Hey all…Happy, happy Sunday!
I am so happy to share today’s blog! Why? Because I have a very special guest blogger sharing her insights and experience today. Her name is Carissa Daniel and she is a business coach at her company The Business Radical.
Carissa has worked with several clients from various industries including:
- Arts & Culture,
- Children’s Educational Books,
- Self-Help Consultancy,
- Law,
- Events Management,
- Hospitality,
- Beauty,
- Music & Entertainment,
- Logistics,
- Dentistry,
- Marketing,
- Human Resources,
- Courier Delivery Services,
- Insurance…
You get the idea. The list is exhaustive.
By working closely to help these amazing leaders become more confident, focused and knowledgeable, together they were able to successfully:
- Launch their businesses,
- Improve their bottom line,
- Increase their brand visibility,
- Widen their network of influence,
- Achieve positive outcomes in their companies, industries and personal lives.
Now, I first met Carissa in 2012 at a networking event where she bought my first book Thinking out Loud. Last year we got reconnected on social media. One cup of coffee later – she was my business coach!
That’s us in September 🙂
Okay. So we weren’t looking at the camera, but we sure had fun.
Her question to me when we met that September morning for coffee was:
“Carolyn, why don’t you have a coach?”
And I was like…
“Umm…cos I know what I have to do and I don’t need someone with a big stick over me telling me what to do! (Plus, I can’t afford your rates :/)”
I was so wrong.
That day we talked about everything and anything, from business to relationships, to our ethos, goals and dreams. I don’t know if it was the caffeine or me babbling on about my personal life, but Carissa then looked at me with the true concern and admiration of a sister and said these words,
“I will show you how you will be able to pay me Carolyn, because I see so much in you. I see before me a truly amazing, talented and passionate woman and I want to see you be the best version of yourself.”
Awwww squared! ❤ ❤
Well you all know what happened next. We started coaching and almost 7 months later, I am happy to share that Carissa Daniel has been so much more than a business coach to me.
The first few months she helped me with some of the toughest personal times of my life, including dealing with the after effects of being injured in a car accident.
She came up with innovative and genius ways to leverage my products and services; provided me with many tools and concrete business and marketing strategies to increase my visibility and earning potential based on her extensive research and her 10+ years as an entrepreneur.
Wow. And that was not all!
Carissa helped me sell a bunch of tickets at my second Book Talk & Jazz event last October and wrote this beautiful review. She even came to my house (and I to hers) where we came up with a Strategic Plan for the next 3-5 years of my business.
Honestly guys, Carissa is as real as they come. But it wasn’t always about kids gloves and cheerleading. Some days she really ruffled my feathers – when it needed ruffling.
She gave me some stern warnings about my attitude toward my business. And at first I grumbled (when she couldn’t hear me!), but her reprimands actually stirred me into action and lit a fire under me to get it together!
I must say it has been an amazing journey and I’m now equipped with the foundation, motivation and roadmap to carry me through to the next phase of my business and journey as an entrepreneur.
Without further ado, grab your pen and paper to take some notes. Here’s Carissa’s article on how you can “take your business from ordinary to exceptional”:
Guest Post:
How You Can Up Your Game to Achieve Business Success
by Carissa Daniel of The Business Radical
Ladies and gentlemen, your business is a direct reflection and an extension of you.
I’m going to ask the entrepreneurs a quick question.
Do you think this statement is true or false?
99% of us treat our businesses the same way we treat with our personal lives.
I’ll help you out and answer for you. TRUE!
What I’m about to say might be a hard pill to swallow, but I’ll say it anyway.
The thing is, if we are truly honest with ourselves and dare to take a deeper, more intimate look, we will realize that most of the challenges we experience in our business are similar to, or match what we experience in our personal lives.
According to Martha Beck, “The way we do anything, is the way we do everything.“ Therefore, if we are poor managers of our personal finances, then, we will be poor managers of our business finances.
If we have challenges communicating with people in our personal lives, then guess what? We will have the same challenges with our clients, customers and team members.
If we have a negative approach to the world in our personal lives then yup, you’re right again, this negativity will manifest in your business.
Many times, we feel as though we are constantly hitting the same stumbling block in our business and we meander and struggle to move past it.
And many times, we resort to blaming systems, structures, the economy, the government, our team members, the bank and the list goes on and on.
We get even more frustrated trying to make sense of why we are stuck.
Sometimes, instead of looking outwards and blaming everything and everyone else for why our business isn’t progressing; all that is required is a step back to analyze, understand and become more conscious of the situation from all fronts, including, what might be occurring within us.
In examining the challenge from this perspective, it gives us a vantage point, where we may just see the underlying issue present in our personal lives, which may then empower us to fix it there and then fix it in our business.
Remember, you are the captain of your ship and if the captain isn’t effective, no matter how impressive his/her ship is, he/she will be unable to sail the ship successfully.
I am one to practice what I preach. After doing some self-reflection and examining some of the challenges I was facing in my business, one area that was an obvious challenge were my finances.
While my business was making money, there always seemed to be a hurdle I had to get over; whether it was “running clients down” for monies owed to me, or in some cases grossly undercharging or continuously giving away my services.
Upon deeper investigation, I came face to face with the source of my business’ challenge: ME.
It was traced back to a false belief I had regarding money that lay dormant in my mind but very active in my life. This recognition then empowered me to break free from that false belief and consciously choose to replace it with a new, more effective belief and paradigm.
This discovery positively changed my life and ultimately the financial situation in my business. This deep work has undoubtedly changed the way I approach my business and the way I coach my clients.
It’s not only about improving systems and structures in their businesses; it’s also about helping them become more conscious, to make the necessary changes in their lives towards a better them.
The objective is to help both you and your business ultimately be the best versions of yourself and itself.
If you are seeking a deeper, more meaningful way of improving your business and life, I highly suggest becoming more aware and conscious of personal beliefs and ideas that might be influencing your choices, actions and ultimately progress of your business.
To your continued success,
Carissa Daniel
Business Coach @ The Business Radical
For more insights, you can join her mailing list or connect on Facebook.
Your life begins (again) today! 
Guys Please don’t stop writing and sharing……awesome!!!!!
Thanks…We shall continue! 🙂