Mindset for Success Archives

Why You Should Invest In Attending Live Events

December 11, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Autumn is always a crazy time of year. When summer ends and kids go back to school, the vast majority of people get back to work with a focus on getting specific things done before the end of the year. Often, those specific things include a brand redesign, a website redesign, or website improvements and feature additions to start the year off strong. Business is always busy and booming in the fall, and this year it was even crazier than normal because of all the live events we attended or spoke at.

I LOVE live events.

Sometimes Creativity Doesn’t Come Naturally

July 22, 2015 Jennifer Bourn

My last few articles for WP Elevation have covered contracts, follow up, and new client on boarding. My latest article is a bit of a departure from the normal business advice and tips for designers, developers, and consultants working in the WordPress space — it’s all about creativity, or rather the lack thereof.

Creative People Aren’t Always Creative

I follow a lot of designers and developers on the web; they tweet some amazing links and share great resources and quick doses of inspiration through their work and the work of others.

It’s easy to see all of the great work others are doing and sometimes get frustrated — especially when you’re stuck, when you’ve hit a creative roadblock, or when you feel uninspired. I know because I’ve been there on more than one occasion.

Sometimes Creativity Doesn’t Come Naturally. Even the most creative of us have days where the flow doesn’t quite flow, the groove can’t quite find its rhythm, and frustration comes as a white screen or blank sheet of sketch paper sits mockingly in front of us.

How to take a real vacation (tech-free), even if you own a business

August 8, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Entrepreneurs and business owners are the hardest working, most dedicated and committed people I know. With a vision in mind, and a goal ahead, they do whatever it takes to achieve success, often sacrificing their own personal well being along the way and never taking a break or a vacation to recharge, refuel, re-energize, reinvigorate.

I used to be that business owner. In the first few years of my business, I worked 14-16+ hours a day, at least 6 days a week, and I NEVER took a vacation — because I didn’t think I could.

Eventually I began to take vacations, but the weeks leading up to the vacations, and the week after returning were so awful, that I often wondered if it was worth it. Plus I often pulled multiple all-nighters to finish everything before leaving, so I was exhausted and cranky the first few days of the trips! And, if I am really going to be honest, my vacations weren’t really vacations, as I took my computer with me to check email and work if I needed to (which I always did).

Making Decisions Based On Where You’ve Been vs. Where You Want To Go

April 22, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

The ability to make decisions in business is critical to your success — as long as you’re using the right frame of reference, and frame of mind for your decision-making. For the sake of this article, I’ll assume that you are not a business owner satisfied with the status quo, but an entrepreneur striving to improve, evolve, and grow.

The Wrong Decision-Making Mindset

There is a popular phrase often tossed around by business coaches: “What you focus on expands.” With that belief in mind, one surefire way to stay where you are and stunt your business growth is to focus on the past — what has happened before, what was true before, what worked before — and let it hold you back.

Focusing on where you’ve been will result is staying where you are. The same is true for your decision-making mindset. To move your business forward, continue to grow, and achieve your goals, it is imperative that you stop making decisions based on where you have been.

Transform Your Sales Results By Changing Your Mindset

November 28, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

Recently I attended and spoke at the Today’s Innovative Woman SUCCESS Summit and I want to share some brilliance from a speaker I particularly loved — Debbie Delgado whose presentation Transform Your Sales Results By Changing Your Mindset got the audience thinking …

Debbie Delgado spoke about making more sales in your business and dealing with the truth about what’s going on in your business. She shared some steps you need to take to start increasing the sales in your business right away and the first few stuck with me in a big way.

When Debbies said, “Get your own needs met first so you can be of true service in your business,” she wasn’t talking about your self-care needs, but your need to be liked, your need to be accepted, and your need to feel good about yourself.

Those needs must be met before you enter a sales conversation with a person you want to help. Otherwise you’ll hold yourself back in the conversation and stop yourself from being of true service to the other person because you’re more worried about whether they like you, whether they accept you, and whether they make you feel good about yourself.

Jennifer Bourn Featured on Best of Business with Pat Mussieux

July 10, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

I have to share some exciting news with you — I know some really cool people. One of those people is Pat Mussieux, founder of Wealthy Women Leaders. I originally met Pat at an event for women business owners years ago and we have stayed in touch over the years through Facebook and Twitter.

