Author: Cynthia

Your Competition

 

Your business is the real thing.

When I started magic fingers typing service all I knew was this;  I was an excellent typist. I typed fast and I typed with 100% accuracy. I designed a flyer and I opened the doors to my business within a few months after I had given it careful and serious thought.

Magic Fingers Typing Services

Magic Fingers was birthed from my gifts and skill set and in September 2002, I opened the doors to my typing/secretarial business; it was an immediate success. I was overjoyed. I did absolutely no research on how to start, promote, market, manage or grow a legitimate business of my own.  I had a thriving typing business that gave me the financial rewards I had longed for, but I was not being fulfilled in terms of enjoying what I did. All the money did was help to pay bills and tuition.  I liked to type, but I didn’t like typing for others and even though business was pouring in in the form of dissertations, term papers, resumes, correspondence, followup letters and more, I just wasn’t satisfied and I was not happy.  In other words, a secretarial business was not for me and that was because once I found my passion to design, which was much greater than anything I could have ever imagined for myself, I had to say goodbye to Magic Fingers almost as quickly as I started it.   

When I started Cyndi’s Light Work Designs, I decided to do extensive research on how to grow a graphic design business.  The one thing that stayed in and stuck out in my mind was, CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION. Well for me the competition was and has never been a question, worry or concern. I look at my business like this and I think you should too.

I started and built my businesses on truth, on the foundation of Gods word which has been the link to my long-lasting success and success for me is not financial, but happiness, peace, fulfillment and contentment. I am a true Christian woman entrepreneur.  How can I accomplish anything on my own strength. I cant. How can I as a Christian woman start a business without God. I can’t and I’m smart enough to not make any attempts to try. How can my businesses live, breathe and thrive without my Savior in whom I love, believe and trust with all my heart, soul, mind, might and strength.  

Successful Christian Women Entrepreneurs

Christian Women Entrepreneurs’ Abundance and Blessings

Successful Christian women entrepreneurs have an endless list and an abundance of blessings that cannot be numbered and that can easily be used to build highly successful and phenomenal businesses. Many of you are already prosperous business owners enjoying the fruits of your brilliancy.

Clothed with Magnificence and Brilliance

Upon you, God has bestowed magnificence and brilliance. You are intelligent, wise and extremely knowledgeable, which has allowed you to birth your business with courage, power, strength and confidence using your unique skillset, your God-given gifts and talents, blessing you with the amazing ability to build, one powerful tool at a time, a mountain-like sustainable foundation that cannot be moved or shaken.

Great Plans of Abundance and Prosperity

As Successful Christian women entrepreneurs God has devised the greatest plan for you and your business. With the commencing of your dreams and everything you envision, you wisely write down all your goals acknowledging the fact that God has assigned to you a well-written, easy to understand and easy to execute plan, never difficult and never confusing, to help you achieve your business goals as you aspire to do fantastic. On your daily list of things-to-do and all that you vow to accomplish, it is imperative that you stay focused to ensure that you never miss a step and you never skip a beat.

Building Mountains

Now, with faith in God, you are ready to create and climb the next mountain, which is higher and stronger than your previous mountain…you know the one you built using your sweat, thanksgiving and praise! This mountain continues to stand giving other women entrepreneurs the opportunity to climb the same mountain which has allowed you to look out into the world to see just how far you’ve come and now to be able to see where God is leading, guiding, directing and instructing you.

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Leaders in Business

With each mountain you build and climb your business grows and prospers. Your business is a treasure chest that contains an abundance of amazing! You have, intelligently and with your brilliant mind, have left your shine, your unique footprints on the world. You illumine the universe with your countenance and your business shines. You have carved a path for the upcoming, super phenomenal, Christian women entrepreneur and with you leading the way, they simply just cannot fail.  

