George Kao's Blog, page 14
April 22, 2021
Are you spending enough time on your business? (Time requirements for an authentic business)
Time requirements for building an authentic businessIf you don't create your own structure, someone else will create it for you, resulting in less autonomy and freedom. Here's the blog post I mentioned in the video -- https://www.georgekao.com/blog/busine...
Posted by George Kao, Authentic Business Coach on Friday, March 24, 2023
After coaching many people on how to grow their business, I find this recurring issue:
Many people are not spending enough time on the right actions.....
April 9, 2021
Why I don't promise results -- yet have plenty of clients
She was surprised:
"How do you get clients without promising results?"
Other business coaches had promised her piles of cash. When their methods didn't deliver the kind of business results they sold, she blamed herself... "It's not the coach... It's my own fault."
I used to promise results, too. Isn’t that the only way to get clients? After years of marketing experience, I’ve learned that sustainable trust is based on honesty and caring, not hype.
What I now promise to my clients is the following:
M...
March 26, 2021
The 8 Practices of Authentic Business
To sustain well-being in any area of life requires discipline (or persistent practice). Specific actions, done consistently, allow you to thrive.
In physical health, good practices include eating nutritiously, exercising adequately, sleeping enough, and caring relationships.
When it comes to authentic business, there are 8 important practices that I recommend.
I'll describe each of these.1. Joyful Productivity
Here is the foundation for any thriving business: the ability to consistently work in a...
March 19, 2021
Sleep Tips — Falling and Staying Asleep
To build a thriving authentic business requires multiple habits to be cultivated. If I had to name one habit that I would encourage everyone to start with, it would be to practice better sleep.
Surprising? Or maybe not, if you understand that better sleep is required to have the energy to plan strategically, to be creative, to set boundaries, and everything else that’s part of effectively managing your time and relationships.
In this article I’ll share with you what works for me to sleep better.On...
March 12, 2021
Strict about showing up, lenient about the results
A client asked:
“George, how do you stay with such a regimented schedule… yet remain calm and joyful as you work?”
Every workday, I stick to a schedule, getting a lot done in an easeful manner, without undue strain. And yet, even with a full day of appointments and projects — whenever I meet with clients, they don’t feel like I’m in a hurry. I can still be my creative self with them.
It’s taken a lot of practice. Here’s the key:I’m strict about showing up, lenient about results… and gentle to bri...
March 5, 2021
Practice publishing your raw ideas in obscurity
Years ago I went to a Robin Williams’ comedy event called "Raw" where he was testing out new material.
As a big fan of his movies -- I was very surprised that, at the event, most of the jokes he told were terrible. I had no idea that he was so un-funny :)
But this is how many comedians do it. I've heard that Chris Rock does this too. And so did Richard Pryor. These are called “work in progress” gigs.They test out new material in front of smaller live audiences (free or discounted rate) without pu...
February 26, 2021
There is no failure, only redirection.
Next time you earnestly pursue a project, yet still “fail” to get the hoped-for results, remember this: There is no failure, only redirection.
Even the lack of feedback is feedback. You’re getting the instruction from Life to try something else.
You are being redirected to another idea, another method, another experiment.
A higher purpose than “getting results” is your own learning, your inner growth in patience, lightheartedness, and courage.Someone who “failed” many times was Thomas Edison:
“I sp...
February 12, 2021
Define your daily success: Focus on the next doable goal
The most common financial goal for solopreneurs? To make “6 figures”.
(And if they achieve that, they now have to make “7 figures” because you can never make enough, right?)
How do you relate to goals? Do you set ones that are effective — and mentally healthy — for you?While there is some science that having “big hairy audacious goals” can inspire and motivate organizations of people, I wonder if it actually helps you, the self-employed person, to take consistent action. Do the BHAGs help you w...
February 6, 2021
Green Yellow Red -- Which State of Being are You in?
One of the secrets to a joyfully productive life:
Learn to become sensitive — often — to your state of being, throughout the day.
And if you catch yourself in a less-than-optimal state, do your energy reboot practice, right away, to re-enter a good state.
A simple way to gauge your state of being is to ask:
“Right now, am I in green, yellow, or red?”Green = feeling deeply peaceful or happy. When I'm working, Green means being in flow, confident, skillful, curious. When I'm resting, Green has me fe...
January 29, 2021
The Tapering Strategy: feeling confident about charging for your services + getting enough clients!
One of the inner blocks for self-employed people is charging money — or charging enough — for a service that they love providing.
One of the outer blocks is, of course, not having enough clients!
In this post, I’ll share a method that can help resolve both issues…I call it the “tapering strategy” because you’ll be starting with a price that you’re very comfortable asking for (even if it’s zero) and gradually tapering up the price, and then tapering down the availability of your low-fee services....
