Prosperity Magazine Vol.1 (Q1_23)

Planting Seeds

I celebrate our wins and consider things I could do to improve our ability to serve our clients, vendors, and team members This year is no different. We continue to grow as a firm as we introduce new team members and clients and expand and refine our network of power partners that enable us to strengthen our ability to serve everyone.

If you thought I was the only team member focused on developing our influence, you’d be dead wrong! Each of us is dedicated to the My Prosperity Tree mission of service before self, and

I am proud to say that Samantha, our Marketing Coordinator, approached me about a new way we could better serve everyone by creating Bloom

Here we will share best practices, tips, and tricks Each issue you will read client success stories, meet our staff, and get insight into their lives and why they love what they do.

Key to our success is our ability to get to know you better. Message us using the comment box below this issue of Bloom by going to www cbms co/resources We encourage you to share your experiences, make suggestions for content, and ask us questions

Until next quarter, please enjoy the fruits of our labor!

Every year, around this time, I like to take stock of our company performance.

The Empowered Entrepreneur: A Business Basics Deep Dive

Time Management

It’s 6:30 am on a warm summer Wednesday, and I am in the parking lot talking to some friends waiting to go into our weekly networking meeting. One of the guys turns to me and asks why I come to this meeting group when I live so far away. There are bound to be groups closer to where I’m located.

He is correct of course but, I tell him the answer is simple -I’m optimizing my time. I reveal that this group location is actually closer to a few of my clients so I modified my schedule so that I could go to networking meetings, visit my clients, and be back in the office in time for lunch.

Queue the sound of brains exploding.

Then, I heard something that brought back some unpleasant memories, “I’m working around the clock and don’t have time for anything.” You see, early in my career, I would work around the clock, making work the priority and never leaving enough time for family, friends, or myself. I would use the excuse that I didn’t have a choice, I had to do this, or I would lose my clients. I knew exactly how this guy felt.

Now, as a profitability growth coach, I teach that time management is just as important as any other factor to make you successful. I immediately felt I needed to speak up and help my fellow networking buddy. I began telling him how my life balance was way off, and I went through a lot of personal hardship that affects my relationships to this day. If I had made life balance a priority, I know those relationships would be different. So, my perspective on this issue does not come from a book; it comes from my own experience.

I am here to tell you that you have a choice to take control of your time so that you can achieve a well-balanced life. This is a core tenet of the My Prosperity Tree program and something we all wholeheartedly believe in. Time management is an essential skill for achieving a balanced life. Don’t get me wrong, one thing that I know is that life happens, and no matter how we plan, sometimes our days can go off the rails, and we never complete all the tasks we set out to achieve. It happens to me all the time, but I can remain calm because of how I’ve managed my schedule.

Managing your time, like managing anything, is a matter of setting expectations. Not only for your clients, family, and colleagues but also yourself. Your expectations should be realistic and achievable, and you need to be able to communicate them effectively. It is not always easy, and there are exceptions to the rule. The first step you need to take is to take out a calendar.

Immediately we got into our schedules and being able to get everything we needed to get done in a day.

"Your expectations should be realistic and achievable, and you need to be able to communicate them effectively."

I use a weekly calendar to set my schedule, and not every week is the same; as I said before, life happens, so adjustments to our schedules need to be made. I put my daily activities into chunks of time; this allows me to easily reprioritize those items that need to be pushed to the top of the pile. I have provided an example of my week; as you see, I do not get into specifics, block out time based on what I need to work on, and leave space for unstructured time.

Your time is valuable, and as such, you need to set boundaries, so your time is not abused. As you can see by my schedule, I have limited my day and blocked out specific time for activities I enjoy. It may seem frivolous to carve out time just for enjoyment, but it is vital to your well-being, and your well-being is vital to your business’ success! This has led to a much less stressful life and allowed me to seize the opportunity to experience life on my terms.

