Having recently gone through a knee surgery due to a previous ski injury, I have been home-bound for two weeks. I haven’t written in almost one month, yet to my surprise, I had traffic to my website. I have not even promoted my website in a targeted way.

It occurred to me that it was simply because I tell everyone that I come in contact with what my business is all about and I typically include my URL in the signature of my email. With those two simple things, I had traffic to my site even though I had not interacted with anyone for a long time.

As a small business owner, you are your business. How you make someone feel and what you do for them go a long way in developing your reputation and your brand. We all interact with many people in our daily routine. Try to make an effort to greet others and see what you can do for them, no matter how small the favour is. You may just be surprised at how others react to you.

Why is it that entrepreneurs worry and slave over getting a new client, yet is often unprepared when clients finally come knocking on their doors?

This is a good problem to have right? Perhaps. However, knowing how to manage client relationship is part of being a successful entrepreneur. Determining how much time to allocate for the project and juggling administration work that are necessary like drafting contracts, pricing, proposals are all a part of the business.

Clients often feel they own you and are entitled to take up your time because they paid you. I often feel the same way when I am purchasing a service. However, it is a delicate balancing act – a client that takes too much of your time may not be a great client to keep in the long run. The only thing I find useful is to track your time and record down everything in your time log.

You are as valuable to your clients as they are to you. Acknowledge that fact, and don’t be afraid to tell your client this – sorry, time’s up!

Two and a half hours into an after-work meeting, and starving, I realized this individual is not interested in my service. My first thought was why did she waste my time when she could have said no in the first place? Instead, she pulled out an invitation card and revealed why she had wanted to meet me. She wanted me to attend an event.

As an entrepreneur, I come across all types of salespeople. The one that I did not run into until last week is a salesperson who pretends to be a customer. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate salespeople. Good salespeople are rare gems I look out for. To me, an ideal salesperson is honest, puts the customer’s interest at heart, and thinks of win-win situations for both the company and the client.

That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

I truly believed I was a klutz since I was a child.

I was a bull in a china shop everywhere I went and it was evident from the patches of bruises I was always covered with. I was never allowed to drink from glass cups until I was almost an adult. Strangely enough, it wasn’t until I stopped believing that I was clumsy that I stopped being clumsy.

Easier said than done right? Actually, if you say it often enough, you will actually believe it. Your actions then will change because you now have a new belief about yourself. That is how I went from clumsy to graceful.

If you are doubtful, try an experiment. Pick one thing you are terrible at. Prove yourself wrong and instead believe that you are fantastic at it. Pretend if you have to. Write on a piece of paper what you are fantastic at and read it twice a day for a month.See if it works. If it doesn’t, email me.

It worked for me because I allowed myself to accept what was once foreign to me. I familiarized myself with what gracefulness involves and quickly adopted that trait because it was easier than I had first imagined it to be. It took time, but the hardest was to let go of my original belief which has grown on me. Yes, I actually wanted to be clumsy because it was familiar to me.

Try it because if you are like me, you won’t miss the bruises.

I attended a Women’s networking event last Wednesday. Towards the end of the evening, I met two women who changed my views toward networking. “It’s not about you, it’s about the other person.” Jane said. “No one really cares about what you say really.”

Jane smiled and reached out warmly to welcome other people into our group. She was poised, genuine and confidence, unlike the typical image I have of an Asian woman. But, this also explains why she is in a position of leadership. She and another successful female leader asked each of us various questions and listened carefully. They weren’t rushed to find out why they should talk to us nor were they sizing anyone up. It made everyone converse with them with ease and pleasure.

Jane explained to us that she tries to make the other party feel comfortable by being the first person to greet those around her. She takes the awkwardness out of the situation and puts the other person at ease. She also explained that being an Asian woman makes no difference in a networking situation because she does not let that get in the way of communicating with the other person. “It’s only in your head.” she said. Instead of using it as a crutch, she turned the situation around and always made the other person the center of attention.

It is no wonder another woman who spoke with her earlier searched for her that night and asked her for a business card. She had a long list of people to have coffee with.

Networking for an entrepreneur may seem like daunting task, but I hope by sharing these words of wisdom from a successful leader, you will find new hope and inspiration as you network to meet more people and find new clients. Happy networking!

Have you ever heard this before – “if only I had more money or a business or lived in another city, my life would be completely different.” Would having one minor change in someone’s life magically transform the years of habits, behaviors and personality of that individual?

The reality is it wouldn’t. If a person does not know how to manage wealth, winning the lottery will not result in living a luxurious lifestyle for the rest of that person’s life. We are all creatures of habit. We like to believe certain things about ourselves, whether we are aware of them or not.  We constantly make decisions and surround ourselves with people that reinforce the beliefs we have about our lives.

