Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You're only a stranger once.

How What You Know Can Kill a Business and Thanks for Listening When I Call

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

Once You’re Inside . . .

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We all do it. We misfire on a key point that shoots us in the foot every time. It’s a major disconnect that I see almost everywhere.

We think we can be the business and still represent the customer. As a result, we end up only thinking that we’re delivering on what the customer wants or needs. The reality is

We can’t be the business and the customer at the same time.

A certain kind of thinking goes into building a product or service. Decisions are made about how the offer works and why it works as it does. When it comes time to judge the value of the finished offer, those who did the thinking can’t forget what they know about how it was made.

It’s impossible to participate in the thinking that builds something and then to respond as if you don’t know what that thinking is.

Unfortunately, businesses everywhere — from entrepreneurs to corporations — try to do exactly that. What happens then is that we offer our customers, clients, readers a flawed product or service assuming that they know why we made it as we did.

I reviewed an interactive site where, four clicks inside I was lost in “helpful” information. I was unable able to find navigational signs to get to the content that was past the “lessons” up front.

Their intentions had been excellent service, but the result had the opposite. The developers didn’t know about the barriers . . . because they knew why each “lesson” was there.

That’s how what you know can kill a business. It’s hard to not to know what you already know. It’s hard to see the disconnects from inside the system.

So if you’re one of the folks that I call to talk about what I’m working on . . . thank you so much! The questions you ask really help to keep me on track.

Have you bumped into products that offer you plenty of extra “stuff,” but not the one thing that you want?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Time to Check Social Media Return on Investment

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Perfect Virtual Manager, Successful Blog | 15 Comments

Infinite Room Is NOT Infinite Time

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We live in a world of Social Media, where we can choose from a seemingly unending list of new universes — places where any small group suddenly finds we can join up to be our own majority. Like-minded thinking is one of the pleasures of getting together on any social site.

Don’t like how I think?
Click on.
No harm. No foul.

The infinite Internet has room for everyone.
It’s not hard to find like-minded thinkers anymore. As the number of Social Media sites grows, we can’t keep adding to our lists.

We don’t have infinite time to spend.
We need to know that time we’re spending is time well invested.

Time to Check Social Media Return on Investment

It’s easy to get comfortable on a social media site, especially if we’ve never fit so well anywhere before. But, now that the choices are so many, maybe we should check to be sure that the time we’re spending is time is adding something, not wasting away.

Here are five values to check the return on your time investment. Maybe you’ll find some time to save.

  1. What’s the big idea? What do people do there? Do they exchange information, look for jobs, act like schoolkids? Is that focus important to you? Do you look forward to time spent there?

  2. Who’s there? Are the people there friends, fans, or contacts? Are they there for relationships or information or votes? Are there people to learn from and people you aspire to be more like? Can you see them? Can they see you?

  3. What are they saying? What do you take from the conversation? What ideas are on offer? What ideas directly apply to what you do? How often do you see real value?

  4. What’s the time/goal orientation? What do the people focus on? Do they come to achieve; then leave? Do they hang out for conversation? Are their goals in line with yours?

  5. What is the payoff? Is this site redundant with another place you visit? Can you accomplish the same thing in a better way? Would more time here return more value? Would more time somewhere else make this site a non-starter? What do you get there that you can’t get anywhere else?

I quit visiting certain places, got back that time, and have suffered no loss. Well, actually, I’ve gained. The folks I interacted with in those places are in all of the other places I’ve still visit. So I’m trimming my social media portfolio to only those that work for me and my business.

What about you? Time to rethink your Social Media Investments?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Connection Central: Are You Letting Customer Relationships Pass You By?

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Perfect Virtual Manager, The Big Idea | 14 Comments

Don’t Let One Customer Click Away

One customer. That first customer. That next customer. Will that customer click away before you connect?

Most businesses don’t realize that the missing out on a single customer relationship is more costly than it appears. The customer that passes by today doesn’t mean the loss of one sale. That one customer gone represents

Every customer that doesn’t connect takes those benefits to another business.

Strong businesses are built on strong relationships. Strong relationships are built on connections that stick.


Relationships that last don’t happen by accident.


Connection Central for Solos Opens Today

I’ve been working on a way to make useful 20+ years of education, the strategy, business, and relationships. The result is a sleek and flexible set of courses called Connection Central for Solos. They’re smartly focused on conversations connections, relationships, customers and paying the rent.

Connection Central is two carefully crafted curriculum — one stands alone, one comes in three versions. Each is designed to show you how to attract, delight, and form long-lasting relationships with customers. Both offer solid methods and strategies you can use to connect quickly, profitably, and predictably. I only made two because I only have so much time


Don’t let another customer click away.


Connection Central for Solos

Choose the course that fits your situation. Or call to discuss something tailored precisely to what you need. Visit SOBNet: Connection Central. If you have questions, call or email me. Don’t let those customers keep passing by. Isn’t it time that you connect?

Course 111: Getting Paid What You’re Worth

Are you ready to charge more for your services? Are you having a problem naming your fees?

Course 111-TeleLiz

Work with Liz to set the rationale for your fees. Use value, time, and math to discuss what you charge. Develop and price smaller offers. Check what you offer for missed opportunities to deliver value. Learn how to change the amount of work rather than lower your fees.
Enroll at Connection Central.
3 Telephone sessions with Liz ……………………………………………$295.00

Course 222: Connect with Customers

Like to Work Alone? Email Self-Coaching Course

Learn on your own with all of the tools you need or learn through conversations with Liz. See the complete 16-Step Curriculum in the box at the bottom of the page.

