Don’t forget N.E.W. after hours on the 1st Tuesday of every month from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Wine Styles locate at 1740 NW Pence Lane. It is a great way to meet and network without the hustle bustle of the meeting schedule.

Welcome to our new N.E.W board members:

• President Heather Hepburn
• Vice President Laura Skinkle
• Marketing Chair Michelle Barry Franco!

By Barbara S. Stott, LPC

When we think of networking and marketing our businesses, we often create our messages from our left brains. We analyze what we want to say. What is the community looking for? What makes my business unique? What do I need to say about my services or product in order to attract new customers?

While these are important questions to ponder, there is another way of looking at your business. What is it about your business that excites you? What makes your heart sing? Why do you do what you do? Think about clients you have helped. What did you love about those experiences? How do you feel you made a difference for them? What did you bring to the work that was an expression of your own being, your own spirit?

Here is an example from my own business: It is certainly important for potential clients to know that I have training, credentials, and experience. This information can be reassuring for them, and since I am licensed, they are able to use insurance for counseling. Telling them about my philosophy and the tools that I offer is also important. For example, the focus that I bring to the spiritual growth of each client is part of what is unique about my work. Also, they will want to know about the services I offer, such as Sandtray Journeying, Reiki, tarot, and ceremonies.

What happens in the telling about my business when I step into how I FEEL doing the work? I experience the wonder of a client as she honors her True Self and begins to live from that authentic place with real courage. I am inspired and truly blessed to be a witness to the journey that she has been willing to take and the path that is uniquely hers.

What happens when I remember the Virginia client who progressed from an anxious, depressed woman living in an abusive marriage to a woman with a sense of her own power and beauty. She left the marriage, bought her own home, was planning a career change, and began exploring a healthy love relationship on her own terms. Remembering stories like hers inspires me about the incredible resilience of the human spirit, and I feel the joy of my opportunities to be a support to people on their path to personal power and spiritual enrichment.

Whatever product or service you offer, the questions are the same. What brings you joy about what you do? How do you feel you provide help and support to your clients? What are the stories that you remember to keep you going? How often do you think of them and tell them?

The key is to allow yourself to step into these stories and experience them again. That energy is electric!!!!!!!!!! It is the energy of joy. And it will draw clients to you with excitement. With all that we hear about the magnetism of energy, this is a gift to you. It will feed your own spirit and bring clients to your business.

If you are asking, “What if I don’t have any good stories? What if there is nothing that feeds me or excites me at all about my business?” Well, that is another article, another conversation. It is important information to acknowledge. Now, do something about it!

So, my NEW Sisters, enjoy the gifts of what you offer and share the excitement as you tell about your work. See your business grow while also feeding your own Heart!

2010 membership drive starts with the March N.E.W. meeting! Great incentives to bring in new members and grow the organization. Stay tuned for more information at the February meeting.