Posts Tagged "crush it"

Do You Deliver Wow?

Posted by LisaYoung in videos | 6 comments

Passion Is Fuel For Momentum

Posted by LisaYoung in videos | 4 comments

From Reluctance to Renaissance

Posted by LisaYoung in Faith |

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.

Know What You’re Worth

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Podcasts | 6 comments

[podcast]http://www.homepartysolution.com/audios/podcast-value.mp3[/podcast]

It’s In the Way That You Do It

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

My grandfather was a highly skilled carpenter. He built many of the homes in my community, but also had finish skills that probably rivaled Jesus and Joseph (I’m guessing here, but he was pretty dang good). Even into his seventies, this guy was building picture frames, building boxes, framing walls. His planes were all sharp, and more than one door in my mom’s house had seen his masterful smoothing technique.

The man had crazy mad ‘skilz’.

Strive to be the best at whatever you do.

Grandpa used to joke about a guy that hired him for a job. The guy kept trying to hang something and it wouldn’t stay on the wall – something like that. So Grandpa went in, did a few measurements, tapped on the wall a couple of times, drove one nail and the thing (a shelf I think) was perfectly aligned and flawlessly hung.

They guy was impressed, until he got the bill. Grandpa had charged him what seemed an exorbitant sum (I think it was like $50). The guy said, “All you did was drive one nail! I’m not going to pay this bill. When you can bring me a more reasonable bill, I’ll pay it.”

So Grandpa took back the invoice, drew a line, scribbled a couple of words and numbers and handed it back to the man. It read as follows:

Driving one nail: $1

Knowing WHERE to drive the nail: $49

The man paid up.

When I read Seth Godin’s post on craftsmanship this morning, I was reminded of Grandpa’s little joke. Whether or not it actually happened, i was never able to discern, but the fact of the matter is that my Gramps was amazing. He built a home for a doctor who insisted on having a solid, plate glass wall running down the middle of the home. Gramps was leery about building it because the guy had small children – and this was before tempered glass. But build it he did.

It was so strong and so well built that when the tornadoes blew through Flint in the 1950′s, the only piece of the doctor’s house that was still standing was that glass wall – flawless an untouched.

Yeah, Gramps rocked it as a carpenter.

Like Seth’s blog indicates, it’s not about what you choose to do in your life – it’s in the way that you do it. You don’t need to be perfect, but you should certainly strive for excellence. If it’s not worth doing right, why do it at all? As grown ups, we can make a lot of choices for ourselves. We can decide that which we’d like to do.

So why don’t you do it?

And when you do it, do it well. Don’t half-ass it as my Mom would say (pardon me, I think you can tell I’m a bit passionate about this). There are people all over this country that are jobless, feeling hopeless, and yet there’s never been a greater opportunity all around us for people to find their passion and follow it to the ends of the earth. Heck, what do you have to lose? ESPECIALLY if you’ve already lost everything?

If you’re a mom, be the best dang mom you know how to be. Really care about your kids. Stop and be more aware of what your life is like because of your children – the joy and the pain – and recognize the gifts you’ve been given for being a mom.

If you’re a business owner – be the best dang business ower you can be. Really care about your work. Stop and be more aware of what your life is like because of your business – the joy and the pain – and recognize the gifts you’ve been able to create because you’re an entrepreneur.

I’m learning that in many ways, being a business owner is a lot like being a mom to a special needs child. Both take extreme amounts of focus, energy and effort. Both are rewarding on so many levels.

As a human being strive to be the best dang human being you can be. Everyone comes to this world for different purposes, on different socioeconomic levels, but that only means you’ve been given a greater opportunity to be the you that God has called you to be. And it doesn’t matter if you believe in God or not, because in this instance, it’s still about being the absolute best you can be – and who wouldn’t want that?

My Mother in Law (hi Mum!) told me the other day that she reads my blog religiously. As far as I know she’s the only family member that’s ever read any of my blogs. The funny thing is, though, that it didn’t change the way I write or the message I’m trying to convey. It didn’t make me want to write better or say things more eloquently, because I already know I’m giving this everything I’ve got. I’m striving to be the best dang writer I know how to be. It doesn’t change depending on the day or my mood or the color of my hair.

My family drove the point home at an early age that half way doesn’t cut it. Everything you do, say and are is reflected in your daily actions and choices. It’s all in the way that you do things. Actions speak louder than words and whatnot.

Who and HOW do you choose to be? Decide with conviction and live with conviction – and do it all with craftsmanship.