Guest Post:3 Things to Remember As You Build A Successful Business

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Zinga H

Hey all!

It’s been a journey since I’ve written my last article! Getting an MBA has been the major focus of my writing free-time. Articles coming back and a special summer series for my small business owners sisters is already in the works. For now, I am sharing a special guest post from one of my readers: Chelsea Lamb, author at, https://www.businesspop.net/

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

Are you considering starting a new business or branching out with your current venture? Ready to take that next step into small-business ownership or looking to hire more people for the business you have already forged and made successful? As we come out of the pandemic and consumers are looking to spend some of the savings they accumulated over the last year, you may be considering (or reconsidering) a foray into entrepreneurship.

Let’s take a look at a few things you should remember as you build a successful company following the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. The numbers are on your side

Now could be the best time to start a business thanks to the assistance and incentives being provided by the U.S. government to small-business owners across the country. For instance, there are programs that will help companies maintain their payroll so that they can continue to pay their people throughout the crisis. Around six weeks into the pandemic, U.S. economists were shocked to see a boom in the numbers of new business applications.

In fact, the third quarter of 2020 is the quarter with the highest recorded number of applications since 2004. New businesses are springing up from the old ones that had closed during the pandemic — more now than ever before. So it may just be that now is the time to start a new venture.

2. Consult the experts

Talk to people who know how to build a successful business. That includes social media and marketing experts, networking specialists, and business success coaches. Keeping a metaphoric rolodex of people who you can consult when you have questions or concerns about the business is a huge way to set yourself up for success in the long term. It’s hard to do this alone — and if you’re a solopreneur and doing everything on your own, it is still essential to have a group of folks you can turn to in times of need.

For instance, business coaching provides you with guidance for every step of the way as you’re ideating, planning, strategizing, launching, and building your business. There are a lot of moving parts in entrepreneurship — and if you’re doing it all yourself, it can be overwhelming. A business coach can provide a critical objective perspective on the work you’re doing and the clientele you’re attracting, not to mention they can help you identify weaknesses in your current strategy and help you strengthen these areas for long-term goal achievement.

3. Don’t forget the importance of organization

Running — and maintaining — a successful business is all about keeping a tight ship. Part of that is making sure your organization is on point. Being able to deliver statistics on your customer lifecycle, developing a marketing persona, and paying your people on time are all artifacts of an effective organization system.

For instance, you may find yourself having trouble maintaining accurate and effective payroll records. Investing in a system that can help you keep things straight and that offers direct depositing payroll for employees can improve your ability to pay them on time and accurately. The right payroll platform allows employers to enter hours and send timely payments directly to employees’ bank accounts without worrying about paper checks.

Take the leap

Is it time for you to finally realize your dreams and start your business? As we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic and move toward the “new normal” in terms of the impact the pandemic has left, we can safely say that the new-business boom is here to stay, especially if you’re in it for the long haul. Now’s the time!

For more information about consulting services offered by business coach Zinga Hart, contact her today!

— Thanks for the tips Chelsea!

Fueling Success Over the Long Haul

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Zinga H

man sitting facing fire in pot during night

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Pexels.com

January was a longggg month wasn’t it?

At the end of it, how did you feel? Accomplished? Like every goal will be attained in 2020?

Or, did you feel drained? Lost and stuck in a swirl of wanting to achieve something and perfectly productive-less procrastination?

Many of us have experienced both sides of this coin. Yet, the more experienced of us know that we can choose to strive for either accomplishment or ignore it. If you want success over the long term, you should definitely aim to choose the former over the latter.

But how?

How can you maintain the long journey to finally arrive at your place of success?

Here are some simple, yet critical ways to to do this.

Give yourself some grace

The analogy of a baby learning to walk is a prime example of the success journey. Babies start out with no concept, desire, and acknowledgement of their power to walk. Yet, overtime they begin to realize the power within them to achieve the thing their parents do with ease. There is a natural unfolding of their journey of discovery that they can and should try to walk, and then that they should master it. From there, they allow the process of trying, testing, failing, and trying again to take place. There is not fail once and give up until the next year. It is a natural part of doing something you had no idea how to do before. Ever fail, comes with knowledge of what to do or not do next.

Like a baby learning to walk, your big goals for your self must unfold. You will try, test, fail, and try again, but each time you take action toward your goal you will be one step closet to mastery. For this tip, hold the mantra “Failure is but a step on my journey to success.” If you are failing more often, it means you are taking more actions to reach the pinnacle point that is on your path.

