I work with entrepreneurs every day who are stuck.  They have all kinds of ideas and goals for their business but they’re stuck on how to get them done.

An important shift for any solopreneur to make in their business is to acknowledge that you are the CEO of your own corporation which means that you don’t do EVERYTHING.

I read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited many years ago and the key message that’s stuck with me is that we get into business because of a passion, not to do all the “other stuff”. He uses the example of the lady who loves baking great apple pies and therefore starts a bakery. Truth is she loves to bake but she doesn’t like (nor is she particularly good at) running the bakery, ordering supplies, and managing her books.

To be in business (and last), you’ve got to be resourceful and also delegate that which you’re not good at, isn’t fun for you, and takes your time from doing projects generate more revenue. Otherwise you’ll burn out and potentially not see bottom line results.

As someone very intrigued with delegation I’ve been learning so much from Tina Forsyth’s Top 10 Question series. In these free videos she answers the questions that we all want to know about how to find, hire and work with a virtual team.

The truth is, it’s not always as easy as it sounds.

You can connect with your resources and find and hire people who can assist you with getting things… but it doesn’t always mean it’s going to get done.  In fact, if you don’t consider key items, it could really be a disaster waiting to happen.  Trouble is, many of us don’t know what those key items are.

This is where Tina’s video series comes in.  Tina comprehensively answers the top 10 questions business owners have on how to find, hire and work with a virtual team.

Here’s just a few things I learned from her:

• Where to find virtual team members
• How to work with your team members so they contribute to the growth of your business
• Why it’s important to ‘date’ before getting married to your  team members
• What to delegate to your team and what tasks to keep for yourself (and not be a control freak)
• How to get great people to stay with you

I highly recommend watching her videos since she touches on items that most of us may not even think about or realize are critical to the success of finding, hiring and working with a team. Imagine the power, confidence and success you will feel in having people support you and care about your business as much as you do.

The days I’m most efficient are the days I plan my day before I sit down at my computer.

Here’s a story of two twins – Silly and Sally.

• Silly’s Day: Silly gets up, grabs a cup of coffee and sits down at her desk. She thinks “Hmm… I wonder what I should work on today?” and then wanders off to check email and Twitter while she continues to decide what to work on. Several hours later, it’s time for her to get off the computer and she thinks “I didn’t get anything productive done! There’s never enough time in the day. I just don’t understand. I was busy all day!”

• Sally’s Day: Sally gets up, grabs a cup of coffee and sits down at her desk. She picks up her action list of 6 items that she wants to get done for the day, and determines which one to tackle first. She then spends some focused time and finishes 5 of the items on her list. After that she decides that she’s almost out of time for the day, so she quickly checks email and Twitter. Then, she makes her list for the next day, making sure to transfer the item that didn’t get done to the new list.

Which one of those days looks more productive to you? It doesn’t take an efficiency expert to see that Sally is much more productive and gets more done (and probably makes a heck of a lot more money than Silly does.)

It’s very easy as women to think we’re being productive when in fact we’re just doing busy things.

Some ideas on how to be more like Sally:

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When comes to information do you sip or slurp? Do you dive in, submerging yourself in as much learning as possible or do you take it one step at a time?

For the last year, I’ve been teaching groups my get it done programs and I’ve noticed a difference between the sippers and the slurpers.  The challenge for me has been how to accommodate both.

How do I go fast enough for the slurpers who want to soak it all in and slow enough for the sippers who want to understand each piece before they move on to the next?

After lots of conversations and brainstorming, I’ve come up with an approach. So whether you’re a sipper or a slurper I’d LOVE to know what you think.

My updated Think Create Sell program is designed to provide all the “how-to” tools for the busy entrepreneurs who wants to create their own info product. In it’s 2.0 version, I believe it’s a solution for both learning styles.

Here’s how it’s going to work…

• For eight weeks participants receive the steps of my Think Create Sell system in manageable bite-sized pieces (or sips) in different formats—written/audio/video—so  they can read, watch or listen when and where they want to!
• I’m also giving participants the ability to choose WHAT information they want. For example, participants can choose whether they want the technical details to create an ebook, an audio or an ecourse. If they’re a sipper, they can just focus on the one product they’re creating now.  They can save the additional info and come back to more learning when they’re ready. If they’re a slurper they probably want to know how to do it ALL right now, whether they need it all or not.
• Finally, I’m including 3 live calls and an interactive forum so participants (regardless of their style) have access to support and accountability when they need it most.

