• The top three reasons why people don’t set goals

• How to start fresh and complete past goals

• The process of focus and attention

• Goal setting tips

• The language of goal setting

• Strategy for what will likely stop you from achieving your goals

• How to set goals that inspire and motivate

• How to embrace failure and disappointment rather than avoid it

Inspired Goals Flyer

What are people saying about this seminar?

“Alicia is a superstar. Her real life experience is reflected in the substance of her teaching. Anyone can benefit from her ideas and approach.”

Alicia Marie’s “Inspired Goals Workshop” blew me away. I’ve read books, listened to training programs and felt I knew a lot about goals…until her workshop. The workshop took goals to a deeper level that I had ever experienced. Finally, I was able to realize that something “was in my way” and that without addressing this thing in my way, I would have been off and running with my goals that didn’t get accomplished….again. I believe the workshop has helped me stop the recurring cycle of well-intended but never accomplished goals. I feel like I’ve been given a gift…a key to unlock the door I’ve been banging my head against for so many years. And it was Alicia Marie’s style that allowed for this revelation. She is amazing at empowering the class to come up with their own “aha” moment rather than telling us what to do. She has such a humble aura of wisdom and patiently invites people to “get it” on their own terms. As a person that trains people, I am flat-out inspired with how she does it. Her genuine care and love for the class is beautifully evident. Thank you so much, Alicia, for being you.

Ken Kuznia - Owner of Dig Your Work

“I feel so fortunate to have met Alicia Marie and to have experienced her Inspired Goals Workshop. Having never had much luck with “goal-setting,” I expected the morning to consist of learning techniques to get my business goals on paper … but it was so, so much more than that. Alicia inspired me to “drill down” to discover where I am stuck, what I really want in life, and what is getting in my way … and not just in business, but in every aspect of my life. Somehow I left the workshop feeling inspired to take massive action, while also realizing that I need to stop worrying and stressing so much. I felt I had just been given the gift of years of counseling sessions in one morning! I highly recommend it for anyone and everyone.”

Julie Ray - Keller Williams

In this 4-week teleclass you will…

• Define and create your vision statement
• Define and write your mission statement
• Create a future organizational chart to map your hiring strategy
• Look at your culture and define your company values
• Create action plans with your partner or team

Cost of the course is $89. Current individual coaching clients are free!

