IDEAS
an eZine from Design Success University
Volume 3 Issue 1.1

Will 2010 Be Your Best Year Ever?

It Could Be! I’d like to share some thoughts to close out our first full year with Design Success University.

It’s been a challenging year for all of us. We’ve all experienced the uncharted territory of the economy, loss of friends, family and relationships, health challenges, uncertainty with our jobs, businesses and industry, yet we have many things in our lives that are worthy of gratitude. I encourage each of you to take the things that appear negative on the outside and look at what can be learned from the situation or experience.

The economy – yes, it has rocked the foundation of our country and our individual and collective sense of security, yet we are strong and able to think creatively. We can find strength through our community, friends and family. We can help each other through co-opetition. I don’t know who coined that word, but if we remember that there is enough for all of us and if we view the world from a position of abundance instead of lacking, we really have all we need. If we cooperate with our competitors, there will be more. If we have a roof over our heads, food, love, health, kindness and compassion, it is enough.

We’ve sent many surveys during the last few months, and here is a comment that warms our hearts – many of you feel that you aren’t alone and that you have someone who cares about you. You’ve made new friends with other members especially through the mastermind groups. We’ve watched you grow and find your courage. Some of you were close to giving up on your businesses, and you’ve found the strength to continue and persevere. Some of you struggled for months waiting for the phone to ring, and now you’re busier. Is it as good as it was in the past? Maybe not, but it is improving. You’re learning new skills to help you adapt to the changes around you.

We’ve watched our industry struggle to find its footing, and yet the creative and innovative of our tribe are finding ways to move beyond the old ways of doing things and they’re finding success in spite of the challenges.

You’ve been patient with us as we’ve learned this new world of the Internet. Erin and I basically switched careers, but we’re taking what we knew and what we’re learning and we’re applying it in a new way. This quote perfectly fits our path these past 20 months, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller

Erin is half my age, and yet she has grown immeasurably in the last two years. She is mature beyond her years, and even my husband thinks of her as a daughter. Her skills complement mine beautifully, and it has been a pleasure working with her. I hope you find an Erin for your business. She’s a true shortcut according to Scott Halford’s book, Be a Shortcut. (We hope you enjoyed that interview.)

If you’re struggling with technology, or you want a fresh perspective, I highly encourage you to hire an intern from your local University. Scott generously gave his time to do the interview, and we will be offering it to students globally who are in interior design school as one of our pro bono projects this year. We also made a nice donation to the city of Greensburg, Kansas – the town that was virtually wiped off the map on our anniversary a few years ago. They are rebuilding with almost all green construction.

I shared many ideas during our Planning for Profit in 2010 class on December 16th, and one that really resonated with many of you is one that I learned from my business coach, Rich Schefren. Find your biggest constraint in your business. Whatever that is, as soon as you identify it, you can figure out how to remove it and move forward. Some of you shared that your constraint was your self esteem, and I hope you find the resources within yourself to focus not on what you haven’t done, but on what you dream for yourself.

Success is an inner game. I am reminded of one of my favorite books by Bob Burg and John David Mann, The Go-Giver. The book focuses on the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success:

1. The Law of Value – your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment
2. The Law of Compensation – your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them
3. The Law of Influence – your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first
4. The Law of Authenticity – the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself
5. The Law of Receptivity -the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving

“All the giving in the world won’t bring success, won’t create the results you want, unless you also make yourself willing and able to receive in like measure. Because if you don’t let yourself receive, you’re refusing the gifts of others – and you shut down the flow. Because human beings are born with appetite, nothing is more naturally geared toward being receptive than a baby, and if the secret of staying young, vibrant and vital through life is to hang onto those precious characteristics we all have as children but which get drummed out of us – like having big dreams, being curious, and believing in yourself – then one of those characteristics is being hungry to receive, being ravenous to receive.”

Happiness, Health, High Self-Esteem & Prosperity Are

Our Wishes for You in 2010

To start off the new year, we are sharing a special interview I did last week with Judith Sherven, PhD and Jim Sniechowski, PhD, “Overcoming the Fear of Being Fabulous.” They are also offering you a generous $200 discount on the 12 CD set of their program at the end of the call.

Business Mastery Membership (Formerly Gold Membership)

Welcome to all of our new members in December. We grew our New IDEAS complimentary membership by almost 500 people in two weeks, and our Business Mastery Membership by almost 50% in those same two weeks. Thank you so much for investing in your future success!

We’re preparing several new programs for 2010, and we want to make sure we are serving your needs, because after all, it is about what you need and want. Would you please help us with a short questionnaire? If you’ll get that to us by January 8th at noon, we’ll finalize our curriculum for the Business Mastery Membership for 2010.

Wednesday, January 13 at 12 Eastern – Monthly Mentor Call – 2010 Budgeting for Profit
You’ll receive a spreadsheet with typical billing rates that you can use to insert your costs and have your budget done by the end of the call. We’ll do this on our webinar line so I can walk you through the steps. For those of you that attended our 2010 Planning for Profit call on December 16th, this will complete the biggest part of your planning process. I hope you completed your assessment and your Marketing Mastery Plan, Realtor and Press Contact forms, too. The other great tool I shared was the Business Dashboard. It is a great tool to keep you on track for the year.

Wednesday, January 20 at 12 Eastern – Monthly Q & A Call for Business Mastery Members
This is one of the most valuable benefits of your membership. If you need a resource, suggestion or clarification about something you learned in another session, we’ll do our best to help you. Don’t be shy! I wish I had had this kind of support when I was running my interior design business. Attend live and get your burning questions answered, or if you can’t attend, send in your question ahead of the call and we will answer it for you. You’ll receive the downloadable MP3 recording shortly after the call.

***Business Mastery Members also receive a special discount code for any class series, and it will more than pay for your membership for a month or two.

January 2010 Schedule

Free Preview Calls for 10-Week Sessions – we always give one scholarship per call, so be sure to sign up to hear about the new classes. We’ll be offering Marketing Intensive Track 1, Marketing Intensive Track 2, Value Based Fees and the Design Mastermind starting on January 18th. We’ve made changes to all of these programs to give you more interaction with us since that was a common request. We’ll also share details about our Design Success University Loyalty Program, too. You can actually earn passive income by referring your friends. It’s really easy.

• Tuesday, January 5th at 6 pm Eastern (5 pm Central/ 4 pm Mountain/ 3 pm Pacific)
• Thursday, January 7th at 6 pm Eastern (5 pm Central/ 4 pm Mountain/ 3 pm Pacific)
• Tuesday, January 12th at 6 pm Eastern (5 pm Central/ 4 pm Mountain/ 3 pm Pacific)
• Thursday, January 14th at 6 pm Eastern (5 pm Central/ 4 pm Mountain/ 3 pm Pacific)

If you received this eZine from DSU, Preview Call access information will automatically be sent to you.

Blogging 101

Several of you asked about the next Blogging 101 class. If you don’t have a website, or you have a website and you don’t have a blog, Cathy Perkins will help set up your blog during the first part of the year. She walks you through it step-by-step. Even if you don’t love technology, you’ll be amazed when you actually set the blog up without a webmaster. Imagine how confident you’ll feel! Click here to sign up for early notification.

Affiliate Disclaimer

We are affiliates for Judith & Jim and Cathy Perkins. However, we would not recommend programs or products from anyone except people we trust.