Last night I had a profound dream.

When I woke up I thought the dream was so important I had to share.

The Dream

There was this woman who was showing signs of physical distress. I quickly realized she was showing signs of a heart attack.

My panicked mind raced with what I should do. I decided I needed to dash off to a cardiology office. Right when I entered I started shouting, “Help, she’s having a heart attack!”

After questioning me about the patient a nurse started to scold me. I came to the wrong place! I realized my mistake and that she needed to go to the Emergency Room.

So I raced over the hospital. I entered the ER room and started shouting “Help, she’s having a heart attack!”

The ER staff just stared at me blankly. Finally someone asked “Where is the patient?”

That’s when I realized I should have called 911. By the time I ran all over town trying to get her help it was possibly too late.

My mistake in this dream was that I felt in order to help her I needed to go to the cardiologist FIRST in order to save her life. I expended a lot of energy looking for the right people to help her when all I needed to do was pick up a phone. 

Of course this dream is an analogy of what was going on in my life professionally. I was so busy envisioning all the great possibilities for my clients I was failing to pay attention to the one thing they needed help with . . .

Their First Steps

In my dream the ailing woman’s first step was getting immediate medical help to save her life and get on the road to recovery.

Are you guilty of doing this in your business? In your desire to help your clients do you skip over the needed first steps to get your clients accomplish their goals faster?

An example would be a health and fitness coach who has a client that wants to lose weight. The coach could find out why the client is overweight first before they personalize a program they think the client needs. Weight gain is a very complex formula depending on the individual and the old model of calories in and calories out is outdated. Emotional, physical, and mental aspects of the clients could be addressed first for successful weight loss.

The problem with starting with the possible end results is that the person is suffering today and needs immediate steps to take before they can “recover and move forward.”

How about you? Have you noticed a disconnect between what your clients want and what they really need? Are you their best solution?

I realized I needed to make a choice. Focus what I offer on what my clients really need and not on what they think they want or refer them to someone else who better can help them.

Possible Solutions

Here are a few options that may help solve this issue.

1. Create a group of coaches or consultants that focus on a different stage of development and create a referral system for each step.
2. Create a series of programs that a client can follow, step by step.
3. Focus on one step and be known as the expert in that step.

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

Photo Credit: Free Digital Photos

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On my Facebook newsfeed and in the many Internet marketing newsletters I receive, I see coaching programs that may be guilting people into believing they are doing something wrong if they aren’t earning tons of money.

The problem I see with these programs is not the programs themselves but that people tend to get sucked into the allure of a high income without knowing why they went into business in the first place. How about you? Have you been thinking that there is something wrong with you because you haven’t earned six or seven figures in your business yet?

Since we all have different skill sets, experience, and values it’s ill advised to follow coaching advice until you gain an intimate knowledge of exactly why you went into business. So, before you start suffering from self-esteem issues because you can’t figure out why you aren’t achieving certain money goals, realize that each of us aren’t in business for the same reasons.

I’ve identified three different types of people and the reason they would have for starting a business. It’s important to know which one you are when building a business model and base your income goals on a life you want to create. You will see that only one has an inherent value that requires a really large income stream.

The Empire Builders
These people are the ones who love business. They usually desire to build something big to leave a legacy when they are gone or to sell the business and start something new. They don’t mind working long hours and see business as a game or something to master.

The Freedom Lovers
These people create businesses because they desire a lifestyle that is flexible, mobile and fun. They want to travel, meet new people, and work when and where they want to work. Work blends in with their personal life and they consider owning a business a way to enjoy life to the maximum without the nine to five grind.

The Altruistic Visionaries
These people create businesses to make a difference. Whether it’s people, pets, the environment or health they either have a cause or have a passion to help someone or something. They may start a non-profit business, an association, or for profit business to further their cause.

Only the Business Builders have a true, innate drive to build a large business. If you don’t love the idea of working lots of hours, investing heavily into your business, and managing lots of people this style is probably not for you. The Freedom Lovers and Altruistic Visionaries would be happiest if they built a business that would cover their business and household expenses and allow them to invest for the future. Occasionally altruistic visionaries create large organizations but they usually believe that their business has to operate on a larger scale to further their cause and reach.

