Want more self confidence?
May 8th, 2009

I estimate I’m probably spent close to $50,000 over the years on business coaches, high end coaching programmes, information and self development. These days, I still do courses, but it takes alot to impress me!

That’s why I have broken with tradition on my madame marketing site. Usually any special interviews I do, they get loaded onto my site, and my members get to download, enjoy and learn from them.

But like I said, I broke the tradition.

For the first time ever, I am sharing an interview I did with Noah St. John last week. Noah is from the Success Clinic in the United States and has written a book about how to get “rid of the head trash” that hold you back. We all have “head trash” and I want to help people overcome it. That is why when I heard Noah St.Johns strategies, I just had to share them.

Even Tiger Wood has “head trash”. Head trash is those negative thoughts that make us doubt ourselves and hold us back from being the best person we can be. Kind of like taking your foot off the brake in life.

The thing is, most “motivation” speakers will tell you stuff that can make you put your foot nice and hard on the accellerator. But if you still have one foot on the brake? Well it just doesn’t work.

I completed Noah’s course last year,

and I can truly say it was a breakthrough. That is why I have organised for ALL my list to enjoy the interview will Noah where he will give some great strategies on finding out what is holding you back and having more confidence in yourself.

enjoy with my compliments. Please leave your feedback on this blog afterwards, I’d love to hear what your thought?

click here to download the 40minute interview for free

Filed under: Motivating Thoughts, Secret Womens Biz — Tags: , — Sharon Tieman @ 1:31 pm
I’m no dumb blonde…but
April 15th, 2009
Virginia Graham. (co-author)

Virginia Graham. (co-author)

Now, I’m no dumb blonde, but I have to say reading the finance pages makes me glaze over and switch off a bit.

It wasn’t until the release of the Financial Literacy Foundation’s Women Understanding Money report that people realised how widespread this ‘switch off’ factor was and the damaging impact this could have on women’s
financial futures and independence.

The report revealed 52% of Australian women find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming and 25% of women have absolutely no savings for retirement.

And this is happening at a time when women are increasing their independence. For the first time since the end of World War I, there are more single women in Australia than married women.

Women have all the talents and capabilities to be good at investing. They are natural networkers, good listeners and have strong intuition. And women will read widely on topics they find interesting.

The problem has been that most women just didn’t find finance interesting.

I truly believe all women should read this book. Infact, I am going to buy a few copies for my close friends, because I feel this book will have such an impact on all of us, I want them along for the ride!

In “Flirting With Finance” Virginia Graham & Anneli Knight go through all the absolute “must knows” for women and finance and they deliver the information is such an easy to read, and fun way, it’s hard to put the book down.

Imagine a book on finance….hard to put down?

I recently met Virginia (pictured) at a women’s networking luncheon (you can’t half tell she use to be a model eh?) and I have secured a few copies off the first print run released just this week. Virginia was an absolute delight to meet, and in 30 minutes explained things to me, I just never understood.

This book is only a few copies of being a best seller, just in pre-orders alone. click out here to learn more.

Filed under: Motivating Thoughts, Secret Womens Biz — Tags: , , , — Sharon Tieman @ 3:14 pm
Definition of Insanity!
April 2nd, 2009
title="dog-friends"

insanity

They say the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing and expecting a different result”
Well one of the breakthroughs in business SANITY for me was realising:-

REVENUE is Vanity.

PROFIT is Sanity.

I’m embarrassed to say it took a while to get it. You see it’s far more exciting to focus on the revenue of your business. It’s BRAGABLE!

You can see the headlines now…..

A six figure income!
A seven figure income!
Doubled the turnover in 1 year.
Made $40,000 revenue in 6 weeks.

Sound’s impressive….doesn’t it. But where was the profit? It’s great having all of the above, and I’ve had businesses that have done ALL of the above, but what was the profit? How much money was actually made?

