The quickest way to cancel out all the thought, work, energy, time and expense you've poured into promoting your business is with indiscretions. I'm not talking about giving your clients' confidential materials to their competitors, though that certainly will kill your business I'm talking about the indiscretions that leak out of your mouth, such as:
Most of us only leak such indiscretions when we let our guard down for a moment, or when we want to impress the person in front of us, or when we're very ticked off at someone. Others of us are just so darn pessimistic and negative that bad-mouthing is our modis operandi it's just how we move through life, so why should we change now?
"Heck, Rose, we've earned the right to criticise and complain haven't we? The economy is lousy right now. We're at war with terrorists. We're in a drought. And my dog doesn't like me anymore!"
Oops, there are all those too-human rationalizations coming to the fore again.
If you want your business to succeed, your indiscretions need to stop. Remember Mom's old adage "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything"? Your Mom was right.
I'll bet you aren't even aware of how often and when you are indiscrete. I certainly wasn't. (Sure, I'm human too, ya know!) If you'd asked me if I would ever engage in indiscretions that would hurt my business, I would have been aghast, even though I know better. I'm monitoring my own languaging these days. (And so is my Business Coach.) It's amazing how entrenched some thought patterns and language phrasing can become.
My personal rationalization about my indiscretions revolved around "The client has asked for my professional opinion about XYZ. And that's what she's paying me for. So here goes..." And then those nasty negative and indiscrete things gently drop from my tongue and I say "I've hired both ABC and XYZ companies to do work for me in the past. I've found ABC company to be difficult because..." and I'm off and running with all the things I don't particularly like about ABC company. But I'm turning it around, and so can you. I'm shifting my thought patterns to "I've hired both ABC and XYZ companies to do work for me in the past. I just love working with XYZ company because..."
Now, doesn't that look like the easiest shift in the world? But, as in all changes of habit, it may be simple, but it sure isn't easy!
Here's how to get on top of any indiscretions you might be leaking:
Copyright 2004, Rose Hill, Inc
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Rose Hill, Founder and Owner,of Biz Whiz Expert (http://www.SoloBizVille.com) and Team Member of Solo-E.Com (http://www.Solo-E.Com) has been self-employed since 1990. Knowing how to run corporate departments and how to market corporate entities, products, and services did nothing to prepare her for successfully running and marketing a one-person business. That is why Rose created the SoloBizVille and SoloBizU community - to specifically to help solo entrepreneurs jumpstart their business success without all the trial-and-error learning.
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*********** Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com ? Keeping Solo Entrepreneurs Juiced in Business and in Life. Our team of Solo Entrepreneurs are comprised of small business experts who support others in finding business success with the flexibility and freedom to have a life, too. Network with other freelancers, self-employed and Solo Entrepreneurs in our forums, enjoy our articles and newsletter, and find other online training opportunities. *****
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