Download the registration form

When Doreen Zayer opened her massage-therapy business 11 years ago in the Staten Island Mall, she had to overcome lack-of-money fears, she said. Recently, the licensed massage therapist, founder and owner of Relax on Cloud Nine, a health spa in the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield, and on Clove Road in West Brighton, was named a winner of a contest that promises to help her business grow into a million-dollar-a-year enterprise. Ms. Zayer was among 20 women entrepreneurs who were chosen from about 500 applicants as winners of the Make Mine a $Million Business Award. Founded by Count-Me-In for Women’s Economic Independence with OPEN from American Express, the award provides women with coaching, mentoring, money and marketing resources to help them cross the $1 million mark in annual revenues; it is part of a national event, said Alex Della Rocca, spokesman for the program, based in Manhattan. Count Me In connected me with three different business coaches, and I picked the one that I thought would be the most helpful, Alicia Fruin Ms. Zayer related. Coaching is valuable because it helps your focus, keeps you on target. I was most interested in how to handle payroll, and whether the number of employees is correct for my business, she said. They look at things that are important to you as an individual, and they asked me about things I want to work on, Ms. Zayer said. My goal is not just to reach the $1 million mark, but to increase my bottom line, and to enjoy what I’m doing. She also appreciates that help from Count Me In is just a phone call away. You can e-mail your profit- and loss-statements, and they monitor any red flags. If they don’t have the answer to the problem, they link you with someone who does have the answer, she said. To learn from a successful business owner, whose focus is to see you succeed, to have them in your corner, guiding you, is so valuable, said Ms. Zayer. LINE OF CREDIT. While the contest offers its winners up to a $45,000 line of credit, Ms. Zayer noted, We already have a credit line with SI Bank & Trust, so it was not necessary. Ms. Zayer and the other finalists delivered their business pitches last October to an audience of about 1,000 successful women entrepreneurs and celebrities — including financial adviser and author Suze Orman, who has a television show in her name. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was so scared at the prospect of preparing the video presentation, I almost didn’t apply, Ms. Zayer related. She contacted Islander Diane DiResta, speaker, coach and author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch and Pizzazz, after hearing her speak at a conference. It made all the difference. She coached me on how to open with a hook line ['I'm in the business of helping people relax and feel good'], how to look, how to stand, move my hands. I felt much more confident. Ms. Zayer, who has five full-time employees and hires about two dozen independent contractors, said she first read about the contest online, and from the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.I’ve already benefited so much from mentoring by the SBDC (Small Business Development Center at the College of Staten Island) which gave her free and valuable advice soon after she opened her business in April 1995. The Relax on Cloud Nine founder went on to win the 2005 SBDC’s Growth Company Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 2005 WINNER In 2005, Islander Pamela Coppola, president of Statewide Fire Corp., Meiers Corners, was named one of five winners in the OPEN from American Express Make Mine a $Million Business awards (Advance: Dec. 11, 2005). The prizes have been increased since that time, contest spokesman Della Rocca said. The award is part of a national initiative dedicated to assisting the 97 percent of women entrepreneurs with businesses generating less than $1 million in annual revenues, and that show potential to reach the $1 million goal, spokesman Della Rocca said. Only 3 percent of women-owned U.S. businesses generate more than $1 million dollars annually, compared to 6 percent of men-owned businesses in the same category, he said. Nell Merlino, president of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, told the Advance that the judges were impressed with the steady growth of Relax on Cloud Nine. She has two locations and a mobile spa. Those things sold us, she said, adding, Doreen Zayer will be very successful.

The primary reason is bad cash management. Too many self-employed people neglect their cash flow until it is too late to recover. So the big question is: How will you manage your cash flow effectively? If you are not sure, then you are on shaky ground.

Let’s break down these tips one at a time.

Fast Collection

In your business, you should collect money as fast as you can. To do so, try these four things: – Try to speed up customer orders by having them e-mail their orders to you straight from your website. – Send out your invoices the same day goods are shipped, not a week or two later. – Indicate on your invoice when payment is due, and specify the penalty interest for late payment. Enforce late fees.

Deposit Money Fast!

This seems only obvious, but it’s extremely important.

Always deposit checks the same day they are received. Don’t hold checks until the next day because you lose one day’s float. Key point: you can lose three days of float by not depositing Friday’s checks until Monday.

- Compare pricing for merchant credit card services; run credit cards as soon as payment due.

- Obtain availability of 0 to 2 days on deposited checks. Don’t let your bank give you the customer availability of 1 to 5 days. Be persistent. Ask the bank for its “availability schedule” and scan it to be sure you’re receiving fast availability of two days or less.

- Each bank has its own availability schedule. This is used to assign check availability to consumers, business (commercial accounts), and large corporate accounts. Availability is the number of days until you can use the money deposited by check as cash. For example, a $1,000 check deposited today and assigned a one-day availability can be withdrawn as cash tomorrow.

- Don’t deposit checks in a bank’s Automated Teller Machine or use the Night Depository since you have no evidence that you actually deposited the checks you said you did. Remember, you only receive a receipt that shows the time and dollar amount on the deposit at the ATM, and you get no receipt at the Night Depositor.

- Ask your bank about its deadline for receiving availability on deposited checks. Some banks may require a deposit of an encoded check by 2 p.m., even though the bank is open to 5 p.m. Make sure you make this deadline, otherwise you lose one day’s float.

- Before using a bank’s ATM for check deposits, find out the bank’s availability deadline. Some banks have a 12 noon cut-off time which means that any checks deposited later are considered to be deposited the next day! In that case, you lose an entire day’s float, even though you did your bit to get the checks cashed.

