What’s it Going to Take?

Barbara Eldridge | December 29, 2015

dream big As we prepare for the New Year, I challenged my Mind Master members to either add to their Dream List or begin one. Each step in our growth, whether business or life requires choices. If you don’t have a Dream List how can you begin to set goals and stay focused? I remember a client years ago, he owned a Real Estate business and chose to work with me because the previous year he had reached his goal by mid-year and did not achieve anything else the rest of the year. He neither had a dream list or even a … Read More

How to Build Confidence

Barbara Eldridge | November 24, 2015

Working with entrepreneurs and small business owners I hear a lot of resistance to sales. Or more specifically that they are sales men/women. In order to be successful in sales, (since we all are essentially in sales) we must approach every selling situation with the right attitude. But what is the “right” attitude? An attitude is a mental disposition toward events, people, or situations that controls behavior.

Being consciously aware of your attitudes can prepare you in advance of any need. And that means you have a choice or as Viktor Frankl puts it, “Everything can be taken from a … Read More

Trust Changes Everything

Barbara Eldridge | October 29, 2015

Having just finished the book, The Speed of Trust – The One thing that Changes Everything, by Steven M. R. Covey, I presented some of the ideas to our Mind Masters Groups as we build our “brand” by building trust.

People do business with people they like. So business is based on relationships. The relationship matters as much as the service – maybe even more. When people like you, they trust you and want to work with you.

What we are talking about here is that customers buy from people not corporations. So to succeed you need to promote yourself … Read More

Innovation: The Magic Behind Disney’s Sales Success

Barbara Eldridge | July 28, 2015

Although most of us are not aiming at a global market, the ideas in this article are great reminders of what it takes to add and keep customers.

By Michelle Caspole MCaspole@assessmentspecialists.com

Mickey Mouse and Disney’s successful ventures are known worldwide. Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, said “I went to Bali, and I was in a small village, and somebody who was with me showed a woman a little figurine of Bart and asked: ‘Do you know who this is?’ And she said: ‘Mickey Mouse.’” That’s just how strong the Disney brand is.

Maurice Sendak, author of Where the … Read More

Inside the World of Larny Mack, Corporate Story Teller

Barbara Eldridge | May 27, 2015

This post is dedicated to Larny Mack, Photographer Extraordinaire. Larny joined the North County Mind Masters group in 1999, his last meeting was May 14th, 2015. His dedication and consistent focus on each of the members of the group kept us knowing he had our backs. Even as he went through chemotherapy over the last 8 months he showed up every week. This article was written several years back by one of our former members, it will help you see the impact he had.

By H. Skip Weitzen, author Hypergrowth

I have often wondered how ad agencies and marketing … Read More

Get Customers to Talk for You

Barbara Eldridge | April 28, 2015

If you had to guess, what percentage of people are visually oriented: that is, they need to see something before buying it – you know they need to drive a car, feel the material of a suit/dress or preview a house before purchasing it? More than 95% of people are visual consumers. So how do you a service provider create this opportunity?

Why not start with a testimonial from a client who has had a very positive experience working with you? How many times have you heard, “I don’t know how to thank you”? That is the perfect time to … Read More

Do Dreams Come True?

Barbara Eldridge | March 31, 2015

As I was growing up, the only thing I learned to focus on because my parents said that was what was important was getting good grades. Maybe because I was more of a dreamer I experienced doing and having the things that dreams are made of. Goal setting was not formalized for me until later. But one of my members recently shared the real experience of setting the goal.

She had just gotten back from a wonderful trip she had set a goal for. She had spent the time setting money aside, planning the activities so she and her Mom … Read More

Do Dreams Come True & Your “Engine that Could!”

Barbara Eldridge | February 25, 2015

Do Dreams Come True?

She had just gotten back from a wonderful trip she had set a goal for. She had spent the time setting money aside, planning the activities so … Read More

Are You Productive or Just Busy?

Barbara Eldridge | January 27, 2015

Are you off to a fast start pursuing the high priority, high pay off areas of your business? Or are you still bogged down in last year’s stuff? As business owners managing your time and the productive work is the game you play daily. In order to move forward you need to understand what keeps you productive.

Productivity takes being engaged in actions that are leading you towards your goals and results so you can daily focus on the work to get there,
The “trick” then is deciding what you’re going to work on at some point other than in … Read More

The Right Stuff

Barbara Eldridge | June 26, 2014

The Right Stuff from Mind Masters What is it inside of people that makes them willing to risk everything they have to be in business? Is it to join the league of greats like Ford, Carnegie, Hearst, Jobs, Gates or just to have the freedom of being in a business of their own?

Perhaps it is the spirit passed down by parents or grandparents who ran the butcher shops, bakeries and small service businesses from the beginning of time. Some say it is a burning desire that hits like a flash of lightening or an idea that begs to be developed.

At the height of it … Read More