The Three Toxic Myths Of Scarcity

by Lora Sasiela

"The economic crisis marks a moment for women to
re-discover and embrace the concept of 'enough'."
~Lynne Twist

I adore this month's book selection for the Financially Smitten Virtual Book Salon and want to share some of the author's brilliance with you.

The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources by Lynne Twist {a global activist and fundraiser} is an inspiring exploration of the connection between m0ney and leading a fulfilling life. She asserts that by examining our attitudes toward m0ney– how we earn it, spend it, invest it, and give it away–we can gain illuminating and empowering insight into our lives, our values and the very essence of prosperity.

She shares the Three Toxic Myths of Scarcity, which provide the bedrock for most of our interactions with money:

1. There's not enough.
Lynne writes: "No matter who we are or what our circumstances, we swim in conversations about what there isn't enough of." Maybe we are sharing with others how we didn’t get enough sleep, or we struggle with an internal chorus of being "not thin enough," "not smart enough," etc. This scarcity assumption is deeply embedded in us and our culture and she begs us to see its impact and question it. She states:

 "Scarcity is a lie. Independent of any actual amount of resources, it is an unexamined and false system of assumptions, opinions, and beliefs from which we view the world as a place where we are in constant danger of having our needs unmet."

2. More is better.
Lynne talks about how in our rush for "more" we loose the ability to experience the deeper value of what we acquire or already have. It renders us less mindful and literally robs of us our true "riches." She writes: "In the mind-set of scarcity, even too much is not enough."

3. That's just the way it is.
Lynne notes that there is a resignation, a perceived powerlessness, regarding change and our ability to truly confront the root of these scarcity the assumptions, which perpetuates a sense of helplessness.

She implores us to question these toxic myths and provides many examples in her book of people--of all economic circumstances -- living from a place of "enoughness" and sufficiency... where they truly treasure and steward what they already have. She defines sufficiency as "an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough."

"Appreciation is the beating heart of sufficiency."

I'm sure that many of us can relate to her assertion that "...we mostly breeze right past the point of enough as if it's not even there." The key to letting in this experience of 'enough' is the willingness to relinquish these three toxic myths. Personally, I have found this to be a book that champions you to be a better version of yourself.

If you'd like to experience Lynn Twist's inspiring nature, click here to watch a two-minute video of her speaking about the two branches of gratitude.

Take some time to think about how these three toxic myths are influencing your behaviors and feelings about money. Contemplate these questions: Are there any places in my life where I feel enoughness? Are there places that I don't and I'd like to? What can I do to add more appreciation to those particular pockets of my existence?

And please join us for the conversation about "The Soul of Money" in the Financially Smitten Virtual Book Salon. We are telegathering on October 13th. You can reserve your virtual seat by clicking here


Lora Sasiela, Money Makeover Artist and founder of Financially Smitten, LLC, is empowering women worldwide to kiss fin.ancial heartache goodbye with her transformative fin.ancial therapy and m0ney coaching programs. To learn more about Lora, her services, and to claim your F.R.E.E Money Makeover Kit, visit www.FinanciallySmitten.com.


About the Financially Smitten Book Salon

A basic tenet of creating a wonderful relationship with money is to respect and appreciate it consistently. One simple way to do this is to make a commitment to read at least one book about money a month. Financially Smitten has made it easy and fun to do this with the Monthly Book Salon!

Each month we will read a book on money psychology, relationship with money, or personal finance and gather virtually on a conference line to explore the teachings. The Book Salons are lead by financial therapist and money coach Lora Sasiela. These guided discussions will:

•      highlight the most powerful take-aways from each book
•      provide an opportunity for Salon members to share their thoughts and reactions
•      broaden your knowledge base of the nuances and dynamics inherent in managing a successful relationship with money
•      help you apply this new knowledge to improve YOUR relationship with money

Each month will be a lively and educational discussion! Please join us! For more information and to register, click here.

The Rule of Three

Here's another excerpt from Maria Ross' new book, Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget (2010, Norlights Press).


