Mentalsidewalk

Having Zal and Natasha stay with me for the last three weeks has been a truly memorable experience. We did a lot of fun things and shared some very important moments. However, I can’t deny that it was difficult. After all, I’m not used to playing full-time parent to two growing children. It’s time intensive and emotionally demanding. Though I’ve learned many things during this time, one of the most valuable lessons is the importance of delegation.

It’s a lesson that single moms already know. The day to day demands of raising children without anyone else to fall back on are exhausting. I did it for three weeks; -single moms make a lifestyle of it.

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These moms learn how to focus their energy on the right things. They put their efforts into the things that need to be done both in their business lives and their personal experiences. They prioritize in order to make sure that their jobs get done while also saving enough time for their children.

I have a new found respect for Single Parent.

Over the last three weeks, I had a crash course in delegation. Since I had limited time with Zal and Natasha, I wanted to make sure that I gave them as much attention as I could. To do that, I had to reevaluate my business habits. I had to look carefully at my business tasks and only do the ones that were specifically catered to my skill set.

I did these necessary tasks myself and then turned the remainder of the business over to others.

I’ve always thought that I was good at delegating, but I never realized just how important it was until I put it into practice on this level. By prioritizing my attention on Zal and Natasha, I was forced to limit my work life. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised to find not only that others could get these tasks done, but that my personal life and my business life were better off for this new found balance.

It’s a valuable lesson for everyone–single moms, family men, and business people. We need to focus on our skill sets, do the tasks geared to us, and then delegate the rest. This allows you to play to your strengths, and by focusing your energy, you can be sure that your best work is being done.

It may cost a little more to delegate things out, but by focusing on your strengths the ROI will be well worth the price.

I would love to hear back from from parents how and what they do to create that balance in their lives.

Keep Sharing!

5 days of training, a weeks rest and I was ready to take on the challenge of my first half-Ironman in Oliver.

There I stood with over a 1000 competitors, nervous, overwhelmed but excited.  Excited to walk into a situation where I know the only way I will finish is to dig deep within and challenge my mind and my heart.

That sounded all fancy and inspirational, in short I have no idea what possessed me to sign up for this race.

Click on my video to listen to my experience and the 4 unexpected lessons I learned about business along the way.

Here I am trying to figure out how to get into my new wetsuit that I will be using for the first time.

4 Lessons I learned during my half-Ironman in Oliver

LESSON 1: Run Your Own Race

Do not worry about others around you.  What ever you do do it for yourself, build your business for yourself not for the sake of building a bigger business than the one next door.

LESSON 2: Be Authentic

How you play the game is a reflection of how you life your life.  That lady I talk about in the above video is a great example of this.  She was genuine in her kindness and that was one of the most refreshing things to experience.

LESSON 3: Create Your Ideal Culture

The culture you create in your office is a direct reflection of the level of success you will experience.  Support and celebrate with your employees and clients.  Not only when they have accomplished something but more so along the way.

LESSON 4: Cherish The Moment

It is important to chase your goals, but never at the expense of losing sight of your achievements and experiencing the moment.

We are capable of so much more than we give our self credit for.  What ever your journey is never forget to smile through it all as it is a gift.

I look forward to hearing your experiences as well.

Fred Sarkari

I recently discovered that I had made one of the biggest errors one can make when forecasting any strategy for your product or service.

When it comes to our products or services, we are more attached to the value of them then our own clients are.  That being said there are times that there is greater value within our products than what our clients have perceived.

The question you need to ask yourself is:

What Perceived Value Do My Clients See

In My Products and Services?

Not What “I” see in them?

It’s like what we have seen in the real estate market in the last few years. How many times have we heard people talk about what they believe their house is worth – their perceived value of it as an owner, as the one that put all the time into renovating, decorating, the experiences within their house etc..

All these things have no value to our potential clients. Yet we expect them to see and feel the intrinsic value of our attached emotions within our products and services.

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I recently put together a Facebook group to help with my new book launch – “Your Naked Chicken.” I was so excited when I posted it that I thought I would have 300-350 people in my group within a few days.

I figured I would be guaranteed a 30% conversion rate. Keep in mind that I am also aware of the fact that the average conversion rate for such a launch is approximately 8%.

Even knowing that, the true value of my product was blinded by my emotional connection to my product.

I based the value of my product on elements

that have no value to my potential clients.

In order to see the true value in what you are offering from your clients point of view, you need to be able to disconnect yourself emotionally.  Ask yourself, “What value do THEY see in it?” irrelevant of the time, money and effort you have put into it.

Lesson reminder:

When forecasting your results, numbers, sales etc. be realistic. Always take the worst case scenario so your strategy results can be more predictable. Once you’ve achieved your initial numbers everything else will be gravy.

All that being said, if you want to support MY perceived value for MY new book, as it is all about US and OUR products. he he

COMING SOON! “YOUR NAKED CHICKEN”

Fred Sarkari

What is the difference in creating a brand like Coca-Cola and one for your everyday entrepreneur?

My parents moved into a new community just prior to me visiting them during this holiday season.  Every time we walked by a new neighbor, my mom would introduce me.

“This is my son, he is an inspirational speaker and an entrepreneur coach, he likes the outdoors and is very active…”

After a while I realized that every new neighbor we met, my mom introduced me the exact same way.

It turned out that I was branded by my very own mom.  We are branding ourself whether we like it or not.  The real question is, are we doing it subconsciously or with intent?

There is no difference in how Coca-cola brands them self and how an entrepreneur should effectively brand them self.  The process is all principle based.

Branding yourself has faced a paradigm shift.  How entrepreneurs branded in the past will never be how entrepreneurs need to brand in these times in order to be effective.

Before you spend any time or money creating a strategy for your marketing and branding, you need to be aware of the 3 pillars that all your strategy needs to be built upon.

Most peoples brands are nothing more than fancy words and slogans they put on a piece of paper and than try to market the hell out of it.

You need to turn your brand in a movement.  In order for anything to have movement it needs to have a life of its own.  In essence give your brand life.  The obvious next question is, “how do you give it life?”

For any brand to have life, it needs to do one thing – it needs to make people feel.  A brand with life within it makes people want to be part of it.

When you give your brand life, it will become a movement.

Just like any relationship has a foundation, you need to be aware of the foundation of your relationship with you brand.

3 PILARS

Tip Of The Tongue:

If I were to go around the room and ask your clients to tell me about you, your brand.  What would you like them to consistently have at the tip of their tongue that they are ready to say?

Chasing Rabbits:

When you try to chase 3 rabbits at the same time you will catch none.  Even if you can sell your product or services to the mass – you need to have a niche market that you brand yourself to.

The more you focus on a niche the more powerful your brand will become.

Street Lessons:

If there is anything you are going to focus on when marketing yourself.  Any information that you share.  Always always always keep one thing in mind. Educate your niche market.

Now educate does not mean you bombard them with information they can already get on the internet.  Educate them based on their state of mind, their fears, concerns etc.  Things that they as laypeople can relate to and more so are craving for.

Going forward, everything you do with your branding and marketing ask yourself this question.

What emotions am I making people feel?  The answer to that question will be your existing brand.

Would love to hear about how people have made their brand different and unique.

Fred Sarkari