First, my apologies for being out of touch, but I believe you deserve an explanation as to what’s going on over here at my offices.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for JulieAnne Jones’ blog about what to do when things get tough in your business. In it, I offer six tips for navigating tough times successfully. One of those is to be honest with your “tribe” when things aren’t perfect. So here goes…

You may or may not have already heard, but we did, in fact, cancel the live event that I had planned for this weekend.

The Renaissance Mom Experience was to be one of those “powerful, life changing events” – leaving a big impact on each of the attendees. At this point, I believe we have refunded everyone. If I missed you, please contact my team.

We’re still planning to do something in terms of a virtual event. That will begin on Sunday, August 29. If you are on the event notification list, you’ll learn more soon enough.

But in the meantime, I’m putting out all kinds of fires at headquarters. So many unexpected “emergencies” have developed (from cancelling the event and other things), that I’m doing all I can to keep my head on straight this week.

Like finding out that the IRS has fouled up every payroll tax filing for me for the past YEAR. So now we’re digging through the archives to clean up THEIR mess (Bonnie, if you’re reading this, don’t worry. Your payroll tax payments are fine, it’s the paper returns they’ve goofed up! No worries!)

And that’s just the tip of this week’s iceberg. Some of the issues directly impact me, others indirectly (like my bookkeeper’s family issues), but all of them are weighing heavy on me right now.

Which means all of my normal “routine” activities have gone by the wayside.

That’s the bad news.

Sorry, there’s no newsletter, no blog posts, and very little contact from me at the moment.

Add to that the fact that we’re closing the offices for the Labor Day Holiday and you can see I’m “up to my elbows in alligators” as an old friend used to say.

Our offices will be closed from September 2-7 (me and all the staff are taking time off. No promises on if we’ll be checking email much or voice mail at all). We’ll re-open on September 8.

There’s a reason my company’s logo is a phoenix.

Some awesome new products and services will be rolling out in September and later this fall. But between now and then, I’m going to be very hard to connect with as the dust settles from the fallout of this week.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, in all honesty, because I’ve been feeling like a fraud for NOT telling you sooner. I mean, I coach YOU to be completely transparent in your business and let your teams, your clients and your associates know what’s really going on. People know you’re not perfect, so to present that illusion to the world is tantamount to living a lie.

I would be a fraud to pretend that all is well in the land of Lisa this week. It’s not. Far from it.

But this, too, shall pass. And then, we’ll be back on track and right as rain.

Yes, you’ll be hearing from me in the interim, but not on any particular schedule. Those of you active in any of my coaching courses will see a delay in course delivery – BUT all content WILL be delivered. As always, you can email or call and we’ll do our best to help you with any questions you have, just realize it might take us longer than usual to reply – especially during the Labor Day holiday.

I’m doing everything in my power to keep all the promises I’ve made to everyone and not work myself to death in the process.

Lessons Learned

Every once in a while, you have to make time to take time to deal with life. I would be a fake and a phony if I didn’t practice what I preach.

I know there are at least a few people that would try to cover their tracks and put a marketing “spin” on something like this.

“We’ve decided to ‘go virtual’ to let more people experience the event.”
“Special pricing is open AGAIN – but only for twelve seconds.”
“Bring your friends, your dog, your cat, and a total stranger for FREE.”
“Get fifteen extra bonuses when you sign up before the sun sets today.”

Blah, blah, blech.

No can do. We priced this thing at an incredibly affordable rate (less than $1000 including your room and meals), so I’m not going to cheapen the value of the content by playing those games. The plain truth is that we didn’t sell enough tickets for me to justify keeping everyone’s money (including our awesome sponsors) to bring out these amazing speakers to share their story with a teensy weensy audience. I could have kept the money and played to an audience of twenty people, but it just felt inauthentic and unfair when we were touting this as a large scale event with about 300 people.

Other people may feel comfortable playing that game, but to me, it’s just dishonest and makes you look desperate.

If I were a speaker, I’d want a better return on my time investment. If I were a sponsor, I’d want all the eyeballs originally promised. As an attendee, I might be excited about a smaller, more intimate group, but I might be bummed that I wasn’t meeting enough people.