By Maria Ross 

Maria Ross is the founder and chief strategist of Red Slice (www.red-slice) a branding and marketing consultancy based in Seattle. She has advised start-ups, solopreneurs, non-profits and even large enterprises on how to craft their brand story to engage, inform and delight customers. The following is an excerpt from her new book, Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget (2010, Norlights Press).

When putting together your marketing plan, it’s important to know where your ideal buying audience goes. Try to be in those places. And so you don’t lose your sanity trying to promote and advertise everywhere, go deep rather than broad. By this I mean identify a few key publications, websites, or events that are exactly the right fit for you and create an integrated marketing package with each ad sales rep. Most small businesses don’t have the budget to do a lot of advertising and marketing in every single place their ideal customer might be. So pick a few partners and try to do as much as you can with each one, versus a one-time shot across many different vehicles.

I call this following the Rule of Three. In a given month or quarter, depending on your budget, focus on three publications, three website partners, three events, etc. Engaging in fewer activities, but more of the right ones, will be more effective for you than skipping a stone across the lake and barely making a splash with each marketing vehicle. For example, you might partner with a website that fits your audience profile and negotiate the following add-ons:

* a dedicated email to their subscriber base

* exposure at an event or webcast they’re sponsoring

* online ads in different forums over a three or six month period, rather than just once

* permission to write an article or blog post on a brand-related topic.

Many ad sales reps are delighted to get creative and you can put a multi-touch or integrated marketing program in place to get your brand and promise in front of the right people multiple times and in multiple ways.

Praise for Branding Basics for Small Business

“As someone who has worked with thousands of small businesses, I have seen a lack of a clear, focused brand strategy cause people to waste time, energy, money and flounder in the marketplace. Never fear, Maria breaks down branding so that anyone with a business, or who is thinking of launching a business, can understand why an investment in branding is make or break for creating a thriving business. Don’t launch without it!”

- Beth Schoenfeldt, Co-Founder, Collective-E, an Entrepreneur’s Agency and Community

“In today’s social economy, every business is a brand, regardless of size. And when Ross states that every new hire is a brand ambassador, she proves unequivocally that she ‘gets it’. The question small business owners must ask is if they want to be the ones controlling that brand or the ones left to salvage it. In this book, you’ll learn how to nail down your brand before you spend valuable resources on marketing and people that simply don’t fit your company’s core values.  Your brand is more than just a logo.It’s everything you are and the ticket to positive ROI.”

- Lisa Barone, Chief Branding Officer, Outspoken Media

“You’ve got such a wide and clear scope on what makes successful brands so… successful. Great coverage. And great inspiration to be true to your values and think big.”

- Danielle LaPorte, creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, lead author of Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design

Branding Basics for Small Business

Past "Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success" radio show guest, Maria Ross is having a big launch of her new book, Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget

You have a chance to win a copy of Maria's book as part of a special contest!

Post your comments below and tell us what your favorite brand is, and why. You can choose your own brand, or another one that you admire.


Let us know you think in the comments section below!


I'll be posting the results on my Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/womenentrepreneurs - so stop by there on Friday to find out if you won. Can't wait until Friday? Get your copy today on Amazon.com!


Shattering Five Branding Myths 


by Maria Ross

Maria Ross is the founder and chief strategist of Red Slice (www.red-slice) a branding and marketing consultancy based in Seattle. She has advised start-ups, solopreneurs, non-profits and even large enterprises on how to craft their brand story to engage, inform and delight customers. The following is an excerpt from her new book, Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget  (2010, Norlights Press).


Excerpt from: "Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget." 

When people think branding, they often just think it’s a logo or business card. Or they think of the opposite extreme like Apple or Virgin and assume they will never have the budgets to “brand effectively.” While dazzling branding is more than just pretty pictures, it also is something that is easily attainable, if businesspeople put the right thought and effort into it. Dispelling five popular myths about branding is key to starting that process and transforming your business.

