Last night while watching Dancing with the Stars, I was moved by Steelo’s story. If you missed it, take a peek here:

What makes someone give up? Was there heart never really in it to begin with? Was it never really their passion? If you were Steelo would you fight like he has to do what you are doing now?

Looking for a way to build your brand message and create results for your business? Ann’s Platinum Mastermind is a powerful way to make sure these questions and more are a resounding YES!

Are you accountable?

I am known for telling my clients “Don’t be vanilla” as they build their brand message and influential voice. I frequently see it when people blog. Suddenly, they become scientific, bland, and almost robotic in the writing. There is no personality, no polarity, and no opinion strong enough to matter. When I tell people that their blog can get them business, as well as PRESS, this is a key factor.
Last week I opened my email to find this: Pete Thomas, the Season 2 At-Home winner of NBC’s The Biggest Loser. His book will come out in September, published by Penguin/Avery. Pete would like include a lengthy quote from a blog you wrote about accountability.  Would you agree to let Pete use this quote (of course you would be cited) in his forthcoming book? You would have to sign something that says you give him the right to use it in any format, overseas volumes all that stuff.
I have given Pete permission of course! I love that he didn’t just pick a sentence; he chose to quote three paragraphs about what a coach’s responsibility is in coaching.

Congratulation isn’t the point. The point is what and how you write when you blog.

• Are you opinionated?
• Do you think bigger than “what you sell”?
• Do you write from a perspective that ignites people?
• Are you strong mined enough that you know someone might not like the post?
• Do you create polarity?
• Do you keyword manage your blog and share it repeatedly?
• Do you blog at least once a week?

If you answered YES to all these questions, then these opportunities WILL present themselves. If you answered no, maybe your brand message is just too safe. Vanilla.

Looking for a way to build your brand message and create results for your business? Ann’s Platinum Mastermind is a powerful way to make sure these questions and more are a resounding YES!

Millions, of IDEAS.

Not dollars. It takes converting the idea into something that can be bought, something that people see value in that creates the success. The idea, without implementation, is just an idea.

Ann M. Evanston, Ma has been a small business owner since 1997. She specializes in taking entrepreneurs to implementation, and financial success with their unique edge. Her mastermind groups are powerful, and action based, so the work gets done, not just talked aboot!

As I was going through a chapter today, I reread  a section where I share that becoming a copycat won’t create your influential voice. This is counter intuitive to what many teach us. “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” “Find someone in your field that does it well, and do what they do.”

I am sure many of you have seen it:

1-a new manager that starts to look and sound like another leader in the organization

2-a speaker that shares the same points as one they admire

3-a teenage girl trying to be like the “popular” girl

4-a customer service rep that is so scripted they cannot hear what your need is

I could go on and on.

Reality is this. Copying works short term. Originality works long term. Copying is easy, originality takes more work. When you step into the real YOU, you step into your ability to share your influential voice. Your originality. Your view of the world. I get it. People copy because they don’t know HOW to be their best selves. Some would say the world teaches us how to copy. Interesting.

Change how you think, watch how you grow!

Be care of thinking a group of “friends” with opinions are a BOA! (that’s another blog!)

Take time and find these people, who should they be for you?

Are you creating a hobby or a business?

The hardest part of running your own business is doing the things that make it run like a well oiled machine. Yesterday, I spent time working on those things for my business. Trust me, I don’t enjoy it any more then you do! Reality is our business needs these systems and processes in order to achieve a higher level of success. I’m not talking to hobbyists that really don’t want to generate a higher level of revenue in their business. I’m talking to true entrepreneurs, small business owners who understand that to achieve more revenue systems and processes are necessary.

What system or process have you ignored in your business that it’s time to stop neglecting? Is it related to finances? Maybe organization? Or is it your marketing system? Maybe it’s your networking and follow up system? Is it your content creation and management system?

The creativity of the business is the fun part. Implementing the systems that make your business run so you can be more creative are critical.

What’s interesting, is when I neglect my systems my business revenue suffers. You can have all the fun you want in the world but guess what? It is more fun when you do what you love and you have the systems that help to make you the money you deserve.

So yesterday, I spent several hours working on my newsletter system and my marketing system. I spent the time on details that needed to be taken care of, so my business runs like a well oiled machine. Was it fun? No. Rewarding? Yes, because I KNOW the results.

Ann Evanston has been a successful small business owner since 1997. She has stayed thriving through crazy changes in the world and business. She is a speaker, consultant and coach.

Michael Gerber, of The E-Myth (you have read this right? It’s like the KEY if you are a new entrepreneur) says “create a system and repeat it 500 to be successful. hmmm…are you in business or just playing around?

Ann Evanston, MA, has been named by About.com as one of the Top Six Marketing Consultants, Feb 2011. She is an international speaker, consultant and coach specializing in the Influence Factor.

When I speak, i often ask about good networking versus bad networking habits. I beleive in networking, I am actually really shy, I mean really! Going to a networking event and putting myself out there with people I don’t know is scary! Today, while networking, I took the leap and joined a group of people. It was a bit safe because the leader of the group had already said two of us needed to meet. As I listened to the conversation about netwroking, I asked several questions and listened, before ever sharing what I thought. After doing so, I said: “for me networking is really about finding the place I can create relationships, versus generate a lead. Isn’t it for you?”

This has been my screensaver!

I finished my book today! Well, the manuscripts! It’s off to the publisher for the next phase of analyzing, fine-tuning, and perfecting those words on paper.

Some of you have been with me on this journey of writing. Last fall I started a personal 30 day writing challenge. I wrote every morning for 30 minutes whether I wanted to or not! That writing led to the self-discovery of why I have not published my own book yet.