This is a example of my rough schedule. Use this as a template! You can copy mine directly or design your own

My Prosperity Tree Staff Highlight: Michele Wuestman

At My Prosperity Tree we value our team members just as highly as we value our clients

This quarter we're excited to celebrate, Michele Wuestman! Michele is a founding partner, our Personnel Coordinator and Lead Bookkeeper She is the fertilizer of the company! We sat down with Michele and asked her some key questions about our industry.

As an MPT professional, your expertise comes from hands-on experience. With a farreaching career in bookkeeping, how do you feel that the industry has changed over the years?

The first major change was the internet and how businesses reached customers. Years ago, you networked and met people face to face, and advertising was in print ads, commercials on TV, and on the radio. Now it's mainly through social media. There are influencers out there who influence the public to buy or use products or services. That’s a major switch for the older generation, who have no clue what we are doing with social media Then came Covid, another huge shift for entrepreneurs. So many people were sitting at home for a long time it gave them a chance to reinvent themselves and start their own businesses or work from home This has changed how you hire, keep the employee, track what the employee is working on, insurance and how it covers your employees working from home, and so on. It really has changed everything.

Most entrepreneurs get caught up in the day-to-day of owning a business. Where do you see most business owners getting stuck?

Honestly, I see most business owners get stuck on their egos Many are singleminded in their belief that only they know what's right for their business and only they have the ability to get things done correctly and efficiently. Staying in this mindset results in working around the clock, seven days a week. My advice is to always hire a professional to help outsource some of your more inconvienant tasks. It's best to do this way before you're working 24/7 but, most of my new clients are still well beyond that point by time they make the first call

What are some things you think every business owner should know?

Hire a bookkeeper, talk to an accountant and a lawyer when you start your business and soak up their advice I see too many business owners that really don’t understand the laws and how they can get in trouble. Believe me; you can't just blame your bookkeeper if the IRS comes knocking on your door! It's your company, and you're expected to know how things are being recorded, and you are supposed to read your tax returns. You, as the business owner, are ultimately responsible for your company, nobody else

At My Prosperity Tree, we emphasize our commitment to improving the entrepreneur’s lifestyle. What is your idea of a well-balanced life?

Time in the morning to work out, have a nice breakfast, and relax a bit before work Then, a nice day at work helping my clients achieve their goals I talk to my kids each week and hear what's going on in their lives, spend some alone, and time with my partner. I go out to dinner with friends or family (especially my cousins). I go on walks and hikes often or browse at a local fair. In the summer I garden often and I love to go to the beach and soak up the sun and the smell of the ocean I would like to start volunteering in a kitchen to help feed the poor because I love to cook. I'm always working towards spending my weekends doing things that please me rather than spending it on tasks I hate like cleaning or grocery shopping

Is Your Business on the Right Flight Plan?

Over 400,000 entrepreneurs start businesses each year, according to the Small Business Administration, most with the hopes of becoming a millionaire overnight, creating the next Apple, Twitter, Facebook or maybe they are just starting a business, so they can be their own boss, control their own destiny.

Either way, 400,000 is a lot of new companies to be created each year, with that many being created one would think that almost everyone in the United States, should be a business owner, but as we know that is not the case. As big as that number is, there are over 470,000 businesses closing their doors each year. So, the bigger question is, not why are so many being started, but why are so many closing?

Why are so many businesses closing?

It depends on who you talk to, some say the closings are a result of lack of cash, unique market position, the right employees, among others. I agree that all of those reasons are symptoms that contribute to a business failing, but I have a different perspective on why, first I am sure the number of businesses closing are closing for different reasons, some are closing because of retirement, some because of sickness or accidental death, but the majority of businesses that close, are closing because they did not properly plan their business map. What is a business map? I have heard of a business plan, I never heard of a business map. I am here to tell you that a business map has all the elements of a business plan, except it is much more detailed in how and when you will get to your destination. The key difference between a business plan and a business map is that you consider the what ifs.