Knowing what you value in life is an important part of creating a business and a desired lifestyle. Before going a step further in your business look at the above styles and figure out which style best fits you. Then you can create realistic income goals that fit the way you want to work and the lifestyle you want to live. When it’s time to hire a coach you’ll know if they can get you where you want to go and you won’t waste time and money building something you don’t desire.

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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Last week I had the honor of speaking with Annemarie Cross on her podcast Ambitious Entrepreneur. Annemarie Cross is a coach specializing in both personal branding and social media strategies and money mindset breakthroughs.

The subject we talked about was the three motivations behind starting a business. These motivations are behind the “style” of business they create.

These styles are . . . 

• Empire Builders
• Freedom Lovers
• Altruistic Visionaries

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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I just ran across this interview today and thought it would be great to share. It’s an interview with Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, on ABC News about Signs You’ll Fail as an Entrepreneur. Take a listen and then tell me what you think of his five reasons.

So to recap. Robert Kiyosaki says if you don’t have the following going for you as an entrepreur you are doomed to fail:

1. Strength of Character
2. Focus
3. A Well-Defined Brand
4. Good Relationships
5. Attention to Detail Regarding Your Brand

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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Today I am sharing this great video I ran across on how to complete those pesky projects you have started. You know the half written books, the videos you started to create, the marketing plan you planned to write, etc. It’s a quick tip I thought a lot of my associates and clients would love to learn.

Funny fact, I was pruning my tomato plants this morning right before I watched this video by Scott Behance, author of Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality suggested.  (Affiliate link) 

Now it’s time for me to start pruning all those pesky, “darling” projects.

What did you think? Did it motivate you to get started on your big, career changing project? Leave me a comment and tell me what you’ll be working on! (Or will be after commenting.)  

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. —->

This post is a little different from my normal posts. I thought about writing it for a guest post but this is a viewpoint I want to own and get feedback on for my own research. So here it goes . . .

My opinion is that we need to have required business and economic education in high school. We teach our kids math, science, and language arts in high school. Important information to know, for sure. But why don’t we teach high school students about the fundamentals of business and the economy?

This is a question I have been asking myself for years because I have seen major flaws in the way the general public perceives business and the economy. (The false beliefs about big corporations and how they are run are even more rampant.)

What do I mean by this?

1. There are unrealistic views of what businesses can and cannot do.
2. There is a belief that an economy can turn on a dime just because a new president is elected.
3. There is the belief that money can come from out of nowhere to give everyone a raise. 
4. There is the belief that corporations are separate entities with their own minds.

I believe this even though most people won’t own a business or even work in one. You may ask why I think there is a need for business education. I would flippantly respond: Why did I need to learn science when I never intended to become a scientist? Think about that for a minute.

Here’s a short list of reasons why I would love it if everyone had basic knowledge about business and the economy:

• When people listen to a politician promise sweeping changes in family leave policies you would know that it could potentially bankrupt smaller corporations.
• When people hear a store makes a 50 percent markup on their products they don’t assume the business is “rolling” in profits. They would know that there are taxes, payroll, rent, and many other expenses taken out before a profit is declared.
• When a union leader tells people that they deserve a significant raise and more time off they’ll know that during a poor economy that would be economically unfeasible for a business or school district. They won’t assume it’s corporate or government greed.
• When people realize that they don’t want to be employed any more and start a MLM business they will have basic business knowledge.
• When people pirate movies and music they would understand the long-term effects on the entertainment industry and future availability of entertainment.

So what do you think? Do think we need to offer a basic level of business education in high school or even college? In what ways do you see people are lacking in this knowledge and how would it benefit all of us if they were better educated? What are some alternatives for educating youth on business and the economy? 

Disclaimer: I’m fully aware of the state of the economy and what the expense would be to implement such a program. This is just a discussion on why this isn’t a common class offered. I also realize that not everyone will understand and use the information in a big picture fashion but I’m allowed to dream on my own blog. 

I would love to get a conversation going on this subject! Please leave a comment 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. —->