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Written by Cynthia G. Boyer

Owner, GVWE

Not Without Jesus

 

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Years ago, I watched, what I thought was a really good movie, “Not Without My Daughter”. This movie was about an Iranian physician who wants to visit Iran with his American family. He tells his wife, Betty, that his Iranian family wants to meet her and their young daughter, and asks them to come with him for a two week visit. Despite her deep fears about visiting Iran, particularly due to the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Betty reluctantly agrees. Upon their arrival, they are all greeted warmly by her husband’s family, but shortly before their flight back to America, Moody announces to his wife that he wishes for them to stay in Iran. Betty quickly realizes that she has been deceived by her husband, even though Moody took an oath that they would return to America, “swearing” on the sacred Koran. When she protests, Moody strikes her, and nobody in Moody’s family sympathises with her. 

Planning and Hoping

Moody becomes more hostile and abusive, preventing her from leaving the house or using the telephone. Betty briefly manages to visit the American Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy, but is told that she is now an Iranian citizen since she is married to an Iranian, and as long as she lives in Iran, she cannot leave the country without her husband’s written consent and has no parental rights over her daughter. Moody learns of Betty’s meeting and threatens to kill her if she tries anything again.

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Knowing that her chances of escape are minuscule, Betty conforms to her husband’s wishes in order to gain the trust of Moody and his family. By chance, during a trip to the marketplace, she meets a sympathetic shopkeeper who overhears her telephone conversations with the Swiss Embassy and puts her in contact with a humanitarian Iranian, Hossein, who offers to help Betty and Mahtob in their passage back to America. The plan becomes complicated when Betty receives news from America that her father is seriously ill and may be dying. Moody approves of Betty returning to see her dying father, but will not let Mahtob go with her. Betty decides to wait to return to America with Mahtob, but Moody unknowingly foils her by having her booked on a flight several days early thanks to his relatives’ contacts in the airport.

Not Without My Daughter

Betty eventually gets what seems to be her last chance to escape when Moody is suddenly called to the clinic for an emergency. On the pretense of going to buy presents for her father, Betty takes Mahtob and they contact Hossein, who manages to send Betty and Mahtob off with some Iranian smugglers, and using fake identity documents, they make their way past the checkpoints. Despite the difficult and very dangerous journey, Betty and Mahtob are dropped off in a street in Turkey, where they see the American Embassy in the distance. “We’re home,” says Betty.

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Not Without Jesus

Betty was determined to return to America, but not without her daughter.  When I think of the title of this movie, a true story, I think about Jesus Christ and I say to myself that we cannot do anything without Him.  We can’t breathe without Him, we can’t think, we can’t focus, we can’t talk, we can’t ambulate, we can’t eat, we can’t thrive; we can’t do anything without Jesus.  We can’t start our businesses, we can’t market our businesses, we can’t manage, grow or promote our businesses.  

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Equipped with Tools Called Greatness!

When God calls us to fulfill a goal or a promise to Him or perhaps to a customer/client, He is going to equip you with the tools to do the job and to do the job right.  Giving glory and honor to God, our hearts should be filled and overflowing with an abundance of thanksgiving because we can rest assured that the outcome is going to be sensational; truly phenomenal because God is in control; we cannot do anything without Jesus.

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Not without Jesus should be one of the fruits we eat every day.  Not without Jesus should be the nourishment that strengthens us. It should be the hope that restores us.  Not without Jesus should be the peace that encompasses us.  It should be the motto and brand for our businesses.  Not without Jesus is the blessing that comes down from the window of heaven and the gift that God gives us to help us in every aspect of life and in every area of our businesses.

Written by Cynthia G. Boyer

 

3 Ways to Make Captivating Videos

Building Your Business with Videos

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Throughout the world, businesses are embracing video in their PR and marketing strategies—and with good reason.

Thanks to smartphones, tablets and social media blanketing the globe, video is convenient to consume and is highly shareable.

It’s time for brands to take the next step by producing more cinematic content. Simply put, video for PR needs to look less corporate and more cinematic to keep people watching and more effectively convey messaging.

You don’t need a huge budget and a Hollywood director. Think about what is going to make people watch the videos you’re putting out there, and then make the right investments. Here are three ways you can produce videos that captivate:

1. Audio

People will suffer through videos with poor visual quality and good audio, but they won’t tolerate the reverse. You shouldn’t want them to suffer at all, so paying attention to audio and light is critical.

Don’t use the microphone that’s built in to your camera. Instead, invest in decent shotgun and wireless lavalier microphones, and remember that the closer the microphone is to your subject, the better your audio will be.

