Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

Have you had any cool ideas lately? Summer’s almost here. So, you might be thinking of hittin’ the beach. Or the pool. Or maybe even a cool, refreshing trip to the mountains.

But I’m talking about cool ideas of another kind.

Like the ones about who you are, what you’re good at, and where you wanna go in life.

Maybe you could take a lesson from a guy made some cool changes for a lot of people. And those changes made a lot of people a lot of money. And you might see his last name outside your house right now. It’s not everywhere. But it’s definitely a household name.

I read an article that called him the “King of Cool.” And, no, it’s not Elvis. Or Steve McQueen. Or even Kanye. It’s a guy named Willis. No, not the one on “Different Strokes.” The Willis, in this story, graduated from Cornell University, in 1901, with a Masters Degree in Engineering. And only one year later his cool idea started making business owners very happy.

Willis received several patents in 1906. And, in 1911, he shared his “Basic Rational Psychrometric Formulae” to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Over a hundred years later, that’s still the basic formula for all the “fundamental calculations” in the air conditioning industry.

Yeah, Willis Carrier, is the main guy you can thank when you’re staying inside, out of the blistering heat and humidity this summer. And countless business owners and industries have shared that gratitude all these years, too. Because many of them wouldn’t be able to do what they do (and enjoy extra profits) without A/C.

And all because Willis had some cool ideas about how to control temperature and humidity. He said he came up with the A/C formula while waiting for a train late one foggy night.

So, that’s what I call some awesome brain fog.

I don’t think I can run my air conditioner without remembering this anymore.

The article I read, about Willis Carrier’s life, said he and six other engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 with just $35k. And by 1995, sales were over $5 billion. Now, that’s mighty cool!

There’s so much more interesting facts about how Mr. Carrier’s cooling machines changed so much about every day life. I recommend you read his story when you get a chance.And here’s something to ask yourself as you read about people like Willis. What do all successful people, places, and things have in common? They all started with an idea. Yeah, every idea was once just a thought in somebody’s mind. I like to say thoughts become things. And I remember a quote I shared, from Ralph Waldo Trine, who said, “Thoughts are forces.”

Yeah, you’ve got a lot of power floating around in your brain. And it’s just waiting to be unleashed and set free. But a word of caution. Don’t set it free just to run wild and then run away.

Focus first.

And that’s why the very first lessons in RondaReady YOUniversity are designed to help you discover your Vision. So you can focus your energy in the direction you’d actually like to go. And know how to get there.

How about we talk about it some more? Book a free call with me, with that handy calendar below. And give me a chance to see where you wanna go in life. I’d love to help YOU if I can. Let’s talk soon.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

The RondaReady business model is built on three parts of the same principle. I call them Get Ready, Be Ready, and Stay Ready. But too many wannabes stay in the getting ready to get ready mode.

And you might be young. But your future self needs you to Get Ready. Now.

Business owner and entrepreneur newbies shoot themselves in the foot, way too often. How? They focus too much on the tiniest organizing details. And not enough on their big picture. Their vision. It’s like when you know you gotta get something done. But you’re not sure where to start. So, you rearrange everything on your desk.

Yeah. At least you “did something.” Right? Not so much.

Why do I bring any of this up? Because I like to help my clients and customers save as much time and energy as possible. Like I often say, why reinvent the wheel, and make things more difficult, when you don’t have to? And believe me, you don’t have to.

You could literally spend weeks, months, and even years figuring out what tools to use and what platforms to be on. And that can cause what I call Action Distraction. Because that sort of busyness takes your eyes off your prize. Your vision. Your business, or even your dream job.

Give your vision a nice K.I.S.S. Of course, that stands for Keep It Super Simple. And you do that when you find, and stick with, a plan that’s proven to work.

In my RondaReady System I recommend a simple list of tools:

  • A cloud storage account. You’ll need a secure place to save all your work. Cloud storage is great so you can access on any of your devices and easily share with others on your team.
  • Reliable computer/tablet and printer
  • PDF reader software
  • Paper for printing out worksheets and examples
  • Pens/pencils for regular writing
  • One large piece of paper or poster board at least 2’x2′
  • A physical folder for your handwritten notes and printed resources. (If you prefer digital files, be sure to save all your downloads to your cloud folder.)
  • Scotch tape and post-it notes.

And start with your own website so you can focus your marketing efforts toward getting people to come to you. Make it a super simple site to navigate. Easy to understand. And easy to buy your goods and services.