In business, you have to know when to cut your losses, and sometimes that means nixing a pet project. Cancelling this event was one of the top five heartbreaks of my life. Not because it meant losing income (it’s only money, after all), but because of the mission I still feel compelled to serve – to help mompreneurs bring balance to their life and their work without apologies.

Time and again, that was what I was hearing – apologies about how it was too far, too short notice, too many days, etc. Which tells me the idea was good, but the offer wasn’t good enough. But that’s another post for another day.

Simply put, I know there’s a demand for the material, so we’re working out a way to deliver a portion of the content from the live event in a virtual format starting August 29.

When you cancel an event like this, there are lots of egos to stroke and apologies to be made – and that’s just at my house! The stress my husband and I endured during the summer was epic. Cancelling the event led to all kinds of inquisitions, concerns, and arguments. Again, another post for another day.

Then there’s fees and contracts you have to honor. We’re still working on that.

And THEN the IRS rears their ugly head? Yeesh. Is it any wonder I need a break?

It’s created a lot of chaos, uproar, and difficulty that I simply can’t ignore. Nor would I want to, in truth. So I’m asking for your patience and a little understanding over the next couple of weeks. I’m not ignoring you. We’re just SWAMPED!

And to be clear, no one’s dying, and we’re not closing up shop any time soon. I just need a couple of weeks to get these fires put out and get business back on track.

The GOOD news, is that after the Labor Day holiday is over, we’ve got a TON of great things planned to help you make the last few months of the year your best ever. It pains me to have to wait to share it with you, but I’ve got to clear the path, first.

When the dust settles, there’s gonna be a major blog series about this, you can be sure.

Until then, there are a couple of things you might be interested in:

• If you’re in direct sales, we’ve got special pricing on the videos from Home Party Solution LIVE until August 31. This is the video from last year’s 3-day event. We go end-to-end through the book, with additional bonus content.
• Get registered for the virtual version of The Renaissance Mom Experience (free, even though the site’s not completely updated yet. It’s on the to-do list for the week)
• 30 Days to Renaissance (also free, you can register in the sidebar over there —>) is a 30-day e-course to help you get from Reluctance to Renaissance in your life and business. Just proves I try to practice what I preach.

LASTLY, if you have questions, concerns or comments, we ARE checking the email and the phone messages (and you can DM me on twitter). Just don’t expect an immediate response. Things are plain crazy here at the moment.

In more than a dozen years of business, I have never felt so much in a pressure cooker before. And if you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know how seriously I take my client relationships. For me to basically put business “on hold” to put out fires is a strong indicator of the level of chaos we’re feeling right now.

But sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Thanks for your understanding.

When we launched The Renaissance Mom at the beginning of the year, I had no idea what would happen.

Our mission is to help 10,000 mompreneurs and working mothers bring balance to their life and work without apologies or excuses. It was a mission God laid on my heart nearly two years ago to the day.

The journey from there to here has not at all been what I planned nor imagined.

“My ways are not your ways.” says the Lord.

Quite.

In truth, for all the forward motion and “tally-ho!” attitude I bring to my work and my life, I’ve probably been the biggest heel dragger of all when it comes to growing this business.

I never really thought of myself as a “mompreneur” or a “wahm” in the first place. I’ve written before about the negative perceptions people hold about those labels. I, too, held some prejudice about those labels. So much, that I felt compelled to create a new “brand” of working mother – The Renaissance Mom.

Renaissance is about re-birth. Despite any scriptural connotations that might bring to mind, we carefully chose our logo to bring to mind the two most recognizable symbols of rebirth – the phoenix and the cross. Simply put, this company is committed to helping working mothers make the transition from reluctance to renaissance.