2. Light

Effective use of light will turn run-of-the-mill interviews into more dynamic and engaging videos.

There’s plenty of affordable gear with which to get started. You’ll find that as you play with different lighting scenarios that you’ll have more control over shadows and skin tones of your on-camera talent, along with more latitude for color grading in post-production.

3. Shot Composition
Unimaginative visuals are the hallmark of bad corporate video.

Sidestep this land mine by taking the time to compose your shots, choosing interesting backgrounds with contrasting colors. Also use the lighting mentioned above to control shadows and depth of field for a more cinematic feel.

Avoid shooting your subject in front of a bland painted wall at all costs.

Too often, brands focus solely on what’s being said and forget that people have to be engaged by your video’s visuals and audio. Without these elements, people won’t watch long enough to hear what you have to say or see the product demo you want to show them.

Putting extra thought and effort into the production value and personality of your video content will yield far better results.

Entrepreneur.com 

Marketing for Money

Marketing for Money in Your Business

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A month ago a gentleman came to my home to give me a price on three windows.  I knew I was going to be conned the second the salesman walked into my home with his briefcase, laptop and pad.  I, of course, let him deliver his marketing speech to me and my husband. He told us how Andersen Windows are the best windows in the business and that my current windows looked horrible.  He then went on to explain to us that vinyl windows are dated, not economic and just down right bad.  He told us that if we decided to purchase his windows, his crew would do an excellent job installing the windows and they would do a thorough cleanup after construction is complete.  

After he told us of all this, he quoted us a price of $13,000 for three windows!  I could not believe what I was hearing.  He pressed on telling us that he was giving us a discount on the windows in addition to another 25% discount “because I can since I’m the boss!”  My oh my is this going to get any worse.  At that moment, my husband had to leave because he had a previous appointment, but before leaving me with this man my husband informed him that he just doesn’t jump without giving the matter careful and serious thought and consideration.  The salesman said that the price would not be valid once he walks out our front door.  I really liked the windows and the transformation potential the beauty of the window offered, but I wasn’t willing to be taken advantage of.  He then told us that we could get the windows financed and we wouldn’t have to pay a penny until next year.  He called his finance company and they approved me right on the spot for the windows.  This man was so pushy and adamant about me getting those windows that I knew it was a bad idea for me to even consider purchasing anything from him.  I don’t think too many people like pushy sales people…I know I don’t.

Antiquated and Dated

Yesterday, Thursday, July 9th, a young man knocked on my door from a pest control company.  He was about 18 years and was going from door-to-door selling this service that promised to kill all the bugs that are hiding in my walls, all the beetles that are lurking outside of my home in addition to the bees and wasps that may have built a nest in the eaves of my home.  He told me that the service $105 along with taxes and any other fees associated with it.  He told me that he was doing a followup with his customers who live in my development.  I kindly asked him who my neighbors were who had acquired his service and he went on to tell me that he didn’t have the list on him.  This poor child was out in all that heat and humidity, clothes sopping wet, desperate for a sale.  I explained to him that I had an exterminator, but of course he told me that with all the dead beetles outside that if his guy sprayed my home I won’t see any bugs at all.  I don’t know how in the world that would be possible when the bugs have been here on this earth long before we got here and will be here long after we are gone.  Anyway, this young gentleman seemed really desperate and he gave the same spiel that the Andersen salesman had just given me a month prior.  I told him that I needed to think about it and he said he wouldn’t be able to give me the same price of $105 once he walks out the door.  Well, five bells rolled around and here he was again, knocking on my front door.  I told him that I wasn;t interested and that I would continue using my exterminator with whom I was really pleased.  He left my home, head down and highly disappointed.  A few minutes later he was knocking on my door again and this time he had something in his hand that looked like a credit card.  He told me that he had called his manager who said they would give me 50% off my initial service.  I told him that I had done research on the company and I read too many bad reviews and I wasn’t interested for the third time.  

Here’s my thought:  I know that marketing is a form of lying; this may sound harsh, but it is. If someone is trying to earn my trust and business, I think the best way to accomplish this is to just be honest because most people can see through this marketing tactic that is old, antiquated and outdated.  It is dishonest and I don’t like to be conned into purchasing services that are overpriced and the quality low to non-existent.  I’m not saying that all companies are this way, but the ones that use this marketing ploy is a complete turn off for me.  