Have a Super Tight Accounts Receivable Policy

Many people think it is no big deal to neglect accounts receivable until bills are collectible. This is bad cash flow policy. Here are seven excellent tips for handling accounts receivable:

- Check the financial health of a new customer before offering them credit. One way of doing this is by using a rating service, such as Dun & Bradstreet (1-800-234-3867).

- Ask a new customer for five business references and don’t neglect to call them.

- Don’t offer too generous discounts, such as 3% for payment in 10 days. A better rate is 1.5% cash discount. It costs you less.

- Charge a “late fee” of 2% per month to customers who pay late and charge back customers who take discounts after the discount periods.

- Follow up on late payers with phone calls and letters. These may seem a bit extreme, but the first letter should go out the very day the amount is one day late! After 30 days late, start this sequence:

• send out a letter from your attorney
• turn over the account to a collection agency
• use a collection attorney

- Don’t send out new merchandise if bills remain unpaid. Remember that bad debts hurt your bottom line! Be vigilant and try to get at least periodic payments from slow payers.

- Instruct your bank to automatically deposit “returned checks.” Ask your bank if they offer Return Item box service. If they do, then use it to redeposit your check and charge back the bank return item free to your customer.

These seven steps are tough and unrelenting, but they may make the difference between a positive cash flow month and a sluggish month for your business.

Disburse Your Money Slowly

Just the opposite of collecting at the earliest possible moment, you should never pay a day sooner than you have to, unless you get a discount for doing so. A lot of people believe in staying ahead of bills and paying them as early as possible, but that’s just poor cash management. You want to keep your money in your hands as long as you can. Here are five suggestions to slow down your disbursements:

- Pay your invoices on the last day they’re due, not before.

- Try to mail your payment on Thursday or Friday to pick up a few extra days mail float over the weekend.

- Use business credit cards for travel, lodging, meals, and small expenses for yourself and your employees. With credit cards you typically don’t have to make payment until 25 days after receiving the statement. Use this float by investing the money. In total, you can typically keep your money invested for 45 days from date of purchase.

- Don’t issue advances to employees. Have them use their personal credit cards or business cards, if you provide them

- Now, many small businesses neglect to reconcile their monthly bank statements or assume that the bank never makes a mistake. Banks do make mistakes, and you must stay on top of your disbursement to control your cash flow. If you are one of those people who simply can’t stand to balance you check book, you can use a bank’s standard account reconcilement services for a low monthly price — $50 to $100 base charge and 5 to 7 cents a check.

No Extra Money in Your Bank Account

Many businesses make the mistake of keeping too much money in their bank accounts to pay for bank services. This money could be used more effectively elsewhere — such as to pay off a loan or to invest at a more competitive rate. Many businesses have no idea how much money to leave in the bank or what alternatives they have to compensate the bank. Take some time to find out what your minimum balance needs to be.

Get an Account Analysis Statement

How do you know how much money (bankers refer to this as “balances”) to leave in your checking account to pay for bank’s services? That’s a question that more business owners should be asking themselves.

- First, get a price list which shows how much your bank charges for services like account maintenance, checks deposited, checks paid, stop payments and wire transfers.

- Ask the bank to send you a monthly “Account Analysis Statement.” The analysis statement contains the average balance levels for the month — both the ledger and the available balance — as well as a listing of services used, their transaction volumes and cost. This statement should be obtained in addition to the regular monthly bank statement.

- Look at the account analysis to see whether you are overcompensating the bank. Then pull out any excess funds and invest them in a high-yielding money market mutual fund, for example.

A word of advice: Smaller banks may not know what you are talking about when you ask for an account analysis. Larger banks often offer such a statement, but you have to ask for it. And don’t let them charge you for this kind of statement since it is only an invoice.

Inventory is Not Cash

Every item you have sitting on your shelf should eventually be transformed into cash in your bank account, and the sooner the better. As long as it’s inventory, it’s basically dead weight. If it is not moving, you’re not having cash flow.

Here are six recommendations to minimize the cost of your inventory:

- Attempt to forecast as accurately as you can the day, week and month what you expect to sell. There is software for this.

- If you are dealing in more than one item, determine which item accounts for 80% of your sales. Then minimize ordering other items that are selling poorly or infrequently.