Pat is genuine, authentic, and brilliant — and she has invited me to be a guest on her CHRW Radio show, Best of Business with Pat Mussieux, which is part of CHRW’s weekly “Body, Mind, Spirit” Program.

While Bourn Creative is a web design firm based in Sacramento, California, we do business with people around the world, so I am excited to share my expertise with a whole new market! Pat and I will be discussing one of my favorite topics: Creating a Website That Works When You’re Not Working.

A Recap: Ali Brown, Entrepreneur Mentor Keynotes Infusioncon 2012

April 17, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

Infusioncon 2012 was by far one of the best events I have attended for entrepreneurs and business owners. The speakers not only delivered great value in their content, but also in their message.

After Pam Slim’s Keynote, my mentor Ali Brown took the stage and delivered a powerful keynote presentation titled How I Did It: Mindset & Marketing Secrets for Entrepreneurial Success in the New Economy, but the core of her message was about moving from success to significance and sharing her story about participating in ABC’s Secret Millionaire TV Show where she ultimately gifted $100,000 of her own money to the charities Beauty Bus Foundation, Harvest Home, Common Ground, and St. Josephs Center – Bread and Roses Cafe.

In an SFGate article, Ali said, “Filming Secret Millionaire caused me to step back and look at how I can give more EVERY day, and I think it will do the same for those who watch it.”

Your Good Isn’t Good Enough…

February 7, 2012 Jennifer Bourn

I know this headline doesn’t sound very nice, but it’s true. This weekend I was in LA for my client, Suzanne Evans’ LA Tour Stop for the Stop, Drop and Decide Tour, and while in LA, I got to hang out with my friend Cathy Alessandra, publisher of Today’s Innovative Woman Magazine. Here’s us enjoying a oceanside walk after brunch at a gorgeous resort right on the cliffs.

At brunch we got to talking about “good.” Now, I’m sure you’ve heard it, see it, read it too — marketers and coaches seem to revel in the idea that:

Good is good enough
It doesn’t have to be great, it just has to be for sale
Done is better then perfect
Just get it out there and fix it later

I call B.S. on all of those phrases. That approach may have worked in past but it isn’t going to work any more. Business is changing, especially for entrepreneurs.

Firing a Client. Check! Getting Fired by a Client. Check!

October 18, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

As I have shared before we always operate at capacity with our workload, and this year we instituted a waiting list. On top of that, we’ve been rescuing WordPress sites from major hacker attacks, dealing with private server crashes, computer meltdowns, our own backup system crashing, multiple viruses. Needless to say it’s been abnormally crazy around here!

Then to add to all of that, in one week we fired a client, we got fired by a client, and that client then convinced another he referred to us to fire us too!

Ali Brown’s Millonaire Protege Club Platinum Retreat Recap

October 4, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

I recently met up with fellow members of Ali Brown’s Millionaire Protege Club Platinum Group at the gorgeous Montelucia Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona for two full days of inspiration, learning, and focus to move our businesses forward. (RIGHT: Me with Ali Brown and Head Coach James Roche) The women (and a few men) at the retreat were gracious and brilliant, sharing their expertise and insights in facilitated mastermind groups, over meals, and by the pool. Being a part of such a supportive and smart group has been such a wonderful experience!

And, I won’t lie and tell you we didn’t spend the whole day after enjoying libations by the pool! It was warm, relaxing, and fabulous… and the views were stunning. Plus, the resort was humming with activity as they are preparing for what was rumored to be a $2 Million dollar event that is part of the 2011 Google Global Science Fair. We’ve been watching them build rooms and stages, and completely transform the spaces at this resort for days and I got interested. Guess what? This year was the first ever Google Global Science Fair and three American Girls swept the awards winning more than $100,000 in prizes and an amazing array of life changing gifts and opportunities.

Detours, Delays, and A Magic Escalator to Business Success

August 23, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

This past week we spent the day in Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. We sweat through a mid-day hike, plugged our noses at the sulfur springs, saw a mama bear and her two cubs play in the meadow, and played in the snow!

Our hike was the Kings Creek hike back to the Kings Creek Falls.

