before I bought the book. I bought it right away and let it sit on my bookshelf for six months. I picked it up, read it cover to cover and immediately found a charity that meant something to me and donated what I could afford.
Clinton writes that you don’t need to be rich like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. Each of us make a difference with anything we can give. It was Canadian Thanksgiving here recently and we each thought about what we have to be grateful for. But we shouldn’t just be thankful at Thanksgiving. It should be the norm and happen all the time. We can start right now if we haven’t done anything yet.
We can give money, time, things, skills or ideas. Everyone has something of value. Clinton has written a chapter on each suggestion.
He ends with a chapter called ‘How much should you give and why?’ This is from him … ‘We all live in an interdependent world in which our survival depends upon an understanding that our common humanity is more important than our interesting and inevitable differences and that everyone matters.’
I hope you’ll read this book and give what you can – time, money, things or ideas.
Buy this book at …

http://tinyurl.com/4th3n9

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3. THINK ABOUT THIS QUESTION: How are you fearless about or in your business?
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4. Comment on what I write at my blog at  http://www.trudyvanbuskirk.typepad.com . I write here more often about whatever comes up.
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DO YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER? Please pass it along to your friends, associates, and clients who you think would appreciate it. It comes to you once a month from marketing mentor for small business and consultant Trudy Van Buskirk.

ABOUT TRUDY VAN BUSKIRK
Trudy Van Buskirk, is the founder of Smallbizbuilder. As a small business consultant, trainer, author, and resource (she knows people, books, etc … lots!), Trudy ensures that her clients get the results they want using her practical and disciplined systems which motivate them to plan AND to take action.  She has built three businesses from the ground up in Canada and the U.S.; consulted with small businesses and professionals; developed and delivered training courses for entrepreneurs; given keynote addresses and authored four books for TVOntario’s Bits ‘n Bytes television series on computers in 1982 and Winning Women in 1992, and uses e-coaching (coaching by email which you can do any time) in her practice.
CONTACT ME: Email:  mailto:trudy@smallbizbuilder.com Voice: 416-778-9976 (Eastern time)
Web: http://www.smallbizbuilder.com
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Reprinted from Inspired Marketing by Trudy Van Buskirk of Smallbizbuilder, a fr*e*e ezine published to educate and communicate Tips, Tools, and Resources to build your business or your professional practice.
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