Every May I get a little anxious…

I think it has to do with my anticipation of the kids being out of school, the heat, and the ants migrating into my kitchen to cool off.

Over the years I learned to prepare for summer time by NOT starting any “heavy” projects and keeping my schedule as open as possible.

I also like to catch up on my reading…In fact, I’ve got an embarrassing confession to make.

You know how you go to events and someone always asks, “How many people have read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill?”

Most people raise their hands…Of course, I raise my hand, too. I have the book and I started reading it…

…about 17 times!

Maybe it’s because English is not my first language, or I simply wasn’t ready for it, but until last week I never ACTUALLY read this classic!

It’s truly amazing! I keep turning back to the first page to check if it really was written in 1937 - it might as well have been written TODAY!

Here are my favorite quotes so far:

“The accumulation of great fortunes calls for power, and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not necessarily have to be in the possession of the person who accumulates the fortune.”

Get it?

It’s about creating a team!

Another one:

“Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of hard work!”

YES! I guess that’s where “Work smart, not hard” came from…

On leadership:

“There are two types of people in the world, leaders and followers. Decide at the outset whether you intend to become a leader in your chosen calling or remain a follower.
The difference in compensation is vast.”

Isn’t this what Seth Godin writes about in “Tribes?” Everything truly stems from Napoleon Hill’s masterpiece!

I connect the next one to the major problem in the coaching industry:

“The world does not pay for what people ‘know’. It pays them for what they do, or induce others to do.”

In other words, coach on what you already succeed in, and “riches will follow.” Most coach on what they wish they had themselves, and this lack of authenticity hurts their business.

Is Napoleon Hill really the grandfather of all self-help?

I don’t know for certain…But it does seem like all the books written since then, and all the coaching programs created in the last 20 years, are based on his principles.

I am still chugging along - reading chapter 10 right now…

I even skipped watching my favorite “Friends” episode to read it…and in my world it says a lot

Milana

Going through the notes from my coaching sessions with my mentor years ago, I was SHOCKED to find some of the things I am teaching today.

I truly believed these were my own discoveries!

Our knowledge is like genetic material. It’s made up of all of our life and business experiences, plus any classes we took, books we read, seminars we attended, and mentors we worked with.

We receive it, process it, then make it ours…often without realizing it.

I would like to share some of the business and marketing wisdom that have become part of me. I have no idea how I came to understand these or where I learned them, but I can tell you this: make them yours and you will thrive!

#1. Marketing is more important than the product or service. That’s why even after mastering your skill as a coach, speaker, or expert in any field many people are still struggling. Mastering marketing is equally important.

#2. Stay visible at all times. Many people disappear for weeks or months at a time, until their target audience forgets who they are. When they re-appear, we think, “They’re still in business?” The “out of sight, out of mind” principle can cost you many customers, so stay visible!

#3. Make one offer at a time. With so much information and messages fighting for your prospect’s attention, it’s essential that you give them one specific action to take - one link, one form, or one product per offer. Trying to “kill two birds with one stone” backfires in marketing.

#4. Good copywriting can be the difference between a winning product and a struggling one. Although I write my own copy, I still hire experienced copywriters to enhance it and make sure all the important psychological triggers are in there. Also, this skill takes years to master, so it’s worth delegating to someone who has real passion for it and does it full time.

#5. No list, no niche. I always talk about how crucial it is to choose a niche market and focus all your marketing efforts on it. But if there is no existing database of people you’re trying to reach, you might as well choose another niche and make your life easier.

One bonus tip I want to leave you with:

#6. Don’t worry about competition. Create your own fan base and your own following by being YOU. Hundreds of people may already be teaching, coaching or speaking on your topic, but you do it in your own unique way and there is a market waiting for you to sell to them.

Last week I ran a survey asking you about your biggest challenge in running and growing your business.

I LOVE surveys because they’re very eye-opening! Here is a quick glance at the results:

Of the 346 people who responded:

• 67.7% - Make less than $50K a year
• $19.3% - Make between $50K and $100K a year
• 13.1% - Make $100K a year and up

Business owners with a lower income level said they have trouble:

- Identifying their specialty and niche market

- Getting customers and clients

Business owners with a higher income level shared that they are struggling with:

- Getting things done

- Creating efficient business systems

While there are many differences between “beginners” and “advanced” business owners, I noticed one common thread. OVERWHELM - not enough time to implement all ideas; too many great opportunities and constant feeling of missing out on them.

I find this absolutely fascinating! No matter where you are in your business, overwhelm can easily take over your business and life.

I found several very powerful ways to get things done and drive my business forward without experiencing the overwhelm most entrepreneurs complain of.

Here they are:

1. Single-minded focus on my biggest most important projects. These are the projects that make the biggest impact on my bottom line.
2. Having a system and a criteria for saying “no” to projects, people, and ideas. You can’t do it all and if you try to, you’ll end up getting poor results.
3. Using a “filter” when receiving product offers. Not everything is right for me and my business. I always keep my business goals and natural abilities in mind when investing into a product or signing up with a mentor.
4. Make a deliberate decision to exclude certain marketing tactics and vehicles for the sake of focus.  There are thousands of ways to attract prospects and convert them into clients, choose top 5-7 and focus your promotional strategy around them.
5. Work from a plan! Start with a 12-month timeline then fill in the blank; then transfer your action plan into your calendar - this has tripled my productivity and saved a ton of time!
6. Focus on doing less, but doing it better. Unless your goal is to constantly keep yourself busy, doing less actually produces much higher results.

This is a video clip from the 2008 Coaching Super Summit, where I focus specifically on how to go from 5 to 6 figures without your business taking over your life:

Someone recently asked me during an interview: “Milana, how do you promote your coaching services?”

My response was, “I don’t.”