Without profit, it’s just Vanity. It’’s something to brag about. Hey, they’ll even put you on stage for that type of bragging, But please……don’t get hooked.

When you run your business on vanity,
it’s easy to get dazzled by “bright shiny objects”
and “magic solutions, that over promise & under deliver.

Realising that Profit is just as important as Revenue was a turning point for me.

And I’ll tell you it’s a whole heap more fun running a profitable growing business….believe me.

Focusing on Profit in all business transactions can mean:-

Focus on increasing profitable sales. Which ones are they?
Focus on increasing your number of targeted profitable new customers
Focus on increasing your gross margin of the goods or service you provide.
Focus on targeting marketing that gives you a return on your investment.
Focus on increasing your average sale price.
Focus on quote conversion on your profitable quotes.

All of these things can affect the profit of your business. If one of them doesn’t seem to be working for you, or if business is slow, look at what indicator you CAN INFLUENCE to improve your PROFIT now.

By doing something, however small ,every month to influence your profit, will give you a stronger foundation for your business . Growing a business to big revenue is alot more fun when it’s profitable.

Now that’s something BRAGABLE!

Filed under: Marketing Tips, Motivating Thoughts, Quick Business Tips — Sharon Tieman @ 3:08 pm
What hand are you holding?
March 30th, 2009

I often find the answer to life’s riddles and challenges can be found in…

Music
Movies
Books

These things can take on a whole new meaning when life is challenging you.

You see I got an iphone late last year (yes, I loooooveee it), and started to load up some of the classic’s I’ve always liked…..of course, “The Gambler”, by Kenny Roger’s was one of them.

I haven’t listened to that song for a long time, and at the moment it seemed to have particular meaning. Let me quote Kenny….

“The secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away, and knowing what to keep…

Because….

every hands a winner and every hands a loser”

I can really see the similarities between Poker and Business, can’t you?

In Poker, the thing that can get you through is your knowledge on how to play the game.

There is a different strategy for different circumstances.

Just like in business.

Your know they say the definition of stupidity, is doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

What would happen if you did that in poker?

There is one preditable thing about business….it will change. What changes have you made to deal with the hand you have?

You can still WIN with a dud hand. You can still LOSE with a good one.

You see we all have the same 3 main resources to get us through:-

1. Time

2. Money

3. Knowledge.

What resource do you need help with? Is it more TIME? Is it more MONEY? is it the KNOWLEDGE to make better choices?

If you can focus on:

Time:- focus on income producing activities at strategic times of your day.

Money:- Trim the fat, always be testing, measuring & watching what is coming & going.

Knowledge:- Often the answers are already within you. Take time to reflect, or ask your support network. Or (shamless plug coming - subscribe to Madame Marketing, to increase your knowledge on business and “how to play the game”)

So I’ll leave you with one final thought. What hand are you holding right now? How are you going to play it?

Filed under: Marketing Tips, Quick Business Tips — Sharon Tieman @ 3:04 pm
What a way to “start your day”
February 5th, 2009

What get’s you in a good mood?

Is it people? or is it music? For me it’s a combination of both…

check this out…..you could only be in a good mood, if this happened around you.

Filed under: Inspirational Videos — Sharon Tieman @ 8:14 am
This is how you get up!
February 2nd, 2009

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

I was watching this video and the presenter talks about finishing strong, and the characteristics you need to do that.

But what struck me is watching him get back up again.

Watch…. it is a process that involves…..GENTLE, SLOW, STRENGTH, PERSEVERANCE, DETERMINATION,FOCUS.

Nick Vujicic

That’s how you get up again……

Filed under: Inspirational Videos — Sharon Tieman @ 8:14 am
Stretching the Home Budget…
January 26th, 2009

You know, I believe a turning point in business for me was setting budgets. Budgets and targets for Sales, but also budget and targets for spending in the business.

Don’t get me wrong, it took a while to set up, but it’s the old….

