So often this is today's view of other peoples tragedies for no other reason than people are so busy.  If you are a friend of someone who lost their pet, child, health, or even a divorce I bet anything you're at a loss of what to say or do!

How personal does one get in saying something if they're a business acquaintance vs personal friend? Does what you say even matter? What can you do to help the person past their grieving and remind them to live life? How soon is to soon to talk about the issue(s)?

First off always have to say I am not a Doctor of any sort! This advice is my own only and hope to help others who feel at a loss with the above questions. 

Because someone or something has passed does not mean you stop talking about them or the issues.  Respect the grieving person's desires and keep anything they tell you in confidence. In most cases people will appreciate your memories of the one they loved. One big time tip is remember this is never the time to bash the Ex even if your friend is doing it... at times people get back together and you will end up losing the friendship over it.

When someone is grieving be more compassionate if they snap at you about something silly we all express our grief in different ways. When unsure of your status with another person it's always a given it will be OK to express something in a more general nature vs gushing about it.

Be firm if it has gone on for a longer than normal period of time. Express your concerns directly to your friend, they will appreciate it. Make sure to keep inviting to your events thus reminding them that there is still life to be lived. Remember, what you type and say to the person grieving ALWAYS matters... Warmly, Tonie

I was talking with a company today and they were asking me if they should offer more services or stay in a specific niche`.  My questions back to them "Have you seen a severe decline in the use of your current services?" Needless to say this brought up tons of questions that I thought you the reader might find helpful in your own business.

If you have had a severe decline in the use of your current services be sure to look over the following top 3 reasons:

• Customer Complaints
• Number of Referrals
• Current Marketing Strategy and if they are in line with trends in your field

The next thing I have clients do is make note of every time a client or friend makes a request of a particular type of service.  Most of the time it will come across as: "I sure wish you did xyz so I could make this into a single stop"

Make a list of entire business services that are synergistic with your field. Do you have an interest in them? If not, refer that business out and stay in your field of business and reorganize it to better suit your current clientele.

Does your business need to be revamped or brought into the current tech trends?

When is the right time to expand? This is the 2 million dollar question for each business. I have found for most people it is a personal choice of the following:

• Do they have capital necessary to invest in expanding their business? Most businesses I deal with prefer cash based method instead of investor or credit base. What is your choice?
• Do they have the infrastructure of support?
• Are they brave enough to take risk? HELLO! You already are in business, which is a daily risk you are already taking.

Back to adding of additional services. Be very selective and add a max of 2 other business services that would be very synergistic to your current business plan. -- Try it out on your past clients as a test model! Send them a newsletter asking for their advice and thoughts on the new products.  People love giving advice! May I suggest max of 15 to 20 people starting out.  From there put it into a database and pick another 10 people to try them out on. Compile the data together and view the results.

If your current business is doing exceedingly well and you have the additional manpower to handle other services, you can use the same bubble method and testing methods above.  Be sure to not let your marketing message and business focus change drastically from your original business foundation that made you a great success in the first place!

For more tips be sure to follow me on other social media sites!

Warmly,
Tonie L. Boaman

Because it is not a good thing at all! Letting fear hold you back from accomplishing your goals or completing your home project(s) is more than a physical issue.   In most cases it is because of a physiological and mental "clog".

Yes, sometimes fear is your gut saying beware and then issues the flight or fight response to your body.  In turn so many different things happen in that instant that effect your complete day.  You get a headache, nausea, fatigue plus many more symptoms of stress including weight gain.

     Let's deal with the physiological response first:
When you start to feel your body tensing up IMMEDIATELY STOP -- breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Repeat 10 times.  Next take a pen or pencil and hold it horizontally between your teeth for 20 seconds at a time very lightly normally once or twice an hour works great.  Also make sure to get up and do leg stretches and arm circles to keep your blood circulating better once every 2 hours or so.



Moving onto the mental "clog": Think back how often you may have been told "you will not amount to nothing" or "you do not have xyz sickness and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you do"  or another favorite is this one "oh you are successful enough" and you cannot even feed yourself? (laughing sarcastically)  All of us have experienced something of this in the past or now currently.  So it always begs the question whenever you experience fear in some form to ask yourself,  WHY? Have you had bad experience in the past with the wrong person and it is effecting your future with new people? What have you not acknowledged that happened in the past?

I am stopping here for a moment to share a story that is very personal from my  early 20's:
"I was raped very badly many times by the same person who is in jail now and sometimes as such certain type of men would expose that chip on my shoulder that used to make me react in a VERY aggressive manner. I would crush their hand in a handshake (using martial arts handhold even) and be extremely assertive in my demands and actions during negotiations. Then I would sit there and get the contract but it would be very uneasy relations with clients at the time"  Of course this is not the only life lesson that has been lived through but it does pertain to our conversation on this blog about fear.

Now why would I bother sharing this with the public in this manner? I want you to know you have to STOP and ANALYZE anytime you have a strong emotional response to anything in life both the good and bad reactions.  I have found in most cases it is because of something that was not acknowledged or brought to the forefront of your brain to think or chew on.

• Once you start making a habit of doing this you will find out you will make and keep friends easier.
• Business relationships will flourish and continue to grow at a much faster pace.
• Significant others will enjoy being around you more and not argue as much. (In most cases it is you not arguing as much fyi vs them)
• You will be at peace more often and centered.
• You will not snap off the handle near as much.
• You will be more accepting of others critique and use it to motivate yourself to greater heights of success.

So in closing before I make this into a book-- NEVER LET FEAR HOLD YOU BACK -- Use it instead to learn more of who you are inside and to achieve greater success in life.

Warmly,

Reverend Tonie L. Boaman
972-804-3442
PS: yes, there are business prayers and let me know if you want one.