It is no wonder we feel disappointment when we do get what we want. “What? That’s it? It wasn’t as special or magical as I had thought it to be.” We create a distorted image of our dream and are deeply disappointed when reality is not congruent with our dream. We exaggerate the positive aspects and set our expectations too high; we  fail to see something for what it really is. We forget that everything comes with a price tag.

The reality is it doesn’t take that much to pursue your dreams. You don’t have to be rich to travel and you can own a home without first becoming a millionaire. Starting your own business is not that tough and you do not need 20 years of experience. Start to see things differently and live your life today. Don’t postpone your dreams and the next time you catch yourself saying “If only…,” stop – tell yourself to live your dream today.

Last week, three people called me to sell me something in one day. One tried calling me six times prior, only to read me a script over the phone when she finally reached me. This topic also came about when I spoke with a friend. I said selling is an intricate art, and being pushy and aggressive only turns off the customer. I don’t think people like to be sold to. I certainly don’t.

Surely all companies need to sell in order to pay their bills. So, how could anyone sell without making their customers feel like they are being sold to? High pressure selling and dishonest tactics are no longer sufficient. I avoid salepeople who make me feel that I am just one in a hundred people they have to talk to that day. Instead I turn to those companies that really care about me and want my long-term business.

From my experience the best salespeople make accurate assessment of the prospect’s needs, determine the pain points/problems and take time to recommend customized solutions for the prospect. They assume that the prospect is intelligent and respect the prospect’s time. Most important of all, they listen.

If all three of the salespeople who called me did that, I would have given them my business without a doubt.

Isn’t it strange that even if we had forged the greatest relationship with each other, ending on a sour note can ruin our entire relationship? That’s all we remember – the bitter after taste.

As an entrepreneur, the most important thing I learned is to know first and foremost what the exit strategy is. Thinking through what the options are when the venture flops is not being pessimistic, but being realistic.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could openly discuss our expectations and feelings when it comes time to part our ways? Imagine how much headache we would save ourselves if we could discuss this at the start of a relationship.  There is a proverb in Chinese that means “All good things must end” or translated more literally as “it is impossible to have gatherings that do not end.”

If we know this fact ahead of time, the bittersweet feeling we may have when it does finally end will be easier to deal with. Be gracious in parting with others. Leave them with a warm and congenial feeling because you may run into them again one day. We have invested so much time and effort to create those relationships – so wouldn’t it be nice if we could continue developing those relationships somewhere down the road again?

I went to the movies this weekend and arrived about half an hour before it started. While watching the ads before the movie started, I noticed a man asking a lady sitting by herself if the seats to her left and right were taken. She asnwered no, so he asked her to kindly move over one seat so there were two seats for him and his date. Lucky him I thought, he had the best seat in the house.

About five minutes before the start of the movie, two teenage boys came to the row behind us and asked the whole row of people to move one seat down the row so there were two seats together for them. Everyone ignored them. They were not speaking specifically to any individual, so the group probably felt that they didn’t have to comply. The boys also had a difficult request. Getting all six people to move is not an easy task.

They walked to the last row with the same request. Having seen what happened and probably feeling quite sorry for the boys, the group that were sitting against the wall moved so the two boys could sit together. I think it was also because they approached the last row, so the group of people felt obligated to help.

So, what did I learn?

1. Look for opportunities that you may easily overlook, even if you are late getting into the game.The man who found two seats for him and his date was not lucky. He took the initiative to make a reasonable request.

2. If you want something, ask – that’s all it takes.

3. Ask a specific individual, not a group of people to cooperate. People will comply only if they feel they are responsible.

4. If all else fails, still ask because asking is better than not asking. The two teenage boys were still better off as they ended up sitting together, regardless of how unreasonable their request were.

5. If you ask enough people, someone is bound to give you what you want.

Taking it one step at a time – that is how we first learned to walk and how we can also learn to become an entrepreneur. As a relatively new entrepreneur, I find myself often wanting to move at a faster pace.

Strangely enough, I am most productive when I am attentive and slow. It is a bit like taking deliberately slow steps to do anything and everything. I somehow move faster and accomplish more this way than when I take frantic actions. Perhaps that is the art of being focused.

When we think of a productive worker, we often visualize a busy bee moving at lightning speed. Yet, it is actually the opposite – the slow motion worker actually gets the most done because careful thought and consideration are put into his or her every move.

Consistent and targeted action is more effective than frantic but inconsistent action. On the road to success, it is the marathon runner that keeps taking one deliberate step at a time that gets there faster than the sprinter that runs out of breath midway. Slow down and enjoy the journey.