Have a “Trigger”

Ever have a goal that you’re consistent with and then BAM! Something happens and you completely fall into the cycle of procrastination again? A possible solution for this is to have a trigger. Pre-plan an action, a date, and word that gets you back on track with your main goal. Example, your goal is to write more for your blog (writing to myself lol), then craft a trigger that gets you to focus on it. Like on the first Monday of the month, I will write a draft no matter what! Or on pay day, I will check my next blog idea for writing, or before I enter the gym I will write a blog draft in the car. Diving into specific triggers that work for you will require deep thought and authenticity about your time, schedule, needs, and motivators. With time you will know exactly what to do/say/feel to get yourself back on track.

Take 15!

If you’ve read this blog. You know I am a fan of the 15-minute timer. If it is all you have to do is overwhelming to the point of procrastination paralysis. Set a time for 15 minutes and do what you can within that time frame. Then STOP and reward yourself for getting things done.

Draw Out The Details

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Zinga H

I recently revamped my monthly meetups with Cultivated Sisters. We switched from lesson-based format to more of mastermind format. This guaranteed we delved into everyone’s strategies towards success.

One shared theme was keeping consistent when the task list doesn’t create itself. This is a skill entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders must master to make progress in their goals. When no one but you is running the show, you must be able to give yourself action items, otherwise you might be stuck swirling in a sea of hopes and dreams, instead of swimming to success’ shore.

When we explored this idea forward I realized my knee jerk reaction to create a to-do list, but this wasn’t actually getting at the source of the problem. What we needed was the Source of the to do list. The foundation from where all those tasks blossom while you’re pursuing your own goals and dreams.

Here’s one more move to help you get closer to that list you are looking for:

Drag out the details.

A lot of my people in my circle definitely want to put projects into play and if getting it done seems like a barrier sometimes it may be due to a lack of clarity and one exercise that helps bring about clarity is being verify specific about the outcomes you hope to achieve.

Here are three exercises that can help bring about clarity.

First, figure out what’s in it for you.

Knowing what motivates you and drives you to put this project into play for no reason other than because you want to spend time on it gives you a source and a reason as reward for whatever task you’re about to take on. Sit down and truthfully drag out your personal vision of what the best day would look like for you if this project was fully in bloom.

What would your role be?
What would you be doing?
Who would be on your team?
Where would you be located?

These details matter and will be the fuel for your motivation.
Next would be to figure out who you serve.

If you are in the passion project area of starting a business or non-profit no matter what you must have a customer on the other end. Someone you serve someone has to buy or use your services in a sustainable way.

Drag out the details of the person you serve.

Why are they coming to you?
What is the problem you’re solving for them?
How did this problem come to be?
How do you solve this problem?
What is their hobbies, likes, and dislikes?
What do they think about in their free time?
Where do they go to find out new information?
How did they find you?
How did they connect with you?

Building all the ways you connect, know, and serve your ideal client or customer is a key tool for your nonprofit or business organization. It allows you to craft not only your mission, but also your message to the world and those that would want your help, product, or solution.
Finally leverage your time by dragging out the details of your project. Think about the next big move that is it going to move your project forward from where it is now to where you want it to be. What is the barrier you need to overcome today to take a step forward on whatever you’re working on? Write that down using whatever tools you can and then look at that project and list all the steps it takes to make this project outcome happen.
Dragging out the details of the project can give you a tangible view of progress. As a bonus set the smallest amount of time that you think you could truly work on your business or project and I mean be generous! For instance my least amount of time to work on a goal is 15 minutes, but you should choose what ever amount works for you. Then find the optimal space where you could squeeze that time in into your calendar. If you’re the type of person who wakes up early can you squeeze it in in the early hours. If you’re the type of person that has a lot of free time after work where could you squeeze it in there. How does this project fit into your schedule on a daily basis or weekly basis?Choose whatever counts as consistent to you. Find those little in-between spaces in your day where you can work on your business.

So that’s our One More Move for this month- Drag Out Those Details.

Stay tuned for our next meetup in Akron, OH last Monday’s of the month!

Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/cultivatedsisters

One More Move: Let Out Your Excuses

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Zinga H

2018 was a year of introspection for me.

A new career, personal commitments, and community projects made me step back and assess what I was doing. I took time away from writing and I focused on the internal and external challenges that I had to recognize and explore at the roots. I learned my main priority needed to shift towards projecting my truth into the world. Yet, I know my most truthful voice comes through my writing. Sure, for 2019, I set goals to communicate with my teams more and to make more videos, but deep down I could never escape my calling to write.

What is a part of your calling you could never escape?

Not sure what your calling is?

With time and observation you will hear your calling within you or see it in the actions that you take. Yet, some of us do hear our calling and then we find ourselves avoiding, ignoring, or neglecting it. We fill our days with excuses to do other things besides what the universe gently asks of us.

So the One More Move challenge is to: Let Out Your Excuses.

