1.  Really listen to your customers. You are in business to service your customers needs, and you can only do that if you know what it is your customers want. When you truly listen, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service. This practice can save you many mistakes and makes sure your focusing on what really works in your business. Never forget that the customer pays your salary and makes your job possible. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language, and most importantly, how they really feel.  Offer effective listening with your undivided attention. To find out what they want, ask them directly, offer surveys, get feedback through social networking and focus groups. If you don’t ask, then you are assuming. And we both know what happens when you assume.

2.  Get to the root of what your customers want, and give that to them. Customers don’t buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to their problems. Ask them what is the end result that they desire. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical. For instance, they are not buying paint from you, they are buying happy walls, or a feeling they want when they walk into the room. In my office, I wanted a very calming feel when people sat in my waiting room. So everything I purchased for that room created a Zen feeling.

3.  Give your clients your full attention with complete sincerity. Treat all of your customers as individuals. Always use their name when talking to them, and find ways to compliment them, but please be sincere. Look directly at your customers when talking to them. A few years ago I went to buy a car and the salesman was texting on his phone the entire time with other potential customers. Even though I wanted the car, I did not feel he deserved the sale, so I bought it somewhere else. People value sincerity. It creates good feeling and trust.

4.  Make your customers feel important and appreciated. Especially during a challenging economy, businesses are going back to the basics of taking amazing care of their clients. Educate them, give bonuses and appreciation gifts to help them feel special. Give more than expected and they will keep coming back for more. When I find a good vendor or service provider, such as my website designer who I have worked with for 5 years, my accountant for 20 years and my fitness trainer for 15 years, I will not stray to the competition. Why?  Because they take incredible care of me and my business. I would rather pay more money and know that they are there when I need them, giving amazing support and service, then a quick fix that I have to end up scrambling to fix again. Can you relate?

5.  Say Thank you, again and again. A simple thank you goes a long, long way. Think about what you can do to follow-up and thank people, even when they don’t buy? Can you imagine how good that will make them feel? And don’t be surprised if you are the one they call next when they are ready to buy. Think about what you can give your customers that is totally unexpected?  What is a special gift that you can give so that they are blown away, and you are remembered? In my homeopathy practice, I have often given gifts for referrals, such as body and bath baskets, or bonus visits. In my Pinnacle program, I am always giving special surprises to my entrepreneurs. Who doesn’t love gifts? In this case, the giver AND receiver always wins.

6. Know how to apologize. Lets face it. Mistakes happen. When something goes wrong, apologize. Just do it. It’s easy and customers appreciate you taking responsibility. Deal with problems immediately and let customers know what you have done, rather than leaving things to simmer and eventually explode. Value their complaints. As much as we dislike them, it gives us an opportunity to improve and grow. Sometimes they are just having a bad day. If this ever happens, I always take the time to talk to clients and get to the root of the issue. This always turns the experience into a positive one.

Think of your customers or clients as family. Treat them with respect and appreciation, and they will become your biggest fans and promoters.

Named One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us by Self-Made Magazine, Allison is a No. 1 Bestselling Author, Pres. of Blast Off! Business & Life Mentoring and The Pinnacle MastermindProgram.  http://www.myblastoff.com

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Entrepreneurs are creative beings. They have a passion inside of them that must be expressed.  I honor their will, courage, determination and stubbornness to break through all obstacles and reach their personal and business Pinnacle.

In this upcoming blog series, I want to highlight my Pinnacle Entrepreneur Champions for facing their fears, taking the giant leap, and exceeding beyond their wildest dreams financially, emotionally and personally!

The Pinnacle is a year long mastermind program for new and advanced entrepreneurs that are ready to breakthrough their boundaries to reach the top.

Q. What moment made you realize you wanted to change your career and lifestyle for the better?

A. The moment was actually a bunch of big ‘first’ moments with my young son.  After missing my son’s first steps, his first words and his first day of kindergarten because of my high-stress, high-demanding job, I realized that enough was enough.  It hurt knowing that will never get those moments back, but it made me realize that I could do something about it now that will allow me to not miss anymore precious moments in his life.