What ifs? You ask, well let me explain what I mean. As a pilot, I have my private pilot’s license, I never just get into a plane and takeoff without knowing where I am going, so before each flight I determine my end destination, and then I sit down with my maps and plan the route I am going to take. Some of you may be thinking, if you are flying you just go up in the air and go directly to place you want to be. Unfortunately, just like in business, it isn’t that simple. In creating my flight plan I need to figure out how I am going to navigate from my takeoff point to my landing point, my maps help me do that. Some of the what ifs I have to consider when flying is, mountains too tall for the type aircraft I am flying, congested airspace (such as New York and Los Angeles for example) that I should avoid, this information is readily available on the map. I study the map and determine the best path for me to travel. Even though the map has a lot of information on it, the doe not have all the information I the safest and best llow, that information is available. So, I go ifs, one is, what if there in the area, there are btain this information, always accurate, could a pop-up without warning.

With that being a possibility, I need to plan for that, in creating the flight plan I look at if a storm pops up along my route what am I going to do, am I going to divert to another airport? Am I going to go around the storm? I have different options, but which one is the best? Well I need to plan for both scenarios, I need to pick an alternate airport to land at and I also need to plan that I have enough fuel to be able to go around a storm if possible. What if I have mechanical trouble? Same scenario as the weather, it depends on what kind of trouble I have. A pilot that plans this way has a much better chance to have a successful flight than the pilot who just jumps in the plane and goes.

There are times I am in the plane by myself, but I am never alone. During each one of my flights, while I am planning as well as while I am in the air I speak with representatives from the FAA, they help me navigate through all the possible problems I may or do incur, they coach me through it. First, I would get a pre-flight briefing (planning) about the weather, temporary flight restrictions or other things that could hinder a successful flight.

During this process, I give them all the information that I have planned, where I am going, what time I am leaving, what time I expect to get there, my type of aircraft, and how many people are with me; they even ask me for alternate airports I have in mind just in case something happens. After discussing all these factors, the air traffic controller will make a recommendation to me as whether it is safe to take the trip or not. Now it is only a recommendation, but they are giving me guidance that is often needed from an outside source that may see something you do not see. Once I determine the flight is a go, I then takeoff, and once I am in the air I speak with an air traffic controller, they will follow me on radar and will give me updated information about my trip, warn me about other aircraft in my flight path, weather changes etc. If a problem does arise, I work with them to solve the problem, I may think that turning south to an airport may be the best place to land, but he may know of a better place for me to go and he will make his recommendation, again I make the final decision on what I am going to do, but their guidance gives me the information I need to either shorten my flight or continue on in the safest manner possible. Providing me with a better chance of successfully completing my journey. Here is the best part, that person I spoke to before I took off, I have to call them to let them know I landed ok, otherwise, they start looking for me, first with a phone call to my cellphone, if they don’t reach me then they start search procedures. Pretty cool right? With all that help it is no wonder air travel is one of the safest ways to travel.

Here is the one key factor I did not mention with flying a plane, I do not plan or fly alone.

A good business advisor (coach) will give you the guidance, planning and adjustments you need to create a company that not only is successful but creates a balanced life, so you can enjoy every day, without the burden of the oh noes. What if I don’t have the resources(money) to hire a coach? Tony Robbins has said, “when you don’t have the resources, become resourceful”, that simply means figure out how to get what you need even though you do not have cash to do it. There are a lot of organizations and workshops out there that help small businesses grow and survive and they are free. Check with your local small business association or local library. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

If you already are in business, you should be evaluating your business on a continuous basis to know where you are going and when you will get there. Because if you do not know where you are going you will be running in circles and eventually you will run out of fuel. A coach can also give you the advice you need to properly plan and make the right adjustments you need to ensure survival of your organization.