Notice I didn’t say Let Go (that’s another move), but to let them out. My mentor suggested I read The Goddess Warrior Training by HeatherAsh Amara. She discusses the importance of knowing the stories we lean on everyday to explain why we are the way we are. Knowing what those stories are is the first step to take before attempting to transform them. Listen to yourself throughout the week and observe where you stop yourself from taking action or where you make up an excuse for not moving forward on something . Hear those stories and write them down.

At the end of the week, look at those stories and ask do those stories still serve my growth?

Your stories (including your excuses) are powerful tools to influence how you act in the moment. When you begin to identify how you use your stories on regular basis, you can begin to build the awareness that allows you to leverage them to build your progress towards success.

So want to hear more about 2018? Check out Cultivated Sisters group built for real women who aim to pursue their passion in an authentic way.

Ask April: Get Comfortable With Your Ask

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Zinga H

When you embark on your passion project path you find yourself having to pick up many new skills and experiences. One constant is that you find yourself asking a lot of questions. Asking questions is the brilliance of our humanity. It gives the world in front of us pathways to possibility within a seemingly random world.

The act of questioning is a skill, and like skills can be lost without use. Good news is you can also build mastery in this skill. What you find is a well-crafted question will yield more meaningful results.

For Ask April, get comfortable with our ask. Here’s a method to do it:

Ask away: Give yourself time and space to ask without limits. Set a timer for five to ten minutes and ask your self for and about anything. Grow on your requests or ideas to make them wow you. Bring in details and paint a picture or a story around your asks. If you ask another question allow yourself to move with the questions and then build on that.This practice is a bit of an asking brainstorm that encourages you and stimulate creativity in your questions.
Focus your ask: Now that your question creativity is flowing it’s time to put your skill to good use. Consider a specific question you are facing in your life.

What is the challenge you want to overcome or bring to fruition?

For instance, you could be passionate about educational programs in your community. You want to build a local environment where everyone feels empowered to prosper. You work with a nonprofit that organizes itself around that mission. Now you find yourself having to ask many questions. Now it’s time for your annual fundraising event and you’ve been charged with getting the community you serve to care.

When making the ask to have people commit to the organization’s success you should focus your question in three ways:
1. Know the who: There may be many people involved with your question or there may only be a few. Take note of who they might be and why they might care.
2. Know the why: What is your connection to this? What makes you feel good about the efforts in place and what do you hope is the ultimate accomplishment?
3. Know how: When you are engaged in conversation with your person, know how they can take the next step. Give them the action that brings them closer to the move you hope they’ll take: making a commitment in this case.
Cut in clarity: If you’ve been taking notes throughout this process, you should have 3-5 minutes of free writing and around half a page of planning. Of course, you could and should extend your research, but the last move before taking action would be to bring clarity to your ask.
Write your question in one concise, yet encompassing question. You may not always use this question exactly, but you will bring clarity to what your communicating should the opportunity ever arise.

Bonus To grow even more comfortable with the ASK think of little stories that elaborate what you’re saying.

What do you think about the importance of asking questions? Let me know below!

One More Move: Lay Out Your Desires

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Zinga H

I’m back!

Currently, I am writing this blog, with Little Einsteins going on in the background for my daughter, and a part of me feels…weird. Well, I feel something. It’s been a while since my last blog post, and honestly, I missed writing, but I also appreciated the break. My life has changed dramatically, since the time I slowed down on writing. I started a new job and bought a house, which came with a move to a new city. While I appreciated all of these changes, I knew that I couldn’t stop what I believe my purpose to be, and that is drawing out the success of others around me, one small move at a time.

So without further notice, we begin the small moves that bring you that much closer to where you want to be. This one is a good move if you’re just starting out on your journey. It was actually the theme of the last workshop I did for my local meetup group Cultivated Sisters. This move is to lay out your deepest desires.

Really, Zinga, I know my deepest desires!

I get that, they may swell within you and you may think about them fairly regularly, but until you write down your deepest desire and write in a way that shows you are committed to achieving them, then they will always come and go as figments of your imagination. Make it concrete! Write your desires somewhere, declare it out loud, and put a date on achieving it.

Write your desires somewhere, declare it out loud, and put a date on achieving it.

This is a move that goes back to one of the OGs of self-help success, Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich. He writes, “whatever the mind can conceive, and believe, it can achieve” and that first step to believing that conception is realizing it on paper.

So for one more move this week, find a space and a place to write your deepest desires, write as if you’re writing on a magic paper that will fulfill whatever you wish. Then leave it alone for an hour or so and review it. Question what you wrote, make it more specific, add more details, bring it to life.

To help refine what you wrote here are some questions to stimulate your thoughts:

What am I missing from my life?
What is in overabundance in my life?
What do I want more of?
How is my life working?
How could I change how my life is working?
What would that change bring ideally?

Try not to underestimate this small move, it could be the difference between mediocre and magnificent.

What did you write on your “magic” paper?

