This past week I’ve been doing a bit of soul-searching. You see, something just didn’t feel right about the business I was building. So I took a step back and looked at what was wrong.

There was really nothing wrong with what I was doing, per se. But I admit it. While learning the ropes on how to build an online business I started following advice from many different experts.

Then something happened. I started worrying about obligations and created a list of “shoulds”. Wait. Didn’t I write a blog post about this very subject? Yep. I did. No wonder I wasn’t feeling passion for my business lately. (Just an inside note: My articles are a journal of reminders for me as well as my readers.)

Anyway, the last thing I ever wanted was a business with a list of shoulds. In fact, the only real obligation I want is to my readers, clients, and trusted business friends.

I’m a freedom-loving person with an aversion to routines and made-up obligations. It’s time for me to create something uniquely for me and that is fun. And most important of all, creating a business based on my mission in life. I’m being called to be an activist more than a coach.

So guess what?

I have spent the last couple of years learning who the real me is so it’s time to embrace it and stop playing follow the leader. Expect a slight shift in what I do and what I write about in the next couple of weeks.

How about you? Are you playing follow the leader? How is it effecting your business, your life, your self-esteem?

Tell me about it below!

I love helping people find their life’s work and get them moving on their path fast! Be sure to enroll in your free E-course “Five Ways to Leverage the Power of You” to the right of this post. —->

A while back I read something that changed how I made decisions. It’s called talking to my future self. It’s influenced from a metaphysical article I read about how we all have a past, present and future self. I wish I could remember where I read it so I can them give credit.

So, what is your future self, you ask? It’s the person you will become weeks, months, or years into the future.

• The smaller the decision the younger your future self.
• The larger decisions are made by your older future self.

Let’s say you are confronted with one of the following situations:

*You leave a dish on the counter with food on it inside of rinsing it and putting it in the dishwasher. The consequence is dried on food that will need to be soaked off and even worse, flies or ants are attracted to it.

What would your future self think?

It might think you’re being lazy and not spending five minutes to scrap and rinse the dish would not be worth the pain and aggravation of spending an extra hour cleaning after ants and soaking the dish.

*How about when you can’t decide if you should buy that expensive electronic equipment you’ve been wanting.

What would your future self think? 

Maybe that the money would have been better spent on a vacation or not spent at all.

*How about an example relating to your business. Let’s say you are presented with a great discount on a training program that would give you a certification and be seen as an expert in your field. Should you do it?

What would your future self think?

This is a great exercise, especially for those who have trouble making decisions. You wouldn’t believe how motivating your future self is because he or she has your best interest at heart and sees the aggravations you’ll face in the future.

Try it and let me know what your present self thinks!

I love helping people find their life’s work and get them moving on their path fast! Be sure to enroll in your free E-course “Five Ways to Leverage the Power of You” to the right of this post. —->

Healers. When you think of the word, do you think of doctors, nurses, holistic practitioners, and the like? That is the common view of healers but there are other types besides physical healing.

Last year, when I learned my life purpose was as a healer I was really puzzled on what to do with the information. In fact, my hand analyst, Peggie Arvidson, told me I was a Successful, Wise Healer. At the time my mindset was to see healers healing the physical and maybe the emotional parts of people.

This sent me in search of other ways to heal. Here’s what I came up with in regards to types of healers:

1. Physical Healers
2. Mental Healers
3. Spiritual Healers
4. Emotional Healers

Physical healers are self-explanatory. They may work with people or animals. Mental healers focus on healing thought patterns people may have. Spiritual healers focus on helping people figure out the hidden meanings of life. Emotional healers may help people with emotional wounds from the past such as abuse. I discovered I was a spiritual healer. I’m here to heal the blocks that prevent people from living their life’s purpose and help them see what is most important in life.

Many people are healers and aren’t even aware of it because of the misconception about what it is to heal. Here’s a few ways to know if you lead with the gift as healer:

1. You feel a real need to not only help someone but also to offer him/her a solution.
2. You attract people who are wounded either emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually.
3. You feel an inner wisdom that can’t be explained.
4. You are a great listener and offer advice if asked. (Or not.  )
5. You are known to be very compassionate or empathetic with people or animals.

So, what do you think? Could you be a healer and not even know it? If you are running a business, do you see how you may be a healer in one way or another in regards to your clients or employees? I would love to read your comment below telling me about it.