If you do engage a coach or if you want to try by yourself to create a business map, here are some of the things you need to do to help you determine where you are going are; (cont. on page 10)

Starting and growing a business can and should be the same way, if you plan properly and get the right help, you will multiply your chances of success significantly.

Do you have a vision statement? It is your WHY, why you are in business, why you do what you do. In order to develop a clear vision statement, you need to understand your Immutable Laws, these are the rules you have that make you who you are, once you understand them then developing your vision statement is easy.

What is your end game? Sell the business after 10, 20 or 30 years, pass it down to your kids, or maybe create an organization that will live on without you and eventually you can walk away and still receive the fruits of your labor. Once you understand where you are going then designing a business development map becomes a lot easier, we cant get there if we don’t know where we are going.

If you are an existing business, examine your current operation, be honest about what you are doing. Are you operating within your immutable laws? Are your employees? This is so important because if you are not then you will have unhappy employees which creates unhappy customers, vendors and most importantly…You!

If you are stuck and not sure how to proceed, reach out for help, do not try and make the determination on your own. Sometimes just having a quick discussion with someone can open up other possibilities you may have never thought of before.

05 Create that flight plan

This is the stage of your business development map where you take all of the information provided and create that plan that takes into consideration all the what ifs. Shape your ideas into an action plan.

Once you create the flight plan, gather your team members (employees), and share it, if you have done a good job in hiring those that align with your immutable laws you will see an instant enthusiasm for change and helping the organization move in the right direction. Act now; don’t wait. There is no better time than the present.

06 Put your flight plan into action

07 Constantly evaluate your progress

Just as when I am flying, you need to be constantly evaluating your progress. In business, we do this with observations of your employees, conversations with your customers, and Key Performance Indicators (KPI's). Knowing the KPI's and what they mean is what a good coach is going to help you with.

Make it Happen!

There’s only one thing left to do – get resourceful and make sure you have those outside eyes helping you navigate the best path for you and your business. Hopefully, this article has given you the insight you needed to point you in the right direction and put your business into flight.

the A D Space

By Samantha Wuestman

Personal branding is the story you tell about yourself. It is the effort to influence other’s perception of you as a credible source of information and guidance. It can make you an authority in your industry and set you apart from your competition. Now what the heck does that all mean? To put it very simply, personal branding is the act of turning your personality into a brand. You may be asking, is all this really necessary, does my business really need a personal brand if I’m selling insurance, general contracting, etc.? The short answer is yes. The public no longer trusts ads to tell them which products and services to buy, a pamphlet just doesn’t cut it anymore. Authenticity is the name of the game and personal branding is how you prove that authenticity.

The public has been bombarded with ads for almost a century and they’ve wizened up to some things and lost complete interest in others. These days, audiences are looking for something more substantial to put their trust in. This is where your personal brand comes in. You can market yourself as an authority in your field and as an authentic personality. These are things that people latch onto and remember.

Ok but how does one market their personality? It requires just a little bit of soul searching on your part. Your first step comes right out of the My Prosperity Tree Handbook. You will create your immutable laws! This is a list of your core business values that guide your decisions and how you act on your entrepreneurial journey. These principles are something people can identify with, and they can shine through in how you advertise your business. The next thing you will need to do is write down five things you like about your personality. For example, you might say you’re kind, witty, sarcastic, energetic, and organized. These personality traits can also be represented in how you advertise your business through something called brand voice.

Your brand voice is how you address your consumers. Based on the traits we listed you might want to put out branded content that is educational to your audience but also sarcastic and funny. By using brand values and voices you can create memorable ads and other content that will make your products and services stand out from the crowd!

Every issue join me in the Ad Space column where I will be breaking down the basics in our modern marketing world!

These personality traits can also be represented in how you advertise your business through something called brand voice.

Choose Your Own Adventure

My Prosperity Tree is a Business Growth System that allows the business owner to guide their own experience. Our proven system is broken down into three plans, each one uniquely tailored to your needs.