So are you a sipper or a slurper? Please share your thoughts and let me know if you’ve got any questions about how this program is going to work.

We get started on July 6^th so visit www.ThinkCreateSell.com to learn more.

All week I’ve been sharing some different reasons I’ve experienced that keep entrepreneurs from getting done what they want to get done. Many have the belief that to get it done, you must do it yourself. As entrepreneurs working on our own, we’ve got enough isolation. It’s important to break from this belief, because it can really hold you back.

Reason #4 Why you don’t get things done: “You think you have to do it all yourself”

Possibly it’s money worries that make you think you have to do all your own work. Possibly you’re worried about control and think, “No one will do it quite as well as I do it” or, “I don’t want to have to explain that, so I’ll just keep it on my plate.”

Like many of you I’ve got a lot on my plate. My three kids have various activities, my computer is always beckoning, and there’s always another load of laundry to fold. Fact is we’re pulled in many directions so a key element to getting things done is learning how to delegate effectively.

Hilary Clinton says “It take a village to raise a child.” I believe it takes a village to get it done and run a successful business. In our corporate lives we had support. There was a computer guy and a finance guy and a guy who took out the garbage.

We didn’t do it all then, why should we do it all now?

It’s very important to delegate and have support. Here’s the thing, delegating doesn’t have to necessarily be something that you pay for—you can barter for services, find an intern, or ask your kids for help. Delegating just means it’s not you doing everything. You’re in a place of choice when it comes to what you take on personally.

Delegating is a way to give yourself more time, more energy and more money. You give yourself more time to focus on the things that generate you income, like product and service creation, sales meetings, client interaction etc. Wherever you’re directly earning your income is where you should be focusing your time and energy. Everything else should be delegated. This will give you more energy because you’ll be focused on what you love doing. This will also fuel you since you won’t spend your time on things that drain your energy

If you’re running at maximum capacity right now and are frustrated that you can’t get that one great idea out there, then it’s time to seriously consider delegating. If you feel like you can’t afford to pay a virtual assistant at this point then consider finding an intern or trading services with someone. I even have my kids help me with simple office tasks! (I highly recommend checking out Nicole Dean’s Outsouring Weekly Program)

I hope this blog series will give you new ideas to get over (or around) these typical reasons why entrepreneurs don’t get it done. Here’s a recap of what I shared:

Reason #1 “You want it to be perfect.”

Reason #2 “You’ve got limiting beliefs”

Reason #3 “You don’t know HOW to do it”

Reason #4 “You think you have to do it all yourself”

Why do I teach this information? Because, we teach what we need to learn.

While I know all of these truths, I have to remind myself of them continually and catch myself. I’d love to hear your experiences (and possible a-ha moments) as you’ve read this series of blogs.

And as promised, next week I’ll share more details about my new program that will help you get the most done during your summer (while still enjoying it).

In the third of a series of blogs around why we don’t get done what we want to get done, many people get really hung up because they don’t know HOW to do what they want to do.

You may be clear on the vision for your project, but because you’ve not done it before, you think you can’t do it. You know WHAT you want… but then you get stuck because you don’t know HOW. Maybe you don’t even know where to start!

Reason #3 Why you don’t get things done: “You don’t know HOW to do it”

We have been conditioned to think that we need experience and education in order to get things done. However, many successful and famous women entrepreneurs rarely have all the experience or the perfect education when they get started.

Here’s the thing, just because you haven’t done it before, has nothing to do with the fact of whether you can or can’t do it. It just means that you need to reach out to others who have that experience. It’s okay to be the one with the questions and not the answers because there are other people around us from whom can get those answers.

I wholeheartedly believe that if you know WHAT needs to get done, you can always get help on HOW to get it done. I’ve seen it time and time again and it’s because of that that I’m such a believer in being a connector. This is where connecting and reaching out to other people can be so invaluable.

When I begin to tackle a new project, I rarely know HOW it’s going to happen and how to do it but I trust that I am resourceful and can connect with others who do have the expertise I may be lacking to get the job done. This skill has served me well as an entrepreneur. Because there’s nothing that truly prepares you or gives you all the experience you need to be an entrepreneur – you just have to go for it!