It was supposed to be a moderate, two hour hike — perfect for the kids! But that wasn’t exactly the case. Pretty far into the hike when we came across a trail sign telling us that the trail was closed due to all of the snow and that we needed to take a detour and hike the horse trail instead, adding about .2 miles to our hike.

Only .2 miles right? No biggie. So we kept on hiking, this trail was more rocky and much steeper. The kids were a bit afraid and we were all tired and hot. Then came another sign saying it was just .2 miles to the falls. We were almost there, or so we thought.

Put Your Mission Statement to Work As An Affirmation or Mantra

July 25, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

Last week I published a blog post on writing and using your mission statement. I shared what a mission statement is, how to write one, and why you need to use it and live it — how to turn your mission statement into your own personal uplifting affirmation or motivating mantra.

I keep my mission statement on the bookmark I use in my journal. In the morning each day, I clear my mind, focus my thoughts, and read it out loud. If it is a particular stressful day or week, I may read it several times until the impact and power it has fills me up and inspires me to start my day.

Here are some ideas to help you turn your mission into your mantra:

Writing Your Mission Statement (And Using It!)

July 19, 2011 Jennifer Bourn

Do you really need a mission statement in your business?

YES! Your mission statement isn’t just part of a business plan, in reality, your mission statement, like your core values, is a critical part in defining a successful brand and building a solid foundation for business growth and marketing.

It must convey your core values, your beliefs, and what you stand for, and it needs to communicate why your business exists and what you hope to achieve. If your mission statement has meaning to you, it can be a powerful tool in guiding your company’s forward movement and your decisions. The key is infusing your mission statement into the everyday operations of your business and every aspect of your brand.

The problem is that most mission statements tend to be all statement (boring) and no mission (motivating).

Ali Brown Shine Event: Golden Nuggets of Wisdom for the Entrepreneur Mindset

November 15, 2009 Jennifer Bourn

One of my favorite things to do after I attend live events, conferences, and seminars is to read through all of my notes from the event and write down all of the most important ones in my journal. Rewriting those notes and positive words of encouragement helps me remember them. It also helps me reflect a little further on what they meant to me and why I wrote them down.

Today I’d like to share with you some of the nuggets of wisdom I jotted down at the Ali Brown Shine Event, where I not only got to hear from Ali and her team speak, but from Real Estate Mogul & Business Consultant Barbara Corcoran and Academy-Award Winning Actress & Activist Marlee Matlin!

Ali Brown’s Shine Event: I Didn’t Really Come For All The “Woo Woo” Junk

November 10, 2009 Jennifer Bourn

This past weekend I headed out to Las Vegas for five days to attend Inc. 500 CEO Ali Brown’s Shine Event for women entrepreneurs (and some men) in Las Vegas. As many others I ran into this weekend would say, “This is my second Ali Event” and I have to say it was an amazing event.

In 2008, I attended Ali’s Online Success Blueprint Workshop (OSBW) and while there experienced some big Ah-Ha moments in regards to my business. I knew where I wanted to go, what I wanted to achieve, and the things I needed to do to get there. But what I wasn’t sure about was the order in which to do them and the details that tied them all together in a logical sequence.

At OSBW all of the pieces fell neatly into place, the right place, and in the airport on the way home I mapped out my entire business plan for 2009.

Even in what the media continues to label as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, 2009 has been a great year. I am extremely thankful that my business has continued to grow and flourish. Naturally, when the announcements went out this year for Ali Brown’s 2009 Shine event in Las Vegas, I immediately signed up for two reasons.

20 Ways Guerilla Marketing is Different from Traditional Marketing

February 27, 2009 Jennifer Bourn

Yesterday I flew down to Los Angeles to attend the one day InfusionSoft Double Your Sales Tour stop. Yes, I did learn a lot about this amazing software that is going to revolutionize the way that entrepreneurs and small business manage their database, email campaigns, and shopping carts.

And yes, I did purchase it for myself. That part of the day was expected.

What I didn’t expect were the fantastic content-packed presentations by some amazing entrepreneurial minds. One of them was Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerilla Marketing books and marketing legend. Jay shared with us 20 ways Guerilla marketing is different than traditional marketing and while taking notes, I knew that I had to share this information with you!