Q. What was the inspiration for creating LifeFitness4Me?

A. My own personal struggles as an overweight child and struggles with not knowing how to exercise safely while pregnant.  Working out has been my life since college and I was training so hard at the gym that when I became pregnant I didn’t know how to modify my workouts to accommodate my pregnancy, so I stopped exercising all together.  That was the worse thing I could have done because it caused me to have a very difficult and painful pregnancy.  I want to empower pregnant women to stay healthy and in control of their bodies during their pregnancy and help them get back to pre-pregnancy weight quickly and safely.  I also want to show children how to get fit and gain self confidence too.  It’s about giving kids the tools, skills ad experience so they can lead a physically active life the rest of their life.

Q. How did you bridge between your two careers & how long did it take you to give up Corporate America to work for yourself full-time?

A. I started to take on some clients before and after work. It wasn’t easy and made for very long days, but it helped build my confidence to make the leap. After a few months of burning the candle at both ends I knew I needed to put my full energy into my business or it wasn’t going to go anywhere, so I cut the cord and I haven’t looked back, only forward.

Q. What gave you the courage to take the leap and what have been the biggest rewards for doing so?

A. Working one-on-one with Allison and surrounding myself with positive, like-minded people.  The biggest rewards have been having more quality time with my young son and being able to impact people’s lives in a positive way by helping them get fit and take control of their health. I now have a job that is truly rewarding!

Q. How do you balance the duties of motherhood and entrepreneurship?

A. Being an entrepreneur has offered me the balance and freedom I was missing when I was working at my corporate job.  I set my work schedule around being a mom first, which has made me a better person, a happier person and more importantly a better mom!

Q. What is your biggest challenge in being an entrepreneur and how do you overcome that?

A. Staying focused and on task. It’s easy to lose focus when you are your own boss, but you must remember that your business success is you and use that to keep you moving forward and growing. Every Sunday I put together my tasks for the week and that has helped me.  I am also using Allison’s Interactive Life Coach Software to help me accomplish the tasks without feeling overwhelmed.

Q. What have you learned from Allison Maslan’s Pinnacle program & how have you applied it to your career?

A. Wow, I’ve learned so much from the Pinnacle Program that it’s hard to list just a few, but I will say that it has given me specific tools to help me overcome so many of my fears of being successful.  It has allowed me to tap into my hidden talents and to believe in myself.

Q. What tips or insight would you give to other people that want to leave the corporate environment to be an entrepreneur.

A. Believe in yourself and don’t let your fear stop you from making your dreams of owning your business come true. Be sure to surround yourself with positive, supportive, like-minded people  – it really helps you stay confident and focused.

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Connie has been in the fitness industry for over twenty years and has been featured on shows such as: KUSI News “Summertime Kids Fitness”; PregTASTIC Online Radio “Dispelling the Myths About Exercise During Your Pregnancy”; OverThinkingMoms.com Podcasts “Body After Baby”. To learn more about her, visit: www.lifefitness4me.com

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About Allison Maslan:

Named One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us by Self-Made Magazine, Allison is a No. 1 Bestselling Author, Pres. of Blast Off! Business & Life Mentoring and The Pinnacle Mastermind Program.  http://www.myblastoff.com

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One of the most valuable lessons I have learned over the years is how to maximize my time, turn time into money, and have more time to spend with those I love. The truth is that I love my work and I could do it all day long because it is so fulfilling to me, but honestly, that is not a healthy practice. I was a single mom for 12 years and I learned the hard way that balance is not only key, it is essential to living an inspired life. Here are a 5 practices I use repeatedly to get out of busy and into productive, with time left over to play.

1. Get very clear on your Big Picture Vision, where you truly want to be in your life. When you have a clear direction and are completely focused on your life and business goals, you will not get thrown off by every distraction or mismatched opportunity that comes your way. Then break this big goal into small 10 minute steps, I call them Mini Feats. Do 3 Mini Feats a day toward your bigger goals (that is 21 steps closer to your goal each week) and you will happily arrive at your destination, without feeling harried.

2. Be ruthless with your boundaries. Practice saying ‘No’ and you will have a lot more ‘Yes’ time for you. This is a tough one, especially for women, because we are the caregivers and we don’t like when people get mad at us! However, to accomplish what you truly want in your life, you absolutely must have the space to make it happen. Specify ‘You’ time during your week and make sure everyone knows to give you this privacy. They’ll be happy in the end because you’ll be more fun to be around when you feel accomplished.