Just a couple more tools.

If you already have a calendar on your phone, don’t worry about getting the coolest, latest super-duper calendar with lots of bells and whistles. Just start with what you’ve got. And be persistent with it. Set your reminders. And your alerts.

Also, a lot of phones, like my iPhone, even help you set things up with your voice. What could be easier?

So, here’s the point. With some good, solid effort, you could do ALL this in one day. Maybe less. And it’s so much better to get ready for success in a day than it is to slush through weeks, months, or years.

So, that’s why the very first lessons in RondaReady YOUniversity are designed to help you discover your Vision. And they can help you focus your energy in the direction you’d actually like to go. With strategies to help you know how to get there.

How about we talk about it some more? Book a free call with me, with that handy calendar below. And give me a chance to see where you wanna go in life. I’d love to help YOU if I can. Let’s talk soon.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Wow. That’s a quote from Helen Keller. And if you’re not familiar with her story, you need to read about her right now. Because she went through her life blind AND deaf. She a great example of how it’s not only gifted people who are successful. I don’t think you can say her blindness and deafness were gifts.

“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.” And that’s a quote from another blind person who achieved great success. Stevie Wonder. Sure, Stevie and Helen might say there were some advantages to blindness. But I bet they both would prefer not to be blind.

Sadly, there are too many gifted people failing for lack of vision.

And “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” That’s a quote from Jonathan Swift. Maybe his name isn’t familiar to you. But maybe you’ve heard of “Gulliver’s Travels.” It’s the story of a man named Lemuel Gulliver who was shipwrecked and ended up in the island country of Lilliput. But he woke up to find himself a prisoner of a race of tiny people, less than 6 inches tall.

Yeah, I think it’s safe to say how Mr. Swift saw what was invisible to most others. Kinda like another guy you might have heard of.

Thomas Edison said something I think is awesome. “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Wow. Hallucination. One dictionary definition of that word is “an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present.” So, even if you have a vision, you still gotta follow through.

I’ve been saying that for years. And I’ve also said how if you don’t write it down, it’s not really real.

And that’s why I think it’s crucial to show gifted people a systematic way to look at life. So they can get a clear picture of what they want. A vision.

And a proven way to go and get it.

And it was my vision to create the System to do that. I call it RondaReady YOUniversity. It’s based on my RondaReady System with over 20 years of proof behind it.

It’s an investment in the future of gifted people. And even those who don’t believe they’re gifted. Not the least expensive investment you (or they) will ever make. But certainly far from the cost of a college that most likely won’t help them focus on something that can serve them well their entire lives.

And the very first lessons in RondaReady YOUniversity are designed to help you discover your Vision. And they can help you focus your energy in the direction you’d actually like to go. With strategies to help you know how to get there.

I’ll share one more quote with you that I think is so appropriate. “Hold the vision, trust the process.” I couldn’t find who that’s supposed to be attributed to, but it’s a huge key to your success.

How about we talk about it some more? Book a free call with me, with that handy calendar below. And give me a chance to see where you wanna go in life. I’d love to help YOU if I can. Let’s talk soon.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

As I drove to meet with a client, earlier this week, I saw a pun on a business billboard. It said, “Why should you not give Elsa a balloon? Because she’ll just let it go.

Get it? Let it go.

OK, if you’re not familiar with the animated movie, Frozen, then that reference might fly past you. And, in the spirit of transparency, I didn’t watch Frozen because my kids were already past that age when it came out. But I’ve heard the song. And I’ve seen the tons of Elsa toys, etc.

But, as you probably already guessed, I’m not here to talk about cartoons or toys.

I’m here to talk about you. And help you, if I can. And I believe I can.

Something a lot of my clients have told me, over the years, is how hard it is for them to take any part of their business and let it go. And I do my best to show them how letting go of certain parts can be one of the best ways for them to hold on to a successful business.

Because when you let it go, it doesn’t mean you give it up. Or give it away.

But it does mean you can let others, who might be much more qualified (Gasp, more qualified than YOU?!) handle those parts where you’re not the expert. Because, guess what? As much as you might like to believe you are, you’re not an expert in everything.

And I get it.

Your business is your baby. You “gave birth” to it. And it was your idea long before anybody else even thought about doing it. But those aren’t business or expert credentials. They’re feelings. And your business won’t succeed on feelings alone.

So, you gotta let go of how you feel about everything. And figure out how to put the right people in the right positions.