WHAT GET’S MEASURED - IS WHAT GET’S DONE.

But what about at home?

I have a confession.

I use to pretty much let home take care of itself. Being in business, you are your own boss, so it was easy to dip into things when you needed. No need to keep to a budget, so why bother?

The thing is….it’s a reckless way to live. Because you will always be stretching the home budget. There will always be bigger, better, brighter things to buy, and if you are not keeping a budget…it becomes a false economy. A bottomless pit that constantly needs to be topped up.

Are you making more than you earn…..or spending more than you earn?

WOULD YOU KNOW?

I came across this software and website last year. I have personally used his software in January last year, and subscribed to his free tips each week.

Wow, what a difference 12 months has made.

Apart from making me realise where I was WASTING MONEY, it made me value what I have. Not only that, I got some really good tips on where to save money with the home budget, and my favourite….some great negotiating tips. A kindred spirit there, but David focuses more around negotiating with the home budget and home purchases.

It’s not that times are tough…it’s just a smart way to run your life. I love the phrase I heard from one of my mentors. He said…

If you keep buying stuff…..you’ll end up with STUFF ALL!

If successful businesses are run with good budgets and measures in place…..surely that works for home too!

I used one of David’s negotiating strategies to negotiate a creditcard interest rate from 18.99% to a honeymoon period of 8.99%.

The most interesting things I found were….

1. budgeting for gifts!
2. What we spent on takeway, videos, family entertainment?
3. How much sport for children costs! Do they have to do everything?

If you want to know more about David Wright from Simple Budgets to help you with your home budgets you might want to visit his site and get his weekly tips. www.simplybudgets.com.au

Filed under: Motivating Thoughts — Sharon Tieman @ 11:00 am
Negotiating for Retail
January 22nd, 2009

I keep hearing on the news that a great strategy to get the most out of your money in tough times is to NEGOTIATE WITH RETAILERS!

The issue is that most people don’t know how to Negotiate. They think it’s about being a bully and “screwing” people down on the price, so the retailer makes no money, and then the customer can brag about the deal afterwards! This is SO NOT Negotiating.

Negotiating should be WIN-WIN. As a buyer, you should get the best DEAL possible! As a retailer you should sell your goods at a PROFIT, to a customer you will want a long term relationship with.

So as a buyer, how do you get the best deal without offending?

You know I don’t know many skills that you can learn quickly and can earn you thousands of dollars in minutes! Simply by asking the right question the right way, and negotiating a better deal will do that for you.

As a retailer, how do you negotiate without loosing money and keep customers?

Negotiating is just another part of the GAME of business. No need to be offended and no need to lose money. Learn the skill, make a profitable sale, and keep a happy customer!

As a buyer, you have to follow my 3 key strategies:-

1. Just ask the question! (develop a phrase that is really easy for you to say and be comfortable with)

2. Be Nice! As Nanna use to say “You Get More Bees with Honey” and it’s TRUE.

3. Give a good Reason. When you are asking for a better deal, or a better price, if you give a good reason why you should get the better deal, then you are 3 times more likely to get it!

HINT, do your research before asking the questions!

As a retailer, my 3 best strategies are:

1. Know your margins. Know how far you can go, and be prepared to walk away from a deal.

2. Have a bag of “negotiating tools”…. things to offer instead of a cheaper price. Loyalty programmes, discount coupons for 2nd time around, free product (often slow moving or free from your supplier) even free delivery.

3. Don’t be offended if they ask! It’s often a game to some people, so learn the game and play to win!

If you think you could benefit from the strategies in your business, you may want to learn more in my home study audio programme. Just 3 CD’s with actual case studies, and examples to use. click here to learn more, or go to my product page.

Filed under: Quick Business Tips — Tags: , , , — Sharon Tieman @ 10:54 am
Just believe in yourself….
December 1st, 2008

Whenever you hear successful people get interviewed, there is always that one question….”So what do you think the secret of your success is?”
9 times out of 10 the say….”You just have to believe in yourself!” Believe you can do it, believe that is no option other than success, believe, believe, believe.

