Joyce Bone

I am here to share with you a secret…the real truth about millionaires. How do I know? I am one. I have also personally interviewed over 50 millionaire moms and dozens of business experts. Are you ready? Are you sure you can you handle the truth? They are just like you! They had doubts and were scared. They experienced fear. The difference between these moms and the rest of the world is they pushed forward in spite of it. Timing, trends and offering real value have a good bit to do with success but the overall basic personality traits are consistent. These ladies took massive action and refused to give up on their dreams.

Why Should I Set A Goal To Become A Millionaire?

As an entrepreneur you can bring balance to your family life. You have more flexibility. Work becomes redefined. You are working in area of your choosing. It should no longer feel like work-at least the majority of the time. You will have your own money and independence. Your kids and husband know that you are available if they need you. You will find fulfillment outside of your role as mother. Motherhood is the only job in the world where if you are good at it you will have worked your way out of a job! Your family won't take you for granted. You will feel validated and stimulated. Your enthusiasm will be contagious. What is more intoxicating then being around someone who soaks up life and is living it full out? That's what I want for you.

If that doesn't motivate you maybe these sobering statistics will: 47% of women over the age of 50 are single. 50% of marriages end in divorce. In the first year of a divorce a woman's standard of living drops an average of 73%. Of the elderly living in poverty 3 out of 4 are women-and 80% of them were not poor when their husbands were alive. Nearly 7 out of 10 women will at some time live in poverty (statistics from Rich Woman by Kim Kiyosaki). As women we no longer have the luxury of sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to money.

Let's assume I have convinced you building your own business is what you want for your life. You may be wondering what the next step is?

Idea Challenge

When it came time to start my own business I started scratching my head. I had no ideas. Here is a little exercise I forced myself to do to generate some. First rule is there are no rules. The object is to write ten ideas down each day for ten days. At the end of the ten days you will have hit on something. Do not try to censor the ideas write down whatever floats into your mind. It doesn't matter what how silly they are (and believe me you will come up with some really dumb ones!). I did this and I ended up thinking about the business model I had been exposed to working my way through college. I took the concept and applied it to a different industry. The rest is history.

I am in the business of empowering moms. I make it a point to investigate various opportunities available to them. I have either tried these business models myself or studied them. The fields I have identified as being a good starting point for new mompreneurs are: turning a hobby into a business, internet marketing, eBay, multi-level marketing and real estate. The basis for this recommendation is that they are combine some or all of the following: financially rewarding, flexible, low risk entry points. In the case of multi-level marketing it has a vast network of people to support you in your quest to grow your business. They have a vested interest in you. I even found a card system MLM, SendOutCards where you can sell business to business if you like bypassing friends and family -- www.goodhabitcards.com.

Surround yourself with Mentors

You can save yourself time, money and aggravation by hanging out with people who are smarter and more sophisticated than yourself. I know, I know…you're the smartest one in your group but perhaps it's time to expand that circle? To percolate you must circulate. Hanging around the same mugs day after day is not going to enrich your mind or your bank account. There is a saying I incorporate into my own life-you are the sum total of the five people you hang around the most. Take a look around-is this a good thing or a bad thing for you? The right crowd is where we want you! I am not judging anyone here. I am only pointing out that people like us who have goals, dreams and enthusiasm need to be surrounded by positive influences who believe in our efforts. You want to hang around friends who speak of good things and support you in your efforts. My suggestion is to remove yourself from the influence of the gossipers and pessimist who prefer to point out the negative or infect your mind with doubt. After all, to quote my father's favorite T-shirt, "How can I fly like an eagle when I'm surrounded by turkey's?!"

That's great Joyce but I don't any smart or influential people. Oh yes you do. They are as close as the nearest library-check out CD's on tape or go onto ITunes and download podcasts. I highly suggest creating a Mastermind group. The one I am a member of has catapulted my career to new heights and has created friendships that will last a lifetime. What is a mastermind group? It consists of intelligent, highly motivated individuals that come together for the sole purpose of furthering our careers. We listen to each other struggles and triumphs offering our unique perspective on how to overcome or achieve a problem or accomplishment. If you would like more information feel free to email me.

Flow

It has been my experience over the past 12 years having bought and sold roughly thirty businesses the deals that were most profitable and enjoyable seemed to have "flow". What is flow? It is the right doors opening at the right time. It is getting the job done-a lack of resistance. I am not suggesting there shouldn't be bumps along the way but they should be surmountable without too much anguish and difficulty. I have been on that side of the table too where every step seemed to lead from one roadblock to another and another. In my experience that is the time to re-evaluate. You may not be on the right track.

