Ask Others, Trust Yourself

Setting Boundaries

Elisa — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:05:49 +0000

A few months ago when I wrote about the process of editing the book, I shared that one of the chapters didn’t make the cut. Both my mentor and the book’s editor thought that it didn’t make sense to talk about setting boundaries in a book that teaches how to ask for help. In the end, I agreed with them and took the chapter out.

Why did I want to discuss setting boundaries in the first place?

Because depending on how long you’ve been in business, or how many businesses you’ve had so far, you are sure to have encountered people who knew (or assumed they knew), more than you do about your own business. You will encounter many “know it all” throughout your business career with the perfect solution to your business. You will also have clients who think they know the best products you should sell.

Before taking action on the not-asked-for suggestions received, make sure they make sense to you and your business. If the person making the suggestion, insists that you take action, just let her know that you will take her ideas into consideration, and that if you don’t act on it at this time, you will at least write it down for future reference.

The same rule would apply if a client is asking to launch a certain product or service. Your client might know what he or she needs, but even if you hear from one client, it does not mean that you need to make the changes right away. The best thing would be to survey a number of clients and make sure they really want it.

Feel free to share your strategies on setting business boundaries, by posting a comment.

Trust Yourself to Choose the Best New Year’s Resolution Ever: Laughter

Elisa — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:06:05 +0000

A few years ago I could have chosen any New Year’s resolution, and if I would have just followed them, they would have made a huge difference in my life: Find a new job, lose weight, exercise every day, grow my business, go out more, etc. I chose instead to laugh more in the New Year. The year that was ending had been difficult, and I wasn’t feeling great about my life or about myself.

I decided to make a fun New Year’s resolution, and that was to laugh more! And I did it. I committed to watching good/smart comedy shows on TV, I laughed at myself (when, for example, I put my favorite sweater in the washing machine and dryer, and when it came out, not even a kid could wear it! I could have cried but I laughed out loud, and I still do, it was really funny.), I made sure I spent time with friends and laughed with them, and I visited my family a few times and laughed a lot with my parents and little sister.

You may be thinking that this isn’t a hard New Year’s resolution to keep, and it’s not. Nevertheless, if you don’t plant a seed of doing what you really would love to do, it would be harder for you to commit to it and make it happen. Although I haven’t made the same resolution again, I kept going with the laughter. And the other day I went to a comedy club to see a friend perform, and another comedian reminded us: “Laughter is the best medicine”.

What’s going to be your fun New Year’s resolution?

Trust Yourself & Transform Your Business

Elisa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:33:47 +0000

Tonight I taught a workshop called Trust Yourself & Transform Your Business, followed by a book signing, at the Brooklyn Business Library at 280 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn NY.

We discussed how to set achievable business goals for 2010, where to go for business advice, how to transform criticism and negativity into positive action, and how to make decisions and trust yourself at all times.

To download the PowerPoint Presentation, click here: Trust Yourself

Have you started working on your 2010 business goals? If you would like, feel free to post some of your goals by leaving a comment below.

Photos Book Signing November 9th 2009

Elisa — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:01:25 +0000

Elisa Balabram and her parents Moyses and Fany Balabram

Nina Kaufman, Esq., Elisa Balabram, Allison Lehr Samuels

Elisa Balabram and Dolly Peress

Chi-Ya Huang, Elisa Balabram, Maria Li

Trust Yourself & Transform Your Business

Elisa — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:24:58 +0000

Tuesday, December 8th from 6pm to 7:30pm

Click to View Flyer: Trust Yourself

Brooklyn Business Library – 280 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Author and Business coach Elisa Balabram shares tips from her book and helps you to get going with your ideas. Please register online at www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/business, or call 718-623-7000 and select option 4.

10 Secrets to asking for business help

Elisa — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:20:20 +0000

Secret #1 Start by asking yourself what do you need help with.

Secret #2 Make a list of your contacts and their areas of expertise.

Secret #3 If you don’t know anyone with the expertise you are looking for, ask for referrals.

Secret #4 Before hiring a coach, consultant or other business professional, ask for references and contact them.

Secret #5 Articulate your problem or issues you are having, and stay open to the feedback you receive.

Secret #6 Listen to the suggestions, and then filter the information received, by checking in with yourself.

Secret #7 Make a list of all the possible actions you could take, and number them according to your priorities.

Secret #8 For each action, before pursuing it, see how it resonates with you. If you are not sure, consider asking another person.

Secret #9 Take some time to meditate, journal, draw, create a vision board, and check in with yourself. Trust your intuition!

Secret #10 Learn more by reading: Ask Others, Trust Yourself: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Key to Success. http://bit.ly/13H1tM

Editing

Elisa — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:45:49 +0000

I didn’t think editing my own work would be as hard as it was. I spent a long time moving information around, deleting paragraphs, and trying to choose the best chapters’ order. After a few months, it was time to hire a copy editor. A friend of mine posted on a few lists she belongs to, what I was looking for. I interviewed a few of the respondents by email or by phone, and chose one.

She was great and helped me a lot. In the end, one chapter was eliminated from the book (more on this later), and a couple of chapters became one. After the editor’s review, I asked two friends with business expertise to read the book and give me feedback and their suggestions were very helpful.

Commitment

Elisa — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:24:19 +0000

If you have a book inside of you and don’t know where to begin, or if you have started one but don’t seem to be able to finish it, the first thing you need to do is to commit to it. Once you make a decision that this book is important to you, and you need to write it, then it is time to write an outline or storyline, and then start writing.

I was able to write most of “Ask Others, Trust Yourself”, after committing to work on it every morning, every day, even if it was only for 15 minutes. Take some time to reflect on the time you are the most creative, and discuss with your family or let them know, that you need a few minutes each day, to work on this project, and that you need their support.

Testimonials

Elisa — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:01:16 +0000

You can submit your testimonial to be included here, by submitting a comment to this post. Click on Comments to read what readers are saying about the book!

The Outline 2

Elisa — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:06:18 +0000

It wasn’t that difficult to come up with an outline for the book. But it wasn’t easy to follow the outline, though! Once I started writing, I soon realized that I had to allow my creative mind to write without limiting it to the outline. After I wrote a big portion of the book, I started editing it and making it fit into the outline. I was advised by my editors to delete one of the chapters, and to modify the title of a few other chapters. It was a lot of work to edit it, and to move chapters around, but we were able to do it.

When I met with the first editor to get her comments and edits, she suggested that next time I write a book, I should write an outline before I start writing it. I told her that I had an outline; I just didn’t follow it every time I wrote!