Myth #1: Branding is hard

Branding is not rocket science. It simply requires focused thought about what you want your business to stand for and to whom, and then a commitment to communicate that message through everything you do visually and experientially. With my clients, I offer a simple 10 step process to building a firm brand strategy. But once built, you are never “done” nor do you ever stop being a steward for your brand once all the processes, websites and logos are in place. You need to constantly be vigilant and regularly do a “system check” on your materials, business practices, customer service and messaging to ensure your brand is clear and consistent. You also just need to commit to living your values and ensuring all of your employees and partners can verbalize and live those values as well.

Myth #2: Branding is expensive

Effective branding can be done on any budget. I’ve worked with $12 million dollar budgets and $1000 budgets. The real key to effective branding is making sure you have your ideal audience detailed out and that your business messages speak directly to their needs and the benefits they value. Once you have those thoughts together, you can then work more effectively with a designer to put together your logo or website experience and a writer to craft your brochure and website messaging.

Consistency and clarity in messaging (visual and verbal) is what makes a brand effective and creates rabid fans and evangelists, not how much money you spend promoting it. So if you can only spend $200 on a logo, you can still ensure it communicates exactly what you want to whom you want. True, you may not be able to do multi-million ad campaigns or sponsor extravagant sporting events. But with clear, consistent and strong messages, you ensure that even those 3 or 4 activities you can afford to do are laser-focused.


In addition, since brand is more than just your logo or advertising, you can live your brand through aligned corporate policies and processes. You can easily and cheaply craft a voicemail message or email signature that furthers that brand. You can extend the brand to free social media that captures customers with limited dollars. And you can ensure your product or service quality and price maps consistently to your brand promise. Those are all things you need to do anyway to run your business, so you may as well align them to a strong brand for maximum “oomph.”

Myth #3: Branding is Just Fluff

Brand equity can make or break a company. And if you think branding has no financial impact, just ask private equity firms who “buy” brands for billions of dollars, all for the brand cache or loyal customer base. It’s the reason people will pay 3 times as much for a white t-shirt at Nordstrom than they would at Target. Brand translates into bottom-line sales when done effectively. You can’t deny that if you build a strong foundation and communicate it to the right people at the right time, you will attract just the interested customer you seek.  In addition, a strong brand guides all the other marketing decisions that fuel your company’s growth: where to advertise, who to partner with, how to price your product, etc.

Myth #4: All Designers are the Same

All designers and branding firms are not the same. While you can save lots of money thinking through a brand strategy on your own before you engage with a designer on communicating anything visually, some designers get it and some don’t. And sometimes, you do get what you pay for in this regard. If you are talking to a designer who does not ask who your target audience is or what you are trying to convey to them through your visual elements – merely asking you what colors or concepts you “like” – you need to run the other way.

While you might be only spending $100 on them and think it’s a steal, you will lose more in sales and customers by not communicating the right message visually. Good designers understand how imagery, font, color and spacing impact the subconscious connections people will make about your company and what it offers. And they should be experienced enough to make some clear recommendations in that regard. It’s worth it to spend a bit more on this if you can and work with someone good who asks about your brand and your ideal customer.

Myth #5: Branding Works Immediately

Branding and direct response marketing are two different things. People need to experience your brand multiple times before it sticks.   You will need to have it out there, present in all of your customer touchpoints, before being able to decide if it works or not.  Branding is about awareness and “mindshare” – what spaces do you occupy in people’s minds when they see your logo or hear your name. This takes time to build. The Nike swoosh did not have meaning within the first 3 months it appeared.

Avoid the temptation to change branding every few months in an effort to chase quarterly sales growth. Yes, if you get feedback that things are not working, you should make changes, but hopefully, you will have put the upfront thought and effort into the brand strategy and messaging before implementing it, so that maybe only slight tweaks are required.  Branding and messaging can be refreshed over time – but not before customers get a chance to respond to it. And while you might be sick of your brand and messaging after 3 months, remember, your potential customers may not even have seen it yet, with all the noise that is in the marketplace.