Honesty is Always the Best Legacy!

Ladies, if you are a business owner, you can think outside of the box to come up with an honest and great marketing plan that will help to grow your business so that it thrives for as long as you’re in business.  Remember to be original, be truthful and be yourself!

Last year, I came in contact with a coach who was constantly calling and sending me emails telling me that she had dropped her price for her coaching services and that her price was going to change after 6 pm that same day.  I understand that this is business and for some, this is a way to obtain business.  This has never worked for me.  I believe in being totally honest.  Business is not always about making money, but providing and offering a service or product to those in need to perhaps change their lives or to be a help to make things easier, to flow in their lives is so much more important than making money because I believe giving people what they need blesses them in some way.  The coach was calling and emailing me removed me from her friend’s list on Facebook.  I was really surprised because I thought to myself that this was very unprofessional, but she had every right to remove me since I did not utilize her services and you know what, I’m glad she removed me because it taught me a very valuable lesson.  

While I understand that marketing is important, it’s important to be honest with your customers/clients as well.  You will go much further if you’re honest because I believe most people can see through the dishonesty.

Blessings.  

Lessons From 7 People Who Got Rich and Famous on Social Media

Social Media

There are plenty of people that get their big break on social media. Some become well known and others strike it rich. There are also the lucky few who achieve both. It’s not surprising when you consider the fact that when you have fame, money-making opportunities also begin presenting themselves.

However, it is amazing to think that sites and apps such as YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Tumblr and others have the power to put the spotlight on talent across a variety of different disciplines. As you are about to see, though, success stories are in no short supply.

Related: Why This YouTube Star Spends 2 Hours Daily Reading Audience Comments

Let’s take a look at several different individuals who got rich and/or famous on social media, and what we can learn from them.

1. Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle, Britain’s Got Talent

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Susan Boyle

Singer Susan Boyle become a worldwide phenomenon thanks to a YouTube clip that showed her performing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables on Britain’s Got Talent. This 47-year-old from Scotland became known in Britain after the show aired, but it was the virality of the YouTube video that eventually catapulted her voice across the globe.

Boyle was unemployed when the video was recorded, but record execs everywhere started calling her after seeing the clip. She quickly earned more than $8 million in advertising and recording deals.

The singer is an excellent example of someone who took a chance. She went up on stage, gave it all she had and the judges and the audience couldn’t help but recognize her incredible talent as a vocalist.

If you’d like to learn more about making money on YouTube, take a look at How to Make Money on YouTube: 101 Monetization Tips

2. Brittany Furl, Vine
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Brittany Furlan is Vine’s biggest female star, with more than 9 million followers. This aspiring comedian quickly grew in popularity when she started posting six-second comedy sketches on Vine. Last year, this landed her a development deal for a sketch comedy show to be produced by Seth Green.

No matter what your skills and talents are, if opportunities don’t seem to be forthcoming, try packaging and delivering your ideas in a new format. You never know when it might resonate with a new audience.

If you’d like to start making your own Vine videos, take a read through 4 Tips for Making Memorable Vine Videos.

3. Kate Upton
Kate Upton, Sports Illustrated, Youtube

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Kate Upton

We all know who Kate Upton is today, but prior to her success with Sports Illustrated, she was struggling to find work. Part of her success today is due in part to a couple of YouTube videos. In particular, there was a video where she was “doing the Dougie” at an L.A. Clippers game. Not only was the video viewed millions of times, it also gained her 170,000 Twitter followers. Today, Upton has no shortage of work.

Are you short on work? Then why not show your talent on YouTube? You might be able to drum up a little bit of engagement.

4. Wedley Estime
Wedley Estime, Dadi Nicolas, Youtube

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Wedley Estime/ Dadi Nicolas in jersey

Even athletes have been turning to social media to get more attention from scouts. Football player Wedley Estime decided to create a highlight video showing his skills and post it on YouTube. This video got passed around to recruiters, who started sending in offers. Estime eventually signed with Virginia Tech, and has since changed his name to Dadi Nicolas.