3. Get support. There is no way you can grow your empire alone.Solo-entrepreneurs can grow their business to a point, but there are only so many clients you can take care of in one day. I realize it is scary to take that step and hire help, but you will thank me when you do. Not only will this free you up to do more of what you love in your business and your life, your clients will feel more supported and you will be able to expand your reach. Yes, its time to let go of the reigns and delegate, delegate, delegate. You cannot make a million dollars if you are spending your day doing $15-20 per hour jobs such as your filing or organizing your mailing list!

4. Batch your actions. This little practice has been miraculous for my life. Just like baking cookies where you cook at least a dozen at one time, batch your similar tasks all in one day so you stay focused and streamlined, without the stress. For instance, run as many of your errands that you cannot delegate during one afternoon a week. Assign full or half days that you will only see clients, or that you will only make phone calls, or research a project. Rather than mixing your goals and tasks, you will be much more effective when you don’t mix everything together and bounce from one thing to the next. It literally takes 5 times as long to finish a project when you are continually distracted, so be deliberate in designing your week.

5. Be honest with yourself on how you really spend your time. Most people, believe it or not, can find 2 extra hours somewhere in their day. Wake up one hour earlier and watch one less episode of The X Factor. Whalaaa! By doing this you will literally add an entire month to your life. Yes, 30 bonus days to your year. What can you accomplish in an entire month? You could invent the next Pet Rock by then, or even take a vacation!

My clients and I map out our weeks on The Interactive Life Coach Online Success System. I invented it to make my life and those I coach a lot easier, much more productive and lots more fun. Check it out here. Not only does it help you design your life and reach your goals, there are tons of great applications to set your financial goals, get clarity on your dreams and make amazing things happen in your life, your relationships and your work.

Please  comment and share your time saving tips. I would love to hear how you balance the clock and I am sure my readers would, too!

Allison Maslan is the CEO of Allison Maslan International. She was recently named “One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire” by Self Made Magazine. A born entrepreneur and No. 1 Best Selling Author of the book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality, Allison has built nine successful companies from the ground up starting out as a single mom on her own. As president of Blast Off Business and Life Mentoring, www.MyBlastOff.com, she has helped thousands of people transform their lives while launching countless into thriving dream businesses of their own. As a world-renowned homeopath for the past 16 years, Allison’s work embodies a partnership of holistic balance, a zest for success, and the most innovative business strategies you will find anywhere. Allison has been an expert guest on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox Stations across the US. She was also recently nominated for San Diego Magazine Woman of the Year.

What if you were able to stay grounded, no matter what your day threw at you? Take a look at the qualities and behaviors of The Grounded Woman and The Grounded Man.

The Grounded Woman

␣ Knows how to take a deep breath and a little time to calm down.

␣ Is forgiving of herself in every moment.

␣ Has no problem prioritizing items on her to-do list, or even dropping tasks from the list.

␣ Realizes that she was only given two hands, and is comfortable delegating responsibilities to others.

␣ Knows the meaning of “one day at a time.”

␣ Puts herself up on a pedestal.

␣ Gives herself the accolades due for a day well done, even if others are not recognizing her efforts.

The Grounded Man

␣ Takes good care of his body and mind by making the commitment to exercise and eat in a healthy way.

␣ Has learned to follow his heart in his career/busines path and in love, rather than making choices to meet others’ expectations.

␣ Cultivates good friendships with other men and feels comfortable being open with his emotions.

␣ Knows that feelings of sadness and fear are healthy and will heal faster when they are released rather than suppressed.

␣ Balances his drive with fun and adventure. ␣ Knows that laughter and balance feed his soul and therefore will feed his personal and professional life.

After reading about Mr. and Ms. Grounded, what changes do you want to make that would help you feel less frazzled and more fulfilled? Can you think of any improvements that would help you feel grounded that were not on either of the above lists?

What do you think about Mr. and Ms. Grounded? Leave a comment and give me your thoughts on this topic.

Allison Maslan is the CEO of Allison Maslan International. She was recently named “One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire” by Self Made Magazine. A born entrepreneur and No. 1 Best Selling Author of the book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality, Allison has built nine successful companies from the ground up starting out as a single mom on her own. Get a copy of her Free CD, The 8 Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs. http://www.myblastoff.com/freecd.html

For passion to sustain the long journey of your business and your life, it must have a front end and a back end.