© Copyright 2009-2010, Red Slice LLC.  All other companies or works cited remain the copyright of their respective owners.

Author Q&A: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months by Melinda Emerson

Author and Small Business Coach Melinda Emerson was a very informative guest on the Women Entrepreneurs Radio™ show. In this post she shares more of her insights about starting a business and her new book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works

Why did you write Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months?

My mission as small business coach is to End Small Business Failure. I wanted to develop a tool for people who are unhappy with their jobs and wanted to start a business. I also wanted to discourage people from just quitting their jobs without a well-researched plan. Too often I got calls from people seeking my advice about starting a business—after they had already quit their job which is just too late to start planning. I started out sending these would-be entrepreneurs a one pager with start-up tips. Then it was expanded into a special report, 44 Things To Do Before Going Into Business, which was the basis for this book. Over the years I became a business coach and lecturer on small business best practices. Since the recession began, small business owners have even less time to hit it big with their niche target customer now. I thought the best way to help entrepreneurs would be to provide a step-by-step proven method to start a successful small business.

What makes your book different from all the other start-up business books?

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months provides a realistic, month-by-month planning guide to start a sustainable and profitable small business. If you’re planning to start a business soon, the key to being successful is not only to create a sound business concept, but also taking the time to figure out the business of running a business. This book will point out the important and necessary steps to take – so you will have the right foundation for a small business. Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is not a book about writing a business plan; it’s about planning your successful small business.

Why does it take 12 months to start a business?

12 Months is an ideal time-frame to start a business, it’s not meant to be restrictive. I have been an entrepreneur for more than 11 years. Based on my experience, I believe the longer you plan, the more research you will do, and the more money you save, the more likely you are to succeed in business.

What if you don’t have 12 months?

Sometimes people are forced to start sooner. This is triggered by layoffs, getting fired, buyouts or retirement packages. I only planned for three months with my first business, but the challenge with that approach is you learn plenty of lessons the hard way, and that can be expensive. If you live by a budget, have your debt under control, and have a significant amount of savings, you will be able to start your business much sooner. Depending on your individual situation, it may take more than a year to get your personal finances in order.


Who should start a business?

Anyone with a solid, profitable business idea, willing to learn the business of running a business, can start a successful small business.

Why do small businesses fail so often?

1) No Life Plan—You need to develop a life plan and then build a business around that.
2) No Network—People do business with people they like and people they know. Who do you know and, more importantly, who knows you?
3) Lack of Target Market Focus—You have limited time and limited resources. Choose a niche so you can focus your marketing efforts.
4) Undercapitalized—If you do not save enough money to run your household for at least a year and fund the business, you may not be able to hang on until the business can generate any real revenue.
5) Lack of Fiscal Discipline—Do you run your business with a budget? Do you just rob the cash register when you need some cash? Do you make business decisions based on up-to-date financial information?

What are the 7 Essential Principals of Small Business Success?

Throughout the past five years, I have interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs and business executives. After listening to what they said about running their businesses and observing how they did business, I realized that there were 7 things they all had in common. They include having an entrepreneurial mindset, utilizing strict fiscal discipline, and having a kitchen cabinet of advisors. They make use of a well-defined brand identity; have a niche market customer, excellent customer service, and a firm understanding every day of their cash position by carefully managing their banking relationship. Using these principles can help any business run at its best. It’s the gold standard all businesses need to strive for from the very beginning.

Who is this target audience for this book?

This book is for anyone looking to create a plan to fire their boss and start a small business. It will also help people who are within their few years of launching a new enterprise. I have also heard from seasoned business owners who tell me that this book could serve as a professional development course or a great roadmap to reinventing a struggling business.


Melinda F. Emerson, also known as Twitter’s SmallBizLady is a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development and social media. She hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. She is the founder and CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, an award-winning strategic communications firm. She has created productions for such companies as Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Comcast. Her book Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works!” was released in March 2010 by Adams Media.