- Determine how fast you can get inventory, once you order it. Try to order as late as you can. Some firms can use “just-in-time” inventory which enables them to receive their order the day they need it.

- Determine your economic order quantity and don’t order too much inventory just to save a few pennies.

- Shop around and make sure you are getting competitive prices.

- Develop a policy for determining obsolete inventory, and how you can get rid of it. The best way to get rid of dead inventory is to sell it whatever you can get for it, even if that’s only 10 percent of what you paid for it. At least it will generate cash flow.

Don’t Forget Continuity Sales

Once of the most exceptional ways of controlling and improving cash flow well into the future is by employing something called continuity of sales or services.

Continuity sales are simply a contract to purchase products or services on an installment basis for a fixed period of time.

The best example of a continuity sale is a magazine subscription. 12, 24, or 36 issues delivered each month for X amount of dollars. The bigger the subscription, they better deal you get. The publisher gets more money up front, and the customer gets a better deal in the long run. Continuity can apply to anything.

Let’s say you own a dry cleaning business. How about an annual deal to clean 5 shirts or blouses per week for set amount of money? Get people to pay your for the entire week up front for a lot of fast cash flow. You’ll trade a discount for getting business, but you’ll ensure a steady cash flow for months to come. Continuity works with just about any kind of product or service you are offering, from dry cleaning to our personal consulting service. You can structure payments for continuity sales on almost any basis, but it’s best by far to go for complete payment up front. After all, the discount is based on a customer’s commitment, and they’ll be a lot more committed with their money on the line.

Scholarships
66. BPW Career Advancement Scholarships
67. Raise The Nation
68. Talbots Women’s Scholarship
69. The Sunshine Lady Foundation
70. Women In Business Scholarships

Loan Sources
71. Accion USA (formerly Working Capital)
72. American Express Small Business Network
73. Bank of America
74. Business Matchmaking
75. Capital Across America
76. Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps)
77. First Union
78. Fund Isabella
79. New Vista Capital Fund
80. Prosper.com – People-to-People Lending
81. Silicon Valley Bank
82. United Bank
83. Wells Fargo Bank
84. Womens Venture Fund

As a business coach I am recently seeing a trend with several of my small business clients who always, always maintain an admirably positive attitude.  Uncharacteristically, I am seeing avoidance, procrastination and a kind of refusal to look at their business situation; however I must remark that they are maintaining a positive attitude.

One client voiced, “If I just don’t look at it, I am not afraid.”  Who wants to be afraid?  I understand this all too well.  After Christmas vacation I took a hard look at revenue projections and realized I had to cut employee hours.  Honestly, I should have looked three weeks earlier but instead of looking at my numbers I looked at my vision board and hoped for more business instead of looking at my financials or my new strategies for earning revenue.

It reminds me of the three monkeys; see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.  A positive attitude may be easier when we are not looking, listening or talking about the economy or loss of revenue but is it practical and is it empowering? is it really the healthiest way to deal with the business challenges we face and what about our own well being?

Its human nature I guess to avoid looking at what’s changing, an understandable phase for any and all of us to move through but not a good place to hangout and get stuck.  As business owners, if we don’t look at the reality of what is happening we can’t powerfully make our next move.  We can’t anticipate and head off potential crisis and we can’t make the adjustments needed to stay in business and even potentially thrive.

Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team:

What are your financials telling you?  How will we strategically cut operating costs? Will we reduce your ability to compete effectively if we do?  Will we reduce the quality of our product with these cuts?  Will we reduce the goodwill we have worked so hard to build?  How are our employees feeling?  What layoffs are coming, if any?  How will we prepare them?  How can we all pull together?  How will we have to change our business development plan?  Has our market dried up?  Do we need new markets, services or products?  What habits will I have to change or adjust?  What business practices will change?  How will our marketing message change?

Of course, none of us want to be in “fear,” maybe that’s a phase as well, just another emotion to move through?  I find I have much more energy, peace and power when I am practically looking at what is happening in the world and in my business.  After all when you are awake and paying attention you don’t miss any of the miracles either!