Why then, have I been dragging my heels on this business? Several reasons:

1. It’s not my business. Yes, I’m the founder, and my name is the owner of record. No, it’s not a company in name only. This is God’s business, not mine. Often times, I get up in the morning inspired to take actions so far removed from my comfort zone, I have a hard time doing them. I constantly ask “why” and find myself doing it anyway. Today I met a charming guy at a local ad agency. We talked for more than an hour as he shared generously some ideas to help promote The Renaissance Mom Experience to a more local audience. I went in with no real idea of what to expect. I walked away with so many blessings, I wanted to cry. It’s hard for me to invest myself fully in something that’s not mine. I’ve been burned by other partners in the past, and trust is hard won from me. The silly thing is, if I can’t trust God as my partner, who can I trust?
2. I like being in control. I like having an agenda that I’ve laid out and can work from. God is more extemporaneous than that – at least with me. And although it bugs me a little, I’m trying to go with His flow. But it’s hard, and sometimes downright frustrating. Letting go is not something that comes easy to me. Particularly when I’m “letting go to let God” so to speak. I have many “other” things to do, and sometimes I think I have better things to do. God and I don’t always see eye to eye. Luckily, He still loves me anyway.
3. Show me the money. To be frank (perhaps a little too frank), The Renaissance Mom has been entirely funded from the beginning by my other business endeavors. I’m not complaining, just noticing that the company is not profitable, and while I’m doing my best to remain faithful to God’s calling, it would be nice to turn a profit from the work we’re doing to help working moms. Perhaps it’s a bad time to start a company like this, but the demand for what we’re doing has been so overwhelming that we can’t stop now. For an unknown start-up, we’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of women (and a few men) since January gain more balance and clarity in their lives, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s odd for me to run a company that’s not paying for itself, and if this is the mission God has laid on my heart, then maybe it’s not supposed to be profitable. I haven’t figured that one out yet.

That’s been my journey for the past few months, and through it, I’ve made some tremendous realizations:

1. God is always in control. That may sound like a “blatantly Christian” thing to say on a blog, but it’s true. Every time we’ve had a need for this event, there’s been a supply. I’ve been shy about giving the glory for it to God, and that ends today. God deserves the glory, because there’s no logical reason that this event should be happening at all, let alone happening successfully. And it is happening successfully. Whoever heard of bootstrapping an entire 3-day conference? God is miraculous and I need to stop dragging my heels telling other people about it.
2. Business is still business. Partners, sponsors and others connected to the work we do still want to see a return – they want to know what’s in it for them. Having a great idea isn’t good enough. Communicating that idea isn’t good enough. Providing the return makes the difference.
3. I still have a lot to learn. I’ve never claimed to be anybody’s guru. That’s a role for someone other than me. What I do is connect the dots for people, point them to resources, and hopefully help someone along the way. Very much of my success has been accidental, but now I’m in a position where a significant number of people actually look to me for advice/help. God help us all.

There are other lessons, to be sure, and my own renaissance is ongoing. When you step out in faith in a very public way, there’s bound to be obstacles. I’ve tried to stay low-key for a long time, and it’s just not going to work anymore. You may have already seen the shift, heard the undertones, and wondered what’s going on.

I’ve been pulling together a new approach for clients and folks like you that want to move forward with confidence  - out of reluctance and into renaissance. It’s very uncreatively called “30 Days to Renaissance”, and it is my new tool for stopping the heel dragging.

And you can have it free.

In light of my profitability comments earlier, free may be a bad choice, but it’s an e-course, delivered daily to your in-box, so it feels weird to charge you for it. Plus, God said to make it free, so I’m not going to argue with HIM.

You can fill out the opt-in box on our home page or Click here to get more details.

If it takes you from Reluctance to Renaissance, please share it with a friend. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your revelations about moving forward in faith in your life and business.

I am jealous – a little.

Okay, a lot. But it will pass soon enough.

My pal @elizabethpw remodeled her website. I’m sharing some of the pertinent insights to my audience on my direct sales blog, but today, I wanted to share the discoveries that are pertinent to you.

See I created that site eons ago, when I was just a fledgling online person. I shunned WordPress (not one of my better decisions, I’ll admit). I was creating pages by hand (still do sometimes). I thought I was doing well.