If you just aren’t getting the attention you think you deserve, it may be worthwhile to turn to social media.

Related: 10 New Features YouTube Is Rolling Out for Creators (Hint: 3-D Is Getting More Immersive)

5. Amalia Ulman
Amalia Ulman, Instagram

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Amalia Ulman with friends; Dean Kissick and Ed Fornieles

Amalia Ulman was fascinated by pop culture’s obsession with Instagram celebrities. When she decided to become one herself, this well-studied Instagram persona quickly gained nearly 65,000 followers. Prior to that, she had actually spent time studying the language, the hashtags and the selfie styles that the most popular Insta-celebs were using.

The moral of the story here is pretty obvious. If you study those who are popular and duplicate their efforts, you too can become known.

Also see Secrets of Succeeding at Visual Marketing on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

6. Alex Lee
Alex Lee, Target, Twitter

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Alex Lee

Is it possible to become famous accidentally? You’d have to ask Alex Lee, who is likely the most unintentional Twitter star of all time.

A teenage girl snapped a photo of Lee while he was working at a Target supermarket. This girl was friends with another girl who had a crush on Lee. Pretty soon, a different Twitter user found this photo on Tumblr and tweeted it out. That’s when the popularity of the photo skyrocketed and got tweeted out more than 800,000 times within a few hours. The hashtag #alexfromtarget then grew to prominence.

Lee was unaware of the trend until after he finished his shift at work. The attention quickly turned creepy, and people started showing up at his job to snap more photos of him. However, it landed him an appearance on The Ellen Show, and he now has roles in a music video as well as a movie. Death threats notwithstanding, this story has a happy ending.

This just goes to show you that you never know what’s going to catch on. Experimentation can lead to success in unlikely places.

Looking to learn more about Tumblr? Here’s an article worth reading: How to Make Money on Tumblr: 25 Proven Tips.

7. Nash Grier
Nash Grier, Vine

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Nash Grier

Nash Grier found his popularity on Vine with silly, humorous, spontaneous, almost Jackass style six-second loops. Though he may not be a household name, girls ages 12 to 20 know who he is, and simply can’t get enough of him. Grier currently has nearly 12 million followers on Vine. His other numbers aren’t bad either: he has nearly 8 million followers on Instagram, more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube and 4.7 million followers on Twitter.

Grier also gets a cool $25,000 to $100,000 whenever he plugs products in his six-second clips.

Looks may not be everything, but they certainly seem to help with some social celebrities.

Final thoughts
In addition to the sites already mentioned, it is also possible to earn money on Facebook. Regardless of what social network you turn to, there are opportunities to be had.

Duplicating the successes of those mentioned here could prove challenging, but we could all be making a modest income from social media with a little effort.

Take some time to study 15 Inspiring Entrepreneurs Who Earn Income on Social Media, and find the drive and motivation within you to be a go-getter.

Challenges and Obstacles

Challenges and Obstacles

In business, just as in life, there will be challenges you will have to face and giants you will have to knock down. The good thing about challenges is that they can make you think outside of your comfort zone. Challenges can make you think outside of the box which I consider to be a blessing because it can take your business to new and higher heights.

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Obstacles

Obstacles are giants that you have to knock down from time-to-time that can be the very thing that will make you step back and perhaps even throw in the towel concerning your business, but this doesn’t have to happen. Obstacles can also be the faith-deepening, faith-building component that can change the course of your business creating in you a whole new way of thinking adding a whole new element to your business that you’ve never thought of before. This is when thinking outside of the box comes into the bigger picture of your business. When you find yourself faced with challenges and obstacles that you’re just not sure how to deal with, how do you proceed? What is the best way to handle these unforeseen giants? What are some of the questions that you ask yourself? Do you say, “What am I going to do now?” “How am I going to get over this?” “How am I going to handle this?” “What lesson have I learned from this?”