The most successful businesses in America aren’t the classic one-man-band. Sure, if your goal is to have a successful business where you’re the only person in your business, it can be done. But there are only a few business models where that can work well. And even those guys tend to need outside assistance at least once in a while. In other words, not very scalable.

So, if you wanna build something big and serve the needs of many, you’re gonna build a team. And that’s a very good thing. Because more hands means more time savings.

It just so happens that saving time is what you’d be learning in UNversity, today. Well, you’d be learning about it if you had enrolled before the end of April. Because beating that deadline was the only way to access my schedule control lesson which is today. 1st Thursday of every month.

Good news is, you can still enroll anytime THIS month and be in time for June’s lesson. And your handy dandy link is below. $15 a month (at least for a while longer). Did a little voice inside your head tell you to wait? Let it go.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

Agenda setting, for a meeting, is used to stay on topics and expectations that can help the meeting remain productive. And an article, I read, said this about it: “A well-designed agenda can help a meeting reach its desired purpose or effect. You can create an agenda and make copies for everyone attending the meeting to help communicate the goals of the meeting.”

But there’s a more important reason to use agenda setting.

I shared a video tip about it, three years ago. And I think it’s always relevant. So, here you go:

 

Imagine (hopefully don’t have to imagine) knowing exactly what you’re gonna work on when you pop out of bed. That’s what agenda setting, the night before can do for you. And that plan can pump up your mood and your actions. Guaranteed. At least if you actually follow through.

But, without an agenda in your day-to-day work life, you can hit a brick wall. Or, worse yet, drop like a lead balloon. Then, forget about that pumped up mood I just mentioned. Because you’re just probably not gonna be as productive.

Does this sound like your work life? I hope not.

I encourage you to wake up every morning with your agenda set. Get up knowing you planned your work so you can work your plan.

And that means you get it set up in your system the night before. Or at least by the end of the previous work day. Because your Today is more efficient when you start it YESTERDAY.

Organized plans, strategies, and systems keep your mind Ready.

Try my video tips today. Because I believe they can help you get there.

Or, better yet, enroll in RondaReady UNversity. And get my monthly how-to coaching to help you run your business better and faster. My next class is tomorrow. Thursday, May 4th. It’s a lesson completely focused on schedule control, aka: time management.

But if you haven’t already enrolled for this month’s lesson, it’s too late. The deadline to enroll in UNversity is always by the last day of the previous month when the clock strikes midnight. And, that was a a few nights ago.

Good news is, you can still enroll anytime THIS month and be in time for June’s lesson. And your handy dandy link is below. $15 a month (at least for a while longer). Do it right now while you’re thinking about it. Consider it your agenda setting starting point.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of what?

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

There’s an old saying that goes like this, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I don’t know who originally said that. But I DO know it’s pretty much gonna always be true. And I just read a short article someone wrote about this truth. They used another old saying…

“A stitch in time saves nine.” Stephen Covey refers to this concept in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. According to him, we spend our time primarily on four types of activity:

  1. Urgent and important (crisis, deadlines, putting out fires)
  2. Non-urgent and important (building relationships, identifying opportunities, prevention, planning)
  3. Urgent and non-important (interruptions, phone calls, meetings)
  4. Non-urgent and non-important (TV, email, time wasters)

Covey says that we spend most of our time in sections 1 and 4, but the real area of personal growth is in 2. If you’re spending more time putting out fires than building the right foundations, you’ll never get out ahead of your to-do list.”

So, you find value of the ounce of prevention in the second bullet point.

Because without relationships, it’s difficult to identify and purse opportunities. And without opportunities, it’s difficult to build. So, you gotta prevent yourself from living “without.”

Mostly because life is much better WITH relationships, resources, and opportunities than it is without them. And hopefully I don’t need to show you examples. Right?

One opportunity I offer in my relationships with clients, customers, and readers is the chance to get in on much more affordable coaching than my one-on-one clients pay to get. It’s what I call RondaReady UNversity. A monthly how-to lesson to help you start and RUN a business.

The lesson for May 2023 is focused on your time. I’m going over three sections.

  • Time classifications
  • Time blocking, and
  • Daily Intentions

But here’s the bad news that an ounce of prevention could have helped you avoid. If you haven’t already enrolled for this month’s lesson, it’s too late. The deadline to enroll in UNversity is always by the last day of the previous month when the clock strikes midnight. And, that was last night.

