From the Desk of Janet Barclay

After I wrote about Using the 80-20 Rule to Attract Your Ideal Client last week, Jacki raised an excellent question: "If you don’t have any clients to begin with, how are you supposed to find your top 20%?"

In the early days of running my business, the question "who is your ideal client?" always threw me for a loop. In my mind I was thinking "anyone who is willing to pay me" and I’m sure that is pretty typical for people who are just starting out.

Some time later, I completed an exercise as part of the Turbocharge Your Business program. To identify our ideal customers, we wrote down the characteristics we wanted them to have, e.g. "financially able to invest in his or her business." Because we often have a clearer idea of what we don’t want, we also wrote down the characteristics we did not want them to have, e.g. "doesn’t follow through with plans." The negative characteristics were then turned into positive ones, so "doesn’t keep appointments" on the "don’t want" side of the page became "keeps appointments" on the "do want" side, and then they were crossed out, to allow us to focus on what we wanted and enable us to attract that into our lives.

Within a month of completing the program, I was contacted by someone who not only had all of the attributes I identified during the above exercise, but whose ongoing requirements brought my income to the level I was aiming for, and who remains a valued client to this day. Maybe that client would have come along even if I hadn’t done the exercise, but this experience confirmed to me that the Law of Attraction really does work.

So, if you’re having trouble figuring out "who is your ideal client?" try the above exercise. If you need some ideas to get you started, you may find it helpful to read Erica Nelson’s article, 7 Powerful Tools to Attract Perfect Clients and Yvonne Weld’s series of blog articles on Creating a Picture of Your Ideal Client.

I can’t even remember when I first heard of the Pareto Principle – you know, the one that says that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. For example, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, and we spend 80% of our time with 20% of our acquaintances. In business, it’s said that 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.

I recently attended a networking breakfast where I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Tony Alessandra share some strategies for keeping clients and attracting new ones. He suggested that you create a profile of the top 20% of your clients, and seek more clients who fit that profile. It seems obvious, but how many of us actually do that?

He went on to recommend that you develop a plan to make it happen. The first step of the plan he outlined is to identify which clients are actively recommending you to others. Next, figure out what it is you do differently for those clients, and then start doing that for your other clients. That could be a bit more challenging to figure out, but I can definitely see the value in it.

Overall, I was very impressed with Dr. Alessandra’s presentation and I hope to have an opportunity to hear him again. Did you notice I said "hear" and not "see"? That’s because he wasn’t actually in the room when I heard him. This particular event takes place every month, with the presentation delivered by speaker phone. It’s really quite unique, because there isn’t an actual group to join, so you get to meet different people all the time. If you want to find out if there’s one happening in your area, simply Google "Breakfast with Fran" along with the name of your city or town.

I received these wonderful words of wisdom by email, and when I went online to try and learn the origin, all I found were other blogs where the writer had similarly received them by email. So I’ll do the same, but I like to give credit where credit is do, so if you know where this originally came from, please let me know!

 1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

 3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

 4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’

 5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

 6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

 7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

 8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

 9. Dream more while you are awake.

 10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

 11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

 12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

 13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

 14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

 15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

 16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

 17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

 18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

 19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

 20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

 21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

 22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

 23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

 24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

 25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

 26. Forgive everyone for everything.

 27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

 28. Remember God heals  everything.

 29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

 30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

 31. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

 32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

 33. The best is yet to come.

 34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

 35. Do the right thing!

 36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)

 37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

 38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

 39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

 40. Please forward this to everyone you care about.  (or share it on your blog - I just did!)

 May your troubles be less,

May your blessings be more,

May nothing but happiness come through your door!

 How many of things do you do - honestly? Why not put this list somewhere where you can read it often and remind yourself that despite what life throws at you, there is always something you can do to make things better.

Every once in a while, I hear about something someone is doing that I just have to share.

Last year I wrote about a program I took called "Turbocharge Your Business" which taught how to use the Law of Attraction to grow your business. I can honestly say that since then, I have never looked back. Now Law of Attraction Coach Don Giberson of DreamCrafters Inc. is offering his Dream Library, which includes all of the audio files and accompanying documents for Turbocharge Your Business and 12 other programs, at a special introductory price of only $77.00 - less than the cost of one individual program!

That is pretty exciting in itself, but what makes this offer even more special is that the first $100,000 raised through the Dream Library will go directly to Colton, a 9-year old boy with a rare, degenerative disorder that usually claims the lives of its victims by the age of 12. Colton is going to India for a life-saving operation, but his  family needs to raise $400,000 for the trip, the operation, and the years of rehabilitation he will need when he returns home.

Taking three simple steps can help create a miracle for Colton, and they will only take a few minutes. The three steps are: 

Step 1 - Click here to learn more about Colton and the various ways you can help create a miracle for Colton. Some cost nothing.

Step 2 - Order a one-year membership to the Dream Library. It truly is an amazing offer. And the first $100,000 raised goes directly to Colton.

Step 3 - Please help spread the word about this special young boy. It will take a lot of people to create a miracle for Colton.

I’ve always considered myself fairly independent, but I realize that there have been times that my desire to figure things out for myself has meant it took me longer than if I had simply asked someone.

One of the components of the Turbocharge Your Business Mastery Group I belong to is a system where we are randomly assigned to another group member to be our buddy during the program. Since the group generally meets every two weeks, my buddy and I have decided to connect by telephone on the in-between week, to discuss whatever seems important to us at the time.

A few weeks ago our call was scheduled for early afternoon. My buddy asked me what I had planned for after the call and I told her that I hadn’t yet decided, and that I felt it was too late in the day to try and plan anything specific. She (quite rightfully) pointed out that I had a good three hours left, which was certainly enough time to accomplish something. I then decided that I would work on a particular project and report back to her the next day. She also told me her plans, and agreed to report back to me. The buddy system was very helpful to me that day, because not only did it help me to realize that it wasn’t too late in the day for me to accomplish something of value, but it made me accountable to someone to ensure that I did.

In our call yesterday, we decided to take turns stating what we wanted to see happen in our lives, either professional or personal. This helped us to clarify in our own minds what we wanted, but by expressing it, we also sent it out to the universe, allowing us to attract those things into our lives.

Remember, just because you work from home doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Find someone to buddy up with - to brainstorm, to vent, whatever you need. They don’t have to be in your field or your industry - they just have to be there.