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 As a Christian woman entrepreneur I have been faced with many obstacles. At first I became so discouraged that I was ready to just walk away and say, I simply cannot do this, but my passion for design, and my gifts from God would not allow me to; no, this was not an option for me. There were days when I was so down that I thought to myself, “It’s me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I don’t have what it takes to make it as a business owner. This feeling lasted for far too long even though I was still plugging away at building my business. I even thought of getting a job outside of my home, but that thought vanished quickly because I knew deep in my heart that if I worked for someone else there would be no one that I would ever get to use my God-given gifts and that hurt my heart. It also put a level of fear in me because I knew what working in corporate America was like and I didn’t want to limit using my gifts, talents, skills and awesome abilities and I didn’t deserve to have a cap on my salary. No, I’m way too talented for that.

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What I Did Next

 In constantly trying to build my design business and trying to knock down those stubborn giants, I found the one thing, the very thing that lifted me up, helped me to build a sustainable foundation for my business, a rock solid path, that couldn’t be knocked down by any obstacle, or pulled from under me, was the deepening of my faith. Yes, faith. I learned quickly that my faith in God was the key to knocking down all those giants that kept trying to get in my way. The fear giant, the no confidence giant, the persecuting giant, the hardship giant and every other giant that kept trying to block my path and my entrepreneurial journey had to flee and with all my faith, and I do mean all my faith in God, it has helped me to soar as I spread my wings and took flight on my amazing entrepreneurial journey. It has been a journey of gratefulness, lessons, hope, joy, laughter, tears, understanding, patience, wisdom, prudence and even peace.

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 Thinking Positively

Faith has even given me a whole new way of thinking. Speaking positive, life changing affirmations has sweetened my entrepreneurial journey and believe me, it can do the same for you.

If you’re forced to deal with challenges and obstacles in your business from time-to-time, the one thing that I can say for sure to help you to knock down those giants is to deepen your faith in God. Remember, you are never ever alone in business. God is right there with you helping you, encouraging you, enlightening you, and motivating you and most of all loving you. Give Him glory. Thank Him for your business endeavors, your dreams and your goals. Deepen your faith in God and every single time an obstacle tries to knock you down, remember your faith will knock them down.

 

Staying Focused Through Your Faith

Faith

Growing up, faith is the one word I never heard, never knew the meaning of nor did I understand its’ importance and the life-changing positive impact it could have on my life.  

Human figure pushing the word "faith" uphill

When I first discovered my gifts that God had given me, I became passionate about using them because I loved and appreciated the wonderful blessings God was gracious enough to bestow upon me.  Thank You, Father.  I love You, too.

Focus

Starting my entrepreneurial journey, God had equipped me with all the tools I would need to reach my destiny; His word, His principles, His promises, my gifts, skill set, knowledge, talent, wisdom, abilities, goals, dreams, visions and inspiration.  When I tell you that I have truly been blessed to be able to create from scratch (self-taught) a portfolio of unique and brilliant designs I have been blessed beyond belief and I enjoy it more than I could ever explain.  With all that God has given me, the way that He expresses His love to me through the gifts He’s blessed me with I still fell short of His glory.  I was like an emotional roller coaster that was up and down.  

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For some strange reason I just could not stay focused on my business.  My mind was, as I like to say, all over the map, which simply meant  that achieving my goals would be harder than it ever had to be.  Here I am blessed beyond belief with multiple gifts, highly talented in so many different areas of my life with the amazing ability to easily create my own wealth with the power God had given me and yet I’m not able to scale, leverage and grow my design business?

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Why?  Why am I sabatoging my own business.  Why is it that I can’t take my business to the highest level possible that my passion and smart work deserved.  I put in countless hours creating and designing my unique collection of masterpieces.  My light work designs were in a class all alone and yet they weren’t moving like I had dreamed, prayed and hoped that they would. Reason being, I just could not focus on my design business.  The only thing I seemed to be able to focus on was making new designs.

Cultivating my Passion with Faith and Focus

Designing was my passion and I just wanted to cultivate my passion for others.  It was easy for me to sit down and create something breath-taking.  I also thoroughly enjoyed website creation.  Designing my own logos and headers for all of my businesses was sheer joy for me.  It gave me a true sense of peace and joy, almost like buying and wrapping Christmas gifts for my family. After the building of my websites the thrill and excitement always seemed to fizzle out.  The thrill stopped right after I completed my websites. I immediately lost interest and focus on what I was doing, on the business I was desperately trying to build.   I had veered off from the path of my amazing journey ready to begin a new adventure that I already knew would end before it had a chance to live, breathe and thrive.

