CVS Blog

Use a Vision Statement to Keep Up With Your Goals

Sometimes we lose track of our goals, but it happens to everyone. We get stuck in a place that is leading us to a dead end. But it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s what vision statements are for.

A vision statement bluntly states your goal and what you need to do to achieve your goal.

It’s not on a wish list that says, “Some day I would like to have, ‘_____’”.

Embellish it as much as possible with all the details of your new life.

The greater the detail the easier it is for it to become part of you. The more you read it the more your posture and self assurance will improve. As these improve your attitude will improve because you are becoming your vision; you are the person that has and does all of these things because in your subconscious you are creating the you that you have always deserved to be.

This will increase your self-confidence and you will feel so much better about yourself.

Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services
PO Box 93 Quinns Rocks, Western Australia 6030
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How To Conquer Intimidating Goals

Learning new skills can be intimidating. But we feel intimidated because we underestimate ourselves. Learning to drive is a good example. Most people don’t think they can do it. But these people have had no accidents to date. So how hard can it be?

We’ve all thought something was too hard for us and shied away from it. But we can put an end to this.

Here are some tips on how to conquer intimidating goals:

Write it down on a piece of paper.
Think of someone who you don’t find as smart as you but is doing the thing you’d like to be able to do.
Make a beginning and keep moving forward in the direction you want to go.

It’s that easy to get started.

Give yourself permission to be a beginner when you begin. And if you feel a compulsion to be perfect, then just be a perfect beginner.

How To Develop A Motivated Mindset

Sometimes getting motivated seems like a difficult task, but all you need are the proper tools and techniques to get you started.

But you’re not alone. Everyone goes through times like that.

Here are some tips to help break you out of your rut.

Take a ‘Time Out’.
Prolonged stress can only make this problem worse. Instead, take some time to breathe and remember why you’re trying to get motivated in the first place.
Get inspired.
Read something motivational, inspirational or uplifting. Focusing on nothing but work and our daily tasks in life can leave us feeling pretty uninspired. It’s easy to turn it around if we want to. We just have to seek out things that will lift our spirits and our moods.
Get excited.
Rekindle your enthusiasm and think about all the possibilities that can come out of getting motivated.
Baby steps.
Trying to jump right into a project can be overwhelming. Take small steps and try not to do too much at one time.
Care of the body.
Sometimes our feelings of fatigue are caused by physical deficiencies, not mental. Be sure you are getting enough rest, eating food that nourishes your body, drinking enough water, getting enough exercise, etc.

What Does Success Mean To You?

As we kick off the year many of us will be making New Year resolutions, setting goals for the next 12/9/6/3 months.

Angie

As we get underway how we measure our success will determine our happiness…. or lack of it. If we achieve our goals we are happy, if we don’t we are disappointed.

There is always more to do and strive for. When we keep our eye on what is still yet to be done we are always focusing on what we still don’t have in our lives.

As you progress through the year, in fact, before it really gets underway, stop and consider how much you have accomplished.

How did you start 2012?

LOOK BACK and notice how you have IMPROVED in any area of your life – even if it is a VERY SMALL improvement.

Review daily the progress you make and what you have learnt. This helps you reframe set backs and challenges into positive learnings and keeps your focus on where you are heading.

Every Friday look back and acknowledge the progress you have made. This particular helps when you are implementing new skills.

Every month and quarter look back and celebrate what has been achieved and accomplished.

When you look back and acknowledge how far you have come, what you have learnt it makes it easier to continue on, it can lift your spirit and make your thoughts about what you have done more accurate.

So before you really start the working year, take a moment to review and reflect all that you have achieved in 2012. Get a book to collect your reflections through the year.

Promise yourself that this year will stop, acknowledge and celebrate with your team (or on your own if you are a solopreneur) regularly.

Give yourself credit for all that you do and start the year with a sense of accomplishment knowing that you’ll do even better in 2013.

Stay in touch,

Angie

How to Conduct Market Research for Your Online Business

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to fail to understand your market. Before you start spending all of your time and money dedicated to one target niche or product, you need to carry out thorough market research. Don’t even begin to create a business plan until you’ve done the following:

Keyword Research
Keyword research is the first step for most online marketers. It will help you to understand what people are searching for online and what words they are using. There are numerous tools that can help you do this research, including Google’s own AdWords keyword tool, a free and paid tool from Wordtracker, and a popular software program called Market Samurai.It can take a bit of practice to learn to do keyword research well, but knowing the most commonly searched terms will help you target the problems that people are facing. It also means you can optimize any content you create, helping it rank well in the search engines.

Problems People Are Facing
When you know the problems people in your target market are facing, you can begin to create solutions; solutions sell. Look at the questions people are asking and why they are being asked. Look for the places your target market hangs out, like forums or Facebook groups, and lurk there. Watch the discussions that take place and the questions being asked. If there are problems that people consistently talk about, you’ve just found a great opportunity to provide a solution.

Paint a Portrait of Your Customers
It helps to paint a portrait of your ideal customer in as much detail as possible. This isn’t necessarily a visual picture, though some people do that, but one that describes little details about them.
- What are their demographics, such as age, gender, occupation, where they live, etc?
- What is some of the “lingo” they use?
- Do they tend to have similar interests or hobbies?
Write it all down. Some marketers keep this list in front of them whenever they write anything for or to their customers.
Who Are Your Competitors?
Know your enemy! Well, they aren’t really your enemy, but you must have a full understanding of who your competitors are so you know just what you need to do to be successful. Identify your biggest competitors by looking at who else is selling solutions when you search for answers to the problems your market has.

What are they selling?
Where are they selling it?
What kind of language do they use in their sales copy?
How does one competitor differentiate themselves from another?
What are the prices of their products and what kind of backend sales do they do?

You could become a customer of some of your biggest competitors and literally “stalk” them by learning their sales process and the types of email messages and follow-ups they do. This will give you ideas on what you can do to compete with them.

While it can take what seems like a lot of time, effective market research can save you from sinking a fortune in time and money in a doomed venture. The more market research you do from the start in order to understand your market, the less risk you will face.