BUT WHAT IF YOU DON’T?

Pardon?

What if you don’t? What if you don’t believe you are great? What if you don’t believe you are capable of making it? What if when you tell yourself YOU CAN DO IT! a little voice inside SCREAMS, NO you can’t! and starts pointing out all the ways your life is a mess, just to prove it’s point!

You know my mentor Noah St. Johns has this theory. He believes that only about 3% of the population “Believe in themselves”. It’s almost an unconscious action for them. The rest of us have to find another strategy….and thank goodness there are other strategies.

Here are some of my favourite strategies that I like to use…

Surround yourself with people that can see the good & beauty in you that you sometimes can’t see.

Surround yourself with people that expect more of you than you do of yourself - and will push you.

Support yourself with an environment that you thrive (declutter & reduce the noise)

Keep learning.

Think daily of what you are grateful for.

Create systems around success. Daily RICHuals.

Swim downstream. Find the easier, faster, better way to do it. (It may not involve YOU doing it).

Now if you need help with the person pushing you or learning… then that is what www.madamemarketing.com is for!

But for now, let’s start with being gratful, it costs nothing and is the richest feeling of all.
until then,

I wish you abundance and good fortune.

Sharon
If you want to learn more about Noah and his programme - click here.

Filed under: Motivating Thoughts — Tags: , — Sharon Tieman @ 1:49 pm
The Perfect Women Role Model
November 24th, 2008

me,ali brown & belinda jackson

me,ali brown & belinda jackson


Wow- what an amazing adventure it has been. If you did not know, I have been attending the last ever Marketing Blue Print Workshop- run by my mentor, Ali Brown - in L.A.

Last Ever….they always say that to fill the room right?, but I truly believe this will be the last ever event run by Ali for the 500 mainly women attending. Why?

You, see Ali Brown has some big dreams and she is taking action like I’ve never seen any other women before. She has hired a “Billionaire” women mentor that lives on the other side of the world to push her forward. She is putting all her fears aside, the economy aside and stepping into her greatness as a leader for women in business.

I asked her about finding women role models, and having the courage to do what she is doing…….did she ever get nervous or scared?……Ali stood there quietly and started to teared up.

If you didn’t know, Ali Brown now runs a multi-million dollar on-line marketing business that she runs from home, and created in under 5 years. When she started, there were no role models doing what she does. Only men. Many telling her it could not be done by a women. Women don’t like buying off women, women have no money to spend on business stuff, etc etc etc.

There was only one way to do it - like a man….you had to have B.A.L.L.S. to survive in the cut throat world of marketing on-line.

You know what she said to me….”be your own role model… step into your greatness and allow yourself to be the best person you can be.” Why?

WHY NOT?

It meant the world to me, because I have been told the same thing.

The other comment I often get is…… “women don’t support other women”….my answer is - “Well the women I hang around do!”

Today, one of the women came back with an interesting thought. We do have Balls, us women in business. It goes like this……

Balance.
Attitude.
Lifestyle
Leverage
Sensuality.

SO HOW DO YOU FIND THE PERFECT ROLE MODEL?

If you want some clarity and focus about where to go next, you might enjoy this exercise in finding yourself a mentor.

Write down all the traits you would like in your perfect mentor. I did, and here’s what it looks like:-

She is a smart and Saavy Successful Business Women.

She has empathy for others and especially for me!

She is Sassy & Fun Loving.

She loves her family and her children.

She is nurturing & loving

She is playful & fun to be around

She holds me accountable.

She is authentic.

She can see the best “me” I can be!

She respects others and respects herself.

Now,while I’m waiting for her to show up, my job is to BE THAT PERSON! How about you? What is your perfect mentor like?

Filed under: Secret Womens Biz — Sharon Tieman @ 10:33 am
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