It seemed like every other month another brilliant mind blowing business was being presented to me, but instead of incorporating these gems into my present businesses as they pertained to my businesses, I would purchase the domain name, write the content, create the designs in an attempt to brand another new business model.  This was no way to do business especially since everything was relative.  

The reason that I creating this map and traveling from point A to point Z was because I focusing on all the wrong things. I knew my businesses had the potential to be a blessing to a multitude of people, like sand on the beach and I knew that Cyndi’s Light Work Designs could solve problems for people in more ways than one; at least this is what my heart was and is still telling me today and in all honesty I knew that my design business could make me a lot of money, but I was too busy going from one business to the next instead of just focusing on one business and growing it.   I was literally wearing my mind out.  Why, why, why???  

Incredibly talented and gifted, as many women are, I didn’t know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together for my business. Yes, I had all the tools that God had gifted me, but I was lost.  Yes, I was lost and I knew that I had to do something as time was not waiting for me.  Either I was going to focus and work like I did when I worked in corporate America or I was never ever going to find my way.  After careful thought I knew that I had to pray and ask God for His guidance for my business.  He had given me everything I needed, but it was all me.  My faith was as deep as the deepest ocean, but I wasn’t applying it to every aspect of my business. For me to focus on my business I had to use my faith and using my faith comes from God and His word.  When I think about having faith in God it is then that I begin to focus on the all the things that He was lovingly instructing me to do.  I have to admit that there are always other things going on in and around my life, but I decided that I was not going to use that as an excuse, no, not when my God is much bigger than any obstacle or giant I had to face.  

Time to Shift

There was a shift in the way that I began to think.  I now think about how God expects me to run a highly successful and thriving design business that my customers would also love and appreciate as well. Here is how I began to focus on my achieving success for my business:

  • I bought several notebooks that I like to call journals.  
  • I began writing a to-do-list every single night Monday to Saturday.  I now adhere to it.
  • I write down all my goals right before praying prayers of thanksgiving. 
  • I include my goals and dreams in my prayers always giving God thanks for His Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and for giving me the gift of dreams and goals.  
  • I look forward to working on and achieving my goals by staying focused, with thanksgiving, on my business ventures.
  • As I accomplish each goal, even if it is only one for that day, I strike it out and put the date and time next to it.  This keeps me highly motivated as well.
  • I surrender my life to God and commit myself to Him.
  • I also ask God to speak clearly to my heart because I need clarity.  

Okay, the above list is what I started doing to help me to stay focused on leveraging my business and I am thankful because this is the brilliant plan that works great for me and I’m so sure that it can work phenomenally well for you.  

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So every evening I write down all my goals for the next day, I pray and then I go to sleep.  My mornings are usually busy and consists of an early rise to spend time with God reading, studying and meditating upon His awesomeness, lifting Him up through prayer with a sincere and thankful heart, mind, soul and spirit.  All of my challenges then begin at 10 a.m. which is the start of my business day!  For me, it is vital that I keep my notebook filled and visible to serve as a reminder to always pen my goals directly into my to do list every night.  I cannot stress this enough.  I keep my notebook on my desk which is right next to my bed because this is where peace abounds, calm exists and rests deep within my spirit.  

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For me, all these things make an enormous difference in how I now run my business.  Writing a daily to do list helps to keep me focused and truly motivated because it helps me to envision accomplishing my goals, building my business and seeing my business thrive in ways I could never imagine.  

Written by Cynthia G. Boyer

 

How to Make Money from Home

How to Make Money Working from Home in Comfort

Women are brilliant beings.  They possess the uncanny ability to start, grow and do amazing things and making money is no different.  

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Entrepreneurs are those brilliant people who have the awesome ability to make money through and by their thought process.  Entrepreneurs truly have the midas touch.  And while money is not always at the helm or the reason for starting a business, it does come into the scope of being a business owner.  Let’s face it and let’s be honest, making money is primarily the reason most people start their own businesses amongst other things.