Then the other day, I got an email from Liz Pabon, where she wrote this:

Our inner knowing is like an attic filled with great treasures made up of our knowledge, experiences and wisdom.  And sometimes those treasures are blocked or hidden by the cobwebs of self-neglect.

And I got to thinking about all the “stuff” that’s crammed into that site. 2 years of teleclasses (yes, 2 freakin’ years worth). Classes, courses, downloads and handouts. All of it muddled, mixed around, and hard to navigate.

I was making it difficult for people to buy from me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like earning my keep. I enjoy getting paid for the contribution I make. I think I do a pretty good job of sharing what works, and it’s important to my family that I’m compensated appropriately for my “genius work” as my coach calls it.

But buried within layers of links, pages and other subterfuge, it wasn’t easy to do business with me. And the irony is, I tell people time and again to make it easy for customers to do business with you.

I’m accessible. I’m probably too accessible. If someone sends an email, a tweet or a facebook post, I usually respond – and pretty quickly when I’m able. And I answer questions, provide tons of advice and strategies to help my clients and strangers who may never be my clients.

But on more than one occasion, I’ve had people say the very same thing that I read at the top of Elizabeth’s blog post (except that my name’s Lisa and not Elizabeth).

But in my own head, I thought I was being really clear. I was following all the “rules” about building an opt-in list, creating info products, doing launches, and sharing “free content” with my followers (you know, “the what” but not “the how” stuff we’ve been fed).

So I’m blowing it up – for fun AND profit.

I’ve had this vision for an entire training program much like a college curricula for direct sales pros that want to run their business like a real business. But it’s built around small group coaching – classroom style – and that violates “the rules” of online marketing.

See, according to “the rules”, I’m supposed to create content once, get paid to do it, and then re-package it into an info-product I can sell over and over. It’s a great way to produce “passive” income, but if you follow “the rules”, the bulk of that revenue comes during the product launch, and then trickles in over the lifetime of the product. The more affiliates you have promoting the launch, the more money you stand to make when it launches. Which is why you hear a LOT about people that have multi-million dollar launches, but then you never hear how the product does on the back end.

Things that make me go hmmm…

I’ve been doing this “info marketing thang” for a couple of years now, and when I was green, I was following “the rules” religiously. Step-by-step, cranking out teleclasses, setting up continuity programs, etc. And in the last three weeks it hit me that I wasn’t being authentic in my business.

For as much as I enjoy “passive” income. I had become a slave to “the rules” – and they really didn’t fit me or the way I wanted to do business.

Here’s the truth I’ve learned in the past two years in my online business:

• People will buy info products, but they’ll pay more to work directly with you.
• Info products by themselves are mostly worthless. They sit on shelves and collect dust. I think it was Dan Kennedy that said 20% of your customers will never even open the product. And to get USED to that. Um, sorry. That does not compute for me.
• My business is seeing a shift towards hands-on help that guides people through the info products. And that’s because…
• People get better results with hands-on help.
• Small groups rock. The synergy, the energy and the masterminding that goes on is exponentially better than self-study, and bridges the gap between info products and live events.
• The biggest payday happens at product launch. BUT…
• Big launches leave big gaps in your cash flow.

There’s nothing wrong with helping people and getting paid to do it, folks. That’s what teachers and mentors have been doing for centuries. The catch is to price yourself accordingly for the services you perform. There’s always someone who thinks you’re too expensive, and someone that sees you as the bargain basement extra meal deal. The key is to find your own value in that mix and be fair with your pricing. There’s NO disputing the fact that hands-on help is worth more than info-products all day long.

That’s why you’re seeing a surge in live events, big ticket “masterminds” and ultra pricey one-on-one coaching programs – complete with swarming, affiliate-driven promotional launches.

But you can’t feasibly launch a big ticket item every month to keep cash flow consistent.

Even the “guru’s” are filling those gaps with smaller ticket product launches, generally joint ventures in a teleclass (small group) format. They can launch them every couple of months, and both partners benefit. In fact, one multi-million dollar guru has already launched 6 products in the first 3 months of the year. Talk about bombarding their audience!

But between affiliate and JV promotions, the cash flow keeps coming in.

