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- 7 Limiting Beliefs Fatal to New Business Owners
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Image by Wease via Flickr
Written by Karen D. Swim
Many of you left behind the shackles of employment to brave self employment in 2009. You are basking in the glow of your freedom as you realize that no one is the boss of you. Put down your bowl of Froot Loops® and step away from Oprah because I am going to save you money and time by helping you avoid the mistakes common to new business owners.
- You are an entry level employee required to work your way up the ladder to earn the promotion. Welcome to self employment . You have been promoted from chief bottle washer to chief of everything. Start acting like it.
- Fees are based on time in business rather than value offered. Yes, you are a new business owner who will have to build a portfolio of successes but presumably you can actually do the job. Your past experience has value even if you obtained it as an employee. There is a prevailing myth that new business owners must charge below market value in order to establish their worth. This is utter hogwash. I am quite frankly puzzled by the thought process but let me cl
- Dazed and Dissatisifed in Corporate America
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Image via Wikipedia
Written by Karen D. Swim
How was your vacation? “Oh man it was great,” she offered with obvious joy in her voice. She then hesitated and her voice dropped, “but it was a mistake to take off two weeks because now I don’t want to go back to work.”
Every Friday night, Eva leaves the office with a bounce on her step. By Saturday afternoon, she is counting the dreaded hours to Monday morning. By Sunday night she is so miserable that she is unable to enjoy the remaining hours of her weekend as she thinks about returning to work on Monday morning. Eva has Sunday Syndrome.
Understanding the Illness
Sunday Syndrome is one of the many glaring signs that it is time to evaluate your job. Over the years I have seen the syndrome so often that I can spot the signs even in absence of the words being spoken. You may be surprised how many people have traded “job security” for happiness. They
- At the Intersection of Been There and Looking Ahead
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Image by Martin Deutsch via Flickr
Written by Karen D. Swim
Hello and Happy 2009! Like most people I have spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on the past as I planned for the future. I took real time away from business and the internet to relax, reflect and reconnect with the neglected pieces of my life.
Before I moved forward it was important to review the lessons learned in the previous 12 months. What went right? What went wrong? More importantly how would I apply the lessons to keep growing and moving forward?
So, what did I learn?
- Sometimes you’re on the right road but you’ve got the wrong mode of transportation. For me this meant for looking at plans and processes in detail. Often the plans were solid but I needed to tweak the process which included sometime appointing a different driver.
- I am not my business. As a small business professional it’s easy to blur the lines between the business you created and you as a person. My whole reason for creating a business was to allow me to have the lifestyle I desired. I had to take a step back and realize Words For Hire is not Karen Swim. That delineation helpe
- Farewell 2008
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Image by elizplummer via Flickr
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” -Soren Kierkegaard
As we reflect upon 2008, patterns emerge and the moments meld together to form a collage of life lived. Mistakes and triumphs march side by side and simply become a unified journey. We are here and for that I am glad.
Thank you for being here this year. Whether you dropped in once or twice or frequently, thank you. To those that read silently and to those that commented, and debated, thank you. I am grateful to each and every one of you for support, friendship, and laughter. I am humbled that you have encouraged me in the face of failure and supported me as I grew.
I wish you all a fitting end to this incredible year of living well.
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” - Hal Borland
- Blowing in the Wind
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Image via Wikipedia
Yesterday morning I was jarred awake by the sound of rattling windows. My heart pounded as I rose slowly listening to the wind howling all around me. I crept to the window and peered out. I struggled to see past the rain bashing against the window. The wind was blowing with such force the rain appeared to be thrown from the sky with herculean force. I tried to steady my breath and remember all that I knew about tornadoes (all that came to mind was Dorothy, not a great image). The sound of the wind was frightening but if I were going to be swept away I wanted to see it coming.
As I stared wide eyed at the gray sky, the house rocked with thunder and the wind gained speed, ripping a tree from the ground and dropping it on its side. The tree was one of three bordering the west side of our pond. It had stood in the middle and now it lay like a fallen comrade on the battlefield.
The other two trees bent and swayed but remained firmly rooted in their place. I gasped at the fallen tree and the strength of the wi