Good news is, you can still enroll anytime THIS month and be in time for June’s lesson. And your handy dandy link is below. $15 a month (at least for a while longer). Get yourself a pound of cure.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

About three years ago I talked about business owners and entrepreneurs who suffer from OSAD. Organization skills attention disorder. OK, I came up with the acronym so I could “poke fun” a little. But it’s so sad how so many (maybe most) still deal with that very problem.

So, if you’re so sad about your lack of organization skills, you’re not alone.

But I’ll tell you the same thing I said back then. Fear not. Because I have a solution, for you and your business, to take the dis out of disorder.

By the way, I’m not just talkin’ about a messy desk problem. You can still be wonderfully organized even with a messy desk. Maybe not AS organized as you could be. But this isn’t just the simple everything-has-a-place-and-everything-is-in-it’s-place kind of organization.

Sure, it’s great to be as uncluttered as possible. In your office. On your desk. And most importantly in your thoughts. But your messy desk or office is just the visible evidence.

The real problem might be hidden in the way you set things up in your business. And you might be trying to keep too many things in your head instead of getting them written down. Because, like I always say, until it’s written down and planned out, it’s just an idea. And ideas are just the beginning. It’s action that brings change.

I love to watch the transformation take place when I help a business owner plan out and write down their action steps. When that lightbulb flashes on. And when they get their “a-ha” moment. So cool to see their new found skills kick in as they set up their system.

I’ve seen my RondaReady System do that so many times for my one-on-one clients. And I’ve watched as they set up their System to keep them on track. With automation and delegation. And it’s those kinds of organization skills and more that save tons and tons of time.

Time just so happens to be the subject of next month’s UNversity lesson.

RondaReady UNversity is where you can go to get how-to coaching lessons every month. And at a price my one-on-one coaching clients don’t want me to give you.

Join me on May 4 as I cover:

  • Time classifications
  • Time blocking, and
  • Daily Intentions

Enroll today for a monthly tuition of $15. I haven’t raised the price since I started UNversity. But that’s likely to change in 2023. So, get in now and be in time for the next lesson on the first Thursday in May (same goes for each month).

The deadline to enroll is the last day of this month, April 2023, when the clock strikes midnight. And that’s only a couple of days away after today. I’ll be so sad if you miss it. Link is below.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

OK, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Actually, I’m gonna share a short story of elephants in a camp. Because I think this has a huge lesson for all of us. Here’s the story:

As he walked through an elephant camp, a man noticed the elephants were only secured with a small rope that was tied around one ankle. And he wondered why the elephants didn’t break free from the rope. Because elephants that big could easily break the small rope.

So, he asked a trainer why the elephants didn’t try to break free. And the trainer said they use the same size rope on baby elephants when they’re too small to break them. And they grow up being conditioned to believe the rope is too strong to break. Then, as adults, they don’t even try to fight it.

Now, here’s where the elephant in the room comes into play.

Those big animals were conditioned to believe they were helpless. And, from the earliest age, they were literally roped into that belief. So, they didn’t even try to break free. Because they believed it would be impossible.

Sadly, too many humans get roped into that mindset.

Starting at childhood, they’re taught to believe there’s no hope of rising above their circumstances. And the learn it from adults they trust. So, there’s no reason to believe it’s not true.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Unless you’re born into a country or nation where you’re a slave to the government or other people, you can decide to break free. But your success depends on your vision.

And then you’ve gotta make the best use of the limited hours you have every day in order to pursue your vision successfully. That’s why I included lessons on schedule control in my RondaReady System.

Time is your most precious resource.

Focused schedule control can make a positive impact on all of your life. It helps you SEE what you can achieve. And not what you can’t. Don’t let someone else’s rope tie you down.

And don’t just react to the world. Because that’s too overwhelming, frustrating, and unfulfilling. You’ll find too many hurdles between you and your goals. But focused schedule control can fill you with hope and optimism. Why not get rid of that elephant in the room, starting right now?

If you’re satisfied with the way your business and your life is going, then you certainly don’t need me or my system. But, if you think you could benefit from some schedule control help, think about this.

RondaReady UNversity. It’s where you can go to get how-to coaching lessons every month. And at a price my one-on-one coaching clients don’t want me to give you.

Next month’s UNversity lesson (on May 4th) is about TIME.