We are all six degrees of separation from connecting to someone who can help us with “the how”. The benefit of using social networks, business connections, family and friends is to just ask, and to begin following the breadcrumbs.

Stay tuned, next week I’ll be sharing the launch of a new program I created to support you if you’re looking for “how” to get your ideas out there.

In the second of a series of blogs around why we don’t get done what we want to get done, limiting beliefs may be one of your culprits. You may have the best idea, greatest marketing strategies, and effective systems in place, but you still feel stuck. You can’t gain any momentum and you can’t necessarily figure out why.

Often we’ve got old voices going on in our heads and we’re sitting with junk and baggage about ourselves that causes us to think we can’t get our stuff out there.

Reason #2 Why you don’t get things done “Limiting beliefs are holding you back”

A limiting belief is something that you believe to be true about yourself, that most likely isn’t true at all. Until you get to the bottom of this belief it can prevent you from moving forward as you’d like.

Some limiting beliefs have been internalized from childhood. You believe them to be as true as the sky is blue and the grass is green. That’s how you function in the world. It’s not until you challenge that belief and focus on a more conscious level that you can see it isn’t true at all.

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Most of the entrepreneurs I know and work with don’t have a shortage of ideas of things they want to accomplish in their business. BUT sometimes they get really stuck. They’ve got that great idea, but for various reasons they don’t act on that idea and then it stays just that, a great idea  with no implementation.

When you don’t execute your great ideas a couple of things happen…

First, you don’t help the people that could benefit from what you’ve got to offer, then you don’t get paid for all that you’re worth and finally you’re left feeling frustrated because deep down you know the difference you could make if you brought that idea to fruition.

From my experience with friends, colleagues and clients there are a few reasons—or maybe even excuses—why we don’t get done what we want to get done. This week I’ll be sharing some of these issues to provide you with some food for thought and ideas for taking action.

Reason #1 Why you don’t get things done: “You want it to be perfect.”

I’ll start with the one that plagues me the most—the quest for perfection.  Many entrepreneurs, particularly women, are so focused on being perfect that they think if they can’t do it perfectly, they just won’t do it at all.

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I’ve been sharing a video series of the 5 steps I use (and teach) to get any project done. The previous four steps involve:

Step 1- Defining Your Project’s Vision

Step 2 – Breaking the Whole Down into Manageable Chunks

Step 3 – Resourcefulness and the Power of Delegation

Step 4 – Creating Systems to Support Your Team and Project

Now it’s pretty clear that none of these steps will work if you don’t do them. Watch this video where I discuss step 5, which is about monitoring your progress and creating some accountability.

It’s true… sometimes we’re our own biggest obstacle. We get in our way – especially if we don’t have a boss – we’re not accountable so we procrastinate. One key reason my Get It Done System really works is that it gives solo-entrepreneurs the accountability and support to GET IT DONE – big time.

To see all the past videos, visit this page.

Whether you’re doing most of the work yourself or working with a team – you need a system.

Watch this video (the fourth in a series where I highlight each of my 5 steps to get ANY project done) and I’ll explain why having a system allows you to focus your energy on the things that fuel your business and your soul.

Personally I love all the “nitty-gritty” details BUT I also know that for a lot of visionary entrepreneurs this is where they get bogged down. The thing is if you get systems in place, it saves you tons of time and money down the road.

In the Ready Set Resultz I hand over templates and lists so you’re crystal clear about responsibilities and timelines of your project.

What systems do you already have in place for your business that are working well for you?

Sometimes we hesitate to move forward with our business because we’re afraid that we just don’t have enough experience or skills to implement our ideas. While experience is important, resourcefulness has a much BIGGER impact on your long-term success.

Watch this video (the third in a series where I highlight each of my 5 steps to get ANY project done) and I’ll explain why knowing WHAT needs to be done, is more important than HOW to get it done.

To “get it done” you really need to learn how to reach out to people with the right resources. In the my 5-step program Ready Set Resultz, I teach a simple formula so you can figure out which pieces of the project your should delegate and which you can handle yourself. (As an added bonus I provide access to my private rolodex so you can find your own “dream team” of VAs, copywriters, webmasters, graphic designers and more.)

Which resources do you believe would help you to complete your project?