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I believe that if you start a business doing something that you absolutely love you will enjoy phenomenal success in every aspect of your business which can be from helping people solve problems or selling a product to make people’s lives a whole lot easier.  When your heart and mind are focused on being a help to people because it is what you love to do, then you can best believe that the money will come.

Why You Should Work for You!

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There are many lucrative businesses in the work-from-home arena moms and women have started simply because more and more women want to work for themselves.  They want to have and enjoy the freedom that comes from being an entrepreneur along with the flexibility it gives them.  Women want to be in control of their own money.  They want to make their own money without ever having to worry about their salaries being capped because someone tells them that their skill set is only worth $30,000 a year.  Let’s see now, $30,000 a year is the minimal salary that you can receive for getting out of your bed 5 days a week, driving to work, working 8 hours a day, limited to using your gifts, talents, skills and abilities, being somewhat stressed if not a whole lot stressed, dealing with office politics, getting an annual raise of 1% year after year.  I can understand and this may make sense for a whole lot of people who may not know anything any differently, but for the women entrepreneur who has been equipped with a brilliant mind, beyond gifted, super talented, highly skilled and clothed with great abilities, this is not the answer to living a rich lifestyle and not just rich in terms of money being rich in being fulfilled overall.  For the amazing entrepreneur this is not an option because entrepreneurs have the magnificence to build an awesome and highly successful and profitable work from business.  Entrepreneurs possess the knowledge, wisdom, understanding and patience that comes  from the fire that burns deep within that cannot be extinguished ever.

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I am reminded of this whenever I think of WordPress.  My goodness, WordPress is probably one of the most complicated website platforms I have ever tried to use or so I thought until I was able to master this brilliant work of art.  It was like a light popped on and I was hooked.  I had tried building several of my websites using WordPress.  I designed my own headers/banners and buttons for my website which was easy to install, but when it came to static pages, plugins, settings, menus and widgets, forget it, I was lost.  I would then shut down my websites and head on over to Weebly which was super easy to use, but I wasn’t crazy about their templates so here I go again, right back to WordPress.  WordPress wouldn’t let me rest.  I’d go back again and again until one day, it all just came to me.  It all flowed and I’ve been using WordPress every since.  I had this passion, this burning inside that wouldn’t let me rest and I’m glad because I enjoy being challenged and learning new and great things.  WordPress is a lesson all by itself.  If you ever decide to try it you will see what I mean and if you’re already using WordPress then you  may know what I’m talking about.

How to Make Money from Home Typing and Transcribing

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If you’re on an entrepreneurial journey and you’re searching for that terrific work from home business that you can work anytime you want and enjoy all the freedom and have all the flexibility you want and/or need, then a secretarial or typing business may be the perfect work from home business for you.  If you can type 30 wpm (words per minute) and you enjoy typing or perhaps transcribing this is a fantastic way to make a lot of money working from home.  

When I first started working from home, I started my own typing and transcribing business.  I was typing dissertations for grad students in addition to resumes, cover letters, follow-up letters and more.  I also incorporated transcribing into my business, medical transcription to be exact.  I typed for gastroenterology and hematology/oncology departments at the local hospital near my home.  I transcribed medical reports, pre-op notes and more. I also had a certificate in medical terminology which helped in transcribing medical reports because you must know how to spell all those medical terms that doctors use.  I found it to be really easy for me because I enjoyed it, for a short while at least.  If you can type and you have a computer, a fax, typing paper and a telephone you could open the doors to your own typing business right this very moment.  All you need is a flier, run it off and make about 100 copies and post them on college campuses, libraries, in your neighborhood or anywhere people frequent on a daily basis. You can easily charge $25-40 an hour for typing and transcribing.  I have a book of marketing tools that have proved to be a great success for my typing business.  You can get it here if you decide you want to start your own typing business.   

Now Is the Time

If you want to work from home and make a lot of money doing something you enjoy doing, then it’s time to think about making your goals and dreams come to full circle so that you can start using your God-given gifts in a way that pleases God and fulfills your life. So why not give yourself the gift of entrepreneurial ship.  You have it so why not use it.  It will change your life.  Now is the time.

Written by Cynthia G. Boyer