If this natural born gift doesn’t resonate with you check out the following blog posts:

• Born to Spread Joy
• Born to Teach
• Born to Lead
• Born to Inspire
• Born to Empower
• Born to Motivate

Sherrie Koretke, The Niche Clarity Coach

This is the second part of the post that continues from Why Your Brand is Confused

So you want to be a superstar in your field. Or maybe you just want a business that consistently brings in money each month.  Knowing who you are and where you are going is vital. In my last post I promised a list of what you need to know about yourself before you start building a brand. Let’s start from the very beginning, a step frequently missed or overlooked because it requires  . . . internal work.

Here’s some things you need to know about yourself to develop a personal brand, or what I like to call Your Signature Niche.

1. Are you introverted or extroverted?
2. Are you bold and decisive or contemplative?
3. Do you want to build a big business or lifestyle business?
4. Are you a big picture type of person or do you love the details?
5. Do you know if you are meant to teach, heal, motivate or build something?
6. What is your life path and what are you meant to do in this lifetime?
7. Why do you want to be in business?
8. What do you value in business and life in general?
9. Who would you most like to help?
10. What past pains contribute to your career path and which are distracting you from your career path?
11. How big of a playing field do you want? Local, state, country, the world?
12. Where do you work best? In an office? On stage? Outdoors?

OK I’ll stop for now. When I started writing this list I think I could go on and on. I hope you get the general direction I am going in. Here’s an idea. Do you journal? Set aside some time and journal about you. Not your problems and wishes but what you want in life. Get a clear picture of who you are and write it down. Pay attention to your personal style and relate that to the business you want to grow.

All this month I will be posting about the different aspects of your signature niche so keep coming back! If you don’t want to miss anything subscribe to this blog by filling out the form to the right.

Sherrie Koretke, The Niche Clarity Coach

Have you been secretly drooling over the marketing materials of your peers? Come on, I know you have. I definitely do. Just this morning I was on a great website and was amazed at how everything was branded consistently and beautifully. Of course that’s what they do for a living so it should be no surprise. But then we’ve all run across experts who don’t have that level of consistency. Why?

Here’s the thing about the branding and marketing of you. The only way it can be consistent is if you know yourself first. Of course, you can hire a marketing company to design marketing materials and build an awesome website. But then what? Are you sure the materials match YOU?

The way to create your niche and then a brand around it is to know who you are and what you are passionate about. A brand isn’t about marketing materials, social media and websites. It’s about bringing the true you out and embracing it. Seriously, stop worrying about your image and get who you are straight in you head.  And please don’t stress about it the whole process. It won’t be perfect all at once, if ever. The best thing to do is to be conscious of what your unique niche is and develop it along the way. Brands are not created overnight.

To be frank, I’m not an expert on branding. That’s not the point of this article. I’m working on my brand myself. I consider myself a CWP, short for Certified Work in Progress. My point is when you are ready you can hire an expert to help you with your marketing and brand. My job today is to help you get the information ready so you give them the right information to brand.

In my next post I’ll list some things to consider as you create your own signature niche.

Sherrie Koretke, The Niche Clarity Coach

It is surprising how difficult it can be to define your business niche. I struggled with this myself because the hardest person for you to understand, it seems, is you.

It should be so simple, right? You create a business based on your skills, talents, and experiences and you are in business. But, then you start to market your business and you realize it’s a lot harder to get attention than you thought. Marketing experts say we need to have our own niche, one we can dominate, in order to succeed. So why do we get stuck finding our own niche?

Here are five reasons why it may be causing such a hard time:

1. You are constantly attracted to what makes other’s successful in their field and try to duplicate what they do.
   
2. You haven’t fully accepted what makes you special.
   
3. You’re focusing mostly on what you do and not what clients may need.
   
4. You’re afraid to lose out on potential sales because you don’t want to narrow your business down to a particular niche.
5. You don’t know your true life purpose and how you are meant to serve. Example: Are you meant to be a teacher, healer, advisor, motivator, or support person?

In order to dominate in your field you need a clear focus on who you are and what you do best. Once you gain clarity you can create a solid plan based on your target market which will help accelerate business growth.

How about you? Do you have a solid business and marketing niche? If not, what’s stopping you from declaring one?

Sherrie Koretke, Niche Clarity Coach. Certified Professional Career Coach, Law of Attraction Specialist, Small Business Coach and Consultant. Visit her at sherriekoretke.com

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