Comedy, love story or horror film: Which describes your life?

Life is not a dress rehearsal – we only go this way once! Are you the star in your production? If you knew you couldn’t fail what would you do? February 2014 was a life-changing month for me. I was in the middle of passing a kidney stone while under the influence of great drugs. Spending hours in emergency with my hubby and having time to chat, I said maybe I should retire. Not sure where that came from, but hubby made it clear he thought it was a great idea. No wonder they say don’t sign anything – I waited till the drugs wore off and decided to sell my business back to the company I worked for. How great a feeling that was to know that I could afford to do that.  Now, what was my next step? You see I knew I didn’t want to keep doing what I was doing but didn’t know what my next step was. 

Would my second act be an Oscar-winning performance? What did I want to do for the rest of my life? What can I be passionate about? What was my WHY?  Now that I have started a new business – I am putting to use all that I learned from my last business. And wow how things have changed in the many new ways we can build a business. What changes do I need to make? What new skills do I need to learn? What you do today you will see results in six months. It’s like how many times I need to shoot a scene over and over to get the results – practicing my skills. For me, I need to know my statistics. If I hand out a business card – how many do I need to hand out to make an appointment. How many appointments do I need to hold to have a new client? So, I find understanding my numbers – whether this is face to face or through social media. Momentum is like pumping a water pump. The consistent effort pays off and it must be consistent to create the magic of momentum for your business. 

Will you have a YOUTUBE channel, so you can truly create your own movie? Social media is fabulous for so many things, but I truly believe it is the face to face that is the wonderful part of any business. Something as simple as smiling with a person can start a conversation that can build a relationship. My friend Jane Arsenault is a great mortgage broker and she was meeting a client at a coffee shop to sign his new mortgage. She didn’t have a pen and so went to a couple of men sitting next to her and asked to borrow a pen. She gave each man her business card. In a couple of months, one of the men called and did a mortgage with her. Now, how many cards are you handing out a day, a week, a month? Each card handed out, each connection made is liking shooting the scene of your movie. Many moons ago a young woman was complaining to me that she had paid a lot of money for business cards and things were not going well. I asked, “How many cards have you handed out?” She said, “None – they cost me money!” 

What can you do today to make your movie a huge success?

Make it a great day!

Dalene