Take a look at who’s doing what this year. You’ll see most of them moving away from continuity-based models (especially in light of the new California legislation), and towards more mid-price ($300-500), “one-time-only” tele-series and product launches. It serves the same purpose, but at a higher price point, and with fewer customer service issues.

My own business is taking a similar stance – albeit at a much lower price point in most instances. We’re blowing up HomePartySolution.com – and the entire online community that goes with it – to create a more streamlined user interface, and a more lucrative business platform for the direct sales portion of our coaching business.

In short, I’m going to make it so easy for people to do business with me that my clients will wonder what happened.

It’s not an easy process, by any means, and we’re considering documenting the process to help YOU shorten the learning curve if you ever want to do this in your own business. I estimate the entire site will be down about a month to test everything and make it all operational again – with all the new content we’re adding to boot.

The only thing that will still be live on that site is the home page opt-in for new ezine subscribers. I still plan on sending out the weekly ezine, and generating content behind the scenes. But we won’t be selling anything for about a month over there.

So how am I going to keep the employees paid and the family fed?

With a GI-NORMOUS product launch over here.

Tickets for The Renaissance Mom Experience are slated to go on sale April 15. You can sign up for the advance notification list on that page. You have been warned.

The cool thing is that I’m able to continue to do what I love in a way that I truly enjoy. I am able to connect with the very people I enjoy helping and they are seeing better results because of it. I’m able to leverage myself as well (more on that in another post), and continue to grow both segments of my business (both here and on the direct sales side of things). I can’t wait for you all to see what new things we have in store this quarter.

What about you? I’d love your thoughts and feedback on this. Share your comments below, or send me a note on twitter.

What was supposed to be one of my shortest posts ever, has become sort of a manifesto that feels best presented in “parts”

And so it begins.

I’ve been ruminating about a lot of stuff related to being a coach, developing this new business, the LIVE event we’re planning this fall, and a bunch of other seemingly disconnected ideas. Like ElizabethPW‘s post on the many reasons why she sucks (she doesn’t really, at least not IMHO, but I digress), and overpriced “gurus” and my kid at camp, and how my hubby’s such a baby when he’s sick, deadbeats that don’t pay their child support (thanks, @unmarketing), and a host of other, um, stuff.

Then I found a connection: Self Worth

This funky little thread that ties it all together.

And I owe a heaping helping of gratitude to the amazing Marcia Hoeck for clicking it all together for me. See, I’m one of a handful of clients that’s working with her in the “End of the Elevator Pitch” small group coaching program she developed to help us clarify the “what do you do” question without using an elevator pitch (apologies to Barbara Lopez!).

I love my elevator pitches. They’re great. I don’t plan on ditching them anytime soon. This course, for me, was more to help me hone in on my ideal client for The Renaissance Mom as we finalize the plans for our Live event in the fall.  I wanted to have the right words to say to bring clients that resonated with the message of the event – because I want to have a packed house. I figured Marcia’s marketing experience would be a great place to start – and I might meet a few people in the group that would resonate with it.

As usual, I got WAY more than I expected – just in the first session.

In one of the exercises, Marcia walked me through a process to help me understand the value I bring to the table. The irony was that it’s something very similar to what I do in my own coaching practice. Godly enough, Marcia is quick to remind us that even the sharpest knife can’t carve it’s own handle (Thanks, Marcia!).

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve known at the core that my best work is in helping people understand their value. I’m very good at showing a person how they are LOGICALLY worth more than a few measly bucks an hour – particularly women. I’m not talking about jacking up some inflated pricing scheme, but really helping a person to see the value they have as a business owner AND as a human being. To me, that ‘human’ thing is more important, anyway.

What I didn’t get was WHY I was so good at it, or more importantly, why I was feeling called to serve people in this capacity.

I mean, I’ve got a great business working with direct sales reps, and I’ve been happy to plug along in that niche for the past 2 years. Frankly, I’ve rebelled at the idea of being some kind of mom-preneur. It felt like a stigma or some kind of slack being cut for not being a “real” entrepreneur (whatever that means). I’ve railed against the notion on countless occasions. To me, I’m a mom and a business owner, there’s no need to cloud either issue – or use one as an excuse for not succeeding with the other.