I’ll be going over:

  • Time classifications
  • Time blocking, and
  • Daily Intentions

Enroll today for a monthly tuition of $15. I haven’t raised the price since I started UNversity. But that’s likely to change in 2023. So, get in now and be in time for the next lesson on the first Thursday in May (same goes for each month).

The deadline to enroll is the last day of this month, April 2023, when the clock strikes midnight. And that’s only three days away. So, don’t delay. Link is below.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

It’s finally here. And I thought it’d never get here. Didn’t you? But, at last, it’s National Hairball Awareness Day. I can almost hear everyone cheering and toasting their drinks. Because who hasn’t been looking forward to this day since January 1? Am I right?

And National Hairball Awareness Day is YOUR day.

Your day to take the bull by the horns (or should I say cat by the fur) and get things moving (hairball pun only slightly intended). Before I share how you could do that, check out these feline facts:

  • The scientific name for a hairball is a Trichobezoar.
  • It was thought by some ancient people that animal hairballs could cure poisoning or even the plague.
  • Lions have been known to cough up very large hairballs.
  • Hairballs are more common as cats shed their winter coats.
  • Healthy cats will only have one or two hairballs every year.
  • Switching to a high-fiber cat diet can help reduce the chance of hairballs.

OK. Is that a case of TMI? Well, no need to get bent out of shape. How about I mention it’s also National Pretzel Day (see what I did there?). Yeah, I just saw a short news blurb about that this morning. And the blurb even included a link to a place, in Ohio, where you can get a free pretzel with the purchase of a coffee or other drink.

Now, that’s a “holiday” much more to my liking. But guess what else today is.

I won’t make you guess.

It’s National You-Fill-In-The-Blank Day. You just need a System you can depend on to help you automate and delegate. So you can RUN your business or your day. And they don’t run you.

AND you’re in the right place. Because I (shameful self-promotion ahead) have the best system going. If I DO say so myself. And I did. It’s the best because it includes me.

But here’s the thing. The best is never the cheapest. And that’s true of my RondaReady System, too. So, here’s what I did. I also created UNversity. It’s where you can go to get how-to coaching lessons every month. And at a price my one-on-one coaching clients don’t want me to give you.

Next month’s lesson (on May 4th) is on schedule control. I’ll be going over:

  • Time classifications
  • Time blocking, and
  • Daily Intentions

Enroll today for a monthly tuition of $15. I haven’t raised the price since I started UNversity. But that’s likely to change in 2023. So, get in now and be in time for the next lesson on the first Thursday in May (same goes for each month).

The deadline to enroll is the last day of this month, April 2023, when the clock strikes midnight. And that’s only four days away. So, don’t delay. Link is below.

Stay Ready,
R.O.N.D.A.
Your Responsive Online Nonstop Digital Assistant

Enroll in UNversity today –

Business Hub Consultant in Colorado Springs Posted on by

Who do you think said this? “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” I’m not gonna tell you who it was. Not yet.

But let’s focus on that “need to change” part.

Because it’s true for everyone just about all the time. And here’s why. I’m sure you’ve heard another famous saying, “The only thing constant is change.” Right? Well, it’s true. The world is constantly changing. And nothing illustrates that better than technology.

We’ve gone from dots and dashes clicked along wires strung up across the country to artificial intelligence sending tons of data through thin air. There are brilliant people working on amazing things. All around us all the time. Maybe you’re one of them. If so, here’s another quote from the same guy I quoted before.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

I’m still not gonna say who it was. But which part of that quote sounds like you? Are you satisfied and doing great work? Or are you still looking?

Remember, don’t settle.

Because when you believe you don’t need to change is usually when you need to the most. It’s kinda like exercise. When you least feel like it is when you need to most.

But moving and changing require focus. Here’s one final quote, from that same guy, about that.

“That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”

And one of the best ways to improve your focus is to improve your control over your schedule. That’s why next month’s UNversity class will be about schedule control. Also known as time management.

You should be there as I go over:

  • Time classifications
  • Time blocking, and
  • Daily Intentions

Enroll today for a monthly tuition of $15. I haven’t raised the price since I started UNversity. But that’s likely to change in 2023. So, get in now and be in time for the next lesson on the first Thursday in May (same goes for each month).

The deadline to enroll is the last day of this month, April 2023, when the clock strikes midnight. And that’s only five days away. So, don’t delay. Link is below.

Oh yeah, those quotes are from Steve Jobs. Remember him?

Stay Ready,
Ronda

Enroll in UNversity today –