Return on Investment: Get a Professional Picture

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Zinga H

Most of my “One More Moves” are free. Honestly, most of our beginning desires for success in life can be achieved for free. Mapping a business plan, building a network, sharing your ideas, staying productive and motivated….there are free ways to do all of these things, the investment comes when you are ready to grow.

Like all good things that come to grow, you need to invest:

energy,
time,
and/or money

into getting to the next phase of your mission. While you could live in the very romantic world of hopes, dreams, and ideas, you will miss out on the fulfilling experience of creating your desires into a reality.

So what’s one small investment you can make?

Adding a professional picture to your digital profiles.

I tell you! It’s an investment I made near the end of 2016 and the changes have been real and meaningful. Here are some immediate returns on my investment in a professional photo:

Improved level of connections on LinkedIn: Within days of updating my profile pic, I was invited to connect by a US Senator.
Impress colleagues: For my new role, I did an interview, having my own professional photo instead of the standard issue one given by the university, allowed me to bring my warmth and character into my first stamp.
Increase confidence: When building my website and creating flyers, I feel great sharing my face and brand because I am not doing an “in-the-car selfie”. I show that I could invest in the experience needed to do the job.
Better lighting: Improved lighting allows for you to use your photos in a variety of situations, you can cut and paste can add it to book covers, marketing posts, and plenty of other places.

A typical professional business headshot will typically be an investment of $100-$250.

Unless….

You’re a Northeast Ohio (Akron Event) woman and a member of Empower NOW, the social enterprise group that empowers women to empower women through business development, creative connections, and resource sharing! Get a professional headshot on March 25th for only $10 thanks to the generous donation of one of our members and the sponsorship of the Akron Microbusiness Center!

Have any tips on getting a professional headshot? Comment below!

Looking to the future and other writings.

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Zinga H

Last week, I wrote about small moves you can take to plan for 2017. I hope you get to read it. This week, I’m just put some free-thought in response to what I wrote.

Why?

Well, I took this week to publish on the Pulse. I do that sometimes for my small business owners and community leaders. [Find my other writings from 2016 there 🙂 ]

So here we go:

Building off of 2016

2016 was a tough year.

Firstly, America’s existential crisis, was definitely a point of concern. I do hope we can find unity again.

Personally, this year I stepped up my presentation as a leader. As an INTP, I am super comfortable hiding behind my work. Look at the good work I do and let’s move forward to do more. As an employee or an assistant that makes me ideal, but as a leader of a budding non-profit, it is completely ineffective.

A leader listens to their community and responds in-kind. While I was always strong at the listening part, this year I really boosted the response part. They asked for more presence I created a monthly newsletter; more engagement – we added meeting activities and in-between events; more communication – we revamped our meetings, developed workshops, and gave even more details reports! All of this I would have never found the energy to do, if it wasn’t for their need.

A leader listens to their community and responds in-kind.

Yet, learning the balance between being present as a leader and finding energy as an introvert, was no simple feat. I learned to say no to wasteful-time sinks, yet so no to work during my agreed-upon free time. I listened to my body and gave it rest when required, and I never over-loaded my day, making sure to be aware of my meeting availability over the course of a month.

In 2017, I hope to be more present in the world of higher education. While, I love writing to help us all find our personal success, and running local and online economic empowerment initiatives, my true passion is higher education. Shifting how we draw out the success of adults from a systemic level will truly help achieve my vision of showing the world the trillion-dollar value of education. I hope to find time to meet with people during my professional career at the university, and eventually present myself on a person that likes to build communities that form a culture around the love of self-development.

That long conversation…

When I meditated on my self and my higher purpose, I found that I finally feel as if I shifted into the groove of being passionate about what I produce. Now it’s a matter of producing consistently and intelligently.

So, I want to be even more efficient with my time in 2017 and to find ways more meaningful ways to connect with the people I care about more often.

Strive for More…

My greatest dream for 2017 is to grow Limitless Ambition’s (the non-profit) and Empower NOW’s (the network) community and to find better ways to serve their success.

On the blog, I hope to hone in and help you take meaningful moves to build your authentic success.

My fantasy is to head to an international beach for a week, something blue and sandy.

A week will do.

Honing in…

To review, serving others, is going to be a key focus for 2017. I will shift from putting the work first to putting the heart first and instilling it into my intents and actions. Should be an interesting shift for a get-it-done girl like me.

Action Steps

Call at least one friend and one family member per week.
Provide high-quality help to least two small businesses a quarter.
Give away highly valuable resources that I know others would find help on a weekly or monthly basis.
Offer one highly-useful workshop, webinar, or tool per month to help people grow the authentic [small business/nonprofit] success.
Set a budget for a beach trip and save 🙂
Have lunch with one new or familiar colleague at least twice a month.

So there’s the quick personal plan for 2017. What are some action steps you want to take during the next year? Comment below!