The front end of passion is the blossoming intensity from which your passion is directed. This exploding energy is powerful, yet fits you so perfectly that it supports you with ease toward your big dreams and goals. It is an energy that comes from deep within your life force and cannot help being expressed outwardly in an enthusiastic and contagious manner. The front end of passion is a positive expulsion of energy. However, if you are not prepared, this continuous momentum can deplete you in a flash. As a homeopath and serial entrepreneur, I understand that to win in business, a healthy body and mind comes first. Here are some simple tips to keep you feeling fit and on fire during the summer months. When your health is a priority, you can blast off in your business and your life!

1. Establish good nutrition. It’s easy to fall into fast food or snacking when you are so engrossed in your passion that you’re not taking the time to eat right. (More detailed nutrition information can be found in Chapter Six).

2.Eight hours of sleep each night. Sleep is one of the most healing,energizing medicines, and it is absolutely critical for a creative mind. Did you know that sleep deprivation is used as a brainwashing technique? Without sleep, you are living in survival mode, which is the opposite of a passionate life.

3. Take a passion break once a week.Most of my creativity comes when I’m not working. When my mind is clear and I’m exploring or having fun, the ideas have room to appear. Turn off your phone. Shut down your computer. Go spend the day outdoors in nature, go to a movie, take a bike ride, or visit some friends. Talk about things other than your passion. (For a few minutes, anyway.)

4. Get physical. Especially if your passion is of the intellectual persuasion, you must get into your body. If you’re living from the neck up, your body needs to be enlivened. Choose exercise that you can sustain by doing activities that you will enjoy, such as dance, running, swimming, biking or boxing. Mix it up! It’s more beneficial to incorporate more than one activity to stimulate various muscle groups in the body. You will also stimulate the serotonin in your brain for more creativity and mood enhancement. You will prevent fatigue and burnout as you stimulate your cardiovascular system, get your blood pumping, and your billions of cells moving. Ahhhhhhh!

Come find your Champion Within at Allison Maslan’s live entrepreneurial event called The Blast Off Business Breakthrough on September 16-18 in San Diego, CA where you will experience, in person, an exclusive combination of unending inspiration, magical bursts of clarity, extraordinary breakthroughs, and laser-sharp strategies you can apply immediately to amp up your business and your life like never before. You will leave with a completely unique step-by-step plan for your new or advanced small business. Click the photo below to learn more about the event.

Allison Maslan is the No. 1 best selling author of Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality and the president of Blast Off Business and Life Mentoring. As a serial entrepreneur of nine of her own businesses including being world renowned homeopath, Allison has guided thousands to reach their potential and launched many into dream businesses of their own. She was recently named One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire by Self Made Magazine and has been on ABC, NBC and Fox stations across the US. www.MyBlastOff.com

Tip #3

Have you ever had a big lofty goal or dream for your business or your life?  You put a lot of energy toward it, made great headway, yet because of this big picture focus, you lost momentum in the important day-to-day projects and responsibilities, causing major overwhelm and chaos?

Or do you feel like you are stuck spinning in the short-term goals and projects, getting stuff done, yet only making it month to month without the potential for the big time growth?

Your diagnosis: Too much focus on either the short-term or long-term goals.
The remedy: You need to focus on both.

In order for you to grow as an entrepreneur, you need to have a vision for the next level in your business. You need to have a creative, strategic plan in place that is developing and moving you toward higher levels of achievement and success.  Maybe you are working on the newest widget that will take the tech world by storm?  Or maybe you are so close to discovering the cure for baldness and plan to add it to your savvy hair product line?  This idea development, what I refer to as ‘The Magic’ in business, is crucial for your expansion in your marketplace.  At the same time, if you only focus on the long-term, the Big Kahuna, you will begin to lose traction in your day-to-day business needs, such as cash flow to pay your office expense and staff. Not good. 

I am a true entrepreneur. A trailblazer of sorts as I have built 9 of my own companies and mentored hundreds of others to do the same. In my own journey, it took me a while to really understand the importance of this concept.  My deepest passion is helping people find their true calling and guide them to express their gifts through a successful business.  One of the important rules you must understand in Business 101 is that your entrepreneurial entity needs to turn a profit. If it’s not, it won’t be long for this world, even if you have invented the  miracle cure to wrinkles. So keep your eye on the dream and the pulse during each business day. It can often feel like a juggling act, but with practice, you will become a gifted, profitable and high-flying juggler.