Fear

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. --T.S. Eliot

Worry is a close cousin of fear and 90% of what we worry about never happens so why bother?

Fear is a real physiological state. You can get physically sick from fear. You must learn to control it. Don't dwell on fear it will draw whatever it is you least want to have happen directly to you. Focus on what you want. That is a key piece of advice. Think about what you want. It will help you on so many levels both logical and universal.

I consider rejection to be a form of fear. If you are afraid to open your mouth and ask for what you want, need or desire you will never succeed. Force yourself to ask. You are no worse off by asking. Think about it-you are already living the "no" answer because you don't have what you desire. The difference if you ask and they say yes then you will have what you desire.

Action Plan

Outline your plan but then just start. 80% of success is showing up! It's not that hard folks. Don't over think it. Nothing happens until you do. All of these topics are great to discuss but if you don't take action you are wasting genius.

I had a woman ask me last week wonder out loud why she couldn't motivate herself to turn off the TV and get busy on her business. My response was, "You don't want it bad enough. Your business is not important enough and your dreams not big enough." If you set some exhilarating goals you will have to force yourself to stop. I worked 12 hours yesterday from 5:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. I could have kept going but I wanted to take my kids bike riding and to the pool. I love what I am doing! It's a grand adventure not drudgery. I live a life of passion! I want that for you too. Dream big my friend.

What can you do today that can get you one step closer to turning your dreams into reality?

Focus

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. --Aristotle

It's easy to get distracted. Write down all you need to do in a day then look at the list. What are the top 3 to do's that will move your business forward the most? If you are not exactly sure ask yourself, "What on this list will make my cash register ring?" Go to Wikipedia and read up on the Pareto Principle. After you learn about it be sure to apply it.

Children

I resigned from a job I held for 8 years to be a stay at home mom. I thought my path had been set at last. I was going to be "Super Mom!" The problem was after a time I realized I was completely bummed out staying home. It wasn't me. Who knew?! It was then that I realized that life is not black and white but rather a messy shade of gray.

Barbara Carey a millionaire mom inventor inspired her son to start inventing. He invented Water Talkies which was distributed through Toys R Us, Kmart and other stores. He appeared on the David Letterman show. At the age of 13 he received the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. Children are keen observers. They know what their mom and dad are up too!

My piece of advice-ask your children what is most meaningful to them? Don't assume it's that trip to "Build a Bear" where you get the privilege of paying $40 for a stuffed monkey that ends up in the Good Will pile a short time later. My teenage son says it's the "mom stuff". You know, running across town in heavy traffic because he grabbed the wrong pair of baseball pants for the big game. My middle son likes it when I take him bike riding or for a picnic by the river in our backyard. My youngest child likes me to lie down and snuggle with him each night. All children have different needs. Ask your children what is most meaningful to them. You might be surprised at the answers!

Fear & Failure

The majority of the millionaires I have interviewed have had at least one traumatic experience growing their business. The founder of eWomenNetwork, Sandra Yancey was near bankruptcy taping up boxes for shipment at 2 a.m. exhausted and disheartened. She figured out she needed to work on her business rather than in it. Today she owns North America's largest women networking group and is very successful.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" (unknown)

Failure hurts. There is no denying it. I talked to a millionaire mom yesterday who told me she lost $2 million in a deal and had to lay off 300 employees due to her financiers deciding, against her will, to shut down the company. She had given up control for funding the business and it came back to haunt her. Her reaction? She started a new company the next week and now has a business doing revenues in excess of $10 million annually. It's important to learn from our mistakes both in business and in life. Ask yourself, "What is this situation trying to teach me?"

Sara Blakely from Spanx said growing up her father asked her at dinner at night, "So how did you fail today?" He would be disappointed if his children had not tried something new. This took the fear of failure out of her at an early age…after all she didn't want to disappoint her Dad!

If you commit with every ounce of your being, refuse to give up, learn from your mistakes, adjust and continue trying again and again for as long as it takes, how can you possibly fail?

Entrepreneurs are like fishing bobs. You can pull us under but we will always rise back up to the top. Optimism is a key trait for us. Instead of telling yourself, "that can never happen for me. Ask, "Why not me?" Have a positive expectation. The very first thing I do when I open my eyes in the morning (even before my beloved coffee) is to thank God for every good thing in my life (which I name specifically) and for all the good things coming my way.