Course 222-Email

Self-coaching means just what it sounds like. You’ll get the tools and information and a push in the right direction. Weekly coaching plans and worksheets crafted by experienced educational publisher will guide you to define your product or service, fine tune your presentation, write a compelling offer, attract ideal customers, and close the deal. Begins January 20th, 2008
Enroll at Connection Central.
16-Step Email Self-Coaching Course …………………………………… $ 97.00

Don’t have 16 weeks to wait?
2 TeleCourses with Liz


Course 222 -TeleLiz-1

It’s the same curriculum with all of the same content, but fast-tracked through telephone sessions with Liz. Identify, connect, and form a relationship with your ideal customers by providing them with an atmosphere they recognize and an offer they value more highly than the price.
Enroll at Connection Central.
6 Telephone sessions with Liz …………………………………………… $585.00

Course 222- TeleLiz-2

Invite a colleague to work alongside you and share the benefits.
Enroll at Connection Central.
6 Telephone sessions with Liz ……… $970.00 [$485.00 each for two]



Click: What Folks Have to Say about Working with Liz


C’mon! Visit Connection Central to register and begin.
Questions? I’m at 773 619 0371 lizsun2 [at] gmail.com


TeleSeminars are available to limited number immediately.
The first session of the email course will begin January 20th.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

4 Sure Signs It’s Time to Change Your Mind and How to Do It Completely and Powerfully

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

When Our Thinking Is Broken

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It’s easy to tell when a tool is broken. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t function quite as it should. We know it needs fixing or replacing. If we work with a broken tool, the work that we do will take longer or be less effective.

The way we think can be like a broken tool. We face a familiar decision, and we respond in the usual fashion. But, if we’ve changed and the world has changed too, the way we view ourselves and world is out of focus. The resulting decision could be the wrong one.

It’s a harder to tell when our thinking is off, when it works against us. It’s harder to realize when the premises and assumptions that back our decisions are faulty or broken.

4 Sure Signs It’s Time to Change Your Mind

How do we know when our thinking is off? How can we tell it’s time to change our mind? Here are 4 sure signs.

Me against the world is an awfully stuck place to be in. Wanting the world to change or questioning it has changed are sure signs that it’s time to change what we’re thinking. The most important thing we can do is take action.

The band, Sister Hazel, said it simply

If you don’t like how you’re thinking, change your mind.

And it simple. Changing our mind is matter of replacing an old belief with a new one.

How to Change Your Mind Completely and Powerfully

We usually recognize a broken thought by a behavior that isn’t working. If we take the time to identify the behavior and the broken thought that drives it, changing our mind can be immediate, complete, and powerful. I know. I’ve done it.

Recently, I faced up to a behavior that wasn’t working. I needed to be more direct with clients about what I charge for my time. I had to change my thinking. I went at it logically and step-by-step so that the change would stick and stay. Here’s how to do that.

As Drew McLellan would say, totally true.

I used this process to change my mind. The results have been complete, powerful, and immediate. As a matter of fact, it’s had an impact on my entire outlook. The world and I are on the same team again.

Are you using old thinking habits to make new decisions? Is time to change your mind?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

The Big Challenge is OVER, Keep that Energy Going ON

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Productivity, Successful Blog | 6 Comments

Sometimes Timing Is Everything

This week’s challenge in the the b5media Business Apprentice Team Challenge . . . Kay’s finally settling into her role as entrepreneur. Kay hardly has time to read the whole web. What one blog post or article might I recommend that will help her move forward at this point?

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In the apprentice story, Kay has made it through her first, and hugely successful, Christmas rush. Now Christmas is over and I’m guessing that Kay is only human. Sometime, win or lose, a big push in business can cause a dip in enthusiasm about the business we love.

The sheer investment of energy can leave feeling like we need a rest. Moving forward to face the next challenge can seem like something we have a right to put off. Unfortunately, a business won’t stand still while we’re resting and refueling. If we stop to do that we can find ourselves in crisis mode again when the new challenge rolls around.

The best business advice for a time like that is to have great habits to fall back on. An article over at LifeDev is just what this situation needs. It’s a simple method for time management. Simple is the key because, at a moment of regrouping, the way to entice ourselves back into involvement is by accomplishing little things that mean a lot.

Time Management, Simplified: How to Be Productive With No Worries simplifies the system and streamlines David Allen’s Getting Things Done for folks who want to reduce the time spent learning and maintaining Mr. Allen’s system. Leo Babauta who wrote the post says:

The fewer tasks you have, the less you have to do to organize them. Focus only on those tasks that give you the absolute most return on your time investment, and you will become more productive and have less to do. You will need only the simplest tools and system, and you will be much less stressed.

Boy do I agree.

In fact, that’s just what I’m going to start in today.

How do you keep your momentum going? Has a blog post ever made it easier for you?

Only 8 blogs are left in the Apprentice Challenge if you like my choice and this post, would you give Successful-Blog a vote in the poll in the sidebar at TAXGIRL?

The Blogs remaining in the challenge are:

Accounting Solver . . . Biz Chicks Rule . . . Greener Assets . . . Home Biz Notes
Leadership Turn . . . Small Business Boomers . . . Successful Blog . . . Yielding Wealth



–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

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