After being in business for almost 9 years, I can tell you that promoting services is very inefficient, and rarely effective.

Why?

Because services are usually expensive and require trust. Gaining trust takes time, and while you’re trying to gain trust, you might have no revenue coming in.

What’s the solution?

There are 2 strategies I’ve been using with great success, and I want to share them with you here:

1. Multiple streams of revenue

Multiple streams of revenue can be achieved via packaging your services into

- information products
- home-study courses
- audio programs
- membership sites
- paid newsletter
- monthly CD
- coaching club, etc.

This will keep your revenue coming in even when the service sales are low.

2. Constant and consistent exposure

Constant and consistent exposure can be achieved via

- article publishing
- interviews and teleseminars
- live speaking
- audio and video
- social media
- live events
- book publishing
- joint ventures, etc.

What’s important when it comes to gaining massive exposure is your message. It must be clear and concise. You must be able to communicate what you stand for, and it must be clear what you’re an expert on.

***Notice, I did NOT say newsletters!

That is because publishing a newsletter allows you to communicate with your current list, while your goal of exposure is to keep bringing your message to “new” people.

And here’s the best part.

If you consistently create exposure opportunities for yourself, your name and business will gain the momentum you need to create a “non-stop revenue train.” You’ll be getting invited to speak, write, coach, consult, train…and wonder where these people get your name!

I just returned from a 3-day private beach house retreat with 10 other women, and the experience was truly amazing! The biggest thing I got out of leading it is that people don’t want “another program” - they really want to just have someone look at their business and help them strategize and make the best decisions about their next direction.

Here’s one photo we took inside the beach house’s living room:

Business Transformation Retreat with Milana Leshinsky, Myrtle Beach SC, December 3-5 2008, beach house headquarters, day 3...

I always say that if it weren’t for the information marketing AND the Internet, I wouldn’t be in business today. It is the best thing that ever happened to me.

In fact, after trying to apply myself and my 10-year classical music training, I really didn’t think I could find another channel for my creativity and a source of fulfillment ever again.

It’s been out there for years (many people say it existed for thousands of years in different shapes and forms!), so where is it going next? And most importantly, how is it going to impact coaching industry?

I made a 15-minute prediction you DON’T want to miss…especially, if you’re selling expertise (coaching, consulting, speaking, training, etc.)

Click below to listen:

[CLICK HERE To Download MP3 Version]

You can also hear more information marketing predictions made by other highly successful entrepreneurs who made their fortunes in different niche markets by clicking here: Future of Information Marketing Series.

I get invited for a joint venture at least weekly… Usually I press “delete” before I am done reading the first paragraph. It’s amazing that after almost a decade of Internet-based joint venture opportunities and educational programs teaching people how do this the majority still gets it wrong.

Here’s the best piece of advice I got about forming joint ventures - million-dollar advice, so pay attention.

Make your project a part of theirs.  The rest are just mechanics.

To illustrate this let me give you a couple of examples of my most recent joint ventures (aka “strategic alliances”).

1. Business Bliss Team

I’ve been thinking of starting my own virtual assistance company for a year now. So many people are asking me to recommend a good virtual assistant, but both of my own are completely full and no longer take clients. Starting from scratch felt very “heavy” and I simply didn’t want to end up managing a team of VAs. So when I discovered Pam, I was thrilled! She already managed a team of 10+ talented professionals (not just virtual assistants, but people who specialize in design, copywriting, shopping carts, social media, etc.) and was looking for clients. I approached her with my idea and we formed a partnership within two weeks.  my project became a part of her project, and her project became a part of mine. Win-win-win (customers win too!)

2. Done For You Newsletters

I decided to start a web site where I can feature various done-for-you services. After all, my goal is to set entrepreneurs free and I can’t do it without having an extended network of service providers. So when Linda Claire Puig approached me with her all-in-one newsletter publishing service, of course it caught my attention. A few weeks later I featured her on the above web site, and she’ll remain a permanent “fixture” there. She became a part of my project, and I became a part of hers. Win-win-win.

So find a way to become a part of someone else’s project, and you’ll never hear a “no” from a potential partner. And of course, if it doesn’t fit, you can always try again. But at least no time is wasted.

How do you discover your unique ability, or your “personal brilliance zone?”

Separate all the things you do into these 4 categories - the last one is your “personal brilliance zone”

1. Incompetent - no good, never going to get good, and it drives you crazy
2. Competent - can get by, but it drains you; depletes your energy; prefer hiring other people,
3. Excellent - really good at it, but draining and not fulfilling, doesn’t brings joy
4. Brilliant - can do all day long, it’s not tiring, energy charging, never-ending improvement, would do it even if you didn’t get paid for it.

David Meerman’s success blew me away as I was listening to his interview on the Personal Branding Telesummit. As I headed to David’s web site, I was excited to find a concept I’ve been talking about for a couple of years now - online thought leadership!

I used to think that leadership was about standing in front of people and speaking; or leading a business meeting full of executives. How could one lead working from a home office was beyond me.

David talks about online thought leadership strategies as a way of marketing your business, product, or idea.  He says:

“Here are some of the various forms of thought leadership content. There may be others in your niche market.

• Direct to buyer news releases
• Blogs
• E-books
• E-mail newsletters
• Webinars
• Wikis
• Research and survey reports
• White papers
• A content rich Web site
• Podcasts
• Video content (vodcasts, and vlogs)”

In other words, online thought leadership is done through content. I’ve been developing content since day one in my business. Some content catches on fire, other - fades away after a few weeks. What’s the secret?

One of my favorite viral marketing authors is Seth Godin who wrote “Unleashing the Ideavirus”. He basically shows you how to create a product that has marketing built right into it. You can advertise, sell, brand…or you can unleash an “ideavirus” and change your business and the world.