That’s my “logical” brain trying to have a say in things.

So it made no sense to me why I should be the one to launch this brand. I mean, yeah, I’ve got a special needs kid with some issues. There are times when my husband could be more supportive. There are times when cash flow could be a bit more on the upside of the wave. But isn’t that what life is? Everyones got issues, everyones got obstacles. The success comes in finding ways to overcome it.

What made my story any different than the clients I already worked with? The moms of multiples who have to cart their kids to special therapy sessions and still juggle their business meetings. The single mom that moved across country to make a better life for her kid – only to find out the job she went there for dried up while she was en route. Why was I the one that was being singled out to “lead a revolution” as one person pointed out?

Because I’ve got the big mouth, that’s why.

I’m still not comfortable with being called ‘fearless’ – though I get that a lot. I am VERY comfortable with saying that I’m direct, kind of blunt, and not willing to put up with a lot of crap – most of the time. I can pretty much call it as I see it. I may not always see it correctly, but I have no problem with saying “my bad” if I screw up, either – most of the time.

So I’m working through this process with Marcia, and all these threads start coming together. The deadbeats, the sick hubby, the kid at camp, the women I work with, etc, and I made a statement something like this:

We get so caught up in not letting people know who we are. We think we’re a bad mom if we spend time working on our business and a bad business owner if we have to take our kid to the doctor. And worst of all, we feel like we’re alone… isolated on some kind of island where we can’t – or we’re not allowed to share this pain, this struggle, this experience. We think we’re the only people going through this, and the truth is, we’re not alone . We just need a connection, wind my key and point me in a direction so I can fix the issue… My clients don’t want hand holding. They want to know they’re not alone in this fight and that they can be successful. They’ll do just about anything. They get stuff done. They just need a connection, a support, and to know they’re not alone. But it’s this dirty little secret we harbor because we look at these millionaire mentors we’re supposed to be ‘modeling’ and we tell ourselves, ‘well SHE doesn’t have to put up with the stuff in MY life’ or ‘if I had HER life, I’d be successful, too’ and that’s crap. We’ve all got issues, and there are women out there with the same story telling themselves these lies because they think they’re the only ones. I’ve got six and seven figure income earners calling ME and asking me how I do it, and I’m like – ‘are you kidding me? I didn’t think there was any other option. You either succeed or you fail. And I’m not a big fan of failure, so you figure out a way.’ And that just blows me away, because people don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes… it’s this ‘dirty little secret’ that no one wants to talk about, but there are SO many mom entrepreneurs going through this right now. And they are HARD working moms – dads too!

And that’s when it hit me. The clouds just kind of rolled away.

It’s all about our own self worth. And when I say that, I mean how we truly value ourselves – not as business owners, but as human beings.

One of the things I tell my clients is that if YOU don’t believe you’re worth $500 an hour, no one else will either – including your family, friends and clients. Why should they, if yo can’t see your own value?

The other thing I recount time and again is the firm belief I have that YOU (as a business owner) are the single most important product your company has to offer. Period.

The problem (and the solution) comes in the belief. When a client believes (in their core) those two statements, I’ve seen incomes double or triple overnight. Literally. It’s kind of freaky, really. But when a client struggles to believe in their own value as a person, it echoes through every other piece of their being: business, family, life in general.

And THAT was the ‘ah-ha’ that brought it all together. I’ve been wanting my live event to be something remarkable. Not another “rah-rah” kind of thing, and certainly not a giant up-sell or pitchfest for some awkwardly presented ‘mastermind group’.

In short, I want it to be an event I would shell out my hard earned money to attend – no matter where it was. Something that made me feel like I was a better PERSON for being a part of it. Not to learn sales tactics, or new marketing trends, but ways to give my business and life more significance by recognizing my own value and what I brought to the world.

And I realized in that moment that the person I was trying to reach was more like me than I had ever care to admit.

Then I understood ‘why me.’