This is one of the reasons I invented my web-based software, The Interactive Life Coach, www.InteractiveLifeCoach.com.

I wanted my clients to have a fun, inspiring and easy-to-use tool that would help them create their beautiful Big Picture Visions, make them easy to attain by breaking them down into baby steps I call “Mini Feats” and at the same time help people continue to keep the steady business flowing in on a daily basis.

Keep moving forward and don’t lose focus on any goal, short- or long-term.  YOU deserve to suceed!

~Allison
Life and Business Strategist, Allison Maslan, was recently named One of the Top 50 Women Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire by Self-Made Magazine. She has built 9 successful companies and has guided hundreds of others to do the same. She is the author of the #1 bestselling book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. Allison is available for one-on-one coaching and her exclusive mastermind program, The Pinnacle. www.myblastoff.com.

As I am mentoring my clients I help them get clarity on their ‘True Choice’, what they really WANT to do with their time. And they realize that many of these extra obligations are exercised out of guilt rather than desire, leaving their personal goals and dreams suppressed and unfulfilled.  When it is not your true choice, but a choice made out of guilt or feelings of obligation, overtime this will create resentment, and on a deeper level, depression and illness.

To reach the goals and dreams that I know you want to attain, NO needs to start becoming one of your higher ranking keywords. I am not saying to drop all of your responsibilities and go have a party. (Okay, maybe I am saying that. ) I know you love spending time with your families and friends. This is obviously extremely important. But if you don’t make ample time for yourself and your business, you will be so frustrated and restless that  when you are with your loved ones, you often won’t be very present.

Life and Business Strategist, Allison Maslan, was recently named One of the Top 50 Women Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire by Self Made Magazine. She has built 9 successful companies and has guided hundreds of others to do the same. She is the author of the #1 best selling book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. Allison is available for one-on-one coaching and her exclusive mastermind program, The Pinnacle. www.myblastoff.com.

What Is Your “I Can’t”?

• I can’t get in shape because I just don’t have time to exercise.
• I am miserable in my career, but I can’t develop a new line of work because the economy is so bad.
• I would love to start my own business but I can’t because I don’t know what I would do or have any idea where to start.
• I can’t make any money and I am spinning my wheels?
• My relationship is so, so. I can’t seem to make it any better so I am pretty much stuck.
• I can’t because I don’t have enough money.
• I can’t learn to dance because I have two left feet.
• I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!

I have a challenge for you. Pay attention to your language throughout the day and count how many I Can’ts fall out of your mouth from morning to night. These two words are the wall between you and your passion, you and your joy,  you and all of the abundance that awaits you. When you stop saying no to life and knock down the barriers between you and all the good stuff, your entire reality will begin to change. Instead, say, “Yes I Can.” This short statement alone is very powerful. Just by uttering these three words, you will begin to build your accomplishment muscles. Follow up these words with small daily action steps, and before you know it, you will be sailing to the top of your intimidating mountain. This is my internal mantra as my fitness trainer is pushing me to run just one more minute or do one more push-up. I cannot say I am having a blast during the work-out, but I am so happy that I have stepped up to the plate and challenged myself. Are you really ready to make the changes in your life that you have been dreaming about for years? Do you want a more fulfilling career, but have no idea what that could be? Do you want more satisfaction in your life, but have no idea how to make it happen? I would love to hear your comments? Tell me if you are ready to make the changes happen now! Life and Business Strategist, Allison Maslan, was recently named One of the Top 50 Women Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire by Self Made Magazine. She has built 9 successful companies and has guided hundreds of others to do the same. She is the author of the #1 best selling book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. Allison is available for one-on-one coaching and her exclusive mastermind program, The Pinnacle. www.myblastoff.com.

Also, Click here to watch:     Allison at La Valencia making final preparations for Pinnacle.

Click here to watch:     Allison at La Valencia making final preparations for Pinnacle.

Here I am at the historical La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, CA as my team makes final preparations for the big event. I look forward to seeing you Backstage soon!

Allison Maslan/ CEO

www.ThePinnacleProgram.com

www.MyBlastOff.com

Allison Maslan is CEO of Allison Maslan International. She was recently

named one of the Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire by Self Made Magazine.